Dear Students and Parents,
Congratulations
to all club leaders and sponsors for representing their activities so well at
this week’s activities mela. Here are a few photos from the event:
Past
Parent Coffee Reference Materials
In case you missed it, you can find the presentations for our
parent coffees to date below.
Save
the Date - October 30th Parent Coffee
The next High School Parent Coffee will take place on
Tuesday, October 30th at 8:45 am in the BBT. The theme of the coffee is
“supporting student reflection in a standards based environment.” Mid-semester
report cards will be issued the Friday before this coffee (October 26th) and
Student, Parent, Teacher Conferences come shortly after (November 8/9). As such
the coffee help parents help their teen unpack his/her progress report, reflect
on his/her performance and prepare for conferences.
The final parent coffee of the semester will take place on
November 27th. The topic for this coffee will be “How to help your teen become
a self-advocate.” As students move toward the end of term it is important for
each of them to consider what they need to do to improve their performance
before and throughout final exams. One way to do this is to talk to their
teacher but many teens shy away from doing so. Why? And how can you, as
parents, help them find the words and confidence they need to advocate for
their own learning?
We will host three coffees next semester so feel free to mark
your calendars now!
January 29th - Topic to be determined. Please send ideas to
your grade level coordinator.
February 26th - Freedom from Chemical Dependency joint MS/HS
coffee
April 30th - Student Lifestyle Survey results debrief
Navigating
PowerSchool - Repeat Announcement
The Technology Department has created this short video to help parents
navigate PowerSchool to visit class pages. On the class page families will find
the syllabus, unit plans, class resources and other related items.
SBAR
Resources for Parents
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 - linkhere
- 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
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.
Next
Early Release Wednesday Coming
The next Early Release Wednesday will be on September 19th.
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.
Handbook
Highlight - Resolving Problems and Concerns
Just a quick reminder of the High School process for
addressing problems or concerns. This appears on page 30 fo the Handbook and
was recently highlighted as part of the PCA Grade Level Coordinator’s briefing.
Resolving problems or concerns at school is
always most effectively done when issues are brought to the immediate attention
of the person(s) most closely involved. At AISC we ask students to use the
following procedure to resolve difficulties or concerns:
- If a student’s
concern involves another student, he or she should make the other student
aware of the concern and seek to resolve it in a reasonable and respectful
manner.
- If the concern
involves classroom matters such as grades, curriculum, homework, class
behavior, etc. the student should discuss the matter with the classroom
teacher.
- If the concern
cannot be resolved with the teacher, the student should discuss it with
his or her Counselor, the Associate Principal or the Principal, as
appropriate.
- If the concern
cannot be resolved with the Counselor, Associate Principal or Principal, the
student should arrange to discuss it with Head of School.
In order to encourage personal responsibility
and the development of the skills of self-advocacy, parents should encourage
their children to resolve their concerns in the manner suggested above. Where
this is not feasible or appropriate, parents should follow the same process.
Discover
India - Repeat Announcement
The Discover India trips depart in just two weeks! Here is a list with the times that groups need to meet at the
school and the times we expect them to arrive back at the school. Each
trip has different equipment requirements, special forms, and other unique
characteristics that have been reviewed in group meetings. Note that
there is no fee for any of the trips so students should only need a small
amount of money for things like food in an airport or if they have an opportunity to shop for a
souvenir.
Sincerely,
Joelle Basnight
High School Principal
