Dear Students and Parents,
We hope SAISA Art and Music students are having a great time in Mumbai!
A quick reminder of the upcoming CIC event:
A quick reminder of the upcoming CIC event:
Lots of celebrations this week!
In January we honored ethics in the classroom.
Ethical students show responsibility for their choices and consider the impact of choices on themselves, others and the environment. Ethical students act on their principles and ideals, supporting the dignity of others and themselves. Ethical students are role models for others, acting and articulating their views with respect, especially in challenging and uncomfortable situations.
Congratulations to:
Grade 12 - Prahalad Giridhar - Prahalad is highly principled. This comes across in most aspects of his being. He challenges his own and others thinking consistently clearly and respectfully to better understand his convictions and their impact or to change them because he believes there is a better alternative. He also acknowledges mistakes as a part of the learning process and seeks to reconcile his actions and beliefs.
Grade 11 - Seoyoung Ryu - Seoyoung always rises to the challenge of modeling good study habits and maximizes using her class time with her colleagues. She takes advantage of every moment, encouraging others to do the same. She models being eager, helpful, respectful and inclusive, showing what she feels is principled classroom behavior in all of her interactions.
Grade 10 - Achilles Daniels-Condon - Achilles is an ethical student who treats others with respect. He has a strong sense of right and wrong and is confident enough to stand for his beliefs. In class, he includes everyone in the discussion and honors others' differences. He is aware of himself as a role model for younger students and acts accordingly.
Grade 9 - Krishna (Sri Venkatakrishna Narembally) - Krishna has a great ability to articulate his views, ideals, and concerns with a great sense of respect. He takes his education seriously and stands up for himself if he needs to, in a calm manner. His points are thought through, come with great examples and he is not afraid to point out issues. He is also great at listening in discussions for other people's points of view.
Congratulations to Sanjana Kumar for being awarded the AAIE Margaret Sanders Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded each year to students who:
...demonstrate character strengths such as persistence and motivation, resourcefulness, as well as acceptance of other cultures and points of view. The nominated students should also display a genuine interest in, and sustained commitment to the welfare of others, as reflected through participation in school activities, and community/civic involvement. Factors considered in the selection process include academic achievement, financial need, and higher education and vocational aspirations that will impact future improvements within local and global communities. Leadership and service contributions that directly address community and societal needs and solutions will be considered in the selection process.
Speaking of seniors, congratulations Anusha Madhusudanan who recently had her TedXYouth talk, Being Culturally Ambiguous, uploaded to the web by the Ted administrators.
Finally, last week, as part of LitFest, students flexed their creative writing skills by writing 6-word stories and entering them into a contest. Students wrote insightful, thoughtful stories that left readers intrigued and wanting more. We had over 50 entries that spanned mystery, horror, romance, humor, and more.
The winners, as chosen by a group of students and teachers, are:
Abhi Desi, Grade 12
"Infant bones in the Mariana Trench."
"Child blessed by the Reaper's scythe."
Lekhana Gogineni, Grade 10
"She walked away with nobody following."
Rishi Bharadwaj, Grade 9
"One is a glutton; other starves."
Honorable mentions go to Johaan Jai Mittra, Grade 11, for his story, "The call of Chennai is inevitable." and to Ms. Sunita for her diverse and wise body of work. Stop by the HS CIC to see all of the entries!
All School Spirit Week
All School Spirit Week starts in a week! Thank you Middle School Student Council for defining the activities for each day:
Monday - Random acts of kindness
Examples include: open the door for someone, buy someone their favorite snack or help carry something for your friend or teacher.
Tuesday - wear an AISC shirt with Raptor pride!
Wednesday - Be kind to the environment
Don’t buy one-time-use plastic items, throw your trash in bins, pick up litter and and “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.”
Thursday - Compliment cards
Write a nice message on the paper provided for a friend or teacher, remind someone of why they are important to you or tell someone that you appreciate their work.
Friday - Air 5 Friday!
Give an air 5 to new people who you haven’t talked to before or give an air 5 to your friends, classmates, and teachers.
PowerSchool Progress Update
This Friday is a PowerSchool progress update. Teachers will make every effort to have any marked summative scores uploaded to the program as of 4:00 pm today.
Save the Date - Upcoming Parent Coffee
On Tuesday, February 25th at 8:45 am in the BBT the counselors will host a parent coffee with the theme of “adulting for teens.” Come and learn how you can support your high school students in taking greater responsibility for their lives while learning to be more self-directed before heading off to university.
Looking ahead, our March parent coffee (March 31) will be dedicated to how to support your teen in understanding rubrics and defining concrete goals and action plans for improvement. Our April coffee (April 28), the final coffee of the year, will unpack the results of our Challenge Success Survey.
SAISA Track & Field - A Note from Mr. McFarland
AISC will host SAISA Track & Field again this year. Teams will be arriving throughout the day on Wednesday and the meet events will be on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you can help with hosting students it would be very appreciated. Just fill in this form. Everyone is welcome to come to the meet and watch the events. The schedule will be posted here.
Personalize Learning Hub is Launched!
In the last 5 years, HS Personalized Learning (PL) at AISC has grown exponentially. Community members can now visit our newly launched Personalized Learning website to explore our personalized pathways. This includes course catalogs from four online providers as well as the course requirements and enrollment steps for all three options: Online Courses, Academic Personalized Learning (APL), and Passion Projects. The Personalized Learning experience is tailored to individual learning preferences and designed to build self-management and self-directed learning. Juniors and Seniors enrolled in PL courses deep-dive into social issue passions or academic subjects not currently offered at AISC.
February Counseling Newsletter - Repeat Announcement
Here is the link to the February counseling newsletter.
Next Early Release Wednesday - Repeat Announcement
The next Early Release Wednesday will be on February 26th. Students are expected to depart campus in a timely and organized fashion upon dismissal at 2:00 pm. For our Middle and High School students, a hot lunch will be served. Food services in the iHub will close at 1:50 pm. Please note that the iHub will be open to provide an air-conditioned waiting area until 2:40 pm in case drivers are delayed. We appreciate your patience with traffic on these days as all three sections are picking up students at the same time.
Summer Programs
The counseling office maintains a list of summer offerings that may be of interest. This link will remain in my notes throughout the semester and the list will be added to as opportunities arise.
Sincerely,
Joelle Basnight
High School Principal
