Week 6 in the Middle:

We have had another busy week in the Middle School.  Staff and students are now nicely into the routines and schedules of every day life in the Middle School.  

I hope you enjoy reading this week's update!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball

MS Principal

Upcoming events Oct. 5-9:

Monday, Oct 5:    MS Spirit Week - Pajama Day

MS Tech Crew 12:20 in Curriculum room

MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30

MS Boys Soccer A&B teams 15:30 - 17:30

MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30

X-country 15:30 - 17:30

Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Tuesday, Oct 6:   MS Spirit Week - Crazy Hair/Crazy Sock Day

Blazer voices 12:15 - 13:00

CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30

Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30

Set Design 15:40 - 17:30

Blazer Jazz Band - 15:40 - 17:30

MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30

Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Wednesday, Oct 7: MS Spirit Week - Teacher/Student Swap

Cross divisional MS/HS faculty mtg 15:45- 17:00

MS assembly/Advisory 11:15 - 12:05

CEESA Robotics 15:40 - 17:00

MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30

MS Boys Soccer A team practice 15:30 - 17:30

MS Boys Soccer B team vs. Nagykovacsi Hawks

MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30

X-country 15:30 - 17:30

Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Thursday, Oct 8: MS Spirit Week - Twin Day

SCIS MS Cross country meet in Vienna (VIS)

CEESA MS Boys soccer tournament in Moscow

CEESA MS Girls soccer tournament in Bucharest

CEESA MS Boys/Girls tennis tournament in Prague

Blazer Barkers @ 12:20

CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30

Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30

Set Design 15:40 - 17:30

CEESA Mathcounts 15:40 - 16:30

MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30

Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Friday, Oct 9: MS Spirit Week - School Colors/AISB Shirts

Mini homecoming event at 15:00

SCIS MS Cross country meet in Vienna (VIS)

CEESA MS Boys soccer tournament in Moscow

CEESA MS Girls soccer tournament in Bucharest

CEESA MS Boys/Girls tennis tournament in Prague

AISB Flute Choir 15:45- 17:30

Bike Club 15:30 - 17:30

Message from the MS PSA:

The next PSA meeting will take place on October 13th at 8:45 a.m. in the Faculty Dining Room. The topic for the day will be "Mindful use of Technology". 

There will also be information about the new grading and reporting system.

Benjamin Brittens "The Little Sweep" . . . children's opera comes to AISB!

Our grade 6 and 7 students, along with 4th and 5th grade, enjoyed a live performance of the The Little Sweep on Friday, October 2nd from 11:05 - 12:05 in the AISB Theatre.  The opera tells the story of a brutal chimney sweep who sends 8 year old Sam into a fireplace to clean the chimney. Sam gets stuck in the chimney-stack, but children come to his rescue. They hide him and help him escape from his evil master. 

The story incorporated lessons about cooperation and love while touching on issues concerning children's rights in a highly entertaining and engaging format.  Some of the actors were children who were supported by a live pit crew of professional musician's from the Budapest Festival Orchestra.  Students and staff had an opportunity to sing along too - it was a great introduction to opera well suited for a younger audience.

School Photos

The deadline to return the orders for photos is Thursday, October 8th, 2015. The prints will be returned to students on Monday, October 26th, 2015. 

Progress Reports: Live on Oct. 16th

Veracross contains student scores and feedback, but does not contain an overall grade. Overall progress-to-date will be given in our October 16th Progress Report.  The progress report will contain subject specific standards based feedback in addition to feedback regarding the Habits of Learning for each class.

Student Life Update:

The fun and insanity continues in the Middle School! Next week is our Blazer Spirit Week with the following days planned:

Monday is Pajama Day

Tuesday is Crazy Hair/Crazy Sock Day

Wednesday is Teacher/Student Swap

Thursday is Twin Day

Friday is School Colors/AISB Shirts

On Friday, students and parents are invited to come and cheer for our competing Blazers at our Homecoming event. Regular bus service will be available after school. Students deciding to stay past 5:30 will need to make their own way home. Our Booster Club will also be actively supporting our Blazers during the tournament and the weekend.

Our Blazer Voices Student Action Group will also be starting to meet and will be setting their goals for the 2015-16 academic year. Our CEESA Speech & Debate Club is preparing for their trip to Prague and will be sending a full team of ten Blazers. Lastly, the Blazer Barkers have rescheduled their rained out trip to the Dog Shelter for Saturday, October 10th. 

Parents, please remember that the goal of the Student Life Dept. is to keep your children actively and meaningfully engaged after school. Should you have any questions about any of our programs; please don't hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,

Marc Lavoie

Middle School Student Life Coordinator / M.S French

American International School of Budapest

FCD Message from Ms. Stephanie Kootsikas:

After several years of working in the middle school, FCD was back again last week.  We met with parents, faculty, counseling and of course, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.  From a prevention standpoint, each of the grades is very healthy in regards to attitudes about substance use.  They were very engaged and interested in the information.  

We talked about the risk factors for addiction, what is addiction, how substances affect the brain, how to help a friend and utilized "saying no" role-plays in both seventh and eighth grade.  We also focused on protective factors for substance abuse.  While of course there are things like family history and age of first use that contribute to substance abuse, protective factors in a student's life often get overlooked.  Some include community activities, sports, volunteerism, faith-based communities and parents talking with their kids about substance use.  

One thing that seemed to show up in conversation was the topic of technology addiction. Did you know that people can get addicted to behaviors, not just substances?  Technology is a part of our world.  In fact, it is a very important part of our world.  With that, it is good to have boundaries around tech use which includes phone, tablet, tv, computer and video game usage. Boundaries that may include: no technology in the bedroom, specifiied hours for use, no technology at the dinner table, etc.  Anything that limits the over-use is healthy.  Healthy parental modeling also plays a key role.  

You can find more information at www.fcd.org or at www.drugabuse.gov.  We hope you enjoyed and learned from the FCD visit! 

Week 5 in the Middle!

International Day:

Middle School students enjoyed an amazing international dessert buffet on Friday, September 25th following their lunch.  Sincere thanks to our parent volunteers for your contributions and for helping hand out the treats - it was a great way to celebrate our cultural diversity here at AISB.

Students also enjoyed dressing in colours of their national flag or traditional dress as you can see from the following photos . . .

MAP Test Results:

Test results were distributed to students on Wednesday, September 23rd along with supporting documentation.  As a staff, we are in the process of analyzing the results in order to best support student learning.  As recommended in earlier communications, we encourage you to review your child's progress with the MAP results in hopes of generating conversations about areas for future growth.

Student Life / Walk the Wish:

It has been another exciting and busy week in our Middle School! and students distributed pledge forms for our Walk The Wish Event. , we were honored to receive the visit of Dr.Orsolya Gudor from Roszakert Medical Clinic who spent part of our lunch time period explaining the Medical conditions our wish kids are having to deal with everyday of their lives. On Friday after school, 140 Middle School Students decided to brave the pouring rain and Walked The Wish. 

This week was also the start of our full Fall Activities Program and our offering of the first Hosted Activity: Etiquette Club. Lastly, 10 Middle School students will be going to the AGH Telek Dog Shelter morning to bring love and joy to the 200+ dogs at the shelter. Thank you for all your support this week and stay tuned next week for more fun and mayhem!!!  

Marc Lavoie. MS Student Life Coordinator.

Freedom from Chemical Dependancy (FCD):

This week you and your child had the opportunity to meet Ms. Stephanie Kootsikas, our visiting presenter for Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD).  Our MS Students met with Ms. Stephanie to learn about healthy choices and habits.  Parents were able to meet Ms. Kootsikas at an evening presentation, as well as at a noontime PSA meeting.  Ms. Kootsikas will be contributing an article to next weeks edition of NEWS from the MIDDLE.

Monday, Sept 28:    MS Tech Crew 12:20 in Curriculum room

MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30

MS Boys Soccer A&B teams 15:30 - 17:30

MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30

X-country 15:30 - 17:30

Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Tuesday, Sept 29:   CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30

Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30

Set Design 15:40 - 17:30

Blazer Jazz Band - 15:40 - 17:30

MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30

Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Wednesday, Sept 30: Whole MS photo/Advisory 11:15 - 12:05

CEESA Robotics 15:40 - 17:00

MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30

MS Boys Soccer A&B teams 15:30 - 17:30

MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30

X-country 15:30 - 17:30

Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Thursday, Sept 24: Blazer Barkers @ 12:20

CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30

Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30

Set Design 15:40 - 17:30

CEESA Mathcounts 15:40 - 16:30

MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30

Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Friday, Sept 25: DVAC Cross country meet - St.Galen, Austria departure at 10:00

AISB Flute Choir 15:45- 17:30

Bike Club 15:30 - 17:30

Have a great week ahead Middle School!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball
Middle School Principal

Week 4 in the Middle!

Staff and students have had a very successful week following their return from Fall Trips. We enjoyed getting together for assembly on Wednesday, Sept. 16th to learn more about After School Activities and Walk the Wish (Csodolampa).  We were honored to have a special guest with us to educate our students about Walk the Wish, Ms. Eva Patzauer, Managing Director of Csodalampa.  She spoke about the goals of the organization and the children that we will be sponsoring this year.  We were also very proud of our students for getting up on stage to speak about their personal experiences with Walk the Wish.  The Middle School is honored to support the official mission of Csodalampa as follows: To fulfill a wish of any child aged between 3 to 18, one who may suffer from a life-threatening illness and one whose family cannot afford to fulfill this wish.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, Sept 21:                  Beginning of after school activities

FCD[1] [2]  sessions for Middle School

MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30

MS Boys Soccer A&B teams 15:30 - 17:30

MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30

X-country 15:30 - 17:30

Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Tuesday, Sept 22:                 FCD sessions for Middle School

Dr.Orsolya Gudor’s presentation on MS Wish Kids 12:30 Theater

Faculty mtg 15:45-17:00

                                                FCD parents night at 18:00

CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30

Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30

MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30

Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Wednesday, Sept 23:            FCD sessions for Middle School

MS assembly/Advisory 11:15 - 12:05

FCD for MS PSA 12:05-13:05

Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Thursday, Sept 24:               FCD sessions for Middle School

ALC mtg 15:45-17:00

CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30

                                                Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30

MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30

Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Friday, Sept 25:                     FCD sessions for Middle School

                                                International Day - dress in your country’s colors international desserts                                                 sponsored by the PSA at lunchtime.

No after school activities, sports.

Walk the wish start in the main gym 16:00-18:00

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PSA News:

1. Our next PSA meeting will be on Wednesday September 23rd from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. in the curriculum room. We invited a speaker from FCD (Freedom from Chemical Dependency).  He will be at school all week and the MS children have the opportunity during daytime to meet with him for an informational session on this topic.  During our meeting we can find out what our children learned and what we as parents need to know. After the presentation we will have an open discussion with Mr. Andy Ball (MS Principal) and Ms. Nancy Seibel (MS Counselor).  We will serve sandwiches.
2. The MS will be participating in the "International Day" celebration. International Day will be on Friday September 25th (same day as Walk the Wish). PSA wants to help celebrate all cultures around the world by offering the MS students and teachers an International dessert buffet.  We need your help.  If you would like to bring a dessert from your home country (circa 10 servings) please send us an email. Children can drop the dessert off at the reception in the morning or you can bring it before 11:30 a.m. and help us serve all the delicious dessert!

anneliesphilippe@hotmail.com

clara.bystrand@hotmail.com

Fall Trips

Teachers and students had an opportunity to reflect on their fall trip experiences via class discussions and online feedback surveys.  Trip leaders led thorough reflection sessions with their teams in order to discuss all details from the experience including but not limited to: the overall philosophy and goals of the trip, curricular links, safety/security, accommodations, transportation, and of course the "enjoyment" factor!  Our collective goal is to take all reflections into account as the planning for next year begins. Please feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions for future planning. 

Grade 6 Group Picture from Sopron:

Grade 7 Group Picture from Lake Balaton:

Grade 8 Group Picture from Koszeg:

Standards Based Grading: Progress Reports live on Oct. 16th

With our move to Standards Based Grading, we have outlined a series of dates throughout the year when teachers will update each student's grade in each course based on the most recent, relevant, and consistent evidence of progress. As a staff, we are currently reviewing these reporting dates for the remainder of the year and will communicate out to parents should there be a revision. 

For now, we are approaching our first date which will be October 16th. On this date, we will send out an email to all parents with a message that the MS Progress Report is live on Veracross.  The October 16th date is a revised date from what is printed in the handbook (Oct. 9th).  

Student Life Update:

It's a busy time in the Middle School Student Life Office! Final Fall Activities Rosters will be posted on the Middle School Portal by the end of the day on Monday, September 21st.

Walk The Wish will take place on Friday, September 25th. We are asking all walkers to meet at 4:00 p.m. in the building B main gym. Pledge forms will be available during lunches on Monday, Sept. 21st and Wednesday, Sept 23rd. 

On Tuesday, Sept. 22nd Dr. Orsolya Gudor will be presenting at 12:30 p.m. in the theater. She will be speaking about the medical conditions every child faces. The "Walk" will be followed by a PSA Sponsored spaghetti dinner. There will be a 5:30 p.m. bus on this day but for students not on the bus, please make arrangements for your own ride home.

Next week, we will be also advertising our first hosted activity. Hosted activities are provided by vetted outside providers and usually have a participation cost. Our first Hosted Activity will be Etiquette Class which will be sponsored by one of our parents (Mrs. Katalin Kibédi Varga). Sign-up information on this activity will be shared next week.

Marc Lavoie

FCD / Freedom from Chemical Dependancy

As part of our health and wellness program at AISB, we have invited a prevention specialist from Freedom from Chemical Dependency Educational Services to join our community next week September 21-25 . During this time they will be holding workshops and information sessions by grade level with students in Grades 6-11. Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD) is a non-profit organization that provides substance abuse prevention education for schools. Since 1976, they have taught over a million students of all ages throughout the United States and at many international schools.

FCD's mission is to:

• Encourage and support the non-use of alcohol and other illegal or illicit drugs during the growing years.
• Empower young people to make healthy, responsible choices regarding alcohol and other drug use
• Teach students and adults how to recognize the early warning signs of substance abuse and to intervene appropriately
• Educate students, parents, teachers, and administrators on the physiological and psychological effects of alcohol and other drugs
• Promote awareness of drug addiction, including alcoholism, as a progressive, chronic, and often fatal disease
• Provide educational communities with the guidance and training necessary to implement comprehensive, effective approaches to substance abuse prevention

FCD prevention specialists are highly trained professionals who have achieved long-term recovery from alcohol or other drug addictions. This unique perspective enhances the credibility of their message and provides students with role models for happy, healthy, drug-free living.  The FCD prevention specialist will present a parent workshop for parents of to offer support and guidance in helping your children enjoy a drug-free adolescence.

Some of the topics to be addressed during the workshop include:

·      Effective ways to communicate with your child about drugs and drug use

·      Up-to-date facts about current drug use and trends

·      What to say about your own experiences with alcohol and/or drug        experimentation

·      How to spot early warning signs of trouble and effective ways to respond.

This program presents a perfect opportunity for discussing alcohol and other drug-related issues with your children. Parental involvement is crucial to our collective efforts to reduce the risks teenagers face. We want our students to hear from both school and home that we are concerned about alcohol, tobacco and other drug use by adolescents, and that we are committed to keeping our children safe.

If you have any questions about the FCD visit, please contact either MS Counselor Nancy Seibel (nseibel@aisb.hu) or HS Counselors David Spencer (dspencer@aisb.hu) or Ben O'Brien (bobrien@aisb.hu)

Have a great week ahead Middle School!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball

Middle School Principal

Week 3 in the Middle!

Fall Trips:
We have received very positive reports for our annual Fall Trips across grade levels in the Middle School.  Thank you to parents for supporting this profoundly important learning experience for your child.  Based on initial teacher feedback, student behavior on our trips has been exceptional with many, many examples of our students demonstrating integrity, kindness and care for their peers.

On Friday, Sept 11th, I attended the 6th grade Fall Trip debriefing in Mr. Scanga's classroom and was delighted to hear our students reflect on and speak about how appreciative they were for the support and acts of kindness demonstrated by teachers and fellow students . . . great evidence of community building and the importance of being a positive and contributing member of a team.

Sincere thanks and appreciation to all MS staff for assuming the role of parent for all students on our Fall Trips - we are very lucky to have such an incredible team of teachers!!

I would like to encourage parents to access individual grade level blogs for a summary of the experience.

Standards Based Grading and Reporting:
An informative "SBG/R" session was held on Wednesday, September 9th from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. in the faculty dining room.  Parents learned more about the history leading up to implementation of SBG/R in the Middle and High School program this year in addition to essential differences between SBG and the former "traditional" grading system.  

If you were unable to make it out to our session, please feel free to access the presentation at the following link: SBG Presentation. We have also posted additional resources on the Parent Portal accessible via the AISB website. 

Upcoming Events: 

Monday, Sept 14:    MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30

MS Boys Soccer A&B teams 15:30 - 17:30

MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30

X-Country 15:30 - 17:30

Tuesday, Sept 15:   CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30

Drama Club- Mulan Jr. 15:30 - 17:30

MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30

Wednesday, Sept 16: MS Assembly 11:15 - 12:05

Sign ups for MS after school activities

Thursday, Sept 17: Sign ups for MS after school activities

CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30

Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30

MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30

Friday, Sept 18: Sign ups for MS after school activities

Have an amazing weekend and week ahead Middle School!

Warm regards,

Mr. Andrew Ball
Middle School Principal

M.S. Activity Sign-Up Week!

This week, (Sept. 14-19), is MS Activities Sign-Up Week! On Wednesday, Sept. 16th, at our Middle School Assembly, students will hear a brief description of each activity offered. The sign-up links will then go live on the same day at 7:00 p.m. To sign-up, you must access the Parent Portal on the AISB website (Not Veracross), and go to the Middle School Tab and then to the "Athletics and Activities Tab". You will find the sign-up links there! The Activities that will be available are the following:

Blazer Barkers

CEESA Robotics

CEESA Math Counts

Bike Club

Set Design

Blazer Jazz Band

Flute Ensemble

ISTA (International Schools Theatre Association)

Please note that Drama and CEESA Speech & Debate had an early start and will not be available for further sign-ups. Lastly, please sign-up as quickly as you can! Some of the activities have a limit on numbers of students that can join. Attached you will find a document outlining in detail all of the activities.

Best regards,

Marc Lavoie

Middle School Student Life Coordinator