Director News
The Choir, Band, and Strings Holiday Concerts were excellent. Our students impressed us with their hard work and high quality performances. Thank you to everyone who came out to support and celebrate our students’ accomplishments. I look forward to the Elementary School concerts coming up later this week. We appreciate your arriving on time and planning to stay for the entire concert to show your full support to all of our young performers. Photos and videos of each concert are published in our video and photo content libraries. Enjoy!
Our divisional student councils have chosen Friday, December 13 to be a “Pajamas or Ugly Holiday Sweater” dress-up day. PreK and Kinder will have their dress-up day on Monday, the 16th, as they will need to wear uniforms for their concert this Friday.
We are grateful for the opportunity to host an internationally known author, Laurie Halse Anderson, at AAS this week. Laurie had some inspiring words and great writing tips for our middle and high school students. Thank you to our Library for hosting Laurie, and our PTO for sponsoring the visiting artists program at AAS. It was wonderful to see so many students line up for autographs and engage with Laurie about their own writing journeys and favorite books.
The New Book Fair is on for one more day at our Malyy Theatre. We encourage you to stop by and pick books as presents, or for your own reading over the holidays. Thank you to the PTO for hosting this event.
Please remember that the last day of school before the holiday break is next Thursday, December 19. Please stop by the security desk before the break to check if your lost items are in the Lost & Found inventory. Unclaimed items will be donated to charity on Friday, December 20.
With so much learning taking place on and off the campus, we try to capture and share some of these student-centered stories with our community. Many of these celebrations of learning are shared with us by students, others by faculty, and some by parents. We invite you to celebrate student learning with us by following the school news via www.aas.ru/news and keeping an eye on upcoming events via our calendar at www.aas.ru/calendar.
Thank you for continuing to support our students in their academic and holistic learning. Wishing you a great week before the holidays!
ES Express
Dear Elementary School Families,
- Registration for the Winter Term of Penguin Clubs is now open. Find the registration link and a list of available clubs at https://www.aas.ru/student-life/penguin-life/es.
Friday, December 13, is a Holiday Spirit Day. Students can wear holiday sweaters or pajamas. PreK and Kinder students should wear their formal concert uniform on Friday, and come in with holiday attire on Monday, December 16.
- We cordially invite you to the annual ES Holiday Concert on Thursday, December 12, at 9:00 AM. The event will take place at the AAS Bolshoi Theatre. Our students are excited to perform. All Grade 1-4 classes and Grade 2-5 Strings Students have been working to the best of their musical ability, have taken great pride in their learning and preparing, and would like to share their accomplishments. The concert is videotaped, and we kindly ask that all students wear their formal uniforms, as described on our AAS website. Out of respect for all of our performers, we ask that you arrive on time, turn off your devices, and stay for the duration of the concert.
- We would like to invite you to the Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Winter Concert on Friday, December 13, at 9:00 AM in the Bolshoi Theatre. The students have been working hard on songs and have narrowed it down to a few favorites they will present as a send-off to the holiday season! Students should wear their formal uniforms.
- We look forward to seeing you at these concerts and wish you a very Happy Holiday Season!
- The Grade One Students showcased their learning journey through their Unit of Inquiry on the Transdisciplinary Themes of Where We Are In Place and Time and Who We Are at their Expo last week.
- Where we Are in Place and Time is an inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations, and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.
- Who We Are is an inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.
- The Central Idea for this unit was: Curating historical evidence provides insight into people.
- The Enduring Understandings (from the standards) were: The past is a broad term referring to events that happened or people who lived before now and The past cannot be changed.
- Students explored:
- Curating: select, organize, look after, present.
- Evidence: the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.
- Artifacts: an object made by a human being, typically one of cultural or historical interest.
- The Lines of Inquiry and Key Concepts that defined the scope of the inquiry into the Central Idea included:
- How does evidence tell us about the past? (form)
- How do we curate evidence? (function)
- How does our past shape who we are and who we can be? (causation)
- How do journeys impact people differently? (causation)I
- The students did an amazing job taking their parents and students in the Elementary School through their museum that highlighted all that they had learned through this unit. Grade 1 Expo Photos.
- Some quotes from parents on the experience:
- “A wonderful exhibit! I loved going around with William. Thank you!”
- “I love how well prepared Claire was. Confident and her knowledge is high.”
- “Excellent initiative! Adele promised to bring an artifact from the Easter trip to Turkey for her future artifacts.”
- “She was so excited to talk about all the activities she did together with friends at school. SUPER EXPO!”
- “Fantastic Expo! It is great to see life and its important moments through the eyes of a child! Thank you for organizing. There were very emotional memories!”
- “Iker and all First Grade Teachers and Students, Congratulations! You did an awesome job! I love, love, love your Expo. Super creative and extremely special. It makes my heart feel full of happiness.”
- “Very impressive. Beautiful and interesting presentation of the students’ lives and interests. A proud father will send the link to the audio guide to grandmother, aunt, some friends, etc.”
- Each grade level will hold one Expo throughout the year. Please be sure to join us for these incredible displays of the learning process.
- Last call! Thank you to all of the families who have sent back their filled Taganka bags. If you are planning to participate, please make sure your child’s bag is returned by December 17. There is an example of what the bag should contain in front of the Elementary School office and here is a reminder of what needs to be in it.
- We encourage students to bring these new items:
- Winter Hat
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Scarf
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Gloves or mittens
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Toys
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Books in Russian
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Christmas Candy
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Art supplies
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Personalized cards made by students
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These items should represent the age or grade level of your student.
ES Counselors
Donna Hinton for 3-5 | donna.hinton@aas.ru | Room 2130
- We are approaching the time of year when many parents ask for teacher reference letters to be sent to new schools. We understand that this can be a challenging time for families and that placement in the next school is of utmost importance to families on the move. If your family is approaching a possible transition please keep the following in mind:
- Children can often sense the additional stress in the family that the idea of a move can bring so being as open and honest with your children as possible can help them move through this time more successfully.
- Please let your child’s counselor and teacher know of any potential move as soon as possible, and how your child is coping with the news, so we can be of support.
- Please contact your student’s counselor first for: reference letters, online teacher evaluation, requests for report cards, MAP reports and new school assessments.
- Please note that all teacher/counselor or principal references are confidential. Our procedure is that the confidential teacher reference forms or letters are sent directly to the new school by the school counselors or counseling department.
- The counseling department will arrange for all documentation requested by parents to be sent to the application school(s). References and records usually take 1-2 weeks to complete. Transition letter from Counselors | Transition Information for Parents
- We best support our students moving on successfully when the potential new school receives all the information they need to allow them to meet a child’s needs. We want to help students end their time as AAS as positively as possible to prepare them to start well in their next school.
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Love and Logic Parenting Workshop We invite parents of all ages to join us for Love and Logic Parenting Classes. This is a great workshop that includes reading material, videos, discussions and the opportunity to learn and practice effective parenting skills. It’s a fun time to get with other parents, share the joys, challenges and humor of raising children. We will be running Love and Logic for 6 weeks on Thursday mornings and we encourage that you commit for all 6 sessions if possible as the sessions build upon one another and are most effective when taken as a whole. If you can’t make all 6 you are still welcome to attend and learn some new effective parenting tools. Some parents who have participated in Love and Logic may also be interested in attending some of the sessions as a refresher. All are welcome but please let us know you are coming so we have resources for you.
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Dates: January 16, 23, 30, February 13, 27, March 12
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Day and Time: Thursdays 8:45 - 10:15
- Location: Community Room
- Cost: Workbooks 600 Rubles
- Register by emailing donna.hinton@aas.ru or sharon.ronan@aas.ru.
- Please contact Donna or Sharon if you have any further questions.
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Teacher Blogs
ES Calendar
Calendar & Category Legend:
- Elementary School
- PTO
- Schoolwide
What's Up in MS
Noah Bohnen noah.bohnen@aas.ru
MS Counselor
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Thanks to those parents who attended FCD Prevention Works’ presentation on Tuesday morning. It was an edifying presentation. One fact that emerged from the discussion is that teens often need parental guidance in making healthy choices; you can find more information here: Parents in prevention. And be sure to check out FCD’s presentation materials in the main MS part of this or next week’s newsletter.
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On a different but related note: While the days leading up to Winter Break are typically exciting ones, they can bring some stressors for our children, too. Learning to cope with stress in healthy ways is one of life’s most important lessons. If you’re interested in reading more about helping your child develop positive coping strategies, you’ll find valuable information at this site: Five coping skills teens need.
MS Calendar
Calendar & Category Legend:
- Middle School
- MS/HS Rotation Days
- PTO
- Schoolwide
HS Flash
HS Associate Principal, Matthew Groves matthew.groves@aas.ru
Thank you to everyone who attended any nights of our Winter Concert Series. Our students performed exquisitely, and we are proud of their musical abilities.
Grade 9-10 parents are invited to a Standards Based Grading Update Coffee next Tuesday, December 17, at 10:00, in the South Cafeteria, after the PTO Community Coffee.
This week we have some great visitors on campus, helping us make education as relevant as possible to our students. The first is the author, Laurie Halse Anderson, who has published multiple books on teen issues and historical fiction. She spoke to many English classes and our entire High School student population on Tuesday. Her time with students discussing creative writing and overcoming personal adversity has been overwhelmingly positive.
We also had two members from the group Freedom From Chemical Dependency educating our students, parents, and faculty about survey data taken from our students on their behaviors. We now have longitudinal data going back to 2010, showing how habits have positively changed in our students. Mr. Groves and I will incorporate the data into our next parent coffee after Winter Break so you can see and analyze the data yourselves.
It is so important that we understand teenagers and learn from the information they give us. If you ever need help having hard conversations with your children, reach out to us for support. Remember, we are a three-way partnership (student, parent, educator) with the same common goal of helping your child reach their potential and ultimately achieve their dreams.
- The last HS student-organized Esports Fundraiser was a big success with 20,000 rubles raised towards the World Wildlife Fund. Check out the new AAS TV episode about the first video games fundraiser.
- The 2nd Esports Fundraiser Tournament is coming up next week! The event will be held in the South Cafeteria from 3:45 PM to 5:45 PM on December 16 and 18.
- All HS students are invited to participate, have some fun playing games, and help funds for the HS Robotics program. Come by and support the Robotics Program.
IB Office
Sean Sonderman sean.sonderman@aas.ru
HS Counselors
Bryn Will bryn.will@aas.ru
Lauren Zimmerman lauren.zimmerman@aas.ru
- This week the HS Counselors hosted our FCD Speakers. It was a pleasure to have them back, and they shared a lot of interesting data gained from our fall survey. More information will be shared next week if you could not make the parent meeting that was held on Tuesday.
- Gr. 12 students are busy finalizing and submitting their applications to university, which is an exciting yet scary step in their next transition. Be sure that winter break has its relaxing aspects for your children as they will begin preparing for mock exams upon their return in January.
College Coffees: The last College Coffee will take place on December 12 at 8:45 in the Cafeteria. Please join to explore university-related questions at this time. No appointment necessary – just stop by for a chat.
HS Calendar
Calendar & Category Legend:
- High School
- MS/HS Rotation Days
- PTO
- Schoolwide
ES Penguin Clubs (Registration Starts Today)
Activities Coordinator: Elena Plyuta | elena.plyuta@aas.ru
ES Penguin Clubs
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Term 2 of Penguin Clubs finishes this week.
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Registration for the Winter Term of Penguin Clubs starts today and closes on January 14, 2020.
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Winter Term offerings are comprised of outdoor winter sports and indoor pool activities. Spaces are limited.
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Parents are reminded that during Winter Term students may only be registered for 1 club a week.
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Winter Term registration link is available on the ES Penguin Life section of our website at https://www.aas.ru/student-life/penguin-life/es
- Here's a direct link to the ES Winter Term Penguin Clubs Registration
Aquatics
Athletics/Aquatics: Kirby Boychuk | kirby.boychuk@aas.ru
- Saturday Swim Program (SSP)
- In order to provide AAS Moscow Aquatics Programs' with our continued safe environments, we are delaying the start of the SSP.
- Our SSP instructors will be involved in instructing and assisting with the Lifeguard certification courses during the month of November and December.
- AAS will have a full squad of Lifeguards ready to GUARD over the Saturday Swim Program starting on January 1.
- Individual Swimming Lessons
- Read ALL INFORMATION in the Individual Swimming Lesson Section of the website
- Registration for Individual Swimming Instruction is now available.
Library News
Open 10:00 – 13:00 on the following Saturdays:
Jan. 18, Feb. 1, Mar. 14, Apr.18, May 30, Jun. 13
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Many many thanks to the PTO for bringing our phenomenal author Laurie Halse Anderson to AAS. Check out the school’s Flickr account to find pictures of her big sessions.
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Laurie’s most recent book SHOUT just won the Goodread’s Annual Choice Award for Poetry. We are so pleased that we could host her on this honorable day.
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Check out our Overdrive here and email library@aas.ru to hear the audio version of that poetry book (read by her) and the graphic novel of Speak. We’ve just increased checkout limits to 5 to make sure that you have ample options during the holiday.
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We’ve also put many audiobooks for super young readers on Overdrive to help with that three weeks of break. Read all through the winter break!
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Remember you can always put books on hold to read; just log in with your st number and password, find the book, and place the hold.
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Calling all parents: Please visit us on Wednesday and Thursday morning (18&19 December) for our Breakfast and Browse event, where we provide some coffee and treats and put out all our newest, freshest books just in time for the break.
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Upcoming Library Events:
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December 9-12 (Mon-Thurs): Visiting Artist Laurie Halse Anderson for Grades 5 and up.
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December 18 and 19 (Weds + Thurs): Breakfast and Browse (A pre-break event to enjoy new books over coffee, all readers welcome).
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Lost & Found
- With Thursday, December 19 being the last day of classes before winter break, we will be arranging the donation of all unclaimed items from the Lost&Found to charity on the first day of break, Friday, December 20.
- AAS Security keeps an inventory of all items in the Lost&Found.
- If you or your child is missing an item, please stop by the main security desk to check if the item has been recovered in the Lost&Found.
Student Projects
HS Esports Fundraiser
- The last Esports HS Students Fundraiser was a big success with 20,000 rubles raised towards the World Wildlife Fund. Check out the new AAS TV episode about the first video games fundraiser.
- The 2nd Esports Fundraiser Tournament is coming up next week!
- All HS students are invited to participate, have some fun playing games, and help funds for the HS Robotics program. Come by and support the Robotics Program.
- The event will be held in the South Cafeteria from 3:45 PM to 5:45 PM on December 16 and 18.
NHS PEER TUTORING
Eco-Green
Email Us | ecogreen@aas.ru
Eco-Green Blog | http://blogs.aas.ru/green/
Facebook | Click here
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Earth Charter is organising an online course for educators to integrate education about sustainable development into classrooms and curricula. This online course runs from 15 January - 24 June 2020.
Other News
- Our next meeting is Saturday, December 14, 2019, in the South Cafeteria at 3:00 PM
- This will be a general meeting. Stop by and see what Scouts have to offer.
- Sign up your child K-5th grade and don’t miss out on the next fun adventure.
- Our Girls group is growing. Girls in grades 2-4 are encouraged to join.
- For more information, you can email us at cubscoutsofmoscow@gmail.com
Health Office News
Common symptoms reported this week at the Health Office included headache, sore throat, stomachache, nausea, vomiting and fever.
- Stop by the Health Office to discuss your child’s health record if you are unsure of what is required.
- Check out the Health Office's web page to confirm that you are meeting all of our health requirements
- AAS Health Office Forms
From the PTO President
Reminder! PTO Community Coffee - Holiday Edition December 17, 8:45
- The next PTO COMMUNITY Coffee - Holiday Edition will be at 8:45 on December 17 in the South Cafeteria.
- Our agenda includes student presentations, updates and thank you's.
- Please join us for a fun morning coffee and celebrate the holiday spirit in holiday colors of Red, Green, or White.
Divisional Updates
- ES - Winter holiday parties will be held from 14:30 to 15:30, on Thursday, December 19. Please contact your Class Parent if you have any questions or to volunteer to help with the party.
- MS - Thank you to all the MS parents for sending delicious food and a special Thank You to the Seventh-grade parents for helping in setting up and serving food to the MS students for another great MS Social last Friday night. Our students enjoyed the food and had a great time!
- HS - We are continuing serving our grade-wide Holiday lunches to the HS students. Thank you to all the HS parents who are donating food and helping on the days.
Reminder! PTO Charity Matching Fund
- The PTO has a 1:1 matching fund to support the charitable fundraising organized by any student group to benefit one of the many charities supported by our AAS community. If you have been involved in fundraising at school, please do not forget to apply for the matching grant, this could double your fundraising efforts. Click here to learn more.
PTO New Book Fair- On Now at the AAS Malyy!
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Students have been visiting the New Book Fair since yesterday to buy some wonderful English Language Books, imported primarily from the UK.
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The Fair is open until Thursday. Parents are welcome to pop in at any time. The books are discounted up to 35%!
PTO Vacancy
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We are looking for a new PTO Shop manager for the next school year ( 2020-21).
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If you're interested in this wonderful opportunity, please email pto@aas.ru.
- The outgoing PTO shop manager will help in full training and provide the opportunity to shadow her.
Volunteer Here
- Being a volunteer is a great way to meet people, have fun and give back to the AAS community.
- If you are interested in volunteering for the PTO, please contact Ines Cremers (PTO Secretary) at pto.secretary@aas.ru
On the Go with PTO
- Join us in exploring Moscow!
- Every month we offer new activities, new tours - we will visit unique attractions of our host city together, we will have lunch together, we will go and visit theaters together, we will join in sports together, every month something new! Everyone is welcome! Please send an email to pto.internal@aas.ru
- Watch this space for the January Tour.
PTO Exchange and Shop
PTO EXCHANGE:
- New! Get your children and yourself ready for the skating season! SKATES are available at the PTO Exchange for 6 SwapTickets (or 600rub), as well as a limited number of skate bags. Open air skating rinks are opening in Moscow this week!
- Click here to view the full information, open hours are Monday-Thursday, 14:45-16:00
PTO SHOP:
- In time for the Holidays!The shop has a new Hoodie and a crew neck T-shirt design available for sale now! These or one of various other T-shirt designs at the shop make perfect presents for friends and family.
- Holiday items are already on display at PTO Shop. Please drop in and have a look.
- Click here to view full information, including opening hours.