Dear Community Members,
Welcome to the month of February! This month, our ES Parent Coffee will be held on Tuesday, February 16th, beginning at 8:45 in the ES Cafeteria. Kevin Crouch will hold a conversation about options for a formalized 1-to-1 program in grades 3 and 4. We will discuss possible models and how this might look in 2016-17.
In addition, our Technology and Learning Coach will share some pieces of our digital citizenship curriculum to help parents reinforce the language and learning that kids have experienced so far this year.
Girl Scout Valentine's Charity Bake Sale
Next Friday, February 12, our Girl Scout Troop will be sponsoring their 3rd Annual Valentine's Charity Bake Sale. This year's proceeds will go to a charity Community Service Project at the Home of Hope for Boys. The Scouts will be painting and purchasing items to create a nursery.
The sale will take place near the HS CIC during the MS and HS lunch hour (11:45-1 PM) and in the Elementary area 3:30-5:00. All items will be sold at 50 or 100Rs CASH. Come prepared to treat yourself or your "sweetie" to some delicious Valentine goods (cookies, cupcakes, brownies). A big thank you to several Chennai hotels and restaurants for their generous donations which make the sale possible. Last year's sale was a huge success. We look forward to another this year. The Scouts and Home of Hope appreciate your contributions!
Food Services Update
Thanks for the Parent Feedback! On Monday, February 1st, 40 parents from the elementary, middle and high schools joined us for our second food tasting of the year. We successfully surveyed parents about their views and here is what we found:
100% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statement “ I am satisfied with the food services provided by Taj Madras Flight Kitchen.” Similarly, 82% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statement “ I believe my child is satisfied with the food services provided by TMFK.” Overall, parents are very satisfied with the child-friendly menu options and appreciate the recent changes to the menu. They were also generally quite satisfied with the variety and taste of our entree choices. A couple of areas for improvement include reflecting on the Asian veg dishes and also working to moderate the spice level.
Thank you to all of the parents who joined us and provided feedback. We are considering more opportunities for parents to taste the food and share their thoughts with us. Look for further communication surrounding future opportunities.
Food services at AISC are always looking for ways to improve. Should you have questions, suggestions or concerns, please contact Food Service Manager Prakash Shanmugam (sprakash@aisch.org), Elementary Associate Principal Lori Newman (nlori@aisch.org) or Secondary Associate Principal Jason Hicks (hjason@aisch.org). If you have not had the chance to have a meal in the IHub or Main Cafeteria, please join us. We would love to hear your feedback about the food at AISC.
Early Release Wednesday - February 10th
In order to support continuous professional learning and development for AISC faculty members, there are seven Early Release Wednesdays on the calendar this year. On February 10th, we will have our sixth Early Release Wednesday. Teachers will be engaged in our ongoing work with Harvard's Project Zero educational consultant, Mark Church. Mark's work with us is focused on promoting engagement, understanding and independence for all learners. As a reminder, students will be released at 1:30 p.m. and are expected to depart campus in a timely and organized fashion. We appreciate your patience. In preparation, please plan on allowing longer time for entry and exit to the school at release time.
The Third Annual AISC RAPTORTHON!!!!
Sunday, Feb. 14, 7AM-10AM
Link to registration form: http://bit.ly/1NhGrIn
What better way to spend Valentine's Day than with friends and family doing something that is heart-healthy. This has proven to be a FUN event.
Raptorthon is a FUN FAMILY AND COMMUNITY EVENT that combines swimming and running. Participants will be required toswim 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). The entry fee is 300 rupees per individual and 600 rupees per team. This is an AISC Community Event. Anyone grade 4 and older may participate! (Watch for more information and a sign-up link next week!!!) The money raised will be used to cover the cost of the event and any remaining money will benefit the Chennai Flood Relief.
After the event, there will be a potluck breakfast provided by the entrants. All participants will receive a certificate with their official time at the breakfast.
If you have any questions, please contact Donna Fava at: fdonna@aisch.org
Cabaret 2016
Cabaret 2016 has the exciting theme of Carnevale! Come celebrate this worldwide party with over fifty of AISC's talented performing artists, for one show only, on Friday, February 12th at 7:00pm in the AISC Auditorium. Tickets go on sale on Monday, the 8th of February, at a modest Rs. 50. All Elementary, Middle and High School parents are invited, and this show is also appropriate for ages 8 and up with parental supervision.
You will note on the Community Calendar that we have printed an author visit the week of February 15. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the author selected to come to AISC is unable to be here. We will be hosting another author next month. More details to follow.
Have a great weekend,
Kevin Hall
Elementary School Principal