August 31, 2012

Dear Parent Community,

Please join Ms Sweet and me on September 5^th at 8:45 in the ES Cafeteria for our first parent coffee session of the new school year. Our one hour get-together will be divided into two sessions: (1) parents will work in table groups to engage in guided conversations about the supervision of students on the playground before and after school and (2) we will visit the library where you will be introduced to our library staff and learn about the services that the library has to offer.

Please be sure to click on the Physical Education and After School Activities tabs above for important information.

Beginning next Tuesday, all students in Grades 2 to 5, with the exception of students who are in Level 1 of our English as an Additional Language Program (EAL), will take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests. Returning parents are already familiar with the MAP test and perhaps new families are too. MAP tests are administered in over 13,000 schools in more than 2,700 school districts in 50 US states. Internationally, MAP tests are taken in over 300 schools located in over 100 countries.  

MAP tests are computer adaptive tests in Mathematics, Reading and Language Usage. Computerized adaptive tests are taken on a computer. The difficulty of a test is adjusted to each student's performance. Therefore, each student sees different test questions. The difficulty of each question is based on how well the student has answered the questions up to that point. As the student answers correctly, the questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier, thus adapting to your child's level of learning. Thus, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing.

Your child’s MAP results are reported in RIT scores. This is a different type of score than a typical test that provides a percentage correct. The RIT score is an equal-interval scale, like feet and inches (or centimetres and meters), that is unrelated to age or grade level of the student. As a result, we can easily measure growth in learning. This type of score increases the value of the tests as a tool to improve student learning because it enables teachers to recognize where to focus attention for your child’s learning.  You will receive a MAP “Student Progress Report” later in the fall.

Parents often want to know how to prepare children for MAP tests. My best advice is not original advice: get a good night’s sleep and be sure to eat breakfast in the morning.

Below is a list of strands in which all students are tested:

Reading:

·         Word Analysis and Vocabulary

·         Literal Comprehension

·         Interpretive Comprehension

·         Evaluative Comprehension

·         Literary Response and Analysis

Math: 

 Number Sense and Numeration

Computation

 Measurement

Geometry

Statistics and Probability

 Problem Solving

Algebraic Concepts

Language Usage:

Writing Process

 Composition Structure

 Grammar

 Punctuation

 Capitalization

Focusing on the achievement and growth of every student is our top priority. Partnering to help all kids learn, parents and teachers can have a profound positive effect on the lives of our children. If you have any questions with regards to the MAP assessment please feel free to contact me or visit the Parent Tool Kit here.

MAP Testing Dates:

Date	Test	Classes
September 4th	Reading	2 A, B and C 4 C, D and E
September 5th	Math	4 C, D and E 2 A, B and C
September 6th	Language Usage	4 C, D and E 2 A, B and C
September 7th	Reading	2 D and 2 E
September 10th	Reading Math	4 A and B 2 D and 2 E
September 11th	Language Usage Math	2 D and 2 E 4 A and 4 B
September 12th	Reading Language Usage	3 D and E 4 A and 4 B
September 13th	Reading Math	5 D and 5 E 3 D and E
September 14th	Math	5 D and 5 E
September 17th	Reading Language Usage	5 A, B and C 5 D and 5 E
September 18th	Math Language Usage	5 A, B and C 3 D and 3 E
September 19th	Language Usage	5 A, B and C

September 21st	Reading	3 A, B and C
September 24th	Math	3 A, B and C
September 25th	Language Usage	3 A, B and C

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal

August 24, 2012

Dear Parents,

Last night we held our annual Back to School Night! Thank you so much to the parents who were able to join us; it was a great evening. Thank you to the parents who wrote in saying they could not come; we appreciated hearing from you.

Our After-School Activities (ASA) Program kicks off on Monday. I am pleased to announce that we are going to offer more soccer to our ASA roster of activities! We have added K-2 soccer on Monday and grades 3 to 5 on Thursday. We have added an additional Saturday class for K-5 which will run from 7:30 to 8:15. Please look for the “Soccer Add-On Registration Form” in your child’s Friday Folder. I wish to draw your attention to the following information:

1.  Each activity runs from 3:30pm‐4:30 pm.
2. Semester 1 begins on August 27^th and concludes on December 14^th.
3. Elementary students’ homeroom teacher or teacher assistant will walk the children to the Elementary School
4. Cafeteria where they will meet the activity leader.
5. Children may choose to eat a snack in the cafeteria prior to the beginning of their activity.
6.  Parents are asked to pick up their children in the Elementary School Cafeteria at 4:30.
7.  If you need to pick your child early, please contact the ASA personnel.

ASA Coordinator (SRIPRIYA) : 9003019492
ASA Secretary (RAMYA): 9500034250

Elementary School Choir:

The elementary school would like to encourage as many children as possible to join the choir and participate in a Christmas Tree Lighting celebration on December 3^rd. The ES Choir is a free activity and our practice is that students may choose only one free activity. To encourage children to participate in the choir (and not to eliminate them from taking another free activity), we will allow students who want to take the choir activity the option of choosing another free activity. If your child would like to join the choir, and participate in another free activity, please contact Sripriya or Ramya on the numbers above or come to the ASA office anytime between 8 am to 10 am next Monday to Wednesday. Alternatively, you may send an email to:
vsripriya@aisch.org or bramya@aisch.org.

Moodle:

AISC is pleased to announce to parents the roll-out of our Moodle learning management system. Moodle is a web-based tool that provides our community with robust digital-age communication and 21st Century teaching and learning opportunities. Our ability to offer this well-known platform is the direct result of our participation in the NESA Virtual School project, a cooperative venture between the Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools and the U.S. Department of State - Office of Overseas Schools.  To learn more about Moodle, its application in the classroom, and how to access your child's courses, please plan to attend one of the Parent Tech Connections scheduled for this Tuesday, August 28th from 8:45 - 9:45 or 2:15 - 3:15.

How To Access Moodle:

1. Go to http://virtualschool.aisch.org
2. On the Login Screen that appears click on "Login as Guest".  No password is required at this step.
3. To access courses or section-related information, click on the appropriate section at the top of the screen (All School, Middle School etc.)
4. Enter the guest-access password. This is the same for all sections: raptors12
5. Locate the course you are searching for (each section is organized slightly differently to suit section needs) and click on that course.

Guest Role Includes View-only Access to the Following:

1. Embedded course calendar
2. Course home page with all text and embedded media
3.  All files, folders, or linked pages (no access to Google Docs that are shared only with students)
4. Quiz intro pages
5. Book Resources

To access your child's work, including contributions to activities, assignments, and quizzes, you and your child may log in with his or her student credentials.  

For any questions or issues related to Moodle please email itsupport@aisch.org and our Moodle administrator will follow-up with you. 

Wishing you a fantastic weekend,

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal