Dear Parents and
Students,
From
the Middle School Counselor
Transitions
MS to HS Transition
Virtual
Learning Continues
A few reminders as we plan to remain virtual this school year:
Today we had our final
monthly middle school assembly of the year. This time of year brings a mix of
celebrations and goodbyes. This week, we recognized teachers that will be
moving on from AISC and celebrated students who participated in year-long MS activities.
Whether you are moving on to new communities or staying in Chennai, this time
of year signifies change for “leavers” and “stayers.” It is a good time to have
conversations at home about transitions and their emotional impact on us socially
and emotionally. This week, Ms. Gretchen Galaty has more information about
supporting students who will be moving on from AISC this year. On the last day
of school, we will have a farewell assembly for all students to formally end
the school year.
Our
MAP testing sessions are now complete. In the coming week, you will receive
information via email about accessing your child’s results.
Transitions
Part of the
international school experience is students moving. New students arriving
and current students leaving. An important step in transitioning in an
international move is having an opportunity to say farewell.
In the Middle School, this week, we have opened
virtual “cards” called Jamboards. This is a space for students to write
notes and thoughts of recognition for leaving students. The Jamboards can
be accessed in Advisory and in the Student Daily Bulletin. Please carve
out some time for your child to share a leaving message. For the leaver,
a healthy closure is important. If you are a leaving family please take time
for your child to say their farewells to peers, teachers, coaches, community
members and people of importance to them. This can be on Zoom, in an email, on
Hangouts or a handwritten note. It is meaningful to pause and ask your child to
identify a few items to keep close during a move, such as a yearbook, a stuffed
animal, a t-shirt or an award. Have your child travel with these items on them
and when they need to access them it can offer comfort and an opportunity to
share and talk as a family once you arrive in your new location.
Happiness CalendarA moment of care for the whole family. Greater Good Science
Center publishes a monthly happiness
calendar to promote health and wellbeing. When the time permits,
look at the daily prompt and give yourself a moment to try something new.
MS to HS Transition
To provide information for 8th grade parents
about the transition from 8th to 9th grade, the high school counselors host a
parent coffee with 9th grade parents as special guests. This year,
because of our current situation, we recorded this conversation through Zoom so
that you will be able to access the video at your convenience. We asked the 9th
grade parents questions about classes, support, communication, social life, and
stress and also provided information on Freshman Seminar and some of the
similarities and differences between the middle school and high school.
You can view the Zoom conversation here -- Transition
from Grade 8 to Grade 9 for Grade 8 Parents. You can also access the
Google slides here -- Grade
8 to 9 Transition Parent Coffee.
Also, we highly encourage all 8th grade
students to attend 8th Grade Orientation hosted by the high school Raptor
Agents on Tuesday, May 11th at 10:00 am. Orientation is a great
opportunity for 8th grade students to learn more about high school and connect
with current high school students and each other! 8th grade students
In the meantime, please reach out to us with
any questions you might have. We look forward to hearing from you!
Warm regards,
Tracey and Josiah
A few reminders as we plan to remain virtual this school year:
- We will continue operating on IST.
- Please contact the MS office if your family leaves Chennai before the end of the school year. This helps our teachers to know who is not on IST.
- Connection times are recorded and posted on PowerSchool. Students out of time zone can watch recordings when it is convenient for them.
- All modules are designed to be completed individually if students cannot attend connection times.
- If it is unreasonable for students to attend 9:00am IST connection times in your time zone, recordings are available for students to watch the connection times missed. Modules can be worked on independently. Students can stay in contact with teachers via email should they need to make appointments with teachers.
- All students, regardless of time zone, should continue to complete the daily check in form to register their attendance, even if they miss a block because of time zone differences.
If you have not already done so, please find
time for your child to share their portfolio with you. See last week’s blog and
this week’s direct email for more details about conducting the conference.
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!
The AISC
libraries have stopped providing curbside checkout service and book delivery to
classrooms because of protocols put in place to safeguard library
staff. The return boxes will remain at the main and ES entrances, so
library materials can be returned at any time. Thank you and please let Babs
know if you have any questions.
If
your child is in band, please read the instructions about returning school
instruments. If you have questions about instrument return, please contact Mr.
Kennedy (kjason@aischennai.org) or the MS office (msoffice@aischennai.org).
Parents of the withdrawing students please note that you can collect ONE paper
copy of the past school reports of your child from the school any time starting
from Tuesday, May 2 after sending an email to msoffice@aischennai.org Please note that these
reports are ready for families who have already submitted the withdrawal
form.
Also, please note we will be able to provide
final Semester-II report and Transfer Certificate paper copies only on June 4.
If you child will not be continuing at AISC next year,
please complete the “Request to Issue Transfer Certificate/Past Records” form
linked in the Quick Links section of the blog in the sidebar. Please complete
this form and submit it to the MS office msoffice@aicschennai.org.
To initiate the withdrawal process, the Request to Issue Transfer
Certificate/Reports form must be submitted. The certificate is available on the
Principal’s Notes blog and from the MS Office. Once the Request to Issue
Transfer Certificates/Reports form is submitted to the MS office with a
confirmed date of withdrawal, it may take up to five school days to process
your request. This is standard operating procedure for each
withdrawal.
- Documents will be issued only on the last day the student is enrolled.
- We provide only these documents: cover letter, transfer certificate and past school reports
- We provide only ONE copy of the documents. Copies are the responsibility of the family.
- Documents cannot be issued till the student has returned all the school property i.e. library books, musical instruments.
- The student needs to be cleared by the finance department in terms of fees and other payments.
Please note that emailing the MS office to inform us of your
withdrawal date does not initiate the process. The process begins when the
completed Request to Issue Transfer Certificates/Reports form is submitted to
the MS office.
Please
allow 24 hours for documents needing official school stamps to be processed by
the middle school office. As noted above, we will make one copy of official
school documents. Additional copies are made by the family and stamped upon
request by the MS office. Documents are sanitized upon receipt and before
returning them to families. Please plan accordingly for your timelines if you
need documents stamped.
If
your family is departing Chennai before the end of the school year, please
contact the middle school office msoffice@aischennai.org for changes in your time
zone.
Middle School Principal