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Dear
Parents,
Jan
Jamboree a big hit!
The high school Student Council did an impressive job of pulling together the many high school student clubs to provide playful activities for the elementary and middle school students. Lots of fun was had by all. For several days afterward I heard from high school students how much fun they had playing with the younger students, and from elementary school teachers about how much fun their children had playing with the high school students. It was a win-win event, not to mention the more than one lakh rupees raised in support of student community service activities. Many thanks to the Student Council and their advisors Mrs. McCandless and Ms. Levi, the leaders and advisors of the many clubs and to the Taj Flight Kitchen, who provided the food and contributed a portion of their sales to the Student Council.
The high school Student Council did an impressive job of pulling together the many high school student clubs to provide playful activities for the elementary and middle school students. Lots of fun was had by all. For several days afterward I heard from high school students how much fun they had playing with the younger students, and from elementary school teachers about how much fun their children had playing with the high school students. It was a win-win event, not to mention the more than one lakh rupees raised in support of student community service activities. Many thanks to the Student Council and their advisors Mrs. McCandless and Ms. Levi, the leaders and advisors of the many clubs and to the Taj Flight Kitchen, who provided the food and contributed a portion of their sales to the Student Council.
Honor Roll
The Honor Roll and High Honor Roll for the 2nd Quarter have been posted around
school. You can also see them by clicking on the link in the sidebar. The High
Honor Roll recognizes those students who earned a grade point average (GPA) for
the quarter of 3.65 or above (on a four-point scale) with no grade lower than a
“B”. Students on the Honor Roll earned a GPA of 3.00 to 3.65 with no grade
lower than a “B”. Congratulations to all of the students who have earned this
recognition through their commitment to learning!
High School Band Concert
The High School Bands
will give their Winter Concert this evening from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the
Theater. The show will include the Concert Band and the Symphonic Band
performing works by guru band composers Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Percy Grainger,
Leroy Anderson and more! This will be the band's last performance in Chennai
before eighteen of our young musicians go on tour to Dhaka, Bangladesh for the
SAISA Music Festival. You can hear the festival repertoire before the festival!
Admission is free, and the concert is appropriate for patrons in grades 5-12.
Younger students must be supervised by a parent. Parents of all ages are
welcome!
School Photos
A
photographer will be on campus on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to take photos
of students who joined AISC after September 1 and those students who did not
have their photos taken during the first photo session at the end of August. Students
will receive a reminder on Monday morning. The photos will be taken in the
Black Box Theater. These photos will be used for the Yearbook, which will be
provided without additional cost this year. Students will
also have the opportunity to purchase copies of the photos.
High School Parent Coffee
The topic for this month's Parent
Coffee will be the IB Diploma Program and AP course offerings at AISC. The
coffee will be held on January 28 from
8:45 - 9:45 a.m. and from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Cafeteria. All parents of
students in grades 8 through 11 are encouraged to attend one of these sessions.
IB/AP
Parent Seminar
The IB Theory of Knowledge course is
a unifying element in the IB diploma Program. It is focused on answering the
question, “How do we know what we claim to know?” Through the study of the ways
of knowing(language,
sense perception,
emotion, reason, imagination, faith, intuition, and memory) and the areas of knowledge (mathematics, the
natural sciences, the
human sciences, the arts,
history, ethics, religious knowledge systems, and
indigenous knowledge
systems), students learn about the
distinction between personal and shared knowledge and explore the nature of
knowledge.
We are fortunate this year to have
an experienced Theory of Knowledge teacher and teacher trainer come to our
campus to share his expertise with our students and faculty. He will be
presenting a seminar on the Theory of Knowledge on Tuesday, February 4 from 8:45 - 9:45 a.m. in the Cafeteria. All
parents are encouraged to attend.
Course registration for
2013-2014
Even though August still
seems a long way away, we will soon begin the process of selecting courses for
next year. This is an important process for all of us. Ms. McGlamery and Mr.
Summerfield will be helping students and parents make decisions that will help
our students realize their academic and career aspirations. Once the course
requests have been received, we will begin to build the schedule of classes for
next year.
The first step in this
process is sharing information on our academic program and on the many options
that are available. At the High
School Parent Coffee on Tuesday, February 11, Ms. McGlamery and Mr.
Summerfield will share information with parents regarding the course
registration process.
They will present the same
information to students at an assembly on the same day. On that day we will be
sending home copies of the 2013-2014 edition of the High School Curriculum
Guide. This has information about our overall academic program as well as
individual course descriptions. It will be made available online as well.
Attendance
At
AISC we place a high value on regular classroom attendance. We believe that the
learning experience is enhanced through dialogue and discussion between
students and their peers. Teachers plan the learning experiences and
assessments with this belief in mind.
When
students miss class, additional teacher time is required to catch the student
up on what he or she missed or to administer assessments such as quizzes or
tests. Our teachers are very willing to do this, but it should be for a good
reason. Justifiable reasons for absence include illness, medical appointments
that cannot be scheduled outside of school hours, family emergencies and
religious or legal obligations. In the event that a student misses school for
one of these reasons, he or she will be allowed to make up missed work without
a grade penalty. However, the work must be made up in a timely manner; generally
one day is allowed for each day of school missed.
Staying
home to complete assignments or prepare for examinations is not considered a
valid reason for students to miss school. Family travel is also not considered
a valid reason for missing classes. While we understand the value of travel in
helping children (and the rest of us!) learn more about the world, we encourage
families to plan their trips during the holidays and long weekends.
If
you know that your child will be absent from classes, please contact the High
School Office and remind your child to complete a Prearranged Absence Form.
Completing this form accomplishes two things: it ensures that the student knows
what he or she will miss and it ensures that the teachers are aware of the
absence. If there is a question about whether an absence will be considered
excused or unexcused, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Other news
Be sure to check the sidebar for
news from our counselors, our IB and AP Coordinator and our Athletics Director
for important updates.
I hope
to see you at the Jan Jamboree!
John
McCandless
High
School Principal
