Billionaire of Moments

While listening to Lakshmi Pratury, Founder & CEO of INK present at the most recent R.I.S.E., she said something that resonated with me.  "Be a billionaire of moments." I believe the point she was making was the benefit of having a wealth of memories.   Perhaps this idea struck a chord with me because this has a memorable week. This week at AISC has been one of my favorites.  Moments like, Saturday's Future Summit which helped the participants to re-imagine education and make connections to current AISC initiatives. The week, for me was filled with moments to strategically plan future professional development days with the Learning Coaches.  A visit from the next Director of Technologies and Innovations made for memorable moments talking about the possibilities and plans for next year.   So many other great moments from the week: cNet Curricular Vision retreat lead by Shari Abbott; Language Arts Curriculum Review literature study lead by Pepper McFarland; pizzas by Ed outside the Art Studio; and listening to the coaching successes of a very dedicated group of Learning Coaches.  Lastly, but not the least, all the memorable moments of holiday cheer from the Christmas Party.  Even as I type, I am looking forward to the moments and memories from my first AISC Sing-A-Long.  As we move from weekend moments to weekday moments,  I hope you will make the most of this week's curricular planning time and that it allows you time to create educational opportunities that will make our students (one day) billionaires of moments.

December 7 Early Release Curriculum Work Time Wednesday After School Curriculum Work Time 2:30-5:00 PM We will have snacks and coffee/tea available from 2:00-2:25. Snacks for ES staff are TBD and for MS/HS at bottom of the stairwell between the CICs. December 7, 2016 Locations specific to academic departments and grade level teams. Check with your Team Leader and Academic Department Head for agenda and location. Mission: Together, we will create a K-12 scope and sequence which is publicly understandable, durable to professional scrutiny, and demonstrative of the excellence and richness of the AISC curriculum. Rationale:   There is a value to archive our curriculum, due to the transitional nature of international schools.  There is also a value to communicate our curriculum publicly to our current population of parents, teachers, and students.  Therefore, by April of 2017, we will be publicly presenting our standards on the AISC website for further curricular communication. Additionally by April, AISC will make aspects of our curriculum available, to take a tangible step to better demonstrate and explain learning at AISC. Purpose and Value: To celebrate the good work in curriculum and articulate what we want to institutionally archived.  Additionally, we want to align our curriculum to better eliminate to have gaps and redundancy.  In other words, continuity of what we teach and when with pride that it is age-level appropriate.   Address:   December 7 will be dedicated curricular work time to allow teams and academic departments meet the scope and sequence objective. Materials:  Devices, Atlas Login, Access to Standards, Unit Planner Examples, link to the ATLAS Style Guide        See more information on LINK

Upcoming Conferences

NESA Winter Training Institute - January 20-21, 2017

#NESAchat This Tuesday! Our Very Own Jet!

#nesachat: Author Visits in International Schools: Tuesday, December 6, 2016 10:00 – 11:00 AM AST (GMT+3).

Thanks to Librarians Collaborative moderators Jeremy Willette, American International School of Chennai, and Jessica Levitt, American Community School, Amman for hosting next week's Twitter Chat. All welcome!

Link to the chat doc and questions here: 

Doc: Author Visits in international Schools

Makeology Maker Summit @ AISC - March 3-4, 2017

Makeology is a hands-on Maker Summit for  curriculum leaders, classroom educators, principals, and heads of schools who want to learn more about how to leverage the Making pedagogy and practices to deepen, enliven, and transform teaching and learning for their students.

Join Consilence and AISC to experience hands-on professional learning through the following strands: Making in the Classroom; Programming; Design Thinking; Wearable Technology. Learn more at http://chennai.makersummit.org/ For AISC teachers interested in participants sign ups and presentations solicitations

Cairo American College Professional Learning Network

Cairo American College (CAC) teachers would like to share their insights and teaching models with other international school teachers in the region in order to better support teacher understanding and student learning.

We are hosting a professional learning weekend from March 25 - 27, 2017. Teachers have an opportunity to participate in a Lab Site process to learn about one of these three teaching models used at CAC:

1. Reading and Writing:  Reading and Writing Workshops in the Elementary School
2. Mathematics:  Challenge by Choice curriculum in the Middle School
3. Multiple subjects:  Harkness-style student-centered discussions in the High School

Alternatively, administrators may attend the MAP Testing Workshop, in which participants learn how best to generate annual reports, graphs, and conduct international comparisons of their testing data. Be sure to bring your own data to the workshop!

Please find attached a document that includes the full weekend schedule, information about lodging and activities in Cairo, and detailed descriptions of the professional learning sessions. Please also note the following:

• Eligibility: Educators from regional international schools outside of Egypt.
• Cost: $250 payable by US or Egypt bank check or bank transfer. Payment must be made by March 1, 2017.

Interested? Send an email to Dan and we can discuss this exciting learning experience.

Worth Reading (repeat from last week)
How People Learn To Become Resilient---LINK--SOURCE--The New Yorker

A student view on how inquiry-based, real world problem solving in HS prepared him for college: https://t.co/VcTfb4Lw7g --SOURCE--ASCD

A Lesson For Preschools: When It's Done Right, The Benefits Last--LINK---SOURCE--NPR

Wellness at AISC

Are you interested in seeing what is happening with wellness at AISC and in Chennai? If so, click here to stay updated. We have lots of exciting events planned so be sure to check in! 

Have a great week!