Dear parents,
Happy Friday! Wishing you all a wonderful relaxing
weekend. Enjoy this lovely hot weather. A lot of great learning has been
happening in the elementary this week. It was wonderful listening to all the
thinking the elementary students had about our Earth Week celebrations. One 5th
Grade student said to us “I didn’t think that just me and my family could
change things. But if we do something AND get others to do it, we can”.
Please remember next Wednesday 25th April is an
Early Release and so all children should depart from campus by 2:00pm.
We also have a reminder to please be vigilant in
supervising your children after school should you chose to remain on campus. This
means you need to be on the playground or plaza with your child, and not
waiting in the cafeterias. Thank you for your support with this.
Harvesting the Garden!
Grade 2 UK harvested their elementary garden bed
today and look at their amazing produce! This year we have 10 elementary
teachers who have adopted a garden behind the FAC. Amazing hands on science
learning is taking place!
Summer Jumpstart Program 2018
In order to give our new and beginning English
language students support in transitioning to an English language school,
AISC’s Summer Jumpstart Program will be piloted in the summer of 2018. Students
will participate in language-based activities with exposure to English
instruction throughout the program and have multiple opportunities to make
connections with other English beginners, as well as get exposed to school
routines and basic playground and classroom expectations.
The AISC Summer Jumpstart Program is for new and
beginning English language students in EY5 to Grade 8. It will run from July 16
– 27.
If you would like information about our EAL
programs or practices, ask your child’s teacher, email or speak with a
principal, or email or speak with our Director of Teaching and Learning, Dan
Love (ldan@aischennai.org).
Meet Max!
Max is one of
11 bears that travel to schools around the world and teach children about some
of the 17 Global Goals created by the United Nations. Max lives in Hong Kong
and has been to schools in the United States, Italy, and Australia this year.
He will be in Chennai until May 11th when he returns home to Hong Kong. He is
visiting with Ms Kristina and 1KJ for the next few weeks, and the class are learning
a lot about many different places.
Swim Gala - Lower Elementary (April 27th)
It is almost time for Swim Gala, the culminating
activities for the Lower and Upper Elementary PE Swim Unit. This year, the Swim
Gala will be held on a Friday for each division. You can see the dates below
and they are on the community calendar. Each Gala will be the final day of
Swimming for both Lower and Upper ES PE.
Purpose:
·
Educate parents about our ARC Learn-to-Swim
program, showcase student progress with a parent audience, give our students a
goal to strive for, and end the unit with a fun activity for all.
Basic
Schedule and Plan
8:45-9:15 - Grade 1
9:15-9:45 – EY 5
9:45-10:15 -
Grade 2
English Language Development through Indian Studies
The Indian Studies program fosters an understanding
and appreciation for the diversity in India. While many languages are spoken in
India, English is also used across the country as an official language.
At AISC, English is the primary medium of
instruction in class and students are encouraged to communicate in English. We
usually begin class by singing a multilingual (Indian and foreign languages)
song to greet one another. This way we acknowledge the diversity within the
class community.
Constructing questions to inquire deeper into the
cultural concepts is an integral part of the learning process in Indian Studies
class. Students explore different ways of researching into English
resources to investigate concepts and areas of interest relevant to India. This
may include sources like books, internet and asking experts.
Students use their English language skills to
interact with other community members, developing a deeper understanding of
cultural concepts as they engage in experiential activities. They learn to
follow step by step English directions to perform different tasks and reflect
on their experience orally or in written form.
Class Placements for 2018-19 (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 remain open for the next two weeks 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.
Message from Elementary School Student Council (repeat
announcement)
The ES Student Council will hold our 6th annual Toy
Drive from Monday, April 16 to Wednesday, April 25. We are collecting clean and
gently used unwanted games, toys, or books for children in a local orphanage.
Students are asked to place the donated items into
the box brought to their homeroom.
Thank you in advance for your support. Please do
not hesitate to ask us if you have any questions or concerns.
Ms. Dee and Ms. Nicole / ES Student Council
Advisors
Items needed for the Mud Kitchen (repeat announcement)
Leaving Chennai? Have old pots and pans, wooden
utensils, metal bowls or utensils you want to get rid of? Please drop them off
in the Elementary reception as we will gladly use them in our Outdoor Learning
Centre Mud Kitchen!
Operation Smile - Yard Sale
Operation Smile will be holding a Yard Sale to
raise money for cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries.
The Yard Sale will take place on Friday, 4th May,
from 3.30 pm to 5 pm in the Unity Courtyard.
Please donate items in good condition that you no
longer use, and that other families would like to buy. These could include
clothes, books, toys, sports equipment, household items, games, etc. Operation Smile
volunteers will then sell these items, with all profits going to the
organization.
Please put your donations in bins marked 'Operation
Smile Yard Sale', which may be found in the HS Office, MS Office, the ES
Cafeteria, main Cafeteria, the main reception, and Madras Cafe from Friday
April 20th. The last day for donations is Friday 27th April.
We also invite families to 'rent table space,' and
sell their own belongings at the prices they wish. The cost of renting a table
to sell your wares is Rs.1000. The proceeds from the sale of the goods will be
yours. If you would like to rent a table please pay Rs.1000 to Ms. Sunita in
the High School office.
AISC Support Staff will get to shop first from 2.30
pm to 3.30 pm.
May
2 - June 1, Lunch Menu & Order links
To order a school lunch for your child, please use this Payonline link.
Warmly,
Keryn Dowling and Lori Newman