Dear
Parents,
I hope
you and your family had a restful long weekend. It was a good opportunity for
all of us to pause in what has been a very busy two months. It is just a short
time now before we finish the semester and leave for our winter break. But we’re
not there yet – semester exams are still a few days away. It is a bittersweet
time at schools like AISC. While we are celebrating the end of the first
academic term and the upcoming holidays, we are bidding farewell to some
members of our community. We said goodbye to them at the assembly this afternoon
and wish them and their families well at their next destination.
NHS Inductions
Congratulations
are in order for our newly-inducted members of the National Honor Society. The NHS
was founded in 1921 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals
to recognize and encourage academic achievement while also developing other
characteristics essential to citizens in a democracy. These ideals of
scholarship, character, service, and leadership remain as relevant today as
they were in 1921. Through NHS community service activities, members maintain
and extend the qualities that won them selection. Membership is thus both an
honor and a commitment. The new members are:
Grade 10 Ohm Arvind Grade 12 Sanjay Selvan
Gahyeon Kang Minheui
Seo
Jisun Lee Manisha
Venkat
Meyyammai Muthaiah
Aiswarya Nagasubramony
Nivedita Sriram
Congratulations!
Semester exams
Semester
exams are designed to give teachers an understanding of what their students
have learned since the beginning of the school year. While no one assessment
can measure all of the learning that has taken place, the exams do provide
teachers with a valuable snapshot of the knowledge and skills that their
students have developed. The exams also provide students with an important
opportunity to carefully review what they have learned. This review often helps
students see the ‘big picture’ in their subject and solidifies the learning
that has taken place.
It is
important for students to take a balanced approach in preparing for the
semester exams. The focus should be on reviewing the areas that the teacher has
indicated will be assessed and identifying those areas in which the student is
having most difficulty. Re-reading the text or memorizing class notes is rarely
productive. Preparing an outline or study guide that covers what has been
learned over the semester is a better approach, but only if the student does
this on his or her own. Simply reading a study guide prepared by someone else
is not very helpful. One of the most effective approaches to studying is for
the student to take old tests or quizzes, cover up the answers, take the test
and then find out what he understands and what he does not. The student can
then focus his time on those areas that are not well understood.
Perhaps
the most important key to success in any assessment is to be well nourished and
well rested. A good night’s sleep and a good breakfast will help the student
think more clearly and recall information more efficiently, leading to a
stronger performance.
The
schedule for next week was posted around school at the beginning of this week
and has been posted on the High School Moodle page. The exams will be held from
Monday, December 9 through Thursday, December 12. There will be two exam
sessions each day. The first will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and the
second will be held from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. There will be only one exam on
Monday.
In a
change from previous years, fine arts, IT and PE classes will be held on Monday
from 10:50 onwards, from 2:20 to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday and in
the morning on Friday. Students are
required to be on campus only during the times when they have exams and so may
arrive later or depart earlier than usual. However, students may not leave
campus and then return on the same day. On Friday, December 14 students will be
released from school at 12:30 p.m.
This
year the Student Council will be taking an active role in the annual Charity
Fair by organizing activities for elementary and middle school students. So
far, plans are being made for over 25 different activities. Most, if not all of
the high school students will be involved in some way or another. In addition
to giving the high school students the opportunity to serve the school
community, it provides many students with leadership opportunities.
Last
year the Student Council restructured the way that the proceeds from the Jan
Jamboree will be used. In the past, the various service clubs would raise
funds, often by requesting donations, holding raffles or selling baked goods.
In order to free the clubs of the need to raise funds and allow them to
concentrate on providing direct services to those they serve, the Student
Council will make the proceeds of the Jan Jamboree available to the service clubs.
The clubs will be asked to submit grant proposals to the Student Council, who
will then allocate a portion of the Jan Jamboree funds to them. This approach
will help our students learn how to apply for grants and will give our Student
Council members valuable experience in evaluating the proposals and managing
the funds.
Be sure to check the sidebar for
news from the
Athletics Department about our SAISA athletes. They all provide extensive and current
information about the many rich activities, both academic and co-curricular,
that are going on in the high school.
I hope
that we will see everyone at the Jan Jamboree on January 18 from 2:00 to 5:00
p.m.!
Have a great weekend!
John McCandless
High School Principal
