Dear Parents,
We had a large
turnout for our first High School Parent Coffee and a good opportunity to share
information regarding our Discover India and Athletics programs for this year.
Mr. Ryan McFarland filled us in on this year’s trips. You can view his
presentation here
and can learn more from the Discover India
webpage. Mr. Ron Thomson gave us a tour of
the new Athletics
webpage and discussed upcoming athletics events.
College
Admissions Seminar
This Thursday, September 5 our 12th Grade Counselor, Ms. Susannah McGlamery, and our IB/AP Coordinator, Mrs. Angelia Crouch, will present information for parents regarding the
college application process. The seminar will take place from 10:00 to 11:00
a.m. in the FAC cafeteria.
Speaking of college admissions, representatives from six U.K.
universities came to our campus this afternoon to discuss opportunities and
application procedures with interested 11th and 12th
grade students. This was the first of many visits by college representatives
that we will host in the coming months.
Freedom from
Chemical Dependency
Freedom from Chemical Dependency is the world's
leading nonprofit provider of onsite, school-based substance abuse prevention
services. Last year, as a part of our effort to help our middle and high school students
make healthy decisions, we invited consultants from this U.S.-based organization
to come to our campus to conduct seminars. They will return during the week of
September 9-13. In addition to meeting with students, they will also hold a
seminar for parents. We will announce the date and time of that seminar next
week.
Educating
the whole child
In our Strategic Plan we have adopted the following Student Learning Objectives:
In our Strategic Plan we have adopted the following Student Learning Objectives:
- Explore new interests with curiosity and be resilient in pursuing
their passions
- Evaluate real world situations, identify problems and design
innovative solutions.
-
Choose
to actively serve their local and global communities.
While
we will design our curriculum to help our students reach these objectives, we
know that classroom learning is not sufficient to develop these skills and
dispositions. The activities that take place outside of the classroom are
essential to our students’ development, which is why we refer to them as co-curricular activities, not extra-curricular activities. We can
intuitively understand that engaging in a range of activities helps a child
develop into a balanced, healthy adult, in much the same way that a balanced
diet helps to keep the body healthy. However, there are many other benefits, as
extensive research, such as this
article, has shown. In addition, participation in co-curricular
activities is an important factor in the college admissions process. Here is a
great article on What
College Admissions Officers Look for in Extracurricular Activities.
At
AISC we have a wide range of co-curricular activities, from sports to clubs to
service organizations. The opportunities for your child to get involved are
extensive. For a full list of activities, see the High
School Co-curricular Activities link in the sidebar. Some of the clubs
have developed web pages that you can find in the Co-Curricular Activities
section of the High School Moodle
page.
We
in the faculty at AISC have seen the positive impacts of co-curricular
activities in our students over the years. We appreciate the challenges in time
management that after-school sports practices or lunch-time club meetings can
pose for students, but we also believe that the benefits far outweigh those
challenges. As a result, our faculty is also committed to giving of their time
to provide these opportunities. This belief is also central to the IB Diploma
Program, which includes a requirement (Creativity, Action, Service) that
students participate thoughtfully in extracurricular activities.
Please
encourage your child to take advantage of the many opportunities that are
available at the school. They are posted regularly in the Daily Bulletin, and
students can always ask their teachers, the counselors or me for information on
how to get involved.
A
reminder that that there is a lot more information to be found in the sidebar
links to communications from the Counselor, the IB-AP Coordinator and the
Athletics Director.And don’t miss The Voice, our online student newspaper. In
it you will find articles and interviews with new teachers, all written by our
high school students.
As
always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or
matters you would like to discuss.
Have
a great weekend.
John McCandless
High School Principal
