Friday, 10 August 2018

Friday 10 August


Principal’s Notes
10 August

Dear Parents,
School is back in session! We had a successful first day of school. Thank you for your flexibility in the changes in our opening day. Students were able to visit all of their classes on the first day to meet their teachers and visit each class. Today begins our regular rotating schedule. You can check the schedule day on the community calendar linked here.  The youngest child in each family will be bringing home a paper copy of the community calendar. If your family has not received your copy yet, expect to receive it Monday. The community calendar is a vital resource to stay up to date on all-school and middle school events. Middle school events are noted in orange on the calendar.

Student Handbook Forms
All students received a Middle School Handbook on the first day. Please check with your child that he or she has signed the signature page. The signature page is due on Monday.

Parent Coffees
The first parent coffee will be for Grade 6 parents in the Hall of Light on Friday, August 17 from 8:45 - 9:45 am. This special parent coffee is to answer questions Grade 6 parents may have about the middle school and their child’s transition. A parent coffee for Grade 7 & 8 parents will follow on Monday, 20 August from 8:45-9:45 am in the Hall of Light.

PowerSchool
PowerSchool is our Learning Management System. It allows you access information about your child’s classes and assignments as well as schedules and student progress reports. We will have a parent orientation for PowerSchool on Friday 17 August from 10:00-11:00 am in the Hall of Light. You may bring your own device or log onto power school through your mobile phone. Devices will be on hand for you to use as well. If you are new to PowerSchool, this video may be helpful for you to log in. Here are the directions that were shared by the AISC tech team: PowerSchool Registration Instructions for Parents.

Payonline
Middle school students have privileges to access the iHub as well as the cafeteria. To ensure your children have funds on their id cards for lunches, other food or purchases on campus, you can charge your card online through either of these links:
Access Payonline with this link: http://payonline.aischennai.org/
Alternatively, you can go to the school website (www.aischennai.org), and under Quick Links you will find the Payonline link

Bring-Your-Own-Technology (BYOT) Program
All Middle School students are required to bring in a laptop 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.  Please see our Bring Your Own Technology page on the school website for more details.  In order to configure the devices, we ask that students bring their own device on these days:
Friday, 10 August: Grade 6 All Students
Thursday, 16 August: Grade 7 & 8 Returning students with new laptops
Please remember to set your operating system language to English in order for our IT department to configure devices.

Student Voices Forum (SVF)
SVF is a platform for middle school student representatives to meet monthly with the Middle School Principal, Counselor and teacher volunteers to discuss issues, policies and procedures of the Middle School. SVF members are expected to:
Attend all meetings (Mondays at lunch, food provided) unless absent from school. Two unexcused absences (missed meetings while at school) will result in being replaced on SVF. Meetings take place 1-2 times per month depending on the school calendar.
Share the information discussed at the meeting with his/her peers.
Gather information and data from peers as needed to guide decision making.
Give honest and unbiased feedback as a representative of the student body.
An application form for students will be available this coming week. Further information will be provided in the student daily bulletin.

Swimming
From the Aquatics department:
Dear Swimming Parents,
The American International School Chennai, in particular, the Aquatics Department would like to welcome you to Season 1 for the  2018-2019 school year. We hope you’ve had a fantastic break filled with fun and wonderful memories with your family and friends. My name is Giovanni Bello. I am the new aquatics director of AISC. The coaches, myself included, are excited to be back in the pool, helping your swimmer become better student-athletes. The coaching team looks forward to a fun-filled and exciting first season of swimming ahead!

The SAISA swim tryout information:
Dates: August 13, 14, 16 and 17
Time: 6:15 - 8:00 am
Eligible Swimmers: Grade 4 (must be 10 years old by October 25th, 2018) and Grade 5, Middle School, and High School
What to bring: Towel, goggles, swim cap and swimsuit.
Raptor swim club tryout information:
Dates: August 13th and August 14th
Time::3:45-4:45 pm on Monday 13th, 4:45 - 6 pm on Tuesday 14th
What to bring: Towel, goggles, swim cap and swimsuit.
For more information regarding swim schedule/calendar, etc. please visit our Aquatics Webpage. To see the schedule for the first season,  please visit the Pool Schedule. The safety of your children is our top priority and we will always do everything we can to keep your swimmers safe, healthy, and happy. Thank you for all that you do to support our swim program. As always, please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Giovanni Bello

Have a good weekend. We’re looking forward to our first full week of school next week!

Jessica Pechhold                 Andrew Ranson
Middle School Principal   Middle School Associate Principal