NEWSLETTER 

August 2021

MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear AIS Family,

Tukusanyukidde (welcome)! 

As we commence a new academic year, I want to extend a warm welcome to every member of the AIS Family, old and new. I hope the break was restful and rejuvenating!

This year promises to be another challenging one! Clearly, we are far from where we hoped to be in tackling this pandemic, but there are still bleak rays of hope. We are still optimistic and ready for the challenge, as we begin the academic year online on August 23, 2021. As we have maintained in the past, we will try to create an online teaching that is as close to the one that would have been on campus (especially with timetables and calendared events).

Most of us, children and adults, may be feeling anxious. Uncertainty is what drives this anxiety, therefore, talking to one another and staying connected will be the most important thing to do! 

We are all in this together, so please reach out if we can assist you in any way, academic or otherwise.

As you know, our first cohort of MYP 5 completed their eAssessments last academic year and our AS (first year of a full A Levels) students sat for their exams. In addition to being firsts, these are also our smallest cohorts. We are so proud of their hardwork, under some very challenging circumstances, and were able to achieve grades which were largely in line with predictions.
MYP eAssessments consists of three portfolio-based subjects (French, Personal and Health Education and Personal Project) worked on over several months, and six on-screen eAssessments. Each subject was graded on a scale of 1-7, with 7 being the highest.

This academic year is also very special because we will have our first graduating cohorts of IBDP and Cambridge A levels. We are really looking forward to this landmark milestone in the history of AIS!

One important (temporary) change you will see in our Senior Management Team is the absence of our dear Ms. Ariana. She has decided to take a six-month sabbatical to address some recurring health issues that she was facing. We look forward to welcoming her in January 2022!

I would like to take this opportunity to, once again, welcome Shirin Bagchi, who joins us as Head of Secondary. She can be contacted at [email protected]

As you read on, you will find more information on your child’s homeroom teacher (as well as other members of the AIS team, the AIS COVID-19 Taskforce, department updates, online programme expectations, upcoming events and much more. 

 Gyebaleko (thank you all) for your continued support. 

MEET YOUR DEPARTMENT HEADS

MEET THE AIS TEAM

ZERO WEEK – PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS

Our staff is back to work and preparing a grand welcome for you, also ensuring a rich teaching-learning experience over the coming year. We pride ourselves in being lifelong learners, so in addition to teaching students, our staff members will themselves be engaged in updating their knowledge with weekly professional development sessions. 

They have also found themselves thrown into the deep end, to teach in new ways, but they are all set to learn and then make this process of teaching and learning rich and engaging.

OPEN DAY

Open Day will be held for all new and old parents and students on August 20, 2021. This will be a great opportunity to meet your child’s teachers, their friends and families. Teachers will share timetables, online classroom expectations and so much more. Details of the timings will be shared through your class WhatsApp groups. 

WELCOME PACKS

Welcome Packs await all our students!!!

These packs include various necessary stationery items, exercise books, journals, diary and tiny surprises for all our students! Please collect your Welcome Pack from the Admin Block, as and when you make your fee payments.

P.S.: We also have 37cm * 29cm magnetic white boards (with a chalkboard on the other side) available with two markers, chalks and a duster. These can be borrowed by the Early Childhood and Lower Primary students. If you have borrowed them last year and not returned, you will continue to use them. We expect these to be returned as you return to campus. 

Early Childhood

Primary

Secondary

Optional Resources

WHAT ONLINE TERM I WOULD LOOK LIKE?

Early Childhood

Welcome back to the new academic year! All the Early Childhood (EC) teachers and I are so eager to see you soon. Although we would love to see you here on campus, we know that our online programme is top notch and helps to keep us all safe until we can meet in person. 

 We will continue using Google Classrooms as our platform for online learning. Every child will be assigned an AIS (Gmail) email address, to access the classroom. 

Each class will have several live classes via Google Meet each week. The specific timings will be noted on your child’s class timetable. The Google Meet link will be available via Google Classroom and Class Whatsapp Groups.

With our daily videos and loads of fun activities, we hope that we maintain the connection with our students until we meet on campus!  

Primary

Every class is allocated a Google Classroom. Here students can access all important information about the class, such as timetables, links to live sessions, and any other related learning resources. The live sessions will continue to be on Zoom.

Details of this will be communicated during Open Day.

At AIS, we expect all of our students to be good digital citizens, while following online decorum. Students will have continued sessions to help them understand digital safety and the importance of internet security. 

Please ensure you join the new Class WhatsApp groups and attend the Open Day to keep yourselves updated on all homeroom-related and PYP information.

Secondary

All Secondary students will receive the online class link  through Managebac. There will be a short session for the parents on how to navigate ManageBac on Open Day. All new students will have an orientation session with the programme coordinators and homeroom teachers. Further information will be sent out regarding these sessions on the Class WhatsApp Groups. 

All resources, homework, class details, weekly schedules, submission calendars will be available to the students on ManageBac. 

At AIS, we expect all of our students to follow good practice to ensure they are being a digital citizen. Students will have continued sessions to help them understand digital safety and the importance of internet security. 

CLASS WHATSAPP GROUPS

Class WhatsApp Groups have become the most easy and accessible means of communication between teachers and parents. In order to join the class, use the link that will be sent to you on your smartphone and you will automatically be connected to the group.

If you have difficulty joining the group, message your homeroom teacher, and they will add you. PLEASE ONLY ENTER THE GROUP FOR YOUR CHILD. To ensure cyber security, these groups will be monitored and unregistered numbers will be deleted. *Reminder: Only group admins can post here. This is to ease readability for parents.*

ONLINE STUDENT LEARNING EXPECTATIONS

WEEKLY LEARNING PACKS & HOMEWORK

Weekly Learning Packs and library books to aid the online lessons will be made available each week. They can be picked from the Admin Block each Saturday or Monday between 9am-12pm.

Year 1 students will receive Weekly Learning Packs for homework and library books.

Students from Year 2 through Year 6 will receive Learning Packs at the start of the Unit of Inquiry.

The packs will contain resources that student will need during the course of the Unit.  Learning Packs for all students will be available after Open Day at the Administration Office Reception.

*Note we must follow Government Restrictions at this time.*  

  • Masks must be worn at all times.
  • NO STUDENT is allowed in the school.

Distancing and limited number of people in spaces will be advised. We may ask parents to wait outside of the office during high traffic times.

Stay Understanding

All Secondary students will receive the AIS Welcome Pack. All resources for learning including videos of the lessons, assignments, feedback, reflections, announcements will be posted via the Class WhatsApp Groups, email and ManageBac. All of the MYP textbooks are available on Google Drive and have been shared with students.

Weekly homework assignments will be scheduled for all Secondary students and these will be posted on ManageBac.  All teaching staff will be vigilant to see that the amount of work and assignment submissions are age-appropriate and not overwhelming. However, students in the candidate years will be expected to work systematically and in an organised manner and will be working on multiple, continued assignments like their projects, journals, essays and portfolios. It would be a great experience for them to practice  the IB ATL (Attitude Towards Learning) skills. 

LIBRARY CHECKOUT

Library books will be available to aid the online lessons each week. They can be picked from the Admin Block each Saturday or Monday between 9am-12pm.

We encourage students to keep up with the culture of reading. Parents are encouraged to check out the readers during the course of the week. The library will be open each day except for Monday. The library timetable will be as follows:

  Tuesday        PYP3 

  Wednesday   PYP 4

  Thursday      PYP 5

  Friday          PYP1 and 2

During the holidays we have received an order of the MYP Textbooks. These books are available to purchase. If you wish to purchase the MYP textbooks for your child, please email Mr. Patrick, our Secondary Librarian for prices and collection. 

Mr. Patrick can be contacted at [email protected]   

As we continue our remote learning programme, we will share a Google Drive folder with all students which will also be available on ManageBac. We wish to encourage all our students and help them on their learning journey. 

Secondary students are encouraged to check out books from the library. To ensure we are following all SoPs on campus, a timetable has been created. All students, parents/ guardians must follow the SoPs during the allocated time, as per the schedule. 

72