Dear Middle School Parents,
We have a number of activities coming up in the next few weeks, Movie Night next Friday and the Friendship Party on the 14th of February. We also are sending small group of students to a couple of important events:
AMIS Honor Band in Shanghai (11-17 February)
We are sending two Grade 7 students: Sae Shimada and Suzu Toyonaga and two Grade 8 students: Hana Suzuki and Ui Hyun Cho. We are thrilled to have them represent AISC.
Math Counts in Mumbai (13-16 February)
We are also sending students to represent us at the American School of Bombay:
Grade 6: Reuben Nielsen
Grade 7: Haegun Cho, Tarun Krishna and Siddesh Vijayakumar
Grade 8: Shreyas Saxena, Uday Saharia, Vikram Sivakumar and Sang Hyeok Lee
The Winter Concert is here! Come hear your friends in the high school Symphonic Band and Concert Band tear it up this afternoon, from 4-5, in the auditorium. Admission is free. And on your way up to the concert, check out the high school art show on display in the ground-floor atrium. Cool clay sculptures and awesome sound sculptures in one place. Today, in the auditorium, 4-5pm!
The following is a reminder for returning parents and information for new parents to the school.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Middle School Social Events for Students:
Who runs these events? At the Middle School, students who have joined the Activities Club work with three advisors (Ms. Jaya, Ms. Lakshmi, and Mrs. Hall) on a weekly basis to plan various social events throughout the year.
What are the events for the rest of this year? Friendship Party, Movie Night, and End of Year party.
What do the students do at these parties? A disc jockey plays middle school appropriate music and students socialize together. There is pizza, popcorn, chips, and drinks. Students are supervised by middle school teacher volunteers.
What can parents do to help? For the parties we ask parents to supply some baked goods such as cupcakes, cookies, or easily served sweet or savory snacks. We kindly request that these are finger foods that are easily served and are in small portions. Please do not include nuts in any of the food items and clearly label any item that is non-veg. The Class moms usually send out a request for these and follow up reminders. (No baked goods are needed for the Pool Party)
Is there a cost for these events? Students in the Club sell tickets the week of the event. The tickets are usually 200Rs in advance, 250Rs at the door. Student must pay with cash- students cannot use the school's smart cards for this. The money is spent on the refreshments, the disc jockey, the decorations, and any additional costs related to the events (movie rental, lighting, etc)
Can my child leave at any time? We are responsible for supervising your child during the event, therefore, please communicate in writing to the Principal before the event if your child needs to leave early for any reason.
Where can I pick up my child after the party? Students are dismissed from the party and are required to leave by the main gate. Please pick up your child there promptly. The timings for the events are published in the Community calendar. (The Pool Party timings are from 4:00 to 6:00)
Can my child bring a friend who is not a student at AISC or a younger/older sibling? As this is a middle school event and because we need to have a complete list of all students attending the event for security/safety reasons, these events are only open to middle school students enrolled at AISC.
Thank you for your understanding.
Academic Corner
The goal of the Academic Corner is to keep parents informed of what students are studying in school. We encourage parents to ask their children about these topics they are learning. Ask them to explain it to you, this will help reinforce their learning. Please remember to be non-judgmental and ask probing open questions so they can explain it to you.
Grade 8 students are starting to plan for the NESA Virtual Science Fair. Students have been learning to write their hypothesis, creating procedure and coming up with their list of materials. Once they have all those approved, they begin testing their experiments. Most of the work will be done at home with their teammates, but some of the testing will be under the guidance of the teachers. In addition to working with the teachers here in school, they learning how to write appropriate emails and how to communicate with professors at universities who will be guiding them through this process virtually. If your child was here in Grade 5, they had a similar Virtual Science Fair a few years back.
After the introduction will be done for the Virtual Science Fair, Grade 8 students will be starting their Energy Unit. In Grade 7, they are currently in Cell Processes unit. They have covered Photosynthesis / Cell Respiration. They are wrapping up Mitosis, entering Meiosis and Heredity next. In Grade 6, they are studying Earth's History - exploring the geologic time scale, learning about fossils (and how they provide evidence of earth's history), and studying the early origins of life. After Earth’s History, they will study Plate Tectonics.
Have a good weekend.
Alan Phan
Middle School Principal