FA L C O N F LY E rS p r i n g 2 0 1 5

T h E A m E r i C A N O v E r s E A s s C h O O L O F r O m EA Message from Dr. Pfannl, Head of School

As you turn the pages of this edition of the Falcon Flyer, you will see that our school is an incredibly vibrant learning environment. There are activities going on constantly inside and outside the classroom as we prepare tomorrow’s global leaders to the meet the challenges of our changing world with courage and integrity.

Congratulations to our Falcon Varsity Boys Basketball team! For the first time in the history of AOSR, we won the Div. II European Championship in Germany. This win adds to our winning streak this year. In the fall we came in 1st place in Varsity Boys Volleyball, Varsity Boys Cross Country, followed by Boys Basketball. Who knows what the soccer and track and field season will have in store for us this spring. GO FALCONS!

On another note, I would like to thank those of you who were able to attend our 2nd Annual Fundraising Gala in March. We enjoyed a beautiful evening at Villa Laura with a delicious dinner prepared by AOSR mom Francesca Aielli, all to support the building of our new state-of-the-art Performing and Fine Arts Center. You’ll be able to read about this exciting project more in this issue.

We’ll be back after the spring break as we get ready for Mayfair and the push towards the end of the school year. Best wishes to all for a restful spring break.

Above: AOSR’s Global Issues Network club presenting their donations for the UN’s Cookstove Project and SAFE program to UN representatives and representatives from United States Mission to the UN Agencies. Read more about GIN’s initiatives in this edition.

AOSR Falcons celebrating winning the European Boys Varsity Basketball Div. II Championship in Germany! (Photo courtesy of Michael Abrams, Stars and Stripes)

AOSR Board News

Message from the AOSR Board ChairIt has been another busy year for the board starting with our Annual Corporation Assembly back in November. The Assembly saw the election of new Board members who quickly got down to work on the Board’s various committees. In January, at our Board retreat, we took time to review our goals from last year and set new goals for 2015. This year we are updating our Strategic Plan, developing our long-term financial blueprint and implementing a fundraising and marketing strategy. Work in these areas will strengthen our School’s capacity so that when approval is granted, we are ready to build our new state-of-the-art Performing and Fine Arts Center.

In March we held the second AOSR Fundraising Gala. Everyone who attended had a wonderful evening with excellent food, wine, music, and company. A special thanks to everyone who contributed so generously to this event. We hope that the Gala will become an established evening that celebrates AOSR’s community and, together with Mayfair, raises significant funds. This year, the Gala provided an ideal opportunity for Board members to talk with parents and friends about the Performing and Fine Arts Center project. We spoke about why the building is so important to AOSR, the time frame for approval and the design features of the Center. Board members talked about the possibilities for funding the building and how all members of the school community can help.

The evening concluded with dancing and the cutting of a wonderful cake modeled on our new building. This was later put on display in the gym during Parent -Teacher Conferences, where it received a great deal of attention. If you want to know more about the Performing and Fine Arts Center and how you can help, contact me at aosrboard@aosr.org or Dr. Pfannl at head@aosr.org We would also like to invite you to Mayfair where there will be Board members available to answer your questions.

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Easter and a safe journey if you are traveling.

Ms. Joanne Martin, AOSR Board Chair

AOSR Board Treasurer Mr. Marco Figus; Board Chair Ms. Joanne Martin; Board member and Chair of the Fundraising Committee Ms. Adele Rosetti, adressing the guests at the 2nd Annual Fundraising Gala

Ms. Petrana Colesanti wife of AOSR Board member Mr. Edoardo Caltagirone; Board Chair Ms. Joanne Martin with architect Mr. Antonio Rizzo; Board member Col. Kobi Regev and his wife Idmit

Message from the AOSR Board Chair Performing and Fine Arts Center

Towards the Future

On March 20th, AOSR’s Board of Trustees hosted its 2nd Annual Fundraising Gala to raise support for our new Performing and Fine Arts Center. In our global environment, it has been proven that students of art, drama, music, dance and public speaking learn the advantages of risk taking and respect for the work of others. These qualities develop into life-long confidence, leadership and communication skils.

The new Performing and Fine Arts Center will enhance, enrich and broaden the curriculum and programs available to our students and will become a visible testament to AOSR’s continuing development and pursuit of excellence, as well as reinforce our commitment to AOSR’s mission to prepare tomorrow’s global leaders to meet the challenges of our changing world with courage and integrity.

Elementary News Pre-K Contributed by Ms. Magazzu and Ms. Andrews

Kindergarten Contributed by Ms. Cuenca and Ms. Kirby

Contributed by Ms. Tausend and Ms. Warlick Grade 1

Leprechauns, shamrocks, rainbows, oh my!

The kindergarteners have been learning all about Ireland. We have read a variety of Irish folklore featuring leprechauns, fairies, and giants, and we’ve made text-to-text connections between them. We learned that the flag is green, white, and orange, danced a jig, and explored maps and photographs of Ireland. The kindergarteners worked with their families to make clever leprechaun traps, and then placed them around the classroom. On St. Patrick’s Day, they were amazed to find a path of green footprints, glitter, and coins in their traps. Unfortunately, no one caught the leprechaun, but wonderful kindergarten memories were made!

Celebrating Fathers and Special Friends

The Pre-K children celebrated dads and special friends at our annual Fathers’ and Special Friends’ Breakfast on March 19th. The Eagles and Cats were very busy as they prepared for the breakfast.

In the science center and during small group time they baked a yogurt cake, a fruit tart and made their own butter by shaking heavy cream. In art they created and painted a very unique envelope holder made of clay and recycled cds to give as a gift to their guest. The children also described their dads and what they do together. These special words and thoughts were written down and presented to the fathers along with their gifts.

As they arrived at school, the Eagles and Cats had breakfast with their guests and then spent time playing together in the various learning centers. The children were proud of all their hard work to get ready for this memorable event and we were happy to have so many dads and special friends join us!

Pre-K Contributed by Ms. Magazzu and Ms. Andrews

Kindergarten Contributed by Ms. Cuenca and Ms. Kirby

Contributed by Ms. Tausend and Ms. Warlick Grade 1

Written by grade 2 students Grade 2

Exploring Escher

We recently visited the M.C. Escher exhibit at the Chiostro del Bramante in Rome. Escher was a famous graphic artist. He made lithograms, woodcuts, and lots of drawings. We learned a lot about his art and life, including his inspirations from the time he spent in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. While we were at the museum we saw lots of amazing mathematical tessellations. One of our favorite pieces was his work called, Metamorphosis II. It was a very long tessellation that started and ended as a checker board, but included bees, birds, and fish. We also saw his famous, Drawing Hands sketch. We are still debating over which hand was drawn first. Before we left the museum, we stepped into a room full of mirrors where you could see yourself a thousand times! Our wonderful guide at the museum, Giorgio, taught us a lot. We had a terrific visit and it was an “Escher-mazing” day. We even made our own tessellations back at school with Ms. Waite and Ms. Joseph! Field trips are the best!

Dear Tooth Fairy...

In first grade this month, students have been learning about the ways to have healthy teeth. They have read books, learned about tooth tradtions from around the world, enjoyed guest readers and even kept a record of their own teeth care activities. As a culmination of this work, they spent time making and sewing a personalized tooth pillow. More than 17 moms and dads joined the classes to help cut, sew, and decorate the pillows. Now each student has a very special tooth pillow of their own for when their baby teeth start to fall out! It was a wonderful experience!

Elementary News

Gae’s tessellation after learning about Escher.

Busy at work at reading and writing workshops

Right: Sewing their tooth pillows

Elementary News Grade 2 Continued Written by grade 4 students Grade 4

Digging up Prehistory

We have been learning about early humans and so we visited an experimental archeological site in Blera. First, we went inside some examples of prehistoric homes. Inside the homes we saw models of spears, drills, and even a loom that was used for weaving wool into clothing. Second, we dug for artifacts and experienced what it is like to work as archeologists. Next, we learned that early man used selce (flint), pyrite and mushrooms to start a fire. Archaeologists know this because these three materials were found in the backpack of a mummified early human that was found in Italy, named Ötzi. After lunch, we learned how to make pottery and we created our own pinch pots to take home. We really dug this bone-tastic field trip!

Grade 3 Contributed by Ms. Antinucci and Mr. Shaffer

Work = Force x Distance

How much work did you do today? Can you measure it? The third graders can! They’ve been learning about simple machines and how they make work easier. Using the equation Work = Force x Distance, they’ve created experiments to find out how much work each machine is doing to lift a load. The four simple machines they’ve tested are a lever, an inclined plane, a wheel and axle, and a pulley. As you can see, there has been a lot of work happening in the third grade classrooms.

Preparing for Paestum

Third graders continue to learn about all things Greek and are excited for our trip to visit Paestum in May. As part of our social studies program this semester we have studied about the Mycenaean civilization of ancient Greece. We researched the archeological discoveries found, and challenged ourselves in building replicas of the Beehive tombs and Trojan horses. Below are some of our models. . In language arts we have recently focused on the

fantasy genre with fairytales, discovering that not all of us know the same ones! Depending on what culture we are from, we are familiar with different tales. We are presently using our vivid imaginations to write our very own original fairytales. It is no surprise our “once upon a time” can go back to Ancient Greece!

Elementary News Grade 2 Continued Written by grade 4 students Grade 4

Contributed by Ms. Rumsby and Ms. Schneider Grade 5

The fourth graders are typing up recipes on their Symbaloo page for everyone to see using Google Docs. We have worked hard to learn how to format our text, photos, and other document elements.

With these recipes, you can prepare the food at home by yourself. The recipes come from all over the world. These recipes are our favorite ones and we will print a book of them that will also be in the Elementary Library. Each student chose his or her own favorite to include. We designed and created the cover and chapter illustrations as well. You will love it!

Elementary News

Grade 3 Contributed by Ms. Antinucci and Mr. Shaffer

A Lesson in Social Entrepreneurship

Fifth grade was honored to host Ms. Jessica Hansen from KIVA, a microfinance company. Kiva is a non-profit organization that allows people to lend money (microfunds) via the Internet to low-income/underserved entrepreneurs and students in over 70 countries. At no cost to our school, as Ms. Hansen was funded by Citibank, she came to talk to us about her work as a social entrepreneur. Ms. Hansen spoke to many students from 5th grade all the way up to seniors in high school. She spoke to us particularly about her work with refugees. Fifth graders sat and listened attentively for over one and a half hours, which is afeat in itself! She is a truly inspiring speaker and touched our hearts in so many ways. Ms. Hansen also left us with ‘loan codes’ from a benefactor who wanted students to decide which projects they would like to fund from the ones that KIVA is offering. The amazing thing about these micro-loans is that they have a 99% payback rate, far above the payback rate for other banks that generally refuse to lend to people in poverty. You can check out KIVA links to downloadable curriculum and handouts at www.KivaU.org.

“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” ~Julia Child

Inspired by their visit to the Norman Rockwell exhibit, fourth graders are currently working on a project with Ms. Joseph where they have created a photo tableau based on a vacation they have taken recently. They are currently using PhotoShop to change their backgrounds and personalize their tablaeu even more. While Mr. Rockwell depicted scenes from everyday life in America, our students are depicting scenes from all over the world.

Coverdesign

by Yuyoung C.,

Livia S., Angelica P.

ES Field Trips

Grade 5 Continued

Elementary News

Grade 3 students had a great visit to Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome Grade 2 students at Blera, in front of a

replica of a cave painting

Grade 4 journal writing at the Etruscan ruins in Cerveteri

Kindergarteners visit Teatro Brancaccio to see Fumbles

On March 20th, the same date as the Spring Equinox, the Moon passed between the Earth and the Sun. In Rome, this caused a partial solar eclipse and 5th grade made very simple pinhole projectors in order to view it. All you need are two pieces of strong white card. First, punc-ture one piece of card in the middle with a push pin. Make sure the hole is flat. With your back to the sun hold the punctured card at shoulder height and aim the beam of light that comes through the hole onto the other card which you should hold at arm’s length away from you. Ad-just the card until you get a good projected image. With our pinhole projectors we observed the eclipse at about 10:00 am and again at its zenith at about 10:30 am., when about 62% of the sun was covered. The next solar eclipse to occur in Europe will be in Au-gust of 2026, so we wanted to be sure we didn’t miss this one!

Elementary News

Grade 5 Continued

On March 2, elementary school celebrated our love for reading and writing with Read and Write Across AOSR Day, a new AOSR tradition.

Throughout this fun-filled day, students were engaged in special activities to promote a love for reading and writing. Many classes held birthday celebrations for the late Dr. Seuss, the beloved children’s author who

wrote many books including The Cat in the Hat and Horton Hears a Who.

Along with elementary teachers and students, parents, administrators, secondary teachers and secondary students also took part in the fun. Many volunteered to visit elementary classrooms to read

their favorite books to our younger students. This event is a great way to celebrate and share the love and passion for reading, and is also a fantastic way to connect our AOSR community from our ‘little whos’ in

Pre-K all the way to our administrators and parents.

Elementary NewsRead and Write Across AOSR Day! Contributed by Ms. D’Aquanni

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you know, the more places you’ll go.

~Dr. Seuss

Elementary News

Vatican Library Visitors AOSR Libraries RISA 2015

The Vatican Library School of Library Science (Scuola Vaticana di Biblioteconomia) visited on March 9th. It has been 30 years since the first time they came to our campus in 1995. The Scuola Vaticana di Biblioteconomia was created by Pope Pius XI in 1934. The Pope himself had a personal experience as a librarian and considered the library a place which fosters the love for study and knowledge: a place which is good for the soul.

Professor Ciminello, with 45 students coming from many regions of Italy, visited both the Elementary School Library and the Secondary Library. Dr. Pfannl greeted the students in both libraries. Vatican Library students were extremely interested in learning about American school libraries where the love of reading and respect for community resources is fostered from an early age.

Vatican Library students were interested in the automation and circulation programs used in both libraries. It was important to them to understand our AOSR libraries’ cataloging procedures, as well as details about each library’s important role in our students’ academic and community lives. It was interesting to learn that it takes about a week to catalog a book in the Vatican Library, while it takes about 10 minutes to catalog one of our books.

Professor Ciminello presented a donation to our AOSR libraries of a volume titled: One Hundred Images of the Nineteenth Century From the Photographic Collection Of The Vatican Apostolic Library. The volume, cataloged in the Secondary Library, is both in English and Italian. It contains beautiful 19th Century pictures of several cities including Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa and Urbino.

It is a wonderful privelege to have this continued relationship and sense of community between our school and the Vatican Library, we look forward to welcoming them again in the future.

Contributed by Ms. Rahm, Secondary Librarian

Preparing Tomorrow’s Global Leaders

RISA 2015Rome International Schools Association

Annual Conference

‘for teachers, by teachers’

On March 14th, AOSR hosted the Annual Rome International Schools Association (RISA) Conference. This year’s conference welcomed close to 250 participants from 16 international schools in Rome.

Dr. Michael Thompson, a world renowned consultant, author and psychologist specializing in children and families was this year’s keynote speaker. He has worked with more than 700 schools throughout the United States and internationally. We were also fortunate to have him host several mini-sessions throughout the week for AOSR parents and small student groups.

Following Dr. Thompson’s keynote address were the two workshop sessions including more than 25 different presentations ranging in topics from Mindfulness to music education, educational technology, math, science and teaching language and reading. AOSR was represented well with 11 faculty members hosting workshops. All presentations were ‘for teachers, by teachers’, supporting RISA’s founding goal to encourage intra-school communication and collaboration among Rome international schools.

Preparing Tomorrow’s Global LeadersAOSR’s National Honor Society (NHS) hosted it’s 2nd Annual Leadership Conference with an impressive guest speaker list including; US Ambassador David Lane, US Deputy Chief of Mission, Kathleen Doherty,Officer in Command Engineering Security Office of the US Embassy, Mr. James Johnston and Professor Emilio Iodice, Director of Loyola University of Rome. Speakers also included AOSR parents Mr. Javier Martinez, Mr. Marcus Snipe, Captain Anthony Parisi, Dr. Marja Pronk, and Ms. Annamaria Marasi, former Italian national volleyball team captain. The students in attendance said they really liked that the speakers represented a variety of careers ranging from politics to athletics. The students particularly commented that they liked the personal examples and reflections that the speakers shared with them.

“With strong foundations, hard work and academics, one can achieve true leadership qualities.”

~ Chailert O. (Gr.12)

“Leadership is based on your surrounding circumstances. You can be a leader in the various roles in your life.” ~Dongmin S. (Gr.11)

Mr. Marcus Snipe

Ms. Annamaria Marasi

Dr. Michael Thompson presenting his keynote address

Captain Parisi

Falcons Rise to the Challenge

The coastal city of Monrovia, settled in the 1820s by freed American slaves, is located in which present

day African country?

This was one of the questions that the contestants in the first ever AOSR Geography Bee had to answer. On March 3rd, 2015, fifth through eighth graders battled hard as they answered questions about continents, countries and cultures. In the end, Brando M. (Gr. 5) was the champion! A special thank you to Mr. Shaffer, a third grade teacher, who organized the entire event!Congratulations go out to all of this year’s participants who spent an afternoon after school, and before homework to challenge themselves even more. It’s not too early tostart practicing for next year’s bee! By the way, in case you’re still scratching your head about the question above, the answer is, Liberia.

Pupils of Rome International Mathematics Event Contributed Ms. Hogan and Ms. Ellyson

AOSR Middle School students participated in the Pupils of Rome International Mathematics Event (PRIME), hosted this year by Ambrit. Six international schools participated including AOSR. Our AOSR Falcons won first, second, and seventh place out of 17 teams competing! Being successful in math team competition involves knowing some math, but it also involves students working in teams to solve complex problems. This is where our teams excelled. Our students proved to be both talented mathematicians and marvelous ambassadors for our school. Congratulations to all our mathletes!

AOSR Welcome

Second place winners: Elinor T.F. (Gr. 8), Jason L. (Gr. 6),

Josh M. (Gr. 8) Yoojin S. (Gr. 8), Mrs. Hogan,

Theo L. (Gr. 8), Yixin K., (Gr. 8)

Giovanni C. (Gr. 8), Simone C. (Gr. 8),

Cata J. (Gr. 7)

AOSR Geography Bee Contributed by Mr. Shaffer

Falcons Rise to the Challenge

Pupils of Rome International Mathematics Event Contributed Ms. Hogan and Ms. Ellyson

New ES and MS/HS School Secretaries

AOSR Welcome

Elementary School Secretary, Ms. Pamela Porreca was born in Naples, Italy and moved to Rome when she was one year old. As a child, she moved to Philadelphia, PA (USA) with her family because her dad worked for the Italian Navy and she attended school there for four years. Ms. Porreca earned a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature at the Universita’degli studi della Tuscia. She spent several months at the University of Glasgow during her last year of college, with the ERASMUS project. Married since 2002, she has two children, Mattia who is in 5th grade and Rebecca who is in 4th grade. The last, but not least member of the family is Nikita, their German shepherd. Ms. Porreca says “Traveling is my main interest. I believe it is the only way that allows our minds to open to the variety of cultures and ways of living.”

Secondary School Secretary Ms. Chiara Creason was born in Rome and is an AOSR alumna. Her parents worked in the Foreign Service, so she had many opportunities to travel the world and live in several countries as a child. After graduating from AOSR, she attended Università la Sapienza where she studied Arabic and Turkish, and then LUMSA University where she earned a degree in modern languages. She has worked in the health unit of the American Embassy here in Rome, and also as an interpreter for a film production company. Having played soccer for seven years, Ms. Creason loves sports, especially soccer and is a proud AS Roma fan! After all of her traveling, Ms. Creason says, “I’m happy to be part of a community that feels like home. It’s great to be back!”

On Sunday, the 10th of May we will have our annual GYM CUP at AOSR where all our gymnasts will have the opportunity to perform the skills they have been learning in gymnastics throughout the year. We will also be performing our floor routine and are very excited to share it with our AOSR community. We invite all families, friends, teachers and faculty to come and cheer for our athletes! Hope to see you there!

AOSR Gymnastics

Contributed by Gymnastics Coach, Ms. Costa

All photos are from the 2014 AOSR GYM CUP

Grade 6 ~ Adventures in Umbria

Middle School News Middle School News

“Some of the moments we shared on the trip were the

ones in which we were united as a big family.” ~Isabella V.

“I think that if you only listen to yourself you don’t expand your mind.” ~Nathan C.

“The orienteering race in Norcia was fun, challenging

and action packed.” ~ Sam C.

AOSR 6th graders recently embarked on a five day cultural trip to explore Umbria and learn about the history of the area. They were guided through the cities of Spoleto, Norcia, Narni and Perugia, and learned many historical, political and architechtural facts. They also learned about the specific traditions and customs of each city and how those customs came to be. Do you know why the bread in Perugia is unsalted? If not, ask a 6th grader!

“Taking a risk is one of life’s keys to success.” ~Brandon C.

Grade 7 ~ Coast to Coast Roaming in RomeOur 7th grade students traveled coast to coast with their first stop at the crater of Solfatara, then on to hike Mt. Vesuvius to continue their study of volcanoes. Their five day itenerary took them to many UNESCO World Heritage Sites including the unique tuffa and limestone town of Sassi Di Matera, the trulli houses of Alberobello and the Royal Palace of Caserta. They also enjoyed a hands-on bread making workshop, a guided tour through the stalactites and stalagmites in Castellana, and an adventurous and challenging ropes course in the treetops.

“The best part of the trip for me is that I can stay with friends all the time, and then we can do things together all the time. And about the adventure park, I was happy when I knew I could see the finish line.” ~ Simone Z.

“I thought the trip was really fun because we got to go to a lot of cool places. I think my favorite of the field trip was the adventure park. That was my favorite place because we got to do obstacles and the zip line was the best part.” ~ Zach M.

Grade 6 ~ Adventures in Umbria

Middle School News Middle School News

Roaming in Rome

Grade 8 ~ Road Trip to Genova & Torino

One of my favorite parts was when we went in the elevator in the cinema museum to the very top of the building. The cinema museum was built inside of a

Jewish synagogue and it was huge. The glass elevator went to the very top of the synagogue and we got to step out onto a platform that went all the way around the elevator and you could look out and see the view.

The view was very beautiful but being up so high was a bit frightening. ~ Eden M.

On the Genova trip, we visited a lot of museums like for example Galata Museum. The museum was about the ancient times of Genova. My favorite part was the aquarium; it was full of marine animals. There was a specific one which I liked called the manatee. The manatee is a mammal; the average adult manatee is about 10 feet long and weighs between 800 and 1,200 pounds. ~ Luca L

We visited many museums like the Automobile

Museum, which started with the very first cars and ended with some Chinese

prototypes. When we went to visit Alenia Aermacchi they treated us very well,

like if we were customers. They usually only show

their airplanes to buyers so we were lucky. ~ Sami M

I thought that the Villa Ada park was the most interesting and my favorite park of the

field trip because it was very peaceful. I saw beautiful fish and also turtles, they rarely even moved an inch. It was

amazing. I also loved getting gelato at the gelato stores. It

was so good, I loved it.~ Blessing A. (Gr. 6) My favorite part of the Rome trip

was when we went to Villa Ada. Villa Ada was very fun because we got

to play volleyball, swing on swings, slide down slides and ride on a metal duck named Steve. ~ Kylie K. (Gr. 7)

One of the highlights was the adventure park. It was pretty fun and at the same time it was also scary because you

also needed to challenge your fears. For example, for me the most challenging part was the

height because I was really scared of it. After the

adventure park I understood that you can also stay high in

the trees but still have fun with your friends because you are

safe. ~ Micol M. (Gr. 7)

Middle School News High School News

Who Poisoned Sherlock Homes? If you saw the middle school production of The Baker Street Irregulars written by Flip Kobler & Cindy Marcus, you would know. The Baker Street Irregulars are a group of street children who

assist Holmes from time to time. Upon investigating a mysterious murder at the Wainwright Circus, Sherlock Holmes mysteriously falls gravely ill and is unable to perform his usual duties. Luckily, the

Irregulars show up and get the low-down from the acrobats, clowns, animal trainers and more. Seventeen brave and talented middle schoolers played these many fun and interesting roles, all

while making us laugh! A big thank you to Mrs. Tierney-Fife and Ms. Warlick for their direction and guidance to make this a special experience.

Congratulations to all of the actors for their wonderful, hard work on this production!

Baker Street IrregularsContributed by MS Theater Co-Director, Ms. Warlick

High School News

On March 25th and 26th, the Grade 7 Drama students performed scenes from Twelfth Night and fortunately with

cooperating weather one class was able to perform their scenes in the Hillside Theater! All grade 7 students have

been reading this work of Shakespeare in their English class with Mrs. Tierney-Fife and the work is also the selected play for this year's Shakespeare Festival! All are invited to come watch the combination Middle and High School performance of Twelfth Night scheduled at 19:00 on May 21 and 22 in the

Hillside Theater.

HS Theater

“Be not afraid of greatness...” ~W. Shakespeare

____________________________________________

The high school drama class recently presented Check Please! by Jonathan Rand. The production is a series of vignettes which

follow blind dinner dates that go terribly (but hilariously) awry!

High School News

This past January, I and 15 of my fellow junior and senior high school students traveled to The Hague, Netherlands to represent AOSR at the International Model United Nations conference. We are part of the Model United Nations course at AOSR taught by MUN director Dr. Jason Schipper who accompanied us on the trip along with Language Arts teacher Ms. Daniella Gates, who accompanied as our chaperone. For over 50 years the International Model United Nations program has served as a program for secondary students to participate in simulated functioning of the United Nations. The intent of the program is to expose students to critical thinking about major global issues using authentic United Nations parliamentary procedures and debates. This year, AOSR sent its largest delegation of students ever.

AOSR Model United Nations

It was with great honor at the beginning of the year that I was given the position of head delegate and Ambassador for our delegation and the radiant nation of Antigua & Barbuda, which we were assigned. This compelling feeling didn’t come from the temporary honorary title that was given to me, but from being the first one to witness the dedication, hard work, and organization that my peers put into this endeavour in order for it to be successful. Underthe leadership of Dr. Schipper, who thoroughly taught us parliamentary procedure, geopolitics, history, and about the culture of our tiny Caribbean Island, we went to the largest Model United Nations conference in the world, with over 3,500 students coming from every corner of the world.

The first day, we descended on the World Forum Center, where the conference took place, and lobbied for the resolutions of our Antigua and Barbuda delegation. During this phase, the strength of the delegate is tested, as they have to campaign for the interest and vision of the country that is assigned to their school. Specifically, they have to lobby on a wide spectrum of issues specific to the nation he or she has became an expert on. After country alliances were built, while many others disrespected, aligned delegate nations put together a resolution that they deemed beneficial to the whole world with no negative externalities. Then, for three straight days, debating of these resolutions took place. Finally, these resolutions were put to the mercy of democracy. If they passed a vote conducted with the 500+ student General Assembly, the resolution had the likelihood of being brought to the attention of the actual United Nations Headquarters located in New York, USA.

High School News

Written by Charles B. (Gr. 12)

MUN continued

In addition to our experiences at the conference during the day, we had the opportunity to explore and embrace the culture of the Netherlands by visiting the ‘Venice of the North,’ Amsterdam. Visiting the Van Gogh Museum with its unique color combinations, the sight of brilliantly engineered canals, and the overall architecture left us completely mesmerized by the city and we were all grateful for the cultural experience.

High School News

As I reflect on the trip and specifically the conference itself, I rememberthat even after months of preparation and anticipation, when speaking and interacting in front of a crowd of hundreds of other students who are armed to the teeth with their own political agenda in form of resolution,my heartbeat was still kicking like a baby in the womb. Yet we all overcame our reservations and butterflies and displayed command andpoise in all of our speeches and interactions. The THIMUN (The Hague International Model United Nations) experience didn’t limit itself to this; it was also an organic place to grasp tremendous knowledge of modern global issues. Being surrounded by other students that are equally passionate for foreign politics, and the United Nations’ goal of reaching an international consensus to problems generates the most thought provoking conversations where no stones are left unturned. We all left feeling like global political scholars. Through it all, I believe it is truly one of the most humbling yet rewarding experiences that the American Overseas School of Rome can provide for its students.

It was through the generosity of the PTO, the significant contribution of the school administration, and the support of all of our parents (who also turned into amateur chefs due to the many bake sales we held) that we were able to attend this conference. Our sincerest thanks to all of them; you will see from the smiles in our pictures that this was an experience that we will never forget.

MUN continued

Falcon Sports

This year’s AOSR Annual Varsity Sports Banquet will

be held on Monday, June 15th at

18:00 in the gymnasium. Join us in celebrating all our

varsity Falcon student-athletes.

Boys Basketball Written by Coach Davis and Team Captain Leonardo P. (Gr. 12)

WOW! AOSR Boys Varsity Basketball Team won the school’s 1st European Boys Basketball Championship! It was very special because we dedicated this basketball season to our beloved AOSR teacher and alumnus, Jonus Ullman. Mr. Ullman was a big sports fan, loved basketball, and was always present at our 7:00 am practices looking in on us. This season I would look up in the bleachers during our morning practice and he was always there in spirit. We played and practiced with such passion, hence the motto work hard, play hard. After our captain, Leo P. suffered an injury right before Europeans, we as a team, also dedicated the European Championships to Leo. We played Baumholder and won 63-40, a treat for assistant coach Daryll Sandoval who played for AOSR in 2009 when we suffered a loss of the Division III Championship by only four points to Baumholder. Congratulations go to Otis R. (Gr. 10) who was awarded All Tournament and MVP, and Greg C. (Gr. 12) who was awarded All Tournament. We have young men from all over the world on our team and we are family. We played together, and helped each other on the court, and off the court.

It was an honor and a pleasure being their coach. Twenty guys coming together who are now friends for life. As coaches, Daryll Sandoval and myself, Coach Phil, we will enjoy that memory and feeling today and for years to come. Congratulations to the 2015 Boys Varsity Basketball European Division II Champions. GO FALCONS!

Written by Team Captain Olivia M. (Gr. 12) Cheer Team

High School News

On the front of our sweatshirts we wrote “DREAMSZN”, which stands for “Dream Season”, and it is exactly what this season was about. This was a season based on fulfilling our dreams. Now, each and everyone of us had a specific dream for themselves, whether it was to dunk, hit more three-pointers, or simply learn to play a better game. But most importantly we all shared one dream in common: Win the European Championships for the school’s very first time. This dream has been passed on for many years by past players, such as our new assistant coach and former guard, Daryll Paul Sandoval, and our famous coach, Phil Davis. Although we started off on the wrong foot with a pair of losses to Aviano, and have had our portion of low-performing games like any team, this year was different as we succeeded in fulfilling our ambitious dream of bringing that long-deserved Championship title home to AOSR, and in the process we all improved both individually and as a team. When it started out I was curious to see how all those new puzzle pieces were going to fit in and help depict our picture of victory and family, and frankly I can say that I couldn’t be more proud and thankful for each and every addition to our team. They all gave something, whether it was a speech or just a word to break out to. We decided to dedicate this entire season to one of our biggest fans, Mr. Jonas Ullman. My teammates insisted on also dedicating their championship games to me, after my injury during senior night. My injury, although unfortunate, showed me that the bond we all have between each other, is actually way stronger than what I had thought. They visited me, sent me messages, and wrote “Picchi #33” on their left shoe, then our Falcons flew to Germany where they continued a dream that was passed on by generations, and they came back to leave something new: a legacy, which we hope will be maintained in the future years. ~Team Captain, Leonardo P. (Gr. 12)

Greg C. (Gr. 12) Otis R. (Gr. 10)

High School News

Written by Team Captain John G. (Gr. 11) Wrestling

AOSR’s 2014-2015 Cheerleading team has been a great success all season. We are a great group of guys and girls who mesh well together, work hard and are serious about the sport. We’ve grown as friendsand as a family, making this year one of the best in recent AOSR Cheer history. Everyone picked up quickly on the hard work, skills, and dedication that is needed to perform a solid routine as well as a supportive and energetic sideline team. This year’s squad has a very high level of spirit and passion for the teams we are cheering for, as well as for our own team. We have come so far since the beginning of the year and we executed a good routine when we represented AOSR at Europeans. For the seniors, cheering our last game was the boys basketball Championship game, which was exciting and very rewarding. Recently, we also performed our routine at Italian Nationals and won 3rd place in Senior Coed Cheer Routine and 1st place in Game Time Cheer. It has been a very successful, exciting season and we thank everyonewho participated and traveled throughout the season! We love you all!

Written by Team Captain Olivia M. (Gr. 12) Cheer Team

In my first year as team captain, and second year wrestling, I've seen a lot of growth in the AOSR Wrestling Squad's character. I've seen previously unmotivated guys forge themselves into competent,

dedicated members of the team. I've seen a greater sense of camaraderie amongst all the guys. I've seen the first two AOSR wrestlers to make it to Europeans in over 15 years. I've seen a group of six boys be tutored by great coaches, Marco Tincani and Mark Kibler. And I've seen a squad of six guys improve

immensely. I can’t wait to see what we will achieve next year!

High School News Girls Basketball Written by Team Captain Alison C. (Gr.12)

Unfortatetly we were unable to perform with our usual zeal in Germany for Europeans, but what is important is that this season we came together through thick and thin, and learned a lot about teamwork, individual responsibilities and basketball.

The girls basketball team had many high and low points in the 2014-2015 season. We started strong with two victories over Sigonella but then lost two games against Aviano the following week. However, we redeemed ourselves when we returned to Aviano to play against Division 2 German teams Aunsbach and Hoenfells. We won both and played our hearts out with most definitely the closest game we had encountered, winning by only one point against Hoenfells.

Operation Smile Fun Run

AOSR participated in the Operation Smile Fun Run for the first time! The run took place in conjunction with the Rome Marathon on Sunday, March 22nd. AOSR raised enough money to fund operations for four children to repair their cleft lips. The AOSR PTO and National Honor Society also donated one smile each, bringing our

total to six! The team of doctors will meet in Madagascar in April to preform these operations. These children will now enjoy beautiful smiles for life! Thank you to all who registered to run and to those who offered their

time, efforts or resources to make this a successful event.

AOSR Global Issues Network High School News

Girls Basketball Written by Team Captain Alison C. (Gr.12)

On March 19th, delegates Sophi M. (Gr. 10), Jesulayomi A. (Gr. 12), Anna C. (Gr. 11), Vanessa S. (Gr. 10), Oluwasayo A. (Gr. 10), Yoojeong S. (Gr. 10), Emmy L. (Gr. 9 ), and Pantea T. (Gr. 9 ), from AOSR’s Global Issues Network (GIN) attended the 10th annual GIN conference in Milan. After three days of intense schedules, the conference concluded with inspirations, a broader global vision, and new friendships. Our delegates gave two presentations on global gender inequality issues and our effort to help improve women’s education by working with both the Cookstove Project (a UN initiative) and the Grandmother Project. Our presentations sparked passionate discussions with the audience and a welcoming sign was that male participation in our second presentation rose by 900%! This helped show us our mission to promote gender equality got the attention of our male counterparts.

At the end of the conference, we had valuable reflection time and we wrote our action plan for next year, which Anna and Vanessa presented on stage. A compliment came from another school, who remarked in their action plan presentation that their GIN team was inspired by our presentations and had made plans to pursuit the same cause next year. We spent Saturday evening and Sunday exploring Milan before heading back to Rome. We visited the Duomo and the castle. Even with a grey sky, we had lots of fun and we came back informed and inspired.

Operation Smile Fun Run

Contributed by GIN sponsor Ms. St. Onge

This year we have conducted many fundraisers like bake sales, movie night, and one Euro day. We have raised €2000 thus far and these funds will be donated to the Cookstove Project and the Grandmother Project. We have also participated in the One Billion Rising worldwide movement to combat violence against women. AOSR GIN Club will continue our work on promoting gender equality, and we aim to involve more participation from both genders within our school and local community next year.

Declamation is a time-honored tradition at AOSR going back decades. It has transformed over the years but the spirit and importance of the event has remained.

This year’s theme was “commitment.” Each 11th grade AOSR student chose a literary text that inspired them and also fit with the theme. After weeks of preparation, they presented their choices for their teachers, Ms. Sykes and Ms. Gates, and for each other. From this initial recitation, 11 finalists were chosen based on their merit in four categories: quality of literature, memorization, vocal interpretation and physical interpretation.

On Tuesday March 10th, these 11 students presented their pieces for the high school in an assembly that would ultimately yield the final winner(s) of the contest. The judges are always AOSR staff and faculty that are also alumni of the school along with the winner(s) from last year. This year our judges were Mr. Zacaroli, Ms. Telmon, and Jesulayomi A. (Gr. 12), last year’s winner.

This year’s finalists were truly spectacular. They held their audience’s attention from start to finish with beautifully rendered extracts from pieces ranging from Spoken Word poetry to films to speeches. Our final winner this year is Anna C. (Gr.11) with her excerpt from “How to Live With Someone Who Can’t” by Antonella Gonzalez. It was an unforgettable day for all and our finalists deserve great respect and much praise for handling exquisitely what is a very challenging task. We are already looking forward to next year! Go to AOSR.org to view this year’s finalists’ declamations.

Declamations Contributed by Ms. Gates and Ms. Sykes

High School News

San Francisco & New York City

AOSR and the American University of Rome (AUR) were honored to host two alumni gatherings this winter, one in San Francisco and the other in New York City. Our San

Francisco gathering on February 8th was the first joint event with AUR. It was wonderful to see our alumni connect and share their special memories of time spent in the Città Eterna. On February 23rd, in

New York City, we again partnered with AUR and neither sleet nor snow detered our more than 70 guests who gathered and showed that once you become a part of the AOSR family - you will always be family!

A special thank you to AUR and all our alumni who attended to make these events memorable for all.

Alumni News

Math is a universal language. We can all communicate through math. On March 31st AOSR elementary students celebrated math learning by having a Math Day! Students in grades Pre-K through five engaged in different math activities throughout the day. The culmination of this work was our Math is Everywhere! assembly in the gym. Students from different grade levels shared fun and exciting ideas that focused around math. Kindergarten students sang a song counting to 100, first graders rapped their way through the doubles addition facts, second grade students presented math jokes, third graders performed a song about geometry set to the tune of Lady Gaga’s hit song Pokerface, and we all joined in with fifth grade as they clapped and snapped a pattern, getting faster with each round. The ceremony ended with the entire Elementary School, teachers and students included, following a Just Dance routine in the gym. We really proved that math is everywhere and in everything! What a great way to come together and share learning before spring break!

Math is Everywhere! Contributed by Ms. Warlick and Ms. Rumsby

Elementary News Around Campus

Math is Everywhere! Contributed by Ms. Warlick and Ms. Rumsby

Elementary News Around CampusFaculty & Staff Appreciation Luncheon

On April 1st, PTO hosted its annual Teachers and Staff Appreciation Lunch. The lunch featured Thai cuisine and a beautiful spread of delicious, homemade desserts. An apron with the AOSR logo on it and a copy of the famous AOSR cookbook were given as a special thank you to all teachers and staff members.

AOSR Parent AcademiesOur AOSR Parent Academy sessions are a wonderful collaboration where parents and professionals work together to support student success!

Our next session is entitled: Moving On and Transitions

Presenters: Resource & Counseling DepartmentLocation: HS Classroom 2Intended Audience: All ParentsDate/Time: Wednesday, May 6th, 9:15-10:15 Description: Presentation and discussion focused on what it means to be a Third or Cross Cultural Kid, and how to successfully navigate the challenges involved in a high mobility lifestyle. In particular, we will focus on the process of transitioning for those leaving AOSR, and also provide tips for those who stay behind.

Come and celebrate with us on Saturday, May 9th, 2015 from 11:00-16:00.

The AOSR PTO has organized many games and prizes for the children, local vendor tables selling wonderful merchandise, fantastic entertrainment, our very popular raffle baskets and prizes, and

we can’t forget all the delicious food from all over the world, prepred and brought in by our AOSR families!

Tickets are on sale in the Villa office beginning April 13th. All proceeds earned from Mayfair help to enrich our school and AOSR community!

Be prepared to enjoy yourself! See you at Mayfair!**If you would like to learn more about how you can contribute to Mayfair, please contact PTO President

Stacy Mansager at pto@aosr.org .

villa reception and staffVilla Secretary: Ms. Manuela Ciocca 06.33438.300

Head of School: Dr. Beth Pfannl 06.33438.331Secretary: Ms. Domenica Losani 06.33438.331

Director of Finance & Human Resources: Dott.ssa Elisa Bruno 06.33438.338

Admissions Officer: Ms. Sabine Neumann 06.33438.311Busing: Mr. Kieran Canter 06.33438.372

secondary schoolPrincipal: Mr. Ken Kunin 06.33438.326

Secretary: Ms. Anna Chiara Troisi 06.33438.326Elementary school

Principal: Ms. Melissa Kay 06.33438.395Secretary: 06.33438.395

Faculty & CoordinatorsPre-K 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 06.33438.337College Counselor: Ms. Jessica Samet 06.33438.327

School Counselor: Dr. Simona Reichmann 06-33438-373Nurse: Ms. Lynn Lenox & Ms. Jan Miller 06.33438.321

After School Activities: Ms. Christine Hogan 06.33438.350 (between 9:00-15:30) 06.33438.320 (between 15:30-17:00)

Athletics: Mr. Daniel Zacaroli 06.33438.324

Contact Information

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

Phone: (+39) 06.33438.31 Fax: (+39) 06.3326.2608

American Overseas School of Rome

MAYFAIR

Coming Soon...

Important Dates to Remember...

April 13th ~ Classes resume April 17th ~ 17:15-22:00 - 10th Annual Middle School Talent Show, BBQ & DanceApril 22nd ~ 19:00-20:30 - Grade 5 performs Fifth Grade’s Got TalentApril 23rd ~ 18:00-20:00 - NHS Induction Ceremony & Honor Roll EventApril 29th ~ 19:00 - 21:00 - MS & HS Spring ConcertMay 5th ~ SAT ExamsMay 9th ~ 11:00 - 16:00 - Mayfair

May 10th ~ 9:00 - 14:00 - AOSR Gymnastics CompetitionMay 21st and 22nd ~ 19:00 - 21:00 - Shakespear Festival May 29th ~ Last Day for After School Activities Session 2June 5th ~ 19:00 - High School CommencementJune 6th ~ SAT ExamsJune 6th ~ Prom - held at the Hotel ForumJune 15th ~ Varsity Sports BanquetJune 17th ~ Last Day for ES & MS studentsJune 18th ~ Last Day for HS studentsTBD ~ 7th and 8th grade dinner & danceTBD ~ MS & ES Sports Day