Friday, October 13, 2017

Dear all,

A busy quarter and we’ve all made it to the first official break. We hope you are reading this somewhere relaxing! Please enjoy your break. It’s a time to recharge, reconnect and relax! We will be heading into what can seem like the busiest quarter, so switch off and enjoy some much deserved vacation time.

Thank Yous

• Grade 5 CWW chaperones - Vanessa, Elliot, Salome, Jack, Adithya, Carl, Becky and Julia
• Security and lifeguards and drivers who also were a fabulous help on this trip; Lenin, Elumalai, Lawrence, Srinivasan, Mani and Kumaresan.
• Ross and Marcus would love to thank Uma for her warm, positive attitude that she brings to her work each and every day.
• Grade 4: A warm welcome from the Grade 4 team to Fiona, who has made a smooth and seamless transition into the team!
• Karen for stepping full time into the Grade 5 co-teaching role and being flexible with all the changes this year
• Julia and Becky for being so adaptable with changing triad configurations
• All our newbies who have made it to the first quarter - thank you!  Your contributions to AISC Elementary are so appreciated already

Thank Yous from Anu and Bindu

• EY-Grade 2 teachers and TAs for their support, flexibility and cooperation during today’s India Month Assembly; especially keeping the students calm and quiet backstage.
• EY3 and EY4 team for teaching the students their song and dance.
• Preethi, Evelyn and Chandra for teaching the spectacular dances.
• Joseph for decorating the ES with lovely thoramans and Clinton for volunteering to distribute programs.
• Shannon for photographs, Vijay and Thyagu for sound and lights.

Change of Personnel

We welcome Fiona Babu to work in Grade 4 as an EAL co-teacher with Marcus and Ross. (Anita Gregor will be moving to teach the World Language English programme). Fiona comes from England, and moved to India 8 years ago.  She has two daughters, Babeena and Reena, and has a wide range of Elementary teaching experience from homeroom teaching to working with children with learning needs.  Please be sure to welcome Ms Fiona to our Elementary learning community!

TGIF date - Friday 17 November - more information coming soon!

Elementary Associate Principal
The search team to replace Lori is developing a rubric to assess potential candidates against. They would like your input into the types of qualities we are looking for in our next Associate Principal.  Please enter any thoughts under 3 questions in this document.

Meet AISC - Captain Thomas - Head of Security

Captain Thomas joined AISC 8 years ago after retiring from the Indian Army, which he had served in for 32 years. He is very excited about the work he does because the school is very supportive and has an amazing environment. He enjoys the respect and thanks he received from the students and teachers. Captain Thomas has fought in wars on behalf of our country at Sri Lanka, Siachen Glacier, and Kargil. He would like to share that he has been rated an A+ student in all of his courses in the Armed forces. His proudest moments were when he and the team were congratulated for protecting the school during the Chennai Floods, the death of our ex-chief minister, Cyclone Vardah, and the Jallikattu. If Capt. Thomas could trade lives with a person for 24 hours, it would be Karna from Mahabharata. He would like to proclaim to the world about the great leader’s generosity. Captain Thomas is very proud of his job and he says cannot thank the school enough for giving him this opportunity.

Global Leaders in Education Network (GLEN) Visits AISC - Friday 27th October

GLEN is a group of 25 Indian-based educators that have been looking at innovative educational practice around the world. They've already visited Finland and Singapore, and now they are coming to AISC to learn about our mission, futures planning, parent engagement, curriculum and technology innovation, professional learning, instruction and assessment, and student engagement. They will be spending Friday, October 27 at AISC.

Faculty are welcome to engage with them in two different ways. All faculty are invited to the meet with the GLEN team from 8:00-8:30am in the Unity Courtyard. Faculty are also welcome to attend a panel discussion led by the GLEN educators where they share what they have learned in their travels about education. This panel discussion is from 1:15-2:15i in the Madras Hall.

Report Cards
Style guide - attached this time!

Please remember that you are reporting on this snapshot of time of the child’s success. It is important for grade levels to talk about what is expected at the end of trimester one; not the end of the year.  

Halloween Celebrations on October 31

Please remind students that they will have the opportunity to change into costumes at some point after lunch (teachers can decide the appropriate time); there is no need to wear costumes to school in the morning.  Please remind your students - no weapons please!

Class parties and the parade are listed on the calendar from 2:00-3:30. Grades will begin their parade at the following times:

9:00     EY3

2:15     EY4 and 5

2:25     1st grade

2:30 3rd grade

2:40     2nd grade

2:55     4th grade

3:05     5th grade

(Changes to this schedule are possible for classes with specials that conflict with these times. Coordinate with your team leader and let Lori know.)

Route (Adults will be handing out candy at each station):

1. ES Office/Counselling Office

2. Cafeteria

3. ES CIC

4. Head of School’s Office

5. Main Reception

6. Nurse’s Office (to be confirmed)

Return to class (please try to go via a route that is not on the parade route if possible).

Kids can change out of costumes or go home wearing them.

Please check your schedules carefully if you have afternoon specials. In some cases, special classes can likely be held (particularly those right after lunch). In some cases, they will need to be cancelled, and specialists should join in on the halloween walk. HR/EAL teachers and specialists can make those decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Note for classes that meet with Bindu for Indian Studies:

Please note that students need to meet at the following locations for Indian Studies classes when we return from break. TAs need to be present during this time to support.

• Monday - Thursday: Madras Hall
• Frida: Hall of lights

Students will participate in yoga during this week and are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes. Yoga mats will be provided.

India Month Lunch

The school will provide a free Indian lunch for all faculty and students on Friday 27th October as part of the India Month celebration.

Other lunch options will not be available, so if you do not want to have this meal kindly bring lunch from home or purchase from the i-Hub. Faculty Lunch will be served in the FAC Cafeteria from 11.30 to 13.15 Hrs.

Fourth and fifth grade teachers - Please let your students know that MS and HS will be on an alternate schedule that day and all three sections will overlap in the FAC cafeteria. Extra seating will be arranged.

Family Math Mornings

Coming up in November we have scheduled Family Math mornings as a way for parents to better understand our math programs. The structure of these will start with Calley explaining some core fluencies etc for each grade in a parent-coffee style presentation. Then parents will join with their children in class to explore a math engagement together. Dates for this are on the community calendar:

• EY5 and Grade 1 - Wednesday 8 November
• Grade 4 and 5 - Thursday 9 November
• Grade 2 and 3 - Friday 10 November

For this week's Coaches Corner, Rachael sends you on your way to Fall Break with a few of her favorite sites to peruse--

https://4-24project.org/- The 4-24 Project is committed to inspiring leaders to set aside 4 minutes every 24 hours (totaling one full day each year) to ask better questions.  

https://littlealchemy.com/   Explore earth, fire, water, and air. Mix, build, and see what happens.

http://en.akinator.com/personnages/  An oldie, but goodie.  Think of any character in the entire world and the genie will ask you yes/no questions and guess your character.  It works.    

https://www.thefactsite.com/ Lists of facts and such about lots of things.  

Have a wonderful break and Safe Travels!

Keryn & Lori