AIAN will be a widely respected school providing a model US based educational program with an internationally minded community. October 14, 2011. Dear Community, We hope that everyone enjoyed the October Break and returned to school ready to work. Week eight of the school year has ended. As mentioned in the last Eagle Eyes newsflash report cards and parent teacher conferences will be an important part of October and November. Kindly refer to the Events Calendar or the list of events included in this newsflash to make sure you are available on these important dates. Other items for you attention are, INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS DAY AIAN is proud to announce that this year we will be celebrating International Awareness Day and it will take place at AIAN on Monday, October 24, 2011. We are combining Peace Day, United Nation's Day, and International Day for logistical reasons and to create a more wholesome and meaningful day. This is our chance to feature the different countries that represent our school. Students come dressed in the traditional clothing of their home country and participate in a parade of nations. Anthems from each country are played as each group, carrying their home flag, parades by the crowds. Afterwards there is an assembly featuring students performing various songs about unity and a video presentation about how all of our countries can get along. There are school wide activities that follow to allow students to work together across the grades learning about special cultural features of various countries. Each class chooses a country to study and then presents an activity that best represents the country such as music, games, art, or dances. Every student has a chance to participate and teach to the other students. There will also be a school-wide candle ceremony around the Peace Pole in the center courtyard. Student Council representatives will read the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights and share with us what they mean. The day wouldn't be complete without food! An international food fair is hosted by the parents of our school (PTA). Authentic dishes from countries represented by our families will be available for everyone to try. AUTHOR VISIT- Lisa Carducci, ˇ°Living Happily in China ˇ± AIAN is happy to welcome ex-pat author, Lisa Carducci, to our school on Monday, October 31 to share the process and content of her book, ˇ°Living Happily in China ˇ±. Parents and community members are invited to join in on a free book talk with the author from 11:00am-12:00pm at AIAN on this day and High School students will have the opportunity to meet with Ms. Carducci from 1:15pm-2:15pm to discuss her book and the process of writing/publishing a book. Parents and community members are also welcome to join in on this discussion. More details will be released and advertised. Please see Ms. Carney, Mr. Buckmaster, or Ms. Centers to borrow copies of ˇ°Living Happily in China ˇ± by Lisa Carducci. STUDENT COUNCIL ¨C SPIRIT WEEK The Student Council is undertaking an initiative towards generating school spirit. They are organizing a Spirit Week for next week under the following guidelines. Monday, Oct 17 - Crazy Hair Day Tuesday Oct 18 - Pajamas Day Wednesday, Oct 19 - Weird Hat Thursday, Oct 20 - School colors Friday, Oct 21 - Twin Day All the community is welcome to join in this initiative by dressing up as indicated on each day. We hope that everyone will participate! Please see the Student Council poster attached.
Let's start thinking about SAT. What is the SAT? Councilors It is a test that assesses reading, writing, and math skills learned in school. These skills are critical for success in college and beyond. The questions in the SAT are research based to make sure students from all backgrounds have an equal chance to do well. It is the most widely used test to assist with admissions for US universities and colleges. Some colleges publish a range of scores that they are expecting from prospective students. In short, the SAT provides a trusted, nationally recognized indicator of academic readiness for college. Taken from the SAT website, ˇ°In a way, the SAT is the bridge between the hard work you've already done and the college that is the best fit for the future you are about to create.ˇ± What is the SAT Subject Test? What is it useful for? The SAT Subject Tests offer an additional opportunity to show colleges what a student knows and what the student can do. Many colleges use the SAT Subject Tests for admission, for course placement, and to advise students about course selection. Some colleges specify the SAT Subject Tests that they require for admission or placement; others allow applicants to choose which tests to take. When should the test be taken? Most students take the SAT for the first time during the spring of their junior year, and a second time during their senior year. Research has shown that there is an improvement on the second test taking, but a decline on the 3 rd . AIAN recommends that our students therefore take it twice. The target SAT testing date for AIAN is March 10, 2012. We will announce deadlines for registration and payments and coordinate the registration and the administration for the tests. The current price for testing is: US $49, (US $75 for late registration) for the SAT and US$ 22 + US$ 11 for each subject for the SAT Subject test LET'S TALK ABOUT ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) AP courses are challenging and rigorous courses offered in the high school that provide you with the necessary skills and information to be able to meet the challenge of the annual AP exams. In AP classrooms, the focus is not on memorizing facts and figures. Instead, students are engaged in intense discussions, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration and clear and persuasive writing.
Why take AP? AP courses can help you acquire the skills and habits you'll need to be successful in college. You'll improve your writing skills, sharpen your problem-solving abilities, and develop time management skills, discipline, and study habits. With AP courses and exams, you may be able to earn college credit and advanced placement, or stand out in the admission process for your selected university. AP also has international university recognition. Outside the U.S. , universities in more than 60 countries also recognize AP Exam scores in the admission process and/or for credit and advanced placement. For those people involved is admissions processes, students who have opted to take AP show themselves to be highly motivated, prepared, and have the proper work ethic to be successful in college.(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6184176) Individual colleges and universities, not the College Board or the AP Program, set admission and AP recognition criteria for their respective programs. AP Exam performance is typically considered within the student's complete application. Admission policies vary from school to school; interested students should contact the institution directly for further information regarding application procedures and policies. What to do?
Advanced Placement at AIAN For this year, AIAN offers the following AP subjects to our 11 th and 12 th graders: • AP Calculus • AP Physics • AP MacroEconomics • AP Comparative Govt and Politics
• AP Studio Art: Drawing • AP English Literature and Composition. May 7 to 18 2012 is the testing period for all AP courses. The AP coordinator orders the exams by January 2012. Cost is US$ 87 per examination subject. (Information in this article was taken from Collegeboard.org) FREE PARENTING WORKSHOP The workshop indicated below may be an interesting information seminar to attend for parents. It deals with information regarding children who may be exhibiting developmental delays. It is in Shanghai and it is free.
PARENT TEACHERS ASSOCAITION **One of our first concerns is making sure that every class has a room parent to coordinate parties and events with the classroom teachers. We already have some volunteers, if you are interested in being a room parent for your child's class, please contact Kathryn Ruhe (contact information below) or write a note to your child's teacher in their agenda book. ** The AIAN International Awareness Day is October 24th. We hope that you got the information sheet sent home with your child earlier this week ** Halloween on October 31 will also be a fun day for the PTA, students and staff; we will be decorating the foyer and providing treats for all of the students at the end of the parade. **The PTA is also planning to hold a holiday bazaar on November 25 and 26. So, if you know of any vendors or individuals that would like to sell holiday gifts or decorative items, we would love to start gathering names and contact information. Money raised goes directly to the PTA to fund our projects. We would be most grateful for any help you are willing to provide! There will be many ways to contribute and be a part of the celebrations throughout the year. We will need people through the whole school year to fill and hand out treat bags, help decorate for various events and pitch in for bake sales, popcorn Fridays and other functions. If you have any questions, concerns, ideas or helping hands, please contact: Kathryn Ruhe at kathryn.ruhe@aian.org.cn or Lisa Shortes at slshortes@comcast.net There is a mailbox in the AIAN office that you can drop off any correspondence as well. Our next general meeting will be OCTOBER 20 AT 9:00 AM we hope to see you there!**** LIBRARY NEWS The school has acquired an online book reader called ˇ°TumbleReadables.ˇ± You can access the collection anytime by going either to: Username: aianread Password: login or by going to www.aian.org.cn , then Links, then Tumble Books online reader. The collection features 8 categories containing nearly 125 Read-Along titles (and an additional 100 large print online titles): picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle school readers, YA/teen Novels, children's classics, classics and Shakespeare. Read-Alongs are great for emergent, struggling, and reluctant readers, and are an excellent tool for ELL students. With a fun, stylish new interface, Read-Alongs will also appeal to accomplished readers who are excited to follow along to the narration of their favorite books. These Read-Alongs highlight the sentences as they are being read, turn the page automatically, and offer the ability to follow along in 3 text sizes. They also include an innovative bookmarking feature, the ability to switch to manual in order to read at your own speed, and cool color options for the skin of our new Read-Along player. Importantly, please be aware of the following The AIAN Library and Art class are launching a ˇ°Movie Posterˇ± contest were students select a book (that is not yet turned into a movie) and read it. The children need to think of an awesome way to advertise the book as if it was a movie. Consideration of the characters (and actors who are going to play them) and settings and how to draw an exciting and interesting scene from the book to attract the audiences attention will be needed. The movie poster must have the author and the title of the book. Children may use any materials, paint, water colors, etc. to create their posters. The best works will be displayed around the school or in the library and awarded prizes and extra credit in Art Class! For more details please talk to Ms. Carney (Art Teacher) or Ms. Centers (AIAN Librarian). If your child dreams of becoming a writer, we have an opportunity to publish their work. LittleStar magazine has launched a short story competition . Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must not have been published previously by self-publishing or being placed on any website or public online forum. There will be ONE 1st prize winner; TWO 2nd prize winners; THREE 3rd prize winners in each age group. Beside this, LittleStar Magazine offers the grand prize ¨C One Apple iPad2 for the student writer of LittleStar's choice, and the winner will also get an internship opportunity at LittleStar Magazine. For more details please talk to the librarian. WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES (WASC) The WASC regional representative, Mrs. Marilyn George, will visit AIAN on October 19 and 20. The purpose of this visit is to help the school prepare for the full WASC team visit in April of this school year. Please, everyone make her feel welcome. SCHOOL SECURITY At the PTA meeting on Wednesday, September 21 the matter of maintaining security at the gate was discussed. It was agreed that the finger print system that is in place for the teachers will be adopted by the parents. This system was selected over the suggestion made in last week's newsflash of working on a picture ID system. As indicated last week the placement of the system is inside the guard house. So parents and visitors will need to go inside the guard house to place their finger on the unit. Many parents and other responsible adults who collect students from school still need to record their finger print in the school system. This is done by visiting the school office and recording your print against your name. Tom from the IT department is in charge of this. Please come in to school and so this. DATES IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMEBER FOR YOUR DIARIES. October 20th to 22nd ACAMIS VOLLEYBALL October 21st End of Quarter 1 October 24th International Awareness Day October 26th Short Day, early finish at 2:30pm October 27th ASA Q1 Finish, Pride Assembly October 28th No School, teacher PD Day October 31st Halloween Parade/ASA Q2 Start November 2nd Report Card Day November 7th and 9th Parent Teacher Conference November 18th No School, teacher PD Day November 24th Pride Assembly November 25th Progress Report Cards Day. PTA Bazaar. November 26th PTA Bazaar November 30th Short Day, early finish at 2:30pm Thank you. Regards, Mark Bretherton , Head of School. |
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COUNCELORS CORNER 
Once you've decided to take an AP course, talk to an AP teacher or the AP Coordinator about the course you want to take. Discuss the course's workload and any preparation you might need. 
For next school year, in addition to these courses, we will offer two other AP subjects These are, 
