Dear High School Community,

We hope that Student/Parent/Teacher conferences were valuable. We certainly hope to be able to return to on-campus conferences in the second semester.

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.

Return to Single Lunch

We will be returning to a single lunch this coming Sunday. As the weather is now more clement we expect more students to be able to eat outside and therefore de-densify the corridors and commons. Lunch will be from 12:55pm - 1:35pm.

AP Updates

This week we had the opportunity to have student-parent-teacher conferences, and I hope that everyone had productive conversations about learning, and a chance to reflect on goals and strategies to accomplish these. I want to encourage parents of AP students to keep up the communication with AP teachers anytime you have questions. In logistical news, the deadline of Monday, November 15 for ordering AP exam papers is approaching and the default setting for all students enrolled in an AP course is for ASD to order an exam. Seniors are reminded that they may elect to not sit the May 2022 exam, but that they need to have a conversation with their course teacher and with myself to explain the reasons for and to confirm this intent. So, if this is the case for any Seniors, they need to contact me as soon as possible. Otherwise students would be expected to sit the exam and responsible for paying for the cost of the exam paper. The business office will be sending out invoices to all parents of AP students once the order is submitted, so I think all parents in advance for their prompt responses to the business office. 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

On Tuesday, November 2, we held an Extended Essay support session that was led by Ms. Anita Abrams, our EE Coordinator. The Extended Essay is a 4000 word essay that students write on a topic of their choice that is linked to one of their current IBDP courses. The focus of the session was to provide an avenue for students to receive one to one support for their specific EE’s as well as time given for them to work on it in the presence of teacher support. The deadline for final submission of the Extended Essay is Sunday, November 21, 2021. 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

Last Tuesday, the High School World Language team came together with Lynn Kelley, our service learning coach, to further develop links in their curriculum to the UN Sustainable development goals. A shared appreciation for how connections to the SDGs can lend authenticity and meaning to what students are learning contributed to an energetic vibe in the room. Everyone was able to develop meaningful connections in at least one unit and some went well above and beyond weaving connections throughout their course. Ms. Kelley thanks the team for their enthusiasm and hard work.

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.

As some of you may know, the Challenger League (a part of Qatar Little League) is a community organization that ASD students have supported for many years. The Challengers work with children with disabilities every Friday morning to provide a safe and caring environment for them to learn softball. Each year, about 30 students from ASD volunteer with this great organization. This resumed last year but was cut short due to COVID-19 restrictions. This year, the Challengers are back with their inaugural session this past Friday. Congratulations to the Challengers and we wish them a successful year. A big shout out goes to Harper Stotland, Grant Williams and Younglin Cho, the student leaders of this great organization.

By now, all Grade 9 and 10 students should have formally joined a service club and have met. 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.

Also by this point in time, all Grade 9 and 10 students should have loaded their service commitments into Managebac. Please check with your child. In most cases, students should have done this through their service club at one of the meetings. In case they were not able to, the detailed instructions for this are here. Students should have completed Part A and B ONLY (Part C will be done at the end of the year)

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

Counseling

National Merit Commended Scholars

Congratulations to our 2022 National Merit Commended Scholars:

Shaza Ali

Clare Belman

Noah Kasky

Anthony Makhlouf

Overseas School Project

Overseas School Project works in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State's Office of Overseas Schools and the College Board's Overseas Schools Project, an initiative aimed at helping American families (and their international friends) navigate the admission and financial aid process in the United States. We will be hosting virtual sessions with Seth Allen, our representative with the project. Keep an eye out on Sahifa for more information!

University Visits

Lebanese American University: Sunday, November 7 during break

Lynn University: Wednesday, November 10 during lunch

USEG Tour: Thursday, November 11 during lunch with the following universities--Creighton University, Purdue University, Pepperdine University, Virginia Tech, University of Tennessee, Suffolk University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, SUNY Buffalo, Iowa State University.

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.

Enjoy the weekend.

Michael Roberts

High School Principal

American School of Doha