Dear AISC,
We have had three smooth-running days back on campus for our students in grades 1-8; now, enjoy a long weekend and we will see you all again on Monday, November 8.
And, Happy Diwali, everyone! Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is an amazing local and global celebration.
The word is a contraction of Deepavali, which translates loosely from the Sanskrit as “row of lamps.” Tradition has it that Diwali’s celebration includes the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil in essence symbolizing the triumph of good over evil, of knowledge over ignorance, of light over darkness. The festival celebrates the story of the return of Lord Rama from fourteen years of exile following a victory over the demon-king Ravana. The lighting of the lamps is symbolic of the joy of Rama’s return.
This week, we were immersed in celebrating the triumph of community over isolation as we welcomed our elementary and middle schools back to campus!
Have a great weekend celebrating the light in your lives whether you remain here in Chennai or if you are travelling away with family or friends. Stay safe. Stay connected.
Here are a few captures
of what experience looked like on AISC’s campus this week.
NEW - Current State Update
What we know, what we are doing, and what families need to do as we head into November.
What do we know?
- EY/KG. Following the latest
Government Order dated October 20, a decision regarding the opening of lower
and upper kindergartens (AISC’s EY/KG) will be intimated later. EY/KG has not
yet been authorized to open. Awaiting further directives, we do not know at
this time the return to campus date of our EY/KG students. We have filed a
specific request and are awaiting a response to open our EY/KG as we are a
comprehensive EY-12 program.
- Further
government issued SOPs and guidelines have been issued. We are fully compliant.
- Thank you for your understanding that parents are not allowed on campus at this time.
What are we doing?
- We
are sharing information here and in Principal’s Blogs regarding returning to
campus.
- We will continue to communicate school opening information in a timely fashion.
What do you need to do?
- ES Families: 94% of elementary
students returned to campus this week. Thank
you!
- MS Families: 93% of middle school
students returned to campus this week. Thank
you!
- EY/KG: If you are a family
with a student(s) in grades EY/KG, we advise that you complete all forms, etc.
to prepare to return to campus, which we will do when we are allowed to do
so.
- Stay informed: Read Principals’ Blogs and stay focused on preparing for more change. We know this is an inflection point of information and preparation. Do not hesitate to reach out to us with questions at any time.
Our ears and inboxes are open, so continue to use us as resources.
NEW – Next Week At-A-Glance
Head of School Coffee, Thursday, November 11 (8:45-9:45 a.m. IST)
Please join me on Thursday, November 11, (8:45-9:45 a.m. IST) for the Head of School Coffee when a team of administrators and I will share perspective and information on returning to campus and other timely updates.
Zoom link below. Please do not share this link with outside our community.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://aischennai-org.zoom.us/j/97886347524?pwd=blQ0VEdCOGtNdU1jbWdHeDROSEJMdz09
Meeting ID: 978 8634
7524
Passcode: AISC
Board of Directors Update – Board Meeting
The November Open Session Board meeting will be held in Hybrid Mode on Wednesday, 17 November at 5:00 to 6:20 p.m. IST. Community members are invited to join us virtually.
Please do not share this link with outside our community.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://aischennai-org.zoom.us/j/94380440578?pwd=bGtiUG1PaDIxNTR0TlU0MkNlR0FGdz09
Meeting ID: 943 8044 0578
Passcode: AISC
Office of Teaching and Learning Update – Joelle Basnight, Deputy Head of
School
Wednesday
Early Release Update
Wednesday, October 27th, was spent in disciplinary groups working on curriculum development. Heads of Department and Grade Team Leaders facilitated conversations and work sessions related to wherever their discipline falls in the curriculum review cycle.
The cycle starts with the “vision phase” in which disciplines examine the relevance of their existing philosophy statements and educational standards. Once complete, disciplines move on to the “planning phase” in which they investigate and address vertical and horizontal articulation, ensuring the implementation of the adopted standards do not cause gaps or overlaps in learning, while ensuring that the reporting standards appearing on report cards align. Disciplines in the “action phase” write units and assessments while those in the “reflection phase” document their overall curriculum review process. Start to finish, the full process can take a number of years.
The first half of today’s meeting was spent in disciplines looking at student work data to help guide instruction and program development while the final hour was spent as a full faculty with Andrew Hoover reviewing all-school information.
Advancement Office – Gautami Ramachandhran, Advancement Director
Coming
Soon! HS Career Conversations
The
Fall edition of our High School Career Conversations is coming soon and we
wanted to share our lineup of industry experts with you. Career Conversations
provides high schoolers an opportunity to hear personal career journeys. Read
their full bios here.
- Raj Ganpath, Co-Founder of The Quad (Wellness, Fitness, and Nutrition)
- Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Virologist, Christian Medical College Vellore (Medical Sciences)
- Sriram Gopal, CEO, Futurefarms (Sustainability & Food Technology)
- Aishwarya Manivannan, Silambam (Tamil martial arts) practitioner and graphic designer (Education, Culture, Arts)
- Arun Edwin, Software Architect, Imaginea-Accenture (Innovation & Tech)
And Happy Diwali, AISC! May the festivities bring love, light, and happiness your homes.
Parent Relations – Deborah Allen, Director of Admissions and Parent/Alumni
Relations
PCA
Monthly Meeting - Monday, November 8, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Please join us on Monday, November 8th, for the next PCA Monthly Meeting. This month's special guest is Priya V. -- AISC teacher for over 20 years! Priya will be coming to share information about Chennai (and AISC) with specific details about how things have changed over the years. Her presentation will give you insights about your current home city and ideas about places you might consider exploring over the next few months/years. At this meeting we will also be discussing how the transition back to campus is going for students and families and sharing helpful tips with one another, as well as learning about upcoming events including PCA Diwali Mela, Giving Tree (charitable donations for December) and NESA webinars.
When:
Monday, November 8, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. IST
Where:
Join us on Zoom here
Meeting
ID: 945 2831 2597
Passcode:
619915
PCA
Storytrails Event - Tuesday, November 9, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Join the PCA for another StoryTrails event on Tuesday, November 9th at 4:30 p.m. 'Tis the season' to learn more about Indian Festivals, including Diwali. Explore customs, traditions, and stories with the talented and engaging Storytrail hosts. This is a FREE exclusive event for our community (up to 50 spots available). Portions of this event will be recorded and shared with the community on the PCA Diwali Mela website.
When:
Tuesday, November 9, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. IST
Where:
Join us on Zoom here
Meeting
ID: 951 9849 4370
Passcode:
AISC
NESA
Parents as Partners Series - Webinar #6, Tuesday, November 16, 7:30 p.m.
Join us 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 speakers.
Upcoming: Webinar #6, Writing the New Story of Wholeness, Integration and Inclusion -- Presented by Kavita Tanna on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
Achieving wholeness, integration and inclusion requires conversation, reflection and learning. Schools have recently undertaken all of these things in earnest in order to foster a sense of belonging for all members of the school community. This means decolonizing the curriculum, increasing awareness of how language matters and transforming instructional practices. In this webinar, we will identify why this work is needed, define the terms being used and review what schools are doing globally. This webinar will help you to understand the significance and value of this work for all members of the learning community to feel respected, to remember how connected we are and to reconnect to our sense of equity for all humans. You will leave with recommendations of how to engage your children in this meaningful conversation for belonging through a new story of wholeness, integration and inclusion.
Recordings
from the first webinars:
Journeying
Together: Parents as Partners in Social Emotional Learning
A
Parent’s Guide to the Science of Attention
In
Our Classrooms, In Our Schools: What is the Story of Learning?
Getting
the Most from the Marshall Memo
Neutral
Spaces: Tips and Tools for Avoiding Power Struggles
If you have already registered you will receive a reminder with the link, a few days before. If you would like to register for the webinar series, click here.
PCA
Diwali Virtual Mela - Tuesday, November 11, 3:00 p.m. onwards
Happy Diwali 2021! The PCA, in partnership with the Advancement Office, is excited to announce this year’s PCA Diwali Mela will be a ‘hybrid’ event beginning next week! We are considering this a hybrid event because it will include hands-on activities and a virtual experience.
In preparation for the launch of the event, a gift bag will be sent home (with the eldest AISC student in your family) on or before November 10th. If your child(ren) are NOT on campus, we will have your family’s gift bag available to pick up at security on November 11th.
A Diwali Activity Book, included in your family’s gift bag, has information about the auspicious holiday and traditions, as well as creative interactive elements for younger students to enjoy. The web-based portion of the event includes pre-recorded community performances, cooking tutorials, and storytelling. QR codes are embedded on several pages of the activity book which will extend and connect the activities to the virtual format.
Please watch for the family gift bag to come home next week!
When:
Thursday, November 11, 3:00 p.m. IST onwards
Where:
Bookmark this page!
Reminder – ‘21-22 Community Directory
Our community directory is more dynamic than our pandemic context – students and families adapting to their global and local situations. Our directory is in motion and as this situation evens out, we will be publishing a community directory; our intention is to do so before the new year in January. Stay patient, stay tuned.
Reminder - Emergency Campus Closure Procedure
Should weather or other external situations force a consideration of the safety for students/families, faculty, and staff to travel to school, we could take a decision to close campus (for a day or more, depending upon the situation).
Regarding Virtual Learning, as long as power and internet connectivity are not widely interrupted and no specific directives preclude us, please assume we will revert to a Virtual Learning Day when our campus is closed due to an emergency. If power and internet are or could be widely interrupted, we may take a decision not to hold a Virtual Learning Day.
In general, we operate
by two rules regarding travel safety communication:
- When
we have information that we believe would be relevant and essential to our
community, we communicate it.
- No news means business as usual.
We are careful to
collect information – facts and perspectives – from an array of sources. In
order to assess travel safety in Chennai and to AISC and to make a decision
regarding school closure, we do the following:
- Follow
Tamil Nadu Government directives regarding campus closure and Virtual Learning.
- Engage
timely AISC vehicle reconnaissance forays on bus routes to assess travel
viability.
- Track
local news sources, print and electronic, to keep abreast of the situation.
- Confer
with the Regional Security Office at the U.S. Consulate and consider their
assessment of the situation and/or any recommendations they may have.
- Confer
with the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police and consider their
assessment of the situation and/or any recommendations they may have.
- Assess
the relevance of local school closures.
- Reach out to other agencies to obtain necessary information or perspective should the situation warrant.
Regarding the timing of
an announcement, we use the following guidelines:
- If
we know about a situation in advance, we may decide to communicate a campus
closure a day (or more) in advance.
- In the case of overnight weather or other unforeseen
situations, we will make a decision to close the campus by 5:00 a.m.
- Likewise,
should the circumstances warrant, an early/partial day school closure (that is,
an early release or late start) would be made by 5:00 a.m.
- A decision to cancel ASAs or other after school events, will be made no later than 11:00 a.m. and communicated in a timely fashion.
We will use all
available means of communication:
Campus closure announcements will be conveyed by email, SMS, Facebook, and an announcement on our website. Further, we could activate our phone tree, if we have concerns regarding mobile phone/internet connectivity and/or if we want to make sure that all community members are accounted for.
Also be advised of the
following:
A. Once a decision to keep the campus open is made, we will stay open for students until the end of the school day, or, if a situation warrants, until it is safe for students to leave. Should a situation arise during the school day, we will engage appropriate and prompt communication.
B. Conditions in Chennai can vary dramatically according to locality. If the school has made a decision to stay open, and a student, parent, or staff member deems it is unsafe to proceed to school because of local conditions or conditions between home and school, making a personal decision to stay home is encouraged and will be noted as excused.
Have a great long weekend and let’s continue to practice patience and grace as we experience another pivot amidst the pandemic. Happy Diwali!
Stay connected.
Andrew A. Hoover
Head of School
headofschool@aischennai.org
COMMUNITY NOTES
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: |
|
All students every year |
Parent - digital form |
|
|
New students and those
entering grades 3, 6, or 9 |
Physician - hard copy |
|
|
Any students that take medicine during the
school day. |
Parent with attached hard copy of
prescription |
|
|
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.
Return to Campus Readiness Update
It has been an exciting few days on campus. With the long weekend for Diwali, Monday may feel like a new experience, so here are some reminders and updated links.
- Complete
the home antigen test on Friday. The form to submit it is here and will be emailed directly
to parents on Friday as a reminder. (Every Friday!)
- If
you want to order the complimentary lunch use these links for ES, MS, and HS. The HS one needs
to be completed using the student's account. (Due by noon on Sunday!)
- Bring
the completed test strip in a bag to the entrance on Monday. (Every first day
of school of the week!)
- Be
sure to fill in the ParentLocker Connect questions before arriving at the school.
(Every day of school -- even if staying home sick!)
- Try to arrive during the set stagger time for your (youngest) child.
Thank you for your patience as we continue to try and fine tune systems we've never been able to try out. Things have been going very well, but we'll continue to refine and improve.
For
“return to campus” questions, please choose the appropriate contact:
- Ryan McFarland, Director of Student Life, at mryan@aischennai.org
- Lynn Schneider, Elementary School Principal, at slynn@aischennai.org
- Jennifer Bertram, Middle School Principal, at bejennifer@aischennai.org
- Greg Clinton, Director of Technologies and R&D at cgreg@aischennai.org
If
you aren’t sure what kind of question you are asking, we are happy to hear from
you, no matter what!
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 remain mostly green.
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.
|
GO |
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 1-12 were given the green light to return to campus on November 1st.
|
|
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 normal. |
|
COVID-19
Testing Levels. |
Testing
levels are 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 around
or 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 many 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 176 confirmed COVID-19
cases in our community since January 2021, with 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.
7. Below, vaccination efforts continue in Chennai. Over 70% of the
adult population of Chennai has had at least one shot.
Health
Care Workers: 100% of the school's health workers are fully vaccinated.
Faculty:
100% of our faculty are vaccinated. 96% of the school faculty are fully
vaccinated.
Staff:
100% of our school staff are vaccinated. 94% are fully vaccinated.
Commitments in 2021-2022
Our Commitments for the 2021-2022 school year are here!
Staying RaptorSafe
Our RaptorSafe information is here!
Information and Reminders:
AGM Head of School Presentation – September 8, 2021 | Head of School Coffee Presentation – August 12, 2021 | Head of School Coffee Q&A - August 12, 2021 | Senior Leadership Team Town Hall Presentation – July 27, 2021 | Senior Leadership Team Town Hall Meeting – Q&A – July 27, 2021 | Learning Models Framework | Student Protection Manual 2021-2022