Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome to the 2021-22 school year in the Middle School at AISC!
I would like to tell you how excited I am to be joining this wonderful community. Some of you will be starting out like me, but there are many of you who will be returning and ready to “show the ropes” to all of us newcomers. As you may know, I am joining AISC after 5 years at the American International School of Dhaka (AISD) in Bangladesh, where I was Middle School Principal. I am grateful to have the opportunity to join the AISC community and I look forward to learning and growing with you.
Therefore, I would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to returning and new families. Please note that classes for all students will begin virtually on Tuesday, August 3. However, we will begin with New Student Orientation on Monday August 2nd.
New Student Orientation
In order to welcome families joining AISC, we will host a virtual New Student and Parent Orientation on August 2nd. I invite you to join presentations from the Head of School, myself and the Athletics and Activities Director.
10:30 – 11:15 AM: MS Principal Welcome (Zoom link, ID: 852 2968 7796 & Password: 371331)
12:00 – 1:00 PM: MS Counselor/Ambassadors Meeting with New Students
4:15 – 4:45 PM: MS/HS Sports and Activities Q&A
5:00 PM: Head of School Welcome (all sections)
We look forward to getting to know new students and families. Our hope is that August 2nd is a day for students to become familiar with some of their classmates and begin to make the connections that will make our time together special. To that end, we have scheduled time for new MS students to meet with our Counselor as well as with our MS Ambassadors. This time will be one in which students can talk to and have fun with AISC Middle School students.
First Day of School
For our first day with all students on Tuesday August 3rd, we will start with an introductory assembly for the middle school community at 8:30am IST. Students will receive the link to the assembly in their AISC email account Monday morning. After the assembly students will join their advisories and start to build community. Links for the advisory session will be sent directly to students in an email from their advisor following the assembly.
A few highlights:
· The school day will begin at 8:30am IST for students.
· We will maintain our A/B day daily schedule
· Each day, students engage in live connection times with their teachers in each class.
· Raptor Runway: Tuesday August 3 and Wednesday August 4 we will host an orientation program. Over these two days we will introduce all Middle School students to new technology (Schoology) and start to build connections with classmates and teachers.
Schedule Change Requests
If you have a request to change a course in your schedule, please contact Ms. Galaty, our counselor, by email: ggretchen@aischennai.org. Please note that we try our best to accommodate students' first and second elective preferences, but that may not be possible based on the schedule. Your four elective choices have been taken into consideration when building your schedule. Ms. Galaty will also have office hours in order to be able to answer questions you may have. Links to join these office hours will be coming.
New Faculty & Roles
This year we have two new faculty members joining us and others taking on new roles.
New to AISC are: Ms. Nikki Elliot, Grades 6 & 7 Science as well as DT and Ms. Jennifer Maher, Grade 8 Language Arts and Social Studies.
From within AISC, we welcome: Ms. Holly Williams who will be taking on more DT classes in the MS, as well as Mr. Nick Pollman who will be teaching Language Arts and Social Studies in Middle School.
Daily Attendance
We will take student attendance daily through a check-in form sent to students from the Middle School office. Students are expected to respond to the form daily to register their attendance. Students are expected to complete the attendance form even if they are not engaged for the day (absent). The MS office will follow up with students and parents if students do not complete the form within a 24 hour period.
School Supplies & Materials
The following is a list of suggested supplies students have at home for online and on campus learning. All instructional activities online will be adapted for students to complete with basic supplies and their personal devices. For some classes (i.e., Art, Band), students may choose to purchase or rent more specialized supplies. Information from teachers will be forthcoming.
Parent Coffees
Our first Parent Coffee of the year will take place on Thursday, August 5th. This coffee is for sixth grade parents to further orient you the middle school. The coffee will be followed by the MS Parent PowerSchool Coffee at 10:00am, which is open to all parents. On Tuesday, August 10th there will be a coffee for seventh and eighth grade parents. Links to these events will be shared in this weekly blog.
News from the ASA office!
We have put together a small feedback video from the 2020-21 school year. Please check out the video at this link.
Looking forward to seeing many of you at the ASA Fair!
I look forward to getting to know all of you! Have a great week,
Jennifer Bertram
Middle School Principal