Week 30 in the Middle!

Grade 6 Celebration of Learning:

Sixth Grade students welcomed their parents on Wednesday, April 27th to "Celebrate Learning" in one on one discussions about their 'Habits of Learning' and their growth this year as students. The discussion was based on the importance of 'Habits of Learning' in our success as learners, and how students are progressing in these habits. 


Students shared the evidence of their thinking, the processes in learning and examples of completed work.  Thank you, sixth-grade students, for all your work in preparing and participating in this great event. And, thank you to our parents for coming in and sharing in this important event in our sixth-grade calendar.








Essence of Middle School:
In true Middle School style, a group of MS staff dressed up in response to well over 200 members of our community attending our AMIS Choir Concert earlier in the month.  It's never a dull moment in the Middle!!  The group was introduced in fashion show style at our monthly assembly on Wednesday.

CEESA MS Model United Nations Conference:

The third CEESA MS MUN conference, hosted by AISB, has been a great success. 85 students from 9 different CEESA schools, including schools from Lebanon and Georgia, attended the event which was organized and run by our High School MUN Club under the leadership of Sahib Bhasin, the Secretary General of the conference.

After the US Ambassador Ms. Colleen Bell’s keynote speech, AISB country representatives, Lili (Lebanon), Shaan (Russia), and Odin (Germany) did a wonderful job with their opening speeches. Shaan, Tianchen (Lebanon) and Odin contributed with several resolutions on Isil and Boko Haram to the discussions of the Security Council. Mathieu (Germany), Márk (Russia), Vilma (Sweden), and Debby (Lebanon) were active members of the ECOSOC Committee, and all of them became main submitters of their resolutions on the migrant crisis and the Syrian war. Dipanshi (Russia) and Zahra (Lebanon) contributed to debates about women’s education and about aiding Rohingya Muslims. AISB provided the Disarmament Committee with “girl power”: Lili (Lebanon), Marie (Russia) and Beatrice (Germany) offered several solutions to the Crimean Crisis as well as to chemical warfare in Syria. Jain (Russia) made us proud in the Environmental Committee with her speeches and resolutions about deforestation and policies about curbing carbon dioxide emissions. All of them grew as public speakers during the conference, they learned to compromise and to participate in a parliamentary style debate.

AISB students did not only represent their respective countries with pride and professionalism but also our community. Their kindness, understanding of the issues, and collaborative spirit with High School students as well as delegates from the visiting schools have been noted by our guests. They made us all very proud.

Thank you for your continuous support with the MS MUN Club as well as with hosting our guests.

Ms. Henderson and Dr. Vas

* Erik Hansman (Grade 8) made a wonderful slide show about the conference, click on this link to watch it. For more photos please see this blog.

Student Life Update:

This week in Student Life we have been busy preparing for our Middle School Spirit Week (May 2-6)! 

The theme days will be:

Monday - Pajama Day

Tuesday - Jersey Day (Favorite Sports Team)

Wednesday - Beachwear Day (no swimsuits: think sunglasses, hats, flip flops, etc)

Thursday - Fashion Disaster

Friday - School Spirit AISB Colors

We will also hold a dance-off on Monday during lunch and a pep rally on Wednesday hosted by our Spirit Club!

In other news, the Blazer Barkers will be heading back to the dog shelter on Saturday, May 14 and presenting the shelter with a check for 600,000HUF which are the proceeds from the International Festival Book Sale. 

Lastly, we are working on the final details for the first ever Middle School "Lock-In", which will take place on Friday, May 20th. More specific information on the lock-in will be sent to parents shortly.

Kind Regards,

Marc Lavoie

Middle School Student Life Coordinator / M.S French

MS PSA Update:
Mr. Bill Farren spoke about Social Media at our last meeting during the MS Social last Friday evening.  Please feel free to access the presentation at the following link:  Social Media Presentation

Our next PSA meeting will be on Tuesday, May 10th from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in the Building B Faculty Dining Room.  Our guest is Ms. Anna Jankovich, who will speak to us about:
"The Relationship Between Parents and Adolescents".  
All parents are welcome to attend!

Upcoming Events:
** We're going to have some fun for Spirit Week, keeping in mind that all choices for dress on specific days must be appropriate for school.

Monday, May 2:    MS Spirit Week: Pajama Day

MS Spirit Week: Dance-Off in the theater @ 12:35

Girls and Boys Softball 15:40

Girls and Boys Volleyball 15:40

Girls and Boys Track and Field 15:40

Tuesday, May 3:   MS Spirit week: Jersey Day (Favorite Sports Team)

MS Spirit Week: Pep Rally @ 12:35 

MAP Testing

Subject Coordinators meeting 15:45 - 17:00

Tech Crew meeting 15:40

MS Art Club 15:40 - 16:30

Wednesday, May 4: MS Spirit week: Beachwear Day 

(no swimsuits: sunglasses, hats, flip flops, etc)

MAP Testing

MS Assembly/Advisory 11:15-12:05

GR 8 TED TALK on Career Decision making 11:15 - 13:00

Dungeons & Dragons 15:40 - 17:30

Girls and Boys Softball 15:40

Boys Volleyball 15:40

Girls and Boys Track and Field 15:40

Thursday, May 5: CEESA MS Boys Softball tournament - Bucharest

CEESA MS Girls Softball tournament - Bucharest

CEESA MS Girls Volleyball tournament - Warsaw

MS Spirit week: Fashion Disaster

MAP Testing

CEESA Choir at 16:30 in ES music room

Digital Photography 15:45 - 17:30

Homework Club 15:30 - 16:30

Knowledge Bowl 15:40

Parent Book Club 14:00 - 15:15

MS Drone Club 15:40 - 16:30

Boys and Girls Golf 15:40

Friday, May 6:   MS Spirit week: School Spirit AISB Colors

CEESA MS Boys Softball tournament - Bucharest

CEESA MS Girls Softball tournament - Bucharest

CEESA MS Girls Volleyball tournament - Warsaw

MAP Testing

Boys and Girls Golf 15:40

MS Floorball 15:30 - 16:30

MS Badminton - 1st session - 15:30-16:30
Warm regards,

Andrew Ball
Middle School Principal

Week 29 in the Middle . . .

AISB Hosting CEESA MUN:

Student delegates from Bucharest, Warsaw, Zagreb, Moscow, St-Petersburg, Bratislava, Tbilisi, Beirut and Belgrade enjoyed day one of CEESA MS Model United Nations today. We were highly fortunate to have had Her Excellency, United States of America Ambassador to Hungary, Ms. Colleen Bell, join our delegates as keynote speaker at the opening ceremony in the AISB theatre this morning. Sincere thanks to all members of the community for your support of this event, especially AISB families for hosting our visiting MUN delegates.

6th Grade Service Learning:

On Thursday April 21st the Grade 6 students from AISB travelled to Kopszi Gat, a beautiful park on the banks of the Danube River to meet students from the SOFI Special Olympics school in Budapest. This trip and activity was part of the middle school service learning program. The students from AISB and the SOFI school participated in a number of collaborative physical activities. The aim of the day was for the children to get know each other and begin to form relationships which will be further developed in a few weeks time through the Special Olympics athletics competitions that we will host here at AISB. The day was a great success with students from both school enjoying each other's company through playing and socializing!

Student Life Update:

What a weekend we are having at AISB! Nine CEESA schools are here for CEESA MUN changing the world one resolution at a time! On Friday, we had an outstanding opening ceremony with the honorable Colleen Bell United States Ambassador to Hungary who delivered a powerful message of tolerance and inclusion to all those in attendance. 

Our Middle School students are also heavily involved in volunteering for the International Festival which will take place on Sunday. Close to forty students have volunteered their time to help our PSA put on the best possible Festival for our community.

We are also hosting a social this evening which will also be attended by our MUN guests. We are expecting close to 240 students for this event alone!

Lastly, our sixth grade just came back from a day trip with the Special Olympics athletes, and the feedback we have received is that it was the best and most fulfilling service learning experience they have ever had at AISB!

Thank you for your ongoing support of our school programs!

Marc Lavoie

Middle School Student Life Coordinator / M.S French

American International School of Budapest

MS Arts Day:

Arts Day 2016 was an uplifting experience.... particularly because our guest performance was called LIFT. This group from Geneva not only performed their contemporary dance piece for us, but also held four workshops for MS students. 

AISB teachers and parents also put aside their usual teaching roles for the day and shared their talents in the Arts with students. Workshops such as line dancing, henna painting, costume design and shadow dance were among the offerings. 

The culminating (and perhaps most exciting) event was the Talent Show. Over 25 students took the stage to present dance, singing and piano pieces. We are very proud of the commitment of our students and would like to extend a big thank you to all of the volunteers involved in making this day a success. 

Grade 6 Celebration of Learning:

On Wednesday, April 27, 2016, from 8.45 - 9.15 the Grade Six students are inviting their parents to a 'Celebration of Learning'.  This is an opportunity for you to share in your child's success as a learner in the Middle School.  We are hoping that by starting this event earlier on this day that we are able to welcome some working parents in addition to the parents who do the early morning drop off. We look forward to seeing you there!

Best regards,
MS Grade 6 Team

Lunch for Alpha:

Middle School French classes demonstrated on Friday, April 8th, a concrete example of being a responsible global citizen as part of our AISB Mission.  For the 5th consecutive year, MS French classes raised funds to support the education of Alpha at his school, Les Cajoutiers, in Warang, Senegal.  Thank you to everyone in our community for the wonderful food that was brought in to support Alpha's education!  Thanks to the generosity and compassion within our community, Alpha's educational needs are taken care of for another year.

Delinka Fabiny and Marc Lavoie
MS French








Grade 6 Science:

The grade 6 students have been using the design process to create self-warming or cooling devices using their knowledge of chemical reactions.  The week the students pitched their inventions to the class.  Classmates assumed the role of investors and evaluated the created "products" ability to make it to the market.  Students will use what they learned from these class presentations in their final project of the school year.  In the final project students are asked to apply the design process to create proposals for energy saving initiatives in our                                                                             school. 








AISB in the News:
AISB is the feature school in the WIDA newsletter - World-class Instructional Design and Assessment, this month. Congratulations to our AISB EAL teachers as they lead the way in using the WIDA assessment to inform instruction for our EAL students. 

Upcoming Events:

Monday, April 25:    WIDA Testing for EAL students

Girls and Boys Softball 15:40

Girls and Boys Volleyball 15:40

Girls and Boys Track and Field 15:40

Tuesday, April 26:   WIDA Testing for EAL students

Short story contest final

MS Art Club 15:40 - 16:30

Wednesday, April 27: WIDA Testing for EAL students

Grade 6 Celebration of learning 8:45- 9:15

MS Assembly 11:15-12:05

Dungeons & Dragons 15:40 - 17:30

Girls and Boys Softball 15:40

Boys Volleyball 15:40

Girls and Boys Track and Field 15:40

Thursday, April 28: WIDA Testing for EAL students

CEESA MS Knowledge Bowl - Bratislava

CEESA Choir at 16:30 in ES music room

Digital Photography 15:45 - 17:30

Homework Club 15:30 - 16:30

Knowledge Bowl 15:40

Parent Book Club 14:00 - 15:15

MS Drone Club 15:40 - 16:30

Girls Volleyball 15:40

Boys and Girls Golf 15:40

Friday, April 29: CEESA MS Knowledge Bowl - Bratislava

PD Day - No school for students

We look forward to seeing all members of the community at the International Festival on Sunday!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball
MS Principal

Week 28 in the Middle . . .

Grade 7 Math/Science:

Armed with 20 pieces of pasta,1 meter of tape, 1 meter of string and a marshmallow, 7th grade students used their knowledge of the Design Cycle, scale drawings using geometric figures, ratio and volume to build a pasta tower made out of 2-D and 3-D geometric shapes.  

With only 10 minutes to plan and 30 minutes to build, teams of three and four students scrambled to efficiently and effectively use the materials to build the tallest free-standing tower and/or a free-standing tower with the lowest volume to height ratio. 

Once built, students drew the tower on paper, calculated the volume of each shape, then calculated the ratio of volume to height. Presentations explaining the design process and math calculations and drawings culminated this activity.  

Robin Mahon
MS 7th Grade Science

Student Life Update:

A huge thank you goes out to the AISB Middle School Community for your support of the AMIS Festival! An outstanding 221 guests attended the gala concert and gave the 80 young ladies singing a rousing standing ovation! Thank you to all the parents who opened their homes for this event. Without your support... none of this is possible!

After the Spring Break, the Middle School will shift into high gear immediately!  We are welcoming on Thursday, April 21 nine CEESA Schools and 80 CEESA MUN delegates for the CEESA Middle School MUN Conference. Topics covered during the conference will include: Human rights, the environment, refugees, disarmament and our very own Security Council!

Please note, that on Friday, April 22 (6-8pm) during the MUN Conference, the Middle School will also hold a Social (Dance). A sign-up link has been sent to all students who wish to participate. The social will be preceded by a BBQ from 5-6pm and an open gym from 4-5pm. The cost of the BBQ will be 1200HUF per student and can be paid at the BBQ. Capital & Sargent Buses have been advised to expect parent requests for transportation back home from the social.

Lastly, please note that the weekend after the Spring Break is our PSA International Festival! The PSA has requested student volunteers to help them run the festival. Please encourage your child to give one hour, (one shift), for this important community event! The sign-up for PSA jobs is not online, but on the main Middle School board located in the Middle School lobby.

Have a great Spring break everyone,

Marc Lavoie

MS Student Life Coordinator 

Appropriate Dress for School:

With warmer weather upon us, it's only natural that choices for student dress at school begins to shift.  With this in mind, please be mindful of your child's choice of clothing to ensure that it is appropriate for school.  As the MS years are a period in time where bodies are rapidly growing and developing, what may have "fit" back in August-Sept-October, may not be a good fit now in the spring.  Should there be questions regarding guidelines for appropriate dress, I encourage parents and students to refer to page 50 of our student handbook.

MS Intermediate German:

The 6-7 Intermediate German students have been learning how to describe locations and give directions as part of their “Meine Traumschule” unit. In their culminating project, students created models of their dream schools using various tools as cardboard or Minecraft.  Finally, they proudly presented their ideas to parents and peers in German language. Sincere thanks to all the parents who where able join us and share our learning.

Claudia Kill

MS /ES German

AMIS MS Honors' Girls' Choir:

75 girls from 12 different schools, ranging from Dubai to the Dominican Republic, descended upon Budapest last week for the AMIS Middle School Girls' Honor Choir. 

AMIS stands for the Association of Music in International Schools, but is pronounced "ah-mee" like the French word for friend, and these girls helped to show AISB why it is pronounced that way. After months of preparation at their own schools, the girls came together as one choir for three intense days of rehearsal and forged some wonderful new friendships through music. 

The Gala concert Saturday night was a stunning showcase of the girls' accomplishments and musical growth. Thank you to all those that attended. We had 221 concert attendees! This attendance number beat Marc Lavoie's challenge to the Middle School, so on April 27th, many teachers will be fulfilling their promise and dressing up in ridiculous costumes for the whole day! 

I would like to thank everyone that helped make this special event happen. I would especially like to thank Marc Lavoie and Dusan Savics for helping me organize this event and also all of the parents that housed these girls. This amazing event would not have been possible without you!

Mr. Kevin Weingarten

MS Band/Music

MS/HS Parent Book Club:

LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS by Richard Louv is a perfect "read" for spring break!  A recipient of the 2008 Audubon Medal, the author strives to address his concern about emerging "Nature-Deficit Disorder" in today's technology-obsessed children.

Please join me on THURSDAY, April 21, 2016 at 2pm in the MS Counseling Office to discuss LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS!

Have a safe and enjoyable break!

Nancy Seibel,

MS Counselor

MS PSA News:

Welcome to our next PSA meeting April 22nd during the Middle School Social from 6-8 p.m.in the Curriculum Room. Mr. Ben O'Brien will give us some information about High 

School, and then Mr Bill Farren will talk about how we can help our children to stay safe on the internet. Dinner will be served to all participants!

For our May meeting we have invited Ms. Anna Jankovich to come and speak about the relationship between parents and children, focusing on adolescents.  Ms. Jankovich is a Certified Life and Business Coach, who has organized a few workshops for parents, in

Budapest and abroad. This meeting takes place May 10 at 9 a.m.

Enjoy your break and we hope to see you Monday, April 18 at 8:30 a.m. for donuts@dropoff.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, April 18:    Follet library conference hosted at AISB

Girls and Boys Softball 15:40

Girls and Boys Volleyball 15:40

Girls and Boys Track and Field 15:40

Tuesday, April 19:   Follet library conference hosted at AISB

MS Arts Day

Talent show

MS Faculty Mtg 15:45 - 17:00

MS Art Club 15:40 - 16:30

Wednesday, April 20: MS Assembly/Advisory 11:15-12:05

Dungeons & Dragons 15:40 - 17:30

Girls and Boys Softball 15:40

Boys Volleyball 15:40

Girls and Boys Track and Field 15:40

Thursday, April 21: CEESA MS MUN at AISB

Gr.6 Service Learning Project -  Special Olympics

CEESA Choir at 16:30 in ES music room

Digital Photography 15:45 - 17:30

Homework Club 15:30 - 16:30

Knowledge Bowl 15:40

Parent Book Club 14:00 - 15:15

MS Drone Club 15:40 - 16:30

Girls Volleyball 15:40

Boys and Girls Golf 15:40

Friday, April 22: CEESA MS MUN at AISB

Boys and Girls Golf 15:40

MS Floorball 15:30 - 16:30

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

MS Badminton - 2nd session - 16:30-17:30

MS PSA meeting 18:00

MS Social 18:00 - 20:00

Have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable break!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball
Middle School Principal