Dear Parents,
It’s been a
whirlwind of activity in the high school for the past ten days. Our SAISA
sports teams didn’t have quite as good a year as least year, placing eighth in
Girls’ Volleyball, fifth overall in Swimming and fourth in Boys’ Volleyball. It
was a lean year for trophies, but all of our students came away from the season
with improved skills and new friends that they met while at the tournaments.
Speaking of
tournaments, from what I heard from visiting coaches the girls volleyball
tournament held here at AISC was one of the best that they had been to. Hats
off to our Athletic Director, Mr. Ron Thomson, for ensuring an outstanding
experience for all of our athletes! And many, many thanks to the families who
hosted the visiting athletes as well as the PTA members who brought snacks for
all of the players. Events like this are not possible without your support.
The students and
teachers have all returned safe and sound from our second high school Week
Without Walls. The groups I traveled with to the Rishikesh area were
emphatically positive about their experiences, which included river rafting,
cycling, hiking and interacting with the children who are attending a charitable boarding school. I am eagerly looking forward to hearing about the experiences
of the rest of the groups. I know that the students on the trip I was on were
pushed beyond their comfort zone at times, but I also know that they learned a
lot about themselves, each other and about India.
Considering the
magnitude of the effort in getting 220 high school students and over 35 faculty
members mobilized to explore the far corners of India, I think this year’s
Discover India experience went off very smoothly. The lion’s share of credit
for our success goes to Mr. Ryan McFarland. He is new to the school this year
but he quickly picked up the reins and, after many long hours, got us all
organized, away and back again. Thanks Ryan!
As always, we will
be looking for ways to make the experience better for all concerned next year.
To that end, we have asked the students and faculty members to complete
surveys. Over the next few days Mr. McFarland will be sending out a survey to
parents as well. Please take a few moments to respond to the survey, and please
be candid – we need to make sure we capitalize on the things that went well and
address the things that didn’t.
Skyward gradebook access
For the next week
the high school teachers will be finalizing first quarter grades and preparing
comments. Because the process of writing comments involves some editing,
students and parents will not have access to the Skyward gradebooks during this
time. Access will be reopened on Friday, October 25. On this day report cards
will also be distributed.
PSAT
A reminder that the
PSAT will be given tomorrow morning to students who registered previously. This
test, published by the College Board in the U.S., is typically given to
students in Grade 11, but can also be given to students in grades 9 and 10. At
AISC we offer this test of critical reading, mathematics and writing skills for
the following reasons:
ü Students gain
familiarity with the SAT format
ü Students can
monitor their progress during high school in the areas of Critical Reading,
Mathematics and Writing over a period of three years
ü Students gain
access to College Board resources
ü College and
career search
ü Practice SAT
ü U.S. citizens
may be eligible for National Merit Scholarships
ü The school
receives detailed information on student performance, which helps us identify
areas in need of attention
Please note that
the PSAT does not affect student grades in any way and is not used for college
admissions purposes.
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.
College Application Workshop
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.
Be sure to check the
High School Guidance Department’s blog for more information on upcoming events.
Just click on the link in the sidebar.
UN Day Reminder – a note from Mr. Hoover
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 three
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. 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. PK students
will exit the auditorium when they finish their role in the parade.
Once our K-5 students finish their role in the parade each
of them will be seated in the auditorium for this event. We will need parent
support as seating will be limited. (Parents can watch the event “live” in the ES
cafeteria as well.)
Once our 6-12 students complete the parade, they will
proceed downstairs and be seated in the cafeteria with live streaming of the assembly
in the auditorium.
Our program for the morning is:
8:30 Auditorium opens
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. If you have questions
about this, please contact your classroom teacher or our Admissions Director,
Sanja Ilic ( admissionsdirector@aisch.org ).
That’s all for this week. I wish you a
pleasant week to come.
John McCandless
High School Principal
