Dear Students and
Parents,
On behalf of the High
School Faculty, I would like to welcome you to the 2014-2015 school year at
AIS–Chennai. I hope you have had a restful, enjoyable summer and are looking
forward to the coming school year! I am
thrilled to be joining the community and look forward to meeting all of you in
person in the coming days and weeks.
Know that my door is always open to you and that I truly value your
thoughts on the AISC educational experience.
It is my pleasure to
introduce you to the new members to the high school faculty:
Walter Basnight – English,
Psychology & TOK
Tom Zuzulock – English
Todd Larsen – Economics
Correne Larsen – Counseling
Cheri Amarna – Biology & Chemistry
Carlos Faura – Intern
Also joining us from
other divisions in the school:
Jason Hicks – Secondary Associate Principal
Flor
Martin – Spanish
Rema Vishwanath – EAL Support
Paula Frampton – EAL Support and Coordination
I hope you will join me
in welcoming them into the AISC community!
A few reminders and important informational items to begin the year...
New Student Orientation -
To help welcome high school students and their parents who are new to the AISC
community, we will hold an orientation session on Monday, August 4, from 11:30
to 2:00 beginning in the High School Library. After an initial
introduction, the students will meet with the counselors to learn more about
the school and what to expect on the first day of classes. Parents
will have a question and answer session and then will be taken on a tour. The
parent orientation will end at 12:15 p.m. at the iHub so that parents will have
an opportunity to enjoy a coffee or snack as they wait for their students. Student orientation will continue until 2:00
pm and pizza will be served during the session.
First Day of School -
Tuesday, August 5, is the first day of school for all students. The
day will begin with an assembly, after which students will attend their “A” Day
classes (Periods 1-4) during shortened periods. Wednesday, August 6, will be a
“B Day” day (Periods 5-8) with the regular schedule of classes
Students should plan on
arriving a few minutes early on August 5. We will distribute student schedules
in the Foyer of the Fine Arts Center from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m.
The Shift from Quarters
to Semester Marks Only– At the end of last year the faculty and
administration agreed to shift away from quarter marks to adopt, instead, a
running mark for the entire semester. In
essence rather than determining the semester grade based on a 40% (quarter
one), 40% (quarter two), 20% (semester exam) calculation students will,
instead, average their coursework from the entire semester (80%) with their
semester exam (20%). This benefits student learning in a number of ways. First,
teachers can disperse assessments more evenly throughout the semester by
placing them where it works best within the curriculum rather than having to
ensure that assessments are completed before the quarter’s end. This should help to balance student workload
and avoid the “crunch time” of assessments just before the quarter grade would
be due. Second, students have an opportunity to impact their marks throughout
the semester rather than earning an unchangeable and finite grade half way
through the term. Third, it helps to
balance the weight of any one assessment as all tests, for example, are
averaged together over the entire semester.
This helps students recover more easily from poor performance on a
single assessment.
Students and Parents will
continue to get regular Skyward updates as well as a mid-semester progress
report with narrative comments before receiving an official report card at the
end of each semester. Should a family
require an official progress report in order to apply to transfer schools at
any point in the year, kindly contact the counseling office and a report will
be provided reflecting the most recent Skyward update information.
For your information the
reporting periods this academic year will be as follows:
August 29 – Skyward
update
September 19 – Skyward
update
October 17 – Progress
report
November 14 – Skyward
update
December 12 – Semester
report card
January 30 – Skyward
update
February 19 – Skyward
update
March 13 – Progress
report
April 24 – Skyward update
May 15 – Skyward update
June 12 – Semester report
card
Changes to Student
Schedules – Please note that in an effort to expedite schedule changes to
get students settled in their classes and learning as soon as possible that we
will no longer send drop/add forms home for parents signatures. This means that it is very important for
families to discuss potential schedule changes before the student seeks out his
or her counselor. If a family feels
strongly that no schedule changes should take place without written parent
permission they are encouraged to contact the appropriate counselor (Susannah
McGlamery for grades 11 and 12; Correne Larsen for grades 9 and 10) to request
that such a system is followed.
Please note that it is
our understanding that students made wise choices regarding their schedules last
spring during the registration process.
Thus, they should not view the drop/add period as a time to “shop” for
classes and/or rearrange their schedule for non-academic reasons. As such, we expect students to pursue
schedule changes only when truly necessary.
Shift in IB Core Delivery –
While the IB Core 2 course will remain the same for this year, IB Core 1 will
be split into two semester courses.
First semester students will report to an IB CAS/Extended Essay
introductory class with our IB/AP Coordinator.
This class will meet as needed and, when not in session, students will
have the opportunity to concentrate on their academics to ease the transition
of the increased workload associated with the IB Diploma program. In the second semester students will take IB
TOK.
Communication is key– Each
week I will update my Principal’s Notes, an online newsletter that shares that
shares important information with students and parents in the high school. The Head of School, Andrew Hoover, also
publishes notes weekly. Please do your
best to read these notes weekly so that you are as informed as possible.
There will also be
opportunities throughout to meet in person.
Most months I will host a Parent Coffee that will help you to gain
greater access to what goes on in our classrooms. Student/Parent/Teacher conferences take place
twice yearly (November and March) and our Back to School Night will take place
on August 19th. This is a
wonderful night to come to campus and meet the teachers. Please do refer to the
community calendar so that you do not miss these important opportunities!
Welcome to another great
year at AISC! I am looking forward
to working with you in the coming year as we continue to build a learning
community that helps our students develop into knowledgeable, caring and
responsible citizens of the world.
Sincerely,
Joelle Basnight
High
School Principal
