Friday, February 27, 2014

Dear Parents,

Beginning March 3rd, most children will take tests called Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®). We give students in grades 2-5 MAP tests to determine each child’s instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year in the areas of math, reading, language usage and science (grades 3 to 5). When administered at regular intervals over time, it is possible to find out whether an individual, or an entire grade level, is making satisfactory progress in these basic skill areas. Your child will take the tests on a computer.

MAP tests are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing. The tests are not time-based but take on average 45 minutes to complete.

New parents often ask how their children can study for these tests. Really, the best way to prepare for these tests is to make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep the night before a test and has breakfast the morning of the test. These are healthy practices in general. Students cannot study for a MAP test.

MAP test scores are not reported on the elementary school report card. You will receive a MAP Student Progress Report after the Spring Break.

For more information on resources for parents, download the Parent Toolkit at www.nwea.org >> Partner Support.

Staff Professional Learning and Development Day

Last Friday, our teachers and teacher assistants engaged in a full day of professional learning. We spent the morning working with Mark Church, who continued his work on visible thinking, and what it means to create a culture of thinking and inquiry in our classrooms. In the afternoon, homeroom and English as an Additional Language teachers engaged in conversations about aligning our assessment across grade levels in the area of English/Language Arts. Specialist teachers worked on unit design and curriculum mapping. Our teacher assistants attended sessions on guided reading, strategies to teach phonemic awareness and phonics to early literacy learners and beginner language learners, and conferring with English Language Learners. Our counselors facilitated the continuous work that all counselors are doing to align services for your kids, pre-school to grade 12. It was a great day of professional learning!

Virtual Learning Drill - March 25th

Distance learning for continuity of instruction is a complex process requiring considerable training, alignment, and communication.  To be ready in the event of a forced school closure, AISC must help all stakeholders build capacity to support distance learning.

On March 25th, AISC will host a comprehensive virtual learning drill in which all students PK-12 will stay at home and complete one full day of learning consistent with AISC’s Continuity of Instruction Plan. Teachers will be on campus during this exercise.  All athletics and after-school activities will be cancelled on this day.

To learn more please read more about the event in our full brochure here.

To help parents with their Internet access at home, AISC will host an Internet provider business fair on March 5th & 6th in the Main Entry.

Further information will be shared during a brief presentation at our upcoming parent coffee on March 10.

Parent Coffee with the ES Administration

Please join the counselors and me on March 10th for our next parent coffee. This month, our topic is, “Transitions: Managing the Move.” This session will be most applicable to parents who are moving at the end of the school year, however, anyone may join us because some day, most of us will leave Chennai. We expect participants to come away with new ideas and strategies that will assist you as you prepare to leave Chennai.

You might have noticed last week in my blog that I referred to a couple of visible thinking strategies students have engaged in. During this session, we are going to use a visible thinking routine called, “compass points.” This will be a fun way of sharing the similar excitement and concerns we have about moves.

Nutrition Month Comes to AISC

AISC celebrates the month of March as Nutrition Month.  The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing healthy eating habits in our students.

Below is a quick list of some activities that are planned:

Guest Chefs: Teachers will have the chance to don a chef coat and join the Taj Madras Flight Kitchen staff in serving meals to students. They will encourage students to make good nutritional choices as they serve up healthy servings of fruits and veggies.

Recipe Contest: Students, parents and staff will have a chance to submit a healthy recipe for the following categories: muffin, pasta, pizza, Asian non-veg, vegetable side dish and quiche/frittata.  The Nutrition Committee will be using a rubric to judge the entries in the following categories:  Nutritional Content, Creativity, Flavor, Availability of Ingredients and Ease of Preparation.

Parents and students may drop their recipe in the boxes found in both Main Reception and Elementary School Reception. Please note that the contest will close on March 9th; we will announce the winners of this contest on March 13th.  Kindly include the students’ name and grade level on the recipe. The winning dishes will be named after the person or family that submitted the recipe; the Taj Madras Flight Kitchen will be preparing the winning dishes in April in the secondary and ES cafeterias.

Fresh Snack Friday: All elementary students will be provided a nutritious snack, courtesy of AISC, on each Friday in March. March 6th and 13th will feature both fruit and vegetable sticks with dip.

Mini-Muffin Monday Morning: The winning muffin recipe will be prepared and served free of charge by the Taj Madras Flight Kitchen.  These will be served on Monday, March 16th to all visitors in the iHub on this day.

Look for posters, banners, videos and surprise performances in the cafeterias.

Please join us in celebrating good nutrition during March at AISC!

If you are interested in having your child learn more about nutrition, check out the following websites:

Choose from a variety of games that help you learn about food groups and exercise.

http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/kids.php

Choose from a variety of games including items for teens and videos

http://www.healthyeating.org/Healthy-Kids/Kids-Games-Activities.aspx

A variety of games, quizzes and even nutrition Sudoku

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/Games.html

Build a Meal, Pyramid and Arcade Games

http://www.nourishinteractive.com/kids

Have a great weekend!

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Dear Parents,

This afternoon at 6:00 pm, you will be able to view your child’s second trimester report card on Skyward. You will need to know your Skyward login information in order to access your child’s report card. If you do, follow the steps outlined in this document to view your child's report card.

If you have not previously accessed Skyward or do not know your login, please reset your Skyward password by clicking on this link.

1. When you access this link you will be asked for your username  (<Login>) or email address.
2. Enter your username or email and then click the "Submit" button.
3. Check your email to confirm your password reset.
4. When you click the link in your email, it will open to the password reset page where you will enter your desired password twice.
5. The Skyward login screen should appear (if not, you may access Skyward in the Quicklinks menu on the school website).
6. Enter you username  (<Login>) and password.

Once you have completed these steps, you will be able to view all the information that relates to your child, including your address, telephone numbers, email address and your child's health information. Please check this information and contact the Admissions Office should any changes be required.

Questions?

If you have a question about Skyward, or are experiencing any difficulty, please email IT Support. If you have a question related to the report card, please contact your child's teacher.

Lunch Menu and Order Link for March 

Please place your orders using the AISC pay online site or using the order link below for which you can pay at the cash counter before March 6th.

Lunch Menu Link

Lunch Order Link


A Culture of Thinking

This week, AISC welcomed back Mark Church. Mark has been an educator for twenty years and has a particular interest in helping teachers and school leaders think deeply about their efforts to cultivate thinking and learning opportunities for students. Together with Ron Ritchhart and Karin Morrison, he is co-author of the recent book Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners (Jossey-Bass, 2011).

In this book, the authors present 21 different thinking routines. One such routine is called, See-Think-Wonder. This routine encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations. It helps stimulate curiosity and sets the stage for inquiry. A teacher may use the routine at the beginning of a new unit to motivate student interest or try it with an object that connects to a topic during the unit of study. Students answer three questions during this routine: (1) What do you see? (2) What do you think is going on? and (3) What does it make you wonder? The picture below shows what a final See-Think-Wonder activity could look like. This activity took place in 2D. As part of their social studies unit, Family History and Traditions, students will compare and contrast family celebrations of their classmates. Students began the unit working in groups and talked about different pictures of family celebrations from around the world using the See-Think-Wonder routine.

In their Solar Energy unit, students in 4E designed houses that would keep cool on hot days. Students engaged in a Claim, Support, Question routine to frame their thinking. Claim: As a team, students made design choices for their houses they thought would keep their house cool. Support: Students used reasoning from prior experiments and their past experiences to support their claim. Then they built their house. The houses were placed on the roof top tennis courts and temperatures were recorded at 12:30, 1:30, and 3:30.

Students displayed the temperature data in a table and created a graph. As teams, students analyzed the data and to find connections and conclusions. Question: Students asked a question based on their wonderings after finishing this experiment. (Some students asked what would the data look like if they kept the houses outside for 24 hours while others asked how they would keep a house warm if there was not much sun.)

Virtual Learning Drill - March 25th

Distance learning for continuity of instruction is a complex process requiring considerable training, alignment, and communication.  To be ready in the event of a forced school closure, AISC must help all stakeholders build capacity to support distance learning.

On March 25th, AISC will host a comprehensive virtual learning drill in which all students PK-12 will stay at home and complete one full day of learning consistent with AISC’s Continuity of Instruction Plan. Teachers will be on campus during this exercise.  All athletics and after-school activities will be cancelled on this day.

To learn more please read more about the event in our full brochure HERE.

To help parents with their Internet access at home, AISC will host an Internet provider business fair on March 5th & 6th in the Main Entry.


Yearbook Photos 2014-2015

We are pleased to announce the sale of photos from the January photo shoot for those students who did not get their photos taken in August. On the All School Moodle page, you will find a folder, “Yearbook Photos 2014-15.” Parents who missed ordering last semester may also place the orders now.

Order Forms may be downloaded from Moodle or picked up at the Cash Counter.  Instructions are on the order form. Complete the form, make payment and submit the form to the respective section office.

Please submit all requests for photos not later than March 6. Prints will be ready for pick up after April 12.

Community Thank You from the Girl Scouts

The Girls Scouts would like to extend their thanks and appreciation to all the students, faculty and parents who supported the Valentine's Bake Sale last Friday.  We hope you enjoyed all the great goodies!  Once again, the sale was a huge success.  Over 50,000Rs was raised for our charity.  Next Saturday, Feb. 28 the Scouts along with a few other volunteers, will be painting and constructing a library and playground for the children at Thiruvalluvar Gorukulam Home in Saidpet.  The children are very excited about their coming new spaces.  Our endeavors would not be possible without the generous support of our AISC community and our Chennai restaurant and hotel donors.  MANY THANKS!


Robyn Treyvaud Visit - Common Sense Education - February 26-27

It’s a big, confusing digital world out there and as parents we must keep up with all the social changes to help our children safely navigate this world. To support our community with this, we have partnered with Common Sense Media and Robyn Treyvaud to tackle some of the most critical issues we face as parents. This one-of-a-kind opportunity has been made possible by PCA Distinguished Visitors Fund, and should not be missed.

Please click HERE to sign up for these sessions. Descriptions of the sessions are included in the form.

Guest Artists on Campus - After-school Workshops – From the Theater Director

From next Monday the 16th to Friday the 27th, AISC has the honor to host three artists from Sukawati village on the island of Bali. Sukawati village is the center of puppet theatre in Bali and the lead artist, I Kadek Budi Setiawan, belongs to a world renown family of Balinese puppeteers.

Kadek will be joined by his accompanists, I Komang Ariawan, and the 15 year old gamelan sensation, Made Prameswara. Over their residency they will work with art, music and theatre teachers from the elementary, middle, and high school.

Students who would like to learn more about Shadow Puppetry, Balinese Dance, and Gamelan Music are invited to take the after school workshops in the FAC theatre room 2709, from 3:45-4:45, Monday-Thursday.  

Students who attend after school workshops will be invited to perform in music and puppetry with the artists at the school wide R.I.S.E. event on February 27th.

Measures of Academic Progress® Tests (March 3rd to 13th) 

Beginning March 3rd, most children will take tests called Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®). We give students in grades 2-5 MAP tests to determine each child’s instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year in the areas of math, reading, language usage and science (grades 3 to 5). When administered at regular intervals over time, it is possible to find out whether an individual, or an entire grade level, is making satisfactory progress in these basic skill areas. Your child will take the tests on a computer.

MAP tests are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing. The tests are not time-based but take on average 45 minutes to complete.

New parents often ask how their children can study for these tests. Really, the best way to prepare for these tests are to make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep the night before a test and has breakfast the morning of the test. These are healthy practices in general. Students cannot study for a MAP test.

MAP test scores are not reported on the elementary school report card. You will receive a MAP Student Progress Report after the Spring Break.

For more information on resources for parents, download the Parent Toolkit at www.nwea.org >> Partner Support.

Report of BOOK WEEK Celebrations


The K-2 classes were so excited about the Book Week  author Ms Stringer’s visit that they decided to do a follow-up activity in collaboration with visual arts. The topic was “Bringing Pictures to Life.” Students worked on the topic,  “The AQUARIUM” from  “ The Carnival of the Animals”

The students expressed their creativity by creating characters for the aquarium, and then brought them to life by movement to the music.
 
A special Thank you to Mr. Jet and team for giving us this opportunity.

Have a great weekend and remember, there is no school for students tomorrow.

Kevin Hall
Elementary School Principal

Friday, February 13th, 2015

Dear Parents,

This week, the elementary school celebrated Book Week and our theme this year was “Books and the Arts: Connecting Text and Creativity!” During five fun-filled days, students engaged in numerous activities that brought books to life through the visual and performing arts. Librarians taught special lessons in the CIC, classroom teachers did extension activities, and art and music teachers made connections between their subject areas and books. Many students also took part in several optional activities at lunchtime including readers theater, mural design, and dance. However, our special guests were the highlight of the week! Ms. Lauren Stringer, author and illustrator (laurenstringer.com) and Ruby Smith, an international dance instructor, (rubyjosephine.com) joined us to talk about creativity, an important piece of our school mission statement. Our guests led an assembly for students, presented at our parent coffee on Tuesday, and led numerous student and teacher workshops. Both Ms. Lauren and Ms. Ruby mentioned that they loved visiting AISC and were extremely impressed with our students’ creative ideas and imagination! Below are some pictures of students participating in a mural-making workshop. Special thanks to the PCA for  helping to sponsor this visit through the Distinguished Visitor's Fund.

Trimester Two Report Cards

Trimester two report cards will be ready for parent viewing in Skyward at 6 pm on Thursday, February 19th.  If you have not previously accessed Skyward or do not know your login, please reset your Skyward password by clicking on this link or by copying the following URL and pasting it into your web browser:
https://aiscskyward.aisch.org/scripts/wsisa.dll/WService=wsEAplus/skyportforgot

1. When you access this link you will be asked for your username  (<Login>) or email address.

2. Enter your username or email and then click the "Submit" button.

3. Check your email to confirm your password reset.

4. When you click the link in your email, it will open to the password reset page where you will enter your desired password twice.

5. The Skyward login screen should appear (if not, you may access Skyward in the Quicklinks menu on the school website).

6. Enter you username  (<Login>) and password.

Once you have completed these steps, you will be able to view all the information that relates to your child, including your address, telephone numbers, email address and your child's health information. Please check this information and contact the Admissions Office should any changes be required.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions or have any difficulty in accessing Skyward. Email itsupport@aisch.org if you have any login issue or any other Skyward problem.

Safe Internet Browsing at Home

While at school using the AISC network your child is safe from the risks of finding inappropriate adult content online.  At home, however, they may not be protected by the same restrictions.  Do you know how to be sure your child is safe while searching the web?  Whether its a spelling accident or curiosity, be prepared at home by locking safe search on student devices.  Here's how to do it:

1. Sign in to Google with a Google account other than your child's.

2. At the bottom of the screen choose Settings->Search Settings

3. Tick the box Filter Explicit Results and click Lock Safe Search

4. You will be asked to enter your password again.  Use your password, not your child's.

5. Click Lock Safe Search again and wait for it to complete.

6. Complete this on other installed browsers such as Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox.

7. When you search, you will now see some colorful balloons in the upper right. 

8. If your child is using his or her laptop in line-of-sight from you, you should be able to see this symbol to be assured.  

AMIS (Association for Music in International Schools)

AMIS runs music festivals at international schools around the world. The participants are selected through a rigorous audition process. This year we have two students have received the honor to participate in this festival: Yoon Jung Kim  for Oboe and Suzu Toyonaga for French Horn. Congratulations to these two young musicians. 

From February 11th to 14th, AISC will be hosting 87 participants from 16 of the best international schools from around Asia, along with their band directors and a panel of AMIS officials. The festival will involve many hours of focused rehearsals, leading up to a gala concert on tomorrow at 6.00 p.m. in the FAC Auditorium. There is no better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than listening to the beautiful music of these young Mozarts, Bachs, Louis Armstrongs, and A.R. Rahmans. Please join us for some fun music on February 14!

Read Alouds in the CIC

The Elementary/Middle School CIC is hosting a French read-aloud for students on Tuesday, February 17, a Korean read-aloud on Tuesday, February 24, and an Italian read-aloud on Wednesday, February 25. All three are from 3:45-4:15. The read-alouds are for students in preschool to grade two and take place on the ground floor of the CIC. As a reminder, parents are asked to accompany their children to the read-aloud. We hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Jet (wjeremy@aisch.org).

Elementary School Choir

The February 2015 Choir Concert Program, "Lift Every Voice,” is on Thursday, February 19th at 5.00 p.m. in the FAC auditorium. In the past, only the Middle and High School Choirs and the Community Choir performed. This year, the Elementary School Choir is also participating. Please do come!

Guest Artist on Campus: After-School Workshops!

From next Monday the 16th to Friday the 27th, AISC has the honor to host three artists from Sukawati village on the island of Bali. Sukawati village is the center of puppet theatre in Bali and the lead artist, I Kadek Budi Setiawan, belongs to a world-renowned family of Balinese puppeteers.

Kadek will be joined by his accompanists, I Komang Ariawan, and the 15 year old gamelan sensation, Made Prameswara.  While here, they will work with art, music and theater teachers from the elementary, middle, and high schools. 

Elementary students (grades 2-5) who would like to learn more about Shadow Puppetry, Balinese Dance, and Gamelan Music are invited to take the after school workshops in the FAC theatre room 2709, from 3:45-4:45, Mon-Thursday. Registered students will report to the ES Cafeteria as they would for a regular ASA. There will be a placard with, "Guest Artists" written on it. Students are asked to assemble at this point. School personnel will take students to the FAC and bring them back around 4:50, which is a little later than a normal ASA pick up. Students who attend after school workshops will be invited to perform in music and puppetry with the artists at the school wide R.I.S.E. event on February 27th.  

To take part in this exciting opportunity are asked to sign up here.

In closing, take a look at this awesome picture of our grade 1 students, teachers and teacher assistants who have formed a heart to celebrate their Friendship Day! Thank you to the parents who helped organized this great day for the students.

Have a great weekend!

Kevin Hall
Elementary School Principal

Friday, February 6th

Dear Parents,

It was great to see so many families at the Jan Jamboree last week. I had no idea that I was going to be on the receiving end of many water balloons, but the children had fun throwing them at me- and each one was refreshing as it was getting quite hot on the field!

Food Services Update

You still have time to contribute to the parent survey about food service at the elementary school. The Nutrition Task Force will review the results at the February meeting, and will be using the feedback to inform future improvements. The survey closes on Monday, February 9th.

Click here to get started.

Book Week: February 9th to 13th 

As part of "Books and the Arts," our theme for this year's ES and MS Book Week, we have the immense pleasure of welcoming two very talented artists to help us celebrate books. Lauren Stringer, a renowned author and illustrator, will be joining AISC alongside her daughter, Ruby Smith, who is an accomplished international dance instructor. While in Chennai, Lauren and Ruby will be leading workshops for both students and staff, showing them that stories can take on rich new meaning when connected to the arts! Below are Lauren and Ruby's biographies.

Lauren Stringer

Lauren Stringer is an artist, author, script-writer, and theatrical designer living in Minneapolis. She has exhibited her art in museums and galleries across the country. As an author and illustrator, she does numerous school visits around the world as well where she shares her passion for writing and drawing. Her work has won numerous honors, including the International Reading Association Children's Choice Award, the Minnesota Book Award, Booklist's Top Ten Art Books of the Year, and the Crayola Kids Best Book of the Year Award.

Ruby Smith

Ruby Smith is an international dance instructor, currently based in Tangier, Morocco. She teaches contemporary dance with a focus on personal expression, creativity, and connections between words, stories and movement. An esteemed choreographer, Ruby has worked with mentoring projects in the United States, as an artist in residence at the American School of Paris, and led dance workshops in London. Some of her work in London is also connected to performance workshops used to discuss important issues, such as domestic violence and other forms of abuse.

Parent Coffee with the ES Administration

Lauren and Ruby will be our guest speakers at our next parent coffee (Tuesday, February 10th in the Black Box Theater). Lauren will share her story of becoming and illustrator and writer. Her daughter will also join her. How perfect to have a parent and daughter talking to parents about fostering creativity in their children!  She will also share the story of making the book, When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky. There will certainly time for a Q&A. 

AMIS (Association for Music in International Schools)

AMIS runs music festivals at international schools around the world. The participants are selected through a rigorous audition process. This year we have two students have received the honor to participate in this festival: Yoon Jung Kim  for Oboe and Suzu Toyonaga for French Horn. Congratulations to these two young musicians. 

On February 11-14, we will be hosting 87 participants from 16 of the best international schools from around Asia, along with their band directors and a panel of AMIS officials. The festival will run from February 11-15, 2015 and will involve many hours of focused rehearsals, leading up to a gala concert on Saturday, February 14 at 6.00 p.m. in the AISC auditorium. There is no better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than listening to the beautiful music of these young Mozarts, Bachs, Louis Armstrongs, and A.R. Rahmans. Please join us for some fun music on February 14!

Ticket booths will be set up before and after school on the Thursday and Friday (February 12-13) before the concert, one by ES entrance and one by the main entrance. We will have tickets available free of charge for the general AISC community at that time. They are just admittance passes to keep our numbers straight. If anyone needs to get one before those days, please contact Ms. Deborah Lee at ldeborah@aisch.org. 

Have a great weekend!

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal