AAS Middle School | The Anglo-American School of Moscow

Welcome to Middle School

As a team founded upon caring, committed, and qualified educators, we work hard to provide a rigorous and engaging academic program within the framework of holistic excellence. We are focused on providing a safe and positive experience that develops the individual while preparing them for the challenges and opportunities that await them in the future. Our middle school is a nurturing, and caring community where all students have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive while determining their individual paths in life.

AAS Moscow International CURRICULUM

Our international school curriculum in the AAS Moscow Middle School emphasizes inquiry and cross-subject learning. AAS Moscow is in line with the latest research and international educational approaches. We pride ourselves on being the only international school in Moscow to provide a truly holistic and international education that ensures the acquisition of lifelong skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values in authentic ways.

The core classes in our Middle School curriculum include English literacy skills, social studies, science, and mathematics. The traditional subjects of English and Social Studies are combined into one class, "Humanities," which forms one of the major building blocks of the student’s schedule. In this class, broad areas of inquiry in the subjects of history, economics, sociology and geography often form the basis for the continued development of English Language Arts skills.

Students also have the opportunity to develop a second language; courses in Russian, French, or Spanish are offered for non-native speakers. We also offer the opportunity for Russian Native speakers to further develop their Mother Tongue skills in reading and writing.

We are fortunate at AAS to have a strong “English as an Additional Language” (EAL) program which supports our students who require strengthening their academic English language skills.

All AAS Moscow Middle School students also take:

Visual Arts which includes a wide range of fields such as ceramics, graphic design, graffiti art, etc..
Performing Arts which includes Drama, Technical Theatre, Sound and Lights, etc...
Music which includes Choir and Strings
And of course Physical and Health Education

Please visit our Learning at AAS page for a full description of our academic standards in all subjects and grades.

Advisory Program

Our International School Advisory Program

Each small group of students meets for 30 minutes, four days per week with their designated faculty advisor.

The AAS Moscow Advisory Program is structured around four rotating themes:

Mindsets and Goals
Recognizing Bullying and Harassment
Thoughts, Emotions, and Decisions
Managing Relationships and Social Conflict.

The essence of an advisory is for students to feel they can safely and candidly discuss issues important to their welfare. Faculty Advisors serve as the students’ advocate and guide throughout the year, maintaining good channels of communication between the school and home and attending all meetings related to their advisees’ academic or disciplinary issues.

In addition to the positive relationships students already establish with their core teachers, students have their faculty advisor looking out for their best interest.

Faculty Advisors closely monitor each student’s academic and social progress
Faculty Advisors conduct one-on-one conferences with each student.
Faculty Advisors facilitate a positive, productive relationship with each of their students.

Discovery Week

Discovery Week is an integral part of our school program and enhances the educational experiences for all students. Those overnight multi-days trips enrich the learning by exposing the students to lifelong skills.

The trips are designed so students will:

Gain greater understanding of various regions of Russia. Through the trips, students learn about and appreciate the geography, history, people and customs of Russia.

Grow in self-awareness, self-confidence & independence. By traveling in a group, away from home and without parents, students will get to know themselves better, gain confidence through new experiences, and make decisions that increase their sense of self-reliance and independence.

Appreciate each other and their teachers in new ways, become closer and supportive of one another. Through the common experiences of traveling, eating, and living together for five/six days, students and teachers will experience each other in new ways not possible in the classroom. Students get to know one another well, make new friends and learn skills in dealing effectively with others in a group. These new experiences will provide an opportunity for students and teachers to build a positive and constructive foundation for future interactions.

Middle School Discovery Days

Throughout the school year, AAS students traditionally participate in a three to five day series of activities called Discovery Days, which is an important part of community building.

This is an excellent opportunity for the students to get to know each other across the grade levels in a fun and playful way, and form new connections. Discovery Days are usually held in the early fall, which is a good time to learn outside the classroom.

This year, Middle School went on a Photo Hunt to the nearby beach, spent time outside on the North Field, and had a Jeoparty game (yes, with a ‘t’) among the various activities. Oh, and while at it, the young MS leaders decided to start their Student Council Presidential campaigns right on the same week because why not? Now, let’s slow down and take a closer look at what discoveries were made over the Discovery week.

📸 Discovery Day 1. Photo Hunt.

The very first Discovery Day was a blast! The cloudy weather did little if anything to spoil the great Photo Hunt, arguably the most demanding of all the Discovery activities. Students formed small teams and began their photo sessions, collecting points for each of the 40+ tasks captured on camera.

Some tasks were quite simple (take a photo of your team looking peaceful, or take a photo of someone from your team imitating a coniferous tree), others – not so much. For example, it is next to impossible to persuade Mr.Maia to join a team’s dance!

The Photo Hunt day ended on a high note, with the teams submitting their photos for the final score tally.

🏐 Discovery Day 2. Outdoor Activities.

Are you agile enough to run under the colored airy tent or untangle the human ball? Are you trusting enough to go blindfolded through an obstacle course, guided only by the voice of a fellow classmate? Are you sharp-witted enough to solve a highly dynamic Tic-Tac-Toe while running?

The above challenges (and many more) were the focus of the MS Discovery Day 2. Students once again formed teams, this time somewhat larger, and went through all the challenges one by one, switching every 10-15 minutes. All the activities are designed in such a way that a team effort is required. Students were learning to trust, respect, and care for each other, – the skills essential for the students’ overall development as a whole individual beyond the classroom.

🪩 Discovery Day 3. Jeoparty!

The final Discovery Day has started with an intellectually stimulating game of Jeoparty, the misspelling hinting at the MS Social event prepared for the students after school. All students gathered in the spacious Bolshoi Theatre, and established three teams, even larger than before. Questions ranged from ‘easy’ to ‘uber-hard’, with an occasional mismatch in ‘difficulty vs. reward’, which only played to enhance the energized atmosphere.

After the game, students went for refreshments, provided by AAS Parent-Teacher Organization, the foundation of AAS community, and then returned to the Bolshoi for a movie. Meanwhile, a space has been set up for the after school student party, to celebrate the Discovery Days with the first MS social of the year!

Personal and Social Emotional Counseling

At AAS, the counselors support the transition into, through, and out of middle school, including adjustment to Moscow and the AAS community. The counselors seek to:

Facilitate problem solving and communication among all members of the school community including students, teachers, parents and administrators.
Support students and families with immediate social-emotional issues.
Make referrals to outside support services where necessary.

Electives

Inherent in all good middle schools are opportunities for students to explore and to have an opportunity for choice based on their interests. Electives have strong co-curricular connections to social sciences, language arts, math, science, technology, the arts, and physical education. During any given quarter, a student will have approximately five electives from which to choose.

ELECTIVES Gr. 6 Electives Gr. 7 & 8

Calendar

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Explore

Library

The AAS library serves the entire AAS community, including all students, parents, and staff.

In This Section

AAS Moscow International CURRICULUM

Advisory Program

Our International School Advisory Program

Discovery Week

Middle School Discovery Days

📸 Discovery Day 1. Photo Hunt.

🏐 Discovery Day 2. Outdoor Activities.

🪩 Discovery Day 3. Jeoparty!

Personal and Social Emotional Counseling

Electives

Library

Penguin Life

Uniforms

School Handbook

Nutrition at AAS

Digital Learning