March 25, 2022

Dear AISC,

If you are continuing to keep your eyes on the progress of the Coronavirus across the globe as we are, then you know COVID-19 has not stopped. We cannot stop adapting our behaviors and practices to manage the health risks. At AISC, we will not stop striving to optimize health-safety for our community on and off campus, and to work with others to flatten the curve. 

That written, COVID-19 community spread in Chennai and in our AISC community is lower than we have seen it in two years. Whether we are in a temporary cool spot or receiving a signal that the Coronavirus is in long-term remission, we are putting the pre-pandemic pieces of our AISC community life back together. We are also mindfully attending to the externally applied SOPs. Please continue to bear with us as we exercise old and new organizational muscles to enrich our learning and living experiences on campus. 

There are indeed new and welcomed patterns emerging! 

• This week, ASA programing on campus has started again for the first time since March 2020.
• Next week, mandatory testing for students, faculty, and parents to enter campus is officially on hold. See below.
• Next week, parents will begin coming to campus for Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences in the elementary, middle and high schools over next two weeks. See below for more details. 

Check out Project Get Back below as we continue to get-back to our rich campus life. 

Here are a few captures of student experiences this week. 

Health Office Update – Vaccinations in Chennai for 15-18 Year-olds and 12-14 Year-olds

If anyone would like assistance coordinating vaccinations for your child 12 or older, please email healthoffice@aischennai.org. 

For 15-18 Year-olds

If you have not yet been able to connect with a vaccination protocol here or in your home country, AISC is working with our health care partner Apollo Shine to run a vaccination camp on our campus. Parents of children between 15 and 18 years of age, please expect a direct communication from the school early next week with more details. 

For 12-14 Year-olds

As of now the vaccination for 12-14 year olds can only be booked through the COWIN portal. Linked here are the Guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccination for children between 12 and 14 years of age published by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. 

Important Updates - Ryan McFarland, Student Life Director

The End of Weekly Testing. Given the extremely low number of cases and community spread at AISC, we are no longer testing on a weekly basis. We are no longer issuing test kits to students and families. 

Situational Testing. We will continue to use testing in specific higher risk situations like field trips and certain community events.  

Ventilation in classrooms. As I mentioned in the week before spring break, we collected data in a number of different classrooms to check the carbon dioxide levels while they were occupied and we closed windows, doors, or both.  Fresh air flushing out the exhalation of occupants is an important factor in our efforts to ensure the limit to any respiratory disease spread. We’ve been watching the CO2 levels in the cafeterias when they are occupied and very pleased with the relatively low numbers, indicating ample fresh air. Construction noise and dust, high temperatures, and humidity are all problematic on campus. Based on the data we collected along with the low numbers of cases in Chennai and our community, we’re now able to close either the windows or doors in classrooms to help with the comfort and keep the dust and noise down. We’ll continue to test and collect data to do our very best to keep to high standards of air quality on campus.  

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 0 students and 0 staff members that are positive for COVID-19.

Visiting Campus – Parent / Student / Teacher Conferences

As you know, we are looking forward to having a greater parent presence on campus in the coming weeks. 

We continue to develop our systems to streamline entry to campus for staff, students, and parents.  

Please understand that by external directive, vaccinations are required of adults on campus – faculty, staff, and visitors. We also recognize that vaccination is an extremely effective tool in protecting the health of community members and preventing spread to those unable to vaccinate or at increased risk.   

• If you are planning to attend Parent Conferences on campus, take a few minutes to complete this form with parent vaccination information and a copy of the certificate. 
• If you are not vaccinated and wish to attend Parent Conferences, please contact Mr. Ryan McFarland (mryan@aischennai.org) for exemption information, and be prepared to present a recent negative RT-PCR test to enter campus. 

NOTE

• If you document vaccination, no testing is required to enter campus. 
• Virtual Conferences are also an option for parents who cannot attend in-person. 

Prior to your conferences, expect to receive a health screening form, which will need to be submitted at the entrance of the school at the time of your conferences. 

Updated! Project Get Back Update

As the pressure from the Omicron Surge has ceased, we are re-establishing certain routines and activities on-campus. 

In the coming weeks, we are phasing-in the following routines/activities while maintaining our RaptorSafe Protocols: 

Elements	Protocol Adaptations	Target Start Date
ASAs on campus	Calendar contact tracing.	Tuesday, March 22
Stopping Weekly Testing	No longer necessary given the low number of cases and minimal community spread.	Tuesday, March 22 – Last Weekly Test
ES Student Led Conferences (Students, teachers, and parents)	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Tuesday, March 29
MS Conferences	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Thursday, March 31 & Friday, April 1st
HS Conferences	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Monday, April 4
HS Celebration of Learning	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Monday, April 4
IB Art Exhibition	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Week of April 4
Cabaret	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Friday, April 8
ES Art Exhibition	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Week of April 18
4th and 5th Grade Sleepovers	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Friday, April 22 (4th Grade) Friday, May 6 (5th Grade)
High School Graduation	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Saturday, May 28
Grade 5 Move Up Ceremony	Vaccinations or RT-PCR Testing.	Friday, June 3

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.    

Next Week At-A-Glance

Date	Event	Details
March 24-26	SAISA Music - OSC
March 25 & 26	Cognitive Coaching (Days 5 & 6)
March 28-April 1	Well Week	See notes below for more information.
March 29	ES Student Conferences	See ES Principal’s notes
March 30	HS Progress Reports
March 30	Early Release 2:30 p.m. Faculty Meetings 3:00-5:00 p.m.
March 30 & 31	ES RISE
March 31	Portal Project 6.00-7.15 p.m.	Register here
Mach 31	Community Planning Team Meeting 8:30-10:30 a.m.
March 31 and April 1	MS Conferences
April 1	NHS Induction	Link  Passcode HS

Technology – Dr. Greg Clinton, Director of Technologies/Research & Development

Reminder - New AISC Website and App Launching Soon

I’m thrilled to announce that very soon — and by this I mean, within a few weeks — we will be sharing two key systems that have been in development for more than a year: a new AISC website, and a new parent portal and app. 

We understand that it is a challenge to keep data and information flowing between parents and school. Sometimes the information is important but not very interesting: "What is my child’s ID number?” or "Did I remember to upload that form?” Other times, information is very interesting: “What did field day look like this year?” Or “What’s going on in the high school science labs these days?" 

Our website will provide the very interesting glimpses into your child’s school life, and the life of our community, by surfacing digital stories we tell on an on-going basis. We hope the website will be a destination, no matter how many times you visit. 

In parallel, we have been building a portal system called RaptorNet. This will be where you can access information that is not as interesting but nonetheless important. You’ll be able to:

• Add money to your family wallet and distribute it to your children’s accounts, so they can purchase items at the cafe (and also see purchase histories and receipts)
• Pre-order lunches for the week
• Quickly access your family's demographic information
• Access Campus, our custom replacement for ParentLocker (which will live as a separate app on your mobile devices) 

And we have plans to develop...

• An ASA module, so you can sign up and access information on activities
• A Community Directory, where you will have easy access to the relevant data from your peers and community families
• A Community Calendar where you will be able to sign up for event reminders, subscribe to the events you want to follow
• Event registration
• And more. 

As parents, you have many things you either need to do or want to know, and our website and RaptorNet will provide this to you as seamlessly as possible. We are ensuring, for example, that it all works beautifully on mobile devices. 

Stay tuned for launch information in the coming weeks. We are excited to provide these necessary upgrades to our community. 

Advancement Office – Gautami Ramachandhran, Advancement Director

Elementary School RISE featuring Tigress on Tuk-Tuk!

The Advancement Office, in partnership with the Elementary School, is pleased to announce our ES RISE Special Guest Sara Mohan. 

Who is Sara?

Sara Mohan is a nature educator, podcaster (Tigress on Tuk-Tuk), and founder of The Ecology Project—a program that aims to forge lifelong connections between children and nature. 

What will she be doing with our Elementary Schoolers?

Sara will spend two fun-filled days with our young learners, taking them on schoolyard safaris and nature walks. Together, they will explore the local (and non-indigenous!) biodiversity that our campus is home to and will create projects and installations based on their learnings. 

But… What is RISE?

RISE (Resilience, Innovation, Service, Entertainment) is an annual speaker event where we invite experts, innovators, and other luminaries to speak to our community. This year for Elementary School, we’ve taken a workshop-style approach—as a way for elementary schoolers to connect with our campus through the different flora and fauna we share our space with. 

Stay tuned next week as we share stories and photos from Sara’s time with us! 

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

PCA Election: Executive Committee 2022-2023

Please consider serving on the PCA Executive Committee for the 2022-2023 school year! Being a part of the Executive team is a rewarding experience and an opportunity to engage with the school, developing what often ends up being long lasting relationships with many members in our community. Self-nomination forms are available by emailing Seema Thomas at tseema@aischennai.org.  Completed forms should be returned to Seema by 12:00 noon on Monday, April 18th. The PCA Elections will be conducted using an electronic ballot, the ballots will be open to the AISC community May 10-12, 2022, and results announced on Friday, May 13th. 

NESA Parents as Partners - Webinar #7, Tuesday, April 5th, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.*

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 #7, Supporting Your Child's Learning Through Effective Guidance -- Presented by Garfield Gini-Newman on Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.* 

*IMPORTANT: Daylight savings time in Europe -- webinar will start at 6:30 p.m. IST. 

For many children, assessments create stress and anxiety, yet when used effectively, assessment is one of the most powerful tools that can help to support their learning. In this webinar, Garfield will share a vision for learning that seamlessly weaves supportive assessment into daily learning. He will provide practical strategies that parents can use to guide their children's learning and nurture important habits such as curiosity and perseverance. 

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. 

The Wellbeing Council – Next week is WELL WEEK!

We are very excited about celebrating our communities' wellbeing in person at school. Some of the initiatives included a whole school walkathon, to mindfulness and wearing our favorite cultural or nationality outfit. Due to Elementary conferences, the timeline is a little different for our little ones. Please refer to the blue banner for HS/MS initiatives and green banner for ES for initiatives. We encourage you to have a conversation at home about how your family might celebrate wellbeing next week as well.

AISC Libraries - The #earthweek2022 Coming to AISC in April

The AISC Libraries are collecting book donations now for our first ever Earth Week Book Swap! If you have any pre-loved books (still in good condition) in any language, for any age, and in any genre, please drop them off in the ES/MS or HS libraries. For every two books you donate, you get a free book at the swap! Please let Babs know on bbarbara@aischennai.org if you have any questions.

Stay connected.

Have an amazing 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

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

We have reduced the data share in our Data Center to the four most relevant items right now: daily new cases, hospitalization data, community illness data, and local vaccines rates. 

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, we are sharing daily new case graphs in Chennai comparing the 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.)

 

2. 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. 

 Emergency COVID-19 Care Bed Availability in 9 Major Hospitals

Percent of Chennai COVID-19 CHC and CDH Beds Available Since January 1, 2022

3. Below we have 309 confirmed COVID-19 cases in our community since January 2022, with 0 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.

 

4. Vaccination efforts continue in Chennai. More than 99% of the adult eligible population Chennai has been vaccinated and more than 79% 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:

Head of School Coffee Presentation – March 10, 2022 | Head of School Coffee Q&A – March 10, 2022 | #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