aisa's the express: october 2010 (vol. 1, no. 1)

8/8/2019 AISA's The Express: October 2010 (Vol. 1, No. 1)

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American International

School

in Abu Dhabi

Welcome to the 2010-2011 School Year!Directors Welcome

Dear AISA Students,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the

new school year. To returning students, I

say Welcome back, and if you are new,then Welcome to AISA you have

made an excellent choice.

This year, school has started later than usual,so you have had a very long summer vacation.

I hope that you all had a great time and en-

joyed visiting your families. While you wererelaxing, the AISA team was working hard, so

you have come back to a school which was painted inside and out. Many bathrooms have

been refurbished; lots of new computers and

smartboards have been installed. I can also saythat after talking about it for many years, con-

struction of the swimming pool is beginning

today (the 26th)!

AISA continues to be a truly international

school, with an international student bodywhich, at the same time, respects the local

UAE culture. I believe that we are unique, and

I am very proud to be the AISA Director. Ourstudents are cheerful and positive while being

serious about learning. Its a great place to be -

lets make it another great year!

Mr. Gareth JonesDirector

AISA ExpressVol. 1, No. 1 October 2010

AISAs New Courses

By Fatima Al-Khazraji (Grade 12)

This year, AISA has introduced five new elective courses

to its prospectus. The new course are:

* Choral

* Pre-calculus

* Creative Writing/Public Speaking* Publications

* Language and Learning Support Center

Page 2

Long-Awaited Pools Headline AISA Improvements

By Rana Alsaadi (Grade 11)

Have you noticed the re-painted building of the school? Its a

fresh start for AISA this 2010-2011 school year.

The staff has made considerable efforts to improve the school inorder to welcome back the students. Director Mr. Gareth Jones,

Secondary School Principal Mr. Robert Godley and Facilities

|Manager Mr. Riyadh Davids gave the AISA Express the inside

scoop on the new improvements and future projects at AISA.

After two years of planning, "the construction of the two swim-

ming pools will begin next week and finish towards the end of

the year," Mr. Davids said. The construction of the swimming

pools will take place behind the new gym and adjacent to the

Kindergarten building, he said. School administration declined

to give a cost or name the architect. Page 4

Pakistan Support

Page 2College Visits

Page 3Volleyball Schedule

Page 4

Principals Welcome

Dear AISA Students,

It is my pleasure to welcome AISA

students to the 2010/11 school year.

We have worked very hard to have agreat start to the term and given the

comments I am hearing from our students,

it was worth it.

Our building is in good shape, our student

body is the largest it has ever been and weare offering more programs and activities

for students than ever before.

With our 77 different nationalities repre-

sented at the school, we all have an out-standing opportunity to learn about the

shrinking world that we live in.

In my Welcome Back Address this year, Ichallenged each student to reflect on their

commitment to improvement and to chal-lenge themselves to have a year of

growth. It is clear that we have createdthe framework for you to do thisnow it

is up to you. Have a great year!

Mr. Robert Godley

Secondary School Principal

Views of AISA

Photos by Mr. Bassem Kandil


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AISA Supports Pakistan in Wake of FloodsBy Paula Fronda (Grade 12)

Floods in Pakistan have destroyed 1 million homes, and have left 21

million injured or homeless, according to news reports.

While the disaster may seem like a world away, for some staff and stu-

dents it hits home. Social Studies teacher Mr. Faraz Mirza, who is partPakistani, is leading a school campaign to donate food, clothes and

money to the UAE Red Cross, he wrote in an e-mail appeal to school

staff.

This horrific disaster has killed up to two thousand people already andcontinues to shatter peoples livelihoods and homes daily, he wrote.

Pakistan is under floodwater the size of ENGLAND: The chaos anddestruction is worse than Haiti and the 2004 Tsunami disasters com-

bined!

So far Mr. Mirza has collected dozens of bags, and will continue col-

lecting throughout the year.

The response has been very humbling, he said in an interview. My fathers family is from Peshawar, where the flood-

ing is some of the worst. Later in the year Ill be visiting the region, to see where the aid is actually having an impact.

Additionally, Ms. Leanne Fleming is starting a long-term project to support Paki-stan for her International Baccalaureate (IB) students who participate in the Creativ-

ity, Action, Service (CAS) program for community service. The major programwould be a 30-Hour Famine held in the Old Gym in mid-October, though it is

awaiting approval from the school administration.

As a teacher, one of my goals is to promote awareness and international minded-ness, she said. I want to be working with many students, not just within CAS but

with the rest if the student body.

AISA Express also reviewed a proposal for a charity campaign by Sharifah Al-

Hinai (Grade 12), tentatively called the Give to Get Campaign. Her year-long

proposal campaign would involve orphan awareness and donating to organizationsincluding the Red Crescent, Dubai Cares and Doctors Without Borders. *

New Courses at AISA

The description of the new courses are as follow:

Choral: This choral music class is open to anyone who is interested in singing and

learning more about music. It is mainly about learning to listen before singing, focus onunison of sound and harmony, Practice vocal exercises, Engage in breathing exercises

and working together as a team.

Pre-calculus: Pre-Calculus is an elective mathematics course available for students who

have completed Algebra II. This course is for students who have satisfactorily passedAlgebra II and would like an introductory Calculus course.

Creative Writing/Public Speaking: The Creative Writing part of this course focuses on

developing innovative and creative writing as well as critical thinking skills. Students

explore the elements of the short story, novel and various styles of poetry. The PublicSpeaking part of this course aims to promote good speech habits and develop criteria for

judging speeches and speakers. It focuses on developing ease in public delivery of dif-ferent kinds of speeches, both formal and informal

Publications: This course will focus on creating content for the schools three main publications: The Yearbook, the School Newspaper and the written content for the

schools website. This course requires students with strong photographic, writing andgraphic design skills.

Language and Learning Support Center: The Language and Learning Support center

provides educational intervention to students identified as needing extra support in their

academic course work. The goal of the program is to allow students with minor to mod-

erate special learning or language needs to achieve meaningful success at AISA. *

Page 2 AISA EXPRESS

AISA Express is written

and produced by the

Publications Course forGrades 11-12.

Supervisors:Mr. Stephen Baron

Mr. Bassem Kandil

Staff Reporters:Hanaa Al-Ameri

Mona Al-Braik

Sharifah Al-HinaiFatima Al-Khazraji

Maitha Al-MansooriOshba Al-Murar

Shaikha Al-Qassimi

Alyaziah Al HamedRawdha Al Mansouri

Shaikha Al MeraikhiFarah Al Suwaidi

Hanna AlhassenRana Alsaadi

Menatallah El-Abd

Amellia FoxPaula FrondaShamma Khouri

Farida NassarAria Pavlic

Tanya Tarazi

Jessica van der Walt

Pakistan Flood Map.

Courtesy U.S. Dept. of State

Millions need aid in Pakistan.

Courtesy TheAustralian.com.au


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Colleges are Coming: October 2010 List

Page 3Volume No. 1, Issue No,. 1

04 OctoberRegents College (UK), 1:30 pm, Room TBD

06 OctoberAmerican Colleges Overseas Mini Fair, 12 pm, Library

10 OctoberBoston University, 11 am; Room TBD

11 OctoberEuropean International College in Abu Dhabi, 12 pm, Room TBD

12 OctoberClaremont McKenna College, 10:30 am, Room TBD

14 OctoberFlorida Institute of Technology, 9:30 am, Room TBD

14 OctoberBrock University, 1:30 pm, Room TBD

18 OctoberUniversity of Pennsylvania, 11:30 am, Room TBD

25 OctoberUniversity of the Arts (London), meeting at 10:30, Room TBD

26 OctoberUnited Kingdom College Fair, 1:30 pm, Gym

27 OctoberUSA College Fair, 1:30 pm, Gym

For 11th and 12th grade students, all college visits must be signed up in advance.

All 11th grade students please see Ms. Merrell to get signed up in advance.

There are a number of physical improvements to theschool this yearthe biggest being the construction of

two pools, expected to be finished by the end of the year,

according to Facilities Manager Mr. Riyadh Davids.

There will be a large and small poolthe small one for

swimming learners, the large one for secondary students.

A handful of students interviewed had mixed responsesabout the pool. Mariam Nabulsi (Grade ??) said, People

are going to be excited once it finishes first, but it will re-

quire a lot of cleaning. It will get messy over the months,

making it not so much of a hot spot.

Additional improvements include: adding navy blue cur-

tains, repainting classrooms, and refurbishing bathrooms,

according to Mr. Davids.

Though some students like Xenia Williams (Grade 10)said she did not see many changes, Evan Carstens (Grade

12) liked the improvements.

You can clearly see that AISA has put effort into the

maintenance to appeal to all of us, he said.

Despite these improvements, some students felt that the

school could do more to build community. Students sug-

gested beginning Spanish classes with Grade 9, making

lunch co-ed, and having more electives and field trips.

Evan thinks promoting school sports would help. I would

like to see more school spirit! If our school has no spirit,

whats the use of winning games or playing sports? *

Students Support School Improvements, Split on Pools by Ameilia Fox (Grade 11)

University of Pennsylvania

Courtesy slashfilm.com

Pakistans Plight Courtesy ToonPool.com

Regents College / Courtesy internexus.to


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Volleyball Schedule

AISA Business Address:29th Street on Airport Road

P.O. Box 5992Abu Dhabi, UAE

Phone: 02-4444-333Fax: 02-4444-005

E-mail: [email protected]

Page 4School: Pools to finish towards the end of the year

Sunday, September 26 Varsity Boys/Girls Practice 3-4 Old Gym

JV Boys/Girls Practice 3-4 New Gym

Under 14 Boys/Girls at AS Dubai Leave 1 PM

Monday, September 27 Varsity Boys Practice 4-5 New Gym

Varsity Girls vs. ANS at AISA 3:15 Old Gym

JV Boys/Girls at AS Dubai Leave 1 PM

Tuesday, September 28 Varsity Girls/Boys Practice 3-4 Old Gym

JV Boys/Girls vs. Gems Dubai at AISA 4 PM

Under 14 Boys/Girls Practice 3-4 New GymWednesday, September 29 Varsity Girls/Boys Practice 3-4 New Gym

JV and Under 14- No Practice

OPEN HOUSE-OLD GYM

Thursday, September 30 Varsity Teams at ACS Tournament 3:30

JV Girls/Boys Practice 3-4 Old Gym

Under 14 Boys/Girls Practice 3-4 New Gym

Friday, October 1 Varsity Teams at ACS Tournament 8-4PM

Under 14 atUASD, 10 AM

-DAA, 1 PM

Upcoming Events ECC Varsity VBall at UAS Dubai October 22

ECC JV VBall at AISA October 29ECC Under 14 VBall at AGG-Dubai October 30

Archtiects rendering of the large pool, scheduled to be finished by 2011. (Courtesy Mr. Riyadh Davids.)

The pools will only be available for use during school hours, Mr. Davids said. The learner's pool is expected to be 5 meters

wide by 6 meters long, while the bigger pool has five lanes and is 25 meters long.

To help fund the construction of the pools, the schools fees have increased by five percent. Mr. Jones said, The increase was

also needed to raise teachers' salaries, buy new items, and improve facilities."

Despite a brief trial as a gender integrated secondary school in the 2006-2007 school year, Mr. Godley said that the schoolwill remain segregated for now, following the Abu Dhabi Ministry of Educations wishes.Additional improvements include a new paint job, new curtains, and cleaner classrooms and bathrooms. "This year we are

pushing forward to insure clean classrooms and a better maintenance program, said Mr. Davids.

But if you check the bathrooms, you will see an important element missing -- mirrors. Mr. Davids said the mirrors will be

coming soon. Regardless of the new improvements, the food served in the canteen will remain the same. "The Ministry of

Health decides what to serve in the canteen and for now the school hasn't heard of any changes," said Mr. Davids.

Mr. Jones hopes for further improvements: "Hopefully, the school will eventually build new classrooms and a library special-

ized for the elementary students. *

by Tanya Tarazi

aisa's the express: october 2010 (vol. 1, no. 1)

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