January 31, 2014

Dear Parents,

Girl Scout Brownie News: The Girl Scout Brownie Troop at AISC has been working on an Environmental Service project this month.  Their aim has been to help the environment by providing the school community with recycling resources-- primarily bags and services of the Paperman.  Well done, girls, and thank you for your commitment to environmental service.

Parental Supervision of Children: This is just a reminder that parents are required to supervise their children on the playground prior to 8:10 and after 3:45. The playground rules that children follow during the day are to be followed before and after school. These rules include, but are not limited to, walking in the corridors and wearing shoes at all times. 

Parent Coffee with the ES Administration: Please join us at 8:45 in the FAC Cafeteria on Tuesday, February 11. Our English as an Additional Language (EAL) Coordinator, Ms. Karen Sumaryono, and there members from her team, Ms. Deepa, Ms. Kaye and Ms. Kathryn, will lead a discussion about our EAL program. They will also talk about our co-teaching model. This session will be of particular interest to parents, who joined our community in January, who have children in our EAL program.

Looking ahead to our March parent coffee, Ms. Megan will lead a presentation on early childhood literacy. This session will be of interest to parents who have children in our 3 and 4 year old classes.

Standards-Based Grading and Reporting: Last week, I wrote that I was in Muscat, Oman, attending a two day workshop on standards-based grading and reporting. The elementary school will introduce standards-based grading and reporting at the beginning of the 2014/15 school year. You might be asking, “What is a standard and what is standards-based grading and reporting?” 

A standard is a written description of what students should know and be able to do in a particular content or subject area. Standards provide a clear path for students to gain the proficiency that is required to learn increasingly complex material. It is important to note that standards define what students need to know but not how students learn or how teachers teach. 

To answer the second question posed above, standards-based grading is a way of reporting students’ understanding and performance compared to curriculum standards. Standards-based report cards give a grade for each learning goal, so students receive multiple grades in each subject area. Let’s look at 5th grade math for example. On a standards-based report card, you will see the subject (math) broken into several categories, such as geometry, mathematical reasoning, measurement and data, etc. Under each category, you’ll see a list of math skills your child should be able to do, as well as a grade showing how your child is doing.

Please plan to come to our parent coffee on April 15th to learn more about this topic.

February Lunch Menu and Order Form: Please place your order online and pay on or before February 7th.

February Lunch Menu

Lunch Order Link

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal

Friday, January 24

Dear Parents,

Thank you to Mr. Jeff, Ms. Sobha, Ms. Rosario and Ms. Shiney for organizing our Sports’ Days yesterday and today. These days would not have been possible without the support of our maintenance team, school nurses, teachers and over 40 parent volunteers. Below are some pictures that were taken at each event.

Please click here to view photo gallery, Password is "raptors13"

John Coy, Visiting Author

It was a pleasure to host John Coy at AISC this week. Mr. Coy is an American children’s author best known for his books on basketball, Strong to the Hoop, Around the World, and Box Out, as well as Night Driving and his coming-of-age novel about sports and decisions, Crackback. This week, Mr. Coy had sessions with students in Kindergarten through grade 5. Session topics included:

Kindergarten and Grade 1: Creating a picture book

Grade 2: Creating a picture book and Where do you get your ideas?

Grades 3-5: Where do you get your ideas and Revision: Seeing your story again

Below are some pictures that were taken during John’s work with our students.

Parent Coffee with the ES Administration

Our next parent coffee will be held on Tuesday, February 11 beginning at 8:45 in the FAC Cafeteria. Ms. Karen Sumaryono, our Elementary School English as an Additional Language (EAL) Coordinator, and members of her team, will talk about our EAL program. This information session will be of particular interest to parents who joined our school community this month and who have children in the EAL program.

Standards Based Grading and Reporting

I am currently in Muscat, Oman attending a two-day workshop that begins today with four other elementary school teachers (Ms. Chris, Ms. Kristie, Ms. Brenna and Ms. Becky) on standards based grading and reporting. The workshop is being led by Dr. Tom Guskey and Mr. Ken O’Connor. Dr. Guskey is a Professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. Mr. O’Connor, a teacher by training (in Canada and Australia), has been an independent consultant since 1999 and has been a staff development presenter and facilitator on assessment, grading, and reporting throughout North America (44 US states and 9 Canadian provinces) and internationally (15 countries).  

The four teachers I mentioned above, along with Ms. Andrea, Ms. Dorcy, Ms. Kristina, Ms. Megan, came together one year ago and formed the Standards Based Report Card Committee. Throughout this past year, we have researched grading and reporting practices, held a parent information session and have consulted with and gathered input from home room and subject-specialist teachers. The culmination of our work will be the new Standards-Based Report Card which will be introduced in the 2014-15 school year.

Over the next two days, we will focus on: content standards, performance standards, behaviors and learning skills, the role of formative and summative assessments, homework, dealing with late and missing assessment evidence and academic dishonesty, and communication with parents. We also will have the opportunity to talk to other schools in the region who have launched, or are about to launch, a standards-based grading and reporting. Look for further information about standards-based grading and reporting in future Principal’s Notes and in an upcoming Parent Coffee with the ES Administration this spring.

India Week: February 17th to 20th, 2014

Our students will soon begin preparing for the much awaited India Week. There will be two separate assemblies with student performances - one by the lower elementary and the other by the upper elementary. You are welcome to attend both. Performances will be in the FAC auditorium. Students are encouraged to wear Indian clothes on the day of their performance. They are welcome to wear Indian clothes throughout the week.

Student Performances:

Pre-School-Grade 2: Tuesday, February 18 at 8:45 

Grades 3-5: Thursday, February 20 at 8:45

During this week, students will attend demonstrations on dance, musical instruments and participate in yoga activity. They will also have the opportunity to decorate their hands with Mehendi (henna). 

Incredible India Photo Gallery

Ms.Megan is organizing an "Incredible India Photo Gallery" in which the photo contributions of our elementary students will be displayed. For more information, kindly refer to the Principal’s Notes sent on the 10th of January 2014. If you have any questions, please contact Ms.Megan at mmegan@aisch.org 

Indian Lunch

Students will be served an Indian Lunch catered by our Taj Madras Flight Kitchen on Thursday, February 20th. The lunch served will be Poori, Corn Pulao, Nutri & Peas Khorma, Aloo Bonda (potato snack), Chicken Tikka and Jalebi (Indian sweet). Spices in the food will be minimal. Parents who do not want their children to have this meal may kindly send a packed lunch from home.

PTA Giving Tree: I have received more pictures from the very successful PTA Giving Tree drive that took place prior to the winter vacation. Below are a few more pictures taken on the day our community gifts were distributed.

Have a great week,

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal

January 17, 2014

Dear Parents,

Please join us for Jan Jamboree tomorrow from 2:00 to 5:00 pm on the soccer field. For a one-time fee of Rs 200, ES and MS Students will receive a wristband that will give them unlimited access to the over 20 games and activities organized by HS Students, their “Big brothers and Sisters." Some of the activities include: Cookie Decorating (Rs 10 towards cost of cookie), T-Shirt Decorating (Rs 100 towards cost of t-shirt), Obstacle Course, Face Painting, Sponge Throw, Splash, Beat the Keeper, Car Racing, Bouncy Castle, Balance Beam Pillow Fight, Lime and Spoon Race, Pin the Tail on the Raptor, etc. 

There is no entry fee for adults and high school students! Come and enjoy the food and soft-drinks on sale, get the chance of winning exciting prizes in the raffle, see the kids have a great time and spend a fun afternoon with family and friends.

Funds raised through this event will be used to support a variety of community service clubs and projects. We truly hope you will be able to join us as a family for this wonderful event!

Visiting Author

On Monday, we welcome award-winning author John Coy to AISC. Mr. Coy is the author of several picture books including: Night Driving, Strong to the Hoop, Vroomaloom Zoom, Two Old Potatoes and Me, Around the World and young adult novels including: Crackback and Box Out. Throughout the week, Mr. Coy will be working with students in the elementary, middle and high schools on various topics related to the writing process.

Sports Day

The Elementary Sports’ Days are looming just around the corner. The dates are Thursday, January 23rd for the Lower Elementary (Pre-Kindergarten-Grade 2) and Friday, January 24th for the Upper Elementary (Grades 3-5). The fun begins at 8:45 both days! The Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 2 students will finish their Sports Day at 11:45 while students in Grades 3-5 will finish at 12:30. We take this opportunity to invite you for a fun day on the field! If you are interested in being more than a spectator, this is your lucky day! We are in need of parent volunteers willing to manage one of the many Sports Day stations. Having such a large number of participants, we could use all the help we can get. Here is a perfect opportunity to become involved! If you can help us to make this a great day for the children, please sign up here. Many thanks to those who have volunteered!

Student-Led Conferences

After our first round of student-led conferences, we sent a survey to all parents. Overall, parents were very pleased with the conferences. Once again, here are the results of the survey:

My child was prepared for the conference: 93% of parents strongly agreed/agreed

I walked away with a better understanding of my child’s strengths and area(s) that needed improvement: 84% of parents strongly agreed/agreed

My child’s goals were appropriate and would support their development: 90% strongly agreed/agreed

The student-led conference was valuable and informative: 84% strongly agreed/agreed

I would be comfortable with multiple conferences happening in the room at the same time: 70% strongly agreed/agreed

Although not reflected in the data, we received feedback from some parents that they preferred that we not conduct the conferences over two days. In looking at the last data point above, we see a conflict between these two sets of feedback. If we shorten the conference time frame, more than one conference must occur at the same time. In order to help us plan conferences dates and times, we are asking you complete this very brief survey (one question with two options). The survey closes next Friday. Thank you.

Special Music Opportunity for 5th Grade Students and Parents

The High School Bands will give their Winter Concert on Friday, 24 January 2014. The show will include the Concert Band and the Symphonic Band performing works by guru band composers Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Percy Grainger, Leroy Anderson and more! And it gets better: this will be the band's last performance in Chennai before eighteen of our young musicians go on tour to Dhaka, Bangladesh for the SAISA Music Festival. You can hear the festival repertoire before the festival! 

The High School Bands would like to extend a special VIP invitation to 5th Grade students and parents. Later in the spring, 5th graders will select their arts classes for their 6th grade year. Wouldn't you like to hear what band is all about? Come check it out! Admission is free, and the concert is appropriate for students in grades 5-12, or grades 1-4 with parent supervision. Parents of all ages are welcome! 

News from our Aquatics Director (Donna Fava)

Just a couple of updates for you this week...

1) The date for the Aquathon has been changed to February 23, due to a conflict with another event being held on the field. Please mark your calendars to participate in the Aquathon on February 23!!!

2) Please note that there are some time changes on the pool calendar this week due to the start of ASA's and the Track and Field Team will be using the pool on Wednesday mornings.

Lunch Order Form and Menu for the Month of February

Menu

Order Form

Please place your online orders before January 30th, and pay on or before February 07, 2014.

Have a great weekend,

Kevin Hall
Elementary School Principal

January 10, 2014

Dear Parents,

Welcome back and Happy New Year! I do hope that you had a wonderful winter vacation. This is the time of year when we welcome new families to AISC. This month, we expect 34 new students to enroll which will bring the total number of students in the elementary school to 515.

I am writing to you from Bangkok where I am attending two recruitment fairs. This year, we have very few positions to fill, just two in fact. I am recruiting a lower elementary homeroom teacher and a French teacher.

Thank you to the many families who participated in our PTA Giving Tree and Elementary School Council Toy Drive. Below are some pictures of some very happy children.

Attention All Student Photographers!
We invite all elementary photographers to participate in the first annual AISC Incredible India Photo Gallery.  During India Week in February, we will be displaying ES students' photos of India in the FAC gallery. Here is how to join the fun:* Each ES student may submit one photo, taken in India, no larger than 5x7 size.  Photos must be taken by the student.* Photos may be submitted to the main office (near Ms. Sonia's desk) or elementary reception (Ms. Prisca) beginning January 20th.* Photos should show something incredible about India :)* Photos should be labeled with student's name and homeroom on the back. The photos may also be given a title.* We ask that actual photos be submitted.  Here are several nearby photo shops:Konica Color Labs (044) 24917303, No. 19 Nikhil Apartments, MG Road, 2nd Ave, AdyarPhoto Emporium (044) 6515-4063, Ascendas Building - Ground Floor, Tharamani
All photos will be displayed in Fine Arts Center during India Week.  We look forward to seeing our amazing ES photographers' work displayed for all to admire. So get out your camera and start taking pictures!If you have questions, please contact Ms. Megan at mmegan@aisch.org

Jan Jamboree: As one of its community building projects, the High School Student Council is organizing the “Jan Jamboree” on Saturday, January 18, 2013 from 2 – 5 pm on the AISC Soccer Field. This event is for AISC families and guests.

There will be a Rs 200 Entry Fee for ES and MS Students. This is because once they enter the Jamboree, they will have unlimited, free of charge access to the over 20 games and activities organized by HS Students, their “Big brothers and Sisters.” Games and activities include: Cookie Decorating, T-Shirt Decorating (extra charge for cost price of t-shirt), Obstacle Course, Face Painting, Sponge Throw, Splash, Beat the Keeper, T1 Car Racing, Bouncy Castle, Balance Beam Pillow Fight, Lime and Spoon Race, Pin the Tail on the Raptor etc.

There is no entry fee for Adults and HS age students! Come and enjoy the food and drinks on sale, get the chance of winning exciting prizes in the Raffle, see the kids have a great time and spend a fun afternoon with family and friends.

Funds raised through this event will be used to support a variety of community service clubs and projects.

We truly hope you will be able to join us as a family for this wonderful event. Thank you from the High School Student Council.

Have a great weekend. Remember, Tuesday is Pongal, so there is no school.

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal