Head of School: September 9, 2021

Dear AISC,

Happy Vinayakar Chathurthi! This holiday marks the birth of Ganesha, the lord of wisdom, knowledge and prosperity. Enjoy the holiday!

Saturday, September 11 marks the 20th anniversary of what has become known as “9/11” – the tragic attacks on New York and Washington, DC. For those of us old enough to remember that day 20 years ago, we likely know exactly where we were and what we were doing when we learned of this tragedy. The world has not been the same since. So many reflections have been processed; so many lessons learned; so many changes made.

How can we embrace this emotional anniversary to deepen our own self-awareness?

The world has not been same since March 2020 when AISC last had 100% of our students on campus. What the events and challenges of life have taught us since then is that we must be sensitive to our own inner states as we face seemingly huge external pressures; and we must embrace frames of reference that help us see the spots of blue and the silver linings even when storms seem to cloud our vision.

Need another topic for a socially distanced conversation? How have we changed and adapted our assumptions about the world over the course of the pandemic? What have we accomplished as we have adjusted to new realities?

Here are a few captures of what experience looked like at AISC this week.

NEW - Current State Update – High School Students on Campus/ES & MS Virtual Learning

The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) we received on Wednesday, August 18 and Friday, August 27 require us, among other things, to allow only 50% of our students on campus at any one time.

Given the latest Government Orders of August 21st and August 31st:

The re-opening of nursery and grades 1-8 after September 15th will be considered.
The latest directives did not indicate further school openings. There will be new directives on or around September 15th.
ES and MS students are in Virtual Learning until students in those grades are permitted to return to campus.
Once grade levels are permitted to return to campus, we will begin a phased approach to returning students to campus.
We will continue to communicate school opening information in a timely fashion.

Our ears and inboxes are open, so continue to use us as resources.

Board of Directors Update

Thank you to those community members who joined us for our September Biannual General Meeting of the Association. At this meeting, the Head of School shared organizational data across many areas of the school. The presentation is shared in Information and Reminders below.

Office of Teaching and Learning Update – Joelle Basnight, Deputy Head of School

Wednesday Early Release Update

On Wednesday, September 1st our faculty came together to hear from Andrew Hoover and other all-school leaders about various initiatives and updates. This was followed by a session with Dr. Kurinjinathan.

Dr. Kurinjinathan is a psychiatrist with over 22 years of experience in child and adolescent, forensic, geriatric and general psychiatry. Dr. Kurinjinathan uses cognitive behavioral therapy to treat emotional and behavior issues related stress, anxiety, lack of motivation, attention disorders, confidence issues, mood extremes, irritability, difficulty sleeping, eating disorders, substance abuse and trauma. Dr. Kurinjinathan spoke with the faculty about the local impact of the pandemic on mental health and wellbeing after which he answered specific questions from the audience.

On Wednesday, September 8th, our Learning Strands came together for their second session. As a reminder, Learning Strands represent 12 hours of focussed learning on a specific topic in service of impacting student learning while supporting the goals and initiatives of the institution. Participants continued their studies in the areas of:

Supporting Diversity & Equity: From Empathy to Courageous Conversations
Supporting Highly Able/Gifted & Talented Learners
The Power of Making Thinking Visible
Understanding by Design - Curriculum Development

Advancement Office – Gautami Ramachandhran, Advancement Director

High School CAREERX: Fall Break Experiences

We have four Fall Break opportunities for CareerX and high schoolers can sign up here!

At-a-Glance Information

When is CareerX: September 27– October 1
Organizations are categorized as: Service, Photography, Healthcare, and Architecture
Read more about the experiences here.
Sign Up Here!
Last day to sign up: September 17, 2021

If you or your organization would like to offer a career experience during the Spring or Summer Breaks, please write to advancement@aischennai.org.

SAVE THE DATE: UN International Day of Peace Virtual Assembly and Parade of Nations (Friday, September 17)

AISC is celebrating the UN International Day of Peace with our annual Assembly and Parade of Nations! With student speakers and participants from Elementary to High School, we are excited to continue bringing shared community experiences to you virtually. So mark your calendars and help us celebrate our diversity and commitment to our collective future.

When: Friday, September 17, 2:45–3:30 p.m. IST

Where: Join Zoom Meeting; Meeting ID: 927 2546 4576; Passcode: AISC

A MUN Impact Event: UN76 Discussion following the Parade of Nations

Join the HS MUN Impact club in a discussion about the prevalent issues of the world, as they take a deeper dive into inequalities and global changes. We hope that through this discussion we will be able to further the UN Day theme and find ways to recover from what has occurred in the world recently and create a sustainable and equitable future.

Topic: UN76 Discussion

Time: Friday, September 17, 4:15–5:00 p.m. IST (soon after the UN Day Virtual Assembly)

Where: Join Zoom Meeting; Meeting ID: 929 4874 4863; Passcode: 819864

Parent Relations – Deborah Allen, Director of Admissions and Parent/Alumni Relations

PCA Monthly Meeting - Monday, September 13, 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Please join us for the PCA Monthly meeting, Monday, September 13th, 2:00-3:00 p.m. Our School Counseling Team will be joining us to share ideas on helping children and teens with their emotions during these challenging times. They will offer ideas on ways to support your child with current dynamic modes of learning, while maintaining wellbeing. Our Director of Advancement, Gautami Ramachandhran, will also be attending the meeting to share more information about the AISC Communications Department, and an opportunity for families: #MeetAISC – please come to the meeting to learn more!

PCA Monthly Meeting: click the Raptor meeting icon to get the zoom link

Meeting ID: 945 2831 2597

Passcode: 619915

PCA International Community Celebration – September 17, 2021, 3:30pm onwards

We will begin the PCA International Community Celebration immediately following the UN International Day of Peace and Parade of Nations. This event is an opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate our diversity, cultural backgrounds, and unique traditions. The PCA, in collaboration with our Communications team, has (re)created a print version of the AISC Passport, including stickers for "stamping" the country page, as well as country-specific activities and information. You may stop by the AISC school security gate and pick up the AISC Passport(s) for the children in your family beginning on Thursday, September 16th, at 4:00 p.m. (Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) until Friday, September 24th, 4:30 p.m.

Additionally, our Country Coordinators and families have made pre-recorded videos with the the theme, “the food of my country”. We invite you to watch these entertaining videos which can be found on the International Community Celebration webpage. Students are encouraged to complete the PCA's international online quiz (link on webpage) after watching all of the community videos but before Monday, September 20th, 11:59 p.m. (midnight). The PCA Executive team will randomly select winners from the highest scoring quiz responses received (4 prizes, one for each group: EY-G2; G3-G5; MS; and HS). Winners will be announced in the PCA blog post on Friday, September 24th.

NESA Parents as Partners Series - Webinar #2, Tuesday, September 21st, 6:30 p.m.

Please register for the 2021-2022 NESA Webinar Series: Parents as Partners—an engaging collection of webinars for parents addressing child development within the context of family and school. Twice each month, for one hour, you can join parents from across the NESA region to listen to distinguished specialists and learn new strategies in support of your child as a learner.

The webinar series is FREE to all AISC parents; register in advance with the following link:

https://nesacenter-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_twD9UwmCRQOyV75Zej1FjQ

NOTE: On the registration form, please type the FULL NAME of our school: American International School Chennai (do NOT use the acronym, AISC).

Upcoming: Webinar #2, A Parent's Guide to the Science of Attention -- Presented by Andrew Watson, on Tuesday, September 21st, 2021, 6:30 p.m. IST

“Why don’t children just pay attention?” Decades of neuroscience and psychology research have shown that – surprise! – attention is not one unified brain process. Instead, the behavior we call “paying attention” results from a just-right balance of three (yes, 3!) distinct mental functions. When adults foster those three neural processes, children find that ideal cognitive balance where they can focus. Focus at school. Focus at home, even focus at the dinner table. This lively and practical talk – based on years of classroom experience, and decades of brain research – provides both fresh brain perspectives and practical parenting strategies.

Stay safe and a have good long weekend. Stay connected. And, in the coming weeks continue to practice patience and grace.

Andrew A. Hoover
Head of School
headofschool@aischennai.org

NOTES & REMINDERS

Commitments in 2021-2022

Our Commitments for the 2021-2022 school year are here!

Staying RaptorSafe

Our RaptorSafe information is here!

Student Protection Manual 2021-22

Health Office Update

If any members of the school community have concerns about a student’s safety, please contact one of AISC's counselors (ES, MS & HS), principals or the School Psychologist.

1. Complete this permission signature form. Parents MUST give permission to their child to return to campus. This has been a government SOP requirement. By completing this signature page, you indicate your willingness and interest to send your child to campus.

2. Completed medical forms. For most grade levels, these can be completed by a parent. New students and those starting grades 3, 6, or 9 will need a physician to complete form B and then parents should email the document to the health office. All other students will need form A completed and submitted. Additional forms are needed only for students that take prescribed medication during the day while on campus and for students that have allergies or asthma.

Form	For	Completed by:
A - Annual Medical Form	All students every year	Parent - digital form
B - Physician’s Medical Form	New students and those entering grades 3, 6, or 9	Physician - hard copy
C - Medications	Any students that take medicine during the school day.	Parent with attached hard copy of prescription
D - Allergies and Asthma	Any students that have allergies or asthma	Parent - hard copy

3. Weekly Rapid Antigen Testing. AISC has sourced PanBio COVID-19 test kits for the use of staff and students. Every person on campus will have a weekly home test conducted with kits provided by the school. These tests were recently approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research and similar tests are used throughout the world in helping screen the health of people coming on campus.

It's important to note that these tests will not be entirely replacing the RT-PCR tests. We'll still utilize RT-PCR tests whenever a community member is symptomatic or has had close contact (such as household) exposure to a confirmed case. We will also be able to use these tests to immediately test anyone sequestered to the isolation room on campus, expediting our ability to contact trace.

4. Every day your child is to come to campus you must attest to your child(ren)’s health. AISC has partnered with the educational software company ParentLocker to offer a way for us to monitor student, faculty, and staff health and wellness. Using this app, parents will attest daily to the health safety of their children. Everyone will need to do this each day once we are back on campus.

Requirements to attend classes on campus

To ensure the safety of everyone on campus we have the following expectations:

Vaccination Requirements

AISC now requires proof of vaccination for all adults (non-students) over the age of 18 in order to access the campus. This vaccination requirement will also apply to all visitors, including parents.

If you have access to vaccines, we advise you to follow your government’s directives to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Distancing

AISC is ensuring safety through screening, testing of everyone on campus, vaccination requirements of adults, mask wearing, rigorous cleaning schedule, and a focus on ventilation. We will be maintaining 6 feet of distancing according to locally directed protocols.

Contact Tracing

We conduct our own in-house contact tracing whenever there is a positive case on campus. In light of the greater transmissibility of newer strains of the virus, we will be casting a broad net in having contacts quarantine. Classmates and staff that may have been present in a classroom with a confirmed case will be asked to quarantine for 5 days and then test before returning. We may adjust as the year progresses, but will start with a very aggressive approach to minimizing community spread.

Illness Reporting

Despite being in Virtual Learning, it is vital that AISC continues to monitor the health of our student body. While our attendance has been spectacular this year, we also need to know when a student is not well enough to participate in a day’s learning activities.

By way of reminder: Elementary, Middle, and High School parents and/or High School students are expected to email the section offices with the reason for virtual absence when a student cannot attend to/participate in the day’s learning activities. [esoffice@asichennai.org; msoffice@aischennai.org; hsoffice@aischennai.org]

In a typical year, we track illnesses, fevers, and flu symptoms. Now, more than ever, it is so important that we know if a student or household member has flu symptoms and/or has tested positive for COVID-19.

Our Health Office is open virtually. Please use us as a resource.

Our school nurses are Jessy David, Suvitha R and Barkath B and are available on all school days from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Contact our Health Office by email on healthoffice@aischennai.org or by phone on +919840729563 / +919940635827 for any health-related questions or if you need assistance.

Positive COVID Case Reporting

Given the contagious nature of the coronavirus, the AISC Health Office must stay informed of positive cases in our families’ households. In order to serve and protect community members, positive COVID cases need to be reported to us immediately.

Here are a few guidelines:

If anyone in your household -- including staff (live-in/non live-in) -- tests positive, please inform the School by writing to the section offices -- [esoffice@aischennai.org; msoffice@aischennai.org; hsoffice@aischennai.org] or to the Health Office contact details shared above.
All health information provided by AISC families has always been and will continue to be kept confidential and used by our Health and Planning Teams for record-keeping. When reporting positive cases within our community, the School will not use personally identifiable information.

We thank you for your cooperation in helping us keep our community safe. With collective and personal responsibility, we can all do our part to ensure the health of our community members and to help flatten the COVID-19 curve.

2021-2022 Data Center

Below find snapshots from our COVID-19 Data Lab. During the school year, we will update these each week (until further notice). Use this information to compliment external sources of information to understand our local context, inform decisions, and as opportunities to ask more questions.

1. Below, Return to Campus variables are trending yellow. The signs are getting better almost every day…

Return to Campus Rubric

The variables on our Rubric have been approved by our partner International SOS and have the support of the AISC Board.

All of the Decision-Making Variables below must be GREEN (GO) for AISC to consider re-opening campus for students.

SLOW

STOP

Decision-Making Variables	Explanation
Lock-Down lifted.	Tamil Nadu has relaxed most lockdown elements. Some specific and selective restrictions remain in the areas of travel, retail, commercial, recreational, industrial activities and movement within the city.
Government has lifted school closure orders.	Students in grades 9-12 have been given the green light to return to campus on September 1^st.
Emergency COVID Health Care.	This assessment is based on data from 9 major hospitals in Chennai. Availability of hospital COVID beds, ICU and O2 beds is high. Vacancy rates remain well above 25%.
Emergency Non-COVID Health Care.	Emergency care and access to emergency care facilities are close to normal.
COVID-19 Testing Levels.	Testing levels continue to be high.
Access to Supplies and Equipment at AISC.	Our campus is well-supplied and remains prepared to be opened, when permitted.

We also keep our eyes on the following Decision-Informing Variables, among many others, every day:

Decision-Informing Variables	Explanation
New cases below 1,000 per day.	New cases began falling below 1,000 on June 12. They are now consistently below 200.
5 Day Moving Average of new cases over total cases is less than 2% for two incubation periods.	This remains well under 2%.
Percentage positive test rate at acceptable level for one incubation period.	(WHO 3-12%) We have been below 12% for several incubation periods. See graph below.

2. Below, notice the curve is flat. Total cases in Chennai are now increasing very slowly as patients recover and new cases hold steady.

3. Below, daily new cases in Chennai have been below 1,000 since June 12 indicating continuing flattening levels of local spread.

4. Below, we summarize the availability of emergency COVID Care in 9 major private hospitals in Chennai. COVID Care infrastructure and resources continue to improve and have returned to pre-surge normalcy.

5. Below the percent of positive tests relative to total tests has levelled off indicating fairly low levels of local spread.

6. Below we have 157 confirmed COVID-19 cases in our community since January 2021, with no (0) active cases currently. Active case individuals observe a 14-day quarantine at home and require two negative tests before returning to campus. Confidentiality is strictly observed.