Dear AISC,
We. Are. Whole. Again.
March 13, 2020 to February 16, 2022. 705 days…
Welcome back to our youngest students! We are all together again! And, we have had an amazing few days of celebrating the return of our Early Years and Kindergarten students this week.
Here are a few captures of their experiences.
The daily new cases numbers in Chennai have continued to drop precipitously. On Wednesday, February 16 daily new cases dropped below 300. See below in our Data Lab. The pressure of the current Omicron Surge has dissipated. This week, our testing protocol identified 0/zero positive cases.
We currently have two positive cases across our entire student body. We no longer see the community health need for continued 2X/week testing. And, we do want to continue to limit opportunities for community spread on campus.
Starting Monday, February 21st, we will do home testing on Monday mornings ONLY. Bring negative test cartridges to school on Mondays. Please perform the tests in the morning before school and bring the negative cartridge with you to school. Complete the ParentLocker questions. If the test is positive, stay home, inform us through ParentLocker, and call the Section Office.
Remember, we are re-evaluating our protocols and our campus routines (see below on Project Get Back!) each week as we monitor community spread in Chennai and on-campus.
Important Updates - Ryan McFarland, Student Life Director
Positive
cases
This week we had zero students or staff members that tested positive and had been on campus in the two days prior. We currently have 2 students and 3 staff members that are currently positive for COVID-19.
Testing switching to just Mondays. Bring your negative cartridge to campus on Monday. If, for some reason, Monday is not your first day on campus for the week, please bring the completed strip on whatever day it is. No need to upload a photo or fill out a form.
Cloth masks on campus. Most cloth masks should still not be worn on campus. Surgical and N95-style masks provide optimum protection. (Put away those Raptor Masks for the time being!)
Close contact tracing. We are continuously reviewing how we do this. We are maintaining a fairly broad interpretation of “close contact” exposures on campus.
Reminder
- Recycling of Panbio testing waste
Thank you to the students that have been bringing in the recyclable waste from our test kits. Please remember that the swab that is inside the tube should be discarded at home, and the tube rinsed out with water before being brought to the school. We have more plans for recycling of other materials that will be announced as part of Earth Week in April, but are excited to be able to start with this waste.
NEW! Project Get Back Update
As the pressure from the Omicron Surge has eased, we are phasing-in new routines and activities on-campus.
By
way of reminder, we are keeping the following questions front and center as we
get back to routines:
- As
we enhance our on-campus life, what are the primary risk factors?
- When
we consider specific actions, what if any enhancements to protocols can we and
will we make to assure optimum health-safety?
- When can we expect to resume specific aspects of on-campus life – assuming all internal protocols and external SOPs/requirements are met?
In the coming weeks, we are phasing-in the following routines/activities while maintaining our RaptorSafe Protocols:
Here are the other aspects of campus life we are working to bring back soon…
- Interscholastic
team play
- ES
Movie Night
- Field
Trips
- HS/MS
in-person CareerX experiences
- AISC Staff Crèche
We will continue to welcome your questions, ideas and input as we continue to work on Project Get Back. Email Ryan McFarland or Andrew Hoover directly at mryan@aischennai.org or headofschool@aischennai.org.
Virtual Learning & Student Absences
Nearly all AISC students -- 98% -- are now attending our On-Campus Program.
If you have already arranged to stay in our Virtual Learning Program that program will continue through the end of the year.
If you have not arranged to be in our Virtual Learning Program and expect to remain there for the rest of the year, please contact the section principal no later than Friday, February 25.
For students attending our On-Campus Program, please note our attendance procedure:
- If
a student is sick or needs to stay at home for personal reasons, they will not
attend class virtually. Please complete the ParentLocker survey and notify the
section office.
- If a student is in quarantine/isolation by COVID-19 Protocol, complete the ParentLocker survey and notify the section office to access virtual classes.
Reminder - What does RaptorSafe really mean?
Our RaptorSafe Protocols and adaptations to our physical plant demonstrate AISC’s commitment to doing everything we can to protect our community, flatten the COVID-19 curve, and optimize continuity of instruction.
- RaptorSafe Protocols. Testing, daily health and temperature screening, social distancing, mask-wearing, and sanitizing habits are among the pillars of our RaptorSafe Protocols.
- Outdoor Spaces. When appropriate, we utilize our outdoors to optimize health-safety. In particular, outdoor eating spaces allow students to eat safely with masks off.
- Ventilation. More than 100 indoor spaces – classrooms, labs, studios, offices, and washrooms – have been ventilated with screen doors/windows and/or exhaust fans. Across campus, we employ air quality/CO2 monitors to track ventilation effectiveness.
- Air Filtration. More than 300 UV and HEPA filters have been deployed in our air handling systems. More than 200 air purifiers have been placed in classrooms and indoor spaces across the campus.
- Sanitization. All surfaces including play equipment are treated with Chem-Dry’s MicroPro Shield, which inhibits viral contaminations. Hand sanitizers are available in every classroom and more than 50 hand sanitizing stations, 70 water dispensers, and 250 touchless water tap sensors have been placed across our campus.
- Sterilization. We employ UV sterilization tunnels to sanitize shared resources.
Cautious optimism. As we have watched the daily new cases decline, we have maintained our cautious optimism as we return to many on-campus routines.
Board of Directors Update
Board of
Directors Town Hall Meeting - Monday, March 7 @ 8:45 to 9:45 a.m.
Please join the Board of Directors on Monday, March 7 at 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. on Zoom for our Annual Town Hall Meeting during which we share information, considerations, and thinking regarding the budget and fees for the following year (2022-2023). The Board and the Business Office spend considerable time throughout the year building a budget that is consistent with the school’s long-term financial plan, that respects the fee sensitivity of our families, that will meet the resource and learning needs of our students, and that will support new and ongoing school improvement efforts.
The members of the Board of Directors take seriously their near and long-term responsibility as financial and strategic stewards of the school, and in the interest of transparency, we believe that Association members should have the opportunity to understand and inquire regarding this vital process. The Board will approve a 2022-2023 budget at its March 9 Board meeting.
Zoom meeting information will be shared next week in this blog.
Head of
School Search Committee Update
The parent session dates and time for the three Head of School candidate virtual visits are posted on the PCA blog. We encourage parents to take part in these important sessions.
Next Week At-A-Glance
|
Date |
Event |
Details |
|
February 15-22 |
MS WIDA Testing |
|
|
February 14-25 |
Community Survey |
|
|
February 22 |
HS Parent Coffee - Supporting
Students’ Experience 8:45 am and 5:00 pm |
Zoom link here for both
sessions Meeting ID: 931 060 7223 Passcode: HS |
|
February 23 |
MS Wellbeing Day |
|
|
February 23 |
HS Discovery Day |
|
|
February 23 |
Early Release 2:30 p.m. Faculty Meetings 3:00-5:00 p.m. |
|
|
February 24-27 |
BEIMUN |
|
|
February 25-26 |
MY-MUNOFS |
|
|
February 25-26 |
ASIAC Season 3 |
|
|
February 25 |
HS Progress Update |
|
|
February 26-27 |
CISMUN |
Office of Teaching and Learning Update – Joelle Basnight, Deputy Head of
School
EAL All
School Dialogue Follow Up
Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us for the EAL All School Dialogue. It was wonderful to talk with you and answer your questions. We appreciate your participation. If you would like to look at the information we shared, here is the slide presentation.
We also shared some great resources for supporting speaking, listening, reading and writing in English that you can use at home. Here is the EAL Parent resource page. We look forward to meeting with you again.
If
you have any questions, please feel free to email.
Sabrina
Kim, EAL Secondary Coordinator (MS & HS) - ksabrina@aischennai.org
Dave Allen, EAL Elementary Coordinator (ES) - adavid@aischennai.org
Advancement Office – Gautami Ramachandhran, Advancement Director
Be
Featured On Our New Website!
Work on our new website is well underway but we still need your help! Our new website needs some fresh photos and there is an opportunity for students, parents, and staff to participate in professionally staged photoshoots. Students can be from any grade level.
If you would like to volunteer your child to participate or would like to be featured yourself, please fill out this Photoshoot Participation Interest Form (it will only take 2 minutes!).
We will reach out to all interested participants with further details very soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email rgautami@aischennai.org.
Thank you, AISC! Your participation and support will help us tell a more authentic story.
If you’re looking for the link to take our #MeetAISC survey, you can find it at the very bottom of the blog under “Information and Reminders.”
Parent Relations – Deborah Allen, Director of Admissions and Parent/Alumni
Relations
NESA
Parents as Partners - Webinar #4, Tuesday, February 22, 7:30-8:30 p.m. (IST)
Join
us for the Parents as Partners Webinar
Series.
To participate you may use the same link you used previously, or you may (re)register to receive an email
with the link.
Webinar #4, Why Service Learning Matters to Schools, Your Children and YOU: Bringing Learning to Life -- Presented by Cathryn Berger Kaye on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Our schools are charged with preparing young people for an ever-changing and complex world. Students are already engaged with real world issues. They care about community health and the environment, and they express compassion for our people, our planet, and animals. Educators can harness the innate desires of children and teens to be creators, catalysts, collaborators and change makers. What to do? Discover more about the Five Stages of Service Learning, see examples of what youth do, and find out why service learning is integral to international schools all over the world.
NOTE: If you are unable to attend, or you want to listen to the session again, the webinar recordings and slides from the previous sessions are posted on the Parents as Partners Info Hub a day or so after each session.
Reminder - Community Survey Sent on Monday, February 14, 2022
Each year, we seek feedback from parents on aspects of the AISC experience. Most recently in 2019 and 2020, we used the feedback survey of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) as part of our self-study process.
This year, in collaboration with the Governance Committee of the Board, the Senior Leadership Team designed a 30-item survey to invite feedback on a range of items from the parent community. This survey reached your inboxes on Monday, February 14, one per family. We request you to take 10-15 minutes to share your valued feedback. Remember! Complete the survey and get some AISC SWAG!
My
word for 2022 is GRACE.
Stay connected.
Have a good long weekend and a delightful week ahead!
Andrew A. Hoover
Head of School
headofschool@aischennai.org
COMMUNITY NOTES
Reminder – Student Protection – Michele Ness, School Psychologist/ES
Counselor
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.
FOR REFERENCE
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.
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 update these each week.
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 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 opening campus for students.
|
GO |
SLOW |
STOP |
|
Decision-Making Variables |
Explanation |
|
Lock-Down Restrictions. |
Tamil Nadu has continued to
rescind lockdown requirements. There are not any requirements that impede the
daily movement of people in the city or the general movement and procurement
of goods and services. |
|
School Campus Opening Status. |
All students in Grades EY-12
are now permitted to return to campus.
|
|
Emergency COVID Health Care Capacity (O2
Beds, ICU Beds, Non-O2 Beds). |
This assessment is based on
data from 9 major hospitals in Chennai and healthcare facilities overseen by
the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, which tracks the
occupancy of more than 13,000 beds in Chennai.
This is GREEN when hospital
vacancy rates are increasing or stable and above 10%.
See the table and graphs below. |
|
|
Emergency care and access to
emergency care facilities are fairly normal. We anticipate some gaps in this
area if healthcare workers are not able to perform their duties due to
COVID-19. |
|
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 open. |
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 increasing on
December 22, rose above 1,000 on January 4, peaked at over 9,000 on January
14, and have been in decline since then. As of Thursday, February 10, new
case numbers were below 700/day. This is GREEN because the daily
new case numbers are below 1,000 and are also decreasing. |
|
5 Day Moving Average of new
cases over total cases is less than 2% for two incubation periods. |
This number remains low. |
|
Percentage positive test rate at
acceptable level for one incubation period. |
(WHO 3-12%) This number has
been above 12% since January 7, 2022 and fell below 12% on February 2. When rates are below 12% for
more than 14 days, goes GREEN. See graph below. |
2. Below, we are sharing daily new case
graphs in Chennai comparing the current Omicron Surge to the two previous
surges -- Alpha and Delta. (The x-axis is the number of days and the y-axis is
number of new cases/day.) This is a highly relevant and useful comparison in
our current Omicron Surge context. Note that the slopes of the rise and decline
case lines are fairly similar.
3. Below, daily new cases in Chennai have
been above 1,000 since January 4th. New cases have been in a precipitous fall
since January 14. Also below, we are
sharing a state-wise comparison of the Omicron Surge lines for perspective on
where the daily new cases line might be heading in the coming days/weeks in
Tamil Nadu.
Daily
New Case Lines in States Across India
4.
Below, we summarize the availability of emergency COVID Care in 9 major private
hospitals in Chennai, and of more 13,000
beds across Chennai in Community Health Centers (CHC) and Communicable Disease
Hospitals (CDH). COVID Care
infrastructure and resources are steadily returning to normal.
Percent of Chennai COVID-19 CHC and CDH Beds Available Since
January 1, 2022
5. Below the line slope of percent
of positive tests relative to total tests shows that it has crested and is
falling fast. This number has been below
12% for 16 days.
6. Below we have 495 confirmed COVID-19
cases in our community since January 2021, with 11 active cases currently,
including staff, students and family members. Active case individuals who
expect to be on campus observe a 10-day quarantine at home and require two
negative tests before returning to campus. Confidentiality is strictly observed.
7. Vaccination efforts continue in Chennai. More than 97% of the
adult eligible population Chennai has been vaccinated and more than 78% of the
adult eligible population of Chennai has been FULLY vaccinated. 76% of eligible
children in Chennai between the ages of 15-17 have been 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:
#MeetAISC Survey | AISC Community Directory – 2021-2022 | AISC Annual Calendar – 2022-2023 | Head of School Coffee Presentation – November 11, 2021 | Head of School Coffee Q&A – November 11, 2021 |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