Dear Students and Parents,

It’s been a great couple of weeks in our Middle School! It’s been so good to see students in our halls having fun and learning in our classrooms. As we approach the end of this 2^nd week, I would like to remind our families that up to this point, all classes have been synchronous in their delivery, whether at home or in person. We have done so to accommodate families in quarantine as they returned to Doha for the start of this year. Starting next week, however, we will no longer be providing synchronous online Zoom sessions for all classes. This will only happen in core subject classes (math, science, social studies, and language arts) at the discretion of the teacher.

Last year we learned that one approach to synchronous Zoom sessions doesn’t work for all. Some classes will ask students to check-in at the start of the class and get directions and then work independently for the remainder of the class. Other teachers may ask students to remain on Zoom for the duration of the lesson to work with groups in the class. Zoom attendance online may be different by class, so it is important students follow the instructions given on their teachers’ Teneen pages.

Back-To-School Night

This upcoming Wednesday (September 8), we will hold a Back-To-School night for all families from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm. This evening presents an opportunity for you to learn a little more about our school and what to expect from your child’s/children’s teachers. Because of COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings, we will once again host virtual meetings via Zoom. Invitations will be sent out to families this Sunday with links to individual teacher Zoom sessions. We hope you are able to join us to learn a little more about our teachers, our classes, and what your children do during their time here at school.

Season 1 Junior Varsity Sports (Grade 8 only)

Although we are not yet able to start our MS after-school athletics, we are excited to share that we are able to get going with our Fall Junior Varsity (JV) activities soon. Grade 8 students were recently sent emails detailing how to try out for those who are interested.

MS Curriculum Night

On Tuesday, September 14 from 5:00 pm -6:00 pm, the Middle School will be hosting a curriculum night via Zoom (link here). This is an opportunity for parents to learn more about our core subjects’ curriculum as well as our assessing and grading practices. We will also share information about how we assess using levels of proficiency and what this will look like in PowerSchool (our online grade book). We hope to see you there!

Middle School Counselor - Parent Coffee

Please join our Middle School Counselors on Tuesday, September 14, from 8:00 am - 10:00 am for our next Parent Coffee - Let's Get It Started. It will be a time to welcome new parents, greet our returning parents, meet your counselors and talk about topics for our parent coffees for the year. We hope you will come and join us! Invite a friend! We look forward to connecting and learning and growing together this year! Please use the ZOOM LINK to join us!

Parent Advisory Forum Meeting

Near the end of this month (Wednesday, September 22), from 8:00 am-9:00 am via Zoom (link here), we will hold our first PAF meeting this year. This is an open meeting for all MS parents interested in learning more about the Middle School. Its primary purpose is to facilitate conversation between the school and home and to provide a forum for parents to provide feedback to the principals. During these meetings, all are welcome. If you have a “burning question” that you would like to ask about, be sure to submit it via this online PAF form and we will do our best to answer it during our next PAF meeting. Hope to see you there!

Upcoming MAP Testing in the MS

September 29-30, Middle School students will begin taking a standardized assessment called the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) in the areas of reading and mathematics. These are adaptive tests, meaning that as students answer a question correctly, the next question becomes more difficult. If they answer a question incorrectly, the following question is easier. Upon completion of these tests, students will be emailed a breakdown of their performance, based upon the level of difficulty for the correctly answered questions (these are called RIT scores).

Students will take both tests on the same day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Testing dates are as follows:

· Wed, Sep 29: Group A students (only)

· Thu, Sep 30: Group B students (only)

Please find below a handy guide to better understanding MAP testing:

• A parent’s Guide to MAP (English version) (Arabic version).

Sincerely,

Rob Gohr

Middle School Principal

American School of Doha

Where do we play?

We will start playing out at the Doha Sports Park in Lusail. Our hope is that the ASD Baseball field will be available to us sometime during our season, however, the Doha Sports Complex is our current plan.

What is the time Commitment?

With the exception of Tee-Ball and Challengers who practice and play on Friday mornings, all other divisions have one weeknight practice and at least one game on Friday OR Saturday.

What equipment do I need?

QLL provides helmets, bats, catcher gear, a uniform top and cap. Players will need a glove, athletic shoes, baseball pants, or athletic pants, and boys must have an athletic cup. Due to Covid 19 protocols we highly encourage batting gloves and will expect a mask to be worn when not on the field.

Where can I find out more information and Register?

Visit our website qatarlittleleague.com to register for the season and the two camps. Also, follow us on Facebook QatarLittleLeague & Instagram: Qatarlittleleague. You can e-mail us at qll@asd.edu.qa or qatarlittleleague@gmail.com with any additional questions.

The PTA wishes to extend a warm welcome to our new and returning families, we look forward to meeting with you soon! Each year, the PTA publishes an Information Guide with some useful information about ASD and more information about the PTA. Please click HERE to check it out!