Dear Students and Parents,
Five more exciting radio plays are now available for your listening pleasure. Well done Theater students!
A Note from the High School Counselors - Universities and the Credit/No Credit Option
Over the last months, the counselors have received notifications from universities around the world expressing empathy towards and understanding of the experience of students in light of disruptions caused by Covid-19. In these communications, universities have shared that they will be very flexible when looking at scores for classes from this semester. They understand that this situation was unexpected and that students from all over the world have had a variety of experiences with virtual learning. Please keep this in mind when considering options for credit/no credit. If you feel that your scores have been negatively impacted by the current situation and your SBAR scores are lower than what you would normally earn, choosing credit/no credit might be worth consideration. That being said, we cannot guarantee how universities will consider this decision when viewing student applications.
Each year, the counseling department creates a document called the high school profile that provides universities with information about AISC and our students. A copy of the high school profile is included with every transcript that we send to universities. In the high school profile for the 2020-2021 school year, we will include detailed information about the option for credit/no credit that has been given to AISC high school students this semester. The counselor letter of recommendation to universities can also be used to provide context on student work during this semester.
While the counselors have received notifications from universities worldwide, the most specific information regarding flexibility with scores for Semester 2 of the 2019-2020 school year has come from universities located in the United States. If you are considering universities outside of the U.S., we highly recommend finding more information on how specific universities might view this decision by visiting university websites and/or contacting university admissions offices directly.
We understand that this is a complicated decision, counselors are here to help! We are happy to have conversations with students and parents that would like to discuss this decision further.
From the Whole School Counseling Team - Staying Calm
The end of the school year typically brings much excitement and also a bit of sadness. This year we add the challenge of saying goodbye virtually. As we look back over the past 8 weeks, there have been many good things that have happened for families as well as some difficult changes. The ending of this school year is quite different than we expected a few months ago. With that in mind, The Child Mind Institute offers Strategies for Staying Calm. These are so welcome right now.
1. Keep a sense of perspective - There are many things out of our control right now. What do we have control over?….. We can plan for the short term using our solution-focused thinking (thinking about what is working well now and doing more of that), we can say goodbye to the school year and leavers. If you are leaving you can say goodbye virtually and know you will be missed. We can connect virtually and be kind to one another.
2. Acceptance - This end of the year is not going to look like how we imagined it 2 months ago. But we can reach out to one another with gratitude and goodbyes. Our gratitude will be enough. We will get through this.
3. Lean on each other - many of you are helping others in and beyond the AISC community. This is very important. The memories of our current isolated life will eventually fade away but we will remember the help others gave us. Students will remember friendships, the joys of life on campus, and the creativity and comradery of ending the year online.
We hope you find some calm during these last couple of weeks and, as always, know that we are here to support you and your children.
Important Announcement: Semester Two Report Card/Transcript Option -
Final Repeat Announcement
Our high school team has been monitoring the narrative online about university admissions in the face of COVID-19. We have attended webinars, read countless new stories, done considerable research, and made direct contacts with university representatives across the globe.
Like many of you, we have watched high schools across the United States adopt a credit/no credit system for this semester as more and more universities have publicly announced that such a system would not disadvantage prospective applicants. Yet, other publications have expressed concern that a forced credit/no credit system penalizes high achieving students, especially in the face of canceled IB exams and modified AP exams. Outside of the U.S., universities have been less forthcoming about the potential impact of credit/no credit for this semester.
To remind universities of the potential impact of COVID-19 on student performance, we will add a note to all transcripts indicating the lockdown conditions faced by students and the timing of our shift to virtual learning. The same will be reflected on the school profile for the next four years.
Upon considering the information we have to date, we will extend a “credit/no credit” option to families as follows:
- Students must meet our attendance criteria (no less than 85% attendance) and complete all summative assessments. This includes the final assessment of the semester, alternative or traditional, scheduled between May 18 - 28.
- Students will receive report cards in the same format as semester one. This will include learning habits ratings, scores in the three achievement strands and personalized comments.
- Student achievement results will be available on PowerSchool as of 4:00 pm, June 3rd. This can be seen by clicking “quick look-up.”
- Upon reviewing student performance, families will have five days to decide if they wish to opt for “credit/no credit” for the semester. If this option is desired, parents must email Ms. Basnight (cc: to Ms. Sunita, Ms. Priya, the student’s counselor and the student) anytime between 8:00 am June 4th and 8:00 am on June 9th to make the request.
- For students opting for credit/no credit, the achievement scores on the report card and transcript will be replaced with “CR” (score of 3 or above) or “NCR” (score of 2 or below).
- The option of credit/no credit is only available for all courses this semester, not by individual course and a note will be added to the transcript indicating that the student opted for credit/no credit for the term.
Families need not take any immediate action. We are sharing this option now simply to raise awareness. We believe that many families will decide to keep the reports as is, with achievement scores in place. Students are expected to remain engaged in their learning and complete all final assessments regardless of the choice they will make in early June. Students who either (a) fall below our attendance requirements or (b) do not complete all summative assessments will receive no credit in the corresponding course. In other words, while this option may relieve some pressure for students not achieving at the level they hoped, it should not be viewed as permission to disengage from school in the final month of studies.
Sincerely,
Joelle Basnight
High School Principal
