Friday, 29 May, 2020

Dear Students and Parents,
Lots to celebrate this week!

Another set of radio plays are ready for you to enjoy! There is bonus footage of other performances from the year too!

Our IB Year Two students have completed their transdisciplinary projects - check them out here!

Our virtual graduation ceremony will take place tomorrow, Saturday, May 30th. Graduates and their families will be watching the event in real-time together on Zoom and we invite the rest of the community to enjoy the ceremony by tuning into the graduation website and watching the ceremony at 4:00 pm. Congratulations Seniors! We are so proud of you!

Every year we say goodbye to valued faculty and this year is no different. Please join me in wishing our departing faculty all the best in their next adventure! Goodbye and be well to Susannah McGlamery, Todd Cota, Rob Gold, Ed Doherty, Margaret Carsello, Cary Stewart, Deb Lee, Roger Bodary, James Dowling, and Beth Rappe.

Our Mission Honorees for the 2019/2020 School Year!

Recognition for Courage and Confidence goes to a student who is willing to challenge him/herself both inside and outside of the classroom. This student is open to new ideas and moves into the unknown. This student takes risks, is resilient, and advocates for what he/she believes in.  Pictures from the event will be shared with families soon.

Grade 9: Rishi Srini Bharadwaj
Grade 10: Esperance de Lattre
Grade 11: Vikram Naronha
Grade 12: Sooji Lim

Recognition for Creativity goes to a student who uses his/her knowledge, imagination, and inquiry to produce new insights, products, or solutions. This student is inspired to explore and expand boundaries both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Grade 9: Arsh Khanna
Grade 10: Sangjun Lee
Grade 11: Juyang Kim
Grade 12: Ahira Varkey

Recognition for Compassion goes to a student who actively cares for others and the world around him/her, showing initiative, independence, and responsibility in improving the lives of others. This student celebrates uniqueness and diversity while giving support or voice to those who are voiceless. 

Grade 9: Shandaneh Penker
Grade 10: Noa Daryn
Grade 11: Hye Kyo Alice Lee
Grade 12: Sessy Ashok

Recognition for International Mindedness goes to a student who respects and values others while demonstrating a strong understanding of his/her own cultural identity. This student actively seeks to learn about local, national, and global issues show empathy for all and care for the world. 

Grade 9: Byeongchan Kang
Grade 10: Chloe Bridgeland
Grade 11: Frida Junglov
Grade 12: Trevor Bridgeland

Our Final Vision for an AISC Learner Monthly Honorees

May honors reflection: 

Reflective students take the time to think about their goals, their learning, and their growth in order to develop and sustain their lifelong learning.  Reflective students wonder why and consider how, plan self- and community improvement, seek feedback, and apply it.  Reflective students seek to understand the connections between goals, efforts, and results in their and others' experiences.  Reflective students examine and review their own ideas and actions in relation to the world and consider their interdependence and impact on others.  

Grade 12: Sanjana Kumar - Sanjana has an inner reflective voice that is person-centered. She considers her words carefully and is aware of how they impact others. She seeks feedback in conventional ways and, more importantly, from reading the room.  This clearly comes from a mature and regular practice of self-reflection which is made manifest in the classroom formally and in the hallways informally.

Grade 11:Younghyun Shin- Younghyun is genuinely interested in the concepts we are learning and is highly reflective about how they connect to each other, and to the world beyond school. Through trial and error, and much reflection, he has identified what study methods work for him. He seeks and applies feedback consistently and effectively to deepen his understanding and refine his ideas. He is highly introspective and has worked hard to become a self-directed and reflective learner. 

Grade 10:Seungyun Shin - Seungyun reflects on her work and ideas, as well as seeking feedback from others. She goes to great lengths to plan and formulate answers and thinks about issues from multiple sides before deciding on a path. Then she reflects on the story she wants to convey to her audience and strives to make it happen.

Grade 9: Daeun Jung - Daeun is a deep thinker who takes time to consider multiple facets of any situation, issue, or problem. Not only does she do this naturally on her own, she also seeks out feedback from others and reflects on ways to improve her work. She is full of questions (a sign of true reflection) and puts forth the mental effort to explore multiple pathways and possibilities.



And June honors innovation: 

Innovators approach challenges with confidence, and design novel solutions in the face of uncertainty and change.  Innovators are creative, resourceful, open-minded, and courageous, seeking new perspectives through inquiry, trial, error, and feedback.  Innovators demonstrate a willingness to try new things, take risks, and share unique and original ideas. Innovators ask, "Why not...?" and challenge and change the status quo through their ideas and actions.

Grade 12: Advika Srinivasan - Advika has been an impressive innovator through in her approaches to her online course as well as extensive preparations for her final projects. She demonstrated this mindset all the way to the end of her learning, and the lack of ego she showed in sifting through choices, deciding what to carry forward, and what to leave behind, was inspirational.

Grade 11: Seoyoung Ryu - Seoyoung has shown a lot of innovation this year, both in and out of the classroom. She has stepped out of her comfort zone and taken risks by trying new experiences and opportunities. She has also shown resourcefulness in the completion of tasks and has learned from her mistakes. 

Grade 10: Lekhana Gogineni - Lekhana is open-minded and willing to try new things. She listens to others' perspectives and is open to doing things a different way, even if it is something she hasn't tried before. She is courageous in awkward and difficult situations; sticking with her convictions and looking for unique ways to move forward.

Grade 9: Shanmugam Ganeshan-Shanmugam thinks a lot about the world and shows concern for modern-day problems. He seeks innovative solutions to difficult issues and applies great questioning, resourceful research gathering, and out-side-of-the-box thinking.



Finally, two members of our MUN Impact chapter have been named to leadership positions in the Global chapter! Congratulations:
  • Noa Daryn: South Asia Diplomat 
  • Sanjana Kumar: Co-Deputy Secretary-General, South Asia
Digital Yearbook - A Temporary Fix

Earlier this week students received login details to view our Yearbook digitally. We will alert you when the printed books arrive. Families still in Chennai can collect them at school and we will mail the additional books to families who have departed. 

Login: raptors2020@aisc
Report Cards, Transcripts, and Other Documentation
We know that you are eagerly awaiting access to printed documentation from the school. As soon as the governmental order of school closure is lifted we will return to campus to prepare the documentation and make it available for pick up. 
In the meantime, final achievement scores will be viewable in PowerSchool from June 3rd and digital versions of report cards downloadable from June 10th. Directions for how to access and download reports can be found here. Digital copies of transcripts and other paperwork can be requested by contacting Sunita or Priya in the High School Office anytime after June 3rd. 
Schedules for the 2020/21 School Year
As we continue to navigate the uncertainty of how the start of the school year will unfold, we will release schedules to students in late July with an extended drop/add period when classes begin. Thank you for your understanding.
Interesting Data from the Technology Office

As we move into week 10 and the completion of virtual school for this academic year, we have an opportunity to consider some data to gain insight into the incredible collaboration and creative capacity in our school and community. School-wide, since the 23rd of March our students and teachers have received over 1.2 million emails, made 130,000 new files and spent nearly 1.5 million minutes in Google Video meetings together learning, thinking, and sharing.

Our High School students have submitted over 5000 assignments, and have routinely clocked over 1000 logins per day on PowerSchool, spending over 150,000 minutes within that learning system. They have contributed to 40,000 Google documents and collaborated to build 7500 presentations decks during their online time together. This kind of electronic productivity shows us the degree of preparedness our students have to operate deftly in an online world, and the talent our teachers have to guide them in doing so.

As ever, it is not just the quantity, but the quality and commitment that we want to celebrate. The new learning opportunities, the connectedness we find, and the meaning we make. This can be seen in the Learning Celebrations, Recognition Ceremonies, Learning Conferences, and the stories of virtual learning that each of our students shares.

To support students during the summer, we will be allowing students and families to access all of the amazing activities and learning content on PowerSchool through mid-July to review, revisit, or just reminisce on the learning activities experienced this spring.
From the Health Office: Important Information About Student Medical Forms

Student health and safety are of the utmost importance to AISC.  In order for us to ensure that students are able to participate in activities and for our Health Office to give proper care, we need up-to-date and accurate medical information for all students.  Please be sure to return to school next year with the proper forms completed and turned in to the Health Office.  
Form
For
Completed and signed by:
All students every year
Parent
New students and those entering grades 3, 6, or 9
Physician
Any students that take medicine during the school day.
Parent with attached copy of prescription
Any students that have allergies or asthma
Parent
From the School-Wide Counseling Team-  Looking Ahead to the Summer Holiday 
Your children have just finished the 2019-20 school year! This year has had many high points and, more recently, its share of challenges. One thing to appreciate is that we all found ways to tap into some important strengths during this final quarter of the year - strengths such as determination, patience, gratitude, caring, self-management, creativity, kindness, humor, and flexibility, just to name a few. While some of these came more easily to each of us than others, through this experience we have surely grown in ways that we might not yet realize. Through our hardship, our worry, and our ability to develop a “new normal” for ourselves and our families, we have sown the seeds of perseverance, personal growth, and optimism that will benefit us in the future.  
And as we look back and reflect on the year, we may also find ourselves looking ahead to the summer holiday. Long stretches of time will unfold before us. For some, both adults and children, this will be a welcome prospect and for others a daunting thing to consider. With that in mind, we have put together some suggestions for you and your children to consider as you go about making your summer plans.  
Try to find a family rhythm for the days. Some may prefer to have structured times of day for certain activities posted in a common space; others may prefer looser and more general blocks of time for the day. This will likely depend on the ages, temperaments, and work-from-home constraints of each of your family members. Some things to consider fitting into your days: family time, alone time, help around the house time, outdoor time (if possible), physical activity time, meal times, bedtimes.  
Work with your child ahead of time to create a list of wide-ranging options for family time and/or alone time. It can be challenging to try to think up ideas at the moment but if you’ve brainstormed some ideas ahead of time and have them ready to go, everyone is more likely to happily join in. Click HERE to hear more about this idea, see some examples and even purchase a set of family connection cards, if you aren’t feeling very creative right now. Click HERE for a list of 101 strength-based actions that might give you some additional ideas. And for even more suggestions, take a look at these:
Investigate alternatives to summer camps. If you had planned for your child to attend a summer camp this summer and it seems like those plans may not happen now, below are some ideas for you and your child to consider. Most of these options serve a wide range of age groups so investigate the sights well. 
  • Camp Wonderopolis is the free online summer-learning destination that's full of fun, interactive STEM and literacy-building topics boosted by Maker experiments!
  • Keep your hands active and your mind engaged with Creativebug. Experience the joy of making with thousands of video classes taught by designers and artists. 
  • DIY. org: Huge library of hands-on projects and how-to videos. Creative projects and courses ranging from “Build Your Own Machine” and “Drawing Bootcamp” to “Strange Science” and “Host a Minecraft Video Show.” 
  • Check out Outschool  - live, online summer camp options for kids. Fill their break with fun learning experiences from home. 
  • Wide Open School: A vast collection of online learning resources curated by the editors of Common Sense Media. A proposed daily schedule might give shape to the hours.
  • If you have an older child who had made plans for an academic enrichment course or summer job that has now been canceled, consider the ideas here, here and here. 
Help your child find options for getting the physical activity that appeal to them. Keeping up physical activity is vital to our overall health and research shows that exercise boosts the immune system, reduces stress and anxiety, supports better sleep and focus. If you have access to the outdoors, that will give you and your child a wide variety of options for physical activity. However, if you find yourself inside more than not, you can try some of these options:
Encourage your child to stay connected to friends and extended family. We know how vital maintaining positive relationships are for our wellbeing and it will be important for your child to have other connections beyond just the family they are living with over the summer months. While, these days, this may involve some extra screen time, consider the different options suggested for ES kids and for MS/HS kids in THIS article. In addition, apps like Houseparty,  Gather and Netflix Party might be a fun change from skype/zoom/WhatsApp. For those of you who like to connect by playing games, here are some ideas for classic board games with a touch of tech,  online games to play with friends and games (younger) kids can play virtually with friends. Remember that Commonsensemedia.org is always a great place to check out whether a game, app, or movie might be appropriate for your child’s age.  
And with that, the Counseling Team would like to wish you and your family a lovely summer holiday full of moments to savor. We have some members of our team moving on this year and those of us departing from AISC would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of you. We have enjoyed working with your children and our work with them would not have been possible without your support. Thank you for entrusting us with your children and for partnering with us to support them as they navigate through different opportunities, changes, and challenges as students at AISC. We have also loved partaking in and celebrating your children's growth and success and our time here at AISC has been more meaningful because we got a chance to be a small part of their student journey. A sincere thank you from Nigel Holdsworth, Susannah McGlamery, Jennifer Gold, and Vanessa Kim. 

Procedures for Returning School Items - A Note from the HS Office
- Repeat Announcement

All high school students in grades 9-11 returning/non-returning to AISC will receive an individual email outlining the items/money owed to school or any refund from the school on Wednesday, May 27th.

Students can choose to return items through any of the options given below. 

If presently in Chennai:
  • You can drop the items with a returning AISC family, in a bag labeled with the student’s name and grade. 
  • You can drop the items at the AISC gate when the lockdown is lifted and the movement around the city eases, in a bag labeled with your name and grade. 


If not presently in Chennai:
  • Please check with your employer if they can help you return the items to the School when possible. 
  • Please pay the cost of the non-returned items.
  • Return the items when campus reopens for the 2020-21 school year (only for returning students).

Please communicate the option that you will be choosing with the picture of the items to be returned to  ssunita@aischennai.org  

Procedures for Withdrawing from School - A Note from the HS Office 
- Repeat Announcement

Students who are withdrawing from AISC will receive an electronic withdrawal form for submission. All students are expected to drop their books/materials sealed in a bag labeled with their name and grade to the security desk by June 3rd. If you are departing earlier than June 3rd, please plan accordingly.

Please take a picture of all the items that you are handing in and email Ms.Priya spriya@aischennai.org for clearance.

If there are books/materials pending, an email will be sent individually with the online payment details.

If your family is unable to drop the books/materials at school, please make that arrangement through your peers or family friends.

Student records, transcripts, or refunds will be issued after all materials are returned and dues for lost items have been paid.

Please note: Seniors have received an email from Ms. Priya on May 20th with specific instructions. Please email her directly if you have a question.

Sincerely,

Joelle Basnight
High School Principal


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