Dear Parents,
Thank you for supporting your children through week 5 of our virtual learning! Please know that behind the scenes we are doing a lot of brainstorming and planning of ways we can infuse further exciting opportunities for your children into their weekly schedules.
Calendar Dates
Friday 1st May is no school, so a 4 day week next week. Monday 4th May will be a school day.
Feedback on Virtual Learning
Thank you to the parents who have expressed their thoughts about how much feedback children get on Seesaw posts. This gives us an opportunity to share some of the strategy behind our design of continuity of instruction learning for Elementary School students.
As teachers are designing a module of learning, some lessons are “learning activities”, when students are practicing and learning a skill, and others to be “assessments”, when teachers can gather evidence of learning. Of course, in a classroom environment, we have a lot of overlap between these two, since teachers can observe students directly. However, in the virtual learning environment, teachers are using one or two “major” activities per week as evidence.
For these “evidence” activities, students can expect a comment from teachers that refers to their achievement and growth. For learning activities, while often teachers will comment, they may also just “like” the activity or approve it, which confirms that the work is received and acceptable. Teachers can also send back an activity to students and give them feedback to improve their work.
If you or your child needs more guidance on a lesson, consider using the coaches’ help desk hours posted here, or reaching out to the teacher via Seesaw message for more information about a topic.
Optional Enrichment Sessions and Tasks
Two wonderful additions to our enrichment sections for all grade levels next week! First, you will see some live specialist sessions your child can choose to join in with. This is optional, and we encourage those who feel they would like some extra teaching in Music, PE, Art, World Language or Indian Studies to join these sessions!
Also back is a new principal's office challenge. Look to the enrichment sections to see what this will be, and don’t forget to send in your photos :)
Engaging in Learning for All Classes
We have noticed some students are not engaging in certain aspects of learning. Teachers are emailing families directly to see how we can support families in these situations.
Our report cards will reflect the learning completed during this time, so please reach out to us if you find you require help or strategies to support your children remaining engaged.
Students Leaving Chennai
If your family is leaving Chennai, or has already left, please ensure you inform your child’s class teacher and Ms Hazel or Ms Padma in the Elementary School office. This is very important for our records. bhazel@aischennai.org or ppadma@aischennai.org.
Elementary coaches help desk/office hours.
Thank you to the parents who engaged with a coach below to seek support for helping their child at home.
Parents, is there a lesson that you need help explaining to your child? Reach out to one of our coaches below so they can support you through the lesson.
Coaches are here and available to help you so you can better help your child!
Day
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Mon
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Tues
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Weds
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Thurs
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Fri
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Time
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10:00-11:00
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10:00 - 11:00
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10:00-11:00
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2:00-3:00
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11-12
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Who
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Alex
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Calley
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Hilary
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Mary Kelly
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Hilary
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Email
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ralex@aischennai.org
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ccalley@aischennai.org
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bhilary@aischennai.org
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bmarykelly@aischennai.org
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bhilary@aischennai.org
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Elementary Parent Coffee repeat - Tuesday at 8:45 a.m
On Tuesday we will host another parent coffee starting at 8:45 a.m. This will be a virtual coffee via zoom and focus on ways you can continue supporting your child at home during this time.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 596 569 0843
Password: 121875
Virtual Arts, Sports & Activities
The Athletics & Activities Department will be offering a free Virtual Arts, Sports, & Activities Program with the following ASA’s available:
Please go to the Athletics & Activities Blog to find more information and to fill out the Registration Form which includes further descriptions for these ASA’s.
From the School-wide Counseling Team - Looking for the Good: Practicing Gratitude in Hard Times
There’s no way around it, we are all experiencing hard times right now. COVID-19 has swept our world with uncertainty, leaving us all to navigate a host of difficult emotions including grief, fear, anxiety and anger. In times of crisis, it is important to acknowledge these challenging feelings. If we deny them, they just expand and find their way out of each of us in unhealthy ways.
How can we intentionally look for the silver linings in the clouds? The Greater Good Science Center at University of California, Berkeley shares a simple written practice here. This is an exercise where one focuses on gratitude individually. Research tells us that gratitude can be even more powerful if it is shared. Make looking for the good a part of a daily family meal. A simple, “What are you grateful for?” at breakfast each morning might enable you and your children to start the day with positive mindsets. We can learn a lot about each other by hearing what is important to each of us. Additionally, if our gratitude is for another person, we can take that one step further and let that person know!
Practicing gratitude is not about denying that life is hard. It is about recognizing that even when life is hard, there is still so much good if we take the time to notice it.
Water Safety Opportunity - from our Aquatics Department
The Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers online course focuses on developing an awareness of the risks of drowning and how to minimize those risks, especially for young children. This online course teaches parents and caregivers about the concepts of the circle of drowning prevention, water competency, and the chain of drowning survival. It also provides guidance for applying water safety to common environments and situations where children are most at risk for drowning.
Free Online Mental Health First Aid Course
We are close to two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and while we cannot control much in this crisis, we can take action to help manage the challenges of day-to-day life. That’s why the American Red Cross has developed a free Mental Health First Aid for COVID-19 course that can be taken online in less than one hour.
The course is designed to help anyone impacted by COVID-19 to build resilience and lend support to others during and after this time. Topics, developed with the expertise of the Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council and the Canadian Red Cross, include recognizing stress as well as caring for yourself while supporting your family and coworkers. We encourage you to take advantage of this free course – and share it with others.
Report Cards (repeat announcement)
During these unprecedented times of global virtual learning, all schools are working to author reports that represent student learning in this new environment. As such, AISC end-of-semester report cards will look different to previous years’ reports, and will reflect the learning that teachers have been able to observe and assess as submitted in a virtual learning environment. Parents will see a Personal/Social Emotional Comment that reflects on each student’s engagement and participation in virtual learning. This will be followed by a narrative comment by each subject that reflects the content and evidence of learning by the student. We anticipate releasing reports virtually near Tuesday, 2 June 2020.
Teachers will continue to reach out to you regarding this, and if there is a reason, please let us know so we can help support you better. Report cards will mostly be reflective of the work completed during virtual learning.
Class Placements for 2020-21 (repeat announcement)
Every year, together with counsellors, we review class groupings and re-create new class lists as elementary children move from one grade level to the next. As outlined in our handbook, we prioritise the following criteria when creating new homeroom groups;
- Social groups
- Gender
- Learning needs
- Nationality
- English Language Proficiency
For the past few years we have also sought parental input. While we do not consider direct requests to have a particular teacher, we do welcome input for anything you feel would be important for us to consider when placing your child.
Our form will close next Tuesday 2 May as we begin drafting class lists. Please do not approach a teacher or counsellor directly; complete this form for any special considerations you may have.
Have a relaxing screen free weekend!
Keryn Dowling, Dave Allen, and Calley Connelly
Elementary School Leadership Team
