aosr!falcon!flyer!...how did you start writing books for kids? a. the rent was due. i was living in...

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AOSR Fall/Winter 2012 Happy 65 th Birthday AOSR! AOSR! Read How the Different Classes in Elementary School Celebrated Contents Page 13 AOSR’s 65 th Birthday Page 47 Elementary News Page 8 Sports News Int’l Day of Languages Page 9 The Arts AOSR Celebrates 65 Years Page 1112 Page 1314 Habitat for Humanity Trip AOSR Falcon Flyer Page 15 Alumni News Congratulations to our young artists who performed in the elementary winter concert on Thursday, December 13 th . Their enthusiasm and talent set the tone for a very merry holiday season!

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Page 1: AOSR!Falcon!Flyer!...How did you start writing books for kids? A. The rent was due. I was living in New York, writing a comic strip for adults and was noticed by a publisher. Q. What

 

 

AOSR   Fall/Winter  2012  

Happy  65th  Birthday  AOSR!  AOSR!      

Read  How  the  Different  Classes  in  Elementary  School  Celebrated    

Contents  

Page  1-­‐3  

AOSR’s  65th  Birthday  

Page  4-­‐7   Elementary  News  

Page  8  

Sports  News  

Int’l  Day  of  Languages  

Page  9  

The  Arts  

AOSR  Celebrates  65  Years  

Page  11-­‐12  

Page  13-­‐14   Habitat  for  Humanity  Trip  

AOSR  Falcon  Flyer  

Page  15   Alumni  News  

Congratulations  to  our  young  artists  who  performed  in  the  elementary  winter  concert  on  Thursday,  December  13th.    Their  enthusiasm  and  talent  set  the  tone  for  a  very  merry  holiday  season!        

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Elementary      Enjoying  our  Birthday  Celebration  

Pre-­‐school  students  painted  a  Happy  Birthday  AOSR  banner  in  learning  centers,  which  was  displayed  during  the  school  wide  assembly!      

Kindergarten  students  "made"  a  cake  for  the  school's  birthday.  Every  child  decorated  a  few  candles  and  then  the  classes  worked  together  to  put  all  65  candles  on  the  cake.    While  counting  to  65,  students  stopped  at  each  set  of  ten  to  remember  the  importance  of  this  mathematical  concept.    

First  graders  created  a  special  snack  to  celebrate  AOSR's  birthday.    Each  center  had  a  different  treat  that  was  added  to  the  snack  bag.    Students  learned  that  six  groups  of  ten  equals  60  and  then  added  on  five  more  to  equal  65.    Mathematics  and  delicious  snacks  were  a  great  way  to  say  "Happy  Birthday,  AOSR"!  

Second  grade  students  celebrated  with  word  problems:        Ms.  Vallerga's  class  has  20  children,  30  books,  4  students  named  Lorenzo,  6  white  boards  and  5  class  rules.  How  many  is  it  in  all?  65!  Happy  Birthday  AOSR!    Once  there  was  a  school  called  AOSR.  Today  is  AOSR's  65th  birthday!  Good  morning  class  family!  32  kids  in  the  class  are  going  to  celebrate  the  65th  birthday  of  AOSR.  33  kids  join  too.  The  children equal 65 in all. Now it is time for eating the cake!

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Elementary      Enjoying  our  Birthday  Celebration  

These  third  graders  celebrated  AOSR's  birthday  by  creating  cut  paper  portraits  of  themselves  at  65  years  old.  Very  few  saw  themselves  as  wrinkled  and  gray-­‐haired.  These  kids  have  plans  of  aging  well!  

Fifth  graders  found  65  different  reasons  why  they  love  AOSR  and  also  mathematically  represented  the  number  65  in  different  ways  for  AOSR's  special  birthday!  

Fourth  graders  created  65  ways  to  mathematically  represent  the  number  65  and  created  65  flags  to  represent  the  variety  of  nationalities  

in  our  world  and  at  AOSR.        Happy  Birthday!  

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By:    Ms.  Yuki  Hirao,                      Elementary  School  Art  Teacher

In  my  first  article  for  the  AOSR  newsletter,  I  have  some  wonderful  news  to  share.    As  some  of  you  may  know,  each  year  AOSR  has  participated  in  the  FAO  and  UN  Women’s  Guild  poster  contest  and  this  year  is  just  the  same.    Except  this  year's  competition  was  not  just  the  same,  because  this  year  the  applications  were  open  to  all  children  world  wide  with  only  3  winners  per  age  group  (ages  5  to  8,  ages  9  to  12  and  ages  13  to  17).    This  year's  theme  was:  “Agricultural  Cooperatives  –  Key  to  Feeding  the  World.”    Ultimately  over  3600  entries  from  72  countries  were  submitted  and  I  am  proud  to  say  that  one  of  our  students  was  selected  as  a  winner  in  the  9-­‐12  category.    

Before  I  reveal  the  winner,  however,  I  would  first  like  to  compliment  all  the  works  made  by  my  students  for  this  competition!  They  put  a  lot  of  creativity  and  energy  into  their  posters  and  as  a  result  there  were  many  original  and  beautiful  images  made  all  coming  from  one  theme.    Some  of  these  works  are  currently  displayed  on  the  green  walls  in  the  cafeteria.  Please  take  a  look!  

It  is  now  my  pleasure  to  announce  that  this  year's  first  world-­‐wide  FAO  poster  contest  winner  (for  

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ages  9-­‐12)  is  our  own,  Samuel Cook  (4th  grade).  Sam's  work  was  striking  because  of  its  color  contrast,  big  bold  shapes,  overlapping  elements  and  a  strong  overall  composition-­‐-­‐  and  of  course  he  did  all  this  while  communicating  the  theme  of  the  competition.    

The  winners  were  officially  honored  in  October  at  the  FAO’s  headquarters    in  Rome  in  a  formal  award  ceremony,  attended  by  Sam,  his  parents,  Dr.  Pfannl  and  myself.    Additionally,  the  winning  entries  can  be  seen  on  the  the  official  website  of  World  Food  

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Day  and  shared  on  both  the  FAO  and  the  movement  EndingHunger  Facebook  pages.  

I  hope  that  this  recognition  of  Sam's  work  will  persuade  him  to  believe  in  his  abilities  as  a  visual  person.    It  is  also  my  hope  that  all  my  other  students  will  be  encouraged  by  the  success  of  one  of  their  own  and  feel  confident  in  the  great  artwork  that  they  themselves  have  created-­‐-­‐  as  can  be  seen  on  the  cafeteria  walls!      

Using  Art  to  Fight  Hunger!      The  theme  of  this  year’s  FAO  poster  contest  was  “Agricultural  Cooperatives:    Key  to  Feeding  the  World”      

Photo  credit:  ©FAO/Giulio  Napolitano.  Editorial  use  only.  Copyright  FAO.  

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By:    Maria  Falgoust,  ES  Librarian  &  Ms.  Miriam  O’  Brien,  Reading  Specialist    

This  year,  during  the  days  around  September  15,    students  from  third  and  fifth  grades  joined  another  600,000  students  across  seven  continents,  to  celebrate  International  Dot  Day.    This  day,  the  brainchild  of  IT  teacher,  Terry  Shay  from  our  partner  school,  North  Tama,  Traer,  Iowa,  takes  its  inspiration  from  Peter  H.  Reynolds’  story  for  all  ages,  The  Dot.    Students  at  AOSR  read  the  story  and  then  allowed  their  creativity  to  flow.  They  made  their  mark  with  painted  dots,  sculpted  dots  and  produced  psychedelic  dots.  Displays  in  5th  grade  were  enjoyed  by  all.  Dots  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  ES  library  and  on  the  third  grade  windows!  

The  Dot's  message,  to  celebrate  creativity  and  individuality,  is  a  beautiful  reminder  for  people  of  all  ages!  Read  the  animated  e-­‐book  version  online  through  AOSR's  subscription  to  Tumblebooks.    

 

AOSR  Celebrates  International  Dot  Day      

By: Ms. Maria Falgoust, ES Librarian Last spring, Patty Thaler, the wife of the famous childrens' book author, Mike Thaler (of the Black Lagoon fame) wrote to Ms. Falgoust, AOSR's elementary school librarian, to potentially schedule an author visit. Unfortunately, the timing did not work because it was our first week of school. Therefore, we respectfully declined the offer. Instead, Ms. Falgoust, Ms. Waite (2nd grade) and Ms. Johannesen (3rd grade) met Mr. Thaler and his wife for dinner to discuss his books, life, Italy and his inspirations. Additionally, he generously autographed over a dozen AOSR library copies of the Black Lagoon series! Over 20 million copies have been sold and the series has been translated into a variety of languages. Read more about Mr. Thaler at http://www.mikethaler.com/blacklagoonseries.htm Q. What is has your favorite thing about Italy been so far? A. The sound of the language and just walking down the street and finding something amazing around every corner. Q. What were your favorite books when you were a child? A. The Little Engine That Could and Ferdinand Q. How did you start writing books for kids? A. The rent was due. I was living in New York, writing a comic strip for adults and was noticed by a publisher. Q. What was the name of your first book? A. Magic Boy (1969) Mr. Thaler simply stated, "I've been very blessed to make a living doing what I love." Happily, the AOSR teachers agreed that they are lucky to be able to do what they love too!  

Author  Mike  Thaler  Dines  with  AOSR  Staff      

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Fifth  Grade  Community  Building  Trip  

We  were  so  lucky  to  be  able  to  exchange  our  brick  and  mortar  

classroom  for  probably  one  of  the  most  beautiful  classrooms  in  the  

world  for  a  few  days.  Fifth  Grade  Trip  to  the  National  Park  of  Abruzzo  

The  Gnome’s  rainbow;  Can  you  find  these  colors  in  nature?  

Here  we  are  in  Val  Fondillo  experiencing  a  bear’s  eye  view.  

Did  you  ever  really  ‘smell’  your  environment,  like  bears  do?    We  tried  and  found  a  whole  new  series  of  perfumes.    We  let  the  sun  kiss  our  faces  and  the  breezes  lift  our  hair.                      

Laura  –  “We  pretended  to  be  bear  cubs.    We  saw  like  bears,  we  sniffed  like  bears  and  we  felt  the  ground  like  bears.”  

 

We  weren’t  the  only  creatures  in  the  classroom  either.    

We  learned  about  transhumance  and  how  all  the  things  that  the  shepherd  needed  on  those  long  treks  from  winter  pastures  to  summer  pastures  and  back  again  could  be  found  in  nature.  

Tommaso  A.  –  “The  beekeeper  picked  up  two  bees  by  their  legs  because  the  worker  bee  could  have  stung  him  and  the  drone  was  just  walking  on  his  hands  because  drones  don’t  sting,  because  drones  do  not  have  the  stinger.”  

Daniel  –  “While  we  were  on  the  bus,  we  saw  two  deer  crossing  the  road.    We  arrived  at  Val  Fondillo.    We  saw  many  trees  with  mistletoe.”  

 

Tasso  Barbasso,  natural  toilet  tissue  with  built  in  skin-­‐softener.  

 

Little  Charlies,  which  are  from  the  artichoke  family.  

 

Berries  galore,  rich  in  vitamin  C  and  good  for  soothing  coughs.  

 

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More  Comments  From  Students    Michael  –  “At  the  wolf  museum,  Ms  Rumsby  talked  to  us  about  wolves  because  the  real  guide  had  just  had  a  baby  so  she  couldn’t  talk  to  us.    We  learned  about  wolves  and  how  people  thought  they  were  mean  and  so  they  killed  them.”  

Doga  –  “There  are  thirty  kinds  of  honey  in  Italy.    They  made  us  taste  three  kinds  of  honey,  my  favorite.”  

Simone  –  “We  went  to  eat  breakfast,  and  then  in  the  rain  we  walked  to  see  the  wolves.  We  went  to  buy  things  in  the  many  shops  and  then  back  to  the  hotel.  At  recess  I  learned  a  new  game  from  Itay,  but  I  don't  know  its  name  in  English.”  

Edoardo  –  “We  saw  dog  rose  hips  and  we  found  out  that  they  make  you  not  go  to  the  bathroom,  and  they  have  vitamin  C.    Fun  fact:  Only  if  a  bird  eats  the  haws  from  the  Hawthorn  tree  and  then  poops  it  out  will  the  seed  grow.”  

Stephane  –  “The  deer  were  in  the  street;  however,  they  sat  on  the  road.  The  road  was  bumpy  and  we  soon  arrived  at  the  park.  We  met  our  tour  guides.  The  dog  rose  is  red  and  bear  poop  does  not  smell  bad.”  

Nabil  –  “When  you  put  a  special  smoke  in  the  hives  they  calm  down.  My  class  and  I  had  a  taste  of  honey  from  the  hive.  It  was  fabulous.”  

Arnaud  –  “The  mountains  were  the  best  sight  I’ve  ever  seen!  We  went  hiking  and  drank  mountain  water,  best  water  ever!”  

 

 

Raffi  –  the  Marsican  Bear  Award  

His  speech:  

“I  was  really  happy  here  in  Abruzzo.    I  would  like  to  first  thank  the  teachers  for  bringing  us  here.    Please  give  them  a  round  of  applause.  

I  wouldn’t  enjoy  coming  here  by  myself.    It  is  more  fun  to  be  with  friends,  that’s  why  they  brought  us  here.  

Look  at  what  we  did.    We  acted  like  a  bear.    We  saw  magnificent  things.    Thank  you  for  your  time.”  

 

Grade  3  Trip  to  Castel  Sant’Angelo    

Elementary  School  Coordinator,  Ms.  Prideaux,  gave  our  third  grade  students  a  tour  of  this  historic  structure.    The  students  learned  that  the  mausoleum  was  completed  in  139  AD  by  Emperor  Hadrian  and  has  been  a  castle,  a  prison,  a  residence  for  popes  and  army  barracks  before  being  turned  into  a  museum.      

Additional  field  trips  included  a  trip  to  the  Explora  Children’s  Museum,  for  second  graders  and  a  theatrical  performance  of  Oliver  Twist  for  fourth  and  fifth  graders.    First  graders  celebrated  their  writing  skills  with  parents  and  kindergarteners  paraded  around  the  quad  to  show  off  their  knowledge  of  the  alphabet  this  month.      

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Quotes  from  grade  8….    “I think that the International Day of Languages was great because it united the school and made us learn a variety of languages and cultures from other nations. It was even fantastic how, not on purpose but in every class, we had a student from the country of which we were learning the language.”

Martina B.  

“I think the International Day of Languages was a very nice day. I learned some words like: sa rang hae that means “I love you” in Korean. I also found Japanese writing very interesting.”

Leonardo M.

By: Ms. Chiara Concas, Italian Teacher

“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as

freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any of them.”

M. K. Gandhi

On September 28th, 2012 AOSR held its first celebration of the International Day of Languages. This event showed how much we can learn one from each other, and highlighted the concept that difference equals richness. Nine workshops were offered to middle school students by volunteer instructors who shared their knowledge of different languages. Our students had the unique opportunity to listen to and learn new words, anecdotes, and traditions from China, Korea, Japan, Romania, Israel, Germany, Portugal, and Spain.

Over six thousand languages are spoken in the world with each representing a rich and diverse culture. The International Day of Languages aims to celebrate multiculturalism by showing people across the world how important languages are and what fun it is to learn them.

Eleven years ago the Council of Europe declared that a European Day of Languages would take place each year on the 26th of September. This Europe-wide celebration of all languages and cultures, not just European, involves 47 countries. The first European Day of Languages was held in during the European Year of Languages in 2001, coordinated in the UK by the National Centre for Languages (CLIT). We are proud that AOSR joined the celebration this year and plan to expand our efforts in years to come. (website  -­‐  http://edl.ecml.at/)

 

International  Day  of  Languages  2012                                                                Celebrates  its  11th  Anniversary  at  AOSR  

“I loved the idea of the paper-hands and I liked stapling them next to each other because it made me feel part of a big and beautiful world. All of the languages were fascinating to learn and I hope I can put them to use one day.”

Sofia C.

“I attended classes in Japanese, Korean and Romanian. Arigatò! is my favorite word I learned and it comes from Japanese that was my favorite language. I I also enjoyed decorating with highlighters my paper-hand in which I put many different words. I really enjoyed this sharing of cultures.”

Claudia F.

 

“I consider that the time spent in the International Day of Languages was very educational. I discovered many things from the Korean, Romanian and Japanese cultures that I found extremely intriguing and very diverse from my culture.”

Nicola D.

“I really enjoyed learning about Romanian and Korean, but the one I preferred the most was Japanese. It was thrilling to see how many different alphabets they have, and discover their educated way of greeting people.”

Lavinia G.

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AOSR  Falcons  European  Championships      By:    Mr.  Daniel  Zacaroli,  Athletic  Director  

Girls  Volleyball        After  being  placed  as  the  third  seed  (out  of  13  teams)  leading  into  group  play,  the  Falcons  won  5  out  of  6  games.  Our  semi-­‐final  match  was  a  tough  draw  against  defending  champions  and  undefeated  Naples  and  they  proved  to  be  just  too  much!  

The  girls  went  on  to  play  Saturday  and  breezed  through  their  match  against  Bitburg  to  close  the  season  as  2nd  in  ASIL  league  play  and  3rd  in  the  DoDDS  Division  II  European  Championships!  

Domiziana  M.  represented  AOSR  by  taking  All  Region  and  All  European  awards.  

Boys  Volleyball        AOSR  Boys  took  the  Mediterranean  Volleyball  Championships  in  Aviano  this  past  weekend,  finishing  in  1st  place  in  ASIL  league  play  and  1st  place  in  the  championships!  They  finished  a  perfect  season  with  a  perfect  tournament,  not  dropping  one  match!  

Honorable  Mention:    Aram  H.,  Santiago  M.,                                                    All  Region:    Alessandro  E.,  Andrea  M.,                                                                              All  Tournament:    Alessandro  E.,  Santiago  M.,  and  Aram  H.,  Alessandro  E.  was  awarded  MVP  (most  valuable  player)  of  the  championship  games!  

Cross  Country        Cross  Country  boys  and  girls  represented  us  strong  in  Baumholder,  Germany  for  the  European  Championship  Meet!  Despite  snow,  a  fast  blowing  wind,  and  frigid  temperatures,  the  Falcons  went  out  and  ran  a  great  race.  Both  the  Boys  and  Girls  finished  4th  place  in  team  rankings,  an  excellent  result  for  a  young  team!  

Tennis        Our  AOSR  Tennis  team  brought  home  the  3rd  place  team  award  from  the  DoDDS  European  Tennis  Championships!  We  saw  excellent  play  from  our  singles  and  doubles  players,  willing  their  way  through  matches  against  high  seeded  teams.  

Their  valiant  individual  efforts  produced  a  great  team  victory,  which  was  a  focus  of  theirs  throughout  the  season!  

 

The  Girl’s  Volleyball  team  had  a  team  building  pumpkin  carving  dinner.    

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By: Ms. Maria Falgoust, Elementary Librarian

Our libraries are popping with activity this fall! Author Workshop: This November, young adult author, Margaret Stohl held writing workshops with 6th, 7th and 8th grades! Not only has she co-authored the popular “Beautiful Creatures” series (which is being turned into a big Hollywood movie!) but she has a new series coming out next year called ICONS. A graduate of Amherst College, where she won the Knox Prize for English Literature, Margaret earned a MA in English from Stanford University, and completed class work for a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University. Margaret was a teaching assistant in Romantic Poetry at Stanford and in Film Studies at Yale. She attended the Creative Writing Program of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, where she was mentored by the Scottish poet, George MacBeth. Not only does she love writing but she is an award-winning video game programmer and co-founded her own video game studio! Read about her at www.margaret-stohl.com. We loved working with her! Storyteller Visit: On September 19th and 20th, the incredibly talented, traditional Irish storyteller Niall de Burca visited various classes throughout the school community, entertaining everyone and inducing much laughter! Read more about Mr. de Burca at www.storyteller.ie. Storytelling isn’t only entertaining: it’s educational! It enhances comprehension skills, employs literary conventions, such as point of view, theme, plot, characterization, and setting, and stimulates literacy skills! Start the tradition of storytelling in your home. Fundraiser for our friends in Tunis: This autumn, school librarians collaborated with our wonderful PTO to raise funds to rebuild the elementary library at the American Cooperative School of Tunis. If you would like to contribute to their fund, please go to www.acst.net. There is an opportunity to contribute by PayPal and Children's Plus as well as the option to select a book from their wish list on TitleWish! In the Elementary Library.... Accelerated Reader: Students have been having a blast using the Accelerated Reader program (AR for short), quizzing themselves on books they have read. AR uses multiple-choice questions to test students on their comprehension and vocabulary skills. It encourages kids to compete against themselves as opposed to classmates. They can see their progress throughout the year and keep a log of all of the titles they have tested themselves on. Scholastic Book Fair! The Scholastic Book Fair was held on December 12th and 13th! With the generous help of parent volunteers, the elementary library hosted a fabulous book sale that featured English picture books, chapter books, fiction and non-fiction books. This was a great way for families to stock up on books for the children, as well as for the upcoming holidays. Video Project: Both 4th grade classes are busy scripting and performing library videos! These instructional videos will demonstrate how to use the library catalog and benefit from our awesome, useful membership databases. Be on the lookout for them soon. New Books in the Library: Thanks to a grant provided by our spectacular PTO, the Elementary Library was able to purchase 58 new books; an assortment of picture books, graphic novels, and chapter books in Chinese, German, Hebrew, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, French, and Korean! Also, we threw in a few origami books that are wildly popular at AOSR! Read new titles such as Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree” in Chinese, Russian, Hebrew, or English! Or try a bilingual, Hebrew/English copy of Martin Waddell’s “Farmer Duck,” Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” in Spanish, or maybe Dawn Casey’s “Yeh-Hsien: A Chinese Cinderella” in Chinese/English as well as Russian/English. New DVDs in the collection: Major thanks to the Kindergartners, 2nd and 4th grades, Susan Prideaux, our Elementary School Coordinator, parent volunteers, and all of the people who participated in the Snack Attack Bake Sale on September 18th. A whopping 655 euros was raised to purchase a selection of quality DVDs for the library collection.

News  from  the  AOSR  Libraries  

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English Department Partners With “Italy Reads -The Great Gatsby”

By Brian Sheehan, Secondary English/Drama Teacher

“What foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams” these words can be heard echoing throughout the halls of AOSR and on stage at John Cabot University. The English Theatre of Rome has partnered with John Cabot University to commemorate “The Big Read Rome.” Students from nearly 20 Italian public and international high school have been reading the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic novel “The Great Gatsby.” AOSR has joined the read with a variety of book discussions and workshops.

Secondary Teacher (English/Drama) Brian Sheehan landed the coveted role of the narrator Nick Carraway in the English Theatre of Rome’s World Premiere Adaptation entitled “Five Parties and a Funeral.” The world premiere adaptation invites the audience to take a ride on the reckless road of empty opulence and grand dreams. Immerse yourself into an era of desire filled with the morals, manners and mishaps of the roaring 1920s.

Playing the role has been incredible! The majority of my work as an actor has been in Los Angeles and in television. I have not performed on stage in many years and it is great to be back on the boards. The play has been an amazing experience and the greatest part is sharing it with the AOSR students and community. I am most thrilled that the students can read the novel and see it come to life. The play is beautifully staged and it is my hope that the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald will linger through the ears of our youth, hopefully reminding them that tomorrow one can run faster and stretch out their arms further, and one fine morning....

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Above: UN Elementary School Concert: September 2012 Right: Winter Concert: Secondary Choirs & Ensemble Below: HS Play: The Real Inspector Hound

Fall  Arts  2012      

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For the first time a group of AOSR students participated in a Habitat for Humanity project. They worked in Romania from the 17th-24th of November. We shared details of the trip on a daily basis through our “Dear Parent” emails. Below are excerpts from these emails sharing the experience of our students.

11/18/2012 Dear Parents, As we are finishing up day 2 of our adventure, we would like to assure you that your children are all safe and sound. We arrived at the airport on Saturday expecting to pay to check in extra bags full of clothes for donation to needy children in Romania. The airline representative who checked us in was impressed by the service effort being made by our AOSR students and allowed us to check the bags in for free!

The train ride to Craiova gave the students a real first glimpse of the social differences in Romania compared to Italy. As they left the modern city of Bucharest they saw scenes of farmers working the fields with horses and carts, a mix of middle class and many very poor homes, and a clear image of the need Romania has to manage its garbage in a more efficient manner. They arrived to the university town of Craiova to eat a late lunch and then visit a lovely, historical park near the city center. ..

11/19/2012 Our students worked hard and it was amazing at the end of the day to see that the two homes we are working on really had undergone change moving them closer to completion. One of the groups was working to insulate and plasterboard a home while the other group was adding some plasterboard details but mostly plastering the seams throughout the house. In a third home, a few students pitched in to help the local workers sand the walls and prepare them for painting. The students struggled (in a positive way) to master new skills. They had to mix plaster and manage the technique of creating smooth plaster seams. They had to measure (harder than you would imagine) spaces and cut plasterboard to fit spaces in their homes. Some were dressed in protective suits with goggles and masks as they insulated or sanded. Climbing up and down, screws, mixers and staple guns were our day. At the end of day they were all covered in dust and plaster, but had smiles on their faces because they realized that they had truly done something amazing. At one point, while one of the groups was working on their insulation we heard a student say, "can you believe that this very work that we are doing right now is going to keep a family warm next winter?!!"

11/20/2012 After the day on the site we were able to visit with one of the families who will benefit from this project. The father is an ambulance driver with a typical Romanian salary probably in the range of 300 -350 euros a month. The mother in the family suffers from a serious kidney disease, which limits her ability to work, and obligates her to receive regular dialysis treatments. In addition they have a teenage daughter who hopes to study medicine in the future. This family will receive their home and then begin to pay accessible monthly payments over a 20-year period of time, which will help habitat to pay off the money they spent on buying the land for this particular project.

After returning to the hotel this afternoon, our students received a special invitation. In Craiova there is a school for deaf/mute children. These students put on a special presentation of dance and music every year at Christmas time. They were invited to watch the dance performance this afternoon at their rehearsal.... The children not only shared their artistic presentation but their hopes for the future and the difficult reality of living with a disability in Romania. Our students were deeply touched and walked away with an understanding of how blessed their day-to-day lives are.

Thanksgiving  in  Romania  with  Habitat  for  Humanity      

When choosing amongst applicants, Habitat for Humanity looks at three criteria: the particular need of the family, the economic stability of the family (particularly tied to a job), and the willingness of the family to work on the site whether in their own house or that of others. Although most of the recipients of homes through Habitat do have at least one adult in the home working, there are frequently other circumstances that limit the financial ability of the family to own their own home or be able to finance one through a bank.

By  Chaperones:  Ms.  Tracy  Arnold,  Ms.  Jackie  Gallo,  and  Mr.  Ivan  Hauck  

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11/21/2012 This morning we began the day by visiting a local rural HS where nearly 200 students, half teens and half adults prepare to become veterinary technicians. Our students were held up there to be role models by the director who is trying to encourage an attitude of community awareness and service among the local Romanian students. After leaving a donation of clothes for the students and used laptops for the school (where, by the way, the only computer is the one in the director's office), our students went to work for the rest of the day on the site. They are making progress even though the work is sometimes tedious, and each day we can see that the homes are closer to completion.

During our time of evening reflection it was touching to see how much many of the students have matured during this trip. They shared the experience that meant the most to them so far, and what they thought it might mean for them in the future. Students have found their stereotypes of others to be challenged, their understanding of work and cooperation is more mature after only three days on the worksite, and over and over we hear how appreciative they are of you, their homes, their education, and many things which they simply have taken for granted as part of their daily routines.

11/22/2012 In first place we would like to say Happy Thanksgiving! Today at lunch our students took a few minutes to reflect on the many things they are thankful for. However, today, overall, has been a roller coaster day of ups and downs. Before starting work, we had the opportunity to visit a kindergarten and historical church near the work site. The children, between the ages of 3-5 were adorable and sang songs for us. Several of them have parents who are currently working in Italy to support their families back here in Romania. To return the musical favor, we taught them to sing "head and shoulders, knees and toes" in English. In was a fun activity and a good way to start the day with a tired group of teens. After this high point in the roller coaster ride, the low point came. Our students have been working in three houses. Last night, a heating unit which was left on in one house by a local worker, short circuited and generated a fire and major smoke damage. All the windows and doors have to be replaced. The house is black and smells of smoke and soot and has been stripped down to the brick. All of the insulation, dry wall, plaster and electrical work will have to be redone. The damage will cost nearly 5000 euros to repair and the students were devastated to see that their work had been lost and even more concerned that this would set the family back on the date of being able to move into the house.

As the morning carried on, the students were reassigned tasks in the other two homes and they watched the workmen at the site carry on with the cleaning of the house. They saw that rather than complaining about the bad luck and the extra work it was going to cost them, they were redoubling their efforts, even offering to work through the night without pay, to begin the repairs and make up time to be able to hand over the house on the expected date. It was an adult lesson for them in how to go forward in times of difficulty. As one student mentioned from last night's reflection activity: "We have learned that just because you were unfortunate once, doesn't mean that you must forever be unfortunate."

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Assaf Lipa ('89) was a student at AOSR from 1976-1980. Pictured below with his wife Tali, Assaf couldn't help saying how "small everything looks!!" As with many alumni, although he had been to other international schools, our campus remains Assaf’s fondest memories. He has been to Rome on many other occasions, but this is the first time he has been able to visit.

Jim Littlejohn (right) ('81) visited us this month with his son Tre. Jim attended AOSR from 1969 to 1979. He also chose to be photographed in the Hillside Theater, which he remembers well! He also participated in the special fundraiser Booster Bar that we were having the day he was on campus to help raise funds for the reconstruction of ES Library at the American Cooperative School of Tunis, which was severely damaged during recent riots. He hopes to visit us every

five years, a goal that he promises to keep.

Katherine Russell ('71) has been back to AOSR more than once in the last few years. Kathy has also participated in some of the "Alumni & Friends Gatherings" in the U.S. She was excited to see so much technology, especially the new iMacs, on campus and would like to one day be involved in sharing her expertise in video production with our students.

Paulette Cardinaux ('68) is always excited when she can come to Rome and visit her "beloved OSR". She is often involved in alumni events, both large and small. Paulette is one of four siblings that attended "OSR" and has remained passionate about all things related to the school. She is pictured below with her husband Bob in the newly remodeled Hillside Theater, the scene of many alumni memories since it was inaugurated in 1972.  

Fall  Alumni  Visits      

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Ms.  Chiara  Costa  poses  after  winning  both  individually  and  with  her  teammates  at  the  Ladies  International  Grand  Prix  Skeet  -­‐  Amsterdam  2012  AOSR  hosts  the  RISA  Early  Childhood  

Workshop  on  Saturday  the  10th  of  November.    Over  50  educators    attended.  

Villa Reception and StaffSecretary: Ms. Manuela Ciocca 06-33438-300Head of School: Dr. Beth Pfannl 06-33438-331

Villa Secretary: Ms. Domenica Losani 06-33438-331Director of Finance & Human Resources:

Dr. Elisa Bruno 06-33438-338$GPLVVLRQV�2I¿FHU��0V��6DELQH�1HXPDQQ�������������

Busing: Mr. Kieran Canter 06-33438-372Secondary School

Principal: Mr. Ken Kunin 06-33438-326Secretary: Ms. Anna Chiara Troisi 06-33438-326

Elementary SchoolPrincipal: Ms. Melissa Kay 06-33438-395

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Faculty & CoordinatorsPreK Coordinator: Ms. Amy Magazzu 06-33438-330ES Coordinator: Ms. Susan Prideaux 06-33438-350MS Coordinator: Ms. Sarah Ellyson 06-33438-336

AP/IB Coordinator: Ms. Belinda Fiochi 06-33438-337HS College Counselor: Mr. Ivan Hauck 06-33438-327

6FKRRO�&RXQVHORUV��0V��(OL]DEHWK�(VFREDU�������������Dr. Simona Reichmann 06-33438-373

1XUVH��0V��/\QQ�/HQR[��-DQ�0LOOHU�������������After School Activities: Ms. Christine Hogan

Resource Room: Ms. Rene Ostapuk (ES) 06-33438-302Ms. Jacqueline Gallo (MS/HS) 06-33438-390Athletics: Mr. Daniel Zacaroli 06-33438-313

Contact Information

811 Via Cassia 00189 Rome, Italyhttp://www.aosr.org

Phone: (+39) 06.33438.300 Fax: (+39) 06.3326.2608

American Overseas School of Rome