High School Extra-Curricular Activities
Aisle Player Theatre
The AISle PLAYERS are the students of the American International School/Dhaka who study, practice, and appreciate theater arts.
As an extension of the arts education program, one of our purposes is to provide authentic experiences in theater production to the students of the American International School/Dhaka. In addition to providing opportunities for students to perform, we provide opportunities for student involvement in the design, technical and business aspects of theater production.
We aim to present a wide range of drama genres for the purpose of helping students and the public become aware of, understand, and appreciate human culture, history and religious diversity. We hope that all audience members will grow to become appreciative, enthusiastic, and sophisticated patrons of the arts and that the material we select for performance will stimulate discussion, evoke emotional response, and broaden perspectives.
SAISA
Competitions and academic events have always been an important part of learning and growing at AIS/D. Each year, students in middle and high school are given the opportunity to participate in numerous sports and academic competitions, including volleyball, swimming, tennis, basketball, soccer, art, math, music, cricket, and track & field. SAISA (South Asia Inter-School Association), which is comprised of international schools in the Indian subcontinent region, holds annual tournaments and conventions in each of these activities. These events allow students to travel and explore new cultures, develop both skill and sportsmanship, and expand social bonds with students in AIS/D and around the world. Regardless of whether one travels on the SAISA team, all students who try out can improve their skill, enrich their experience, and become an integral part of the AIS/D school community.
Swimming
Track & Field
Girls Volleyball
Boys Volleyball
Girls Basketball
Boys Basketball
Girls Soccer
Boys Soccer
Tennis
Music
Art
Math
Swimming
Swimming at AIS/D is a challenging,
rigorous program for students in grades 6-12. When a student joins the
swim team they need to be ready to swim between 2,000 and 5,000 meters
three or four times per week. Swim team practice starts the second day
of school, so students involved need to be dedicated and organized.
Starts, stroke development, and turn refinement are a part of the
program. This year's swim team competed with other SAISA teams from
around the region in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Many AIS/D athletes posted
personal bests or "Top 10" times to finish 2nd place overall at Colombo this past year.
SAISA
swim competition is in three age groups: 10-12, 13-14, and 15-19, with
separate boys and girls competitions in all groups. This year, one Dhaka high school boy set TWO new SAISA records. In addition to
their swimming ability, the AIS/D swimmers exhibited outstanding spirit and sportsmanship throughout the competition.
Girls Volleyball
The girls volleyball program has been growing in numbers and skill level over the past few years. The 2008/09 season saw 50+ girls out for the first two weeks, making the initial cut to 30 after two weeks a hard one. The girls push themselves in practice perfecting individual skills, learning new team strategies, and of course building team unity. Weekly inter-squad scrimmage, and matches against local schools and a community women’s team help prepare the players physically and mentally for their tournaments at the end of the season.
This year the Lady Tigers finally recaptured the local DISA championship and went on to make it to the finals in SAISA, only to lose and finish Runners-Up.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball program has enjoyed continued success over the past few years, as the team has won four SAISA championships in the past five years (Champions this year). Much of this success is attributed to the increasing number of students participating in volleyball. This season we had four returning SAISA players, but others stepped in admirably and fulfilled their roles. We've taken pride in having our players very mentally prepared for difficult games. The 2008/09 Tiger program was led by senior captains Rohit Rana and Eric Pepe. Their leadership instilled a strong work ethic and cohesive bonding amongst the players.
Volleyball remains a high profile sport at AIS/D and we hope to keep the tradition alive. You too can be a Tiger!
Girls Basketball
Every year about 40 girls embrace the Lady Tiger basketball program. Dedication and hard work from everyone form the foundation of our program. This is shown not only through the success of the Lady Tigers in the SAISA Basketball Tournaments, but also in the annual invitational tournaments, in which the program consistently fields three solid teams.
The Lady Tiger Basketball Program places particular emphasis on defense. In addition to man-to-man and zone defenses, we attack our opponents using full- and half-court presses. Our goal is to frustrate and exhaust our opponents, forcing them to make errors that translate into solid offensive opportunities.
Offensively we seek to push the ball up the court in transition to get easy baskets. In the half-court set we use a fairly simplistic set of principles and plays that create constant motion, forcing our opponents to maintain a sustained, intensives defensive effort. The Lady Tiger Basketball Program will continue to strive for excellence as it looks forward to maintaining its tradition of success.
Boys Basketball
Tradition
Tradition comes from winning
Winning comes from making plays
Making plays comes from effort
Effort comes from attitude
We start with Attitude
The boy’s basketball team consistently excels. They have played in the championship game of the SAISA regional tournament every year since 2002, winning the championship in 2002, 2005 and 2006. This consistency is maintained through dedication to physical fitness, the development of both individual and team skills and knowledge. We stress fundamentals, hustle and create teams that are far greater than the sum of the part. We strongly believe there is “No I” in team.
The goal of the program is to develop players to their greatest possible potential. All students willing to dedicate themselves to becoming better players are part of the program and participate in the invitational tournament. The ten most skilled and dedicated players are chosen each year to represent AIS/D at the SAISA tournament. Any high school student who wants to learn how to play good basketball and is willing to work hard in every practice and game, will be become a proud part of the Tiger Tradition.
Girls Soccer
During the 2008/09 season we had 35 young ladies on the team. We practiced four times per week and played games against the faculty as well as a local invitational tournament. The final week of the season was dedicated to preparing for the SAISA tournament which was held here in Dhaka. Our team finished Runners Up out of 8 teams, not too bad considering we were a young team, but more importantly we bonded as a group. Next year we hope to keep up the momentum, have a lot of fun and maybe take another shot at the title.
Boys Soccer
The SAISA soccer season is always a very exciting time for our high school students. Students eat, drink, and breathe soccer. If this sport could be an academic subject, most participants would pass with high honors!
About 50 high school students participate in boys soccer each year. The group is leveled into three teams with the best team participating in the SAISA tournament. Emphasis is naturally on skills development accompanied by a strong focus on functioning as a team, fair play, and sportsmanship. Only athletes who demonstrate all of these qualities are selected to compete against other schools in South Asia.
Track & Field
Track & Field at AIS/D begins in early March and includes about 60 athletes from both middle
school and high school. During the past few years, the program has
slowly gained steam, improving in several areas including sprints,
distance running and jumping events. Tiger athletes have amassed an
incredible number of personal bests and "Top 10" performances on their
way to several successive second place finishes in the six-team SAISA
East Championships. As with swimming, track competition is also organized in three age groups: 10-12, 13-14, and 15-19, with
separate boys and girls competitions in all groups.
The team has a tradition of a strong 15 and older division, capturing the overall division two the last three years. Individual athletes have set several school records and come very close to setting new SAISA records as well. Overall this past year, athletes earned 15 gold medals, and, most
importantly, the team earned its second successive team sportsmanship
award. In
April 2009, the team travels to Delhi for the SAISA Championships.
The team’s philosophy is focused on: 1) personal goal setting, 2) working on basic, sound technique and strategy and 3) making practice fun and enriching, especially for middle school athletes.
Through these three principles, the team continues to grow and
experience more and more success. The team theme for spring 2009 is
"Finish Strong."
Tennis
Tennis at AIS/D is a great way for students to get involved in a lifelong sport. The year begins with “Tennis Club,” a semester of practices geared towards skill development, strategy, fitness, tennis etiquette and sportsmanship. All skill levels are welcomed in a less competitive environment where emphasis is placed on players learning and enjoying the game.
The official SAISA season begins in January and lasts approximately six weeks, with practices three times a week conducted at local recreation clubs. Prior to the SAISA Tournament, a one-day invitational tournament is held, giving the players match play practice.
The season culminates with a tournament in New Delhi at the American Embassy School (AES). Other international schools in attendance include students from Nepal, Pakistan, and India. Four boys and four girls represent the SAISA team—with everyone playing singles and doubles. Students usually end up playing between 6 and 10 matches over a three-day period.
Music
The SAISA Music Festival aims to provide student delegates with workshop and performance experience that encourages creative growth in music through: exposure to the skills and techniques of many conductors and adjudicators, and to a variety of musical literature, participation in rehearsals and other musical activities, culminating in polished performance, development of existing abilities along with new or different skills, and cultivation of a higher sense of artistic appreciation through aesthetic performance.
Every year AIS/D enters at least 30 choral and band students in the music festival. In February 2009, students will travel to the American Embassy School in New Delhi to participate in this year's annual event. Students will conduct final collaborative combined practices and put the finishing touches on pieces of music they've been working on for months. The festival culminates in the "Grand Finale."
Art
SAISA Art is not a competitive tournament like most SAISA activities, but rather a festival that gives student-artists the opportunity to share ideas, participate in creative activities and exhibit some of their work. Students interact and collaborate with students from approximately six other schools in the SAISA region. At AIS/D, artists are chosen for SAISA based on their experience and ability as an artist. Students are also required to write an essay that demonstrates their desire to participate in the festival and how their participation will help them grow as an artist.
Math Team
The mathletic team of AIS/Dhaka has the most fun of all the teams at AIS/Dhaka. No really, we do. We laugh, we relax in comfy chairs, and we goof off half the time. Our mathletes get to eat pizza during practice. What other team does that? Huh? Yeah, none. Boo-yah. Oh, and we do really fun and hard math problems and puzzles and we travel to interesting faraway places to show other mathletes how good we are at doing really fun and hard math problems and puzzles. What could be better? When AIS/D mathletes travel to Bangkok in March 2009 (hosted by Karachi), they will be defending the title for the first time. Best of luck to all.
High School Clubs
HS Clubs are the hub of daily activity for many high school students.
Through these clubs, students learn to be more effective leaders,
learn how to give back to the community, or just try something of
interest to them. Club meeting dates and times are wide and varied and
examples of clubs being offered this year included:
Service Clubs
• Habitat for Humanity
• Saturday School
• Roots & Shoots
• Dharmarajika Orphanage
• Green Art
Academic Clubs
• Student Council
• Model UN
• Media Club (C2)
• South Asian Club
• Math Club
• Poetry Club
• Chess Club
• Study Club
• Jazz Band
• Yearbook
Honor Societies
• National Honor Society
• French Honor Society
• Spanish Honor Society
Click HERE to download the high school club brochure.
High School Intramurals
Intramural Sports are a great way to get involved and stay active as an AIS/D student. The main aim of intramurals (IMs) is to provide an energetic outlet for ALL high school students, whether you’re part of the SAISA squad or not. Most IMs are “drop-in,” meaning you can come when your schedule allows, giving you more flexibility. Although some skills are taught, sessions are less structured. Instead, there is more emphasis on just getting out there and playing.
IMs typically meet once a week for one to two hours, either after school, early evenings or on the weekends. This year we have a nice selection to choose from:
• Badminton
• Soccer
• Basketball
• Table Tennis
• Cricket
• Tennis
• Dance
• Volleyball
• Flag Football
• Weight Training
• Running Club
Click HERE to download the Intramural Sports brochure.
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