Dear parents,
Welcome back after what we hope was a relaxing
Spring Break. This is our final quarter together, and we have a lot of great
learning to do together. We have a series of field trips planned to extend
thinking and learning beyond the classroom, as well as celebrations to
recognise all the enormous achievements our students have made this year.
Please remind your children to have a water
bottle with them at all times as the weather starts to get hot! In the upcoming
weeks, we will monitor the temperature daily and if it reaches 40C then we will
call to have indoor recess breaks to avoid overheating.
Early Years Parent Coffee on Language Development - Tuesday 3rd
April; 8:45 - 9:45 am. In the BBT
Next Tuesday 3rd April, we will be hosting a parent session for
all parents in the Early Years. This will focus on how to support your child
with developing language, and will also give parents an opportunity to
participate alongside their child in learning stations in their classrooms. We
look forward to seeing you in the BBT at 8:45am.
Candy Reminder
A few teachers have noticed an increase in candy
at school. Please read information below which is included in our Elementary
handbook:
Morning
Snack and Recess
During
the 15-minute morning break time, it is suggested that students have a light,
healthy snack (not candy) sent in from home each day. Candy will be sent back
home for children to enjoy at home.
English Language Development
Our school is committed to English language
development. In response to recent conversations among parents, faculty, and
leadership, we would like to share with you additional commitments for how,
together, we can continue to enhance English language development at AISC.
What can we be doing at school:
- Develop
our guidelines for English language expectations for all teachers to use.
- Further
EAL parent education about the English Language learning process.
- Provide
more English language resources for parents.
- Further
explicitly encourage English language use and recognize English language
achievement.
- Offer
further recess opportunities to practice English.
- Create
as many English language environments outside of school, including having
playdates with students who do not speak child’s mother tongue.
- Encourage
students to speak English at school.
- Encourage
reading in English, and engaging in English media at home.
- Role
model English language use.
- Join
an ASA after school to gain further practice of English language.
- Ensure
children are reading both in their mother tongue, and in English, every
night at home.
Our next steps will be to continue to support all teachers to
encourage further use of English in their classrooms and to create a English
language Use Expectations and Guidelines document for our Elementary student
handbook.
In addition, we will be requiring all students who are new to learning English to participate in an intensive Jumpstart summer programme as part of their first few weeks at AISC. This was a programme we piloted with great success last summer, and will now become an enrollment requirement.
Students exit this programme with basic English phrases,
vocabulary and conversation, as well as an understanding of how our literacy
and other programmes at AISC work so they can enter an elementary classroom
with greater confidence, understanding and ease.
Between now and the rest of the school year we
will continue to communicate all we are doing to support English language
development. We will feature a different department each week and highlight
ways that it encourages this development among our students.
This week we are highlighting English language
development through the CIC. Our school library is committed to student
English language development and does this through a variety of ways:
Events and Activities
Students have the opportunity to engage in
several activities in the library during recess and lunch break. We always have
several centers set up where kids can explore the world of reading, story, and
language. As just a few of the examples, students can:
o Watch and
read eBooks in our eBook theater
o Use some
of our interactive, multimedia books to learn about a variety of topics
o Create
their own book or story (written or with puppets)
o Write and
make book reviews
o Listen to
audio books
o Engage
with our question, fact, riddle, and word of the week
Author Visits - Each year our school brings an
author to share his or her books, a love for reading, and writing skill
development with our students. As an example, as part of this year’s author
visit, students got to practice English through poetry. Students also always
have the opportunity to ask our authors questions about reading, writing, and
books.
Book Fairs - Our library hosts two book fairs
each year to get great English books into the hands of our students. There is a
wide selection of books available, including fiction and nonfiction on a
variety of genres and topics.
Read Alouds - Students have the chance to hear
great books during the week through guest read alouds at lunch, library
classes, and a monthly special after school session. Read alouds are
accompanied with opportunities for students to engage with the text.
Extra Hours - Because we want to promote a love
for reading and support learning and curiosity as much as possible, we are open
until 5:00 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday after school (parents need
to accompany their children starting at 3:30). We are also open from 8:30-12:30
every Saturday morning (except long weekends and vacations). This is a great
way to explore all of our resources and have an extra chance to take home some
great books in English.
Resources available in the CIC
Our library has a wide range of books for a
variety of interests, backgrounds, and reading levels in English. We carefully
curate our collection to make sure there are books for all students at each
step of the way. There are currently about 45,000 books in the library. While
we do have books in students’ home languages, our check out policy asks
students to take out at least one English book for every book they take out in
their home language.
We support classroom units by providing teachers
resources for different lessons. These are books and websites at various
reading levels in English for student research and passion projects. We also
provide direct instruction and support during class time to help students with
information literacy needs (developing questions, keyword searches, evaluating
sources, and more).
We maintain a teacher book room to support
reading and writing units. It has leveled guided reading sets as well as books
for genre studies, thematic units, and series book clubs. It also houses our
mentor texts, which model wonderful examples of good writing in English for
students. Lastly, this room also has professional development books for
teachers and includes a section on EAL learners, language development, and
differentiating instruction.
The library subscribes to a number of useful
online databases that help students access information 24/7 from home and from
school. These run a wide range in terms of English language use and students
can choose readability levels that they feel comfortable with. These resources
support curriculum content and have several useful features. Several of the
databases will read material out loud to students and also define vocabulary.
One site learners of English may also be interested in which the library
carries is BrainPOP ELL (ell.brainpop.com; username: aisc, password: chennai). For
help in getting started with this and our other great online resources, please
see any member of library staff.
If you have any questions about the library
program and how it can support English language learners, please contact Mr.
Jeremy Willette (wjeremy@aischennai.org)
Student Led Conference - Friday 13 April - repeat announcement
Student led conferences are on Friday 13th April. Together with
your child, you will sign up for one time slot. No regular classes will
be held on this day. This Student Led Conference is the time for your child to
share their learning growth and future goals with you.
Please expect teachers to be involved as facilitator and not
directly involved in the discussions; on this day the main focus is between you
and your child. There will be multiple children and their families sharing
their learning at the same time in each classroom.
- The
conference will take approximately 30 - 40 minutes in the classroom and 30
- 40 mins with the specialist areas - Music, Art, PE, Indian Studies and
World Language.
- Your
child will have a passport to lead you through each area and will know
whether to begin in the homeroom or in the specialist areas.
- Students
are responsible for leading the conference and also take responsibility
for their learning by sharing the process with their parents.
- Supervision
for siblings will be in the ES CIC and outside play areas, with Early
Years 3 and 4 children supervised in the library only. Please note that
this is only for enrolled AISC students. You will need to make
your own separate arrangements for younger children and babies.
- Please
do not hesitate to contact either the homeroom/specialist teachers, or
Lori or myself, should you have any questions regarding these upcoming
conferences.
If you have not already done so, please click here
to sign up for your child’s Conference
Elementary Roots & Shoots Fundraiser
The Elementary Roots & Shoots group has
begun their fundraiser to support the elephants at the Elephant Care Facility
where they visited in February. You can help by donating either one of the
elephants' favorite grains (ragi or green gram - which can be purchased at your
local supermarket) or bring a cash donation. The fundraiser will continue until
Friday, April 6th. A big thank you to those of you who have already made a
donation!
If you would like to know more about this
wonderful organization, Elefriends101 you can visit their website or their Facebook page. Also you can watch this excellent
5 minute video that
tells the story of these three wonderful elephants.
Field Closure and New Track and Soccer Pitch Coming Soon
As you all already know, in the summer of 2018, we will begin
year two of our Building Spaces 2020 Campus Development Program. Phase One this
summer’s projects will begin next week as we start construction on our six-lane
track and our main field soccer pitch. Starting this Sunday, April 1 at 5:00
p.m., the Main Field will be separated from the surrounding areas with an eight
and a half foot wall on all sides. The area inside the wall is for construction
and facilities personnel only and is off-limits to all community members.
We are starting construction before the end of the school year
to assure space readiness for the start of the 2018-2019 school year. We will
need your patience and understanding in the next eight weeks.
In order to maintain a safe environment, we need to be aware of
this construction zone and treat it as an off-limits area. All sidewalks
surrounding the field will remain accessible. The Elementary Playground will
not be affected.
As the AISC Campus is not normally under construction during the
school year, we will be communicating and instructing students to be vigilant
and aware regarding safety in this area of the campus. Security teams will be
in the vicinity of the area at all times. Faculty and staff have been asked to
reinforce and model safety practices – specifically staying away from marked
areas and reporting any questions or concerns. Parents, please support these
efforts by familiarizing yourselves with the area on your next visit to campus,
and reinforcing the need to be aware and respectful of the construction zone.
Heavy machinery will be in use only after school hours and will be confined
only to the area inside the wall.
Since the Main Field is not accessible during April and May, we
have made other arrangements for groups that use the field regularly.
- PE
classes will be using the other spaces on campus.
- ASA
soccer on Monday and Thursday will use the rooftop courts or the Raptor
Field.
- SAISA
soccer is using the rooftop courts and switching one practice to a morning
practice to avoid conflict with the ASA use.
- Track
will use Raptor Field for sprints and jumps, a circuit of the school for
distance, and the fitness room for throws conditioning.
- The
Raptor Field will be available during lunchtime recess when not in use by
PE classes.
We make every effort to avoid starting construction during the
school year. It is unavoidable in this case as the new track and soccer pitch
need to be completed before the possible rains in July. We appreciate your
understanding as we continue to develop our spaces and provide the best
possible facilities for our students.
Design Saturday: April 14, 2018
To know more about upcoming Design Saturday on April 14,
2018, please click here.
AISC Summer Camp 2018
AISC Summer Camp 2018
AISC's annual Summer Camp Program starts on June 4 and ends on
June 15, 2018. To pre-book your seats, please click here. For more
information about the Summer Camp, click Here.
April Lunch Menu & Order links
To order a school lunch for your child, please use this Payonline link.
April Elementary Lunch Menus: (Grades EY- 3 Pre-order)
and (Grades 4 & 5 - No Preorder)
Have a wonderful
weekend.
Warmly,
Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman