May 17, 2015

Dear Middle School Parents,

Hope you enjoyed the weekend. We are eagerly awaiting the return of our two volleyball teams who were in Moscow for the CEESA Volleyball tournament over the weekend. This represents our last CEESA event of the school year. Once we get highlights and some pictures, we will add them to the blog for everyone to see.

There are a number of events happening this week in the Middle school: 

• Parent Informational Meeting about Standards-Based Reporting and Grading at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, May 20th (Curriculum Room)
• 5^th Grade Transition Night in MS Lobby at 6:00, then Grade 8 to 9 Transition starting at 7:00 pm in theater on Wednesday, May 20th

This coming weekend we have our last DVAC tournament for MS and HS track teams. There will be more information coming soon about the time and exact location for these events. 

Students in the MS have now completed the MAP testing season. We only have the students who were absent, sick or otherwise out of school to finish up. The results from this spring’s MAP testing will be sent home with students on June 10^th in a sealed envelope. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or Nora Fleming.

To view more upcoming dates, click here.

Road Construction Announcement & Starting Time at School: Due to road construction on the road to the school, there are significant delays in the morning. The construction will continue for the duration of the academic year.  We ask for your help to ensure that students are arriving on time.  We suggest the following items for you to consider: 1. Car pools to reduce overall traffic coming to the school 2. Arriving at school at 8:15. The traffic jam is significantly less at that time. Thank you for your help on this. Transition Night: Wednesday,May 20th  5th Grade to 6th Grade   8th Grade to 9th Grade

Our Transition Night for parents of 5th Graders and 8th Graders is on Wednesday, May 20th. We begin at 6:00 pm for 5 Grade parents and at 7:00 pm for 8th Grade parents. This 5th Grade Transition event is designed for parents, but all are welcome.

During the day on May 20th, 5th Grade students will come to the 6th Grade classrooms to visit. During the visit, 5th Graders will get answers to the questions they created with their current homeroom teachers. 

Programs and Meetings to assist in the transition to Middle School:

• 5th Grade Students participated in the Celebration of Learning this fall
• 5th Grade classroom visited 6th Grade Humanities classes to read students' digital books
• 5th Grade and 6th Grade teachers plan together for transition (Ongoing)
• ES PSA held a meeting on April 20th with the MS Principal and MS Counselor
• 5th Grade Student Visit: May 20th during the school day
• Parent Transition Night: May 20th @6:00pm
• Parent Survey and Student Survey: Sent out week of  May 11th
• Transition Night Survey will be sent out after May 20th
• Last Day "Walk Across the Birdge" on the last day of school 
• Back to School Night: Next August

Standards-Based Grading and Reporting at AISB: Informational Meetings

We invite you to an introductory presentation about Standards-Based Grading and Reporting at AISB. We have been working hard over the last three years to move toward a SBG/R environment. This is a direction that schools around the world have also adopted and implemented over the last five years.

During these meetings, we will share a presentation about SBG/R, followed by time for questions and answers. In preparing for the meeting(s), please view the following resources to learn more:

Video: Standards-Based Grading and Reporting in a Middle School

Resources and People who have influenced our work

Each of the meetings will also be translated from English to a second language.

Here are the meeting dates:

May 20: Wednesday at 5:00pm (Curriculum Room, English & Hungarian)
May 21: Thursday at 8:45-9:30 (Curriculum Room, English & Chinese)
May 29: Friday at 5:30-6:15 (Curriculum Room, English and other language TBA)

We look forward to sharing this exciting development with you.

MS PSA: Looking for Reps for Next School Year! 

We are looking for new MS PSA reps for next school year. The reign of our current reps, Deb Christian and Nikki Smith, is coming to a close. I thank them for their outstanding leadership and committment to working with the MS teachers. They have truly made the MS a better place for teachers and students. We will miss them next year! We are looking for two parents to step into their places for next year. If you are interested, please send an email to me, Deb, or Nikki. Thank you again to Deb and Nikki for their outstanding contributions to the MS over the last two years!

MS PSA Meeting: Monday, May 11 @9:00 a.m.  

Thank you to the MS parents at our meeting on Monday. Click on link for the information that was shared during the meeting by Mr. Ducharme. There were also announcements from the Counseling Office and Student Life. The minutes from the meeting will be posted later if you are interested.

MS Spring Co-Curricular Celebration: May 27th at 4:00 p.m. 

On Wednesday, May 27 we will celebrate the accomplishments of our students involved in AISB sports and activities from this final trimester. Parents, please join us for big thank you to our coaches and sponsors of clubs and activities during the second term and to celebrate our student achievements and accomplishments.

Our celebration of student achievement for the co-curricular events on May 27 is for students and parents. The students had an exciting third term with loads of highlights on a team and individual basis. Well done everyone and congratulations on a fine season of sport, activities, and clubs. We look forward to celebrating this term's round of activities, which are already in full swing.

  

Draft schedule: 

4:00 Teams meet in cafeteria for pizza and music

4:25 Opening of Celebration in cafeteria

4:35-5:15 Teams go to classrooms for team celebrations and recognitions

5:15-5:30 Teams return to cafeteria for a Celebration Cake

5:35 Students take late bus or go home with parents.

Parents are welcome to join breakout sessions and take pictures.

Counselor's Corner:

LOTS of activity in the Middle School these days!

In addition to the regular pace of classes, athletics, after school activities, and new student admissions, there are many "end of year" events springing up!

* Farewell groups (at each grade level) are meeting weekly in the Counseling office.
* Transitional programs are happening this week for both students and parents.
* Job Shadowing Day is coming up for eighth graders on May 28.
* MS eighth grade girls are learning from HS girls what to expect as freshman in the HS.

Please contact me if your family is leaving AISB at the end of June.  We know that sometimes these decisions get made last minute!

Enjoy the Spring!

Nancy Seibel
MS Counselor
nseibel@aisb.hu

May 10, 2015

Dear Parents,

What an amazing weekend of weather we had to hold our MS CEESA Girls and Boys Softball tournament here at AISB! The Middle School teams played hard right up until the final during each and every inning. Our AISB teams did well with the Boys' team playing tightly contested games throughout the weekend. The Girls' team captured the spirit and commitment of the tournament by being chosen as the receipient of the CEESA Fair Play Award. See tournament website for more details. Congratulations to all the AISB players and coaches on a job well done. 

We also had volleyball matches with local teams at the school for the Boys and Girls. Our teams did well and learned a great deal on Saturday that will help them prepare for their upcoming CEESA volleyball tournament. Our track team was in Warsaw (click on link for Update) over the weekend; welcome back to the coaches and players. Also, our MS ISTA team was in Vienna this weekend. Stayed tuned for more news to come about how the groups did later this week. 

Standards-Based Grading and Reporting at AISB: Informational Meetings

We invite you to an introductory presentation about Standards-Based Grading and Reporting at AISB. We have been working hard over the last three years to move toward a SBG/R environment. This is a direction that schools around the world have also adopted and implemented over the last five years.

During these meetings, we will share a presentation about SBG/R, followed by time for questions and answers. In preparing for the meeting(s), please view the following resources to learn more:

Video: Standards-Based Grading and Reporting in a Middle School

Resources and People who have influenced our work

Each of the meetings will also be translated from English to a second language.

Here are the meeting dates:

May 20: Wednesday at 5:00pm (Curriculum Room-Hungarian)
May 21: Thursday at 8:45-9:30 (Curriculum Room-Chinese)
May 29: Friday at 5:30-6:15 (Curriculum Room-Language TBA)

We look forward to sharing this exciting development that will improve teaching and learning for all of our students.

Photos From MS Arts Day: 

Please see the the photos from last week's Arts Day!

 

MS PSA: Looking for Reps for Next School Year! 

We are looking for new MS PSA reps for next school year. The reign of our current reps, Deb Christian and Nikki Smith, is coming to a close. I thank them for their outstanding leadership and committment to working with the MS teachers. They have truly made the MS a better place for teachers and students. We will miss them next year! We are looking for two parents to step into their places for next year. If you are interested, please send an email to me, Deb, or Nikki. Thank you again to Deb and Nikki for their outstanding contributions to the MS over the last two years!

MS PSA Meeting- Monday, May 11,  9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Faculty Dining Room, Bldg. B

We would love to see lots of you MS parents at our meeting on Monday and ask you to please help us spread the word to current Grade 5 parents to come along also.

Breakfast will be served.
Topics include:

Mindfulness

Overview of End of Year calendar of events for all grade levels

Summer plans
Mindful Use of Technology - 

Have you ever just unplugged the wifi in your house? 

How often do you check your student's search history (if at all)? 
Do you have special ipad hours on the weekends?
Is your child feeling stressed and overwhelmed?

Come to the PSA technology round table meeting/discussion on to give and get tips and ideas for helping your middle schooler with being more productive with technology.

MAP Update: All related Information and Links on School Website

Students in the Middle School will take the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) on May 12th and 13th (One assessment each day). The MAP will assess student growth in Math, Language Usage, and Reading. Results will be shared in June with students and parents.

If you would like further information, Mrs. Fleming has put all the essential links on the Parent Portal under the MAP tab (see below). Note: you need to log-in to see the parent portal.

Transitions Night: May 20th 5th Grade -> 6th Grade 8th Grade -> 9th Grade

Our Transition Night for parents of 5th Graders and 8th Graders is on May 20th. We begin at 6:00 pm for 5 Grade parents and at 7:00 pm for 8th Grade parents. This event is designed for parents, not for the children.

During the day on May 20th, 5th Grade students will come to the 6th Grade classrooms to visit. During the visit, the 5th Graders will have get answers to the questions they created earlier this month with their current homeroom teachers. 

Programs and Meetings to assist in the transition to Middle School:

• 5th Grade Students participated in the Celebration of Learning this fall
• 5th grade classroom visited 6th grade Humanities classes to read students' digital books
• 5th Grade and 6th Grade teachers plan together for transition (Ongoing)
• ES PSA held a meeting on April 20th with the MS Principal and MS Counselor
• 5th Grade Student Visit: May 20th during the school day
• Parent Transition Night: May 20th @6:00pm
• Parent Survey and Student Survey: Sent out week of  May 11th
• Transition Night Survey will be sent out after May 20th
• Last Day "Walk Across the Birdge" on the last day of school 
• Back to School Night: Next August

Tech Crew: Where can you see their work? Check it out!

The MS tech Crew invites you to look at the selection of videos and slideshows posted on the MS Parent Portal of the school website under the tab titled "Videos and Slideshows". The page gets updated as videos, photos or slideshows of school related events and activities become available.

The link to the MS Parent Portal is here:

http://www.aisb.hu/page.cfm?p=3020

May 4, 2015

May 4, 2015

Dear Parents,

Hope you have had a wonderful long weekend. We had a spectacular Arts Day celebration on Thursday. The event was organized by the MS Fine Arts Department and students got the opportunity to take workshops offered by MS teachers, parents and outside presenters ranging from Hip Hop Dance, Air Guitar to the Budapest Circus. The day was concluded with a MS Talent Show and it was truly remarkable to see the amazing talents of our AISB students!

Please enjoy the photos from the day.

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/newsfromthemiddle/embed/slideshow/Arts%20Day%20April%202015"></iframe>

Tech Crew Announcement- Where can you see their work?

The MS tech Crew would like to invite you to take a look at the selection of videos and slideshows that are posted on the MS Parent Portal of the school website under the tab titled "Videos and Slideshows".  The page gets updated as videos, photos or slideshows of school related events and activities become available.

The link to the MS Parent Portal is here:

http://www.aisb.hu/page.cfm?p=3020


MS PSA- Looking for Reps for Next School Year!

We are looking for new MS PSA reps for next school year. The reign of current reps, Deb Christian and Niokki Smith is coming to a close at the end of this year. I want to thank them for their outstanding leadership and committment to working with the MS teachers.  They have truly made the MS a better place for teachers and students. We will miss them next year but are looking forward to having someone step into their place for next year.

If you are interested send me an email or send one to Deb or Nikki!  Thank you again to Deb and Nikki for their outstanding contributions to the MS over the last two years!

MAP Update: All related Information and Links on School Website

Students in the Middle School will be taking the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) on May 6th, 12th and 13th (One assessment each day). Students will be taking the MAP using their own laptops in their regular classrooms. These two changes will improve the level of comfort and familiarity for our students during the three days of assessment. The MAP will assess student growth in Math, Language Usage, and Reading. Results are shared with the end of year report card in June.

If you would like further information, Mrs. Fleming has put all the essential links on the Parent Portal under the MAP tab (see below). Note: you need to log-in to see the parent portal.

CEESA MS Softball Tournament- Thursday to Sunday

We are excited about hosting this year's MS CEESA Softball tournament starting this Thursday and ending on Sunday. We will have both the Boys and Girls softball teams here from six CEESA schools. We are extremely thankful to all the families who hosting the 120 student athletes who are participating. Please come on out to watch games on Friday and Saturday to support our teams.  A schedule will be sent out later this week and a big thanks to the athletic department (Matt Fleming-Athletic Director) for organizing this event and we are hoping for great weather!

Go Blazers!

Rec Frenzy: Friday, May 8 from 5-8pm

Blazers!,

On Friday, May 8 from 5-8pm we will be holding our next Rec.Frenzy! Some of the highlights of the Frenzy will include a skateboard park, open pool, the climbing wall, a home run derby, some outdoor volleyball, table tennis, soccer, ultimate Frisbee and an opportunity to fly a drone over the school!!!

We will also be hosting special guests from the visiting schools of the CEESA Softball Tournament, and from the 5th grade who will experience their first taste of a Middle School event. Hamburgers and fries will be available at the Field House from 5:00 to 6:00pm and it will cost 900 Forints per student. You will be able to pay at the Field House.

The Rec. Frenzy will officially start at 6:00 pm and finish at 8:00pm sharp. A sign-up link for Middle School will be sent to students directly. Students must sign-up in order to attend.

Counselor's Corner

Returning from a four day weekend, your children will be challenged by new, as well as summative experiences to solidify their learning.  It is an exciting time!

*Weather in Budapest has turned gloriously Springlike!

*May is upon us, highlighted by many Student Life events.

*Departing student and friend lunch groups start this week.

*MAP testing will begin this week.

*A bigger than ever REC Frenzy is coming up on Friday.

*Departing parent group will be scheduled next week.

*Parent Book Club continues on Thursday afternoons.

*Grade 8 Job Shadowing Day is solidifying and soon students will make their choices.

*Grade 5 students and parents will experience orientation to the Middle School.

*Grade 8 students and parents will experience orientation to the High School.

*Middle School will be saying good-bye to Mr. Ducharme.

Please feel free to contact me for any assistance during these upcoming weeks.  It is exciting to witness the significant growth that your children have made this year.  Our upcoming Celebration of Learning will highlight the growth your children have made.

Nancy Seibel

MS Counselor

nseibel@aisb.hu

April 27,2015

Dear Parents,

Spring has arrived! We had all of our spring sports teams out on the fields, diamonds, courts, and links this past weekend for various "friendly" events. Our Blazer student athletes have been training for the last month and this weekend represented the first time many of our teams had a match versus an outside team, providing them with a chance to test their skills, experience team work, and make the committment to play hard! All of our teams did well, with some of our teams going undefeated (Girls Volleyball A-team!) in their matches. A huge thank you to the coaches and sponsors of each team.

In addition, we had two clubs participate in CEESA events. The Knowledge Bowl Team traveled to Albania to compete. Click here to view pictures and updates. In addition, the MS MUN team traveled to Bratislavia. Click here to view pictures and updates from the MUN trip on a site created by one of the coaches, Dr. Vas. 

There are many students and teams to celebrate after this weekend. For now, I'll recognize one: Nadav Shavit (Grade 7) won "Best Disarmament delegate" during the MUN event! We will highlight other students and team accomplishments as coaches report more results and summaries during the week.

Parent-Teacher-Student Conference Data

Thank you for coming to the recent conferences. Over 80% of MS parents attended, plus additional parents have since come in to meet with teachers because they were unable to come on the day. Home-to-school communication is vital to the ongoing success of your child at school. The face to face conversations that the conferences provide are an essential element of this communication. Click here to view the results from parents who submitted feedack.

This feedback is valuable for us; we will look at what changes can be made for next fall's conferences to improve the process.

Quarter 3 Report Cards: Student Reflections

At the end of quarter 3, we asked students to reflect on their learning from the last nine weeks, focusing on their Habits of Learning. The reflections were impressive to read; they displayed mature, thoughtful, and truly reflective thinking by students about their learning. It is clear that students are feeling and seeing the connection between Habits of Learning (Creativity, Reflection, Perserverance, Collaboration, Responsibility) and their overall success in learning.

The reflection process is an essential ingredient in the learning process because it requires each student to review where s/he is in relation to AISB's learning outcomes (Academic Standards). The Academic Standards are also the focus point for teachers to anchor the feedback about student learning whether on individual assingments or summarizing learning on report cards.

In closing, if you did not get an opportunity to speak with a particular teacher, please contact the MSO and we will arrange a meeting. We all want to have a strong finish to match the strong start that our students had in August of this school year.

MAP Update: All related Information and Links on School Website

Students in the Middle School will be taking the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) on May 6th, 12th and 13th (One assessment each day). Students will be taking the MAP using their own laptops in their regular classrooms. These two changes will improve the level of comfort and familarity for our students during the three days of assessement. The MAP will assess student growth in Math, Language Usage, and Reading. Results are shared with the end of year report card in June.

If you would like further information, Mrs. Fleming has put all the essential links on the Parent Portal under the MAP tab (see below). Note: you need to log-in to see the parent portal.

Grade 8 Career TedTalks

Our grade 8 students participated in AISB's Career "TED"-style Talks organized by Ms. Seibel, our MS Counselor. She arranged for three of our parents (Noah Steinberg, Anna Jankovich, Ferenc Szilagy) to take part. Each of the speakers talked about their career paths, their journeys along the way, and the key expereinces (educational and life) that impacted their development. The afternoon was outstanding and we greatly appreciate the time that Mr. Steinberg, Ms. Jankovich, and Mr. Szilagy took to prepare and speak so openly with our students.

Next up for 8th Grade: In late May, students will participate in a Job Shadowing experience. Once again, parents have volunteered their time and places of business so our students can visit and ask questions about their respective fields.

Upcoming Dates: (Click here for more Upcoming Dates)

April 30: MS Arts Day (would you like to help? Contact Ms.Chilla Tamas)

May 5: MS Boys & Girls Softball / 4th Quarter Mid Point / MS Golf Event

May 5-11: MS MAP Testing ( Specific time/Day Schedule TBA)

May 14: MS Volleyball Weekend (Moscow)

May 21: 6th Grade Special Olympics Event AISB

April 18, 2015

Dear Middle School Parents,

It was great to see so many of you at Thursday's Parent-Student-Teacher Conference Day.  We had over 80% of our parents come on this day to meet with teachers. The face to face conversations are a critical portion in the home to school line of communication. It is important that we have open and frequent communication between home and school to ensure we are supporting one another so that every student is successful at AISB.

If you were present at the conferences, please be sure to give us feedback by clicking on this link. We will share the results from the survey next week in the blog. If you were not able to attend the conferences, please contact us to schedule an appointment to meet with your child's teacher(s) to ensure a smooth transition into the end of the school year.

Please enjoy these photos from the day, taken by Mr. Savic.



Partially-Sighted Students Visit AISB

The 8th Grade hosted their service learning partners on campus Wednesday, April 16, 2015. Our students have been preparing for this visit for some time and organized a spectacular day. The events included a Welcome Assembly where our AISB students recited poetry and sang songs (solo and duet) and a variety of engaging activities. Our AISB students led and directed much of the day under the guidance of our Grade 8 teachers and Mr. Lavoie.

This is a day that the Partially-Sighted students look forward to for the whole school year with excitement and anticipation. Our AISB students prepared and delivered an amazing day of group activities, computer interactions, kickball and the creation of a blog. The blog serves a double purpose as it is also a place where the Partially-Sighted and AISB students can return to be reminded of the activities, events and friends they connected with on this day. Well done!

Photos by Mr. Savic


MAP Testing 

This spring the NWEA MAP assessment for MS students will take place within our regular classrooms instead of the computer labs as in the past. Students will use their own laptops to complete the assessment. The NWEA MAP Testing will take place during the week of May 5th and May 11th for MS students.   

We will start preparing the student laptops for the MAP assessment next week. In order to do this, students will be assisted in school to install a "Lock Down Browser".  This browser prevents any student from leaving the MAP assessment accidentally during the assessment period.

If you have questions, please let me know. We will send out the exact testing days and times next week.

International Fair

This is one our biggest weekends of the school year with the International Fair happening on Sunday. We hope to see you all there, taking part in the fun activities that will be on hand for kids and adults of all ages.  Many thanks to the vast number of people who have contributed to this event. Over 30 Middle School students are volunteering on Sunday!

The biggest round of applause and thanks goes to the PSA for sponsoring the event and the time they have put into making this happen. We also want to thank this year's IF coordinator, Jean Relou, for a job well done!

MS PSA Meeting

We held a MS PSA meeting on Friday, April 17th from 9:00-11:00 in the Curriculum room. If you would like to see the presentations that were part of this meeting, please click on this link.

During this meeting we had presentations from the MS/HS Librarian (Sarah Ducharme) about accessing e-books on OverDrive (sign up for your summer reading!), from Mr. Murray (Health and Wellness Course Update), Mr. Farren (Attention and Technology Use) and the MS Counselor (Nancy Sibel).


Counselor's Corner

GRADE 8 CAREER DAYS!

On Wednesday, April 22, all eighth graders will participate in a TED TALK focussed on career planning decisions.  Three AISB parents will describe their journey through career preparation, decision making and the many turns in the road to career fulfillment.  Pizza lunch will break up the event, followed by questions and answers from the speakers.  Promising to be thought provoking!

On Thursday, May 28, all eighth graders will participate in a full day Job Shadowing Program.  Our school vans will transport groups of 8-10 students to the many job sites that have volunteered to host our students (from banking to fashion design to hotel management and beyond!).  Students will see first hand the daily workings of a particular career that they may be interested in pursuing.  Please let me know if you would like to host students at your job site for this important day!

Book Club:

RAISING GLOBAL NOMADS: Parenting Abroad in an On-Demand World

Discussion dates for this poignant book will happen on:

Dates: April 23, 30, May 7, 14 (All Thursdays)

Time: 2:15pm - 3:15pm

Location: MS Counseling Office

Please come to share your thoughts, experiences and ideas, and to hear how others are managing their global family life!

Departing Students and Families

Departing student lunch groups (with friends) will start the first week in May and run for four weeks.  The theme of these groups will be based on THIRD CULTURE KID ideas of building a "RAFT" to help move to the next destination.  With the help of the MS PSA leadership, I will also be offering a time for Mom's/Dad's to meet about departing family issues.

Looking forward to seeing you at the International Fair!

Best regards,

Nancy Seibel

MS Counselor

Upcoming Dates:

April 30: MS Arts Day (would you like to help? Contact Ms.Chilla Tamas)

May 5: MS Boys & Girls Softball / 4th Quarter Mid Point / MS Golf Event

May 5-11: MS MAP Testing ( Specific time/Day Schedule TBA)

May 14: MS Volleyball Weekend (Moscow)

May 21: 6th Grade Special Olympics Event AISB

April 12, 2015

Dear Middle School Parents and Students,

We hope you all have had a restful and relaxing vacation. There are a number of events in the Middle School to update you about and some coming up that you'll want to put on your calendar. We feel strongly that it is important to celebrate and recognize the achievements of our students in order to foster their reflection and growth. As a community, we collectively take responsibility for ensuring their academic, social, emotional well-being. Thank you for the the trust you have given us; we take it seriously and depend on your cooperation and participation to achieve success for each and every student in the Middle School.

Teacher Appreciation Week

Thank you to the PSA and to all of the parents for an amazing Teacher Appreciation Week!  Here are some photos from the week. Thank you for making us all feel so special about what we do every day! 





Pi Day- Wednesday, April 1st

Although we celebrated our AISB Pi Day on a different day that their widely accepted date, our celebration was fantastic nonetheless.  The MS Math department, led by Mr.Matlock, designed an array of activities for students highlighting Pi! Thank you, Nancy Perzel (6th Grade), Charlie Robinson (8th Grade), and John Matlock (7th Grade).

We had all students in the multi purpose room and grouped by advisory while "competing" with one another to answer questions about Pi.  In addition we had one team from each grade squaring off to see who could recall the most consecutive numbers of Pi.  The students did a wonderful job preparing for this event. There was a great deal of energy in the room due to prizes being awarded to advisories and grade levels for the various competitions. Some of the awards included getting to throw a pie in the face of any teacher!  Many thanks to the teachers who were "selected" for pie throwing for their willingness (Mr.Scanga, Mr. Gibson, Mr.Ducharme).

The event ended with students and teacher sampling Pie!  These pies were baked by the parents of our MS students. There were so many wonderful pies; many thanks to the parents of the students who sent pies in. Also a big thanks to the PSA who oversaw the pie contributions and came on the day to help slice and distribute over 200 slices of pies for teachers, students and parents!

Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences: April 16, 2015 at 8:30-3:30

We look forward to welcoming you to the PST Conferences in April. Please put this date on your schedule so you and your child are able to come and talk with our teachers. 

End of the Quarter-Report Cards

Third Quarter Report Cards will be available on Wednesday, April 15th on VeraCross and the Parent Teacher Conferences are on Thursday, April 16th.

At the Parent-Student-Teacher Day on April 16th, hard copies of the Report Cards will be available for all students. The Report Card includes, feedback on the student's Habits of Learning, a grade for each class, and the student's own reflective comment. 

In the reflective comment, students focus on what obstacles they overcame, what they are proud of, where they have shown growth and/or what are they still struggling with. In addition to the student-written comment, teachers will write a comment for some of their students.  Please be sure to bring your child with you to the conference day to get the most out of the conversation.

Transitions: 5th Grade -> 6th Grade and 8th Grade -> 9th Grade

We have started having transition discussions with staff and students in 8th grade in oder to get ready for next school year! The 8th graders have made a draft course schedule for next year at this point. In addition, there will be a number of events for 5th graders and 8th graders that will help them prepare for the movement to another division next year.  

Each division principal works closely with their respective staff to ensure a smooth transition for students and parents alike. As we start this process, I want to highlight the many ways our divisions are similar. For example, in ES, MS/HS we eat in the same cafeteria and use the same World Language rooms and teachers. The students also might have some of the same teachers in other subject areas (Health and Wellness).  In the MS and HS, students share World Language teachers, classrooms, Fine Arts classrooms and teachers, and the same library and librarian. In addition we are all on the same class period bell schedule. We will be here to support you and your child in this transition period.

Our Transition Night for parents of 5th Graders and 8th Graders is on May 20th, at 6:00pm for 5 Grade parents and 7:00pm for 8th Grade parents. This event is designed for parents, not for the children.

For students there will be a number of events that take place to prepare for the move next August. The counselors from each division will visit the incoming students. In addition, there will be informational surveys sent to the students and parents to find out what their questions and concerns.

School Wide Food Frenzy Drive 

Many thanks to all the families who participated in a successful school-wide food drive this year. We are very proud of our whole community for their commitment and efforts to make this drive a success.

Counselor's Update:

Due to an overlap with MS Conferences, the next MS Parent Book Club will start on April 23rd.  We will be reading and discussing Robin Pascoe's RAISING GLOBAL NOMADS: Parenting Abroad in an On-Demand World.  Please join us in the MS Counseling office for some lively discussion!  

Book Meeting Dates:  April 23, 30, May 7, 14.

VISION 2019 Conference:  Grade 8 Career Days

Job Shadowing Day  (May 28th from 8:30 to 3:30)

If you are interested in participating but not sure exactly what to do with 8 grade eight students for a day, please consider this:

*Start with an introduction to the product you sell or work you do.

*What is unique about your business?

*Tour students through your facility.

*Simulate with the students a particular client interaction.

*Introduce different company departments and their functions.

*Plan mock interviews, skill reviews, role play client/specialist exchanges.

*Talk about company growth and innovation.

*What is sustainable and non-sustainable about your workplace.

So far there are several job sites scheduled, though more would be welcome.  Some students are interested in Fashion Design or Hotel Management, or green industries.  Please let me know what you do and if you would like to share a glimpse of your work with our Grade 8 students.

Departing Students and Families

Please contact AISB Admissions Office, MS Office and your child's teacher if your family is planning to move after this semester.

I will be planning Departing Student activities to start the end of April.

Happy Spring Break!