Dear Students and Parents,

It’s been another fantastic week here in our Middle School, with lots of excitement in our halls. We are now able to open our Dining Hall to students and are rotating students through by grade level. Our Booster Club is also now open to students to visit as well. We’ve had our first Hot Dog sale (big success!), Pumpkin Patch, and next week we will have our first Karak and Chapati sale. We have also started up our after-school clubs and activities and have also re-introduced intramural activities for students throughout the week. It is nice to see things returning to a more normal atmosphere!

This past week and next week, ASD is looking for their next Middle School Principal (for the year 2022-23). Next year will be my last one at ASD, as my wife Katrina and I are planning to return back to our home in Canada. ASD has been our home since 2006, and we’ve seen a lot of changes during this time. We have loved our experiences here and will miss it greatly, but we believe it is time for us to embark upon our next adventure. I will still be here next year, working in conjunction with the new MS Principal to help ensure a smooth transition. I am very much looking forward to this experience as well!

On a different note, I need to share with you some information regarding a social media issue that has come up recently. During my time as MS Principal, I’ve seen the issue of negative online chats emerge from time to time, with students using various platforms. In this particular case, students were using a Google Chat application that is part of the suite of applications that Google provides. As this isn’t an application that students use in class as part of their learning, we have removed it from student access. This doesn’t eliminate all possible issues but will help to minimize them for a time.

Group chats usually start out innocently enough, with groups of school friends sharing thoughts about favorite soccer teams, upcoming class assignments, or new movies, however, it doesn’t take much for these conversations to take a negative turn. Because these chats often lack face-to-face interactions, students aren’t able to read a situation properly. Some students overshare information (often with strangers), others begin talking in a way they never would in public.

What leads a Middle School student to disregard their inner voice and say things they know are not in line with their values? Albert Bandura (psychologist), says that when individuals morally disengage from a situation (i.e. ignore their moral compass), they are more likely to make poor choices. There are four ways in which a person can morally disengage, and unfortunately, social media helps to enable this.

First off, it’s easy to offer a moral justification for actions online (ex: “they started it” or “I was only trying to stand up for my friend”). Second, online it’s easy to minimize the consequences (ex: “there’s no one here except us; no one will find out” or “It was just a joke; it’s no big deal”). Third, when interacting online, that person is not in front of us so it’s easy to dehumanize them (ex: “they’re jerks; they deserve it”). Finally, by displacing responsibility, we can pretend we weren’t really involved (ex: “It wasn’t my idea” or “I was only a small part of the group; I didn’t write most of that stuff”).

So how can we help our kids to stay morally engaged? Here are two strategies that students can use: Either disconnect (leave the discussion or chat) or take control (go public about your discomfort). It’s as simple as that, but it takes courage. If you can name the game, it loses its power over you. Also, by taking control and letting others know that “it’s not okay to behave this way,” we are making it easier for others to come forward. Before you know it, positive peer pressure takes effect and we start to see a move towards positive behaviors.

We’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: parents have the responsibility to be involved in their children’s lives. I’m not talking about monitoring everything your child does online, but we should be asking questions about what things are children are doing online (and who with). Don’t assume that no news is good news. If you get a sense of hesitation, you likely need to probe further. Ask your child about how others communicate online, and what they do when they come across conversations online they know you wouldn’t want them to be part of. It may give you insight into who they are conversing with online and how they manage awkward exchanges. These conversations now can save you from having to have more challenging conversations later.

Have a great week everyone!

Rob Gohr

Middle School Principal

American School of Doha

After School: Where can I be?

We are quite excited to be able to once again host after school clubs and activities on our campus! While we encourage our students to participate in our after-school sports and activities, we do not allow students to hang out with friends after school. We also have some students work in our library until 4:00 pm or who seek help from their teachers after school. Students who are not engaged in clubs, sports, activities, or after school support, are asked to make their way home.

Students needing to wait after school for a sibling or who have a late pick up from school, are asked to wait in the reception area in front of our MS/HS Offices. Students are not allowed to remain in our Dining Hall & Beanery, gymnasium/fields, or common areas. We thank you for your support in this.

Student Learning Habits

In each subject, students are given feedback on their Learning Habits (LH), which have a direct impact on their academic progress. There are three habits that we focus on in Middle School and recently we’ve re-examined what each looks like when assessing students. Please find included HERE descriptors for each of our learning habits.

Middle School Counselor Coffee: Tuesday, November 16

Please join our Middle School Counselors on Tuesday, November 16 from 8:00 am - 9:30 am for our next Parent Coffee -Friendships: From Forming to Norming. This Parent Coffee will be live and online via Zoom. All Parents are welcome. During our time together we will talk about what it means to be a friend, how parents can support their children as they form friendships with others as well as the stages of friendship from forming to performing. Parents will have an opportunity to pair and share, learn and grow together. We are all in this together! Please find our ZOOM LINK HERE.

DragonCards: Needed to Access Campus

All students who attend ASD have been issued a school photo ID called a DragonCard, which contains a Smart-chip that provides them access to campus, allows them to make purchases on campus, borrow library books, and use photocopiers as needed.

We need students to carry their DragonCard with them to school to help reduce these issues. In an effort to help, we will run a weekly report of students who have 3 consecutive days of missing ID cards. We will then notify parents to let them know that if their child reaches 5 consecutive days without their ID, we will automatically re-issue the student a DragonCard and deactivate their old card. The cost of the replacement card is QR50 and will be deducted from the family account. Our hope is that by the first reminder, families can help us to find ID cards and use them to access our campus. We appreciate your support with this.

Yearbook Pre-orders

Pre-orders of the 2021-22 Yearbook are starting up, only 120 QR!

How to order:

1. Ensure you have 120 QR on your DragonCard (no cash purchases)

2. Visit room the MS Office to place your order.

If you would like to order a Yearbook from last year (2020-2021), there are a few still left. These are available for a reduced price (100 QR). Please visit the MS Office if interested.