Friday, April 29, 2022

Friday, April 29, 2022


Dear Parents,

A few Vision Project photos

 

Important Dates:

Date

Event

Details

Sunday, May 1

If your child is ordering school lunch, please complete the form by 12:00 p.m. 

EY- Grade 3 Order form

Grades 4 & 5 Order form


Since students in EY-Grade 3 and Grades 4 & 5 eat in different cafeterias, there are two order forms. If you have children in both EY-Grade 3 and Grade 4 or 5 then you will need to submit a form for each child. 

Monday, May 2


No School - Labor Day Long weekend



Tuesday, May 3

*Complete the ParentLocker questions every morning


MAP Testing begins Grades 2 - 5


Wednesday, May 4

Wednesday Early Release - school finishes at 2:30 p.m. (please arrive promptly for pick up)



Friday, May 6

5th grade sleepover

Student only event

Tuesday, May 10

EY Parent Coffee

8:45 a.m. 

More details to come

Tuesday, May 17

ES to MS parent Coffee

On campus

8:45 a.m.

Friday, June 3

Grade 5 Celebration 

9:00 a.m. 

More details to come

 

Grade 2-5 MAP Tests -  May 3rd-13th

Grades 2-5 will begin MAP testing starting on Tuesday, May 3rd. Students will be assessed in Reading, Math, and Language. Grade 3, 4, and 5 will also be assessed in Science. This is a computerized adaptive test. As a student answers questions, the test responds to the student, adjusting up or down in difficulty. There is no preparation required for MAP testing. Results from the MAP tests are used by teachers to make instructional decisions for increased student growth and achievement. 


Students in grades 3-5 should charge their laptop or tablet each night. Students in grade 2 will be using a school ipad to take the test. We recommend that students have a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast before they come to school for the MAP Test. Make up tests are available for students who miss tests due to absence.

 

Vision Days

Vision Project Days this week were a success! The campus was buzzing with extra energy as students in grades 3, 4 and 5 created solar ovens, designed obstacle courses for older and younger students, learned how to take interesting photographs, cooked tasty food, painted and danced and wrote poems, made animated movies, planned and performed a play, coded, learned mindfulness strategies, improved their disc golf game, and made and planted bottle gardens. Wow! 

 

Relocating

If you are relocating and your children are not returning to AISC in August 2022, please inform the Elementary School office and fill out the withdrawal form linked on the side of this blog

 

Earth Week Book Swap

Thanks to all those that made our first ever book swap a huge success - everyone who donated books, teachers that brought their classes (some more than once!), support staff who helped us every step of the way, parents who came in on Friday and took home so many titles, and everyone who attended. We are thrilled to share that we were able to raise 29,960 rupees in support of the India Literacy Project AND find thousands of books new homes! The books that were left at the end were either packed up for next year's swap or given to our friends at Wasted for recycling or upcycling. 

See you at next year’s book swap. 

 

HS Art Exhibition

Please join us at the High School Art Exhibition Monday, May 9th through Friday May 13th. The opening exhibition is May 9 from 4:00-5:15 in FAC foyer. All students and parents are invited. 

To accompany the exhibition the works from students in IB Art, Advanced Studio Art and Foundations Art will be featured on the High School Art website. The link can be found on the school website.

 

From the Counselors

In connection with our message in last week’s blog, here is a wonderful article posted by experts on Third Culture Kids that gives parents some tips to help anticipate challenges and facilitate smoother visits to home over the holidays. 

Third Culture Kids

 

Enjoy the long weekend.

 

Regards,

Lynn Schneider and Dave Allen

Elementary School Leadership Team


Friday, April 22, 2022

Friday, April 22, 2022

Dear Parents,


We hope you were able to make it to the ES Art Exhibition this week to view artwork from students in grades

EY-5. We would like to thank Ms. Priya, Ms. Christine and Ms. Anitha for organizing and hosting the

successful Art Exhibition this week. We are so proud of the students and the beautiful artwork they

completed. 



We would also like to thank the  library team for promoting literacy at AISC and organizing the book swap. We hope the many, many books that were out on display have found good homes and will be enjoyed this weekend. 


Our facilities team was instrumental in getting the Art Exhibition and the book swap set up and taken down. Thank you facilities team!


Important Dates:

Date

Event

Details

Sunday, April 24

If your child is ordering school lunch, please complete the form by 12:00 p.m. 

EY- Grade 3 Order form

Grades 4 & 5 Order form


Since students in EY-Grade 3 and Grades 4 & 5 eat in different cafeterias, there are two order forms. If you have children in both EY-Grade 3 and Grade 4 or 5 then you will need to submit a form for each child. 

Monday, April 25


*Complete the ParentLocker questions every morning



Wednesday, April 27

Vision Day Grades 3-5

Wednesday Early Release - school finishes at 2:30 p.m. (please arrive promptly for pick up)


Thursday, April 28

Vision Day Grades 3-5


Friday, May 6

5th grade sleepover

Student only event

Tuesday, May 17

ES to MS parent Coffee

More details to come

Friday, June 3

Grade 5 Celebration 

9:00 a.m. 

More details to come

 

Vision Days 

We are excited for our second semester Vision Project Days for students in grades 3-5 on Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Class Placement for 2022-2023 

It is time to begin the class placement process for the 2022-2023 school year. A significant amount of time and energy is invested into the class placement process. This process is collaborative and involves the following stakeholders:

  • Elementary School leadership team

  • Counselors

  • Current grade level teachers

  • English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers and learning support teachers

 

When placing students, the Early Years and Elementary School faculty thoughtfully consider a variety of factors. The list below summarizes the main factors that we consider in the placement process:

  • Cultures within each class

  • Gender balance

  • English proficiency levels

  • Students who need extra support with their learning and students who benefit from having their learning extended 

  • Students who need additional behavioral or emotional support

  • Constructive interpersonal dynamics

  • Instructional groupings for students who need support from the EAL or learning support teachers

 

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. It simply summarizes the factors that are most frequently applied in order to create balanced classes.Our goal is to create classroom groupings that enable the teacher to meet the needs of the students as well as create a constructive and productive classroom community.


The school recognizes that the class placement process is highly complex, and therefore we allocate a significant amount of time to it. The placement process for the 2022-2023 school year will begin in early May and run through the end of July. Please note that due to the complexity of the process and the large number of variables that are considered in placement decisions, we do not honor specific teacher requests.


If there is information about your child that you believe we do not already know and may impact placement, please complete this form by Friday, April 29th. Please do not contact a counselor or teacher directly. 

 

ES Parent Coffee Recording

Thank you to those parents who attended our parent coffee this week. If you were not able to attend, here is the recording. 

  

Enjoy your weekend. 

 

Regards,

Lynn Schneider and Dave Allen

Elementary School Leadership Team


Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Dear Parents,

Important Dates:

Date

Event

Details

Sunday, April 17

If your child is ordering school lunch, please complete the form by 12:00 p.m. 

EY- Grade 3 Order form

Grades 4 & 5 Order form


Since students in EY-Grade 3 and Grades 4 & 5 eat in different cafeterias, there are two order forms. If you have children in both EY-Grade 3 and Grade 4 or 5 then you will need to submit a form for each child. 

Monday, April 18


* Complete the ParentLocker questions every morning



Tuesday, April 19

Parent Coffee - Transitions & MAP Testing Information 9:00 a.m.


ES Art Exhibition (In-person)

Zoom Link

See details below


Parent and student event

RSVP Form

Wednesday, April 20

Wednesday Early Release - school finishes at 2:30 p.m. (please arrive promptly for pick up)



Friday, April 22

Book Swap 12:00-3:30 p.m.

Earth Day Mela 12:00-4:15 p.m.


4th grade sleepover

Parents may attend on campus (see details below)


Student only event

Friday, May 6

5th grade sleepover

Student only event

Friday, June 3

Grade 5 Celebration 

9:00 a.m. 

More details to come

 

ES Parent Coffee - April 19th

Please join us for a virtual Elementary School Parent Coffee on Tuesday, April 19th at 9:00 a.m. The counselors will be talking about supporting students and families who are leaving AISC. Part of this conversation will be about how to support your child if they have friends who are leaving. The second part of the coffee we will be talking about the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test for Grades 2-5. MAP testing will begin on Tuesday, May 3rd. Parents may leave the meeting if they do not need to know about MAP testing. 

 

ES Art Exhibition - Open House

Please join us for the Elementary School Art Exhibition on Tuesday, April 19th from 3:30-5:30 p.m. We will have two entrance times following our two dismissal times: 3:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. If you plan to attend the art exhibit with your child, please fill out this form which will make it easier for us to check you in at the gate at the designated time. 

 

As per our current protocols, adults who are not vaccinated and wish to attend the Art Exhibition, please contact Mr. Ryan McFarland (mryan@aischennai.org) for exemption information and be prepared to present a recent negative RT-PCR test to enter campus. Due to CoVid protocols we ask that parents visit the Art Exhibition in the FAC Atrium only and not any other locations in the school. Thank you. 

 


Earth Week Events


Next week is Earth Week. We have themes for specific action and spirit themes to show support. There will be many activities throughout the week, but here are some of the highlights and how you might be involved.

Monday, April 18th  - Energy Day, Meatless Monday, and Dress Like Your Spirit Animal. We will be reducing our power consumption on campus and invite you to do so also. Also, the foods served on campus will not have meat. Some classes will be taking a tour to understand more about AISC’s solar panels.

Tuesday, April 19th  - Transportation Tuesday, and Dress to Impress. Consider sharing rides with other people in your neighborhood!  All day we will have tire pressure checks and filling available in the school’s drop-off area. Fuel economy is a financial and environmental incentive! We will be making a commitment to make AISC carbon neutral for all school travel for the 2022-2023 year.

Wednesday, April 20th  - Waste Wednesday, and Trash Fashion. We will be informing students of our school’s measures to reduce waste and launching a community drop-off for certain recyclables.

Thursday, April 21st  - Water Thursday, and Wear Your PJs. We’re installing faucet aerators in frequently used sinks and some classes will be conducting tours of that school’s water treatment plant which reuses our waste water to fill toilets or water our plants. 

Friday, April 22nd - Earth Day and Wear Green. Student-created upcycled art pieces will be on display, a massive book swap, and Earth Day Mela with environmentally friendly vendors and organizations will be on campus and open to parents from 12-4:15.

 

Earth Week Book Swap

The Earth Week Book Swap is taking place in the Unity Courtyard on April 21st and 22nd and we are excited for our community to be able to swap books! As advertised, for every two books that are donated, one ticket will be issued to swap for a new book. In addition, on Friday only, we will be allowing staff, students, and parents to purchase books for only ten rupees each! All proceeds will benefit the India Literacy Project in support of their ongoing programs. 

 

Parents are welcome to attend the book swap on Friday, April 22nd from 12:00-3:30pm. Please reach out to Ms. Babs if you have any questions. 

 

As per our current protocols, adults who are not vaccinated and wish to attend the Book Swap, please contact Mr. Ryan McFarland (mryan@aischennai.org) for exemption information and be prepared to present a recent negative RT-PCR test to enter campus. Due to COVID protocols we ask that parents visit the Book Swap in the Unity Courtyard only and not any other locations in the school. Thank you. 

 

Vision Project Days for Grades 3-5 - April 27th & April 28th

Vision Project Days for students in grades 3-5 will be April 27th and April 28th. All students received an invitation for their project today via email. We are looking forward to the project days coming soon.

 

AISC Wellbeing Update

 

Students from grades 3 to 12 will have the opportunity to answer age appropriate questions relating to the AISC Wellbeing framework to support their own personal reflection and growth. This will take place in High School Crew, Middle School Advisory and Elementary School Wellbeing classes in late April. Once completed, students will receive a personalized report with helpful guidance and resources to explore on their own and those facilitating the process will also be available for additional guidance. To ensure your child's privacy, your child's data from this survey will not be saved and individual responses will be anonymous.

 

The Wellbeing framework includes four domains: Positive Relationships, Self Awareness, Self Management and Healthy Habits. As such, the questions range from nutrition to sleep patterns and recognizing emotions to appreciating family and cultural ties. These questions are short and accessible to all. 

 

This wonderful initiative is part of the AISC Wellbeing Futures Planning process. All questions and related feedback have been developed by the EY-12 Wellbeing Council and vetted by counselors, Health/PE teachers, and other health professionals. If you have any questions, please feel free to email the council leads:  Shez Billett and Joelle Basnight.

 

Enjoy your long weekend. 

 

Regards,

Lynn Schneider and Dave Allen

Elementary School Leadership Team