5 May

Dear Middle School Parents,

As I am starting to see more fidget devices in the school, I became more curious about its function and effectiveness for students. I did some research this past week and found very little information out there at the moment. I found one article that provided more information about them and one solid suggestion should your child need one. Please read the full article here.

End of Third Trimester

With the end of the third trimester coming up in a few weeks, there will be many projects and assessments that will be due. Please remember to work with your children to plan their final weeks of school and encourage them to work on the assignments through these weeks instead of waiting to complete them during the final week.

Middle School Art Exhibition

Please join us at the opening reception for our Middle School Art Exhibition on May 9th from 3:45 to 4:45 in the FAC atrium. The display will have at least one artwork from each student who took an art course this year in the middle school. Works displayed will include paintings, sculptures, installations, and technology projects. We encourage everyone to come see the show! The exhibition will continue from May 9th to May 19th.

Trending TV Series - A Message from Counseling

You may or may not be aware of the release of a series on Netflix called 13 Reasons Why. The series, which is based on a widely-read young adult novel, revolves around the aftermath of a teenage girl’s suicide. The series is extremely graphic in regards to a variety of issues teens may be facing, including very direct and graphic reference to and enactment of suicide, self-harm and rape.

There is much discussion online about the show and middle school and high school students are talking about it here at AISC; the provocative nature of the show has caused some controversy. While some people believe the show allows for authentic conversations about suicide, others believe the show exposes viewers to harmful suicide messages and imagery. Mental health experts have publicly expressed concern about the possibility that the show may portray suicide as a way of solving problems and conflict and may, in fact, romanticize suicide.

If your son or daughter has watched the series or is to watch the series, it is important that you are not only aware of the graphic nature of the content, but use it as a forum to engage in conversations with your teen about very real issues teens may facing. As you broach these conversations, note that you will want to consider how to:

• support your child in managing his/her emotional responses to the show
• hear and respond to his/her reactions and feelings

Remind them that you are there for them and that there are resources at school through the counseling office (counselors, school psychologist) who are available to answer questions, to listen and to help them get the support they may need with any issue they are facing.

Resources for talking about the series and the topic of suicide include:

• Common Sense Media - shares some ideas about conversations you may have with your child about the tv series (additional resources linked within)
• National Association of School Psychologists - a guide for educators, families, and students on the tv show and the topic of suicide (additional resources linked within)
• Headspace - factsheet and discussion guide about the series

Model United Nations (MUN)

Congratulations to all the boys and girls who are in Qatar representing AISC and lobbying for their assigned countries and committees. Thank you to the chaperones, Ms. Pepper McFarland and Dr. Carlos Adelantado Faura. Here is the folder for the pictures.

Country	Committee	Delegate	Topics
China	Security Council	Gauthum & Sanjeev	The question of Yemen The issue of cyber terrorism and espionage
	ECOSOC	Dhivya	Promoting education for girls in LICUS countries The question of resettling refugees into their host societies
	GA2 (Economic and Financial)	Gyubo	Strengthening economies through green energy technologies Promoting tourism to promote sustainable economic growth
	GA3 (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural)	Suman	Protecting the rights of asylum seekers in Europe Measures to protect threatened world heritage sites during armed conflict
	Special Committee on Inequality I	Seoyoung	Developing job programs for the disabled Establishing the right to education for all children
	Special Committee on Inequality II	Byung geon	Eradicating the worst forms of child labor in LEDC’s Measures to ensure equal job opportunities for women
	Human Rights Commission 1	Nahyeon	Protecting the rights of vulnerable minorities The elimination of underage marriage
	Human Rights Commission 2	Aryan	Measures to protect press freedom Measures to protect the rights of older people
Iraq	GA2 (Economic and Financial)	Akshaya	Strengthening economies through green energy technologies Promoting tourism to promote sustainable economic growth
	GA3 (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural)	Sungbin	Protecting the rights of asylum seekers in Europe Measures to protect threatened world heritage sites during armed conflict
	GA6 (Legal)	Sungho	Addressing the legality of unarmed drones in warfare Protecting citizens right to cyber-privacy
	Human Rights Commission 1	Nahyun (Hannah)	Protecting the rights of vulnerable minorities The elimination of underage marriage
	Human Rights Commission 2	Lya	Measures to protect press freedom Measures to protect the rights of older people
	Special Committee on Inequality 1	Dobin	Developing job programs for the disabled Establishing the right to education for all children
DPRK	Disarmament	Artiom	Measures to prevent the recruitment of underage persons by international terrorist groups Combatting the use of biological weapons
	Environment	Sangmin	Combatting plastic pollution in oceans and waterways Ensuring access to clean water for all
	GA2 (Economic and Financial)	Diya	Strengthening economies through green energy technologies Promoting tourism to promote sustainable economic growth
	GA3 (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural)	Namgi	Protecting the rights of asylum seekers in Europe Measures to protect threatened world heritage sites during armed conflict
	Human Rights Commission 1	Keshav	Protecting the rights of vulnerable minorities The elimination of underage marriage

MS End of Year Party

There will be one last social event for Middle School students. The End of the Year Middle School Party will take place on Friday, 12 May from 4:30-6:00pm in the Cafeteria.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Alan Phan & Andrew Ranson

Middle School Administration