Dear Parents,
Important Dates
Earth Week 2021
AISC is celebrating Earth Week from April 19-22. This year’s theme is A Call to Action. The week will feature student projects and live presentations on environmental sustainability, zero-waste workshops, and more. We hope you will join us in celebrating student learning and activism and leave inspired to take action!
Next Week is Well Week!
The intention of the week is to bring attention to wellbeing and share our experiences. For each day of the week we are in school, AISC will bring attention to one of the four domains of wellbeing.
Throughout the week AISC community members will be asked to:
Monday: Self-Awareness - How are you feeling?
Identify a color or colors that represent your emotion(s) and create a visual representation or art form of those emotions.
Tuesday: Healthy Habits - Try something new!
Select a Healthy Habit that might be new to you or that you have started this year and then share a video of yourself doing the activity or a description of the activity.
Thursday: Positive Relationships - Gratitude & Kindness
Reach out to someone and show gratitude and commit to a random act of kindness. Then, share your experiences of showing gratitude and kindness through photos, videos, or written descriptions.
Friday: Self-Management - Share your tips!
Reflect on how you manage stress, persevere through challenges, and control impulses. Then, share tips with the AISC community about your practices.
*Elementary School community members can post in Seesaw Activities or social media #AISCWellbeing
Withdrawing from AISC
If you are relocating and your child is leaving AISC at the end of this school year in June or earlier, please complete this online Withdrawal Form. You may email esoffice@aischennai.org if you have any questions.
Maker Carnival Friday, April 23rd
Get ready for Maker Carnival! This year, we are hosting a virtual event on Friday, April 23rd.There will be asynchronous videos and activities to complete throughout the day including stories, Tinkercad, cardboard games, homemade instruments and more! In place of Closing Circle, there will be 2 live sessions for students to join from 2:30 - 3:00 and 3:00 - 3:30.Topics range from Cooking to Origami to Lego! Look for more information next week along with documents that outline sessions and materials needed. Can't wait to see all the Maker Carnival creations!
From the Counselors
Summer is coming, and with this season, comes the heat! What are some fun ways to get your child outside to enjoy some exercise or nature time?
Here are a few ideas from Ms. Linda and Ms. Michele:
1. Try birdwatching from your balcony or yard! This sweet link gives some great information about Birds of India that you might spot from your own rooftop, balcony or yard! Get out binoculars and see what you might spy! Early morning and dusk can be great, if not cooler times to observe wildlife. Balcony Birding
2. Pick a “sit spot.” Jon Young, one of the world’s preeminent nature educators and coauthor of Coyote’s Guide, advises children and adults to find a special place in nature, whether it’s under a tree at the end of the yard, a hidden bend of a creek, or a rooftop garden. “Know it by day; know it by night; know it in the rain and in the snow, in the depth of winter and in the heat of summer,” he writes. “Know the birds that live there, know the trees they live in. Get to know these things as if they were your relatives.” Doing so can reduce our sense of isolation, our species loneliness. In addition, building a fort, den, or tree house can help children with problem-solving, creativity, planning, and a sense of security and place.
3. Go backyard, rooftop or deck camping. Buy or borrow a tent or encourage your kids to create their own structure from a blanket, poles, or sticks. Leave it up all summer. Make a dessert treat, play flashlight tag, and make shadow puppets on the tent wall. To turn the structure into a homemade observation blind, cut a small window in the side that faces a nearby bird feeder, bat house, or a place frequented by wildlife. Stow binoculars, field guides, a digital camera with a telephoto lens, water, and granola bars. No yard? Before air-conditioning, pitching a hammock, dragging a mattress, or spreading a sleeping bag on a flat roof or fire escape was common. Put on the bug spray and mosquito coils and have some fun out there!
4. Plant a family or friendship tree, or adopt one. Nurturing nature is a positive action to take whether you live in a densely populated urban neighborhood, suburb or apartment complex. Adopt or plant a tree to help mark important family occasions—a holiday, a birth, death, or marriage. Susan J. Tweit, plant biologist and author of Walking Nature Home, offers this suggestion: “Get to know a tree or shrub in your neighborhood intimately by observing it over the course of a growing season. Every week, check your adopted tree or shrub and note any changes.” The Take a Child Outside Week campaign suggests taking pictures of your live family tree in its first snow or after a big windstorm. Make bark rubbings using crayons and paper. Make a digital adoption notebook with photos, videos, and observations. Plant its seeds. To get started, visit Project Budburst or Nature’s Notebook, and set up an account for your adopted tree or shrub. Acts of caring for others and nurturing nature build psychological and spiritual resilience at a time when children and adults most need it.
5. And last, but not least, WATER! Water balloons, sprinklers, the garden hose, a small pool, are all great ways to cool off, splash, and have fun together.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Regards,
Lynn Schneider, Dave Allen, and Elliot FijmanElementary School Leadership Team