Dear Students and Parents,
Congratulations to our Operation Smile organization for the excellent job they did conceptualizing, organizing and running last weekends U-LEAD conference. They welcomed 85 delegates from 6 different area schools as well as a number of esteemed speakers. The goals of the U-Lead conference is to spread the idea of student volunteerism, build leadership skills, spread awareness about Operation Smile, create service opportunities and educate attendees about health and safety. Not only did our entire club attend but, from start to finish, the planning team attended to every single detail and need along the way. A special congratulations and thank you to that outstanding planning team: Nivedita, Sofia, Anu and Amritha.
1001 Arabian Nights - High School Production
“In our heads, my lord, we do contain all the images of the universe.”
In Baghdad, a young woman responds to war through the power of storytelling.
For three years, King Sharayar has tormented the women of his city, marrying a new bride every night and doing away with her in the morning.
Scheherezade is determined to stop with the only weapons she has – her wit and imagination. Night after night, the King’s newest bride weaves tales of silliness and suspense. How long can her stories save her?
A modern re-imagining of ancient tales, this workshop production, adapted and rewritten to investigate the inherent violence of the story, begins in current day Baghdad.
Some mature themes -- most age appropriate for students ages 9+.
March 13th at 5pm
March 14th at 6pm
FAC Theatre
Tickets: 200 RS. On sale at reception.
Virtual Learning Drill Update
Please plan ahead for our Virtual Learning Drill scheduled for March 25th. On this date, all students will remain home from school for a full schedule of learning using both digital and traditional materials. This is what you should expect in the days leading up to this drill and on the day of the drill.
Virtual Learning Drill Update
Please plan ahead for our Virtual Learning Drill scheduled for March 25th. On this date, all students will remain home from school for a full schedule of learning using both digital and traditional materials. This is what you should expect in the days leading up to this drill and on the day of the drill.
1.
You will receive an emergency
sms message from AISC on Tuesday March 24th notifying the community
of our plans to close school the following day.
2.
You will receive an
email shortly after the sms from the Head of School explaining the situation.
These communications are part of the drill and are not meant to cause concern.
3.
You and your child
will then receive an email from each of your section Principals further
explaining what teaching and learning will look like the following day for your
children.
4.
On the morning of March
25th at 8:30 am you will receive an email indicating that school has
begun for that day.
5.
Your child, possibly
with your help depending the age and independence of your children, will log
into Moodle to find instructions for learning.
6.
Middle and High School
students will log into their normally scheduled classes (it is a B day) and,
ideally, complete those during the normally scheduled times. It is best
to follow the schedule as closely as possible so as not to miss the teacher's office
hours, which will be open during that class.
7.
Elementary School
students and/or parents will access the homeroom teacher's Moodle page where
they will find further instructions and links for the subjects the child would
normally have on that day. Specialist teachers will link to their lessons
through the homeroom teachers' page.
8.
Students will have
opportunities to interact with teachers via both chat or video conference to
have their questions answered.
9.
In the event of
technical issues, please call our direct tech support line at (44)
2254-9029 or (44) 3357-9029.
Parent-Teacher Conferences - Link Open
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 is now open. To secure an appointment please click here.
Art Sustains - New Service Project - An Introduction by Mr. Ed Doherty
Art Sustains is a student driven service organization that works towards sustaining Tamil Nadu's cultural and natural assets with an emphasis on the arts.
Our primary goal is to support the sustainability of the arts in Tamil Nadu, through educational programs, promoting international awareness, and by providing financial assistance for artists and art communities in the area.
Beyond supporting the arts, Art Sustains believes in the importance of preserving and celebrating all cultural and natural assets of Tamil Nadu.
Aims:
- support local artists and art communities
- educate artists about health and safety
- provide educational outreach, including art instruction at local government schools/ orphanages and mural painting
- work towards preserving the cultural character of Chennai (i.e. signboard preservation and community art installations)
- work towards environmental preservation
Current Service Project - A Sign Board Family...
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Art Sustains has sponsored a team of professional sign board painters to create commissioned family and individual hand painted portraits.
Sign board painting is an art that is on the verge of extinction in India due to the availability of low cost, digital printing. As a result, Chennai and other cities throughout India are losing their character and cultural identity.
We can all help sustain this art form and work towards preserving incredible India by participating in this very personalized opportunity!
We are all unique, let us create your family’s Bollywood sign board! |
How and When?
Students will be available to take your orders and answer any questions after school in the elementary covered area on Tuesdays and outside the iHUB on Thursdays.
(order form)
In June, before school closes for the summer, we will be celebrating with an art exhibition on campus, showcasing our community portraits done in this very special vintage style.
Videos about the loss of the sign board painter:
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Social Justice Educator - Visiting Soon
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.
Nutrition Month Update
AISC has launched Nutrition Month activities in both cafeterias. This week, a number of teachers have donned chef coats to serve up fruit and vegetables while encouraging students to make healthy choices. We also held our first Fresh Snack Friday in the ES cafeteria where students were offered free servings of cut fruit and carrot sticks with ranch dip. Middle and high school students took part in a nutrition game show during recent assemblies this week; student with correct answers earned gift certificates to the iHub.
The recipe contest remains open until Monday, March 9th. Please send in your favorite recipes from the following categories: muffin, pasta, pizza, Asian non-veg, vegetable side dish and quiche/frittata. Recipes can be dropped in boxes at both the main and ES reception areas. Recipe winners will be featured on the April menu.
Summer Opportunities for Students
The counselors continue to maintain and add to their blog with summer opportunities for students. Families 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. If you are aware of programs that you'd like to share publicly, please email information to Ms. McGlamery or Ms. Larsen.
Sincerely,
Joelle Basnight
High School Principal
Jason Hicks
Secondary Associate Principal