Dear
Parents,
As we
entered the final month of the school year this week, the pace of the high
school shifted perceptibly. The daily routines of most seniors and some
underclassmen and women changed as they finished their IB and AP classes and
began the external examinations. Semester exam schedules are being finalized,
as are the plans for the high school awards assembly on May 23 and the
commencement exercises on May 29.
This week
we held elections for next year’s Student Council officers and in the
process
heard some outstanding campaign speeches. With 76% of the students in Grades
8-11 voting, the results are:
President: Dakota Kuhn
Vice
President: Roshan Raju
Secretary:
Nivedita Sriram
Treasurer:
Tae Woong Moon
Class
Coordinators:
Grade 12: Susmera Cholayil
Grade 11: Jisun Lee
Minsang Park
Grade 10: Seungyeon Ha
Congratulations
to our new officers, and thanks to all of the students who stepped forward to
run for office. Elections for the remaining Class Coordinators (a total of 3 for each class) will be held in August.
MAP testing
Measures
of Academic Progress (MAP) testing went smoothly this week, after an initial
bump or two. One of the advantages of the MAP is that the results are available
about a week after the tests, so we will be able share them with students and
parents before the school year is done.
Discover India 2014
The Discover
India program is an integral component of the high school curriculum that is
intended to enhance our efforts to instill our school community’s values in our
students. This experience directly addresses the Student Learning
Outcomes that have been identified in our Strategic Plan, which state that, “By
2018, all students will:
• 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.”
This year during the week of October 6-10 we will offer 13 trips to different locations throughout India, from the foothills of the Himalayas and the deserts of Rajasthan to the mountains of south India and the Andaman Islands. Each trip will offer a different set of experiences for your child to explore, including outdoor adventure, community service and the arts and culture of India. Each trip will have 16-20 students of mixed age and will be accompanied by two or three faculty chaperons.
This week, students will be choosing their priorities for the
2014 Discover India trips. Students have been emailed the list of trips with
preliminary itineraries and a form that they fill out to rank their trips.
Selections are due by midnight on Wednesday, May 14th. Once all students have
submitted their preferences, a lottery system will be used to place them on the
various trips. Our experience in the past is that nearly all students are
placed on one of their top three choices.
For those unfamiliar with the Discover India Program, we have information
available on the High School Moodle page. Detailed information about this
year's trips is posted there as
well.If you have questions, please contact program coordinator Mr. Ryan
McFarland atmryan@aisch.org.
I hope
you will share with us our excitement in being able to offer this opportunity
to our students, and look forward to making this a rewarding learning
experience for all of our students.
IB and AP
Exams
The IB and AP exams are in full swing. Be sure to
keep up with updates from the IB/AP Coordinator.
Semester Exams
The end
of the school year is drawing near, which means that the semester exams will
take place soon. These are summative assessments that help teachers determine
the extent to which each student has met the learning outcomes for the course.
Seniors in non-IB or AP classes in English, Foreign Language, Social Studies,
Science and Math classes will take their exams on May 19-21. All other students
will take their exams starting on May 26 and ending on May 29. To ensure the integrity of the
assessments, final exams will not be given prior to the exam dates. A
final schedule will be posted in the Daily Bulletin and on the bulletin boards
around the high school.
Yearbooks
The yearbook staff has been working hard
all year to create a record of the people and events at AISC over the past
eight months. For the first time this year, Yearbooks will be distributed to
all students at no additional cost. The Yearbooks will be distributed during
the last week of school.
Students
leaving AISC
Each
year some of our students leave the school. Records from AISC are usually
required by the next school. However, it takes us some time to prepare these
records. If you will be leaving the school, please contact us at least as soon
as possible so we can prepare the necessary documents to make your transition
as smooth as possible. Final report cards and transcripts will be made
available for 12th Grade students by the end of the school day
on Friday, May 30. Final report cards will be available for 9th, 10th and
11th grade students by Friday, June 6.
Requests
for letters of recommendation
Summer is approaching, which means that many students are in
need of letters of recommendation for summer programs and new schools. As this
is a busy time of year for the faculty, please be mindful that any requests for
letters and/or recommendation forms should be presented at least one week in
advance of the deadline. Writing a recommendation takes thought and time.
Students should communicate directly with the teacher from whom they are
requesting the recommendation so that, together, they can determine that
teacher is the most appropriate person to write the letter.
Othernews
Be sure to check the sidebar for
news from our counselors, our IB and AP Coordinator and our Athletics Director
for important updates.
Have a
restful, enjoyable weekend.
John
McCandless
High
School Principal
