Dear Faculty,
Thank you for all your support and help with covering and caring for absent colleagues this week. There is a lot of sickness going around and so we encourage everyone to be super vigilant with hand washing to avoid spreading it further. On a separate note, parents really enjoyed being welcomed into your classrooms and spending the time learning about literacy instruction across the grade levels.
Thank you’s and shout outs…
- The grade 4 team would like to thank Mary Kelly for all the work she has done with us in both writing and reading. We really appreciate your support. We'd also like to thank Jen and Clinton for helping us pull off a great science showcase.
- Thank you to all who covered classes to complete the student-teacher survey. This is important data and we appreciate it being conducted so smoothly.
- Thank you Leontheen and Linda who are hosting the Roots and Shoots field trip this weekend.
Continuity of Instruction
As has been communicated to the community, we are keeping a close watch on the developing news regarding the Coronavirus. We have seen swift action taken by authorities in some countries to control the spread of the virus. For example, many schools in China are closed until mid-February. At this point, there is now a confirmed case in Kerala, India. While we are hopeful that Chennai will remain unaffected by the virus, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Should at any point in the future we need to temporarily suspend classes, we will move to Continuity of Instruction as swiftly as possible. Kindly keep this in mind in the coming weeks. Further to health and safety, please redouble your efforts by encouraging regular handwashing with students as this is the best defense against any virus.
Discovery Studio Update
Jen will be out on leave for at least the next three weeks. Clinton will be leading all of the lessons while Jen is away. If you have any questions about an upcoming lesson or scheduling time in the Discovery Studio, please direct those questions to Clinton.
Emergency Drill - 6 Feb
As per the schedule our 3rd Emergency Drill for this year will be conducted on 06th Feb, 2020 (Thursday) at 1345 Hours. It will be a “Bomb Threat” evacuation situation.
Situation: Evacuation to Safe Haven
As per the schedule our 3rd Emergency Drill for this year will be conducted on 06th Feb, 2020 (Thursday) at 1345 Hours. It will be a “Bomb Threat” evacuation situation.
Situation: Evacuation to Safe Haven
EMERGENCY EVACUATION DRILL GUIDELINES:
- Once we have an indication/alarm of an emergency situation, all students and staff should maintain silence at all times to ensure that directions can he heard. The indicator is a wailing alarm.
- Safe Haven is located at the gym. The Safe Haven will be used as the school’s “Lockdown” option according to the type of emergency and specific instructions. The Safe Haven is equipped with food and water supply for 72 hours for all students and staff.
- All classes/groups should lock their Classroom/Offices, form in straight alphabetical lines and maintain the lines until further instructions.
- The responsible teacher should be at the front of the class/group so that they are accessible to principals.
- Groups should not sit unless instructed to do so.
- Silence is maintained until the drill is over and students are released.
- Do not use elevators.
All Teachers: Please carry the emergency booklet and class roster with you when you leave the class room. The RED and GREEN sign are inbuilt in the booklet.
Note: During an emergency situation the security staff - (QRT - Section Marshal) - on duty will pay his first attention to ensure safe evacuation process of students/staff using wheel chair through the available safe channel - it is an additional support to lead.
Map of Assembly in Safe Haven -
Alarm Tone Pic (Evacuation to Safe Haven) 
Communication Guidelines Regarding Behaviour
As we head into the second semester, we’d like to draw your attention to our communication guidelines for contacting parents regarding any behaviour concerns.
From our handbook:
- If you see a pattern of challenging behavior or unusual behavior, consider contacting parents to get more information and to garner support. We consider a pattern to be 3 observed instances.
- Remember that children often have very different behaviors at home and school.
“Dear Mr Patel,
I’d like to reach out to you for support and more information about Parvati’s behavior in 4MG. For the past three days Parvati has been inattentive in class, and does not respond to redirection. I have had three conversations with her but her behavior has not changed. Is there any information that you can share that might help me understand her behavior?
We would really encourage you to discuss this at home with Parvati.
Please do be aware that ongoing behavior issues may be referred to the counselor or leadership team for follow up.”
* This communication can come from any teacher working directly with the child. If it is coming from a specialist teacher, the homeroom teacher is to be copied in.
School Day and Late Arrivals
We are reminding parents in this week's Principal's blog about the Late Arrivals. Students arriving after 8:29 am will be issued at late slip at the Elementary reception. If they come to class without a late slip please send them to the ES Office to get one.
Excerpt from the Principal's blog
The School Day at AISC is from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Students are expected to be on campus at 8:25 a.m. and class starts promptly at 8:30 a.m. We begin marking students who arrive at the gate at 8:29 a.m. as late as this means that the child will be late to their first class. Students who arrive late must go to the Elementary Reception or Principal's office for a late pass. Security at the gate will notify the office of any late arrivals.
AISC TA Training
Thank you to those faculty members who suggested that, in order to enhance role clarity, we re-initiate our Teaching Assistant “Strand” training from last year with our newer TAs. Last year, during Early Release Strand times, we started the first series of professional learning for assistants, which got very positive feedback. This year, while TAs are still engaged in Responsive Classrooms or Phonics trainings, we haven’t run the fundamentals training, and realize that it would be beneficial. Please look for a schedule of upcoming trainings, happening Friday afternoons from 2:00 - 4:00 PM a few times a month.
Our TA Training Curriculum will include topics from last year including Communication, Instructional Support, Curriculum information, EAL strategies, AISC Beliefs and Values, self-assessment and self-advocacy, and collaborative goal-setting. All new TAs to the 2019-20 school year will be asked to attend; anyone who didn’t complete last year’s strand sessions is also invited.
Any questions? Please reach out to Calley, who will be emailing participants directly. Thank you to teachers for being flexible with TAs’ release time on these Friday sessions.
Have a great weekend!
Keryn, Dave, and Calley
