AIAN will be a widely respected school providing a model US based educational program with an internationally minded community. January 20, 2012, Dear Community, Week eighteen of the school year culminated with a fantastic Chinese New Year performance this afternoon and everyone is to be congratulated for a job well done! The students, parents and teachers involved have been practicing for several weeks. The dedication to making the performance an excellent one has paid off. I wish to particularly thank Ms. Kathleen Z hang, Ms. Susan Sun , Ms. Lisa Zhang and Ms. Janet Bao for all their hard work and effort getting things organized for the performance. Of course others have helped and we thank those people as well. We all go on holiday today and the success of the New Year performance will likely dim over the next week. So, please make sure that you thank and pass your congratulations on to the Mandarin Department for everything they have done. The school will produce a simple video of the Chinese New Year performance. If parents wish to purchase a copy please ask your child to bring 20 RMB to school on Monday or Tuesday when we return to school and give this to the homeroom teacher. Thank you.
Other items for you attention are, THE NEW AIAN MISSION STATEMENT AND LEARNING OUTCOMES The school has been working for several months to revise and strengthen the school's Mission Statement and Learning Outcomes (formerly know as ESLR's). We are pleased and proud to present to you the results of this work as indicated below. AIAN is an accredited college preparatory institution committed to providing research based educational practices to the multicultural community we serve. Students are encouraged and empowered to become global citizens, life long learners, collaborative workers, and effective communicators enabling them to contribute toward the betterment of the world. Students Demonstrate Global Citizenship by • Prioritizing the environment and its preservation • Preparing for citizenship in a democratic society • Exhibiting an awareness and understanding of cultures, especially their host culture • Improving the quality of life in our school, community, nation and world Students Demonstrate Effective Communication by • Ensuring clarity and purpose within a chosen medium • Understanding and respecting the audience • Practicing ethical use of all media • Developing and applying information technology skills Students Demonstrate Lifelong Learning Skills by • Gathering information effectively in order to solve problems and acquir ing new knowledge and skills • Managing time to complete tasks effectively and on time • Reflecting on learning strengths and weaknesses and setting goals for improvement • Making connections between prior and new knowledge and modifying skills accordingly Students Demonstrate Collaborative Skills by • Working with others to set and achieve objectives • Exhibiting a positive attitude, enthusiasm and initiative when working with group members • Learning to accept and appreciate different points of view • Organizing tasks that encourage all members of the group to contribute Naturally, the information above will need further explanation and clarification regarding the meaning and implications for the community. This process will start in the second semester with the teachers taking time to discuss the information with the students in classes. Parents will be invited to come to school and talk about the ideas and concepts as well. It is important everyone appreciates the new Mission Statement and Learner Outcomes. These, along with the Vision Statement of the school, set the direction of the school. They are the basis for the decisions made by the school in terms of the best interests of the students. FAMLIES POSSIBLY LEAVING It is normal at this time of the year that some families will leave the school because of employment contracts ending. The school would appreciate being informed of this as soon as possible. This allows time to organize the necessary clearance forms for the students concerned. Also, this information helps the school when we get new applications. We need to know exactly what the student number situation is at each grade level. A few grade levels are very close to being full and naturally we want to be sure of the places we are offering to new families. Parents may call the office on 86869999 to inform the school if you are leaving. Report cards are due to be issued on Wednesday, February 1. Please understand we cannot issue the report cards before the due date. Of course we will email or send hard copies of the reports to you as soon as the cards are issued. If you are leaving school it is important that you leave a forwarding address or new email address with the school. We appreciate that you may need report cards to help enroll at a new school. The first quarter cards should be sufficient to do this in the short term and these can be reissued if families need them to be. Please contact the school office on 86869999 to make this request. Thank you. EDLINE (A Single Communication Platform for the Entire Learning Community) AIAN has a parental portal called Edline that provides an easy way for you to keep up to date with your child(ren's) academic progress online. An introduction letter, quick start guide and activation code were sent home on Monday November 21. For those families with more than one child you only need the one code you were provided. Once you activate the code, you will be able to: • Check your child's latest grades (MS/HS Progress Report Nov 25th 3:00 P.M.) • Receive email alerts when new grades are posted • Receive emails with school or class information • Verify attendance • View your ˇ®Combined Calendar' to see all the events from the school calendar and your child's own classes and activities automatically collected and personalized Daniela Silva MCP, M.Ed. EARLY FINISH, SHORT SCHEDULE. Please be reminded that Wednesday, February 15 and February 29 are early finish days. Please expect your children home early. AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITES (ASA) ASA's for the third quarter begin in the week starting Monday, January 30 when we return from the Chinese New Year holiday. The first actual day of activities will be Thursday, February 2. Mr. Carpinisan and Mr. Carroll will send out the necessary information soon. Please watch out for this, complete the necessary selection form and return it to the school. REPORT CARDS AND PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES (PTC's) The report cards for the second quarter will be issued on Wednesday, February 1. The PTC's are scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, February 6 and 8 respectively. Please put these dates in you diary. You may call the school office on 86869999 to arrange PTC's with the teachers concerned. OFFICE CLOSURE The school offices are closed throughout the Chinese New Year Holiday. The office opens again on Monday, January 30. DATES IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY FOR YOUR DIARIES January 30 th School opens following the New Year Holiday February 1 st Report Cards Issued; Early finish at 2:30pm February 6 th &8 th Parent Teacher Conference February 14 th Valentines' Day February 15 th Short Day, early finish at 2:30pm February 17 th No School Day, Teachers' PD February 24 th Progress Report Cards February 29 th Short Day, early finish at 2:30pm
Thank you. Regards, Mark Bretherton , Head of School. |
Fu (good luck) to you all!