Dear Parents,
Thank you to many of you who have been on campus this week for our parent coffee and for supporting our athletes at the SAISA track event we are hosting! Thank you to many of you who are hosting athletes from the region. Our seventh grade students engaged in learning off campus this week when they visited the Water Matters Smithsonian exhibition. This exhibition is timely for us as seventh graders study water resource management in Chennai for their STEAM projects. If you are interested in visiting Water Matters, the event runs through the end of the month. More information can be found on the US Consulate Chennai events link.
Parent coffee presentation
Thank you to all parents who joined us to learn more about our math program and changes to our eighth grade math course for the 2020-21 school year. Starting next year, we will have one eighth grade math course. Students will no longer be recommended for Grade 8 IM1 or Grade 8 Math. All students will take our new Grade 8 math course, which prepares students for IM1 or IM2 in the high school. A special thank you to Ms. Lakshmi Saravanan and Mr. Ryan Sager for their presentation and sample math lesson at the coffee.
You can review the details of this change in the slides from the parent coffee. The outline for the new Grade 8 Math course is here for your review.
Make-Up Work Guidelines
When students are absent for school trips, our teachers will be following these guidelines to ensure that students can manage assignments and assessments they may have missed while away. If you have questions about your child’s make-up work, please contact the teacher directly.
- Teachers will provide students with opportunities to complete assignments. Options for assignments due before the event or a few days after the event help students manage their learning.
- If students miss an assessment, teachers will allow students to make up assessments during class time. Teachers will contact parents directly if there is a compelling reason for students to make up an assessment or assignment before/after school hours or during lunch. Students should not be asked to make up an assignment or assessment before 8:00am or after 4:00pm unless there is an agreement between the teacher and parent that this is necessary.
Spirit Week
We want you, the students, staff & community of AISC to show your school spirit by making some small acts of random kindness throughout the week.
Do you have the courage to try something new?
Do you have the compassion to tell someone you care?
Do you have the confidence to speak with someone you don’t know?
Do you have the creativity to show kindness in a new way?
Monday - Random acts of kindness. Examples include: Open the door for someone, Buy someone their favorite snack, Help carry something for your friend or teacher.
Tuesday - Wear an AISC shirt with Raptor pride!
Wednesday - Be kind to the environment: Don’t buy one time use plastic items; Reduce, Reuse and Recycle; Throw your trash in bins; See litter on the floor? Pick it up!
Thursday - Compliment cards: Write a nice message on the paper provided for a friend or teacher, Remind someone of why they are important to you, Tell someone that you appreciate their work.
Friday – “Air” 5 Friday! Give an “air” high 5 to new people who you haven’t talked to before; Give an “air” high 5 to your friends, classmates and teachers.
Early Release
This coming Wednesday we will have an 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.
MS Spring Party
Our spring party is Friday, February 28 from 4:30-6:00pm on campus. This event falls while we are hosting ASIAC Tennis and Volleyball. Students from visiting schools (AES and ASB) will be invited to join as well. Please remind your child that if they choose to go to the spring party, they must stay the duration of the event.
Celebration of Learning March 4
Join us for the second of three Middle School Celebrations of Learning on Wednesday, March 4, from 2:15 to 3:30pm in the Main Gymnasium. Celebrations of Learning are the opportunities that students have to make short presentations to an audience of students, parents, teachers, and other community members about what they are learning that may not appear as a final product elsewhere. Presentations are short -- only a few minutes long -- and are composed by the students themselves around a theme. The theme on March 4 is “First Drafts”; students will share a first draft from the year and what they have learned since crafting it.
Have a great weekend,
Jessica Pechhold
Middle School Principal