Dear Parents,
As the founding Middle School Principal, I have had the pleasure of creating a middle school from it's beginning six years ago. Through the collective efforts of committed educators and with the support of the School Board we have developed programs and practices that are consistent with world class middle schools. I would like to announce that I will be leaving AISC at the end of this school year. My time here has been filled with truly memorable moments with students, staff, and parents; there is a wonderful community spirit that exists in our middle school.
We welcome home our grade 8 students and teachers from their amazing Week Without Walls experience in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Some of the highlights included: rappelling down a 30 meter wall, kayaking in the local lake, an orienteering activity where students learned to use an electronic GPS in addition to the traditional compass, team building experiences that gave the students the opportunity to show their leadership skills, and some local cultural experiences such as discussing and looking at examples of Warli art with a local Warli artist. Students were also treated to a Tarapa dance performance by the Warli people and some were even able to take part in the traditional circle dance. Please see below for a few pictures from their trip.
This year we will be marking United Nations day (Wednesday, October 24th) with a flag processional which will include all students with flags from the nations represented by AISC’s student body. The oldest student in the whole school carries the flag, while the youngest in the whole school carries the country name sign. The flag processional will start at 8:50 am and parents are asked to gather in the gym to view the flag processional. Students will pause in the gym for flag celebration and photograph by country. Later in the day, students will be attending the parent organized International Pavilion. This student event will have the students visiting the country booths that will be set up in the gym.
We encourage all students to dress in their national dress or colors of their country on this day.
We will also be having a UN assembly for secondary students in the morning of Tuesday, October 23 in the PAC auditorium.
Thank you to all of the parents that attended the Middle School Principal Coffee. We will be following up on what was discussed. Thank you to Ms. Trish, Mr. Brian, Mr. Jason, Betsy Elad, Dee Coughlin, and Aditi Vasu for facilitating this coffee meeting in my absence as I needed to travel back to British Columbia due to the passing of my father.
The Middle School Activities Club is busy organizing a Halloween Party for October 25 from 6:00-8:00 pm. Please note that there is no supervision from 4:00-6:00 pm, if students remain at school during this time they need to be under parental supervision. Please ensure that your child is picked up promptly at 8:00 pm and note that students are not permitted to leave early unless prior arrangements have been made with the Principal.
The Middle School Activities Club is busy organizing a Halloween Party for October 25 from 6:00-8:00 pm. Please note that there is no supervision from 4:00-6:00 pm, if students remain at school during this time they need to be under parental supervision. Please ensure that your child is picked up promptly at 8:00 pm and note that students are not permitted to leave early unless prior arrangements have been made with the Principal.
Progress Reports are issued at the mid-semester point in semester 1 and 2. This half way point in the semester provides a ‘snapshot’ of student’s progress. Progress Reports will be given to students on Oct. 25th.
We will be having our second professional development day for staff on October 26th. Please note that there is no school for students on this day.
3-Way Conferences will be held on November 1st from 4:00 -7:00 pm and on November 2nd from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Information on the on-line scheduling of conference appointments with teachers will be sent out next week in a separate email to all middle school parents.
A 3-way conference actively involves parents, teachers AND students, therefore it is important that all parents bring their child to the conferences. 3-way conferences acknowledge the most important participant in the learning process – the student.
The conferences will be held in the teacher’s rooms and are scheduled for 10 minutes with a five-minute passing time between conferences. Since there is very little time between appointments, you may want to consider leaving a gap between appointments to allow time to get to the next appointment.
*Please bring your child and their progress report with you to the conferences.
*Please respect the needs of other parents and do not continue your discussion beyond the allotted time. If you feel you need additional time to speak with any of your child’s teachers you can schedule an appointment at a later date.
*Your child’s teachers will need to take short breaks from time to time. These will be posted on their conference schedule.
We will be having our second professional development day for staff on October 26th. Please note that there is no school for students on this day.
3-Way Conferences will be held on November 1st from 4:00 -7:00 pm and on November 2nd from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Information on the on-line scheduling of conference appointments with teachers will be sent out next week in a separate email to all middle school parents.
A 3-way conference actively involves parents, teachers AND students, therefore it is important that all parents bring their child to the conferences. 3-way conferences acknowledge the most important participant in the learning process – the student.
The conferences will be held in the teacher’s rooms and are scheduled for 10 minutes with a five-minute passing time between conferences. Since there is very little time between appointments, you may want to consider leaving a gap between appointments to allow time to get to the next appointment.
*Please bring your child and their progress report with you to the conferences.
*Please respect the needs of other parents and do not continue your discussion beyond the allotted time. If you feel you need additional time to speak with any of your child’s teachers you can schedule an appointment at a later date.
*Your child’s teachers will need to take short breaks from time to time. These will be posted on their conference schedule.
Vision and Hearing Screening: Ms. Harlene, School Nurse
The school has hired professionals to come to the school and screen students. By
Doctors conducting the vision and hearing screening on the campus are: Dr Sudha and her team from Madras ENT Research Foundation (P) Ltd.
1 Cross Street, 2nd Main Road, Raja Annamalaipuram,Chennai 600028. Dr Sudha and her team from " Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital, 19, Cathedral Road, Chennai.
The school has hired professionals to come to the school and screen students. By
conducting these tests, doctors can screen for potential problems. If the doctors
The vision and hearing screening will be held at the Health Office from 6th-9th November 2012 during school hours.
suspect any problems, the school nurse will inform you so that you can take your
child for further evaluation by professionals of your choice.
Doctors conducting the vision and hearing screening on the campus are: Dr Sudha and her team from Madras ENT Research Foundation (P) Ltd.
1 Cross Street, 2nd Main Road, Raja Annamalaipuram,Chennai 600028. Dr Sudha and her team from " Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital, 19, Cathedral Road, Chennai.