Principal’s Notes
24 August
Dear Parents,
I enjoyed meeting many of you on campus this week. It was week full of information with our parent coffees, PowerSchool orientation and Back to School Night. I hope to get to know more you as the year progresses. The slides from the Grade 6 parent coffee can be found here and the Grade 7-8 parent coffee slides are here. We have three grade level parent representatives for this year. They are: Nisha Gupta (Grade 6), Anindita Gautam (Grade 7), Jackie Charpentier (Grade 8). I look forward to working with them to gain insight into your perspective on the middle school. Our Back to School Night was well attended with about two-thirds of our parents in attendance. If you were not able to make it, you can find the introductory presentation here. Teachers will be posting their class presentations here and on PowerSchool.
Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Testing Monday & Tuesday August 27-28
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is a computerized adaptive test. Students will take tests in Reading, Math, Language and Science. MAP assesses 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 grade level teams use the data to inform instructional decision-making for increased student growth and achievement.
MAP testing will take place on Monday and Tuesday in students’ core classes. Please remind your children to charge their laptops each night, especially during testing week. There is no preparation required for MAP testing. We recommend that students have adequate sleep and a good breakfast before they come to school for the MAP Test. Make up tests are available for students who miss tests due to absence. The dates for make-up tests will be after school on September 3 -4.
MS Pool Party
The MS student pool party is Friday 31 August. The party is from 4:00-5:30. Students should plan to stay for the duration of the event. For safety reasons, students should not plan to leave the party early. We are looking forward to this fun Friday afternoon event!
Student Voices Forum
Student Voices Forum (SVF) is a group of student representatives that meets 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.
- 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.
Yearbook Photos: Ordering Group Photos
From Shannon Zirkle, Communications Director:
We are including a complimentary 5x7 group for any yearbook order. If you would like a different size of the group photo or would like to order a group photo only (without an individual photo purchase or package), please contact Raji Srinivansan at +91 98414 16519. If you haven’t ordered photos yet and would like a different sized group photo, please note “group photo” under the Individual Print section and mark the size on the order envelope. The deadline to place orders is August 30. Please turn in your envelope to the section assistants.
If you have any questions, please contact Shannon Zirkle at zshannon@aischennai.org.
Parent PowerSchool Orientation
From Sherriden Masters, Director of Technologies and Innovation:
On Wednesday we presented to over 40 MS parents on the topic of using PowerSchool. The session outlined both the role, rationale, and progress of our developments in PowerSchool. In addition, we demonstrated the depth of data that is available to parents about attendance, assessment, scheduling, reporting, and classroom materials.If you were unable to attend the session, feel free to review the slides here, and come in and see us in the ES/MS CIC at your convenience, so we can support you. alternatively, mail us on ITsupport@aischennai.org and we will assist you remotely.
If you have any questions or queries about PowerSchool, or the use of data in AISC, please mail Sherriden Masters, our Director of Technologies and Innovation.
Arts, Sports & Activities (ASA) Information
From the Activities & Athletics Office:
Billing for activities can be done through PAYONLINE only. The online link will open on August 29 and will close on September 5. Please pay only for the activities enrolled.
Billing for activities can be done through PAYONLINE only. The online link will open on August 29 and will close on September 5. Please pay only for the activities enrolled.
AISC UN International Peace Day, Parade of Nations, September 14
This year's UN International Peace Day celebration will be held on Friday, September 14. The Parade of Nations, in which the entire student body parades in their national dress, will be held in the FAC Theater. Once students finish the parade, students in grades 1- 5 will be seated in the FAC Theater for a short program. Grade 6-12 students will proceed to cafeteria for live streaming of the program. The Parade of Nations will be followed by a normal school day.
How does the parade work?
Students will be marching under their citizenship of record as listed in PowerSchool, our student information system, and as indicated during the admissions process. If you would like to make a change and have your child(ren) march under a flag different from their citizenship, kindly send this information directly to Sanja Ilić, Director of Admissions (admissionsdirector@aischennai.org). Admissions office will be accommodating the aforementioned requests until August 31, 2018.
First Early Release Wednesday
On Wednesday 5 September we will have our first Early Release Wednesday. Students are expected to depart campus in a timely and organized fashion upon dismissal at 2:00 pm. We appreciate your patience with traffic on these days as all three sections are picking up students at the same time. In preparation, please plan on allowing longer time for entry and exit to the school at release time. For our Middle and High School students, hot lunch will be served. Please note that the iHub will be open to provide an air conditioned waiting space until 2:40 pm in case drivers are delayed. Food services in the iHub will close at 1:50 pm.
Parents have asked about the amount of homework they can expect for students. Our handbook (p. 43) outlines the following guidelines for homework: Grade 6: 1 hour/night; Grade 7: 1.5 hours/night; Grade 8: 1.5-2 hours/night. Students have each class every other day and two nights to complete each homework assignment. This should figure into their nightly planning to complete home assignments. While some productive struggle is a part of the learning process, if your child struggles for more than 15 minutes with a homework assignment, contact your child's teacher for guidance.