THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF AZERBAIJAN

c/o BP Azerbaijan Chertsey Road Sunbury on Thames Middlesex TW16 7LN UK Tel: (99412) 4973028 Fax: (99412) 4972194 E-mail: ssprincipal@tisa.az

9.08.2011 Dear Parents and Students, Welcome back to all our returning families; we hope you had an enjoyable and restful summer break, and a special welcome to all the parents and students who are joining us for the first time. On behalf of all the teachers and administrators, we look forward to the exciting year ahead of us. Every school is unique in character and because of this it is necessary that all families become familiar with the various procedures and requirements of the School. In order to work effectively together, I ask for your help in supporting and maintaining our positive school climate and safe environment for everyone to enjoy. To be fully acquainted with the procedures, expectations and educational programme in the Secondary School, please kindly spend some time reading the Parent Student Handbook. This was issued to all new students during their Orientation Day and is available for viewing on the school web page www.tisa.az. The Handbook has been updated and additional information added in order to answer any questions you may have and to help you make the most of your years here. This year we welcome to TISA 180 students and 35 teachers in Secondary. In M1, the Middle School, we have three Homerooms to provide additional support to students new to the Secondary School and the MYP. There are two homerooms at each of the other levels of the Middle Years and 1-2 Homeroom teachers support these classes. There is one homeroom for each of the IB Diploma levels supported by one homeroom teacher. Back to School Evening This letter serves as both a welcome and an invitation to attend TISAs Back to School Evening. The event will be held in the school hall in TISA 2 on Tuesday 6th September from 6:00-8:15pm. This is an opportunity for parents to meet subject and homeroom teachers and find out more about the Middle Years and Diploma Programmes. Since this is only the beginning of the school year, the evening is not designed for discussing individual student issues. However, there will be plenty of opportunities for this during parent-teacher conferences, reporting sessions and direct e-mail with teachers. The Programme this year will be as follows: 6:00-6:15pm Welcome from the Director, John Gillespie. Introduction by the Secondary Principal, Lesley Peacock 6:15-6.30pm Introduction to the Middle Years Programme, Nadine Mains. Introduction to the Diploma Programme, Nigel Gardner 6.30-8.15pm Classroom visits to Secondary teachers rooms. Informal meetings with Administration.

Secondary Timetable The structure of the Timetable remains unchanged from last academic year; however classrooms and teacher grade levels may have been altered in a number of subject areas. Students may only enter the building at 8:15am and are expected to be in their Homerooms for registration at 8:25am and then they proceed to their first classes. We would appreciate parent cooperation in assisting your child/children to arrive on time to registration in the morning; at this time school notices and reminders are given to the class and it is important that this information is conveyed to students. It is also disruptive to the class if students arrive late. School finishes at 2:50pm (Monday-Friday) except on Tuesday and during planning afternoons, which are held approximately every three weeks. Planning time is necessary for the enrichment of the Programme and for the continuing development of the school and is fully endorsed by the International Baccalaureate. However, time given to planning will not reduce the amount of learning time provided for students, since classes will finish later on Tuesdays at 3:30pm. The lunch period is from 11:50-12:35pm. Please note, however, that when there is a planning afternoon, the normal lunch period becomes period 5 and students will instead be dismissed at 12:35pm. At this time, students may return home. If your child/ren have paid for school lunches, they are, of course, allowed to remain on campus to have their lunch until 1:15pm. All students, unless involved in teacher supervised After School Activities, are requested to leave the school premises directly after the final period. Teacher supervision is not provided after this time, since meetings and planning will be taking place. Homeroom Classes The Pastoral Coordinators, Homeroom Teachers and Administration have spent considerable time compiling the new Homeroom classes for this year. Due to the large number of students leaving at some grade levels and an influx of students who have recently been accepted the composition of Homerooms has changed. We have done our best to keep class sizes as equal as possible and to balance both gender and nationality. Diploma Results 2010-11 The May 2011 Diploma students achieved very worthy results this year. This reflects the hard work and perseverance on the part of the students as well as the quality of the instructional programme and the experience and dedication of the teaching staff. All of our candidates passed their Diplomas, with two students achieving the distinction of gaining over 40 points. The Diploma results will be announced shortly by the Diploma Coordinator in the Tisa Times. Middle Years Programme Evaluation Visit The moderation results and Certificates of Achievement are due to be returned from the IB in September. An Award Assembly will be announced at this stage to recognise student achievement. M1 Orientation Trip Due to the continued success of the M1 camp we have decided to hold this camp again. The emphasis will be placed on the orientation of M1 students both as an introduction to the MYP, and developing their social skills to ensure a smooth transition between the Primary and Secondary School. The M1 students will visit Alti Agaj and will follow a planned Programme supervised by middle school teachers.

CIS Self Study Process (Council of International Schools) Last year we began the whole school self study process to enable us to closely look at all areas of the school, including the academic programme, support services, governance, student life, and health and safety. The process concludes this year when a team of educators conduct a visit to the school in April and assess these areas against CIS Standards. The Committees will reconvene shortly to update information and to ensure we are fully prepared for the CIS Team Visit. Home-School Communication A Student Diary is issued to all students at the beginning of the year. This diary is important for recording homework, planning for assignments, projects and tests, as well as goal setting and also acts as an important means of communication between parents and teachers. We ask parents to work in partnership with subject teachers and check your childs/childrens diary and review the homework tasks with them. Please sign this once a week (during weekends) and the homeroom teacher will check the diary on the Tuesday Homeroom morning. The 2011-12 MYP and Post-16 Programme Guides are available on the TISA Website. They have been fully updated and reflect several additions and changes made since last year. These are essential guides explaining, in-depth, TISAs philosophy, structures, procedures, practices and academic programmes. We highly recommend that you read these carefully to keep you fully informed of all aspects of the academic and pastoral programmes, as well as events and activities offered at TISA. You are welcome to write a message to your son or daughters teacher by e-mail and the teacher will reply as soon as possible. E-mails can be used to inform the teachers of something that happened or ask questions that require only a brief answer. If there are issues that require a discussion or longer explanations it will be better to arrange an appointment with the teacher. The nature of some teachers schedules may result in e-mails being answered the next day, but we will endeavour to answer all e-mails within 24 hours. Any urgent issues that need to be dealt with the same day can be communicated via the Secondary Secretary, Ms Kimberly Spurling, ssecretary@tisa.az or 4-97-30-28 ext 102 or 141. TISA Assessment Schedule Students and parents are able the access major assignments and project deadlines through the Secondary section on the TISA website. After School Activities An Activities Handbook providing details of our extensive programme for session 1 will be sent home during the second week of school via e-mail. Students need to sign up for activities quickly as spaces are limited. Sign up sheets should be submitted to the Primary School Office. Lists of students enrolled in each activity will be posted on the Secondary School Board in TISA 3 prior to the start of activities. Please remember: Orientation Day for New Students- Friday 12th August at 8:45am First Day of School for all students-18th August at 8:25am Finally, I would like to wish you all an enjoyable and rewarding year and I look forward to working together with you in our common endeavour to provide the very best in a holistic education for your children.

Yours Sincerely, Lesley Peacock, Secondary School Principal