Dear Students and Parents,
Thank you for your patience and participation in our first week of virtual learning.
Please take a moment to complete this quick feedback survey regarding virtual learning to help us improve in the coming week. Mr. Sherriden Masters has created a quick survey for parents.
Congratulations to our Vision for an AISC Learner honorees for March. March honored versatility - which means everyone deserves an honorable mention this month!
Versatile students adapt to changing circumstances by being resourceful, willing and able to use multiple means of meeting a challenge. A versatile student is willing to take risks and employ new strategies when encountering the unexpected. A versatile student balances commitments in a wide range of interest areas and seeks new opportunities for learning, growth, and renewal.
Grade 12 - Aafia Sait - Aafia exhibits her versatility not only through her accomplishments in various curricular and co-curricular commitments but also in her approach to learning and completing initiatives. She has chosen topics for major assignments that are often new to her and she adapts to that challenge through determination and diligence.
Grade 11 - Seoyoung Ryu - Seoyoung is an active participant. She encourages others to flourish and takes responsibility for working to a common goal by approaching her learning and her classmates with flexibility. She builds positive relationships with everyone and is able to motivate and inspire others to actively engage and collaborate.
Grade 10 - Aditya Rangarajan - Aditya is a big resource person for his group. He knows how to set and reframe his team goals based on the need of the hour and remains flexible and proactive. He is self-motivated, always takes initiative and helps everyone to flourish. He demonstrates a positive attitude.
Grade 9 - Giovanni Tronconi - Gio joined our community in the fall and has been open, adaptable and excited from day one! He expresses continued and genuine interest and gratitude for the new opportunities AISC and India are affording him. He has pursued his personal interests with flexibility, widening his interest in creative pursuits to capitalize on being in India.
Registration for 2020/21 Courses - Next Steps in a Virtual Space
For students who were unable to submit their registration verification forms before Spring Break, we ask that you complete the process by:
- Striking through courses you no longer wish to take on the verification form
- Writing in the courses you wish to take and checking you meet the prerequisites
- Collecting a parent signature on the modified sheet
- Taking a photo of the sheet and sending it to Ms. Priya (spriya@aischennai.org)
Forms should be emailed no later than 4:00 pm on March 30th. After that date, no changes will be made to course requests as the administration will use March and April to build the master timetable.
Students wishing to make course request changes after March 30th will have to wait until the end of the semester when schedules for next fall are circulated.
Enhancements to Continuity of Instruction
This week students attended virtual school. This looked a lot like attending regular school, starting each day at 8:30 am and ending each day at 3:30 pm. Now knowing that we will continue learning online through at least April 14th, we are enhancing our virtual program to become more flexible for families.
How will this be different? Starting Monday teachers will provide weekly modules available to students. Each module will represent 3 - 4 hours of engagement (4 - 5 for IB/AP students) and will include everything a student will need to learn and demonstrate for that week. A pacing guide will be included to outline a suggested study plan for each day.
A new welcome video, as well as details for what to expect in week two, will be sent to parents and students on Sunday.
University Update - A Note from the Counselors
Universities across the globe are navigating admissions and enrollment challenges with Covid-19. As individual universities release information about how they will handle admissions for the Class of 2020 given the change in IB and AP testing, the overwhelming trend demonstrates care and compassion for students and flexibility in understanding student’s final marks. Many students who have already received decisions from universities have received direct communication from their schools about this flexibility. Additionally, the high school counselors have the impression from universities all over the world that semester two of the 19/20 school year will be taken into compassionate consideration for all students. Please feel free to reach out to the high school counselors if you have questions or concerns.
Upcoming High School Parent Coffee - Format and Topic Change
The March parent coffee will take place as calendared (March 31st, 8:45 - 9:30 am) but will shift to a digital space.
The topic will be “Supporting your student’s and your family’s wellbeing in the virtual world.” The counselors will be sharing a brief webinar followed by opportunities to connect and discuss strategies with parents and counselors.
I will be moderating the meeting using features embedded in Zoom. This includes the ability for parents to raise their hands virtually to ask questions as well as to interact in break-out groups. Beyond the topic at hand, it is an opportunity for parents to experience learning in a virtual space.
To join the parent coffee please click on this link when the meeting begins. Note: you may be prompted to download the Zoom program. This takes only a minute.
Wellbeing Website - Supporting Virtual Learning
Many thanks to Ryan McFarland, Nigel Holdsworth, Jack Bissonnette and Jennifer Gold for putting together this fabulous website full of great wellness ideas presented through our wellbeing framework.
Linguistics Lab is Open Online
The Linguistics Lab is now staffed by Mr. Ben, Mr. Nick, Ms. Amy, and Ms. Marion and each is happy to help and support. Feel free to contact them throughout the week for any and all writing, research and language support needs.
Safety - Online Conferencing
As schools and universities the world over adjust to virtual learning, you may hear stories of poor or malicious conduct in virtual spaces. An example of this is “Zoom Bombing” - when someone not invited to the meeting jumps in and shares inappropriate content.
While the majority of our video conferencing online is done via Google Hangouts, which automatically limits users to our AISC domain, some larger group meetings have a need to use Zoom. Know that we will put in place all possible safeguards. You can help by ensuring you never forward meeting links to anyone outside of our community.
EAL Programs - A Message from Sarah Sahr, EAL Program Director
Greetings, AISC! As many of you might be wondering, what does English language development look like in an online classroom environment? For our fourth EAL Coffee, we will dive deep into what you can do at home to support our learners. From creating an academic schedule to taking breaks, there will be something for everyone and plenty of time participants to ask questions and seek clarification.
So, pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and join me in this Virtual EAL Coffee, Thursday, 2 April, 8:45-9:45am, for a closer look at language development in a virtual classroom. If you can't make the coffee but have a question, feel free to email me at any time (ssarah@aischennai.org).
Reminder - School Holidays in April
A reminder that there will be no virtual school on April 10th or 14th as we observe Good Friday and Tamil New Year.
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
