Dear Parents and Students,
Thank you for your engagement this week with our program! As you will see below, there are summaries from our Virtual Learning Survey and our parent coffee. Online, students are engaged in producing plays, singing, investigating social responsibility, growing crystals, and practicing analytical writing. Outside of the “classroom” we have new opportunities for engagement. Please note the new after school activity selections (linked in today’s post) that are being offered. These activities will be in partnership with the other ASIAC schools, American School Bombay in Mumbai and the American Embassy School in Delhi. At the conclusion of next week, each grade level will have an online social for students from 3:30-4:00 before we head off to fall break. Students will find details for these events in our student daily bulletin.
Virtual Learning Survey Results
55 middle school parents responded to the School-Wide Virtual Learning Survey. Here are highlights of the results:
· 86% are satisfied/very satisfied with our online learning program
· 93% feel the online learning activities facilitate engagement and connection well/very well
· 89% agree/strongly agree that the amount of time students are engaged in their learning is appropriate for their grade level
· 87% find expectations for engagement for online learning clear/very clear
· 87% feel they are engaged/very engaged by accessing information to understand our online program (thank you!)
· 86% feel it is easy/very easy for students to access additional help
· 82% feel it is easy/very easy for students to access materials in PowerSchool
· 82% feel advisory, ASAs and other activities are beneficial/very beneficial for students’ wellbeing
From your comments, themes that emerged for what working well are:
· Connection time & engaging with classmates and teachers
· Tools for planning (calendar, planner)
· Consistent schedule (A/B day)
· Relationships with teachers & advisors
· Engaging learning activities, fun!
Themes that emerged for what is not working well are:
· Student focus during independent learning time
· Internet connections or tech
proficiency interfering with learning
· Inconsistent workload
between courses
· Fostering social connections
for students
We will be looking into these results more closely along with feedback we will be collecting from students to examine areas of our program where we may be able to provide clarity and ensure a positive online the experience for all students.In the meantime, the following support is available to parents and students for our program:
· Contact teachers directly if you have a concern about assignments.
· Our Digital Skills Academy is available to access at any time to support learning on technology platforms.
· The middle school office is available to provide information as needed: msoffic@aischennai.org.
Parent Coffee Slides & Recording
Thanks to everyone who joined us Tuesday morning for our September Parent Coffee. Our topic was social justice and anti-racism. Within these topics, we addressed the following:
- Connecting our core beliefs to education about identity, race & racism.
- Sharing overview of advisory lessons & principal’s screencast for students.
- Exploring the role of parents as partners in educating our children about identity, race & racism.
You can find the slides with all of the information shared here and the video recording of the session here. As mentioned last week, students are engaging with the topics of identity and race in advisory. Please see last week’s notes for more information about these lessons.
Resources for Anti-Racism Education and Parenting
Also shared at the coffee were resources for parents related social justice and anti-racism. These resources are explained in the slides and video and highlighted below:
How to talk to kids about racism: An age-by-age Guide, Today's Parent
Kids speak their minds about race, CNN
Here's How To Raise Race-Conscious Children, Buzzfeed
How White Parents Can Use Media to Raise Anti-Racist Kids, Common Sense Media
Talking Race with Young Children, NPR
Parent Access to Sora
All AISC parents can now access our digital library, Sora, by clicking this link and logging in with your personal email and password: Chennai20.
Please browse, read, and contact Babs on bbarbara@aischennai.org if you have any questions!
After School Activities
Are you interested in collaborating and competing with students from American School Bombay and American Embassy School in Delhi in activates like E-Sports, Robotics, Trivia, and Murder Mysteries?! Click here to learn more and register for Virtual ASIAC activities!
Student Location Information
If you and your family are returning to Chennai, please notify the MS office of your travel dates so that we are aware of your attendance and your new location.
Have a great weekend,
Jessica Pechhold
Middle School Principal