Friday, August 28, 2020

Dear Parents,

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the back to school mornings this past week. If you were not able to attend, please reach out to your child’s teacher for the grade level information. It’s important to stay connected with the school. 

 

Do not forget to view the back to school videos from the specialists as well. You can find the videos by clicking the link below and adding the guest password when prompted. Please do not record a video response.

1). https://flipgrid.com/9a5cc79b

2). Guest Password: btsAISC2020

 

As we close out the third full week of school, we hope your child is settling into a “school” routine at home. Teachers have been working with students on creating virtual learning expectations as well as helping them set up their work space and schedule.

 

Important Dates

 

September 1	EY Parent Coffee 9:30 a.m. Zoom Link passcode: coffee
September 8	ES Parent Coffee  9:30-10:30 a.m.

  

Early Years Parent Coffee - September 1st

Please join us for an Early Years Parent Coffee on Tuesday, September 1st  at 9:30 a.m. We will be talking about the importance of providing children “wait time” to respond to questions and express what they are thinking.

 

Specialists Learning Activity Reminder

It’s so wonderful to see all of the students joining the live specialist sessions each day. In addition to these live sessions, students also have an independent learning activity to complete during the week. The learning activities are linked in the grade level weekly planner. 

 

Updating Current Location

As you return to Chennai or move to another location in the world, please keep the Elementary School office updated with your current location. 

Virtual Book Fair

Scholastic and the AISC Libraries are bringing a virtual book fair directly to you! Please click on the link here to browse through a wide variety of books available for purchase for students, families, and teachers in EY-8. Once books are chosen, please use the following login information to proceed with the purchase:

 

Login ID: bbarbara@aischennai.org

Password: aisc234

 

The books will be delivered to your address in Chennai. If you are not currently in Chennai, the books can also be sent to a family member or friend here in India. 

 

The virtual book fair will be held from August 31st-September 11th. Please contact Babs at bbarbara@aischennai.org if you have questions and happy shopping!

New Digital Newspapers

We have two new digital newspapers available for the AISC community - The Economic Times and The Times of India. To access these resources, please go to the ES/MS LibGuide and click on 'digital newspapers.' Parents and families are welcome to use these new resources! 

From the Elementary School Counselors

Regards,

Lynn Schneider, Dave Allen, and Elliot Fijman
Elementary School Leadership Team

Friday, August 21, 2020

Dear Parents,

The Virtual Mela was amazing! I hope most of you were able to attend a few of the sessions. 

We have now officially had two full weeks of school.Teachers are telling me that they thoroughly enjoyed spending time getting to know their students in small groups and 1:1 sessions this week. Next week you can expect the units of study to start. 

The highlight for this upcoming week is the grade level back to school events. Please note the date and time for your child’s grade level. Classroom teachers will be sending out Zoom links soon. 

Important Dates 

August 25, 26, 27	Back to School Events Aug. 25: Grades 3-5 11:30 a.m. grades 3 & 4 11:50 a.m. grade 5 Aug. 26: KG-2 11:30 a.m. KG & grade 1 11:50 a.m. grade 2 Aug. 27: EY 12:15 p.m.
September 1	EY Parent Coffee  9:30-10:30 a.m.
September 8	Grades KG-5 Parent Coffee 9:30-10:30 a.m.

 

Back to School Events

Please join your child’s teacher for the Back to School event this week to learn more about the grade level curriculum, the grade level expectations, and how you can support your child at home. Your child’s teacher will be sending you the Zoom meeting link before the event. 

 

Back to School - Meet the Specialists

The specialist teachers have each recorded a short introduction and course overview for parents.The videos are labeled with the specialist name, subject area, and grade they teach. You can find the videos by clicking the link below and adding the guest password when prompted. Please do not record a video response.

1).  https://flipgrid.com/9a5cc79b

2). Guest Password: btsAISC2020

 

Specialists Live Sessions

There have been many power outages in Chennai lately. If your child logs into a specialist's session on time and is held in the opening window that says “waiting for the host to start this meeting,” for more than 5 minutes, it is likely the teacher is experiencing technological difficulties.Your child may leave the session and try again later. 

 

UN International Day of Peace (Monday, September 21)

The theme for the UN International Day of Peace this year is "Shaping Peace Together." We are working with many community members, from students in Elementary to High School and country representatives to celebrate the diverse cultures that make up our AISC community. Join us virtually on Friday, September 21, 3:00–3:30 p.m. We will share more details closer to the date

 

Parent Resources

In the coming weeks, as students engage more with reading, writing, and math, it’s important to think about what we say and do with how to best support our children at home. Are we telling? Are we reminding? Are we correcting? These are all different ways that we might help our child, but before we remind, correct, or tell them, we need to ensure first that we are teaching. Please watch this video by Matt Glover on Teaching vs. Telling, Reminding, Correcting. This video is from the Author to Author website.

 

From the Elementary School Counselors

Here is a quick and easy mindfulness activity to use with children to feel calmer and happier.  It’s called “A Mindful Cup of Hot Chocolate or Delicious Soup”! Put your hands together as if you are holding a bowl or cup. Quietly and slowly breathe in through your nose as you imagine smelling the soup or chocolate. Exhale by blowing through your mouth to cool the beverage/soup off. Repeat this four times.

Library Access

For those people that are currently outside of Chennai and that have access to a public library, you might be interested to know that you can link your public library card to your AISC Sora account. By doing this, you can access thousands more e-books and audiobooks for free! Just click "add a public library" in the Sora app and contact your local public library for further information.  

 

iPad Check Out for Early Years - Grade 2 Students (Repeat)

We are offering the opportunity for parents to check out an iPad for their child(ren) in EY - Grade 2. If you are in Chennai and need an iPad for your child, please email itsupport@aischennai.org for more information. 

 

Regards,

Lynn Schneider, Dave Allen, and Elliot Fijman
Elementary School Leadership Team

Friday, August 14, 2020

Dear Parents, 

The first full week of school was a success. Thank you for your participation in the virtual home visits. Our teachers let us know how important they felt it was to connect with all of you. Please continue to reach out to your child’s teacher if you have information to share about your child, your current situation, or if you have any questions.The partnership between home and school is essential. 

This coming week teachers will continue to build the class community and get to know their students as learners. You might see more work assigned as teachers start to build routines with the class.

India celebrates it's 73rd Independence Day this weekend! Happy Independence Day!

Important Dates 

August 21	Virtual Mela 1:00-4:00 p.m.
August 25, 26, 27	Back to School Events Aug. 25: Grades 3-5 11:30 a.m. Grades 3 & 4 11:50 a.m. Grade 5 Aug. 26: KG-2 11:30 a.m. KG & Grade 1 11:50 a.m. Grade 2 Aug. 27: EY 12:15 p.m.
September 1	EY Parent Coffee  9:30-10:30 a.m.
September 8	Grades KG-5 Parent Coffee 9:30-10:30 a.m.

 

Back to School Events 

Please join the back to school events the week of August 24th.The Back to School events are a time for you to hear from your child’s teachers about the curriculum, grade level expectations, and how you can support your child at home. More information will be shared in next week’s Principal’s Blog, and your child’s teacher will also send information next week. Please note the dates and times above.

Counseling Office Hours 

Our two Counselors, Linda Gerberich and Michele Ness, will be holding office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:00-3:30 p.m. 

Michele Ness 

• Grades 4 & 5 School Counselor
• EY-Grade 12 School Psychologist
• Office Hours: Drop by Monday and Wednesday from 3:00-3:30 pm.
• Here is the link for Michele’s office hours 
• Or by appointment: nmichele@aischennai.org

 Linda Gerberich

• EY-Grade 3 School Counselor 
• Office Hours: Drop by Monday and Wednesday from 3:00-3:30 pm.
• Here is the link for Linda’s office hours 
• Passcode: 663605
• Or by appointment: glinda@aischennai.org 

Virtual Mela 

The Advancement Office has launched a Digital Program ahead of the 25th Anniversary Virtual Mela Friday, August 21, 2020 (1:00–4:00 p.m. IST). With activity descriptions and trailers, community partner information and other details, the Digital Program will help you plan your Mela Day so you can experience

a birthday like no other at our largest virtual celebration! 

Parent Resource 

1. Tips for parents on starting school virtually: 
2. Try to find comfortable places with few distractions for the child but yet where you can help younger children. This is a big challenge for everyone at home. Include a water bottle in reach for your child.
3. Help children stay in touch with friends and make new friends. Counselors can help with this too - just let them know.
4. Communicate with teachers on Seesaw and in email. 
5. Teachers want to know when a child is finding something difficult or when you have a lot going on at home or work. Remind older children to check messages from teachers. 
6. When you know your child’s synchronous sessions, use that information to make a schedule for your child. Include breaks, snacks, lunch, and playtime.
7. Be patient with your children, yourself, and technology. 

We are all in this together. Reach out to teachers and counselors if you need support.

Regards,

Lynn Schneider, Dave Allen, and Elliot Fijman 

Elementary School Leadership Team

Friday, August 07, 2020

Dear Parents, 

Welcome back to school for the 2020-21 school year! We are thrilled to have each and every one of your children joining us and looking forward to a wonderful year together. The first two days of morning meetings were a success, and we had over 200 students join our welcome back assemblies on Friday.

It was great welcoming so many families during our new parent Q & A last Wednesday. We have 48 new students joining our community this year. Welcome to AISC! 

We have two faculty members who are joining the Elementary School from Middle School. Kathryn Ahuja will split her time in the Elementary School and Middle School and is working as a 5th grade EAL teacher. Rachel McCallum will be our music teacher for grades 3-5. Welcome to the Elementary School.

Important Dates 

August 10 Synchronous specialist sessions begin 

Virtual Home 

Visits this week ASAs begin 

Start of the School Year

As we wrote last week in this blog, teachers are placing an emphasis on building the class community for the first few weeks as they get to know their students and families and connect students with each other. Starting August 10th, teachers may be assigning tasks for students to complete independently. Teachers will share a weekly plan with the assigned activities and links to access the synchronous or face to face sessions. 

Virtual Home Visits, Week of August 10th

A virtual home visit is a live meeting between you and your child’s teacher. This is a time for your teacher to get to know you and ask you some questions about your child. The virtual home visits will take place this week. You should have received Information about signing up from your child’s teacher. 

Synchronous Specialist Sessions 

Specialists will start their synchronous, or face to face, sessions on August 10th. Specialists will hold two synchronous sessions each day. The sessions will be the same in the morning and afternoon; students should choose one session to attend. We look forward to seeing everyone participate in the specialist classes. Specialists will not be assigning independent tasks this week. 

iPad Check Out for EY - Grade 2 Students 

We are offering the opportunity for parents to check out an iPad for their child(ren) in EY - Grade 2. 

If you are in Chennai and need an iPad for your child, please email itsupport@aischennai.org for more information. 

Elementary Handbook 

The Elementary Handbook is published virtually this year and available for your reference linked  here. You can also find this link on the School Website, and in the links tab on the right corner of this blog. It is very important that your family takes the time to familiarize yourself with its contents. After reading the policies and information in the handbook, please click on the links below to digitally sign and submit these online forms by August 21st. 

Parents must sign the forms and students in grades 3 -5 need to sign the form as well. If you have more than one child at AISC, you must complete a form for each child.

     Early Years - Grade 2 - https://signnow.com/s/mIP4pzxu  

     Grade 3 - 5 - https://signnow.com/s/0SHt4Ph8 - - parents and students need to sign

     ES Handbook link: https://www.aischennai.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ES-Handbook-2020-21.pdf

Arts, Sports and Activities FREE ASA's for Season 1! 

Here is the ASA Fair Link , which exhibits written & video descriptions for each activity. For more information, you can also visit the Athletics & Activities Blog.

Regards,

Lynn Schneider, Dave Allen, and Elliot Fijman 

Elementary School Leadership Team