Dear Students and Parents,
Many thanks to all of the parents of seniors who contributed to yesterday’s senior surprise!
April is about Empathy! Please join me in congratulating this month’s Vision for an AISC Learner honorees based on their empathy in the classroom:
Empathetic students appreciate their own cultures and perspectives while respecting the values and background of others, believing each person has equal intrinsic value. Empathetic students show a willingness to consider, include and support the values, beliefs and point of view of others. Empathetic students show understanding of the needs of others and compassion by extending help to those in need and making positive contributions to local and global communities and the environment.
Noluenn Urvoy! Noluenn shows empathy in her approach to topics that come up in class, considering multiple perspectives and truly putting herself in the shoes of others. She demonstrates compassion by exhibiting patience and kindness when others need additional help. When others might become exasperated by someone who asks repeated questions, Noluenn answers, explains, and answers again without the slightest sign of impatience.
Mahra Payne! Mahra's classroom contributions shine when she works with others. She cares deeply about the welfare of those around her and reaches out when she sees them distressed. She personally understands struggle and challenge, and she uses her own experience to relate to classmates. She willingly offers help in class and out, trying to lift her peers' spirits any way she can.
Nivetha Kumar! Nivetha was an integral part of the Invisible Disabilities Day. She volunteered to participate, was responsible with follow-through, and performed live-music of the day despite her own performance anxiety. She did all of this just because she cares about the people she knows with hidden disabilities and wants to raise awareness!
Valentine Bassett! Valentine is attuned to and reacts to everybody in the room. She feels their ups and she feels their downs. Valentine sometimes struggles to summon the courage to speak up and offer help, particularly when the peer needing help is older, but she shows a clear understanding of others' situations.
Please also join me in congratulating the students honored with year end awards in athletics!
Varsity Athlete of the Year (Female): Adrienne Hoover
Varsity Athlete of the Year (Male): Jordan Archer
Ironwoman Award (Female): Kavya Gopinath
Ironman Award (Male): Gyanendra Sengar
Most Improved Athlete of the Year (Female): Nina Kumar
Most Improved Athlete of the Year (Male): Max Harrison
Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year (Female): Asuka Hayashi
Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year (Male): Liam Eldred
Scholar Athlete of the Year: Sohee Park
Parent Coffee - Follow Up and Presentation Link
Thank you to those parents who joined the counselors at the HS Parent Coffee this week. Counselors unpacked the results of this year's High School Student Lifestyle Survey; the presentation is attached. As parents dialogued about what they might do with the information shared in the presentation, a request for support in how to talk with kids about difficult issues came up. Please find the attached resource from Common Sense Media that shares a wealth of information about how to talk with your child about all things media related and a resource from the Society of Prevention of Teen Suicide.
Counselors will host a parent coffee in the 2017-18 school year about how to talk with your teens about and support them with difficult issues. A lively discussion is anticipated!
Screening of the documentary “Screenagers”
On Tuesday the 16th of May from 3:45pm to 5:30pm we will be hosting a screening and brief discussion on the documentary film Screenagers. The film explores how screen time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance. Parents who have seen the film have said they now feel more confident and better equipped to establish balance around screen time.
We are inviting parents and their children (recommended age 10 and up) to attend this event which we are providing for free in the FAC Theater. The film will be viewed with Korean subtitles.
Final Skyward Progress Update Approaching
Teachers are hard at work marking summative assessments in preparation for our final progress update of the year. Up to date marks will be available as of 4:00 pm on Friday, May 12th. As always, please direct initial inquiries to your son/daughter and, then, follow up with teachers directly as needed.
High School Art Show - Reminder
Please come by the FAC Atrium to see the High School Art Exhibition anytime before May 4th. The art students are excited to show off their work!
AP/IB Study Leave - Reminder
Believe it or not AP and IB exams will begin shortly. IB Certificate students and AP students receive study leave as per their individual exam schedule. They are excused from the morning or afternoon before their exam and the morning or afternoon of their exam. For example, as student who has a Monday afternoon exam will be excused from classes on Monday morning. The exception to this pattern is a Monday morning exam. Students with Monday morning exams are expected to be in class the Friday before.
Students are welcome to spend their study leave on or off campus. If on campus students should be engaged in study, not socializing, the CIC, iHub, Commons or High School Office. Students found to be abusing study leave will lose the privilege.
Department Highlight - Spotlight on Science
The science department adopted the Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS) two years ago. These standards, which focus on the disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts of science, as well as science and engineering practices, provide rich learning opportunities for students of all ages.
Earlier this month, the high school and middle school science teachers were fortunate to work with Suzie Boss, an expert on Project-Based Learning, who works closely with the Buck Institute of Education. We explored the power and potential of having students learn by engaging with authentic challenges or issues, and we are excited about building more PBL opportunities into our core and elective science courses next year. Our hope is that this will make science learning more engaging, relevant, and meaningful for all students. Some examples of projects we are currently planning include:
- Environmental science: exploring ecological issues that are directly affecting Chennai
- Biology: expanding student understanding of homeostasis by connecting it to the challenges they might face during their Discover India trips
- Chemistry: using thermodynamics to design a device that keeps homes cool
- Physics: designing a roller coaster chair for optimum fun and minimum discomfort
One thing that we are particularly excited about is connecting with local organizations and experts to allow the students to contribute to the community in a meaningful way, and enrich the learning experience. If you are interested in hearing more or sharing ideas with us, please contact any member of the science department.
Sincerely,
Joelle Basnight
High School Principal