Friday, November 22

Dear Parents,

On Wednesday, November 20, twenty-seven students from the Elementary Student Council and ASA Girl Scouts came together with our PTA Elementary Grade Level Reps to decorate AISC’s first Giving Tree in the Elementary Cafeteria.  The Giving Tree will benefit 188 children in 5 local orphanages.  Please come with your child, take a star, purchase a gift for the child on the star, and wrap it. Be sure and attach the star to the wrapped gift.  Gifts should be returned by December 11 to the Elementary Library.  Please see the back of the star for gifts appropriate for the child.

As AISC is a generous community, we may be lucky enough to have more families who want to help than available stars.  So if you do not get a star in time, but still would like to help, consider making the following contributions:

Seva Samajam Girls Home:  donations of sanitary pads, bath soap, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
Assisi Ilam Orphanage:  A4 paper, pens, pencils, chart paper
St Joseph Social Service Center:  A4 paper, bath soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and toothbrushes
Home of Hope for Boys by World of Life Church:  Stationary supplies
Mizpah Orphanage:  recreational games like board games and cricket sets

Parent Gina Makawana has confirmed gift delivery dates and times with the 5 local orphanages and the time table is as follows for anyone interested in helping drop off the gifts donated by our AISC community.  You may contact Gina at gina_makawana@yahoo.com or call her at 9884222246 to get details about joining her for the gift delivery.  Your child is most welcome to help.

1.  Seva Samajam Girls Home (56 girls)
29 Casa Major Road, Egmore
Dec 14, 2:30  pm

2.  Assisi Ilam Orphanage (24 kids)
15 Nethaji Nagar, St Thomas Mount
Dec 15, 11 am

3.  St Joseph Social Service Center (40 kids)
4/92-62 Magazine Road, St Thomas Mount
Dec 18, 4pm

4.  Home of Hope for Boys by World of Life Church  (49 kids)
Mahibalipuram
Dec 15, 5 pm

5.  Mizpah Orphanage (19 kids)
Mahibalipuram before Pondicherry
Dec 16, time unconfirmed as of yet

Thank you to all the helpful students and to Student Council Staff Advisors Pam Thompson, Deanna Doherty and parent and Girl Scout Troop Leader JoAnn Restuccia, for focusing on the Giving Tree project for the last couple of weeks with the kids.  Also, a big thank you to the entire staff of the Elementary School who supported the set-up of our Giving Tree.  Lastly and mostly, a big thanks to you for supporting this project and sharing some simple items with children who need some help and attention. Go see the tree with your child in the Elementary cafeteria and take a star or two!

日本語訳

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony: Please mark Monday, December 2nd on your calendars and join us at The Hyatt for our third annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. The elementary school, community and high school advanced choirs will welcome in the holiday season as they sing festive songs. There will be plenty of food and drinks to go around. This is always a fun event and I guarantee that you and your children will have a fantastic time.

Friday, December 13th: All students will be dismissed at 12:30. Students will eat lunch before heading home. The PK-2 students will eat from 11:45-12:00, and students in grades 3-5, from 12:05-12:20. The playground will be closing at 12:45 so we kindly ask that all students and families leave the campus by this time.

Elementary Sports Days: The Pre-School to Grade 2 Sports Day will be held on Thursday, January 23. The Grades 3-5 Sports Day will be held on Friday, January 24th. Both events will be held in the morning. Each child is given a special t-shirt to wear, however, we ask that parents order the t-shirt by clicking here. To help you with sizing, we included the approximate dimensions (in centimeters) of each shirt size. You can also look at samples that are available in the Elementary Reception. Colors are assigned to each grade, so you do not have to worry about choosing a color. Please place your orders prior to the winter break.

Taking children out of school before dismissal time: The following information serves as a reminder and is taken from page 22 of the Elementary School Handbook:

• Students are required to remain on campus for the entire school day. The school day
begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. Students are not to leave campus during the
school day unless they have permission and have signed out at the Elementary School
Office.

• Students who are injured or become ill during school hours should see the school
nurse. If it is necessary for a student to go home, the nurse will phone the parent or
legal guardian to inform them and arrange for transportation. The school nurse will inform
the office that the student is checking out. The student must get a pass to leave campus
from the office.

• Students who become emotionally upset should go to the Guidance Office or to the
school nurse for help.

• If a non-medical emergency develops that requires the student to leave, the parent
is asked to inform the secretaries in the Elementary School Office.

Reminder from the Physical Education Teachers: The Upper Elementary students swim unit will start next week. Lower Elementary students will be on the field.

ASA News:

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall
Elementary School Principal

Friday, November 15, 2013

Dear Parents,

We had a very good turnout last Saturday night to the Diwali Mela celebration. I would like to thank the PTA Executive for organizing this great evening. Enjoy these pictures!

Also, I would like to thank the parents who were able to join us for our third coffee morning of the year. Thank you to Ms. Karen, Ms. Seema and Ms. Dee for leading the presentation on the English as an Additional Language (EAL) program and The WIDA MODEL test. I would like to follow-up on a question that was posed to our presenters about this test. The WIDA MODEL tests academic language proficiency, and in response to parent questions about the weight of each of the four language domains, here is the answer:

Reading:  35%
Writing:   35%
Listening:  15%
Speaking: 15%

This is how the overall composite score is calculated.

In the life of international schools, this is the time of year when we recognize that some families will be moving on from our school community. For kids, as well as moms and dads, it is a transition that is both exciting, and one of challenges and fears. Please join our elementary counselors, Ms. Geetha and Mr. George, as they share a presentation specifically designed for families on the move. All parents are welcome whether you are leaving this semester or you just want to be aware of issues surrounding moving with your family. Please join us for, Families on the Move, on Monday, November 18th, beginning at 8:45 in the Hall of Light. Our counselors will also be conducting special sessions with children prior to the winter break. If you are leaving AISC next month, please be sure to notify Ms. Hazel or Ms. Cheryl in the Principal's Office.

The PTA Elementary Grade Level Representatives and the Elementary Student Council and ASA Girl Scout Troop are sponsoring a Giving Tree to support 180+ students in 5 area orphanages.  Please support these efforts as we move into the holiday season and bring year 2013 to a successful and helpful finish.

The 5 orphanages our Giving Tree will support are:

Home Of Hope for Boys by the World of Life Church – 49 Kids
Assisi Ilam Orphanage – 24 Kids
St. Joseph Social Service Center – 40 Kids
Seva Samajam Girls Home – 57 Kids
Mizpah orphanage – 18 Kids

Members of the parent community have been hard at work making arrangements for the lists of children we will have the opportunity to help and planning the overall project.  The children from the Elementary Student Council as well as the ASA Girl Scout Troop have spent time creating the stars our kids and parents will take from the tree.

The Giving Tree will be set up on November 20th in the Elementary Cafeteria.  Specific rules which include the below details will be posted by the tree.

1. Children/parents can take a star off the tree and purchase a small item useful to the child listed on the star.  We will include age and gender of recipient on the stars.   We are asking for new, non-perishable items only such as a water bottle, a snack box, or notepads/pencils/erasers.  A nice gift for a child can be arranged for under Rs. 200.

2.  We would like the present to be wrapped, with the star attached to the gift (stars will be color coded to indicate which orphanage gift will go to).  The gift is to be dropped off in a designated box in the Elementary Library.  Thank you to Mr. Jet and the library staff for helping us with this "safe" spot for the gifts.  

3.  The last day to drop off gifts will be December 11 or 12.

4.  Gifts will be dropped off to the orphanages December 15-19, by parent Gina Makawana and any other individuals who would like to help out.  Gina will be happy to share delivery date information as time gets closer with anyone who will not travel outside of Chennai over the holidays and who would like to participate.

For any specific questions related to the Giving Tree, please feel free to contact teacher Pam Thompson, parent Gina Makawana, or parent Margaret Rajan.

この情報の日本語版は、ここをクリックしてください: 

S'il vous plaît cliquer sur ce lien pour accéder à cette information en français.

Thank you to the Girls Scouts and to the Student Council for your contributions!

The Swimming unit for Upper elementary (Grades 3-5) will start on Nov 25th. Please equip your child with goggles, swimming cap, swimming suit, towel, sunscreen and flip flops/sandals. If for any reason your child cannot participate in the pool, please send a note from home or from the doctor. If you have any questions regarding the pool or the upcoming unit, please contact us as soon as possible.


Lastly, please come visit the ES/MS Library and see lots of great upper elementary artwork!  Fun dragon sculptures as well as creative figure study paintings are currently on display.  We like to change the artwork throughout the year, so come back often and see what our AISC artists have made! Here are a few samples of what you will see.

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall
Elementary School Principal

November 8, 2013

Dear Parents,

Happy Diwali! This past Wednesday, we held our Diwali Assembly and tomorrow night we will come together as a community to celebrate. The fun all begins at 5:45 pm in the FAC Cafeteria. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Indian Studies teachers, Ms. Anu and Ms. Bindu, as well as our Theater Director, Mr. Shawn, for organizing our assembly. I would also like to acknowledge the beautiful posters created by our lower elementary school students: the Kindergarten students for the lamps, the grade 1 students for the fireworks and the grade 2 students for the Diwali lamps. Thank you to Mr. Joseph, our lower elementary school art teacher, for leading this activity. 

You can view pictures taken during the assembly by clicking here. Thank you, Mr. Pradeep, for sharing these beautiful pictures with us. 

Assistant Principal News: Back in September, Ms. Sweet informed Mr. Hoover and me that she was ready to advance her career and would begin to explore administrative opportunities in other schools and may not return to AISC next year. Although she was only on an exploratory path, the school chose to start a global search and listed the position as tentative with an international recruiting agency. We soon began to receive applications and over the past several weeks, we shortlisted and interviewed potential candidates in the event she decided not to return. This week, Ms. Sweet informed Mr. Hoover and me that she would not be returning to AISC for the 2014-15 school year. Mere words cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for the work that she has done over the past few years. Ms. Sweet has been an inspirational leader who will long be remembered for her passion and commitment to excellence in education. I know that the AISC community will always hold a special place in her heart. I certainly wish her nothing but the very best. We have six great months left with Anne and I know that we will appreciate every one of them.

I am pleased to inform you that Lori Newman has accepted the position of ES Assistant Principal.  Lori is currently the Assistant Director for Learning at the American School in Japan (Tokyo). She has held this position since 2009, although she has been with ASIJ since 1998, having taught grades 2 and 4 from 1998 to 2009. Lori will be joined by her husband and two sons. You will learn more about Lori later this school year. 

Parent Coffee with the ES Administration: Please join us at 8:45 on Tuesday, November 12th in the FAC Cafeteria. This month, we will be talking about our English as an Additional Language (EAL) program. This session will be an extension of the EAL Parent Curriculum Coffee held before the fall break, and our presenters will focus on the program at the elementary school level.

Guidance Counselor’s Presentation: In the life of international schools, this is the time of year when we recognize that some families will be moving on from our school community. For kids, as well as moms and dads, it is a transition that is both exciting, and one of challenges and fears. Please join our elementary counselors, Ms. Geetha and Mr. George, as they share a presentation specifically designed for families on the move. All parents are welcome whether you are leaving this semester or you just want to be aware of issues surrounding moving with your family. Please join us for, Families on the Move, on Monday, November 18th, beginning at 8:45 in the Hall of Light. Our counselors will also be conducting special sessions with children prior to the winter break. If you are leaving AISC next month, please be sure to notify Ms. Hazel or Ms. Cheryl in the Principal's Office.

Student Council News: The Elementary Student Council is ready for its annual Toy Drive which supports children from orphanages who are in need of holiday cheer.  Students from grades 1-5 are being asked to look into their toy chests, book shelves or other special places for clean and gently used old toys and books that are not being used any longer. Students can bring donations to their classrooms where there will be a donation box. Another donation box will be in the Elementary Reception Office.  The Toy Drive will be held from November 11-22.

NESA Virtual Science Fair for 5th Graders: Last school year, several of our 5th grade students participated in the NESA Virtual Science Fair. The basic rule for the science fair was that the entry must have a problem that could be solved experimentally with measurable results.  The entire activity was conducted after school hours, and the parents were a great inspiration and support to the kids. As it progressed, the children became more involved, focused, motivated, and as many of them said, “We just love science now”. 

This past spring, the winners were announced, and just this week, we received the trophy. Once again, congratulations to 1st place winners, Vinay, Reuben and Domenic for their project on “BIOGAS.” These boys are now in grade 6, but they stopped by earlier this week to have their picture taken with Ms. Shobhana and me, and of course, with the trophy.

SAISA News: The following message is from our Athletic Director, Ron Thomson:

I wanted to update you on a change of venue that recently occurred for our season three sporting events. Due to the major renovation project at the American International School of Dhaka, they will not be able to host the 2014 SAISA Track & Field Meet this coming March 11-15th. We have agreed to switch sporting events with AISD this spring, therefore we will be hosting the 2014 SAISA Track & Field Meet and AISD will host the 2014 SAISA Boys Basketball Tournament.

By helping one of our SAISA member schools in this way we can assure that all the SAISA Track & Field Athletes have a properly run and rewarding meet. We look forward to the excitement and community building that hosting a meet with 300 athletes can do for our school identity and pride.

If you have any questions or concerns about this please feel free to contact me at tronald@aisch.org. Thanks again for your understanding.

AISC’S Middle School Theatre Production: 

The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood

Thursday 14 November & Friday 15 November

5:30

FAC Theatre

It sure is hard to be humble when you're a swashbuckling, egocentric super-hero. But our gallant guy-in-green tries his best as he swaggers through The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood, a frantically funny retelling of the classic story.

The legendary legend, in his never-ending quest to aid the needy, encounters a lovely damsel-in-distress, an ever-scheming sheriff, a greedy bad-guy monarch with a fan club of fawning ladies, a good-natured "Town's Guy" who manages to make his way into every scene, and a band of Merry Men whose collective IQs equal six.

Join us for an irreverent jaunt through Sherwood Forest that you won't soon forget!

Tickets will go on sale Monday 11 November.

Note: The show plot and humor is suitable material for students in upper elementary and older.

Show time is approximately 1.5 hours. Please contact Rachel Griffiths at   8754593507 or at rtgriffiths@btinternet.com for more information.

Have a great weekend. I hope to see you tomorrow at the PTA Diwali Celebration.

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal