Friday, February 23, 2018

Dear Parents,

Look forward to seeing many of you at the Feb Fling tomorrow!

Theatre Games and Acro Dance Showcase!

We would like to invite the parents of all the students in Theatre Games and Acro Dance ASA to our Showcase. The young actors from Ms. Ula's ASA will introduce some of the theatre and movement games they have been playing and explain what they have learned from each game.

In Acro, led by Ms. Jane, students worked on beginner skills including, cartwheels, rolls, handstands, bridges, balances and splits.

All students worked extremely hard and are excited to share their hard work with you. The Showcase will take place Monday, February 26th, at 4:15pm in the FAC Theatre. We are looking forward to sharing with you!

Meet AISC - Linda Gerberich - Elementary Counselor

Like a number of the AISC teachers, Linda started her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She served in the Philippines and worked with teens who could not afford to go to school. Linda has been a School Counselor for 25 plus years in both international and US public schools. This is her first year at AISC and she came from working at an international school in Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki and Chennai are very different! Linda is originally from Ohio in the US. She loves that she gets to work with and know so many students and parents and teachers, because she enjoys the opportunity to turn a student's day around and help make it better. If Linda had a secret power, she would be able to speak any language!  

Sunday, March 4, 7AM-10AM

The Fifth Annual AISC RAPTORTHON!!!!

Looking for a fairly easy event to motivate you to get into shape? How about a great reason to do something fun with your child? Have you participated in the Raptorthon in prior years and want to try for a faster time?

Raptorthon 5 is a FUN FAMILY AND COMMUNITY EVENT for anyone in grade 4 or older.

This biathlon event combines swimming and running. Participants will be required to swim 150m, run 1600m then jump back in the pool and swim another 150m. 

•          Enter as an individual or as a team of two (one person swims and the other runs).   
•          Entry fee is 350 rupees per individual and 700 rupees per team. Late sign-up fee is 500 rupees per individual.
•         The proceeds will be used to cover the cost of the event and any remaining money will benefit a local charity.

           SIGN-UP HERE

•          Please bring a dish to share at Potluck Breakfast after the event
•          All participants will receive a certificate with their official time either at the breakfast or it can be collected from my office the following week.

If you have any questions, please contact Donna Fava, Aquatics Director.

Are you interested in exploring some of the best creations in the city? Are you interested in showing off your creativity? We have two opportunities for you as a participant or as a maker.

Participants will be able to engage in hands-on experiences at  “Maker Carnival Chennai”  -  a free to attend, community-run event right here at AISC. This ticketed event will be held on Saturday, March 10th, 2018 (walk in and walk out anytime during 10am to 4pm) and is a family friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness. A celebration of the maker movement! Don’t forget to sign up for your free ticket through here.

Makers interested in setting up their own booths are welcome to attend this event as well. Sign up as a maker to be able to showcase your creations and engage with the participants. Please be aware that this will be a registration event. Please register via the Maker Carnival website. You will need the ticket (printed or on a mobile device) in order to attend the event as a participant. Also, for more information regarding the event, including how to sign up as a Maker, please visit: http://www.aischennai.org/makercarnival by clicking the maker section and filling out the initial interest form.

March Lunch Menu & Order links  

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

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

Have a wonderful weekend.

Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Dear Parents,

This week our Elementary students got to enjoy a session with Bill Harley, a two-time Grammy award-winning artist and NPR commentator. Bill is a singer, storyteller, and author and all of our students had a wonderful time with him.

Photos of our students working with him are posted on our website photo gallery; password: raptors18.

Early Years – Grade 2 Art Exhibition

We also opened our EY - Grade 2 art exhibition this week in the FAC Atrium. All the great artwork from our youngest artists will remain up next week, so if you have not had the opportunity yet, please make sure you come by to check it out.

Faculty vs Students Soccer Game

Today, Mr Jack, inaugurated our first Faculty vs Students Soccer game. This was open to students in Grade 4 and 5, and was a lot of fun. Final score was 2-0 to the seven teachers who bravely played an outstanding game against four different student teams, who each played one quarter.  

Congratulations to Ms Lori, Mr Jack, Mr Elliot, Ms Jane, Ms Vanessa, Ms Keeley and Mr Marcus.

Feb Fling

Feb Fling is coming up and we hope you are all as excited as we are. The purpose of Feb Fling is to raise money for High School service clubs through a fair of booths for Middle and Elementary School. Last year we had a great turn out and were able to supply service clubs with lots of funds. We encourage you all to come to Feb Fling to support the high School service clubs. Tickets will be on sale all of next week in the mornings and after school, in front of the elementary and main office. Tickets will be priced at 400 rupees and will include one free meal and one raffle. Tickets can also be purchased on the day, for 500 rupees. Finally, people from outside the school can come as well, so if you have any friend who would like to come they can. We have a plethora of great booths this year so we hope you will all come.

After School Activities for Trimester 3

Trimester 3 is soon approaching. Please click here for information on ASA programs.

Visiting Authors - from the CIC

Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger from Outspoken Literacy are this year’s visiting authors. They have toured many international schools and received high accolades for years. We are very happy to have them here next week. Sara will be working primarily with Elementary School while Michael will be mostly with Middle School /High School.

Have a wonderful long weekend everyone!

Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman

Friday, February 09, 2018

Dear Parents,

This week 30 of our teachers participated in Responsive Classroom training. This training focuses on building communities, proactively responding to behaviour and students needs, and placing the social and emotional developmental stages of children at the forefront of learning.

Next week we have our annual Early Years – Grade 2 Art Exhibition, as well as a short week with Friday being a school holiday.

Grade 4 Sleepover

Last Friday our Grade 4 students had their school sleepover, which also included a pool party, games on the field as well as both dinner and breakfast at school. A great time was had by all Grade 4 students and their teachers.

Early Years 5 - Grade 2 Art Exhibition 

We invite you to the ‘Lower Elementary Art Exhibition’ from 12th till 23rd February, 2018. This is a one-time opportunity for you to view the fabulous artworks created by the EY5 to Grade 2 students under one roof.

The grand display will be at the FAC Atrium. Please do make time to visit and encourage all the effort put in by our lower elementary students.  

ES Parent Coffee cancellation reminder

The ES Parent Coffee that was scheduled for next Tuesday 13th February is cancelled. We will have our next parent coffee in April.

Family Concert with Bill Harley @AISC

Bill Harley, a two-time Grammy award-winning artist and NPR commentator, is coming to AISC. Bill is a singer, storyteller, and author with the Elementary School as his main audience. His music is fun and great for little kids as he does hand motions with the songs, and his books are great for older Elementary students. 

Elementary school students and their families are welcome to attend a Family Concert on Monday, February 12 at 3:45 in the Madras Hall. Bill will also have his songs and books for sale afterward.  

If you have any questions, please contact Kirsten Welbes at wkirsten@aischennai.org.

Meet AISC - Amritha Thomas - Speech and Language Pathologist 

Amritha’s job as Speech and Language Pathologist allows her to do 2 things that she loves - teaching, and working with kids. The broad smiles children break out into when they realize that they are being successful is priceless. Amritha loves travelling and has recently developed a liking towards photography! One of her favorite ways to unwind is to untangle things like Christmas lights and yarn. She is the oldest of 3 children; her Dad is a Plastic Surgeon and her Mom an English teacher.

Amritha did her schooling in Oman and came to India for her Undergraduate and Postgraduate degree in Speech and Language Pathology & Audiology. Soon after that she got the chance to go to Australia for 5 years. In 2007, Amritha found herself back in India and interviewing for the job at AISC. If Amritha could change lives with anyone it would be her Grandfather - he was a Freedom Fighter and one of India's first Member of Parliament post-Independence. She would love to see India and its potential through his eyes!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman

Friday, February 02, 2018

Dear Parents, 

A great deal of fun was had in the elementary this week with our three field days. Photos will be published on the website soon. We are particularly impressed with the collaborative fun spirit the children displayed throughout these field days, giving their fullest effort into each station! A big thanks to Jack, Sobha and Jane in our PE department for their thorough planning and execution of these days. Thank you also to all the parents who came out to watch and support our students!

Responsive Classroom Training

Next week we have 30 Elementary teachers taking place in Responsive Classroom training. We will be running an alternate specialist class schedule for this week. Your child will be informed which days they have different lessons, this is simply an FYI.

Input into Elementary handbooks

As you are aware, we annually publish both an Elementary handbook and also an Elementary curriculum guide. If you have suggestions for topics, policies, or areas of curriculum you would like to see included in these, please email me directly at dkeryn@aischennai.org Perhaps you have seen things in other schools handbooks that you feel we could also include!  

Cancelled Parent Coffee

The ES parent coffee scheduled for Tuesday 13 February has been cancelled.

Ideas for future parent café

On the calendar, we have an upcoming parent cafe scheduled for Tuesday 3 April. If any of you have ideas or topics for this coffee, please let us know!

Arriving Late

The school day officially begins at 8:30am. We have noticed we still have several children arriving after this time every day. Please do all you can to ensure arrival at school before the bell rings at 8:25am (in preparation for an 8:30 start). Supervision is present in the Elementary Section from 8am.

February Lunch Menu & Order links  

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

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

Design Saturday - repeat announcement

To know more about our upcoming Design Saturday on February 10, 2018, sign up and payment details, please click here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Warmly,

Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman