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Letter from Anne |
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Dear Parents, There are so many clichés used to describe the need for the Center for the Advancement of Girls’ pillar of Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century. We hear the “world is flat,” that we need to be “global citizens” and that teachers need to “embrace technology” in their classrooms. Here, in the Upper School, these are conversations we have on a daily basis. But, of course, you, as parents, also need to know what your daughters are doing with the vast array of social media sites and how they use them to communicate and interact.
I am an avid fan of Twitter, blogging, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and Google+. I am not on Facebook. I choose the networking that suits my personal needs, and though many of my friends have urged me to join Facebook, I have resisted because I don’t like the commercial aspect of it.
So, what are you using? What is your daughter using? Do you ever talk about this? Do you ever check to see that you are keeping your information appropriately private? And, remember, that can go both ways – for your daughter’s safety, but also for mom and dad’s. If you publicly post on Foursquare every time you check in somewhere, then someone will know you’re not home. This mindfulness is important when networking, and with the ease of media use, it is also easy to forget what not to share.
A great website for parents is called Common Sense Media. You can follow them on Twitter, and they will post timely information with links to articles and ideas for keeping your digital footprint safe. You can start with their YouTube video that will give you an overview for any age level. http://bit.ly/r4qpVJ.
Mashable lists Back to School: Ten Privacy Tips for the Connected Student.
And for those on Facebook, read this Parents’ Guide to the site.
These are just a few resources available on-line, and there are many, many more. As a colleague of mine has said, “Change is happening NOW!” We need to embrace how the world of communication and learning is changing, which can mean having to unlearn old habits in order to learn new ones.
I know that I am doing it, so you can, too!
- Anne
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Coming Up at AIS... |
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Wed. 9/21 Service Fair, 10:05-11:05 a.m., Assembly Room
* Upper School Parents’ Night, 7-10 p.m.,
Upper School Lobby
Thurs.-Fri. 9/22-23 Ninth Grade Retreat, Pocono Valley
Mon. 9/26 AIS Golf Outing, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Gulph Mills Golf Club
SSP Presentations, 7-9 p.m., West-Wike Theatre
Thurs. 9/29 NO CLASSES – Rosh Hashanah
Thurs. 10/6 Special Screening of “The Mighty Macs” Film, 6:30 p.m., West-Wike Theatre * FluMist Clinic, MS/US Lunch, Assembly Room
Fri. 10/7 NO CLASSES – Teachers In-service
Mon. 10/10 NO CLASSES – Columbus Day |
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Space is running out! The 12th annual Agnes Irwin Golf Outing will be held at Gulph Mills Golf Club on Mon. 9/26 at 11:30 a.m. Please contact Beth Coyne or Peter Hill as soon as possible if you are interested in participating.
Fall Fundraising – The "Welcome Wellness" exploratory meeting will be held on Tues. 9/20 at 8:15 a.m. in the MS/US Conference Room. Everyone is welcome to join in the brainstorming event! |
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Parents' Night |
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Upper School Parents’ Night will be held on Wed. 9/21 from 7 to 10 p.m. Parents should plan to arrive shortly before 7 p.m. in order to have enough time to receive their schedules in the Upper School Lobby. |
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Note to 10th & 11th Grade Parents |
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Please look for an upcoming email listing the course offerings for SSP 2012! On Mon. 9/26 at 7 p.m. in the West-Wike Theatre, you will have a chance to hear more about the programs and have your questions answered by faculty chaperones. This informational meeting will have a new format, running similarly to Back-to-School night. First, all will gather at 7 p.m. for a brief presentation of general information. Afterward, the faculty will be assigned to individual classrooms where students and parents can visit to learn more about specific SSPs. Bells will ring at assigned intervals to allow for a rotation between SSP info sessions of interest. |
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AIS in the News |
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Mariandl Hufford, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Girls, had a commentary piece published in The Philadelphia Inquirer this week. Please be sure to read her article in the Opinion section! |
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Announcements |
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The rescheduled meeting for fall crew parents will take place on Sat. 9/17 at noon at PGRC.
Please review these AlertNews FAQs about the broadcast system. Remember to designate a primary number for all parents and guardians.
The Agnes Irwin School will have the privilege of hosting a special pre-screening of “The Mighty Macs,” a film based on the inspiring true story of CAG Advisory Board member Cathy Rush and her successful basketball coaching career. Join us on Thurs. 10/6 at 6:30 p.m. in the West-Wike Theatre. Coach Rush will even be making a special appearance that evening! If you would like to attend this exclusive event, you must R.S.V.P. by 11:59 p.m. on Fri. 9/16 to Cathy Ferguson at 610-523-7983 or cferguson@agnesirwin.org.
Westtown School's “Students of Color College Conference” will be held on Sat. 10/22. This event is open to multicultural students/families in grades 10-12. The conference will include a variety of workshops, a keynote speaker, lunch and a college fair held in Westtown School's Field House. AIS will subsidize the cost of one student and one parent to attend – additional guests will be charged $10 for lunch on the day of the fair. Registration forms are available for students to pick up outside of the college counseling office and need to be returned BEFORE Fri. 9/23.
Please visit the newly redesigned AIS Parents page for current forms, news and notes. |
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National Assessment Project |
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Agnes Irwin is organizing the Mid-Atlantic cohort for the development of the National Assessment Project, an initiative founded by the Independent Curriculum Group. Participating schools are Haverford, Baldwin, Abington Friends, Shipley and Tower Hill of Wilmington.
The cohort will include faculty from each school, who will develop 21st Century integrated curriculum assessments that will become part of a National Assessment Bank accessible to all independent and public schools. Agnes Irwin has provided leadership in curriculum work for the independent schools in the Philadelphia area, through the Independent Curriculum Group, for three years. |
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