Dear High School Community,

We hope everyone has had a recuperating break and is ready for the next section of the year. We have parent conferences and PSAT’s as major upcoming events. More information below. We also want to thank our parent groups, particularly the Junior Senior Committee, AMA and Booster Club. Our community spirit is something that makes ASD such a lighthouse school and despite the challenges of the pandemic, our parent groups remain undaunted and full of passion and fervour for our school. We offer thanks and gratitude for everything you do for our kids.

COVID-19 Updates

Thankfully we report that there were no cases in the High School this week. However, we remind parents to keep your child at home if they are sick. We have a high vaccination rate in our division but we remain vigilant and determined to sustain a safe learning environment for all our students and staff. Thank you.

We reiterate our plea to parents not to send their children to school if they exhibit symptoms related to COVID-19. Please err on the side of caution and take them to be tested.

Vaccination Documentation

Thank you for your diligence in uploading the Ministry required documents. We have an extremely high rate of vaccinations in the division, which we are grateful for.

PSAT

The PSAT will take place for all Grade 9, 10 and 11 students on Tuesday, October 26, there will be no classes for Grade 12 students on this day. If you would like your child to be able to leave early on this day, please be sure to fill out this form. There are student guides for students in Grade 10 and 11 that can be picked up in the HS Office. Emails were sent to all students in parents in Grades 9, 10 and 11 with additional information, but if you have questions, please email etollefson@asd.edu.qa

High School Curriculum Parent Workshop

Based on parent feedback, the Curriculum & AP Coordinator and IBDP Coordinator will be offering parent workshops about our ASD curriculum and programs. The first of these will be next week, on Wednesday the 27th of October, at 5pm. If you are interested, please use this Zoom link to join the workshop, where we will be discussing and fielding questions about Standards Based Grading & Reporting, Grades in the IB/AP (Conversion chart), and ASD standards-based courses.

Student/Parent/Teacher Virtual Conferences

Due to continuing safety protocols, conferences will be held via Zoom for all divisions on Wednesday, November 3 and Thursday, November 4. The HS timings are:

Wed, Nov 3: 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Thu, Nov 4: 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Early next week we will send out invitations to parents in order to sign up for these conferences. The invitations will be emailed with guidance on the virtual conference system. Parents will receive a Zoom link for the conferences signed up for.

There will be no school on Thursday, Nov 4 for students due to the conferences. We ask that parents and students prioritize the teachers they would like to meet with, as schedules will fill very quickly and it may not be possible for parents and students to meet with all of their teachers.We strongly encourage students to attend the conference with you.

As we are asking parents to sign up in advance for conferences, teachers will not be able to accommodate an unscheduled conference. Conferences will be limited to five minutes, in order to ensure that all parents have the opportunity to meet with their son/daughter’s teacher in a timely fashion.

In summary:

• Parents will receive an email invitation to sign up electronically (with instructions) for teacher conferences. A Zoom link will be provided for conferences.

• Parents will be able to sign up for conferences with a limited number of teachers that parents feel warrant a conversation. It is not required that you meet with every one of your child’s teachers.

• Space is limited and parents should prioritize the teachers they would like to meet with.

• Parents are encouraged to schedule conferences any time they feel the need to speak with teachers. So, if you miss this opportunity, just contact the teacher and set a time with them in the future.

Senior Surprise

This week saw a most impressive Senior Surprise with a Halloween theme. Huge thanks to the Junior Senior Committee and all the parents who came on the campus to facilitate a tremendous event. Enjoy the pictures!

Pumpkin Patch

The Junior Senior Committee is excited to be coming on campus next week to hold our annual pumpkin patch in person!

This is a wonderful event and we look forward to a live event.

AP Updates

All AP courses are now proceeding at full pace, and students are beginning to get some valuable feedback on formative and summative assessment tasks. As students get this feedback, and sometimes are disappointed by the scores that they have earned, I encourage students to adopt and foster a growth mindset, with clear attention to identified areas for growth, next steps for learning and test-taking strategies. Habits of mind, particularly at home, are especially important in AP courses, as there is a good deal of independent work that is required for students to be successful. I also remind students that any scores that they are earning at this point are demonstrations and evidence of where they are at this point. Please remember that teachers do not "give out" scores or grades; they simply mark student work and allot marks for the knowledge and skills that students have demonstrated. Therefore, attention to feedback and growth should be the focus--how can you improve from where you are now? If you have any questions about our AP Courses or the AP Capstone Diploma program, please contact our AP Coordinator at: joshua.giddens@asd.edu.qa

IBDP Diploma Updates

Senior Full IB students completed their TOK Exhibition on Tuesday, October 19 as the completion of their Internal Assessment component. Our Full IB Juniors participated as the audience to ask relevant critical thinking questions on their exhibitions. Our seniors were also able to access their first set of predicted grades on October 10. Students can use these scores as part of their early action application to university if they so desire. If you have any questions or you would like additional information please do not hesitate to contact the IBDP Coordinator, Ms. Katrina Charles at katrina.charles@asd.edu.qa

Teaching and Learning Moment

Full IB Diploma Program Senior students completed their Theory of Knowledge Exhibition on Tuesday, October 19. The TOK exhibition asks students to explore links between TOK and the real world by way of the question: how does TOK manifest in the world around us?

The students chose from 35 knowledge question prompts and then carefully selected three objects from the real world through which to explore the prompt they had selected. The exhibitions are written (950 words), but there is also an expectation that students have an opportunity to “exhibit” their objects and their analysis, which was done today.

Our Seniors presented to our Juniors and showed phenomenal finesse and artistry in their presentations. Our Juniors rose to challenge by being an engaged audience that asked thought provoking questions about the exhibits. The critical thinking, analytical and evaluative skills were on display and was a testament to all the hard work that both students and staff contributed to making this exhibition a success.

Service Updates

In our desire to ensure our parent community has more access to Learning Service information, we have provided access for parents on the “Learning Service” tab on the HS Office Teneen page. The same information is available on the HS Student Teneen Page for students. Supplementary information can also be accessed on our Learning Service Libguide. This page is now updated and live.

We kicked off our Service Speaker Series this week. Our Service Speaker Series highlights various United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by bringing speakers from different NGOs and charities to share their experiences in the field.

This week, Dr. Amy Lehman, the founder of the Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic joined us for the first of three sessions over Zoom. Dr. Lehman has been honored by Newsweek in its "150 Women who Shake the World" among other news publications for her work with LTFHC. She was hosted by the Pre-Med Club, IMPACT and National Honor Society. Dr. Lehman gave background information about the project and shared her experiences delivering health care in remote parts of the developing world which lack good transportation infrastructure, particularly in the Lake Tanganyika Basin. Dr. Lehman will return via Zoom again in November and January to cover topics of neonatal and maternal health care and Public Health in the developing world respectively. The recording of Wednesday’s session can be accessed here.

Also this week one of our newest service clubs, Learning Ribbons collaborated with the Pre-Med Club to make pink ribbons to be distributed in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Learning Ribbons is dedicated to raising awareness about different forms of cancer. This is the first, onsite hands-on activity by service groups as we return to normal operations!

Lastly, as our clubs are fully getting underway, if your child has not heard from a club that they have signed up for, please have them email the contacts on the club’s slide on the Virtual Service Job Fair. If they have done this and have not yet heard back, please have them email Mr. Shang (cshang@asd.edu.qa) who will help them get in touch with the teacher sponsor of the group.

Additionally, if you are the parent of a Grade 9 student, we have officially opened up our Managebac Portal for Freshmen. Managebac is the platform that service commitments are tracked on at ASD. All Grade 9 students should have received a link sent to their ASD email account. If they do not see it, this may have ended up in the Spam folder. At this point, we need students to click that link to activate their account and set their passwords. They do not need to do anything more than to activate their account by clicking on the link and setting their passwords. They will complete the setup of their accounts with their chosen service club at an upcoming club meeting. The detailed instructions for this are here. We are asking students to complete Part A ONLY. Their club leaders will guide them through the remaining steps at a subsequent meeting. They should not go beyond part A in the instructions.

For questions about service or IB CAS at ASD, please contact Mr. Shang at cshang@asd.edu.qa.

Counseling

Counselor Coffee

RSVP here

Senior Counselor Course

As this was the first week back in school with all students on campus, we wanted to give students a chance to adjust and therefore there was no Counselor Course this week and it will resume next week.

• Week 1: Housekeeping - Transcript Review, Application Platform creation, Maia Learning Uses & Common App sync, Letter of Recommendation Requests

• Week 2: Crystallization - Finalizing university choices, Adding them to Maia, Requesting documents for submission, a reminder to schedule a meeting with Counselor

• Week 3: Essay Writing Workshop (Essay, Personal Statement, Motivational Letter)

• Week 4: What to expect after you've applied

• Week 5: Misc - Interviews, Scholarships, Etc.

• Week 6: Working Time

MaiaLearning

MaiaLearning is a program we use in the Counseling Department. We use it extensively in Grade 11 and Grade 12 through the university process, but it is also used in our Grade 9 and Grade 10 during Counselor Courses for different personality and career inventories as well as the creation of students' 4 year plans! Please check this video on how to access your account

Jacobs University

We are excited to have another in-person visit at ASD. Matthew Poet from Jacobs University is going to do a presentation on admission to universities in Germany. This is a unique opportunity as we are having a rep from Germany which is one of the target countries of our students who consider the options in Europe. The parent presentation will be from 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm on Monday, October 25. Although we will do the presentation in person*, we will stream it via Zoom as well. Please choose the option on this form that works for you if you like to attend.

Resources

We encourage students and parents to check out the HS Counseling Teneen page within the Main HS Office as it has lots of resources available for students and parents.

Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Michael Roberts

High School Principal

American School of Doha

Booster Club Online Store

Our ASD Booster Store Online Catalog includes the store's most popular items so be ready to show your dragon spirit. The Booster Club provides positive support and assistance to the American School of Doha Athletics and Activities Program for all school divisions.

Shop Online by clicking on the link below; pick up your purchased items at school! The orders will be delivered on a weekly basis to each student and ASD staff.

Please fill out THIS form to purchase your items after you have explored the Catalog below!

Click HERE for the Booster Club catalog.