Dear Parents and Students,
As we move through our mid-way point of virtual learning this year, we are committed to maintaining our celebrations of student learning and events that bring us together as a middle school. Today, we had a successful virtual assembly. Thank you to our assembly crew for capturing our middle school spirit and creating another opportunity for us to connect! More below about our student-led portfolio conferences coming up next week!
Modules for the coming week will be 90 minutes in length. Friday, May 1 is a holiday and there will be no virtual learning.
Portfolio Conferences
Portfolio conferences are student led and are an opportunity for students to present artifacts and reflections of their learning to parents. These conferences are students’ own evaluation of their learning and a time to celebrate successes and identify challenges.
This coming week, Wednesday or Thursday, we invite you to participate in your child’s portfolio conference at home at a time that is convenient for you. Students have received instructions on how to conduct conferences through advisory. Here are complete instructions for students and parents. Parent instructions have been translated into French, Korean and Japanese for your convenience.
There is no formal follow up on the conference required; however, we would love to see students sharing their portfolios with parents. Send a selfie during your at-home portfolio conference to msoffice@aischennai.org.
We are listening…feedback!
We continue listen to feedback and respond to the needs of our students. Teachers are continually collecting data on student engagement and wellbeing through their courses to make decisions related to student learning and support. Your direct emails help us to understand your perspective and experience. We also collect data daily from students on our Middle School Check-Out form, our attendance form. This week, here is a snapshot of what we are hearing from students about their experience in online learning this week:
What went well for you today with your school work or your process for getting it done?
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What challenges did you have today with your school work or your process for getting it done?
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Organized; planners
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Distractions; staying focused
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Working with friends or partners
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Amount of work in some classes
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Taking a lunch break
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Internet issues
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Exercising in the morning
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Doing all of your “hard” classes on one day
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Finding materials on PowerSchool
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Not getting enough sleep/waking up late
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Working hard
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Unexpected activities
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Taking breaks and not putting too much pressure on yourself
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Staying motivated
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Completing the tasks you set for yourself
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Finishing missing work
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Home project submitted by Kyoungrim
Virtual Arts, Sports & Activities
The Athletics & Activities Department will be offering a free Virtual Arts, Sports, & Activities Program with the following ASA’s available:
Story of the Solar System
Here is a sample of some of the learning happening online. Thank you to Ms. Rebekah and her sixth grade student classes for sharing their learning about the solar system. Here's the padlet for your viewing!
Looking for the Good: Practicing Gratitude in Hard Times
- From the School-wide Counseling Team
There’s no way around it, we are all experiencing hard times right now. COVID-19 has swept our world with uncertainty, leaving us all to navigate a host of difficult emotions including grief, fear, anxiety and anger. In times of crisis, it is important to acknowledge these challenging feelings. If we deny them, they just expand and find their way out of each of us in unhealthy ways.
A healthy habit to try in hard times is the practice of gratitude (check out this article that shares research about the benefits.). Looking for the good in our daily lives may enable a welcome shift in perspective or mood without denying that our experience is challenging.
How can we intentionally look for the silver linings in the clouds? The Greater Good Science Center at University of California, Berkeley shares a simple written practice here. This is an exercise where one focuses on gratitude individually. Research tells us that gratitude can be even more powerful if it is shared. Make looking for the good a part of a daily family meal. A simple, “What are you grateful for?” at breakfast each morning might enable you and your children to start the day with positive mindsets. We can learn a lot about each other by hearing what is important to each of us. Additionally, if our gratitude is for another person, we can take that one step further and let that person know!
Practicing gratitude is not about denying that life is hard. It is about recognizing that even when life is hard, there is still so much good if we take the time to notice it.
Library Support at Home
Middle school students have access to a wide variety of digital resources via the ES/MS Library. If your child needs any extra support in navigating these resources, requesting book recommendations, clarifying passwords, etc, please ask them to drop into the library's office hours with Ms. Babs. You'll find days and times for each grade level below, but please know that emails will also be answered as quickly as possible.
Grade 6: Mondays 9:30-10:00
Ms. Babs will also begin offering book talks to all middle school students, beginning Monday, April 13th. Students will receive a zoom link to attend on their scheduled day and time:
Grade 6: Mondays 1:00-1:30
Grade 7: Tuesdays 1:00-1:30
Grade 8: Wednesdays 1:00-1:30
Please encourage your child to attend if they are looking for a great book to read!
American Red Cross Free Water Safety Course for Parents
-From Mr. Giovanni Bello, Aquatics Director
The Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers online course focuses on developing an awareness of the risks of drowning and how to minimize those risks, especially for young children. This online course teaches parents and caregivers about the concepts of the circle of drowning prevention, water competency, and the chain of drowning survival. It also provides guidance for applying water safety to common environments and situations where children are most at risk for drowning. Here is the link. Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers
Free Online Mental Health First Aid Course
We are close to two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and while we cannot control much in this crisis, we can take action to help manage the challenges of day-to-day life. That’s why the American Red Cross has developed a free Mental Health First Aid for COVID-19 course that can be taken online in less than one hour.The course is designed to help anyone impacted by COVID-19 to build resilience and lend support to others during and after this time. Topics, developed with the expertise of the Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council and the Canadian Red Cross, include recognizing stress as well as caring for yourself while supporting your family and coworkers. We encourage you to take advantage of this free course – and share it with others. Take the Course HERE.
Have a safe and healthy weekend,
Jessica Pechhold
Middle School Principal