Final Week in the Middle for 2015-16 . . .

Final Assembly:
We celebrated athletic achievement, student leadership, said farewells and closed out the year with a Blazer Cheer at our final assembly on Monday morning.  We wish all departing families all the best as you move on from AISB!

Athletic Award Winners!

Thank you for your leadership awesome Blazer Voices!!

Farewell and best of luck Mr. Weingarten!!

We are sad to say farewell to our amazing MS Band/Music teacher, but wish him well as he transitions back to the United States.  We thank Mr. Weingarten for his years of service and for his contribution in making our morning Jing announcements such a positive start to our daily routine!!

Middle School Completion Ceremony:

Congratulations to the AISB Graduating Class of 2020 for successfully completing the middle school program.  Thank you to students, parents, relatives and teaching staff for gathering together for a lovely ceremony this past Wednesday evening in the AISB theatre. We are so proud of our students and wish them well as they move on to high school in the fall.

Fall Trip Information:

In order to be prepared for our fall trips at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, we kindly request that you read through this document that contains information particular to each of our trips.  To summarize the key points:

• 6th grade students will require a bike helmet for their trip
• 7th grade students will require their own sleeping bag
• 8th grade students will require hiking/proper athletic shoes

We hope this information is helpful over the summer!!

Semester 2 Reports:

The final academic report for 2015-16 is live on Veracross.  We encourage all MS families to review the report together and celebrate the close of a successful year.  While the summer is time for a break from the routines of school, we strongly encourage our students to continue to read as part of their daily routine.

On behalf of the Middle School faculty and staff, I would like to extend sincere thanks for your support over the course of the year.  Upon reflection, it really was an incredible year!!

Have an amazing summer vacation!!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball
Middle School Principal

Week 36 in the Middle . . .

Grade 8 Science:

Grade 8 Science classes have spent the last month working on designing and building a model solar car. Each team chose a design problem, researched ideas for possible solutions and selected materials to build the car.  Mr. Farren taught us about gear ratio and how to get the most speed or torque for the car.  Each group made a presentation to explain how the 6 different types of energy are transferred within the car and why their design was either successful or not.  We had an amazing "Solar Car Finale" on Wednesday where the whole class showed off their cars.
Ms. Tarbell
Grade 8 Science

Grade 6 Energy Change Presentations

Just as a spark has the potential to start a great fire, our grade 6 students took steps toward realizing their potential as global citizens to be “a spark of change” on our planet.  After exploring climate change and human impact on our planet, the 6th graders considered ways that we as a school community might use energy in a more effective way to lower our overall impact on Earth.  

Working in design teams, students researched, interviewed community members, collected survey data, and made mathematical projections to support their ideas.  Finally, in a science and information technology culminating event, students brought their plans for change before school leaders, parents, and other members of the AISB community.  

Many thanks to all who attended this event!  The grade 6 students are thankful for the support and feedback they received from our community. They look forward to seeing how their ideas might be part of future plans to make our school an even better place to be.

Mr. Joel Scanga - Grade 6 Science Teacher

Mr. Bill Farren - MS Technology Integrationist / Design Technology

MS Sports Day:

Despite the gray skies, students had a great time during our MS Sport's Day event. We were very fortunate to have some distinguished Hungarian Olympians join us:

• Mr. Zoltan Szecsi - Hungarian Water Polo player who won 3 consecutive Olympic gold medals
• Mr. Akos Vereckei - Hungarian Sprint Kayaker who won 2 Olympic gold medals
• Mr. Baji Balazs - Hungarian Track and Field athlete who specializes in the 60 metre hurdles and is currently preparing to compete in the Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil August, 2016.

Students had a chance for question and answer sessions with each of our guest athletes and then proceeded to enjoy a full day of activities, including a hamburger lunch. The day capped off with a tug of war competition. Special thanks to our PE department and MS teachers for a great day!

MS French Lunch:

The last unit of the year for 6/7 Intermediate French was all about food and eating habits. For the written part, students wrote a letter to their pen pal in Senegal explaining what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as what their favorite dish is.  To immerse in French culture and celebrate a successful year, students had a French afternoon snack (goûter) or breakfast. 

Delinka Fabiny

MS/HS French

Upcoming Events:

Monday, June 13 Grade 8 student sign-out forms due.

Tuesday, June 14 MS Field trip to Aqua World - all day.

Board meeting at 16:45

Wednesday, June 15 Grade 7 Medieval feast 8:30 - 12:00

Last day for Gr.8 students - half day.

Grade 8 closing ceremony 18:30 - 20:00 (student arrival at 18:00).

Thursday, June 16 Report cards go live on Veracross.

Last day of school for students - dismissal at 11:40 a.m.

Friday, June 17 PD Day for staff - No school for students.

Parents, please help us to remind students to check for and return outstanding books to the library and/or classroom teachers in order to close out the year smoothly :)

Have a great weekend Middle School!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball
Middle School Principal

Week 35 in the Middle . . .

Student Life Update:
The year is sadly coming to a close! This past Wednesday after school we celebrated the end of the Spring Season with the Spring Co-Curricular Celebration. AISB Sport teams and clubs met one last time to close out their season and reflect on their time together. 

The amazing Blazer Barkers also met on Thursday during lunch and feasted on a dog- shaped cake, and celebrated an amazing year of accomplishments.

On Wednesday, June 8 we will be holding our last M.S Assembly of the year. The assembly will largely focus on saying goodbye and reflecting on the school year.

Please remember that Friday, June 10th is M.S. Sports Day! Our P.E. Dep't has put together a great day of events with a focus on celebrating internationalism. Students will be asked to wear a representative shirt of their home country. If they don't have one, they will also get the opportunity to make one provided they bring in a white t-shirt.

Last but not least, On Tuesday, June 14th, the entire Middle School will be going out to AQUAPARK. We hope every student attends this event (Even if they don't want to swim. It will the last time we are together as a whole Middle School! Please have your child bring in the permission slip as soon as possible.

May the Blazer Force be with you!

Marc Lavoie

MS Student Life Coordinator

Grade 5 Parent and Student Orientation:

Our Middle School staff presented an information session to 5th grade parents this past week as part of our orientation program.We look forward to welcoming our 5th grade parents and students to the Middle School next year!

On Wednesday morning, we welcomed 5th grade students to the Middle School with a brief presentation centering on Student Life and Athletics, followed by 1:1 student sessions within future advisory groups.  It was a great way for our incoming 6th grade class to feel comfortable and welcome in the Middle School!

Grade 8 Completion Ceremony:
More than anything, ceremonies are a time of community building, welcoming and celebrating the achievements and growth of those around us.  On Wednesday, June 15th, at 6:30 p.m, AISB celebrates the completion of our 8th grade students' years in the middle school.  The special event is also a time for the AISB community to recognize and appreciate the collective efforts of family, friends, and teachers in order to nurture and support our soon-to-be 9th graders.  

Doug Rudnicki

Gr. 8 Language Arts

All new AISB Website:

Dear Parents, We are proud to let you know that our new website shows an updated look for the public to get a taste of AISB school life. It contains essential information, is now fully device-responsive and will remain at www.aisb.hu. We will be adding school videos in the near future to key areas. The Parent Portals will be streamlined to offer all the relevant information which is found on the current website and will now be accessed through your existing Veracross account. Login to your Veracross will remain the same as it is today. The new website is live and you can now use the instructions in the video below to locate your Veracross account from the new website. Please click here for the Instruction Video. We have also upgraded our Admissions experience for new families which is available through the "Apply Now" button at the top right of our new website. Our next project is to look at adding a school app to streamline your communication experience. We hope that you are satisfied with these developments and we look forward to hearing your feedback. Kind regards, Magdalen Gray Advancement Director

MS Sports Day info . . .

MS Sports Day is next Friday, June 10th.  Internationalism is one of our main themes for the day. Staff and students are asked to wear t-shirts which represent their nationality! There will also be a face painting station set up on Sports Day to help students get into the international theme!
If students do not have a t-shirt representing their country, they are asked to bring in their own t-shirt to design and create their country's colors/ flags for Sports Day!  
Ms. Waller and Ms. Rantieri will happily assist students in the MS art room during lunch to use fabric paints and pens!!! …. (H&M has blank white T's if you're looking to buy one!)
So let your creativity run free   and paint your t-shirt before Sports Day on FRIDAY 10th!!   

MS P.E. Team

Reconnecting with Senegal: 

Letters and High School students interviewed about their trip . . .

Our 6-7 Intermediate French students were delighted to receive long-awaited responses from their pen pal from Warang, Senegal. The letters were sent two months ago but arrived just when the classes were preparing to interview two High School students who participated in the service learning trip to Senegal in October. To apply the use of the past tense students prepared questions about the trip. On Tuesday

 Emelie and Ráhel made a presentation to the classes followed by questions. Students acted like journalists listening and  taking notes during the presentations. After the presentation they asked their questions. Collectively (using a google doc) students entered the information they gathered and created an article. Students enjoyed applying all their skills, collaborating and learning more about what they found out was a beautiful country with happy and generous people.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, June 6:    MS PSA Meeting 9:00 - 11:00

Tuesday, June 7:   MS Department meeting 15:45 - 17:00

Wednesday, June 8: Final MS Assembly 11:15 - 12:05

Friday, June 10: MS Sports Day - full day

Grade 8 boat trip 19:00 - 21:00 (arrival from 18:30)

Have a great weekend Middle School community!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball

Middle School Principal

Week 34 in the Middle . . .

Peace One Day:
It is said that in order to create peace in the world, one must first create peace within himself or herself. As all good humanitarians and visionaries of peace can attest, a lot of soul-searching is needed before societal criticism can be started. 

Yesterday, the 8th grade students began their journeys toward seeing the outside world through inner reflections on peace.  

With 27 delegates and experts in the field, each student was able to outline his or her vision for peace related to some conflict issue in the world.  The culminating event of their 8th-grade year was a capstone experience that merged the writing and analysis investigation in language arts class with the year-long global issues investigation in world geography class. 

At the end of the day, the 8th grade students heard a presentation from BG (MD) Dr. Stefan Kowitz--member of the German Medical Service and Director of the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine--in which the students' theoretical speeches were realized across the years of Dr. Kowitz' hands-on service to create peace around the world.

Mr. Doug Rudnicki

Grade 8 Language Arts

Student Life Update:

This week has surely been one of the busiest weeks of the year! Congratulations go out to our Blazer Voices for putting together a very successful lock-in last Friday. Seventy-six students spent the night at school, and were greeted with a wonderful breakfast on Saturday morning courtesy of the PSA . They had a ton of fun hanging out, watching movies and playing "Retro" video games.

On Tuesday, Dr.Jane Goodall visited our school and gave a wonderful speech on the importance of taking risks and being difference makers. Furthermore, seventh grade students are to be congratulated for the wonderful and amazing projects they set-up for this event. Our sixth grade students and two other local international schools were able to visit many of the projects and were impressed by the work our seventh grade students put into them.

Thursday, was also a huge day for Middle School as two culminating projects took place. Sixth grade participated in the 13th annual Special Olympics and spent the day with members of the SOFI School and the Hungarian National Junior Special Olympics Team. We were blessed with great weather and the 6th grade students were wonderful 

competitors, fans and officials. 

Eight Grade hosted their Peace One Day Event, and were visited by 28 dignitaries from all walks of life, who came to listen to the students share their research and thoughts on a whole assortment of contemporary global issues. Needless to say, the whole day was a huge success and the students were relieved, happy and proud when it ended. 

On Friday, Many Middle School students and faculty will be participating in the first AISB Whole School Color Run! This event is put together by two enterprising high school student who have organized what is most likely going to be a new tradition at AISB!

It is hard to believe that we are three weeks away from the end of the school year! On the Horizon, we have the following Special/Student Life  events:

1- Wednesday, June 1: Spring Co--Curricular Celebration (4:00 to 5:20)

2- Saturday, June 4: PSA Yard Sale

3- Wednesday, June 8: (Last regular assembly)

4- Friday, June 10: M.S Sport Day

5- Monday, June 13: Bike to School Day

5- Tuesday, June 14: All Middle School Field Trip to Aqua-Park.

May the Blazer Force be with you!

Marc Lavoie

MS Student Life Coordinator / MS French

Grade 7 Service Learning:

This year is the first year of the new Grade 7 Service Learning Project in coordination with the Jane Goodall Institute, Hungary.  Throughout the year, students have been investigating today's environmental problems on 6 continents, relating to the diminishing area of the world's natural forests.  

As a stroke of luck, we learned that Jane Goodall was visiting Hungary again this year, and desired to come to AISB to promote youth environmentalism.  For the sake of initiating or enhancing environmental programs in area schools, AISB played the role of host as we had students from the British International School, Britannica, and Vass Lajos School (Hungarian) attend as invited guests.

Grade 7 students, in tandem with Dr. Goodall's visit, prepared exhibitions highlighting environmental topics relating to economic growth, loss of medicinal resources, and human / animal rights, to name a few.  The students presented to a diverse audience, which included high school students, parents, teachers, and in many cases, Dr. Goodall herself!

It was a day that proved to be inspiring, educational, and full of hope for the future; not just because of Jane Goodall's message, but also because of the charisma and dedication of the students of Grade 7.

Mr. John Matlock

Grade 7 Math

Ecuador Fund Raising:

Well done AISB! Our fundraising efforts in support of Ecuador throughout the Elementary, Middle and High School divisions​ last week raised over a total of HUF ​850,000. These funds will be donated to a ​campaign being run by ​teachers and ​students at the Academia Cotopaxi American International School​ in the capital of Quito. They are purchasing emergency supplies for a local NGO working with the United Nations, as well as tents, generators and shelters for the government of Ecuador and for the town of Canoa, which was at the epicenter of the April 16 ​earthquake. Fantastic work everyone, and special thanks to our Spanish students and teachers for their leadership in these efforts!​

All School Band Concert:

The All School Band Concert took place this past Wednesday evening. All students, approximately 125, currently enrolled in Band participated in this fabulous music making event. We were able to hear a varied repertoire, from Bach to jazz to film music performed by students in small ensembles, large ensembles and very large ensembles showcasing Grade 5 beginners to very advanced High School students.

Sincere thanks to all parents for supporting the AISB Music program!

Lynn Davidoff and Kevin Weingarten 

ES/MS/HS Band and Music

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, May 31st:   5th Grade parent orientation 8:45 - 9:30

Wednesday, June 1: Gr.5 students visit Gr.6 (transition visit) 11:15 - 11:55

MS Assembly/Advisory 11:15 - 12:05

Spring Co-Curricular Celebrations 16:00 - 17:15

Saturday, June 4: Yard Sale 9:00 - 13:00

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball
Middle School Principal

Week 33

Grade 7 Service Learning:

Grade 7 Humanities students walked into drastically changed classrooms on Thursday, May 19th. The dark and disheveled rooms eerily took them back to Middle or Dark Ages Europe as cows mooed and blood-curdling screams belted all the more from plague-infected vassals. Anarchy and chaos seemed the norm, but as raiding Grade 8 clans led a series of attacks, some adapted with better leadership, shelter, and weaponry. Fortunately, through it, Grade 7s' adaptations allowed them to stave off death,  but there were some minor casualties.                                                                                                                                 

Students also presented their environmental projects which focused on one of four themes: plants, animals, humans or the planet . . . to other MS and ES students leading up to our visit next week with Jane Goodall.  The MS will be welcoming students from area schools, ES Roots and Shoots clubs, HS Global Issues for Ms. Goodall's visit on Tuesday, May 24th. 

MS PSA Update:

• The AISB Color Run will take place on Friday, May 27th, from 4:00 until 5:00 p.m. on the main field of the AISB campus. Organized by the HS National Honor Society, supported by the PSA, and sponsored by Coca Cola, the event aims to raise money for the Playground Project for the Salonta Orphanage in Romania.  Please take note that tickets for this event are now sold out.
• HS and 8th Grade Family BBQ : On Friday, May 27th, from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., the PSA will be sponsoring the 2nd Annual High School Barbecue for students and parents in grades 8-12. The evening includes student games and activities from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with an outdoor BBQ (weather permitting!) serving food at 6:30 p.m. It is a fun and relaxing way for families to visit and wrap up what has been a very successful school year.  Mark the date; we look forward to you joining us. Next week, PSA will send a separate email invitation to all families to better plan for the event.
• Last PSA Meeting on June 6: Welcome to our last MS PSA meeting on Tuesday, June 6th 9-11 a.m. in the Teachers' Dining Room. Our principal Mr. Ball will tell us about this, his first, school year at AISB and also give some information about next year. School counsellor Ms. Seibel will talk about transition. This meeting will also be dedicated to saying good bye to some of our friends, for whom the time has come to leave AISB.   All parents are warmly welcome to attend!

Student Life Update:

Dear Parents,

Tonight, we have our end of the year social and lock-in! It will be a very special event! Our Blazer Voices have worked for several months to convince our community to hold this event and here we are! Seventy six Blazers have signed up for the lock-in and they will be joined by eight intrepid teachers for some lock-in mayhem and fun!

We are also busy preparing for the arrival of the amazing Dr.Jane Goodall! She will be at AISB on Tuesday from 10 to 12:30. She will be delivering a speech and visiting our seventh grade environmental exhibition.

A huge thank you goes out to the whole community for supporting our "Week for Ecuador". Every day was a smashing success and we will be sharing with you soon the final amount that we will be sending to the International School in Quito.

Next week on Thursday, sixth grade will be hosting the Hungarian National Junior Special Olympics Team for a whole day friendly track & field meet. This will be the last event of a very productive and successful year with our Special Olympics partners.

Lastly, please don't forget about the all school Color Run which will take place on Friday, May 27 and the Prizma School Visit which will take place on Saturday, May 28 and which is open to all interested Middle School students.

May the Blazer Force be with you,

Marc Lavoie

Middle School Student Life Coordinator / M.S French

MS Athletics Update:

Congratulations to our Blazer Teams in their recent competitions and tournaments:

• MS Boys CEESA Volleyball in Kiev - Fourth Place & Sportsmanship Trophy

• SCIS Track & Field at AISB
• Girls Sixth Place
• Boys Fifth Place
• Congratulations to Laura Seregi for gold medal in 100m hurdles!
• Congratulations to Keegan Zavits for gold medals in the 100m hurdles and the discus!
• Golf Team competed at the SCIS Tournament in Vienna
• Second Place!

MS Sports News for May 20th, 2016

Good Luck to our Blazer Teams competing in tournaments this week!

• MS Boys & Girls Volleyball to Vienna for DVAC Tournament
• Click here to view the DVAC Tournament Schedule
• MS Boys & Girls Track & Field at AISB for DVAC Meet  
• Click here to view Track & Field Meet Schedule

We are all set to host the Danube Valley Athletic Conference (DVAC)​ MS/HS Track Meet here at AISB.
  

​This is going to be a fantastic experience for our students and visiting athletes.  

Please note the following important information for the day:

• ​Click Here to view the schedule for Saturday​
• ​Booster Club Announcement​:
• Please  consider contributing to the efforts of the Blazer Booster Club by supporting the athletes of AISB.  All proceeds raised as a result of Booster Club efforts benefit the students of AISB.
• Here's what you can do to help:

Sign-up to volunteer for a shift at the concession table or to bring a baked item. Click here to volunteer.

We would like to encourage parents of participating athletes to participate in any way including filling the stands to support our Blazer teams.  The Blazer Booster Club is very grateful for any assistance received from others.  Please consider this opportunity to support Blazer athletics and the students of AISB.

We look forward to hosting the meet and a great weekend of athletic, sportsmanship, and 

​DVAC camaraderie.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Best Regards,

Mr. Fleming

Grade 8 Drama Major:

The 8th grade Drama Major has been exploring the question "How does directorial choice influence performance?". Scripts from different time periods and genres including "Tartuffe" by Moliere a comedy from Neil Simon provided a platform for our work.  Having made decisions about staging, costuming, blocking, sound and light our duet's were performed to the 8th grade during advisory.  Well done 8th grade!




Upcoming Events:

Monday, May 23:    MAP Make ups Full Test 8:30 - 9:45 Curriculum room

All after school activities and sports are cancelled (HS Graduation)

MS Spring Sports officially completed

Tuesday, May 24:   MAP Make ups Full Test 8:30 - 9:45 Curriculum room

Jane Goodall visits Gr. 7 only & Gr.7 Celebration of Learning 10 - 12

MS Tech Crew 15:40- 16:30

MS Art Club 15:40 - 16:30

Wednesday, May 25: MAP Make ups Full Test 8:30 - 9:45 Curriculum room

MAP Make ups Paused/Suspended Test 12:30 - 13:05

Dungeons & Dragons 15:40 - 17:30

All School Band Concert 18:30

Thursday, May 26: Grade 6 Special Olympics 8:30 - 15:30

Grade 8 Peace One Day 9:00 - 14:00

CEESA Choir at 16:30 in ES music room

Digital Photography 15:45 - 17:30

Homework Club 15:30 - 16:30

Parent Book Club 14:00 - 15:15

MS Drone Club 15:40 - 16:30

Boys and Girls Golf 15:40

Friday, May 27: Grade 8 Job shadow day 8:45 - 15:00

All School Color Run 16:00 - 17:00 

Gr.8 invited to HS BBQ after the color run at 17h

MS Badminton - 1st session - 15:30-16:30

Have a great weekend Middle School community!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball
Middle School Principal