31 July

Dear AISC Middle School Families,

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year with the first day of school approaching fast on Thursday, 6 August. We have been busy preparing the school and the classrooms, and we are looking forward to the start of the new school year.

Looking Ahead at Parent Coffees
This year the first parent coffees are slightly different. Instead of an all Middle School parent coffee, there will be grade level coffees that will take place in the Hall of Light at 8:45 on the following dates.
Grade 6: Wednesday, August 12
Grade 7: Friday, August 14
Grade 8: Monday, August 17

Student Schedules: All middle school students will start their first day with an Advisory period. All students will receive their schedule on the first day of school in their Advisory class.

Bring-Your-Own-Technology (BYOT) Program

All Middle School students are required to bring in a computing device that meets a minimum set of specifications to support student learning. Students may choose between a laptop with either the Mac or Windows operating system, or an iPad with a keyboard.  Please see the following link for more detailed information about the program:  bit.ly/aiscbyot.

In order to configure the devices, we ask that students bring their own device on these days:

• Thursday, 6 August: New Students
• Monday, 10 August: Grade 6 Students
• Tuesday, 11 August: Returning students who have bought a new device over the summer.

Please remember to set your operating system language to English in order for our IT department to configure devices.

Lunch program:  Lunch takes place from 12:05 – 12:45 every day. The cafeteria will be open the first day of school. Students who choose to purchase food at school will have two options: the cafeteria and iHub. The cafeteria will provide hot lunches from several cuisines and a la carte items. The iHub will have snack foods, drinks, and some pre-made items from the cafeteria.

Students also have the option of bringing a lunch to school as the cafeteria has several refrigerators and shelves which may be used by students to keep their lunches cool.  It also has some microwave ovens for use in warming food. Students may also purchase food before school, during the morning break and after school.

Food Services

• The Taj Madras Flight Kitchen (TMFK), our school-wide food vendor, will begin selling meals and a la carte items at both cafeterias (ES & FAC) and I-Hub beginning on August 6th. 
• Information regarding food and menu options will continue to be communicated as needed through the principals.
• AISC Access Cards (photo IDs) will also serve as smart cards (prepaid debit cards) for all purchases on campus.  Cards can be charged on campus at the I-Hub, both cafeterias, the cashier’s window located off the main courtyard and pay online using credit/debit cards.
• Cash will continue to be accepted for purchases through August 29.  From August 31, only smart cards will be accepted in all the outlets.
• Cakes for special occasions can be pre-ordered in both the cafeterias.

In the spirit of continual improvement, AISC food services will focus on a new pattern of menu choices with keeping nutrition standards for students as the center piece and incorporating feedback received from the community.

Cashier & Vending Sites – Hours of Operation

Main Courtyard Cashier: 8:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m.

ES Cafeteria: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Main Cafeteria: 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

iHub: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Parent MC Café: 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Student ID Badges

All students will be given color-coded section and grade-wise ID badges at the start of the school year in August. Students will be able to transfer any balance remaining on their current card to the new card at the cashier's office. New students will be issued their ID badge at the New Student Orientation on 5 August.

Our ID badges are not only used to open the turnstiles at the security gates, but they also function as Smart Cards for the Library/Collaboration Inquiry Center (CIC) to check out books and to pay for food and drinks at the cafeteria and Poolside Store: iHub.

Students and parents can load credit on their ID badge/Smart Card at the Cashier’s office near the main reception or through Payonline system . If a student or parent loses their ID card/Smart card, it should be reported to the Cashier’s office as soon as possible. The Cashier will immediately put a block on the use of the card to prevent misuse.

Our school hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

In the morning, students are to wait on the ground floor until the first bell rings at 8:15 am. After this time, students are allowed to proceed to the upper floors. After 3:45 p.m., students not involved in a sanctioned after-school activity, are required to wait in the drop off/pick-up area at the front of the school.  Students are to be picked up by 3:45 pm unless enrolled in an adult-supervised after school activity.  Please be prompt in delivering and picking up your children.

Email Addresses: Much of our communication between the school and parents will take place electronically. It is vital that we have your current email address. If your email address changes or you suspect that you are not receiving communications from the school, please contact Admissions Office Assistant, Ms. Sujata at nsujata@aisch.org  or call the school at 2254-9000, option 9. During school year, to get in touch with the Middle School, please contact  the Middle School Administrative Assistant, Ms. Aziz at sazizunnisa@aisch.org.

Principal's Notes: At the end of every week an update on the events taking place in the Middle School will be provided and other important information shared with the Middle School community. These weekly Principal’s Notes will be posted on the Internet at http://ms-principal-notes.blogspot.in/ beginning on July 31st. An email reminder with this link will be sent to all parents each Friday. Please read these notes carefully to stay informed about what’s going on in the Middle School.

Student Handbooks and Community Calendar: AISC will provide each student with a Middle School Handbook and the yearly Community Calendar at the New Student/Parent Orientation or during the first week of school, in cases of families who will relocate to India after August 5th. The Handbook contains important information for our students and parents and we strongly encourage you to review it together. All students and their parents will be required to acknowledge receipt of the Handbook and their agreement to abide by the policies and procedures contained therein. We update the Handbook annually and welcome suggestions and ideas for improvements.

The Community Calendar is also very important and we recommend that it be kept in a prominent place for easy reference, since it contains all of the major dates for activities, events, tournaments and special days at our school.

New Student/Parent Orientation: Please mark your calendar for the New Student/Parent Orientation session on Wednesday, 5 August at 10:00.

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES SEMESTER - 1 (AUGUST 17 - DECEMBER 18, 2015)
ASA Online Registrations	August 6 - 9	(https://payonline.aisch.org/)
ASA forms (hard copy) will be sent on	August 6	Via Student folder
ES & MS ASA In-person Registrations through cash	August - 10 & 11	8.00 am - 9.30 am                        (at the ES Cafeteria)
ASA Semester 1 begins	August 17
ASA Semester 1 ends	December 18

ASA FAIR – August 7, 2015:

This fair is primarily for parents to meet the guest instructors who would be leading the paid activities. It is optional for Students to attend the fair after school, with Parents.

Date: August 7, 2015

Time: 3.00 pm – 4.30 pm

Venue: Elementary cafeteria

REGISTRATION PROCESS

• Activity registrations will be on first-come-first-served basis, as the activities will be capped depending on their nature.
• Online registrations open on August 6 and end on August 9, 2015. We encourage Parents to register online.
• If you have missed registering online, then in-person registrations can be done on August 10 & 11, 2015 at the Elementary Cafeteria from 8.00 am – 9.30 am. 
• Fees of INR 4000 will be charged per class (16 weeks) for one semester.
• We do not accept payments by cheque.
• Payments cannot be dropped off at the receptions (Registrations can be done either online or in-person only).
• Children may enroll in as many paid activities as they choose. 
• There are some activities that require uniform or kit. This will be provided by the respective ASA teachers.

Thank you for reviewing this information and we look forward to the start of the new school year.

Sincerely,

Alan Phan

Middle School Principal