28 August

Dear Middle School Parents,

It was great to see so many parents at Back to School Night. Thank you for coming and taking an interest in your child’s education. It is a shared responsibility and ultimately, we want what is best for our students, your children. If you would like to see the video about Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset again, please click on this link. Students have seen the video in their advisory class so have a conversation with your child about it.

ASIAC & SAISA Parent Meeting  

From Ron Thomson, Activities & Athletic Director

There will be a morning make up ASIAC/SAISA Parent Meeting for next Wednesday Sept. 2 at 8:45-10:00 in the HOL. If you missed this week’s meetings, please be sure to join us to get all the information regarding this season’s sports.

• Our students will have an abbreviated schedule, which ends at 1:30. This will include lunch.
• There is no supervision for any activity after 1:30; therefore, all students need to be off campus at that time.
• There are no ASAs, clubs or sports on Wednesdays.
• If you have any questions regarding early release, please contact the Middle School Office.

20/21 Learning Dialogues. Please join us on September 3.

As a 20 year old learning organization, we want to continue to explore trends, issues, stories, conversations, and topics that are relevant to our community. We want to look ahead to the next 20 years. On Thursday, September 3, we will be talking about what it means to be successful in a rapidly changing world. This dialogue will be held in the Hall of Light, with doors opening at 5:00 and starting at 5:30. It will end at 7:00. Please join us.

What are Learning Habits?

Special Parent Coffee: Wednesday, 16 September @8:45 in Hall of Light

One of the aspects of moving to a Standards-Based Grading and Reporting system is to separate the behavior from the academic achievement. Therefore, we will be giving feedback on student’s behavior using the four words, with its description below to indicate how frequently they display these attributes. Please come to learn more about this aspect of the grading system.

Preparation	Student actively plans for learning activities, displays effective organization and manages their time well.
Engagement	Student actively participates in learning activities and is communicative about their thinking and learning.
Collaboration	Student works with all peers by showing respect and compassion in a diverse classroom environment.
Growth Mindset	Student can thoughtfully self-asses and strives for continual improvement.

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 this year? Typically there is a Pool Party, a Halloween party, a Winter Party, a Friendship Party, a School Spirit Week, a Movie Night, and an 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.

​ Note that we do not require baked goods 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.

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.

Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship Certification

Common Sense Media is by far the best source for advice, tools, and curriculum related to your questions or concerns about raising a child in the digital age.  This year we continue our systematic integration of their digital citizenship curriculum throughout the school.

AISC has supported Common Sense media for many years and we are now pursuing a school certification. Many of our teachers are also working toward their own teacher certification and are co-teaching with our tech coaches in the classroom.

A popular resource that we frequently distribute is Common Sense's Family Media Agreement which is designed to help families have conversations around the different issues they may face with media and technology. This is a very useful tool and your child will be given one in the next few weeks. Please talk through it with your child, sign it, and keep it in your home for reference.  

Additional resources you will find helpful include, Parent Concerns FAQs, Family Guides, and Family Tip Sheets. The last resource is very straightforward and comprehensive.  There is also a useful app for phones and tablets.

Have a great weekend.

Alan Phan

Middle School Principal

21 August

Dear Middle School Parents,

At our school we pride ourselves in providing a high level of academic standards in our courses and at the same time, we are teaching students more than just academics. In Advisory, we teach students topics ranging from organization to identity to inclusion, from healthy choices to digital citizenship. While we have always known that a well-rounded education, that includes academic classes, fine arts and a social emotional component is important. One article Sharing is Caring where they researched students in kindergarten and followed them for 19 years shows us how important to have all these components. The results are very interesting. One quote I loved was, “Every parent wants to see their kid get good grades in school. But now we know social success is just as important.”

Back to School Night

Thursday, 27 August. Reception begins at 4:45pm.

Please join us for Back to School Night. We will have a soft start should you arrive early. There will be some snacks, tea and coffee in the FAC Atrium, beside the cafeteria. In the schedule below, please note that the classes are not in the order that students take during the school day. They are organized for efficiency of movement for the elective and core classes. You can collect your child’s schedule in the cafeteria when you arrive. To get a headstart, have a conversation with your child about the schedule below.

Time	Grade 6	Grade 7	Grade 8
4:45 - 5:15	Small Reception in FAC Atrium
5:20 - 5:30	Greeting by MS Principal in FAC Cafeteria
5:35 - 5:45	PE in Gym	Spanish in 2702 French in 2715 EAP in 2720	Theater in 2709
5:50 - 6:00	Band in 2705	PE in Gym	Art in 2717
6:05 - 6:15	Spanish in 2702 French in 2715 EAP in 2720	Art in 2717	Choir in 2723
6:20 - 6:30	Theater in 2709	Choir in 2723	PE in Gym
6:35 - 6:45	Art in 2717	Band in 2705	Spanish in 2702 French in 2715 EAP in 2720
6:50 - 7:00	Choir in 2723	Theater in 2709	Band in 2705
7:05 - 7:15	Advisory in 2702	Advisory in 2709	Advisory in Cafeteria
7:15 - 7:25	Transition to Rooms
7:25 - 7:35	B	A	A
7:40 - 7:50	D	B	B
7:55 - 8:05	G	E	E
8:10 - 8:20	H	H	F

Early Release Wednesdays

This year we have seven Early Release Wednesdays.  The first one is coming up on Wednesday, September 2nd. On Early Release Wednesdays, we will run a special schedule and school will end at 1:30 (this schedule will include lunch). Please note that on Early Release Wednesdays, there are no after school activities, clubs or sports and students are expected to be off campus immediately following dismissal.   On these Wednesdays, teachers will be collaborating and learning together in order to support the work they do with your children. As a reminder, the Early Release Wednesdays are:

• September ​2 ​
• October 7​
• November 4​
• December 2​
• January 20​
• February​ 10​
• March 9​

Director of Teaching and Learning Coffee

Thursday, August 27th from 8:45 - 9:45 in the BBT

Please mark your calendar to join us for the first Teaching and Learning Parent Coffee of the year. At the coffee you will meet many of the people who work with teachers and students to plan our programming for EAL, SEVAI (service learning), Mathematics, Literacy, and Science. You will also have an opportunity to meet our new School Psychologist and hear more about the teacher professional development and learning we have planned for the year.  We hope to see you in the BBT on Thursday.

Grade Level Reps

We have three new reps and one returning from last year. Please meet your new Grade Level Reps and their contact details. They will send an email to you soon to introduce themselves.

Grade	Parent Name	Child’s Name	Email
6	Chitra Kumar	Aditi	chitra.aditi@gmail.com
7	Varna Ramaswamy	Srivatsan	arna_ramaswamy@hotmail.com
8	Jayashree Srinivasan	Advika	shreejay_2@yahoo.com
8	Shanti Giridhar	Prahalad	prashagi@gmail.com

MS Parent Coffee Presentation

Parents have asked to get the details from the Grade Level Coffees in the last couple of weeks. While this link is for grade, the majority of the information is the same for all of Middle School. Please see the link above if you missed it or would like the information.

SAISA and ASIAC Parent Meeting

If your child is in SAISA Swimming, ASIAC Badminton or ASIAC Table Tennis, please be sure to attend the parent meeting next week.

SAISA Parent Meeting: Monday, 24 August @5:00pm in Gym

ASIAC Parent Meeting: Tuesday, 25 August @5:00pm in Gym

World Language Book Day

Tuesday, September 1, 10:00-4:30

Come enjoy the first ever PK-12 world language book day in the ES/MS and HS CICs!!

Purpose:

• Browse what new language books your CICs have purchased (pleasure reading and content support).
• Discover the books available in your language
• Discuss ways to increase the collection in your language.

Coffee and tea will be provided.

From 4:00 - 4:30 we will have a special presentation upstairs in the ES/MS CIC to learn more about how your language community can become involved to strengthen your language book collection.

Have a great weekend.

Alan Phan

Middle School Principal

14 August

Dear Middle School Parents,

Recently, I read a great article written by a Harvard psychologist about Raising Kids. While it is nothing new to the parents in our community, there are many great reminders for all of us.

Middle School Coffees

Grade 8: Monday, 17 August at 8:45 in Hall of Light (HOL)

It was great to see so many parents at the Grade 6 and Grade 7 Coffees. I look forward to meeting the Grade 8 Parents on Monday. I will take this opportunity to introduce myself and my background. You will also have an opportunity to learn a little more about the Middle School, especially the Standards-Based Grading and Report Card for this year. You will also get to know other parents in your child’s grade level. I look forward to seeing the returning parents and meeting the new ones.

Back to School Night

Thursday, 27 August, @5:00 pm

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. Please mark your calendar for this important event.

Middle School Play

Auditions for the MS Theater Production  “A History of the Universe in Seventy Seven Minutes” will take place next week.

On Monday 17th August – Information meeting, workshop and practice for the audition scenes.  All students should attend at the FAC Theater from 3.40pm to 4.50pm. Students then will choose their audition date:   Either Tuesday 18th August 3.40 to 4.50pm in Theater OR Thursday 20th August 3.40 to 4.50pm in Theater    The production will be a party comic, partly serious roller coaster ride through history.  All MS students are welcome to audition. It has smaller roles and larger roles available depending upon experience. It is a fun play and will be a great learning experience. The rehearsals for the play will take place on Mondays and Thursdays after school, from 3.40pm to 4.50pm.     Good luck to all students trying out for the Middle School Theater Production! Mr. Gareth Huxtable Middle School Theater Director

Middle School Sports and Activities

There are a number of activities available to students in the Middle School. Several of them are starting next week with the information listed below.

Activity	Sponsors/Coaches	Details
ASIAC Table Tennis	Coaches: Pam Thomson and Paul Gangte	Starts on Monday, 17 August Interested students can show up at Auxiliary GYM at 6:30am Practice Schedule: Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 am in Auxiliary GYM. Tournament Date: 9 -10 October, 2015 - ASB Mumbai
Model United Nations (MUN)	Ms. Pepper McFarland, Ms. Michelle May, Mr. Ross Connelly	Start Date: August 17 Mondays: Beginners (no experience) Tuesdays: Advanced Room: 3113 Time: 3:40
Homework Club	Mr. Brian, Ms. Lucy and Ms. Kanthi	Starts on Monday, 17 August When: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays Time: 3:35 - 4:30 Location: Room 3120
Student Activities Club	Ms. Victoria, Ms. Jaya and Ms. Lakshmi	Start Date: August 20 Thursdays at Lunch Room 3131 Time 12:25-12:45
Interact Club	Mr. Martin and Ms. Geetha	Starting date: August 25 Day: Tuesdays Room: 3305 Time: 3:45
Art Club	Mr. Aneesh	Starting date: August 27 Day: Thursdays Room: 2720 Time: 3:45
Student Ambassador	Mr. Gregg, Ms. Gold and Ms. Rebekah	Retreat date: September 4 Dates:  Student ambassadors meet every month during a convenient lunch for all.
Math Count	Ms. Kala	Competition Group Only (only open to Grade 7 and Grade 8 by teacher recommendation) Start date: September: 4 Friday: 3:30 - 5:00 Room: 3309 (HS Room)
Starting later on the year
Assembly Committee	Mr. Ross	September
Cabaret	Mr. Cary	Januar/February
Robotics	Mr. Ryan	Spring

Emergency Drill

Please note that we will have a fire drill next week on Thursday, 20 August at 1:45pm. If you are on campus, please follow these guidelines:

• Parents (and their visitors) are responsible for obeying the instructions from security staff or school administration during an emergency situation.
• Parents should allow the evacuation process of our students to proceed undisturbed.
• The soccer field is the safe assembly area which is commonly designated during fire evacuation.
• The soccer field has a specific area earmarked with a sign board for parent/visitors to assemble near the northwest corner of the field.
• Parents/Visitors will not be permitted to move off campus while an emergency situation is in progress.
• In an emergency situation, parents should not use the elevators.

UN Day Celebration

One of AISC’s amazing traditions is the celebration of UN Day.  This celebration will be held on Friday, September 18, as part of United Nations International Day of Peace. Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. By aligning our UN Day Celebration with the International Day of Peace, we will celebrate our community diversity, the mission of the United Nations, and courageous concept of peace on earth.

This year, we would like to continue tradition of celebrating UN International Day of Peace in our auditorium. In preparation for flag parade, K-12 students will gather in the gymnasium and, once assembled under their respective national flag, will proceed to the auditorium for the beginning of the parade. The PK students will gather in the auditorium lobby and, upon arrival of K-12 students, will lead the school into the parade. PK students will exit the auditorium when they finish their role in the parade.

Once our K-5 students finish their role in the parade, each of them will be seated in the auditorium for this event.

Once our 6-12 students complete the parade, they will proceed downstairs and be seated in the cafeteria with live streaming of the assembly in the auditorium.

Parent Action Needed

Students will be marching under their citizenship of record as listed in Skyward, our student information system. We would like to seek information about your children’s nationality representation interest if different from what is on our records. If you would like to make a change and have your child(ren) march under a flag different from their citizenship, please kindly send this information directly to Sanja Ilić, Director of Admissions, (admissionsdirector@aisch.org).  Admissions office will be accommodating the aforementioned requests until September 4, 2015, in order to be able to prepare additional flags in a timely manner.

Have a great weekend,

Alan Phan

Middle School Principal