Friday, May 26, 2017

Dear Parents,

Our last full week together and it was a week of many celebrations and accomplishments. Watching our Grade 3-5 swimmers in the pool yesterday showed many impressive aquatic abilities!

 
Also last week at the Stonehill swim meet in Bangalore, 51 of our Elementary School swimmers competed against students from international schools in India and Sri Lanka. Our Raptors were the overall swimmers, with three Elementary students taking top overall prizes.

Congratulations!

Hanae Mori - 3rd overall in the 10-11 year old girls
Harris Cozart - 1st overall in the 9 (and under) boys
Milo Sion - 3rd overall in the 10-11 year old boys

We also had a lot of other medal winners (142 medal winners in all) with 53 gold, 40 silver and 38 bronze!  Well done all our Raptor swimmers.

Parents - don’t forget to cancel your swimmeet app subscription so you don’t get charged all year long!

AISC Grade 5 NESA Virtual Science Fair (NVSF) Award Winners

The NVSF celebrates its twelfth year in 2017. This acclaimed project is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Overseas Schools and crosses geopolitical borders in order to enable middle and upper elementary school students from over 75 countries to participate in scientific research, multicultural conversations, and exchange of science investigation and problem-solving ideas.

This year, AISC had six Grade 5 teams (19 students) participate in the event. The top teams were selected to advance and on May 23rd, AISC’s Team Wave Power secured the top spot in the competition. Our 5th grade science award winners are:

First Place: Karan Chakravarthy, Rajiv.P. Krishna, and Yash Adukia

Question: What is the impact of bigger and faster waves on the amount of energy generated from an oscillating column of water?

Summary: Our students developed and tested a model of a wave-powered turbine generator. The project procedure was well-designed and the results clearly presented. This project employed a clever use of materials and testing (including the use of a computer fan for the turbine) and had a strong real-world relevance.

This is the fourth time since 2009 that an AISC 5th grade team has captured first place! In recognition of the first place finish, AISC will be awarded the Cameron Cup at the Fall Leadership Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE, October, 2017.

Thanks to the many parents and 5th grade teachers, Ms. Kelly and Ms. Salome, for their support and encouragement!

Two Elementary Graduations next week!
The Fifth Grade Class of 2017 will soon graduate from Elementary School and will move to Middle School. We are proud of every one of our fifth grade students who are ready for this rite of passage. This year the Fifth Grade Graduation Ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 1 from 9:30- 10:30 in the FAC theatre.  All are welcome!

The Kindergarten Class of 2017 is very excited about their upcoming Graduation Ceremony.  Graduation will take place at 9:00am, Tuesday, May 30. Graduation serves as a beautiful milestone that provides an opportunity for children to pause and reflect on all the wonderful things they've learned on their journey through Preschool and Kindergarten. At the same time, it helps them to understand that this is the end of Kindergarten and they will be moving on to First Grade very soon. We invite you to join us in congratulating them and celebrating this milestone.

An infographic from a 9th Grader on Videogames.

"Hello, my name is Prahalad Giridhar, a current Freshman. As part of our Health curriculum, we were tasked in completing a passion project of our choosing. As someone who has been playing video games since a young age, I'm extremely passionate about how video games are evolving not only for recreational purposes but also for educational purposes. Looking at how our school has changed during the 4 years I've been here, I see an opportunity for video games to take their place as a form of education within our school.

“Video games are commonly stigmatized due to the generalizations that are made about the people who play them. Some claim that video games lead to laziness, attachment, impaired judgement, and a handful of other negative effects too. That being said, video games being used for educational purposes in a moderated environment has been shown to improve and develop students in a variety of areas.

As someone who is passionate about this topic, my job is to make sure that the proper information is delivered so that everybody is on the same page. Regardless of your opinions on using video games at school or in a household, I'd really appreciate it, as a student, if you'd set aside a maximum of ten minutes to read through my infographic. It would mean a lot to me if I could make even one parent consider the opportunities that video games can present at school.

Return of Library Books and Yearbooks

Parents and students who have library books checked out, please return these to the library as soon as possible! Your child’s yearbook will be held with the office until library clearance is received.

Have a great weekend!

Warmly,

Keryn Dowling

Friday, May19, 2017

Dear Parents,

A very HOT week in the Elementary School! Most of our recess and lunch times we have been indoors, out of the heat. So this may mean your child is coming home with extra energy to burn off in the early evening when the sun goes down.

Teachers also send their appreciation to you ensuring your child is coming to school dressed in cool clothing with a water bottle every day. This helps!

Today I have spent the day in Bangalore with 51 of our fabulous Raptors swimmers. They are amazing, and doing AISC proud with many children achieving personal bests. Go Raptors!

Upper Elementary Swim Gala

Next Thursday 25 May our Grade 3-5  students will be involved in a swim gala. This is a chance for our swimmers to show off the skills they have gained through our Aquatics program. Parents are encouraged to come support our swimmers!

Schedule:

• 8:45-9:25 - Grade 3 (come to school wearing swim suits)
• 9:25-10:05 - Grade 4
• 10:05-10:45 - Grade 5

Middle School Orientation for Grade 5 Parents

If you were unable to attend the Middle School Orientation for Parents on Wednesday or would like to review what was covered, you can access the slides that were shown HERE. We are looking forward to seeing you and welcoming your children to the MS in August!  

Parents: We Need Your Expertise in 2017-2018!

As we look ahead to the 2017-2018 school year, we are seeing a number of areas for which we need some specific expertise, and we are hopeful that our parents can helps us. For starters, here are two:

1.     Our iLab garden team successfully prototyped some raised bed gardens this year that we want students and teachers to use to connect to specific learning in classrooms. We need knowledgeable and passionate gardeners to assist our teachers. Do you have a passion and know-how for gardening? Interested in helping us support teachers and their work? Share your expertise with us! Please email Andrew Hoover (headofschool@aischennai.org) if you are interested in this opportunity.

2.     Over the summer, we are installing an instructional kitchen in the ES. We need parents who know their way around a kitchen and love to be creative. Do you have passion and know-how in the area of cooking? Interested in helping us support student learning? Share your expertise with us! Please email or Keryn Dowling (dkeryn@aischennai.org) if you would like to be involved with the teaching kitchen.

3.   We are looking for an Alumni Coordinator who would work with our Director of Advancement to coordinate and organize the alumni group. This is a great opportunity for a young alumni student, alumni faculty member or alumni parent. Please contact Kirsten Welbes (wkirsten@aischennai.org) if you'd like to be work with the alumni network.

Please spread the word and connect to our Mission.  

Grade 4 Service Learning
In our Social Studies unit, Water as a Human Right, students understand that all over the world, the impoverished suffer from a lack of clean drinking water and access to water for sanitation. In many regions of the world, the struggle to meet this basic need impacts the entire society. Students consider the concept of Human Rights as laid down by the United Nations. They are delving into the global issue of the water crisis and they are creating Public Service Announcements (PSA) with a call for action.

We are creating water beads to represent "Every Drop Counts." The beads will be made into bracelets/necklaces that we will be selling in the elementary school courtyard from 8:15 am to 8:45 am and 3:15 pm to 3:45 pm on May 22-June 1st. The cost of each "Every Drop Counts" bracelet/necklace is 100 rupees. The proceeds from this fundraiser will go to purchase a water filter for the Seva Samajam orphanage.

After School Activities (ASA)

All after school activities end on May 26, 2017, for this semester.

ASA - 2017-18:

ASA moves from the semester system to the trimester system. Children can sign up and experience a greater variety of ASAs in this pattern. Each trimester will have 11-12 classes.

TRIMESTER 1	TRIMESTER 2	TRIMESTER 3
Aug. 21 - Nov. 17	Nov. 20 - March 2	March 5 - May 25

Sign Ups:  Will be three times yearly, before the start of each trimester. More details will be sent once we are back for the next academic year.

Fees: The fees for ASA per day of class for one trimester will be Rs.3000/-.

Have a great weekend!

Keryn Dowling

Friday, May 12, 2017

Dear Parents,

This week our Early Years and Grade 1 team have signed off on our new project/building spaces that will be completed over the summer. We are thrilled that our youngest learners will have a purpose build outdoor learning space to support their play-based learning. Please see below for images of our mud kitchen which is an integral part of this. We are collecting any pots, pans, wooden utensils and other real kitchen items for our outdoor kitchen. If you are moving on, or have surplus, please drop any kitchen items off to our ES Office. Thank you!

Raptors Swim Meet in Bangalore - Friday 19th May

Next week we have 50 Elementary Students who will be traveling to Bangalore with their families to participate in the Stonehill  Super Splash Swim Meet which will take place on May 19-20. Thank you for your support of this event. We are all so excited for our young swimmers and wish them all well.  Go Raptors!

We wish all our swimmers the best:

Carolina Serravalle, Clara Clausen, Elizabeth Choi, Felina Lange, Fuuka Kawano, Hanae Mori, Hannah Dalby, Imogene Monk, Julia Domingo, Lee Ann Ha, Lucienne Crough, Maddy Cozart, Magdalena Bustamante Runeckles, Maya Martin, Nanami Goda, Ritika Sheeju, Ronja Wohltmann, Summer  Dowling, Tess Welbes, Adam Martins, Ahmed Deriner, Angelo Coi, Antonio Mira, Bunshiro Fujiwara, Chihiro Bamba, Eishun Watanabe, Harris Cozart, Henry Larsen, Hyeongjun Kwon, Jacob McFarland, JunHyeok Yoon, Koshiro Fujiwara, Milo Sion, Morgan Simian, Noa Ravon, Oliver Hawkridge, Raheel Thakore, Reda Oumina, Riley Gaffney, Ryo Watanabe, Sam DeTogroff Coatallio, Seunghyun Seong, Sungwoo Kang, Tanuj Siripurapu, Thomas Bardoux Valla, William Hawkridge, Yoonwoo Kang, Youngje Park, Yungwon Jin and Ziad Oumina.

Girl Scouts

There is still time for your daughter to experience what it means to be a Girl Scout.

We are looking for girls entering grades 1-3 in the fall to form a Daisy/Brownie Troop. Our troop is affiliated with Girl Scouts Overseas and girls will register and be a part of this organization, which is recognized all across the world. If your daughter is interested, please email Erin Weller at peweller@gmail.com for more information.

For girls in grades 4 and 5, we will need a leader to coordinate with the Daisy/Brownie leader. The Junior troop will be a part of the larger Troop 18702, but the activities will be separate. Please email Erin Weller at the address above if you are interested in leading these girls.

It is important that we have a firm number of committed girls this spring, so that uniforms and materials can be ordered over the summer. Come be a part of this organization that has been changing girls' lives for over 100 years.

Screening of the documentary “Screenagers” - Repeat announcement

On Tuesday the 16th of May from 3:45pm to 5:30pm we will be hosting a screening and brief discussion on the documentary film Screenagers. The film explores how screen time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance. Parents who have seen the film have said they now feel more confident and better equipped to establish balance around screen time.

We are inviting parents and their children (recommended age 10 and up) to attend this event which we are providing for free in the FAC Theater. The film will be viewed with Korean subtitles.

For Grade 5 parents - Moving to Middle School, Tuesday, May 16th - repeat announcement

As the move to Middle School gets nearer, we have two transition activities scheduled in May that we want to let you know about. On Thursday May 18th, grade 5 students will attend a presentation with Mr. Phan, the MS Principal, and Ms. Gold, the MS Counselor, that will orient them to Middle School. Following that, our MS Student Ambassadors will take the grade 5 students to visit grade 6 classrooms where they will participate in an activity to learn even more about Middle School and then take a tour of select MS locations.

In addition to helping our students understand more about Middle School, Mr. Phan and Ms. Gold will be hosting a Parent Coffee on Tuesday, May 16th at 8:45 in the Hall of Light so that we can introduce ourselves and explain the middle school experience to parents as well. We will also discuss some changes that you might encounter along the way with your child.  We hope to see you there!  

TREE Foundation Towel Collection - repeat announcement

First graders are collecting towels for the TREE Foundation as part of their service learning project. Please donate gently used towels by placing them in the designated boxes found around the school campus. Thank you!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Keryn Dowling

Friday, May 5, 2017

Dear Parents,

This morning we had a PCA Appreciation Brunch to celebrate all the work our PCA do for our school.  

We would like to extend our appreciation to our wonderful Elementary PCA Reps who have provided valuable input and feedback into many of our ES initiatives this year, such as our new Home Learning policy as well as our plans for the new Early Years classrooms and outdoor learning spaces.

We thank Sharon Bonnar, Srini Seetharahm, Liza Baumgartner, Kala Kuma and Julie Jacob for being this years’ ES PCA Reps and for all they have done for our Elementary School.  Thank you!

Last Parent Coffee - Tuesday 9 May, 8.45am, ES Cafeteria
At this parent coffee we will discuss transitions, and invite any family who is leaving AISC as well as families who will be saying goodbye to friends this year, to attend. Counselors will talk about many  useful strategies leaving families can use to ensure children’s transition out of AISC and Chennai is well planned and managed.

Screening of the documentary “Screenagers”

On Tuesday the 16th of May from 3:45pm to 5:30pm we will be hosting a screening and brief discussion on the documentary film Screenagers. The film explores how screen time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance. Parents who have seen the film have said they now feel more confident and better equipped to establish balance around screen time.

We are inviting parents and their children (recommended age 10 and up) to attend this event which we are providing for free in the FAC Theater. The film will be viewed with Korean subtitles.

TREE Foundation Towel Collection
First graders are collecting towels for the TREE Foundation as part of their service learning project. Please donate gently used towels by placing them in the designated boxes found around the school campus. Thank you!

It's Girl Scout Time! Information Session - Thursday 11 May, 8:45
Sorry, there won't be any Thin Mints or Caramel DeLites, but there will be opportunities for your daughter to experience what it means to be a Girl Scout.

We are looking for girls entering grades 1-3 in the fall to form a Daisy/Brownie Troop. Our troop is affiliated with Girl Scouts Overseas and girls will register and be a part of this organization, which is recognized all across the world.

For girls in grades 4 and 5, we will need a leader to coordinate with the Daisy/Brownie leader. The Junior troop will be a part of the larger Troop 18702, but the activities will be separate. Please come to the information session if you might be interested in leading the Junior Troop.

It is important that we have a firm number of committed girls this spring, so that uniforms and materials can be ordered over the summer. Come be a part of this organization that has been changing girls' lives for over 100 years.

If your daughter is interested, please come to a brief information session on Thursday, May 11 at 8:45 in the Elementary Cafeteria. We will also be looking for a co-leader to help guide the troop.

For more information contact Erin Weller - pweller@gmail.com

For Grade 5 parents - Moving to Middle School, Tuesday, May 16th
As the move to Middle School gets nearer, we have two transition activities scheduled in May that we want to let you know about. On Thursday May 18th, grade 5 students will attend a presentation with Mr. Phan, the MS Principal, and Ms. Gold, the MS Counselor, that will orient them to Middle School. Following that, our MS Student Ambassadors will take the grade 5 students to visit grade 6 classrooms where they will participate in an activity to learn even more about Middle School and then take a tour of select MS locations.

In addition to helping our students understand more about Middle School, Mr. Phan and Ms. Gold will be hosting a Parent Coffee on Tuesday, May 16th at 8:45 in the Hall of Light so that we can introduce ourselves and explain the middle school experience to parents as well. We will also discuss some changes that you might encounter along the way with your child.  We hope to see you there!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Keryn Dowling