Dear Students and Parents,
Last weekend our own Roshan Raju, Adrienne Hoover, Jannick Frampton and Saran De Zutter participated in the Global Social Entrepreneurship Summit organized by the American School of Bombay. Schools from Mumbai, Gujarat and Amman, Jordan participated in the summit.
As part of the summit, the students visited Dharavi, Asia's largest slum settlement, to witness micro-enterprises in action and understand the impact of social entrepreneurship. Later, they formed teams and created business plans for their own social venture idea that will impact the community in a positive manner while remaining a sustainable business model. They presented the business plans to a panel of judges comprising of accomplished social entrepreneurs who gave them critical feedback on how to make their social venture successful and how to overcome the hurdles they may face initially.
At the end of a challenging two days, AISC students walked away with three top badges that were up for grabs, including the audience vote for the Best Social Venture idea. But the biggest prize for them all - they made new friends.
TAISM Choir Festival
As you may know, Ms. Deb Lee and 14 high school students are presently in Muscat, Oman for the annual TAISM Festival of Choirs. There will be a culminating concert on Saturday evening (7PM Oman time) which will be broadcast via a live-stream (access via the dropdown at login “go live stream”). Here is the information for that, in case you are interested in tuning in to hear some great singing!
Festival Website: https://sites.google.com/a/taism.com/festival-of-choirs/
TAISM Website: www.taism.com
Save the Date - High School Production- 1001 Arabian Nights
The AISC Theater Department is proud to present their adaptation of 1001 Arabian Nights on Friday, March 13th at 5:00 pm and Saturday, March 14th at 6:00 pm in the auditorium. Inspired by shadow puppetry, this adaptation draws upon dance, slapstick comedy and music to focus on how the magic of storytelling can transform our lives.
Come and see how King Shahrayar, reeling after is queen’s betrayal, swears to marry and murder a new woman each night before meeting the enchanting Scheherazade, a brave girl determined to save the women of her kingdom. Every night Scheherazade begins to tell her king a story only to stop before coming to the end of both her story and her life. As a result, the king spares Scheherazade so she can continue her story telling and, after 1001 nights, this cures him of his madness.
Parent-Teacher Conferences - Save the Date
Second semester Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place on March 17th and 18th. As we did last semester, we will host drop in conferences on the 17th and a full day of conferences by appointment on the 18th. We will make some time adjustments based on your feedback and that of the teachers last term. The 17th will run from 3:45 until 6:00 pm and the 18th will run from 8:00 - 5:00 pm. The link to book appointments for the 18th will go live on March 6th.
Next High School Parent Coffee - Date Change
Please note that the next High School Parent will take place on Tuesday, March 17th rather than the originally scheduled day of the 24th. This is to time the coffee with the visit of the Social Justice Trainer (see below). The coffee will be a combined MS/HS meeting.
High School Parent Coffee - In Case You Missed It
Many thanks to the parents who joined us at this week’s coffee. Here is a recap if you were unable to attend.
Kevin Crouch talked about the upcoming Continuity of Instruction virtual day drill on March 25th. A business fair with various internet providers will take place on campus on March 5 and 6 to allow parents to work directly with the providers in a more convenient manner. Should parents want additional information, kindly pick up the Continuity of Instruction brochure at any school office.
Joelle then reviewed the proposed changes to the graduation requirements for the Class of 2019. These changes will affect current high school students in so far as the school will expect students to earn a yearly 0.25 credit for participation in our “discovery” program. This program will include the Discover India trips as well as continued reflection on the 4 C’s of our mission during regularly scheduled discovery group meetings. These meetings will take place during our Tuesday assembly time at various points during the school year. The 0.25 credit is pass/fail based on attendance and participation in the program.
Finally, Joelle and the counselors debriefed the results of the January student lifestyle survey. On the whole, the results indicated that the issue of stress is a concern for many of our students. For some, stress related behaviors and emotions (cutting, loneliness, feeling disconnected and suicidal thoughts) are also an issue. Interestingly, these statistics were far more concerning that those of drug and alcohol use or sexual activity. The survey also revealed that some students are concerned about their current weight as well as the hours they spend using social media or gaming. Finally, the survey indicated that most students get sufficient sleep and are assigned a reasonable amount of homework. However, there are students reporting getting 5 or fewer hours of sleep and/or 4 or more hours of homework per night. The survey results have been shared with faculty and will be shared and debriefed with students in small groups over the next two weeks.
The faculty has already begun implementing small changes in the hopes that it will allow students to feel more connected and supported at school. The counselors are running optional groups for stress management as well as managing your time online (sign-ups still open). The results are being considered as we continue to develop our stand alone health curriculum for next year. Finally, once we get additional input from students after the debriefs, a group of faculty studying student connectedness will make recommendations for systemic changes to implement next year and beyond.
As the weeks go on, should families wish to discuss any of the results at home, our counselors have prepared a tip sheet for talking with teens.
Social Justice Educator - Visiting Soon - March 16-20
In a community as diverse as AISC, providing space for young people to engage in structured courageous conversations around issues of identity (in regards to culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, faith, ability, etc.) is a critical need. As we seek to help our students understand themselves and their interactions with others, we invite Muneer Panjwani, a social justice educator, to AISC to work with middle and high school student groups. Muneer has worked with youth around creating accepting and inclusive environments for over ten years. He is a talented and skilled facilitator of empathy based interactive workshops and discussion.
Within the workshops, students will develop a common language around social justice issues, explore concepts of prejudice and identity and learn concrete actions we can all take to build a space where all people feel comfortable and proud to be who they are. We are hopeful that Muneer’s work will be a springboard for an open dialogue at AISC around how we each make our unique contribution to this diverse and dynamic world.
While at AISC, Muneer will meet with parents, faculty and student groups in the middle and high school. In each context, the workshops will be developmentally appropriate for the student groups and will provide students with the space, structure and support to explore, discuss, learn and challenge themselves. This will not be easy work; Muneer’s visit will provide an opportunity for courage, creativity, confidence and compassion to come alive in our community as our students begin to explore issues of identity and social justice in a safe, supportive way.
Please mark your calendar now for Muneer’s parent meeting. We will merge the HS and MS coffees for the month of March so the HS coffee for March will be on the 17th at 8:45 am.
Yearbook Photos 2014-2015
We are pleased to announce the sale of photos from the January photo shoot for those students who did not get their photos taken in August. On the All School Moodle page, you will find a folder- Yearbook photos 2014-15. Parents who missed ordering photos last semester may also place the orders now.
Order Forms may be downloaded from Moodle or picked up at the Cash counter. Instructions are on the order form. Please complete the form, make payment and submit the form at the respective section office.
Please submit all requests for photos not later than March 6. Prints will be ready for pick up after April 12.
If you have any questions about the ordering process, please contact the Administrative Assistant of your child's school section.
Summer Opportunities for Students
It's time to start thinking about summer plans! Students who are interested in participating in summer programs should check out the Counselor's Blog on the HS Counseling Moodle page. There is a page dedicated to summer enrichment programs which the counselors are updating as new information comes to them. Please check it out! If you are aware of programs that you'd like to share publicly, please email information to Ms. McGlamery or Ms. Larsen.
Food Service Update
AISC will celebrate this month of March as Nutrition Month. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing healthy eating habits in our students.
Below is a quick list of some activities that are planned:
Guest Chefs: Teachers will have the chance to don a chef coat and join the Taj Madras Flight Kitchen staff in serving meals to students. They will encourage students to make good nutritional choices as they serve up healthy servings of fruits and veggies.
Recipe Contest: Students, parents and staff will have a chance to submit a healthy recipe for the following categories: muffin, pasta, pizza, Asian non-veg, vegetable side dish and quiche/frittata. The Nutrition Committee will be using a rubric to judge the entries in the following categories: Nutritional Content, Creativity, Flavor, Availability of Ingredients and Ease of Preparation.
Parents and students may drop their recipe in the boxes found in both Main Reception and Elementary School Reception. Please note that the contest will close on March 9th; we will announce the winners of this contest on March 13th. Kindly include the students’ name and grade level on the recipe. The winning dishes will be named after the person or family that submitted the recipe; the Taj Madras Flight Kitchen will be preparing the winning dishes in April in the secondary and ES cafeterias.
Fresh Snack Friday: All elementary students will be provided a nutritious snack, courtesy of AISC, on each Friday in March. March 6th and 13th will feature both fruit and vegetable sticks with dip.
Mini-Muffin Monday Morning: The winning muffin recipe will be prepared and served free of charge by the Taj Madras Flight Kitchen. These will be served on Monday, March 16th to all visitors in the iHub on this day.
Look for posters, banners, videos and surprise performances in the cafeterias.
Please join us in celebrating good nutrition during March at AISC!
If you are interested in having your child learn more about nutrition, check out the following websites:
Choose from a variety of games that help you learn about food groups and exercise.
Choose from a variety of games including items for teens and videos
A variety of games, quizzes and even nutrition Sudoku
Build a Meal, Pyramid and Arcade Games
Sincerely,
Joelle Basnight
High School Principal
Jason Hicks
Secondary Associate Principal