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Here is a LINK to the week two distance learning video for families.

Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for all of your feedback that you submitted.  That feedback along with feedback we’ve gathered from students and faculty has helped us as we continue to strive to make this Distance Learning experience the best possible experience we can offer.  The concerns that we are seeing are largely related to students feeling disconnected from classmates. This feeling is normal. We all feel this way. We did not get into teaching to be working virtually from our kitchen table.  The human interaction is the bit we are working hardest to recreate and we welcome your encouragement for your kids to check in with their teachers and join in collaborative opportunities, especially with their Advisory. Students who have been regularly connecting with their teachers and classmates are not only feeling better but they have been enjoying more success with their Distance Learning. 

Spirit Day: Next Tuesday, we will have the first of our Spirit Days.  Hat day. We are encouraging everyone to wear hats to all of their meetings.  The crazier the better! Every Tuesday we will have a spirit day but we are seeking feedback from the students for what they’d like to see.  Crazy socks might not work… 

Tips for families: Based on feedback from teachers, here are some tips to help your children have more success:

• Students need to check their Outlook email.  Twice per day. Respond to emails.
• Please create a space for your MS student to do their work.  Some of our students are being asked to take on major responsibilities looking after their younger siblings.  While we appreciate that helping in your family is important, if your children do not have a small fortress of solitude, their work will suffer.
• Wifi is very important!  Bolshoi important! Please make sure that your children have some times in the day when they get bandwidth priority for their studies.
• Read instructions.  Our students are used to having a very structured, engaging teacher walking them through instructions for learning engagements.  We have been seeing issues, particularly with our younger MS students of not reading directions or instructions for their learning engagements and as a result struggling to manage or find success in their assignments.

With the speed at which local and global news is developing, it seems that one of the only things we can be sure of is that we can’t be fully certain about what might happen next. Such a thought can cause undue stress, so it’s worth remembering that we have both internal and external resources with which to manage this uncertainty. The following is a compilation of various online resources related to this topic.

Take care of yourself: This refers to the same sort of practical, proactive self-care we should all be practicing all the time, but which takes on an even greater importance in times like these. Sleep enough. Eat well. Exercise. Stick to scheduled routines, and include in that schedule some time for ourselves and for our families.

Be kind with and supportive of yourself: You deserve the same patience with this situation that you’re probably showing others. Be confident in your own ability to adapt. Take your own advice: If someone came to you with this problem, what would you tell them?

Take control: Focus on the parts of your situation within your control; let go of the parts that you have no control over. Avoid falling into bad habits as a way to handle the stress (watch out for negative coping strategies).

Be self-aware: Recognize your thoughts and feelings; name them. Challenge any stress-causing thoughts you may be having (Ask yourself, “Am I being realistic about this?”). Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Avoid catastrophic or extreme thinking (be on the lookout for words like “never” and “always”).

Seek support from those you trust: Reach out to family and friends, near or far. Reach out to school; get in touch with teachers if you have a concern about your child. But you can also reach out to principals, or the counselor or school psychologist for yourself, as well. And school can even point you towards professional help, if needed.

The Wellness section of the school’s Distance Learning page has links to a variety of resources to help you manage the altered demands of work and school.

Please reach out if you have concerns or want to share information. You can email me, or, to schedule an online appointment, use this: https://calendly.com/james-villers If you send me a meeting request, I will reply with a Google Meet link.

Sources for the above information: American Psychological Association, “The Great Unknown: Ten Tips for Dealing with the Stress of Uncertainty”; Dealing with Uncertainty, a guide for UN staff members; Talentsmart (blog), “11 Ways Emotionally Intelligent People Overcome Anxiety”; Tiny Buddha (blog), “7 Ways to Deal with Uncertainty…”

In fact, an inability to cope with a looser structure and increased personal responsibility is often a reason students struggle or even drop out of university. Rarely is it that the work at university is too difficult, especially for an AAS graduate. Instead, it is the ability to set goals, be organized, and focus on achievement that often separates university students who thrive from those who struggle. 

Our current high school students are now gaining important experience in distance learning that will prepare them for their academic future. Around the world, people are trying their best to make it through our current situation. We didn’t ask for this pandemic, but we have found a way for learning to be productive and for students to gain relevant skills outside of the norm. This is yet another reason we should be proud of our children. 

Grade 12 IB Exam Information

As previously shared with Grade 12 students and parents in recent weeks, the IBO has cancelled the IBDP exams.  AAS continues to work with IBO, teachers, and students to clarify the new “grading” process to meet the revised requirements and deadlines as recently shared by IBO.  If you or your child has questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher, to myself as DP Coordinator, or the High School leadership team.

Below is their explanation of how Results will be determined. We have, as have most schools I assume, asked for specifics on how grades will be formulated, but as of now this is what we have.

Here are IBO’s responses (from the IBO’s website)

How will the results be calculated?

• We will be using vast historical assessment data to ensure that we follow a rigorous process of due diligence in what is a truly unprecedented situation. We will be undertaking significant data analysis from previous exam sessions, individual school data, subject data as well as comparative data of schools who have already completed uploading requirements and those who have not.
• We will require schools to submit the coursework for all candidates. We will externally mark work that is usually marked by teachers, instead of taking samples and applying moderation.

How will a student be awarded an IB Diploma or Certificate?

• Using the information above the IB will be able to provide official documentation of the students diploma or certification. We will require schools to submit the coursework for all candidates. We will externally mark work that is usually marked by teachers, instead of taking samples and applying moderation.

When will results be released?

• The IB intends to release results to universities/institutions and schools as planned on 5 July 2020.
• All student coursework and associated predicted grades will need to be uploaded by 20 April, if not sooner, in order to guarantee delivery of results by 5 July.

Some students perform better in exam conditions than coursework, can we be sure they are not being disadvantaged?

• We will use a calculation that is based on the relationship between coursework marks, predicted grades and subject grades to estimate the subject grades candidates would have received if the exams had gone ahead. If the relationship between these elements shows that in previous sessions candidates globally tended to achieve higher outcomes on their exams than their coursework, the calculation used this session will reflect that. 

From Mr. Sonderman: 

Please do NOT request changes in PGs or ask for IA re-submissions. This is not an ethical practice. Most teachers previously entered their Predicted Grades, while some are in the process of doing so. The majority of Internal Assessments were uploaded previously. Grades cannot be changed by teachers for already submitted material.

Hang in there with all of this. I know it is an uncomfortable situation for many of you. Keep in contact with questions via my school email. I hope all of you are safe and well.

Grade 11 Extended Essays

For Grade 11 students and parents, please note that teachers and students continue to work together through the normal coursework ensuring progress to meet the expectations for IBDP.  If you or your child has questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher, to myself as DP Coordinator, or the High School leadership team.

The next EE deadline is May 13.  This deadline is in relation to the 3,000 word essay expectation.  This may seem like a long way off, but it will arrive quickly.  To help gauge whether students are where they need to be, please ensure that students are approaching 2,000 words by mid-April to be on track for the expected target for the 3,000 word deadline by mid-May.  Specific to the EE, grade 11 students should:

• continue to refine their research
• solidify arguments
• refine structure via an outline
• continue writing and developing
• recording sources
• sending supervisor drafts for directional comments

Meeting the 3,000 word deadline in May with the above focus areas means students are going to be very close to finishing! 

Best,

Sean Sonderman

PTO Divisional Updates

ES: Grade 5 Hoodies

Due to the quarantine situation in Moscow, the timeline to pick up 5th-grade hoodies has been extended. You may collect your child’s hoodie through April 30 in Pokrovsky Hills, Moscow regulations permitting. Please email PTO.secretary@aas.ru to arrange a pick-up time.

Any hoodies not picked up by April 30 will be returned to school to be distributed in the fall.

MS: Grade 8 Hoodies

Grade 8 graduation hoodies are also ready to be picked up from PH after 3.30 pm on weekdays or anytime on weekends Please email Marjo at PTO.MS@aas.ru or pto@aas.ru to arrange a pick-up time.

HS: Graduation Blankets

12th-grade graduation blankets can be picked up in Pokrovsky Hills until May 1. Contact pto@aas.ru to arrange a pick-up time. If you cannot pick up the blankets before May 1, distribution will be handled by the HS office at a later date.

Reminder! PTO Elections

In order to get off to a quick start in the next school year, the PTO needs to elect next year’s PTO Executive Committee.  Keep an eye out for an electronic vote election email in the coming days. 

We have one candidate per position, but per our by-laws we need to hold an election to ratify the candidates. The candidates’ statements of interest are attached here. We kindly ask you to take a few minutes to review the statements.

The email with a link to e-ballot will be sent out after April 1st with instructions to submit your vote.

Finally, a  big thank you to all the parents, Class/Grade Reps, Event Coordinators and volunteers for making AAS PTO a community to be proud of during these extraordinary times.

And, before ending let me take this opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation to all the doctors, nurses, other health care workers and essential services providers who are carrying on their work under very difficult circumstances, along with those working in the media and communication, everywhere across the world.