Friday 30 November

Principal’s Notes

30 November

Dear Parents,

We ended this week with another energizing middle school assembly. This week, each grade level shared videos from their Week Without Walls trips. Sending a little of this energy your way to start the weekend! 

Grade 6

Grade 7 

Grade 8

We ask out of respect and privacy for all of our students, please do not post these videos on social media. These are intended for our middle school community. 

Trimester Reports

On Thursday your child received his/her first trimester report card. I hope that you have received these and have been able to review them. If you have questions about a grade or comment, please contact your child’s teacher. If you have a general question about reports, your child’s advisor is a good starting point to help you find an answer. If you would like more information about reading and interpreting our reports as well as standards-based assessment and reporting, please see the Coffee Morning slides from the blog posts from 26 October and 16 November. 

Learning Habits

Student Learning Habits reflections were distributed along with trimester reports. These reflections are meant to reflect students’ authentic voice. For this reason, they are not edited and should be viewed as any other piece of student work students complete in class. We hope these reflections serve as a as a tool for students to take ownership of their growth in the areas of Preparation, Engagement, Collaboration & Growth Mindset. We welcome you to engage your child in a discussion about his/her Learning Habits and reflection. 

MAP Scores and Online Reports

Instructions for accessing MAP scores and trimester reports online will be available next week. Instructions, MAP results and links will be shared via email. 

ASIAC Music: #LetUsBeHeard

Inspired from recent events from a new generation of young people, we are proud to host the ASIAC music festival December 7-8. Our theme is a recognition and celebration of how social media can be a powerful catalyst for awareness and social change. Band and choir students from AES Delhi, ASB Mumbai, and AISC invite you to join our social movement and free concert December 8th at 2:30-3:30. #LetUsBeHeard

SEVAI Day

SEVAI is our middle school service learning program. Each year, students participate in service learning activities on and off campus. Our first SEVAI day will be Wednesday 12 December. This year, students have chosen a SEVAI activity to take part in based on a menu of opportunities through local NGOs. This coming week, students will be notified of their SEVAI group and will be meeting with teachers and representatives from their selected activity to learn more about the impact they will make through their participation. Students will visit the same organizations with follow up activities on our next SEVAI day in January. 

World Scholar’s Cup Tournament of Champions

Four of our students took part in the World Scholar’s Cup Tournament of Champions at Yale University in the USA November 16-21. The students started their involvement in the World Scholar’s Cup last year and earned places to compete at the Tournament of Champions. Congratulations to the following students: 

Lokeshwar, Sajiv Reddy, Emi: Team Writing, Silver Team; Debate, Silver; Bowl 
AV Quiz, Silver.
Loki: Challenge, 2 Silvers; Writing, Silver
Sajiv: Writing, Silver
Emi: Individual Debate, Gold; Writing, Silver 

Have a great weekend!
Jessica Pechhold                        Andrew Ranson
Middle School Principal            Middle School Associate Principal

Friday 22 November

Principal’s Notes

22 November

Dear Parents,

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope that you and your families have stayed dry and safe through the rains. When we return to school on Monday 26 November, we will resume school as usual on day A2 of our schedule. This week, all middle school students attended the R.I.S.E. (resilience, innovation, service and entertainment). Two of the speakers represent organizations middle school students will be able to contribute to during our SEVAI days in December and January.

Trimester Reports and MAP Scores 

Trimester reports will be distributed on Thursday 29 November. This is a change of date from the published date on the community calendar. Please see 2 November blog post for an explanation for the change in date. This year, we will be sending home paper copies of the trimester report. After the distribution of the paper copy, you will receive an email with directions on how to access your child’s trimester report electronically through PowerSchool. The email will also include directions for accessing your child’s MAP scores on PowerSchool. 

Early Release Wednesday 

On Wednesday 28 November we will have an Early Release day. 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. Lunch will be served as usual in the cafeteria. 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.

Community Summit: Exploring the Horizons of Wellbeing

Time is running outto sign up for the first session of the Community Summit this upcoming Wednesday. Over the course of three early release days, we will be exploring the horizons of wellbeing at AISC. To make this a truly community-driven endeavour we need parents and students to join all faculty and administrative staff to envision the future of wellbeing at AISC. Together we will:

·Discover what we are doing best to nurture wellbeing at AISC - November 28

·Envision bold new possibilities for the future - December 12

·Design for excellence and construct the future of wellbeing at AISC - January 23

The sessions will run from 2:30-5:00 pm in the Gym. Parents and Students are asked to RSVP for this event here.

Have a great weekend!

Jessica Pechhold                     Andrew Ranson          

Middle School Principal          Middle School Associate Principal

Friday 16 November

Principal’s Notes

16 November

Dear Parents,

As we near the end of the first trimester, I would like to take a moment to thank you for your support for our middle school program. Your participation at school-wide and section events contributes to our sense of community and makes the middle school shine! I would like to thank our PCA parent representatives Nisha Gupta, Anindita Gautam, and Jackie Charpentier for their efforts to support communication through the parent community. On behalf of all of our teachers, we thank you for your gestures of gratitude for our teachers for Week Without Walls trips!

Parent Coffee: Standards Based Assessment and Reporting

Thank you to those of you who attended this week’s parent coffee. The goal of the morning was to provide a brief overview of our approach to assessment and reporting to understand the content of your child’s report card. Here are the slides from the presentation. October’s coffee was focused on interpreting the report card and MAP scores. You can access those slides again here.

Trimester Reports and MAP Scores 

Trimester reports will be distributed on Thursday 29 November. This is a change of date from the published date on the community calendar. Please see last week’s blog post for an explanation for the change in date. This year, we will be sending home paper copies of the trimester report. After the distribution of the paper copy, you will receive an email with directions on how to access your child’s trimester report electronically through PowerSchool. The email will also include directions for accessing your child’s MAP scores on PowerSchool. 

Parent Questions: How can you incorporate an understanding of community service in the middle school?

This year we are moving to a new model for SEVAI, our service learning program in the middle school. Students will be able to select their choice of service learning activity. Our service learning coordinator, Balajee Ginjapalee, has developed a menu of options for students that align with the UN’s Sustainability Goals. Students will select an organization to work with on December 12 and January 23. Reflection sessions at school after the service events will allow students time to evaluate their experience, connect to the Vision for a Learner, and explore the greater context of our community. Students will be able to explore our SEVAI partner organizations at our first Community Connections Fair on the afternoon of Friday November 22. 

Wellbeing Update

Thank you to the many parents who have completed the consent form for the wellbeing survey. We see this as a valuable way to measure our schools growth in wellbeing over the coming years. If you have not yet completed the consent form we will be sending you an email as a reminder. An in-depth description of the survey is included in the consent form and some examples of survey questions include:

·       My life is going well.

·       I feel happy.

·       My teachers care about me.

·       I have friends that I really care about.

Please indicate whether you consent for your child/ren to participate in the survey by responding YES or NO on the digital consent form, accessible here, on or before Tuesday the 20th of November. For more information regarding the survey please don’t hesitate to get in contact with Nigel Holdsworth (School Psychologist).

Reminder! Community Summit: Exploring the Horizons of Wellbeing

Over the course of three early release days, we will be holding this Community Summit to explore the horizons of wellbeing. To make this a truly community driven endeavor we need parents and students to join faculty and administrative staff to envision the future of wellbeing at AISC. Together we will:

·       Discover what we are doing best to nurture wellbeing at AISC - November 28

·       Envision bold new possibilities for the future - December 12

·       Design for excellence and construct the future of wellbeing at AISC - January 23

The sessions will run from 2:30-5:00 pm in the Gym. Parents and Students are asked to RSVP for this event here.

Have a great weekend!

Jessica Pechhold                     Andrew Ranson                                                                                         Middle School Principal         Middle School Associate Principal 

Friday 9 November

Principal’s Notes

9 November

Dear Parents,

I hope you had a festive Diwali weekend! This week as students return to classes, they and their teachers are preparing for the final weeks of the first trimester. Please see below about information on report card distribution later this month. Today and through this weekend, many of our middle school students are participating in AISC’s Model United Nationals conference, CHEMUN, along with delegates from 28 other schools. Students work through international issues as representatives of UN countries. The theme of this year’s conference is Stagnation and Innovation. You can learn more about this year’s CHEMUN conference here. We are proud of our Middle School students who have taken on this challenging activity to develop their sense of international-mindedness as collaborators! 

Early Release Wednesday 

On Wednesday 14 November we will have an Early Release day. 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. Lunch will be served as usual in the cafeteria. 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.

Parent Coffee Tuesday 13 November

Tuesday November 13 will be our next MS Parent Coffee. The coffee will be in the Hall of Light from 8:45-9:45. The topic will be standards based assessment and reporting. The purpose of the presentation is to develop an understanding of how we assess and report student achievement related to our content standards. 

Trimester Reports and MAP Scores 

Trimester reports will be distributed on Thursday 29 November. This is a change of date from the published date on the community calendar. Please see last week’s blog post for an explanation for the change in date. This year, we will be sending home paper copies of the trimester report. After the distribution of the paper copy, you will receive an email with directions on how to access your child’s trimester report electronically through PowerSchool. The email will also include directions for accessing your child’s MAP scores on PowerSchool. 

Have a great weekend!

Jessica Pechhold                        Andrew Ranson

Middle School Principal           Middle School Associate Principal

Friday 2 November

Principal’s Notes 

2 November

Dear Parents,

Today our middle school teachers and students arrive home from their Week Without Walls trips! I hope that your conversations with your child will reveal the value of this learning experience. Our WWoW trips provide students with the opportunity to learn about themselves and develop deeper relationships with peers and teachers. This year, our teachers have drawn particular attention to the Vision of a Learner attributes throughout the trip. After you hear about the fun details of your child’s experience, try asking them about how they or others demonstrated resilience, empathy, leadership, versatility, or what they learned about themselves after taking time to be reflective. 

Below are the links to photos from the trips. The password is raptors18. 

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 8

Wellbeing Survey Consent Form

From Nigel Holdsworth, School Psychologist

Our school is committed to understanding the needs of your child/ren and we are excited to inform you of a wellbeing initiative that we are planning for this year. We are engaging The University of Melbourne to measure the wellbeing of our students in grades 4-12, and we seek your support to allow your child/ren to participate in the survey that will be completed during advisory on Tuesday, 27 November. This will support our efforts to intentionally develop the wellbeing of our students.

Please indicate whether you consent for your child/ren to participate in the survey by responding YES or NO on the digital consent form, accessible here. An in-depth description of the survey is included in the consent form.

If you have more than one child at school, this digital consent form allows you to indicate consent for all of your children at once. The digital consent form requires you to draw a digital signature using a computer mouse or touchscreen. A hard copy form is available from section offices. For more information regarding the survey please get in contact with Nigel Holdsworth(School Psychologist).

Report Card Distribution Date

from Sherriden Masters & the Middle School Office

Over the last year, we have been reviewing the impact and effectiveness of our formal academic reports. As a result, we will be raising the profile and attention to these documents. The AISC academic report is the single most important document related to student growth, achievement, and success in our educational model. As such, it will now be printed, formatted, and delivered in a manner that represents more closely the effort that our students and teachers put into constructing them, and the value that we place in them.

The implications of this change in our delivery of reports are as follows;

- Reports will now be printed, and delivered to your students in hard copy

- They will be made available to you online, soon after the physical copy has been issued

- They will be available 24/7, fully formatted, to print or use at your convenience

- They will be accompanied by a separate, printed, student reflection document.

In order to accommodate the considerable quality and printing checks required to deliver a report in this way, that has not been carried out thus far, we will need to modify the reporting timeline for the Middle School. To that end, the report for Trimester One will be delivered to students, to take home, on Thursday 29 November, not Monday 26 November as stated on the community calendar.

Our apologies for any inconvenience caused, but we hope that this change will produce a document that both you, and your students, will find enhancing to their education at AISC.    

Parent Coffee Responses

Thank you to those of you who attended the parent coffee on our new reports, MAP scores and learning habits reflection. We collected many questions and we have responded to them here. 

Should you have questions about your child’s trimester report when it is distributed on Thursday 29 November, please contact your child’s advisor. They can further direct you or connect you with the best person to answer your questions. 

Our next coffee morning will be Tuesday 13 November. 

Enjoy your Diwali Holiday! Classes resume on Wednesday 7 November.

Jessica Pechhold                       Andrew Ranson

Middle School Principal          Middle School Associate Principal