Friday, 22 August 2014

22 August

Dear Middle School Parents,

First of all, thank you to all the parents who attended the first Middle School Coffee. We hope you learned something new about the Middle School. We encourage you to continue staying involved and attend these coffees. The next one will take place on 16 September where we will have a guest speaker from Freedom from Chemical Dependency. They will be talking to students about substance abuse and hold two parent meetings during this week.

Back to School Night
Thursday, 28 August, starting at 6:00 pm in FAC Cafeteria
Refreshments will be served at 5:30 pm in the FAC Atrium
The purpose of this night is for parents to meet the teachers and find out information about the course content, expectations of the teacher, and set the foundation for school to home communication and discussing ways that teachers and parents can work together to support learning.  

Because the time is short, this will not be the time for discussions about individual students. Three-Way Conferences (Student-Parent-Teacher) will take place on 13 and 14 November. Before these dates, parents may schedule appointments with teachers at any time during the school year to discuss their child’s academic progress.

When you arrive, please pick up your child’s schedule in the FAC Cafeteria. I look forward to seeing you at this important evening.

PCA - Middle School Parent Team
If you missed the introduction our middle school PCA parent grade representatives at the Middle School Coffee, I would like to introduce them to you now.
Grade 6: Valerie Lecoq
Grade 7: Shanti Giridhar
Grade 8: Lica Kamio

Parents are a wonderful support to the school. Our parent team helps in a number of ways in the middle school from arranging for food and decorations at middle school events, supporting the teachers as requested by the grade-level team leaders, and helping organize the middle school contribution in school events such as UN Day, Charity fair, among other things.

It is important to note that the parent team do not hold formal meetings with parents, but may arrange social times to get to know each other better. They do not address parent concerns and will always direct parents to the classroom teacher first and secondly to the associate principal or principal. It is a great partnership and we are fortunate to have the support of our committed parent team.

Activity Start Date
Please note some of the start dates for the activities. Most of the activities have started and been announced to students in the Student Daily Bulletin. Please encourage your children to explore all the different options.

Activity
Sponsors
Meeting Day and Room
Student Activities
Planning activities for the middle school
Ms. Victoria, Ms. Jaya and Ms. Lakshmi
Start Date:  21 August
When: Thursdays
Time: 12:35-12:55
Room: 3129
Student Ambassador
Welcoming new students to AISC
Ms. Trish, Mr. Gregg and Ms. Jaya, Ms. Vinitha, Ms. Rebekah and Mr. Widi
As needed basis
Retreat:  12 September
Model United Nations (MUN)
Solving global issues as future world leaders
Ms. Mac, Ms. May and Ms. Fer
Start Date:  25 August
When: Mondays and Tuesdays
Time: 3:45-4:45
Room: 3113
Interact Club
Volunteering Club
Mr. Martin
More details to come
Assembly Committee
Planning and presenting  MS monthly assemblies
Mr. Ross and Ms. Lindsay
More details to come
NESA Virtual Science Fair
“Using Tech to Do Science”
Mr. Thomsen and Ms. Lindsay
Start Date:  18 August
When: Mondays
Time: 3:30 - 4:30pm
MathCount
Math competition
Ms. Kala
Start Date: 13 September
When: Saturdays
Room: 3309
Grade 6/7: 1:30 - 3:00pm
Grade 8: 3:00 - 4:30pm
Homework Club
Working on homework with support from teachers
Mr. Brian, Ms. Vinitha and Ms. Kanthi
Start Date:  18 August
When: Mon, Tues and Wed
Time: 3:30-4:30
Room: 3116

Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Testing: 2-16 September
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is a computerized adaptive test. Students will take tests in Reading, Math, Language and Science. MAP tests students with engaging and age-appropriate content. As a student responds to questions, the test responds to the student, adjusting up or down in difficulty. Our team uses the data to inform instructional decision-making for increased student growth and achievement.

Please remind your children to charge the laptops each night, especially during testing week. There is no preparation required for MAP testing. We do, however,  recommend that students get adequate sleep and a good breakfast before they come to school for the MAP test.

Have a great weekend and see you at the Welcome Back Picnic tomorrow.

Alan Phan
Middle School Principal