30 May

Dear Middle School Parents,

Thank you for a wonderful first year. The faculty and I would like to thank you for your support throughout this year.

I would like to especially thank the three Middle School Parent Reps: Mrs. Susan Scales - Grade 8, Mrs. Sharmila Sukumaran - Grade 7 and Mrs. Tammy Oakes - Grade 6. They have met with me throughout this year and given me feedback from the parent community. They have worked a lot for the students and teachers, such as providing snacks at various events throughout the year and thanking the teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day with wonderful notes from the students.

Please remember to remind your children to read, both in the home language and in English, over the summer. Mr. Jet shared an extensive list with you last week. Refer to it should should you need any of the titles.

Report Card

Report cards will be couriered to parents on Friday, 6th June.

Schedule

The schedule will slightly change next year with four classes a day. We have shared this information at a Middle School Coffee before. We will share it again when we are back in school in August. For the students's classes, please note that students have put down the first and second choices of the Fine Arts electives. We tried our best to give students their first choices, but due to scheduling conflicts, some students were given their second choice. Students will get their schedules on the first day of school.

A note from the Aquatics Director…

I would like to thank the community for it's support and patronage of the AISC pool this year.  It has been a successful year teaching the American Red Cross Learn to Swim Program. Every student made gains in their skills and improved their confidence. Water safety is at the heart of the ARC program and your children have all learned some important rules about keeping safe in and near the water.  Let's hope they follow them this summer. Next year, we will be hosting three major swim meets...Big Bad Blue, SAISA and ASIAC!!! We will continue with ARC Swim lessons and Raptors Swim Club, along with other fun programming.

A short note about pool hours after school ends... The pool will be open for the next two weeks, June 2-13, for summer camp from 8:30-12:00, daily.  There will be OPEN SWIM hours from 12:30AM-2:30PM, Monday through Friday, during this time, only.  After June 13th, the pool will be closed for the duration of the summer holidays.

For those of you who will be leaving AISC, best wishes in your next posts and encourage your children to stay in touch with their friends. Of course, they are welcome to come and visit us when they are back in Chennai. For those of you who will be here next year, I hope you will continue to stay involved and active in the AISC community.

Wishing you a safe and fun summer.  Have a relaxing holiday and see you in August!

Sincerely,

Alan Phan

Middle School Principal

23 May

Principal’s Note

23 May 2014

Dear Middle School Parents,

We just our penultimate week of the school year. The End of the Year Middle School Party will end at 6:00pm today. Please remember to pick up your children promptly.

Check Out Form

Students who owe any materials or books will bring the form home to parents for a signature. Please be sure to take care of any missing items by Thursday, 29 May. Students with any outstanding materials or dues will not get their yearbook or documents. We appreciate your support in getting this done.

Old Backpacks

School is almost over!  And for many of us we go home over the summer and buy all new school supplies for next year.  Most of us get new backpacks.  But what do we do with our old ones?  

On the last day of school, the Elementary School Roots and Shoots club will be putting large collection boxes near the entrances.  If you are not going to be using your backpack next year, we ask you to kindly donate it to the children of our support staff (the people who take care of our school).  Just take out your folders and papers and put the empty backpack in the box.  

Thank you for being compassionate and thinking of others.  “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” - Maya Angelou

Message to Grade 8 Parents

On Wednesday, 8th grade students learned about the high school Discover India program which is similar to the week-without-walls of the middle school.  There are a few significant differences.  Students have 13 different trips to choose from that happen in a wide range of places in India and have a variety of activities, cultural experiences and service components.  Each of the trips has 2-3 staff chaperones and 16-22 students of mixed grades.  Students can opt to have one partner on the selection form as long as their partner selects the same trip priorities.  All students and parents have been emailed information about the trips and selection forms are due to the high school office by the end of the day on Tuesday the 27th.  A lottery selection process is then used to assign students to trips. If you have questions, please contact Ryan McFarland at mryan@aisch.org.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SUMMER READING LIST 2014

Our wonderful librarian, Mr. Jet, has comprised a list for summer reading. Order them as e-books or hard copies before you leave. Please encourage your children to read over the summer. We encourage them to read in English and their home language.

ABSOLUTELY NORMAL CHAOS by Sharon Creech

Thirteen-year-old Mary Lou grows up quickly during the summer while learning about romance, homesickness, death, and family.

Themes/Genres: Family, Realistic Fiction

ALMOST HOME by Joan Bauer

Sugar and her mother lose their beloved house and experience the harsh world of homelessness.

Themes/Genres: Homelessness, Realistic Fiction

AMELIA LOST by Candace Fleming

(Nonfiction) This book tells the sotry of Amelia Earhart’s life – as a child, a woman, and a pilot – and describe the search for her missing plane.

Themes/Genres: Aviation, Biography, Includes maps and websites

BETTER NATE THAN EVER by Tim Federle

Nate has a plan that – with a little luck – will take him from his non-fabulous town to New York City and into E.T.: The Musical.

Themes/Genres: Performing Arts, Realistic Fiction

DARK LORD: THE EARLY YEARS by Jamie Thompson

The Dark Lord is confounded when he awakens in the middle of a small town on a planet he’s never seen before.  What is this strange place, why do they keep calling him Dirk Lloyd, and why is he powerless against these earthlings who insist on finding his parents?

Themes/Genres: Fantasy

DOLL BONES by Holly Black

**Newbery Honor Book** Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends forever.  They love playing with their action figures, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism.  Just when it looks like the three might be growing up and leaving the game behind, Poppy reveals she is being haunted.  Reality and make-believe begin to blend, and the three head out on an adventure they will never forget.

Themes/Genres: Fantasy

DRAMA by Raina Telgemeier

Callie rides an emotional roller coaster while serving on the stage crew for a middle school production as various relationships start and end, and others never quite get going.

Themes/Genres: Graphic Novel, Interpersonal Relations

AN ELEPHANT IN THE GARDEN by Claudia Mills

Oliver has a problem…his parents are way too protective and to top it off, they won’t even let him do school projects by himself.  When his teacher proclaims that anyone can change the world with a good idea, Oliver is skeptical but hopeful that it is true.

Themes/Genres: Survival Stories, World War II, Historical Fiction

THE EMERALD ATLAS by John Stephens

Kate, Michael, and Emma have passed from one orphanage to another in the ten years since their parents disappeared.  Now they learn that they have special powers, a quest to find a magical book, and a fearsome enemy.

Themes/Genres: Action and Adventure, Fantasy, Magic

THE FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer Nielsen

In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a competition to be selected to impersonate the king’s long-missing son.

Themes/Genres: Fantasy, Action and Adventure, Orphans

THE GIVER by Lois Lowry

**Newbery Winner** A young boy chosen to be the Receiver of Memories realizes that his utopian society is not as perfect as it appears.

Themes/Genres: Fantasy, Coming of Age, Customs and Traditions, Science Fiction

GUYS READ: FUNNY BUSINESS (collection by multiple authors)

Ten funny stories from popular writers: Mac Bennett, Christopher Paul Curtis, Kate DiCamillo and Jon Scieszka, Paul Feig, Jack Gantos, Jeff Kinney, David Lubar, Adam Rex, and David Yoo.

Themes/Genres: Short Stories

GUYS READ: THRILLER (collection by multiple authors)

Short stories that are full of mystery and intrigue. Featuring some of the best writers around, it is a pulse-pounding collection of short stories, each one guaranteed to keep you riveted until the final page.

Themes/Genres: Short Stories

HAND IN HAND: TEN BLACK MEN WHO CHANGED AMERICA by Andrea Davis Pinkney

(Nonfiction) This biography profiles the lives of 10 brave men from different eras of American History.  Readers discover that each man left an important legacy and that courage and determination can turn ordinary citizens into heroes.

Themes/Genres: Biography

HOLES by Louis Sachar

**Newbery Winner** As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.

Themes/Genres: People with disabilities, Realistic Fiction

I FUNNY by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein

Wheelchair-bound Jamie Grimm resolves to become the world’s greatest stand-up comedian despite less-than-funny challenges in his life.  He endures bullying from his mean-spirited cousin and hopes he will be fairly judged when he enters a local comedy contest.

Themes/Genres: People with disabilities, Realistic Fiction

THE IMPOSSIBLE RESCUE: THE TRUE STORY OF AN AMAZING ARCTIC ADVENTURE by Martin Sandler

(Nonfiction) In the dead of an Arctic winter, whaling ships full of men are stranded in ice.  Follow three rescuers in a race against time in this heart-pounding true adventure.

Themes/Genres: Overcoming Adversity, Perseverance, Survival Stories, Includes maps and timelines.

THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK by Kristin Levine

In 1958 in Little Rock, Arkansas, painfully shy twelve-year-old Marlee sees her city and family divided over school integration.

Themes/Genres: Civil Rights, Historical Fiction

MOCKINGBIRD by Katherine Erskine

Caitlin, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, struggles to understand emotions, show empathy, and make friends at school, while at home she seeks closure by working on a project with her father.

Themes/Genres: People with disabilities, Family, Grief and Loss, Realistic Fiction

ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams-Garcia

**Newbery Honor Book** In the summer of 1968, Delphine and her sisters spend a month with a mother they barely know.  They arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother is resentful of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panter summer camp.

Themes/Genres: Injustice, Overcoming Adversity, Race Relations, Historical Fiction

POWERLESS by Matthew Cody

A group of young people set out to discover why their very special powers disappear before their 13th birthday.

Themes/Genres: Fantasy

THE RED PYRAMID by Rick Riordan

Carter and Sadie find themselves thrust into ancient Egyptian lore when their father unleashes five Egyptian gods.

Themes/Genres: Fantasy, Action and Adventure, Mythology

ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY

**Newbery Winner** Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, it is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice.

Themes/Genres: Courage, Determination, Discrimination, Great Depression, Injustice, Prejudice and Racism, Historical Fiction

STORMBREAKER by Anthony Horowitz

Fourteen-year-old Alex becomes a spy in order to prove that his uncle’s death was not an accident.

Themes/Genres: Action and Adventure

THE SUMMER BEFORE BOYS by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Julia and Eliza are lifelong friends who have shared everything until one develops her first real crush.  The girls find themselves drifting apart until Eliza does something drastic to win Julia back.

Themes/Genres: Friendship, Realistic Fiction

THREE TIMES LUCKY by Sheila Turnage

**Newbery Honor Book** Mo LoBeau was washed ashore a baby in North Carolina.  Now, Mo and her best friend turn detective when the co-owner of a café and his cook appear to be implicated in a murder.

Themes/Genres: Orphans, Mystery

UNGIFTED by Gordan Korman

After pulling a major prank in school and due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction.

Themes/Genres: Humor, Realistic Fiction

WAITING FOR NORMAL by Leslie Connor

Waiting for a “normal” life, Addie is forced to make it on her own when her mother neglects to live up to her responsibilities.

Themes/Genres: Overcoming Adversity, Self-Reliance, Stepfamilies, Realistic Fiction

WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead

**Newbery Winner** Miranda and her best friend know how to navigate their neighborhood.  They know where it’s safe to go, and they know who to avoid.  But things start to unravel.  A mysterious note arrives, scrawled on a tiny slip of paper.  The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows things that haven’t yet happened.

Themes/Genres: Time Travel

THE WILD BOOK by Margarita Engle

In Cuba in 1912, Fefa struggles with dyslexia but learns to love reading as she writes in her diary, The Wild Book

Themes/Genres: Free Verse

WONDER by R.J. Palacio

Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering a private middle school in Manhattan.  There he endures the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.

Themes/Genres: Bullying, Overcoming Adversity, Self-Esteem, Special Needs, Realistic Fiction

WONDERSTRUCK by Brian Selznick

Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City.  There he meets Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life.  Ben’s story is told in words; Rose’s in pictures.

Themes/Genres: People with disabilities, Family, Historical Fiction

Have a great weekend.

Alan Phan

Middle School Principal

16 May

Dear Middle School Parents,

Thank you for your support and the donation for the Grade 7 Yard Sale. We were able to raise over 37,000 Rupees, which will be donated to local charity in the very near future.

End of School Year Notice and Report Card

Please remember that all students will need to return all textbooks, library books, sports uniform and any other items issued by the school. Everything needs to be settled before we can release the documents and before students get their yearbook.

Please note that we will only issue the report cards to students who are leaving AISC on the last day of school, 30 May. All other report cards will be issued the following week.

Middle School Party

There will be one last social event for Middle School students. The End of the Year Middle School Party will take place next Friday, 23 May from 4:30-6:00pm in the Cafeteria.

End of year Recognition Assemblies

As we are coming close to the end of the school year, there will be some celebration done for each grade level at the End of year Recognition Assemblies on Thursday, 29 May. Each grade level holds a year-end assembly that celebrates and is tailored to their age level. This approach to end-of-year recognition is in keeping with the middle school philosophy and is a positive and meaningful celebration for all of our students.

The 6th grade will be celebrating the important goal that each student feels that they have accomplished and will be given a certificate stating the attainment of their goal. The 6th grade I-awards will be on held in the FAC auditorium. All sixth grade parents are invited at 9:15 to celebrate and recognize the emotional, intellectual, and social achievements that sixth grade students have made.

The 7th grade recognition assembly will be in the Hall of Light. The 7th grade will  present certificates recognizing student  with the 4 C’s Awards during this formal part of their assembly. All seventh grade parents are invited to this portion of the assembly at 1:45. Afterwards, the ‘fun’ awards will be presented for only grade 7 students.

The 8th grade celebration will be in the Cafeteria. All eighth grade parents are invited to this portion of the assembly from 2:30-3:00. The first part will be a slide show and 4 C’s activity with parents. The second thirty minutes will include two different reflection activities  for all students.

Thought of the Week – Service Learning at AISC from a Parent’s Perspective

Our family moved to India for family reasons 7 years ago and it has been and will continue to be home base.  The process of retraining my eye and thoughts to find and make beautiful things around me, making peace with the surroundings, and trying to focus on the big picture while moving past the (in retrospect) trivial daily annoyances has served to clarify what I want for myself as a human being, and help define the experiences I would like to give my children before they reach adulthood.

With this in mind, one huge leap AISC has taken in the last couple of years is defining the mission, vision, and core values for the school.  And this year, it is clear that the mission and vision is coming to life.  This has affected me, as a parent, when I was asked by one of my children’s teachers to join the Service Learning Team and I have to admit that it was a slow acceptance on my part.  However, having made the commitment, I am extremely grateful that I did as it refined my thinking around this big idea of serving others and how critical it is to ensure that we make the value of service a habit for our children.  And the team was also a fantastic group of people to work with!

We all realize we are surrounded by opportunities to serve others and increase the good in the world.  And our big hearted AISC community is always up to something whether it be within our own extended families, helping out our friends (who hasn’t watched their friends’ kids in a pinch or give them lift somewhere because their driver didn’t show up?), or addressing a favorite cause here in Chennai or elsewhere.  We value this and it feels good to help – and I hope that our children are watching all of us when we expend our efforts helping others.

However, with Service Learning at AISC – we think we can get even the littlest ones doing service - not just watching the adults doing service.  And we think we can create a school culture where our children will actively choose to serve – because helping is a habit that feels good, and they can use skills they are learning, refine them, reflect on the consequences of their actions, while doing something to make the world better.  And as long as we build a process where both success and failure is tolerated, where improvements in thoughts and actions are encouraged, we will be on the right track.

I am looking forward to supporting AISC as they bring the value of service into life for my children.  I know the net result for my children is they will be more equipped to collaboratively problem solve, more empathetic, and more able to reflect on how their actions affect others - and more good in the world will be accomplished in the short term and long term.

Margaret Rajan is the parent of two elementary aged children at AISC and was a member of the Service-Learning Task Force.  Please do not hesitate to contact Margaret, or Jason Hicks (hjason@aisch.org), who was the teacher-leader of the task force, with thoughts, questions or ideas.

Have a great weekend.

Alan Phan

Middle School Principal

9 May

Dear Middle School Parents,

Thank you for your support at the Middle School Art Exhibition. We had a great turnout from students and parents. A special thanks to Mr. Aneesh and Ms. Laura for making it happen and to Ms. Laura Blair for with adding the technology piece to some of the art pieces. The exhibition will be on display until 15 May if you missed it this week.

The Grade 7 yard sale is coming! Time to clear out your stuff.

Date: Thursday, May 15th

Time: 8.30am – 3.30pm.

Location: Main Courtyard

Donations:  Books, clothes, games, household items, and anything usable that is clean and in good condition. Bring the donations to Middle school office.

Tables:  You can buy a table for Rs.1000 to sell your own items and keep the profits.  To reserve a table you can pay Rs.1000 to the Yard Sale Fund in the finance office.

Proceeds will go to community service projects decided upon by Grade 7 students.

MS Band and Choir Concert

The MS Music classes will be putting on their end of the year concert for us next Friday, 16 May at 2:00pm in the FAC Auditorium. Please join us to listen to some beautiful music as the students show off their musical skills that they have been practicing on all year. For parents of music students, please see the music concert uniform requirements below.

ASA End Date

To give you a heads-up, please note that all ASA activities will end on Friday, 23 May. There will be no ASA for the last week of school.

MS MUN at Taipei American School

Students attended their first MUN Conference in Taipei a couple of weeks ago. It was such a success that we will continue with the club next year and look at attending another conference next Spring. Below is a little report from the chaperones:

“Our youngest participants made quite a splash at the conference. Karthik and Arya are the only 6th grade delegates here. Arya spoke strongly and Karthik (the youngest delegate of all) was lead submitter for a resolution that was ultimately passed.

All students are learning a lot and making new connections. Most importantly, they are having a lot of fun.”

Dressed up as MUN Delegates

This photo was also submitted to Selfie Project in Grade 6 Art.

MUSIC CONCERT UNIFORM

The neat, uniform appearance of Band and Choir members contributes greatly to the formality of the event. Looking sharp increases our students’ pride of accomplishment and the audience’s perception of the ensemble. Students that will be participating in the MS music program must wear special clothing for concerts consisting of a pair of full-length black dress pants, black dress shoes (no sandals), black socks and black belt. These pants and shoes can be purchased locally at Bata and other stores. Ask for school uniform pants and shoes.

In no case will black jeans, tights, skirts, shorts/pedal pushers, or sandals be an acceptable onstage attire.

A black music shirt purchased from the school store rounds off the concert outfit. This is a special, semi-formal shirt with our school’s official music logo. Any student who already possesses an AISC Music logo polo shirt may use it again.

The polo shirt will be available for Rs.400/- in the iHub store.

                                Boys                                        Girls

AISC Middle School Band and Choir - looking good, sounding great!

Have a great weekend.

Alan Phan

Middle School Principal