March 1, 2013

Dear Parents,

Ms Sweet and I would like to remind you that our next Parent Coffee with the ES Administration will be on Wednesday, March 6th in the elementary school library. The topic of this meeting will be student-led conferencing. Beginning in the fall of 2013, the traditional parent-teacher conference will be replaced with the student-led conferencing. Ms. Deepa, Ms. Sherman, Ms. Kristina, and Ms. Chris will be leading this presentation.

Last week, I wrote about the several visitors we had on campus and the many wonderful learning opportunities for teachers to enhance their classroom practice. A commitment to quality professional learning is one of the characteristics of an effective school. It enables staff to develop the skills and knowledge which is central to improving student learning.

This week, let's take a look inside some of our classrooms to "see" just some of the many exciting and creative learning experiences in which children are engaged. Our first stop is Ms. Jayasri Santosh's PS 3+ class. This week, students were introduced the iPad for the first time. The children were super excited to get their hands on an iPad. They learned the key vocabulary words on how to operate an iPad and later played with the app called Agnitus. Agnitus is a free educational app designed to teach children about math, colors, shapes, and much more. 

                                                       

As I continued my journey, I happened to look into Ms. Kristie's classroom and saw children hunched over aquariums. Exciting! I entered the room and within a few seconds, students told me that they were studying organisms, and that they were learning about two different environments for organisms—the aquarium (water) and the terrarium (land). Ms. Kristie told me that the Grade 2 teachers want children to develop a deeper appreciation for the diversity of life and to cultivate a sense of respect for all living things.  

                   

                                          

Next, I found myself in Ms. Kamini's Grade 3 classroom where the students of 3D opened their classroom door to their parents. The students read the non-fiction books they wrote using Book Creator on the iPads.  They talked about the investigation they are doing in science and demonstrated their understanding of the different types of rocks by walking their parents through the brochure they made as a class. Then it was on to social studies. The students showed their parents 3D models of the imaginary islands they created. I even assumed the role of student, and three students talked to me about the model they built. Finally, everyone watched a Google Earth presentation during which time each student showed his/her home along with other information they had written that colorfully caught the audience's attention through explanations using their five senses. The students were really excited and did a great job informing their parents on what has been happening in the classroom.

                                     

                                        

This journey would not be complete without a story from the 3rd floor. The students of 5D enjoyed the morning of Tuesday, February 26th reading and creating poetry. The day was even more special because the students worked  with their mothers.“A ‘Haiku’ is a Japanese form of poetry,” Alessio could be heard explaining. This was the kind of poetry that was the focus of the morning. To kick off their creative minds, the students produced a special type of artwork using the beauty of symmetry. The children then created beautiful poetry, using their artwork as a source of inspiration. What a grand way to begin the unit of poetry! It truly was a celebration of learning!

                   

This has been yet another great week of fun and learning at AISC. I thank the many parents who were able to be in their child's classroom this week, or  those were involved in some other way. Our mission statement is alive! "Together we inspire a love of learning..." I wish I had the space to share pictures of the many exciting experiences happening in each one of our 34 classrooms; the journey continues!

Please be sure to click on ES Physical Education News about the upcoming swimming units and the After School Activities link for information about an international sports camp coming to AISC.  

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall
Elementary School Principal

February 22, 2013

Dear Parents,

This has been an incredible week of learning, and I don’t mean just for the children! We have been so fortunate this week to have several well-respected educators on campus working with elementary, middle and high school teachers. This week we welcomed:

·         Mr. Tim Rylands, is on campus from Feb. 20th - 26^th. He is working with our Elementary School teachers and students and Middle School Humanities teachers and students to explore the creative potential that exists when writing and technology come together. During our Professional Development Day today, these teachers worked with Mr. Rylands from 8:15 to lunch time. This quote, taken from Tim's website, accurately describes his presentation today: "His use of immersive worlds, in a variety of computer games, form just one part of his many innovative ideas for developing writing, visual literacy, speaking and listening skills, music and much more, in children of all ages and abilities." (http://www.timrylands.com/what-tim-offers/)

·         Dr. Erma Anderson, who has been coming to AISC for the past 18 months, worked with Middle and High School Math and Science teachers as they evaluate, study, plan and make  adjustments to the teaching and learning for those content areas. 

·         Dr. Tamela Canale, from the American International School Budapest, worked with our World Language Department to conduct a program review and provide requested professional development for our WL teachers.

·    Mr. Tim Walters, worked with the High School teachers and some Middle School teachers on finding the purposeful connections between inquiry-based learning and the Theory of Knowledge approaches.

At AISC, our teachers are committed to ongoing professional development.The best professional development is “ongoing, experiential, collaborative, and connected to and derived from working with students and understanding their culture.” (http://www.edutopia.org/teacher-development).

EAL Parent Presentation: This past Wednesday, Ms. Karen, Ms. Deepa, Mr. Rob and Ms. Ahuja, led an in-service for parents of English Language Learners in the elementary school. Much of the focus was on helping parents with strategies to support their child in the area of reading. Please click on the link below to access documentation that was distributed during this meeting.

English-French

English-KOrean

English-Japanese

India Week: Last Friday afternoon, we capped off another India Week with colourful performances by our Grades 3 to 5 students. I hope you enjoy the video.

Lunch Orders:  Please place your online lunch orders for the period March 4th - Mar 22nd.  

Lunch order link

Lunch menu link

 Please remember:

1) Please place your online order and pay by March 1^st.

2) Enter student's name as per school records (first name, family name), select the Grade and Section.

2) Please 'Submit' only once (re-sending will duplicate orders).

3) You can get your order confirmation printout and receipt when you pay at the cash counter.

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal

February 15, 2013

Dear Parents,

I hope that you and your children enjoyed India Week! I want to thank our Indian Studies teachers, Ms Anu and Ms Bindu, for organizing such a fantastic week. I would also like to thank the following people for their contributions: Mr Joseph (decorations), Mr. Vasanth, Ms. Shireen and Mr. Finny (music), Ms. Hope, Ms.  Evelyn, Ms. Monica and Ms. Sripriya (dance demos) and Ms. Priscilla (grade 2 dances, Ms. Jenisha and Ms. Evelyn (grade 5 dance). Ms. Aarthi (grade 3 dance), Mrs. Meena Rao (yoga instruction) and to Ms Megan (webquest design). Also, thank you to our student presenters, Aditya Thota and Rhea Pahuja (PS-K assembly) and Jina Park and Reuben Nielsen (grades 3 to 5 assembly). Please click to here view pictures from the Pre-School-Grade 2 India Week performance. I will have pictures from the grade 3 to 5 performance in next week’s Principal’s Notes.

Facts about India  Source: http://knowindia.gov.in/myindia/myindia_frame.php?id=10

• When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization)
• The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.
• The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
• Chess was invented in India.
• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which originated in India.
• The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C.
• The world's first granite temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.
• India is the largest democracy in the world, the 7th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.

A reminder from last week….. The members of the Roots & Shoots Club, are very excited to announce that AISC is getting greener every day! AISC is removing all paper cups on February 15^th. Most of our students do carry a water bottle to school, but if your child does not have one, you still have a few days to purchase one before the paper cups are removed. 

Parents, please join Elementary EAL Coordinator Karen Sumaryono and ESL Teachers Deepa Jacob, Kathryn Ahuja and Rob Martin for a discussion of our English as an Additional Language (EAL) Program Grades 1-5 in the Elementary Cafeteria.

Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013

8:45-9:45 AM

Agenda:

·         Inclusion Pilot and Changes

·         Understanding Reading & Literacy “Workshops”

·         Helping Your Child at Home

·         Parent Questions and Comments

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal

February 8, 2013

Dear Parents,

I write to you today from Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I am attending an international school teacher recruitment fair. The pace here is intense, but what a great experience it is to meet and talk with many amazing educators from all over the world. Speaking of intensity, a major winter storm is intensifying and is expected to dump at least 30 cms of snow on Boston today.

The members of the Roots & Shoots Club, are very excited to announce that AISC is getting greener every day! AISC is removing all paper cups on February 15^th. Most of our students do carry a water bottle to school, but if your child does not have one, you still have a few days to purchase one before the paper cups are removed. Why is this being done? Here are some convincing reasons:

* Our calculations tell us that the school uses more than 5,500 paper cups per day. That is about 1,000,000 paper cups per year! That means just in the elementary school we use over 2,000 cups a day.

* We know paper cups come from trees, so think of all the trees being cut down for something we only use one time then throw away.

* Paper cups are not recyclable, so they just create more garbage. 

For many of us, this shift will have little effect, since most students and faculty have already adopted the practice of bringing a reusable water bottle to school. Reducing the reliance on paper cups is not just a great habit but is also considered an integral part of 21^st century learning. In the 2010 publication, “A Guide to Becoming a School of the Future,” educators described the skills and understandings students should possess to meet the challenges of this new century. It is written that leadership, commitment to environmental issues, and collaboration are essential for success in school and life. It is in this spirit of progressive research and concern for a sustainable future that AISC has reduced the availability of paper cups. Paper cups will be located in key areas, including the corridors outside the gym.

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal

February 1, 2013

Dear Parents,

February is here and what an exciting month it is going to be! Next week, we welcome Diane Stanley, internationally acclaimed author and illustrator of more than fifty books for children. I would like to thank Mr. Jet, the author visit team and the library staff for all the pre-arrival planning and preparation that you have undertaken. Also, I would like to extend a tremendous thank you to Kindergarten TA Monica Blessy and the Facilities Team for helping us welcome Diane Stanley with such an amazing banner.  You cannot see it from the photo, but we even designed a stand for the back of it which we can use for future author visits.

There will be opportunities for parents to interact with Diane. Below is a reminder of events you may not want to miss:

Monday, February 4: 2:30-3:15

Diane Stanley Welcome Assembly

Location: Performing Arts Center

All elementary parents are welcome

Tuesday, February 5: 3:45-4:15

Diane Stanley Read-Aloud (KG and 1^st Grade)

Location: Elementary Library

KG and 1^st Grade students are welcome when accompanied by a parent

Wednesday, February 6: 8:45-9:45

Diane Stanley Parent Coffee and Discussion

Location: Elementary Cafeteria

All elementary, middle and high parents are welcome

As soon as we say, “so-long” to Diane Stanley, we say, “hello” to India Week! Our Indian Studies teachers, Ms. Anu and Ms. Bindu, and of course, our students, have been preparing for this spectacular week for several weeks now. There is an opening assembly for the elementary students on Monday, February 11^th, from 8:45 to 9:15 in the auditorium. There will also be two assemblies during the week, Wednesday and Friday. You are invited to attend the student performances. Students are encouraged to wear an Indian outfit on the day they are performing, and they are welcome to wear Indian clothes on all other days. Both the assemblies will be held in the auditorium. The details are as follows:

Grades	Date	Time
Preschool – Grade 2	Wednesday February 13	8.45 – 9.30am
Grades 3 – 5	Friday February 15	2.30 – 3.15pm

All students will be served an Indian lunch on Friday, February 15th. It will catered by the Taj Madras Flight Kitchen (TMFK). The menu is as follows: pooris, vegetable korma without coconut, vegetable pulao, vegetable cutlets, malai chicken tikka, vadams (rice flour crispies) and laddu (Indian sweet). Parents who do not want their children to have this meal are requested to send a packed lunch. We look forward to your continued support and cooperation in making this week a success.

This is a reminder to all parents whose children stay after-school to play that the playground is not supervised by elementary school staff from 3:45 onwards. This means that children who remain after this time must be supervised by their mom or dad. Parents are asked to be within close range of their child. What this means is that you must not only be able to see your child play, but to be able to hear your child as well. Sitting in the cafeteria while your child is on the playground is not proper supervision. Also, the children must follow the playground rules they adhere to during the school day. This includes wearing shoes at all times, remaining on the ES side of the school and being in the corridors only to go to the bathroom (walking only!). Should a passing staff member reinforce any rule with your child after 3:45, I ask that you support the teacher, who is acting in the interest of your child’s safety. Additionally, some students have brought wooden cricket bats to school this week. Please leave the wooden bats at home. Children may play cricket with a plastic bat.

I would like to thank the many parents who have provided us with feedback about the services provided by TMFK. We have shared your feedback with TMFK and in their ongoing effort to enhance their services, they will be installing heated serving tables in the ES Cafeteria, just like those in the main cafeteria. Further enhancements include: bite-size portions of meat in the non-veg lunches, more child-friendly food options and more healthy after-school snack options. Thank you for your feedback!

I am going to be away for the next two weeks. I will be traveling to recruitment fairs in the USA to recruit teachers for the elementary school. It is a great honor to represent AISC at recruitment fairs and to talk to passionate educators from all over the world. In my absence, Ms. Anne Sweet, will be acting principal.

I look forward to hearing reports and seeing pictures from Diane Stanley’s visit and India Week.

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal