Dear Parents,
As promised, this has been a busy week. The Cabaret performance last week was a sold-out, standing room only event. Cabaret photos have been posted on the school Moodle page. The students’ acts were amazing and the stage management was incredible. Many thanks to our performing arts faculty – Cary Stewart, Shawn O’Docharty, Deborah Lee and William Kumar – for the many hours of preparation they put into making this year’s event the best ever, and to the performers for giving us such a wonderful evening of entertainment.
As promised, this has been a busy week. The Cabaret performance last week was a sold-out, standing room only event. Cabaret photos have been posted on the school Moodle page. The students’ acts were amazing and the stage management was incredible. Many thanks to our performing arts faculty – Cary Stewart, Shawn O’Docharty, Deborah Lee and William Kumar – for the many hours of preparation they put into making this year’s event the best ever, and to the performers for giving us such a wonderful evening of entertainment.
SAISA Tournaments
The
SAISA volleyball tournaments and swim meet began on Wednesday and will be
winding up this afternoon. You can see the results on the Activities and Athletics Weebly. It is always a pleasure to welcome guests from other
American international schools to our campus and to have the opportunity to
watch our athletes demonstrate their skills in some keen competition. Events
like this are not possible without the considerable effort and support of many
people, including our Athletic Director, Ron Thompson, our faculty and support
staff, and the many families who are hosting the visiting athletes. Thank you!
Discover India
Just as soon as the tournaments end, the high school students and faculty will be leaving for our Discover experience. Our 229 students and 37 faculty members will be going to 12 different locations throughout India to explore the many facets of this amazing culture and geography, and to strengthen our ties as a learning community through our share experiences. Many thanks go to our Discover India Coordinator, Ryan McFarland, for taking care of the myriad details that go into organizing these trips. He has done a fantastic job, especially considering his short time here at the school.
Just as soon as the tournaments end, the high school students and faculty will be leaving for our Discover experience. Our 229 students and 37 faculty members will be going to 12 different locations throughout India to explore the many facets of this amazing culture and geography, and to strengthen our ties as a learning community through our share experiences. Many thanks go to our Discover India Coordinator, Ryan McFarland, for taking care of the myriad details that go into organizing these trips. He has done a fantastic job, especially considering his short time here at the school.
Remember
that the itineraries for all of the trips as well as a schedule
of departure and return times can be viewed at the
Discover India Moodle page. A quick overview of the departure and arrival times can
be found by following the link the sidebar. Please be sure that your child has
his or her passport and is at school well ahead of the departure time so that
the trips can get to the airport or train station without delay.
There
is always some sense of uncertainty when we travel. Rest assured that the
school has placed the highest priority on the safety and security of our
students and teachers. We have engaged reliable trip organizers and have set clear
expectations for the well being of everyone on the trips. Our teacher-chaperons
have been trained in first aid and are carrying well-stocked first-aid kits.
The school has provided them with cell phones and they will be calling back in
the evening to let us know that all is well. the teachers also have the telephone numbers of all parents in the event that they need to contact you. We have also worked with the
Regional Security Officer at the U.S. Consulate to ensure that conditions at
the locations where our groups will be are secure. Our security personnel will
continue to be in contact with us throughout the week to alert us to any potential
risks.
A reminder – There will be no school for high school students
on Friday, October 18. If you
have any questions about Discover India, please do not hesitate to contact Mr.
McFarland (mryan@aisch.org) or me.
The
excitement among the students and the teachers around the trips was palpable
all week. I am looking forward to the tales of adventure that the students and
faculty members will have to share when they get back.
PSAT reminder
Students who wish to take the PSAT will be able to do so on
Saturday, October 19. There will be no charge for the test. Ms. Jesudass has
explained the process for registration to the students, which they can do
online. Details can also be found on the HS Guidance Department blog. If you
have any questions about the test, don’t hesitate to contact her or me.
High
School Parent Coffee
On Tuesday, October 22, we will hold another of our monthly parent
coffees. The topic of this month’s meeting will be the EAL inclusion model that
we have adopted in the 9th and 10th grades this year. The
meeting will be held in the cafeteria. I hope to see you there.
Also on October
22nd and 23rd, Dr. Panetha Ott from the U.S. Department of Overseas
Schools will be visiting us to meet with students and parents about the US
college admissions process. Dr. Ott also works for admissions at Brown
University and is a great resource to answer questions you may have
about the college process in the US.
She will be conducting two workshops for parents on October 22nd to share information about applying to US colleges and universities. The first parent workshop is from 2:30-3:30pm; a second workshop will be held from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Both workshops will address the same questions, so there is no need to attend both. We hope to see you at one of these meetings.
UN Day Update
One of AISC’s amazing traditions is
the celebration of UN Day, which this year takes place on October 23.
Historically, this has been an assembly for the whole school with parents
invited, which included brief speeches, performances, and a Parade of Flags.
The United Nations was originally
formed to promote international cooperation and achieve global peace and
security, and seeing our students learn and create together, I have the sense
that we are continuing that same work right here in our school. I cannot think of a more
symbolic day to celebrate our community composed of so many cultures and backgrounds.
We are a big community now and,
despite our very best intentions, it has become increasingly challenging to
plan and execute an all-school assembly. Even with our auditorium, we cannot
accommodate all students. (We have 945 students and about 805 seats.) In an ES
assembly two weeks ago, the auditorium was virtually filled with students and
parents.
Last year, we had the UN Day event in
the gymnasium and, for the first time, included every student in the parade of
Flags. This year, we want to try to continue this tradition in auditorium. We
will need to seat every K-5 student in the auditorium for this event, so we
will need parent support as seating will be limited. Students in grades 6-12
will be seated in the cafeteria with live streaming of the assembly in the
auditorium.
K-12 students will gather in the
gymnasium between 8.30 and 8.50 and proceed to the auditorium for the beginning
of the parade at 9:05. The PK students will gather in the auditorium lobby and
then lead the school, with the UN Flag, when the parade begins.
Our program for the morning is:
8:50: Welcome, Head of School
8:55: Remarks, Model United Nations
Secretary General, Student
9:00: Dona Nobis, Community Choir
9:05: Parade of Flags
9:35: Remarks, High School Student
Council President
9:40: Bridge Over Troubled Waters,
HS/MS Choirs
9:45: Closing, Head of School
10:30: Parents, Country Pavilions for
Students (Gymnasium)
Are you interested in watching the event from work or home?
We will live stream this assembly. Go to our Events page to watch between 8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23.
Are you interested in a DVD after the event?
Sometimes filming or getting pictures
during an event is too difficult. Too many photographers at an event can be a
distraction. We will be giving DVDs of the event to anyone who asks. Stay tuned for ordering directions.
How does the parade work?
- Students will be marching under their citizenship of record as listed in Skyward. ES teachers will help students make sure they are with the right group on the morning of the assembly. If students wish to wear national dress, they are welcome to do so.
- Students who have dual nationality should inform the Admissions Director, Sanja IIic ( admissionsdirector@aisch.org ) no later than Wednesday, October 16th if they will represent a country other than their citizenship of record.
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
hsprincipal@aisch.org
