Dear Students and Parents,
Three cheers for Spirit Week!
Also this week the Design Technology class took a field trip to the Hope School to explore their needs as part of an authentic assessment using the design cycle. Check out a short video of their experience here.
Progress Update
This Friday marks our first Progress Update. Parents and students are encouraged to visit PowerSchool to see their updated assessment marks. A reminder that no overall strand or course mark is indicated at this time. As such, students are encouraged to look at their individual assessments to identify areas of strength and growth at this time.
Should parents have any questions about academic progress please direct your initial questions to your son or daughter. If he/she is unable to share enough information then please reach out to the teacher directly.
PSAT Test - October 10th
The annual PSAT (or Pre-SAT) will be administered the morning of October 10th. Parents and students were notified via direct email earlier this week to confirm their interest taking the test. Priority is given to 10th and 11th grade students. 9th graders can take the test if extra copies are available. The deadline for communicating interest in taking the test is today. Thus, if a student is interested and has not already confirmed with Priya, please email her immediately at spriya@aischennai.org.
Discover India - A Update from Mr. McFarland
Discover India is just a week away. Some of the trips depart on Friday the 21st and many on the 22nd. The gathering and return times as well as flight or train details are all listed here. Please note that we can not allow students to be picked up after the trip from anywhere other than the AISC campus unless other arrangements are made in advance. The return times are best guess based on scheduled flight times, expected traffic at those times and the experience of our transport staff.
Please note that for all overnight trips we want students to travel with their passports and visa or residence permits (or whatever they need to travel internationally is ideal). For domestic flights airlines now require them for all foreigners. There are a variety of other reasons we may need them. Lodging providers in most areas require copies be kept. Also, some of the protected areas and parks require them. And finally, in case of an emergency, it is safest to have the essential travel documents with the student -- just in case. Rest assured, AISC staff are asked to keep them in their possession all but when students absolutely need them in-hand.
During Discover India some students will have access to wireless networks and electricity and others completely out of contact for many days. Official communication from each trip back to the school usually amounts to a simple “all is well” which is then passed on to parents. We operate under the assumption that no news is good news. Many of our trips the staff may intentionally ask for devices to only be used during certain times or put away completely in an effort to make students present for the experience. Please know that each of our operators are picked from the safest and best in the country.
Meet Nicole Merletti
Ms. Nicole Merletti hails from Buffalo, NY and has been teaching for 22 years. During her career Nicole has taught Spanish from elementary school levels through IBHL and AP Spanish. She has even taught some Italian! She has a BA in Spanish and Italian as well as a MA in Spanish Literature. Ms. Merletti loves to see her students make progress toward language proficiency and is incredibly proud when she sees students move past their initial hesitancy to blossom into excited, confident speakers. If Nicole could have a superpower it would be to travel at the speed of the character “Flash” as she would visit as many countries as possible without having to worry about transit time! Nicole’s husband, John, teaches in Elementary School and their son, Luke, is an AISC student.
Next Early Release Wednesday Coming
The next Early Release Wednesday will be on October 10th. Students are expected to depart campus in a timely and organized fashion upon dismissal at 2:00 pm. We appreciate your patience with traffic on these days as all three sections are picking up students at the same time. In preparation, please plan on allowing longer time for entry and exit to the school at release time. For our Middle and High School students, hot lunch will be served. Please note that the iHub will be open to provide an air conditioned waiting space until 2:40 pm in case drivers are delayed. Food services in the iHub will close at 1:50 pm.
SBAR Resources for Parents - Repeat Announcement
As this is our first year using standards based reporting we understand that parents may need some extra guidance. Here are some resources:
Student Handbook (available on the AISC website) - pg. 47 - 59
Parent Coffee presentations - see above
Master Syllabus List - link here
Navigating PowerSchool Video - see above
Course and Strand Rubrics - see individual syllabi for links
Unit Plans - see individual PowerSchool course pages
At this point in the term all students should be able to explain to your the SBAR system in general and illustrate how it works with concrete examples from their courses. Here are some helpful questions you can use to get your teen talking:
What is the difference between knowledge/understanding, thinking/transfer and communication in ___ subject? The student should be able to explain this fully using the strand rubrics as well as information from the unit plan(s).
In ___ course, what is the relative importance of the three reporting strands? The student should be able to show you the course rubric and explain which of the three strands (or which combination) is emphasized the most in the course.
In this unit, what can you expect to be held accountable for in your assessments? The student should be able to show you the unit plan, explain the standards he/she is responsible for and where each standard and strand is being assessed formatively and summatively.
Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences - Save the Date - Repeat Announcement
While November is still some time away, we wanted to bring to your attention a slight change on our first semester conference plan. With the new reporting structure we anticipate a higher than average number of families who may wish to conference. Thus, we have increased the number of appointment times available.
Please note the following conference schedule:
Thursday, November 8th - 8:00 - 10:00 am
Drop In Conference for all families. These are casual check in opportunities in the gymnasium and families catch teachers as they become available. Conferences are limited to 7 - 10 minutes. Families who want to put a name with a face or to just check in briefly with a teacher are encouraged to attend.
Thursday, November 8th - 10:30 am - 4:00 pm
By appointment conferences in classrooms for families who have students participating in CHEMUN. The link to book appointments will be sent to such families first with additional families able to take remaining spots if available. By appointment conferences are 10 - 12 minutes in length and must be arranged in advance. Such conferences are best for families who may wish for a little more time or an increased sense of privacy.
Friday, November 9th - 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
By appointment conferences in classrooms for families who do not have students participating in CHEMUN. Please see description above.
CHEMUN is the Chennai Model United Nations and is schedule from November 9th - 11th. We normally have almost half of our High School students participating. As such, those students are given priority to have their conferences on the 8th as they will be otherwise occupied on the 9th.
Sincerely,
Joelle Basnight
High School Principal
