November 30, 2012

Dear Parents,

The MS winter party is happening tonight. The party will be held from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the PAC cafeteria. 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. Thank you to all of the parents that provided snacks for the students at this event - I know that they will be enjoyed.

A note from the Cabaret coordinator, Mr. Stewart: Thank you and congratulations to everyone who auditioned for Cabaret 2013. The following acts are invited to begin rehearsals immediately for Cabaret. With continued hard work, these acts will be in the show on January 19: Mali; Hallelujah; Price Tag; Galaxies; Le Sens De Vie; Pay Phone; This Chaos; Please Don't Go; Senorita; Jiya Re; Run The World; Flying Get; Flashback; What to Say; Seoul People; Red Sunset; Don't Look Back in Anger; Time is Running Out; Rencontre; Fantaisie-Impromptu Op. 66; Flood Time; Sonata; Pathetique mvt1; Comedy Duo; BeatBox Jam.

In addition, the cabaret teachers would like to invite the following acts to practice for one more week and perform a callback audition on Wednesday, December 5 at 3:45pm in room 2709. Practice hard until then, and perform your callback with pizazz, with style, and with big, big energy: A&Q Rap; I Will Survive; Gangam Style.MC callback auditions will take place Wednesday, November 28, at 3:45 in room 2301. Ms. Kapadia will invite those people directly. For all other Cabaret-related questions, please see Mr. Stewart.

Music Concert Uniform: Students participating in the MS music concert must wear a pair of full-length black dress pants and black dress shoes (no sandals). In no case will black jeans be acceptable onstage attire. A black music shirt purchased from the school rounds off the concert outfit.   Any student who already possesses an AISC Music logo polo shirt may use it again. Students must be in concert attire to perform.

We will be having our first Middle School Music Concert on December 5th at 2:00 pm in the new auditorium. This is always a wonderful experience and we hope that you will be able to attend.

Withdrawing students – Any students that are withdrawing will need to contact Ms. Aziz in the middle school office a minimum of two weeks prior to the withdrawal date to ensure all necessary documents can be compiled in a timely manner. Records from AISC are usually required by the next school. However, it takes us some time to prepare these records. Please note that for students leaving school at the winter break, we will be able to provide previous years AISC report cards and this year’s mid-semester 1 progress report. However, report cards for semester 1 will not be available until January. We will be happy to forward these to you at your next destination.

Please see notes from our Middle School Counselor, Ms. Trish by either clicking on the tab at the top of the page or by clicking on this link MS Counselor blog

The sale of yearbook photos ended last week and as a result the photo page will no longer be accessible through Moodle.  Photos of new students and those who missed the August photo shoot will be taken for one day only on January 21. More details will be provided after the winter break. All photos, those from August and those from January will be available again for sale in early February. Yearbook thanks all the staff that made this sale possible and the parents for their understanding as we move towards on-line display and sale of the photos.

We wish our middle school soccer teams the best of luck as they head off to their tournament next week. They have been practicing hard in the mornings for this event and I am sure that they will have a wonderful tournament, display great sportsmanship, and make some new friends. Go Raptors!

Upcoming World Language field trip: Fieldtrip for Spanish students- Dec 10, 11:30-2:20 and the fieldtrip for French students is on Dec 11 11:30-2:30. Permission slips needed to be in today, November 30, 2012. Gracias and Merci.

Please note that December 14th, the last day before our winter break, will be a half-day. School dismissal will occur at 12:30 pm. 

Spring Theater Production:  Mandatory Information Meeting The Performing Arts Department will be putting on a spring production of the Mahabharata during the week of April 22-27.  We are looking for actors, singers, dancers, musicians, technicians, designers, management and crew.  Previous experience is not required. There will be an information meeting about participation and audition requirements on Monday December 10 from 3:45 to 4:30 in Mr Shawn's theater room.  Come and catch the vision.

Have a joyous weekend,

Ms. Michele

November 16, 2012

Dear Parents,

This Thursday, teachers were all involved in professional development sessions presented by their colleagues as part of the process to present at the NESA Spring Educators Conference in March. There were fifteen different sessions with a number of technology sessions from video production, exploring the flipped classroom, I-pads/ inquiry/imagination, and 21^st Century networking tools. There were sessions on language learning including conferring with ELLs in a Readers’ workshop setting, two co-teaching English as an additional language sessions, and an interactive activities for language acquisition session; there was a session on learning behavior strategies; a session on host country studies; a coaching session; and a session on classroom simulations. This was a wonderful learning opportunity for all of our teachers.

Congratulations to Seula Lee, Shreyas Saxena, Aleena Khurana, Ye Jin Song,  Daniel Bacheschi, Uday Saharia, and Katrina Nielsen for their time and effort in applying for the Stanley Haas / Luke Hansen student award. The award recipient is someone who can demonstrate acceptance of other cultures and points of view, demonstrates an interest and commitment to helping others, is involved at school and in the community, works to make the world a better place, and is persistent and likes to take risks. Students apply for this award by completing an application from their advisory teacher in the form of an essay and/or a work of art illustrating their involvement in school and community life, highlighting their efforts to make the world a better place.  The selection committee was able to only select three finalists from our school to be forwarded on on to Athens to the NESA Head Office for consideration for the award. Our three finalists are Daniel Bacheschi, Uday Saharia, and Katrina Nielsen. 

The Middle School Move Night is tonight, Friday, November 16^th from 4 – 6 pm.  Please be sure to collect your son/daughter at 6 pm. 

The AISC 2012-13 Yearbook staff is pleased to announce the sale of student photos.Please submit your orders not later than Wednesday, November 21. The photos will be ready by December 14th. 

The Middle School Principal Coffee scheduled for November 21st has been cancelled this month to allow for a meeting of one of the middle school principal candidates with middle school parents. Information on the meeting has been sent out in an email to parents. Also the topics for the Curriculum Coffees scheduled for Tuesday, November 20th, will be postponed to a future coffee date to allow for a middle school parent meeting with a second candidate.

Please see notes from our Middle School Counselor, Ms. Trish by either clicking on the tab at the top of the page or by clicking on this link MS Counselor blog

The middle school activities club has started to organize the MS winter party  for November 30^th. The winter party will be held from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the PAC cafeteria. 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.

Music Concert Uniform: Students participating in the MS music program must wear a pair of full-length black dress pants and black dress shoes (no sandals). In no case will black jeans be acceptable onstage attire. A black music shirt purchased from the school rounds off the concert outfit.   Any student who already possesses an AISC Music logo polo shirt may use it again. Students must be in concert attire to perform. 

We will be having our first Middle School Music Concert on December 5th at 2:00 pm in the new auditorium. This is always a wonderful experience and we hope that you will be able to attend.
 Withdrawing students – Any students that are withdrawing will need to contact Ms. Aziz in the middle school office a minimum of two weeks prior to the withdrawal date to ensure all necessary documents can be compiled in a timely manner. Records from AISC are usually required by the next school. However, it takes us some time to prepare these records.Please note that for students leaving school at the winter break, we will be able to provide previous years AISC report cards and this year’s mid-semester 1 progress report. However, report cards for semester 1 will not be available until January. We will be happy to forward these to you at your next destination.

Have a joyous weekend,

Ms. Michele

November 9, 2012

Dear Parents

Please note that the ASA – Raptors Swim Club will not be in session on Saturday, November 10 due to

the long weekend break. -ASA Department

The Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) - Asian Middle School Honors' Band Festival auditions has recently been completed. Three of our students have been selected to participate in the Festival to be held in Myanmar in January.   Ten of our students worked hard in recent months preparing for and auditioning for the festival.  Congratulations to everyone who auditioned!  Your courage and dedication in this challenging process is to be applauded. We thank Mr. William for his time spent with the students.

The selection committee finished deliberations of almost 700 auditions for the elementary, middle, and high school honor bands. Unfortunately only about a third of those who auditioned are able to be selected due to the high number of auditions.

We congratulate Dongseob Lee (bass clarinet), Theo Beaumont (trombone), and Hana Suzuki (percussion) on their selection to the prestigious middle school AMIS honor band festival.

We also have two students selected as alternates. Alternates are sufficiently skilled to be in the band but due to size and balance could not be included for their particular instrument however should one of the musicians in that section be unable to accept then the alternate would participate. Congratulations to Vishwaarth Vijayakumar and Shail Bhatt.

Reminder Music Concert Uniform: Students participating in the MS music program must wear special clothing for concerts consisting of a pair of full-length black dress pants and black dress shoes (no sandals). In no case will black jeans be acceptable onstage attire. A black music shirt purchased from the school rounds off the concert outfit.   To order the AISC Music shirt, please fill in the form that has been sent home with your child and return it along with a payment of Rs.350/- to the finance office on / before 9^th November 2012.  Late orders could require payment of a higher price.  Students who do not purchase or otherwise obtain an AISC Music logo polo shirt will not be allowed to perform.  Any student who already possesses an AISC Music logo polo shirt may use it again.

Congratulations to the boys and girls soccer team on their great win last night. The game was exciting. They are to be congratulated on their display of sportsmanship on the soccer pitch. Well done Raptors!

Thanks to the diligent efforts of our IT Department, we have identified and resolved the problem that was keeping you from viewing the student photos on the AISC Moodle page. You should now be able to see your child's photos. As a reminder, the process for ordering photos is as follows:

*The Moodle page containing the Yearbook photos can be found Student Yearbook Photos. You should log in as a Guest with the password "raptors12". 

*Alternatively, log into Moodle as a guest using the "raptors12" password. Go to the All School page. Under "Links to Bulletins, Principal's Notes and Head's Notes, click on "School Photos". Type in "raptors12" as password for this page

*On the Student Photos page you will find the order forms and the links to the on-line photo albums.

-First download the order form and print it. 

-Then locate your child's photos. The photos are arranged by grade level and class.

-Click on the folder to open it. You should see three photos of your child. 

-Select the photo(s) you like, record the number(s) (eg.AISC_0000) on the order form.

-Record the appropriate payment.

-Once you have completed the order form, bring it to the Finance Office with the required payment. You will receive a receipt for the payment. 

-Save the receipt. Receipts must be shown when pictures are picked up.

Please submit your orders not later than Wednesday, November 21. Photos will be ready by December 14.

Yearbook photo retakes - A few parents have asked about retaking photos for the Yearbook. The High School Yearbook staff is well on its way to formatting the pages and uploading the photos, and have deadlines that are nearing for submitting these pages to the publisher. Were we to retake student photos, they would have to be included with the new students on a page at the back of the Yearbook and not with their classmates' photos. We do not think this is advisable. As a result, we will not be retaking student photos. Thank you for your understanding.

Reminder: Auditions for Cabaret will take place on November 15 and 16. The show will be January 18.

Before students sign up, please read the performer audition tips and sign their act up for auditions at the online performer signup. MC auditions will take place on November 19. Before students sign up, please read the MC audition tips and sign up for Master of Ceremony auditions at the online MC signup.

For questions about performing in Cabaret, talk to Mr. Stewart in room 2702. For questions about hosting Cabaret as MC, speak with Ms. Kapadia in room 2301.

A Middle School Move Night will be held on Friday, November 16^th from 4 – 6 pm.  Cost 200 Rs. This is part of a fund raiser from the grade 8 students going towards their community service project on their WWoW trip. Refreshments will be provided and students can relax in bean-bag chair comfort. The movie night will be chaperoned by faculty members. Please be sure to collect your son/daughter at 6 pm.

The movie shown will be Legend of the Guardians (2010) Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy. MPAA Rating: PG, for some sequences of scary action. This animated movie has some scenes of scary action between the owls. The full information on the movie rating can be found using this link: http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/legendsofgahoole/fr/Legend-Of-The-Guardians-The-Owls-Of-Ga-Hoole-2010-Movie-Review.htm

Summary of the movie: Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" based on the beloved Guardians of Ga'Hoole books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father's epic stories of the Guardians of Ga' Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father's favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd's jealousy has terrible consequences--causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians--Soren's only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms. -- (C) Warner Bros. Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/legend_of_the_guardians/

The next middle school principal coffee is scheduled for Wednesday November 21 from 8:45-9:45 in the Hall of Light. The topics for the coffee will be an overview of our Advisory program, student goal setting, and a follow-up to the study skills presentation from the last coffee. We hope to see you there.

The middle school activities club has started to organize the MS winter party. The date on the community calendar is December 7^th however, given that this is the time when both our boys and girls soccer teams will be travelling for their ASIAC tournament, the date of the party has been changed to November 30 in order to encourage all students to attend. The winter party will be held from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the PAC cafeteria.

Wishing everyone a joyous Diwali holiday,

Ms. Michele

November 2, 2012

Dear Parents,

Friday, October 26^th found our teachers engaged in a number of professional development activities. The opening Session for the day focused on the recent changes in our curriculum mapping tool to further reflect our move to a backward design planning process to unit design. This session was followed by time dedicated to unit plan development work time. The afternoon found teachers working on the different CIS Accreditation teams finishing up the draft of the self-study report. The final session of the day centered on the Technology and Learning Vision presentation and discussion time.

On the heels of the very successful Halloween party, the middle school activities club has started to organize the next social event, the MS winter party. The date on the community calendar is December 7^th however, given that this is the time when both our boys and girls soccer teams will be travelling for their ASIAC tournament, the date of the dance has been changed to November 30 in order to encourage all students to attend. The winter party will be held from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the PAC cafeteria.

Music Concert Uniform: The neat, uniform appearance of band and choir members contributes greatly to the formality of an event and the audience’s perception of the ensemble. Students participating in the MS music program must wear special clothing for concerts consisting of a pair of full-length black dress pants and black dress shoes (no sandals). In no case will black jeans be acceptable onstage attire.

A black music shirt purchased from the school rounds off the concert outfit.   To order the AISC Music shirt, please fill in the form that has been sent home with your child and return it along with a payment of Rs.350/- to the finance office on / before 9^th November 2012.  (T-shirt size samples are available in the middle school band room and students can come and check their exact fit).  Late orders could require payment of a higher price.  Students who do not purchase or otherwise obtain an AISC Music logo polo shirt will not be allowed to perform.  Any student who already possesses an AISC Music logo polo shirt may use it again.

Withdrawing students – Any students that are withdrawing will need to contact Ms. Aziz in the middle school office a minimum of two weeks prior to the withdrawal date to ensure all necessary documents can be compiled in a timely manner. Records from AISC are usually required by the next school. However, it takes us some time to prepare these records.

Please note that for students leaving school at the Winter Break, we will be able to provide previous years AISC report cards and this year’s mid-semester 1 progress report. However, report cards for semester 1 will not be available until January. We will be happy to forward these to you at your next destination.

Auditions for Cabaret will take place on November 15 and 16. The show will be January 19.

*Before students sign up, please read the performer audition tips 

*Students can sign their act up for auditions at the online performer signup

MC auditions will take place on Monday, November 19.

*Before students sign up, please read the MC audition tips

*Students can sign up for Master of Ceremony auditions at the online MC signup

There are no paper audition forms. Students collect all of the information before submitting the audition signup. For questions about performing in Cabaret, talk to Mr. Stewart in room 2702. For questions about hosting Cabaret as MC, speak with Ms. Kapadia in room 2301.