March 22, 2013

Dear Parents,

Important ASA Information:

All ASAs will continue for Semester 2 after Spring Break from April 8  and end on May 31, 2013.

ASA - Raptors Swim Club (Mini session) is over for the Semester 2.

 Over the past few weeks, you received information via the Principal's Notes about the XSports camp scheduled to come to AISC the week of April 8. We regret to inform you that the camp has been canceled due to insufficient interest. 

Congratulations to the SAISA track and field team for their successful meet in Colombo. Below are the top 5middle school place finishers. Thank you to our coaches: Ms. Tucky Fussell, Ms. Cindy Nutter, and Mr. Ryan Sager.     

Girls 10 – 12 Discus Throw:               Kaitlyn 1^st Place AISC record and Shahnaz 2^nd Place

Girls 13-14    3000 Meter Run:           Katrina 5^th Place

Girls 10-12  400 Meter Run:               Mirabell 3^rd Place and Kadambari  4^th Place

Girls 13 -14    400 Meter Run:            Maria L  4^th Place

Girls 10-12   High Jump:                     Mirabell 2^nd Place and Kadambari 5^th Place

Girls 10-12  4x100 Meter Relay:        Shahnaz,  Kadambari, and Mirabell 2^nd place AISC record

Girls 13-14   800 Meter Run:              Maria L.  1^st Place AISC record

Girls 10-12 Long Jump:                      Mirabell  2^nd Place AISC record;

Girls 10-12   200 Meter Run:              Mirabell 2^nd Place AISC record;

Girls 13-14   200 Meter Run:              Maria L  5^th Place

Boys 13-14 200 Meter Run:               Akira 2^nd Place

Girls 10-12   4x400 Meter Relay:       Mirabell, Shahnaz, Kadambari  3^rd Place                 

Girls 13-14   4x400  Meter Relay:      Subin, Maria  L, Katrina 3^rd Place AISC record

Girls 10-12 Shot Put:                          Kaitlyn 4^th Place AISC record 

Girls 10-12 100 Meter Dash:              Mirabell 2^nd Place and Shahnaz 5^th Place

Boys 13-14 100 Meter Dash:              Akria 1^st Place

On Wednesday the 6^th grade celebrated reading with a range of activities. Here are some pictures from the read aloud sessions.

At our March Middle School Parent Coffee our middle school PE teachers, Mr. Tommy and Mr. Ron T. presented the proposed topics that will comprise our MS Heath Program for the next school year. An additional change in the program will be moving from a one unit–one time concentration of topics to the health topics being spread out over the course of the year and placed between the PE athletic units. This will allow our students to receive health education throughout the year in smaller chunks. And will allow us to be more responsive to issues as they arise.

6^th grade topics: Your Health and Wellness, Mental and Emotional Wellness, Healthy Relationships, Physical Activity, Personal Health, Your Body Systems, Growth and Development, Tobacco, Preventing Diseases, Safety and the Environment

7^th grade: Understanding Health and Wellness, Taking Charge of Your Health, Physical Activity and Fitness, Nutrition, Building Healthy Relationships, Alcohol, Personal health and Consumer Choices, Growing and Changing, Communicable Diseases, Non-communicable Diseases

8^th grade: Understanding Your Health, Skills for a Healthier Life, Mental and Emotional Health, Relationships: The Teen Years, Promoting Social Health, Physical Activity and Fitness, Drugs, Growth and Development, Common Communicable Diseases, Non-Communicable Diseases

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

Our movie night scheduled for April 19^th has been changed to May 3^rd. More information as we approach the new date.

The NESA Science Fair is a culmination of months of hard work in designing and carrying out scientific investigations and it is a celebration of student’s learning. On Thursday the grade 8 students shared what they have learned and presented their projects in a ‘dress rehearsal’ to their peers in middle and elementary school, as well as to one another. The judging round occurred today and the students did a fantastic job. Each group gave a short speech to explain their project, followed by questions from the judges.

Some of the judge’s questions included:

1. What application does this project have to real life?

2. How does this experiment conform to the scientific method?

3. Did you acquire any new skills while doing your project?

4. Did you have any experimental errors in your project? If so, how did you correct for them?

5. What changes can you make if you were to continue this project next year?

I hope that the grade 5 parents and students enjoyed the middle school Fine Arts presentation on Wednesday. Please remember that the selection forms on which two fine arts courses students will select as their specialist courses for next year are due April 10^th to the grade 5 Homeroom Teachers. Following the spring break, grade 5 students that selected band will then be scheduled during their grade 5 music for instrument mouthpiece fittings. Students will be placed in the World Language course that they are currently studying.

Students currently in grade 6 will need to state their Fine Arts choices for the 2013-2014 school year.  Current grade 6 students will have the option of choosing 2 Fine Arts courses from the 3 Fine arts areas of Visual Art, Music (Band or Choir), and Theatre. A Fine Arts course selection form will be sent out to grade 6 students on April 8 and will need to be returned to the MS office by April 12.

Mums and dads please keep the afternoon/evening of April 25 available to participate in your child’s student-led portfolio presentation. This is an opportunity not to be missed! Students have been busy collecting evidence of their growth and learning, and reflecting on their strengths and areas of improvement. They are looking forward to sharing this with you. An invitation to participate in your child’s portfolio presentation has been sent home. Please contact us if it has not reached you. In the invitation is the scheduled time of your child’s portfolio presentation. The presentation should take approximately 45 minutes and will be conducted in the language most comfortable for students and parents. Please mark this date and time on your calendar.

Following the portfolio presentations on April 25, from 4–7 pm (for grade six), and 5-7 pm (for grade seven and eight) we will be having parent-teacher conferences for any parents that would like to meet with a teacher regarding a specific concern. Also, we will be having parent–teacher conferences on April 26 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. We will again be using the on-line appointment scheduling program to facilitate booking appointment times with teachers. Specific information on accessing the appointment scheduling program will be coming out in the April 12th Principal’s Notes.

Our students had a wonderful time at the Pool Party last Friday. Thank you to our student activities club members, Ms. Victoria and Ms. Jaya for organizing the event for our students on Friday. The students really seemed to enjoy the time in the pool. Thank you to Ms. Rebekah, Mr. Scott, Mr. Tommy, Ms. Lily, and Mr. Ron T. for helping supervise the event.

Ms. Michele

March 15, 2013

Dear Parents,

Our congratulations to the SAISA track and field team for their successful meet in Colombo last weekend. All of our athletes represented AISC proudly. Nineteen AISC records were broken. We will have the middle school results in next week’s blog post. Thank you to our coaches: Ms. Tucky Fussell, Ms. Cindy Nutter, and Mr. Ryan Sager.

Regretfully, we had an omission on the reporting of the results of our middle school students from the Track and Field tournament from February 22-23 for setting school records. Congratulations to:

Kaitlyn for breaking the AISC record in shotput   (it was her birthday too)

Student activities club is hosting a pool party this afternoon March 15 from 4:30-6:30pm. Parents please ensure that your child is picked up promptly at 6:30 pm.

On March 20th, the 6^th grade will celebrate reading with a range of activities. The celebration will start with a couple of read aloud sessions. Students will sign up for two read aloud sessions of their choice. Afterwards, there will be two rounds of activity sessions that students can enjoy such as: An Artistic Illustrators Corner; Critic Corner - record and publish on YouTube your own book recommendation; Book Talk Recommendation & Discussion; Active Reading Session - sit back, relax, and read; Writers Corner - write a poem or book review; and other student generated ideas.

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

Near East South Asia (NESA) Virtual Science Fair: Our grade 8 students will be presenting their Science Fair projects for the first round of judging, the school-level, on March 21 and 22 in the Black Box Theatre. Parents are most welcome to drop by on the Thursday from 8:45-10:30 am and 1:45-3:30 pm. The students will be engaged with the judges on the Friday.

Parents of grade 5 students please note: On March 20^th, from 2:30-3:30 pm in the PAC Auditorium our Fine Arts department will be giving a presentation to grade 5 parents and students on the different fine arts disciplines. At the end of the meeting, parents will be given a form to discuss with their child on which two fine arts courses they will select as their specialist courses for next year. The form will be due April 10^th to the grade 5 Homeroom Teachers. Following the spring break, grade 5 students that selected band will then be scheduled during their grade 5 music for instrument mouthpiece fittings. Students will be placed in the World Language course that they are currently studying.

Students currently in grade 6 will need to state their Fine Arts choices for the 2013-2014 school year.  Current grade 6 students will have the option of choosing 2 Fine Arts courses from the 3 Fine arts areas of Visual Art, Music (Band or Choir), and Theatre. A Fine Arts course selection form will be sent out to grade 6 students on April 8 and will need to be returned to the MS office by April 12.

Student-led Portfolio Presentations will be occurring during the afternoon of April 25th.

Portfolio presentations provide a wonderful, more vivid picture of what students know and are able to do than just a progress report. By providing students an active and meaningful role in interpreting their own learning, we provide an authentic context for self-evaluation and the honest appraisal of both successes and challenges. Preparation and successful implementation of student-led portfolio presentations requires active participation from students and parents.

An invitation will be coming home for you in the mail next week giving the exact time of your child’s portfolio presentation. Parents please keep the afternoon of April 25 available to participate in your child’s student-led portfolio presentation. This is an event not to be missed!

Xsports Camps is running a multi-age sports camp at AISC the week of April 8th to 14th. Students can register for one of the following camps: tennis, basketball or football. Camps will run from 3:45 pm to 5:45 pm Monday through Friday (this is a change from what is written on the application form) and on Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 am to 11:00 am. Click here to learn more about XSports, and to obtain an application form. Alternatively, please visit the Xsports website for further information. 

Important information about ASA: ASAs will be not be held from April 8-14, 2013 due to the Xsport camp and will be extended in the last week of school from June 3-7, 2013

Have a joyous weekend,

Ms. Michele

March 8, 2013

Dear Parents,

Congratulations to our middle school Volleyball teams in their ASIAC Tournament this past weekend. One of our boy’s teams won the tournament and the other team placed fifth. One of our girl’s teams also won the tournament, winning every match in every game; our other girl’s team placed sixth and was awarded the Sportsmanship Trophy. Very well done Raptors!

Our middle school Tennis team had some tough games in their ASIAC Tournament this past weekend. Our team placed third overall in the team results. Of special note, Mirdula was undefeated in all of the games she played. Well done Raptors!

Congratulations to the following middle school members of the Track and Field team who broke school records in last weekend's meet. We wish the team the best of luck at SAISA this weekend! Go Raptors!

400m and 800m                 - Maria L.                

Long jump                         - Subin                          

100m and long jump         - Mirabel                

10-12 girls 4x100m relay  - Shahnaaz, Mirabel, Kadambari B 

13-13 girls 4x100m relay   - Subin, Katrina, Maria

We are starting up our final sports season of the year. MS boys and girls Basketball has had a meeting for students interested in trying out for the teams and will begin practicing next week. Please visit the Athletic Department page for details on practice times. The coaches for the boy’s team are Mr. Rice (rderek@aisch.org) and Mr. Christian (lchristian@aisch.org), and for the girl’s team the coaches are Mr. Hirsch (hbrian@aisch.org) and Ms. Rosario (jrosario@aisch.org@aisch.org).

Congratulations to our World Language department on a successful Foreign Language Week. Students had the opportunity to learn some words and phrases in Korean, French, Marathi, Italian and Hindi. Students also enjoyed some French and Spanish dishes at lunch time as part of the menu items in the cafeteria. On Thursday, we had a special assembly where students saw dance performances from teachers and students. Our Masters of Ceremony introduced each dance in English, Spanish and French.

The results from our Celebrate India Photo competition are in: In the ‘Places’ category the photo Qutub Minar taken by Katrina has placed first, with the Temple photo by Varun in second place. In the ‘People’ category the photo Lady selling fish taken by Anand has placed first, with the Man working photo by Kavian in second place. In the ‘Culture’ category the photo Gods taken by Yejin Song has placed first, with the Thali photo by Katrina in second place. In the ‘Wildlife and nature’ category the photo Sunset and Turtles taken by Keshav has placed first, with the Flowers photo by Siddesh in second place. Prizes will be awarded at the upcoming advisory assembly.

The next Middle School Parent Coffee will be on March 13^th from 8:45-9:45 am in the Hall of Light. The presentations for this coffee will be on our MS Heath Program presented by Mr. Tommy and Mr. Ron T. We will also have a presentation on our Student e-Portfolios by Ms. Laura.

Student activities club is hosting a pool party on Friday, March 15 from 4:30-6:30pm. Tickets will be sold during lunch time for Rs. 200/-. If tickets are bought at the event, they will be 250/-. There will be food, drinks, and water activities.  We encourage all middle school students to join in the fun and be there with your ‘one piece’ bathing suits. Parents please ensure that your child is picked up promptly at 6:30 pm.

The grade 6 Battle of the Books has transitioned into the 6th Grade Celebration of Reading! On March 20th 6^th grade will celebrate reading with a range of activities. For starters, students will all choose and read at least one “just right” fantasy book. Students are more than welcome to read several fantasy books for this celebration, but please read at least one so that everyone has some recent common reading experiences that can be shared with each other.
The celebration will start with a couple of read aloud sessions led by Mrs. Hall, Ms. Jaya, Mr. Gregg, Ms. Nirmala, Mr. Hewett, and some of your other teachers. Students will sign up for two read aloud sessions of their choice. Afterwards, there will be two rounds of activity sessions that students can enjoy. Presently, the activities are:

§  An Artistic Illustrators Corner

§  Critic Corner - record and publish on YouTube your own book recommendation.

§  Book Talk Recommendation & Discussion

§  Active Reading Session - sit back, relax, and read!

§  Writers Corner - write a poem or book review.

§  Student generated ideas 

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

Near East South Asia (NESA) Virtual Science Fair: Our grade 8 students have been working hard on their Science Fair projects and are getting ready for the first round of judging, the school-level, will occur on March 21 and 22 in the Black Box Theatre. Parents are most welcome to drop by on the Thursday times of 8:45-10:30 and 1:45-3:30. On the Friday, students will be engaged with their presentations to the judges.

Xsport International Camp will be launching their multi-sports program on 8th – 14th April here at AISC. The sports on offer for this upcoming camp are Tennis, Basketball and Football. To find out more about this opportunity or to book please go to www.xsportglobal.com. Also see the application form below (2 pages).

Please Note:

o   A minimum of 100 students required for the camp to take off.

o   All payments to be done through the Xsport site only. No other payments will be accepted.

o   Assembly to follow where parents can directly interact with Xsport manager.

o   For any queries, parents may directly speak to the Xsport person-in-charge, through the website.

Important information about ASA: ASAs will be withheld from April 8-14, 2013 due to the Xsport camp and will be extended in the last week of school from June 3-7, 2013

Have a joyous weekend,

Ms. Michele

March 1, 2013

Dear Parents,

We wish our middle school volleyball teams and our tennis team the best of luck in their games this weekend. They have been practicing hard and I am sure that they will have a wonderful tournament, display great sportsmanship, and make some new friends. Go Raptors!  

Links below are given for the live streams of the volleyball games. To view the links you will need to sign in as a guest and use the password guest. 

Boys volleyball live-stream:http://americanschoolofbombay.adobeconnect.com/asiacboys/

Girls volleyball live-stream: http://americanschoolofbombay.adobeconnect.com/asiacgirls/

The ASIAC Volleyball and Tennis Tournament Results can be found by going to the following website: http://www.allprosoftware.net/asiac2013volleyballtennis/

Calling all middle school swimmers, the ASIAC swim team practices start Monday: Please follow the link below to sign up for swim practice times. https://docs.google.com/a/aisch.org/forms/d/1_A-VByN6mq4ofRcqVGkBRT87wkcpP6Sb4tzs_WKfltg/viewform. AISC will be hosting the swim meet here on May 10 and 11. If you have any questions please contact Coach Tommy (bTomas@aisch.org), Coach Larson (lscott@aisch.org), or Coach Robertson.

Any middle school boys interested in trying out for the ASIAC boys’ basketball team are to come to a meeting on Monday, March 4th in the breezeway conference room at 1:00 pm during lunch with Mr. Rice (drice@aisch.org) and Mr. Christian (lcristian@aisch.org). Forms will be passed out and the practice schedule will be given.

Our Advisory classes have just finished up the theme of Honesty. The last unit in this theme was on Honesty to the World where students worked in cross advisory groups. Groups were asked to observe ‘real world’ problems. Students were asked to consider what unfair means; how do they know that something is unfair; and what happens when they see a problem that they perceive as unfair.  Groups were then asked to identify issues of unfairness or injustice and to create an action plan working collaboratively in their group and with their teacher sponsor. Some of the topics that groups came up with are: women's rights, child labor, animal welfare, the environment, air pollution, and unemployment /poverty. The result of some action plans included student created videos, posters, grade-level public service announcements, and grade level and middle school wide blogs. Our next Advisory theme is Caring.

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

We will be celebrating National Foreign Language Week, March 4-8^th with the following activities:

• Display student created posters highlighting the benefits of learning additional languages.
• Students will lead language mini-lessons during lunchtime (Tamil, Korean, Japanese, German, etc.) to give students the opportunity to either teach someone their native language or try learning a new language. 
• We will be offering students French and Spanish food options for lunchtime for the week of March 4-8. Please see the revised TMFK lunch menu for this week. (Note that these options will replace the advertised March 4-8 TMFC Continental menu items for this week only).
• Dress up a famous Spanish/French speaking person day
• Middle School assembly

The Middle School Student Activities Club will be hosting a Pool Party on Friday, March 15 from 4:30-6:30 pm. We encourage all middleschoolers to join in the fun and be there with your ‘one piece’ bathing suits. Parents please ensure that your child is picked up promptly at 6:30 pm. Tickets will be sold starting on Monday, March 11th for 200 Rupees (250 Rs. if bought at the pool party). 

How to Stay Hydrated : The days are getting hotter.  Be sure to drink enough water and stay hydrated.  Here are some helpful hints:

o   Remind yourself to drink water at certain times during the day, even if you don’t feel thirsty at the moment.  Many small sips during the day are better than one big gulp.

o   Bring a cup from home to keep in your classroom for days you forget a bottle.

o   Drink water before and after recess.

o   Drink water during recess.

o   Take your water bottle with you where ever you go!

o   Buy a water bottle at the Poolside Store

o   Drink WATER.  Sugar drinks and coffee are Dehydrating!                                                                               

    ~A Roots & Shoots service announcement

AISC and NuVU Studios program dates: April 15 to May 24, 2013 Session 1: Apr 15-26, 2013; Session 2: Apr 29-May 10, 2013; Session 3: May 13-24, 2013

Pricing: 1 Session: 29,500 INR, 2 Sessions: 57,000 INR (2,000 INR discount), 3 Sessions: 83,500 INR Housing: Options will be shared with families upon registration.

For more info: https://bangalore.nuvustudio.com/ https://bangalore.nuvustudio.com/terms/spring-2013

NuVu’s Spring Program is open to AISC middle school students through an application process with criteria set by AISC. If you are interested in this program for your child, please visit the websites given above for more information, and then contact Ms. Michele for further information prior to March 11^th.

Xsport International Camp comes to AISC!  XSport International Camps will be launching their successful multi-sports program on 8th – 14th April here at the American International School, Chennai. The camps have already been a huge success in Mumbai at ASB with a remarkable 100% parent and child satisfaction. All camps are run by experienced professional international coaches from Europe and USA. This is a great opportunity for your child (aged 6-14 years) to gain extra training and knowledge in their chosen sport as the XSport coaches use some of the best methodology from world class Sports and Club Associations. The sports on offer for this upcoming camp are Tennis, Basketball and Football. To find out more about this exciting new opportunity or to book please go to www.xsportglobal.com. Also see the application form below (2 pages).

Please Note:

o   A minimum of 100 students required for the camp to take off.

o   All payments to be done through the Xsport site only. No other payments will be accepted.

o   Assembly to follow where parents can directly interact with Xsport manager.

o   For any queries, parents may directly speak to the Xsport person-in-charge, through the website.

!!Important information about ASA: ASAs will be withheld from April 8-14, 2013 due to the Xsport camp and will be extended in the last week of school from June 3-7, 2013

Have a joyous weekend,

Ms. Michele