Dear Parents,
Thank you for your partnership for a successful first semester! The semester break and new year is a natural time for reflection. In your holiday travels, you may want to take some time to process the semester with your child and celebrate their growth. Some conversations starters could be:
In what areas are you feeling most confident in this year?
What is an area you still have room to grow?
What was a highlight of the semester for you?
Have a wonderful holiday break and see you when school reopens on Monday, January 13, 2020.
Save the Date! Course Registration Informational Coffee
On Tuesday, January 14th, in the BBT we will host a two part coffee regarding course registration for the 2020/21 school year.
8:45 - 9:30 - An overview of course registration as well as new course offerings and personalized learning options. This is appropriate to parents of 9th, 10th and 11th graders. While grade 8 parents are welcome to attend, a focused parent session for grade 8 will be offered in March.
9:45 - 10:30 - An overview of the IB and AP programs. This is appropriate for parents of 8th, 9th and 10th grade parents.
January 21 Parent Coffee Our January parent coffee will take place from 8:45-9:45am in the Hall of Light. The focus will be on student wellbeing. We will examine data from last’ years wellbeing profiler, a school-wide survey that collected data on student wellbeing. We will develop ideas for supporting wellbeing at home. We will also take time to preview the Challenge Success Survey that will be administered to middle school students in February.
Wednesdays on Campus after School There are no student activities or faculty supervision of students after 3:30 on Wednesday afternoons due to faculty professional development and meetings. Students are requested to leave campus by 3:45 on Wednesdays. Thank you for your cooperation with this request.
Parenting Book Group starting in February
from Nigel Holdsworth, School Psychologist, and Jen Gold, MS Counselor
Join us in discussing The Strength Switch: How The New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish by Lea Waters. The ideas in this book apply to parenting children of all ages, Elementary, Middle and High School, so this is open to all parents.
Here is a brief description from Dr Waters' website: This game-changing book shows us the extraordinary results of focusing on our children’s strengths rather than always trying to correct their weaknesses. By showing us how to flick the “strengths switch,” Lea Waters demonstrates how we can not only help our children build resilience, optimism, and achievement but we can also help inoculate them against today’s pandemic of depression and anxiety.
Dr Waters' book is available in English on amazon.in and has been translated into 8 additional languages (Korean, Japanese, French, and others)! Check here to purchase a book in your home language over the winter break. All English language levels are welcome and encouraged to attend. We look forward to seeing you on Mondays on the following dates and times:
· February 10th at 2:00 (Chapters 1 and 2) in the BBT
· February 17th at 2:00 (Chapters 3 and 4) in the BBT
· February 24th at 2:00 (Chapters, 5, 6,7) in the BBT
· March 2nd at 1:00 (Chapters 8, 9, 10) in the Hall of Light (will end in time to attend the PCA meeting)
We have a limited number of spaces open for this book club as we want to ensure that we are able to make it a truly useful learning experience. Please sign up on this website if you are interested in attending.
Winter Break- Jump-Off Camp and Activities
Will you and your family be in Chennai the end of Winter Break? If so, check out the Jump Offprogram! Within this program, there are on-campus activities for all family members. For elementary and middle school students, you may register for Jump Off Camp on this Registration Form. Activities and the camp will be available on Monday, January 6th - Friday, January 10th.
ASIAC Volleyball Season
Welcome to the ASIAC Volleyball season! Our season will begin on Monday January 13th, 2020and will continue through February 26th, 2020, with practices being held in the morning from 6:30 - 7:45 am on Monday / Wednesday / Friday. If you are interested sign up here.
-Coach Jen & Coach Sobha
Semester Reports for Withdrawing Students Report cards for Semester 1 will be distributed on January 23, 2020. Families who are withdrawing students at the end of December will receive the Semester 1 Report Cards by email. If you require a paper copy of the report, please send a family friend or office representative to collect it from middle school office any day after January 23.
The MS office has update the form to request a transfer certificate and school records. You can access the form by clicking on the link above. You can also stop by the office to pick up a paper copy. Please be aware of the following points when requesting documents or a transfer certificate:
· The office requires 5 working days notice in order to process transfer certificate request.
· Transfer certificate and/or past records will be issued on the student’s last day at school provided all school materials and fees are accounted for.
· One copy of the documents will be issued by the school. Extra copies can be made by family and brought to office for school stamp, if needed.
Have a wonderful break!
Jessica Pechhold Andrew Ranson
Middle School Principal MS Associate Principal
