Dear AISL Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. I have had a few chances this week to talk with many of you. First, at the Community Board Meeting and with Primary parents who joined the Meet the Primary Principal Candidates this week. The idea that connects both of these events to me is the building of trusting relationships. Relationships between the Board of Directors and the parent community, the parent community and the superintendent, and all of us are building a new relationship with a new Primary principal. 

These were wonderful opportunities to share our questions and also share individual stories about AISL. There were also questions asked and hopefully answered. I wanted to share some of the themes of the conversation:

• Introduction of the Board of Directors
• Introductions of the AISL Leadership
• New building updates
• Health and Safety Updates
• Tuition Costs and Additional Fees
• Trip Expenses and Breakdown of Fees
• Use of Envoys as a provider going forward, given fees, supervision questions, and agenda changes
• Using discipline as a deterrent
• Additional CCTV coverage, including the Field
• Student driving…THIS WAS A BIG TOPIC—Mr. Macdonald is on it. Mr. Armitage will also share more in the Secondary Newsletter. 
• What can be done about the claims of bullying? Education on bullying? Definition of the term bullying? Ending the worry of bullying? – I will personally follow up on this, as this is a paramount concern
• Communication
  • Do not pick and choose what parents want to know
  • Be timely! The sooner the better.
  • This year has been better, keep it up

This is not a comprehensive list. I could write a newsletter on each of the items. We ran out of time to talk about all the topics.  There will be a chance to hear more at the Monday, September 22 Town Hall at 7:45 AM in the MPR.  I will share a few observations and members of the PTO will also speak with the group.  

While the topics above were important, also important to discuss was the climate of sharing concerns, even sharing some laughter, to build and/or break the tension. 

There was much more of a serious tone when the Parents met with the Principals Candidate Panel. Some of the questions asked included:

• What is your approach to creating a shared pedagogy in the Primary School? 
• How do you ensure a quality curriculum for the Primary level? 
• What best practices in other international schools do you believe could be beneficial to students here, based on what you know of AISL so far?
• What are the key areas of school operations?  Which do you think are most important to prioritize when first starting a principal position?  How do you negotiate change management on current practices? 
• Schools have to deal with discipline.  What are the ways you have seen discipline in schools be successfully implemented and communicated?
• How would you ensure that teachers and students all follow the same expectations?  Here we call these Eagle Expectations–whether they are in the classroom or recess. 
• How will you ensure that all main teachers are equally qualified across classes and if you could also address “What do you feel is the best practice in teacher evaluation/appraisal?”
• How have you seen parents help/volunteer in the school?  This would extend to sports as well. 
• What is your view of AI in Primary school?  
• What does success look like for you in your first year as Principal?

As I said to the group on Monday, the climate of trust needs to be built before the culture of trust can be established. I will keep working on the school culture. I hope you will partner with me in this cause. I ask for this partnership because I also need to prioritize the faculty and the students!  So much to do, but I am here for all of it!   

With gratitude,

Dr. Dan Love