AIAN will be a widely respected school providing a model US based educational program with an internationally minded community. October 21, 2011. Dear Community, Week nine of the school year has ended and today also marks the end of the first quarter of school! It was a very busy week indeed. The ACAMIS boys and girls volleyball teams traveled to Beijing on Thursday for their tournament. We know that both teams lost their opening games yesterday. We wish them good luck today and over the weekend. GO EAGLES! The regional WASC representative, Mrs. Marilyn George, spent two days in school speaking with faculty members and parents about progress on the school wide action plans for improvement. Overall, WASC were satisfied and informed the school that our progress report, submitted in May, was accepted by the WASC commission. We still have much to do before the full visit in April, but the school is now on a stronger track. Preparations have been on going for the International Awareness Day on Monday, October 24. Please see the information below. We hope to see all of our community in attendance! It will be a great day. You can stay all day and join in the activities. Other items for you attention are, INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS DAY International Day is Monday, October 24th. Below is a detailed outline of the timetable and the procedures. Schedule 8:30-8:50 Attendance/Preparation and set-up / Change into costumes 9:00-9:30 Parade/Assembly 9:30-9:40 Peace Activity around the peace pole in courtyard 9:40-10:25 Assembly 10:25-10:40 Snack/Recess 10:45-12:15 Elementary classes host upper classes ¨C work on ESLR task 12:15-12:45 Lunch ¨CStudents only plus the 3 recess monitors 12:45-1:00 Students go to recess. Teachers, staff, and parents eat lunch 1:00 Return to classes and prepare for afternoon task 1:05-3:20 MS/HS classes host Elementary classes ¨C work on ESLR task 3:20 Return to homeroom to prepare to go home Classroom Visits: 1) Please set up displays in your classrooms (unless otherwise directed). 2) Every homeroom teacher will have at least one assistant for the day. Parade of Nations Teachers and assistants are asked to bring their classes down to the area where the buses are usually parked at 8:50am sharp. Parents and guests will be assembled around the circle near the gate. Once the parade starts, students will march in their country groups with their flag ¨C around the circle and then stop at their country's sign on the backside to watch the rest of the parade. Teachers can march with their country as well. 9:20a.m. (Approx). Once the last country is announced and finishes the parade walk, parents are welcome to take photos. 9:25a.m. Everyone moves to the courtyard and will make a large circle around the peace pole. Peace activities commence 9:40a.m. Then everyone will move into the assembly hall. Students will sit by grade level (there will be signs) and get ready for the assembly. Parents and guests should move into the assembly hall last and sit behind the students. 9:40-10:25 After the assembly, students will be dismissed for recess. 10:45 Elementary students go to their classrooms and the MS/HS will rotate through the rooms for activities. MS/HS Schedule to visit Elementary:
*Early Years will be in the large computer lab Lunch: 12:15-1:00 • Students will eat lunch at 12:15 p.m. Students go to recess at 12:45 p.m. Staff, teachers, and parents eat when the students go to recess. • Proceed around the tables starting to your right, going forward only! • Find a place outside to sit and eat. We ask everyone: • Do not congregate in front of the doors. • Please respect the time allotted for eating as there are others waiting. • Assistants, please stay with your class you are assigned to. Elementary Schedule to visit MS/HS:
3:20 p.m. Elementary returns to classrooms and everyone prepares to go home. NEW TEACHER Ms. Kari Lanham, the new Nursery class teacher will start work next week. Please make Ms. Lanham feel welcome. I wish to thank Mrs. Ruhe and Mrs. Campos for their help, support and quality teaching of the Nursery class. These two ladies helped to cover this expansion class until we could find a suitable colleague. 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. COUNCELLORS CORNER
Let's start thinking about SAT. What is the SAT? 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? 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 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) DATES IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMEBER FOR YOUR DIARIES. 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. Nonember26th PTA Bazaar November 30th Short Day, early finish at 2:30pm Thank you. Regards, Mark Bretherton , Head of School. |
Advanced Placement at AIAN 
For next school year, in addition to these courses, we will offer two other AP subjects. These are,