Dear Parents,
Thank you for joining us on campus this week for our second Celebration of Learning of the year! From our “first drafts” theme, we hope you gained insight into the learning of our students and the role the Vision for a Learner and Learning Habits play in our program. Read below for another opportunity to learn more about student learning in the middle school!
Parent Coffee Tuesday March 10
On Tuesday, March 10 we will host our monthly MS Parent Coffee. This month, we will be offering classroom visits to core classes (Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science) in Grades 6-8. We will begin in the Hall of Light at 8:45 and from there, guide parents to the core classrooms. You will be able to visit the classrooms for your child’s grade level. The purpose of the visit is to provide you with an understanding of what learning looks like in the middle school so that you can develop questions for your children about how they learn. Visits will be five minutes per class. We will return to the Hall of Light for you to develop questions based on your observations.
Student-Parent-Teacher Conference Sign Ups
On Wednesday, March 11, you will receive a link via email to sign up for Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences. Conferences are by appointment on Thursday, March 26 from 4:00-7:00pm and from 8:00am-4:00pm. Please note there are no MS classes on Friday. Students should come onto campus with parents for their conference and depart with parents after all appointments. There is no supervision for students on campus otherwise.
Jump-Off Spring Camp
Over the Spring Break, students and family members who are staying
in Chennai are invited to join the Jump-Off Spring Camp and use the AISC
facilities. For more information on facilities and to find the
registration form for the Jump-Off Camp, check out this informational page. Registration will be closed at 10:00 am on Friday,
March 13.
Mid-Semester Progress Report Distribution
Mid-semester progress reports will be distributed Tuesday, March 24, not Wednesday March 25 as originally noted on the Community Calendar. Please review the report with your child before attending conferences on Thursday and Friday. The report will be the basis of the conversation at the conference.
World Language Course Sequence for 2020-21
This year the AISC World Language Department has been working on refining the curriculum and the course pathways offered to our middle school students. As such, you will notice that the names of our World Language courses have changed. The changes to the names reflect a clearer pathway of progression for our students and allow for more clearly defined targets for each individual course. As we move toward adopting new standards, the new courses will allow us to cultivate more confident, proficient communicators. Some of the changes you will notice will include a move away from numbered courses 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B toward the new system of A, B, C, D. Each of the new courses will have clearly defined units and proficiency targets and skill acquisition appropriate to the targeted proficiencies. Teachers will be explaining this changes to students and recommending them to the new levels accordingly when students receive their scheduling forms March 24.
8th Grade High School Course Registration
-From Ms. McGlamery and Mr. Laposky
Thank you for attending the course registration presentation yesterday. Please find the presentation here. As you choose your courses for 9th grade, remember that we are here to help if you have any questions. We are looking forward to welcoming you to high school!
#MyFreedomDay
In 2019, MUN Impact joined school’s around the globe in CNN’s #MyFreedomDay, which is “a day-long student-driven event to raise awareness of modern slavery.” This year, we are looking to continue this awareness building campaign. From March 9th until March 13th, we at MUN Impact will be holding a series of events to build awareness about, and contribute to the end of, modern day slavery. Starting on Monday morning, we will be constructing a peace tree in the Unity Courtyard, in which members of the school community can come and contribute with ideas and solutions about modern day slavery. On Tuesday, we will be distributing blue bands to anybody who wishes to wear them, to continue to raise awareness about the existence of modern day slavery. On Wednesday afterschool, we will be taking a picture in the Unity Courtyard. If anyone is interested in taking part in this photo, please wear blue that day. On Thursday, we will be holding an open lunch with Kranti, an NGO that “empowers girls from Mumbai’s red light areas to become agents of social change.” Finally, we will complete the campaign with a lapathon on Thursday afternoon, where all funds that are raised will be donated directly to Kranti. If you wish to take part in the lapathon, you must fill out a copy of this document and bring it on Thursday. We hope to see you there!
Parenting Book Group starting March 30
- From Nigel Holdsworth, School Psychologist, and Jen Gold, MS Counselor.
Following popular demand and positive feedback we are inviting parents to join us in our second session of the book club 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. All English language levels are welcome and encouraged to attend. We look forward to seeing you on Mondays on the following dates and times:
· March 30th at 2:00 (Chapters 1 and 2) in the BBT
· April 6th at 1:00 (Chapters 3 and 4) in the HOL (before the PCA meeting)
· April 13th at 2:00 (Chapters, 5, 6,7) in the HOL
· April 20th at 2:00 (Chapters 8, 9, 10) in the BBT
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.
Withdrawing Students
If your child is withdrawing before the end of the semester, please be aware of the time needed to process the withdraw/transfer certificate. You can access the form by clicking on the link “Request to Issue Transfer Certificate/Past Records.” 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.
SAVE THE DATE!
Our Middle School STEAM Festival will take place on Wednesday, March 25. All are welcome to attend to come and see our creative design solutions. Our focus is on the inquiry process itself, highlighting the importance of several aspects such as developing intriguing questions, using thoughtful planning, and building and refining our design ideas. Students are presenting trans-disciplinary projects spanning several classes, such as Science, Math, Social Studies, Language Arts, Design Technology and Art classes. The festival is a celebration of student design, creativity, and problem-solving! Attendees can come to see displays, watch presentations, and ask questions to learn more about the projects of our Middle School Engineers.
Date: March 25
Time: 1:10- 3:00
Locations: Rec gym (G6), Main Gym (G7), CIC (G8)
Guests will be provided with a map, a list of participants, a schedule of events, and a set of feedback prompts for presenters. In the meantime, be sure to ask your son or daughter to tell you all about their project!
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.
Have a great weekend,
Jessica Pechhold
Middle School Principal