Friday, September 29, 2017

Dear Parents,

Thank you for attending our goal setting conferences this week. Children were so proud and excited to have you in their classrooms, and we appreciate your support in partnering with us! We have also finished Vision and Hearing screening of all our Elementary students this week.

This weekend is a long weekend - no school on Monday - enjoy the time together with friends and family.

Calling all singers for our Elementary School Choir!
Grades: 3, 4, & 5
When: Wednesday mornings 7.30am
Where: Room 3144 with Ms Sarah, Mr Peter and Mr Finny
Starting next Wednesday 4 October
For registration please click here     

If you like to sing and want to participate, please fill out the form to register. Attendance is required every Wednesday through to the winter break with performances at the ES Carols event as well as other celebrations of learning.  

Big Bad Blue
Next Friday 6th and Saturday 7th is our own Big Bad Blue Swim meet. We are hosting swimmers from Stonehill International School as well as several local Chennai schools to compete against our AISC swimmers, and we welcome you all to come and watch our swimmers compete.  

ES Parent Coffee - Tuesday 10 October 8:45am in Madras Hall
This parent coffee will focus on our core learning programs in the Elementary. Learning Coaches will give an overview of how the programs and teaching in these areas work, and leave time for questions and answers.  

ES Celebrate India Month (repeat announcement)
October is our Celebrate India month. We have many exciting events and celebrations planned and listed below.  

All assemblies will be in the FAC theatre. You are welcome to attend the student performance assemblies on these dates and times:  

• Grades 3 - 5 - Friday, October 6th at 8.45am
• EY5 - Grade 2 - Friday  October 13th at 8.45am  

Students are encouraged to wear Indian clothes (optional) on the day of their performance (teachers, too) and on the Closing Assembly day. If you wish to purchase Indian traditional clothes here is a list of shops:
Nalli (T.Nagar or other branches)
Sundari Silks (T.Nagar)
RMKV (In Phoenix Mall)
Fab India (Besant Nagar)

Indian Meal (provided by the school) Friday, Oct 27
All students will be provided a complimentary Indian Lunch catered by our Taj Madras Flight Kitchen on Friday, October 27th. Spices in the food will be minimal. The menu is: Vegetable Fried rice (Rice with carrot, peas and beans), Poori (wheat bread), potatoes, Chicken tikka (non-veg) or paneer tikka (veg), badhushahi (sweet), vadam (rice crisps), and juice/yoghurt.

Parents who do not want their children to have this meal may kindly send a packed lunch from home.  

October Lunch Menu & Order links  
To order a school lunch for your child, please use this Payonline link.
October Elementary Lunch Menus: (Grades EY- 3 Pre-order) and Grades (4 & 5 No Preorder)   

Have a wonderful weekend!  

Warmly,  

Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman

Friday, September 22, 2017

Dear Parents,

Thank you for joining us for today’s Parade of Nations as part of our United Nations Day celebration today. A wonderful presentation by our Grade 5 speakers; Norah, Harris, Eunchae, Hana and Nassim. They shared the story ‘Peace Crane’ by Sheila Hamanaka, a story about Sadako and the peace cranes, ‘affirming the true spirit of all who believe that peace is possible in our troubled time.’

Goal Setting Conferences
Next Monday after school, and next Tuesday all day are our Goal Setting Conferences. This means on Tuesday 26th, there is no regular classes. Children in the Early Years to Grade 2 do not attend school on this day. Children in Grades 3-5 attend only for their conference time, together with their parents.

We look forward to all parents attending a conference with their child’s teacher.

Meet AISC - Ross Connelly - Grade 4 Teacher

Ross loves engaging students in big conversations and asking them deep questions. He can speak French and wishes he knew more languages. When Ross is not teaching , he likes to jog and has recently started making homemade ice cream. Before teaching he served in West Africa with the Peace Corps, where he slept many nights in a mud hut. Ross has taught students from grade 1 through grade 12 and Elementary is his favorite!. He has been really proud to work among a lot of inspiring teachers at AISC and other schools and has learned a lot from them. Their examples have pushed him to be a better educator. Sometimes people tell him he looks like James Hetfield from Metallica after he cut his hair off. Ross says “It would be pretty fun to be him for a day when he's playing a sold-out stadium show!”

Vision and Hearing Screening (27th - 29th September)

Doctors from Apollo Shine will be on campus from Wednesday 27th - Friday 29th September to conduct a Vision and Hearing Screening. All Elementary students will be screened. You will be contacted by the Nurse if your child requires any follow up. Homeroom teachers will announce the date and time for their class via Edmodo.

Celebrate India Month

October is our Celebrate India month. We have many exciting events and celebrations planned for our students.  Parents are welcome to attend the student performance assemblies in the FAC theater on:

• Friday, October 6th at 8.45am - Grades 3-5 assembly
• Friday, October 13th at 8.45am - EY5 - Grade 2 assembly

Students are encouraged to wear Indian clothes (optional) on the day of their performance and on the Closing Assembly day on 27th. If you wish to purchase Indian traditional clothes here is a list of shops:

1. Nalli (T.Nagar or other branches)
2. Sundari Silks (T.Nagar)
3. RMKV (In Phoenix Mall)
4. Fab India (Besant Nagar)

Indian Meal (provided by the school) Friday, Oct 27:

All students will be provided a complimentary Indian Lunch catered by our Taj Madras Flight Kitchen on Friday, October 27th. Spices in the food will be minimal. The menu is: Vegetable Fried rice (Rice with carrot, peas and beans), Poori (wheat bread) and potatoes, Chicken tikka(non-veg) or paneer tikka(veg), badhushahi (sweet), vadaam (rice crisps), juice/yoghurt.

Please send a packed home lunch if you do not want your child to have this meal.

October Lunch Menu & Order links  

To order a school lunch for your child, please use this Payonline link.

October Elementary Lunch Menus: (Grades EY- 3 Pre-order) and Grades (4 & 5 No Preorder)

ES Discovery Studios needs your help!
We are running low on some items and were hoping that you could recycle them by bringing them into the Discovery Studios. We are in need of the following items:

• plastic containers - any size or shape and washed
• plastic lids from all kinds of containers
• scrap fabric from old clothes or material if you sew
• broken down small appliances
• old tools that are no longer wanted

Items can be dropped off in 2602/2603 - Thank you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Warmly,

Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman

Friday, September 15, 2017

Dear parents,

Hope to see many of you at tomorrow’s International Day from 11am-3pm and at our Parade of Nations on Friday, September 22nd at 8:45 am.

A big thank you to all our Grade 5 parents who came for our Classroom Without Walls - Pondicherry, trip information session on Tuesday. If you were unable to make it, or if you are a parent of a fourth grader who is keen to know what will happen, you can click here for the presentation.  

Next week is Spirit week! This will be a combined school event for all AISC students in Elementary, Middle and High School. We appreciate your support in helping your child decide which clothes to wear to support the spirit theme of the day!  

Monday 18: Pyjama day

Tuesday 19: Formal day

Wednesday 20: Multiple day

Thursday 21: One-color day

Friday 22: UN day (national dress)

Congratulations to so many of our 3rd and 4th grade students who showed courage and confidence by sharing their work at this morning’s Learning Celebration. We were treated to a wide variety of views inside classroom learning - everything from literacy to science, from community building to music, and from children's rights to cultural celebrations. We were thrilled to have so many parents in the audience.

Marco, Thomas, Eunchae and Jihyeon represented 5th grade at this afternoon’s RISE event and described their experiences at the Elementary Robotics Competition.

Goal Setting Conferences - Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 September

• Monday, September 25th from 3:45 pm - 5:30 pm (after a school day)
• Tuesday, September 26th from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm (no school/classes on this day for students)

These will be 20 minutes in length, with one family in the room at a time. The main focus will be on goal setting, with baseline learning and assessments will be shared, to show the “starting point” for your child. Conferences are scheduled online.  

Early Years to Grade 2: Parent/Teacher conference (no students present)

Teachers lead the conference
Sharing of learning samples and goals  

Grade 3 - 5:  Student/Parent/Teachers (all students attend)
Child will co-lead the conference together with the teacher
Sharing of learning samples and goals

Music, Art, PE, World Language and Indian Studies teachers need to be available to speak to on a drop in basis, or parents can schedule this in advance via email.  

As per last year, we are requesting that all families make an appointment to attend on either one of the two days. Click on this link to sign in for your child’s conference.  

Have a great weekend everyone!

Warmly,

Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman

Friday, September 08, 2017

Dear Parents,

This morning our Grade 2 students led our Learning Celebration, presenting items about how to choose a reading book, and how we get started for writing workshop. It was outstanding to see so many parents in attendance. Thank you for joining us!

This week we also had our first Elementary Robotics competition and the energy and concentration in the rooms and for the challenges was amazing. Experiencing robotics was new for many of our children and this incredibly hands on and engaging experience with robotics was an excellent way for them to learn and explore. Thank you to AltSense, Ms Geetha and Ms Priya who worked with our Grade 5 students in this challenge.

Upcoming Elementary Parent Coffee - Tuesday September 15, 8:45 am in the BBT

This coffee is for Grade 5 parents! We will be presenting about the upcoming Classroom Without Walls (CWW) overnight trip to Pondicherry. We look forward to sharing all our planning and information with you all. Parents will also be asked to complete a field trip permission form/waiver at the end of this meeting. Your child’s Health form and Handbook Signature page should have been submitted to participate in the trip. See you all there!

Meet Preethika Royappan - Elementary Teacher Assistant

Ms Preethika is passionate about teaching and interacting with young children through games and class routines. She lived in Singapore for 14 years and taught in an International school for elementary students. Ms Preethika herself is a lifelong learner - she has completed the A2 Level in French from Alliance Francaise and is looking forward to the next level! She has a son who is in the sixth grade, and her interests include music, art & craft and cooking different cuisines. If Ms Preethika was on a star on a show, it would be the Oprah Winfrey Show,  because she believes Oprah has a unique personality and is gifted with being able to connect with people of all wavelengths!

Goal Setting Conferences - Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 September

• Monday, September 25th from 3:45 pm - 5:30 pm (after a school day)
• Tuesday, September 26th from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm (no school/classes on this day for students)

These will be 20 minutes in length, with one family in the room at a time. These are a valuable opportunity for you to learn more about your child’s learning and learning goals they and their teacher have set. The main focus will be on goal setting, with baseline learning and assessments will be shared, to show the “starting point” for your child.

Child care will be arranged for AISC students whilst parents attend conferences.

Conferences are scheduled online.

Early Years to Grade 2: Parent/Teacher Conference (no students present)

Teachers lead the conference
Sharing of learning samples and goals

Grade 3 - 5:  Student/Parent/Teachers (all students attend)
Child will co-lead the conference together with the teacher
Sharing of learning samples and goals

Music, Art, PE, World Language and Indian Studies teachers are available to speak to on a drop in basis, or you can schedule this in advance via email.

We do request that all families make an appointment to attend on either one of the two days.

Click on this link to sign in for your child’s conference.  

Have a great weekend everyone!

Warmly,

Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman

Friday, September 01, 2017

Dear Parents,

As we approach the end of another great week, please have a restful and refreshing weekend! There is a nasty viral bug going around that many teachers and students have displayed symptoms of, including sore throats, fever and headaches.

We ask that you monitor your child’s health and if they display any fever or other viral related symptoms to please keep them at home and get the rest they need. This also avoids us continuing to spread these germs, so our school environment remains a healthy place. Please remember if your child is well enough to come to school, they are well enough to participate in all learning classes including PE and swimming.

Back to School Presentations
Thank you to all the parents who came last Tuesday to our Back to School presentations. It was great seeing so many of you here. If you were not able to make it you can find each of the grade level presentations attached here.

Specialist presentation	Early Years 3                Early Years 4	Early Years 5	Grade 1
Grade 2	Grade 3	Grade 4	Grade 5

Elementary Playground
We are fortunate to have great playground spaces with climbing structures to play on. For safety reasons, the larger metal structures can only be used for children over 6 years old. Children younger than this are welcome to play on the smaller plastic structures at the front half of the playground. Thank you for your support in this.

Early Release
Next Wednesday 6 September is also an early release. We appreciate your help in collecting your children promptly at 2pm so our faculty can begin their professional development sessions.

Upcoming Elementary Parent Coffee - Tuesday September 12

This coffee is for Grade 5 parents! We will be presenting about the upcoming Classroom Without Walls (CWW) overnight trip to Pondicherry. We look forward to sharing all our planning and information with you.

Meet AISC - Introducing Jack Bissonnette - PE teacher

Mr Jack is a new addition to our Elementary PE teaching team. He loves teaching kids how to work together to solve problems, come up with collaborative plans, and have fun with one another. Mr Jack thinks students should know that he loves to go snowboarding any opportunity that he gets. He is also trying to learn how to surf, now that he is living in Chennai! Before moving to Chennai, Mr Jack lived in Kuwait and worked at the American International School Kuwait. Prior to that, that he worked within the Special Education field back in the US, and he also coached American Football at William Jewell College.

What Reality Show would you likely find Mr Jack on? Fear Factor, - and he'd win as long as sharks weren't involved!

MAP Testing (repeat announcement)
This coming week we begin Measures of Academic Performance (MAP) testing for all our students in Grades 2-5. This online computer based test measures academic performance and growth over time in the areas of math, reading and language usage (grammar, spelling etc). Grade 3-5 students are also measured in science. Results from these give us individual as well as class and grade level progress and help us create teaching and learning programs to meet each child's’ instructional level.

Each test takes around 45 minutes, and no preparation at home is necessary. Parents often ask how they can help their child get ready for these and the best way is to ensure your child gets a good night sleep before their test as well as eats a substantial breakfast on the day. These are overall great preparation ideas for any day at school - students cannot study in advance for a MAP test.

Later in September, parents will receive a MAP Student Progress Report card. For further information, parents can go to this link.

UN Peace International Peace Day - September 22 (repeat announcement)

This year's UN International Peace Day celebration will be held on Friday, September 22. The Parade of Nations, where all of the student body parades in their national dress across the stage, will be held in the auditorium.

Once  they finish the parade, EY5 - 5 students will be seated in the auditorium for a short program. The Parade of Nations will be followed by a normal school day.

How does the parade work?

Students will be marching under their citizenship of record as listed in PowerSchool, our student information system, and as indicated during the admissions process.

If you would like to make a change and have your child(ren) march under a flag different from their citizenship, please kindly send this information directly to Sanja Ilić, Director of Admissions, (admissionsdirector@aischennai.org). Admissions office will be accommodating the aforementioned requests until September 1, 2017.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman