Archive - PTO Updates
June 8, 2022
☀️ Summer Fair & PTO BBQ
Thank you to the families who joined us on campus last Saturday.
We estimate to have hosted approximately 350 people at this event on June 4. We hope that you and your children enjoyed the games, activities, food, raffle prizes and atmosphere of our Summer Fair & PTO BBQ. Please enjoy the highlights video below.
Thank you to our amazing PTO, our sponsors, and all of the generous volunteers who made this event possible.
We are looking forward to hosting another fun community event after the start of our new school year and hope to see you there.
⭐️ 2022/2023 PTO Team Recruitment
The AAS PTO is a critical and essential partner of the school that supports our school community.
The contributions of parent volunteers that make up our PTO significantly enhance the experience of each student at AAS. The events supported by our PTO provide invaluable opportunities for our community to connect, strengthen and support each other and our students.
Similar to our entire learning community, our PTO team has experienced some transition in volunteers this year. There are a number of PTO Executive Committee roles open for next year and we encourage parents from all backgrounds to apply for PTO Executive positions by sending your expression of interest via email to our Community Relations Director, Vitali Verkhovski, at cr@aas.ru and copy pto@aas.ru. You can learn more about the work of our PTO by following the link below.
June 1, 2022
Dear Parents,
If you are still wondering about our AAS Summer Fair and PTO BBQ on June 4 at 12:00 MSK, I’d like to take a moment and introduce some of our sponsors and partners that are contributing to making this a fun and rewarding experience for all of us.
I’d like to start off by saying that this year we have both longstanding AAS partners as well as new organization that have donated gifts, games, and services in support of our upcoming event.
Starting with our longstanding partners, Intermark Relocation has been a trusted relocation partner for many AAS families for over 20 years. This year, Intermark will be donating gifts for our raffle prizes on June 4.
US Dental is another long standing partner which have been supporting our school community and our events for many years. US Dental will also donate gifts for our raffle and have a health education table in our Hall of Flags.
Finally, if you have been at past school events, you may remember that our good friends at the Expat Salon have often supported our raffles with generous gift certificates and prizes. We thank them for their raffle prizes once again this year.
In terms of new partners and sponsors you can expect to see this Saturday, let me introduce you to some of them.
First let’s talk about your plans for the summer, some are traveling to their home countries, some have planned for the wonderful summer camp that the school have organized, and some are looking at potential of traveling through Russia. On June 4th, you will have an opportunity to meet “Molodost” (if translated, means Youth). Molodost is not your typical hotel, it is a tour-club, for people that are used to different level of comfort and tourist infrastructure. They create unique programs with the highest level of expertise in travel engineering.
Molodost, located in Altai, has an ecosystem that allows travelers to be in the most interesting places without losing comfort that they used to. They offer a variety of different activities that could be suitable for adults and children alike. It is truly a unique experience. For Reservations: + 7 913 991 11 33
Let’s travel back to Moscow, as parents we are always on a lookout for interesting shopping opportunities for both our children and for ourselves. On the 4th we will introduce 3 brands to you:
BOSCO and GUM - I am sure that you have traveled to Red Square and have been to GUM many many times. Bosco company is happy to be a partner at our End of the Year event. Group of companies Bosco, has over 200 clothing stores, accessories, cosmetics and parfume, as well as beauty salons and restaurants located in Moscow GUM, Petrovskiy Passage, Vesna and Smolenskiy Passage, as well as in St. Petersbourg, Samara and Sochi. Bosco represents a variety of brands including, MaxMara, Etro, Ermanno Scervinno, Moschino, Paul Smith, Isaia, Lardini and many Luther’s They have parfume cosmetics stores Articoli, restaurants Bosco Cafe, and Sublime by Bosco, a store that concentrates on watches.
You will find Bosco station with their famous Ice cream, but do make sure to stop by their table to receive your Silver VIP loyalty card. All it takes is a short application and get your card right then and there. For contacts +7-903-540-4050, www.bosco.ru
Zhanna&Anna - Premium brand of children clothing. You might have seen it in TSUM Moscow. The brands mission is to create comfortable clothing, high in quality for every day and special occasions. It is ideally made, with great attention to details and cloth. Their collections are very special and pleasant to touch, and provide the greatest level of comfort. Good taste acquired during childhood years that their mojo.
At our event you will be able to meet and greet the brand representatives and also purchase some of the items that they will bring along. https://zhannaandanna.ru/
Another clothing brand BebaKids - You will find clothing for any occasion at their website and stores. Having true passion and love of children the founder strives to provide diversity and a great selection for parents to choose from. Among represented brands, they manage to have their own collections offered to their loyal customer base.
At the event they will present some of the swim wear available for purchase. https://www.bebakids.ru/
And now for the Jewerly,
GEOMA Jewerly - first Russian brand that found its popularity with the charms representing kids (engraved). They have a unique individual approach to every piece that they make, yet it is the luxury of a true Jewerly brand. Every piece of Jewerly has a story behind it. For our event you will be able to learn and potentially pre-order your individualized pieces, as well as purchase children earrings and more from their new collection. www.GeomaJewerly.ru
The Art,
Sample Art Gallery will also join us on Saturday, a company that started with an idea that every young artist deserves to be represented. Through the years, Sample Art Galery represented many artist that started their career and advanced to private exhibitions at large museum. Moreover the founders have created Blazart, to introduce represented artists to the general public. An artwork that can be moderately priced could not only be something you enjoy greatly, but an investment.
And finally,
SwissMed and RESO Insurance - as a mom I know firsthand that when children are getting sick you need to have a reliable medical service to take care of you. Someone who is always on your side and will be there when needed most. A full service medical clinics of SwissMed has been the place for us to go with both of our children and I hope that you will enjoy the same level of professionalism and care as we do.
RESO Insurance has been with us since the birth of our children. You would be able to gather information during our get together on June 4th.
You see, we got you covered, with a multitude of gifts and activities.
Best
Lena
May 18, 2022
Dear Parents,
Another week has gone by and we now have more of our students on campus. How wonderful it is to come to the school and see so many of our children on campus.
As we are approaching the end of the school year please make a note of a few things that will take place in the upcoming weeks. PTO has finished with the Community coffees for this academic year. It seems that everyone is preoccupied with the end of the year events so we would rather stay in on-demand mode and are happy to discuss anything that you are concerned with or have questions about. Also projecting for the upcoming school year, please feel free to reach out to us to have a conversation and to plan accordingly.
Our Elementary school loves Movie nights on Friday, please don't forget to register your children for the events, and please make a note that only children accompanied by their parent(s) will be admitted. Since we don't have formal supervision for the Movie Nights it is on us, parents, to take care of our children. The school together with the PTO will provide popcorn and drinks. Follow the link below to register.
And for our Community Summer Fair on June 4, we are open to ideas and volunteers to make it great fun. Please reach out to pto@aas.ru if you would like to offer help or share your thoughts.
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Lena
May 12, 2022
Every week I look at the calendar and wonder where does the time go. We are fast approaching the final weeks of schooling and moving into the summer.
Just a quick reminder if you haven’t seen it already, our school offers summer camp if you are staying in Moscow during the summer month. Moreover, since it is open not only for the kids that are already enrolled in school, but also for outside families, you can invite your friends to take advantage of the summer camp offering and to get a taste of our facilities and our school ambiance.
And while the school is still in session, let’s make sure that we get to see each other regularly and spend time having fun, cause our children need and deserve a bit of fun and a sense of normalcy.
Tomorrow and next Friday PTO along with the school leadership offers a Movie Night for the elementary school.
The PTO is working with the school to determine if we can host some additional school events before the end of the school year. For now, please save the following dates and we will confirm and provide additional details soon.
- June 4
End of Year BBQ
on campus only
- June 17
Closing Ceremony
on campus for students who are on-campus each day
and online access for the community
In the past, these events heavily relied on parent volunteers. Even students volunteered to host fun activities for younger children. We would absolutely love for you to get in touch with us if you would like to volunteer between now and the end of the school year to help us host possible community events, just drop me an email at pto@aas.ru.
More to come next week.
Yours Truly,
Lena Feygin
April 27, 2022
Dear Parents,
We are fast approaching the end of the school year, everyone is looking forward to days off that are coming next week and of course summer holidays. The AAS PTO, together with the school Leadership organizes multiple events until the end of the year for us to once more engage with each other as a community and to get to know one another.
Just a friendly reminder that this week we are hosting a Book Fair on Thursday and Friday. I personally am looking forward to get new books for the summer read for my children.
On Thursday, the school also has an Open House for the prospective families, so if you know anyone who would like to join AAS family, let them know to contact the school and register.
On Friday there is a Movie showing in the South cafeteria for children and their parents at 15:30, please sign up below.
I was a little sad see so few parents join us on campus yesterday for our Community Coffee we hosted in-person. As a parent I looked forward to my child going to school, not only for the education and the environment, but also for the community of parents that comes together to discuss things that matter, and to simply become friends. COVID has changed the way our community collaborated when we moved to online meetings. Now we once more have the opportunity to meet in person.
Mark your calendars for the next Community Coffee on May 17, at 15:40, which will also be on campus and online.
Looking forward to seeing you and hearing from you in the upcoming weeks.
Best
Lena Feygin
President of PTO
April 20, 2022
Dear Parents,
As we approach the end of the year, with COVID restrictions behind us, we are looking ahead with a sense of hope.
As a Psychologist I can say that it is very important to bring into the lives of our children a sense of normalcy, especially when times are tough. Due to circumstances outside of any of our control, some of our children have been separated from their friends and many beloved teachers. I am grateful that AAS continues to provide stability and support so the lives of our children are restored to some sort of normalcy and regularity.
In light of these thoughts, we have a few community events scheduled that both the PTO and the AAS Community Relations team will organize for our children and their parents. On behalf of the PTO, I would like to invite parents to volunteer and help us with these much needed community events.
☕️ PTO Community Coffee
In person and online
Tuesday, April 26, 15:30 MSK
On Tuesday April 26, we will have our Community Coffee at 15:30.
We will connect those abroad via webex and meet those that will come on campus in the South Cafeteria. This will be an in-person meeting, the first after many online coffees.
During this meeting we would like to connect with parents about things that matter to all of us now, and provide support and information on how to speak with children about the world world we live in and how to deal with anxiety and worries.
📚 PTO New Book Fair!
April 28 – 29, 11:00 – 18:00 MSK
Next Thursday and Friday are going to be dedicated to the PTO New Book Fair that will take place from 11:00 to 18:00 in the afternoon.
*Students and parents can purchase a range of English books with cash only.
We will have our little readers look at the books while they are in school and are inviting those that are in DL now to come to campus and enjoy the time together.
🏫 Prospective Families Open House
Thursday, April 28, 13:30 MSK
Next Thursday, AAS will be hosting an Open House for prospective families who are considering enrolling to AAS next year.
If you know families that will fit well within our community, please ask them to register by visiting www.aas.ru/admissions.
📀 AAS Movie Afternoons
April 22, 15:30 MSK
April 29, 15:30 MSK
We invite families (parents and students) to join us on campus for a series of movie afternoons.
Please sign-up ahead to help us plan seating and snacks.
Sign up Here
We will serve complimentary popcorn and drinks and look forward to seeing our families and staff on campus!
Upcoming movies:
Paddington Bear (6+ Rating)
April 22, 15:30, South Cafeteria
Yes Day (6+ Rating)
April 29, 15:30, South Cafeteria
More to come - email film suggestions to cr@aas.ru
We are looking for a few volunteers to help us during the Book Fair, the Open House, and the Movie Afternoons. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly at pto@aas.ru and help support our students on and off the campus.
Looking forward to seeing you all.
Best,
Lena.
April 6, 2022
April 6, 2022
Dear AAS Parents,
Allow me to reintroduce myself as a new President of the PTO.
My name is Lena Feygin, and I have been serving the PTO in a role of VP External, handling our relations with companies, organizations, and other prospective friends and supporters of AAS Moscow. Our school is well known among the business community in Moscow and continues to be an important community hub for the international community. Companies and diplomatic missions recognize that without AAS, Moscow becomes a less desirable posting for many international families who seek only the very best academic and holistic experiences for their family while working internationally.
I take on the role of President of PTO with excitement because I honestly believe that I could be of service and represent our community of students, parents, and staff. An educator in the past, a practicing psychologist at present and a vested parent I believe that at times like these it is very important to keep the community of parents engaged and involved.
When we were looking for a school for Joey (my son), we knew that AAS was the only school that we would want to attend. The stories of the community of parents and of the school fascinated me and I always wanted to be a part of this magical place. So, given that the Executive PTO committee is now 3 people strong (who are in Moscow), I ask You, the Parents, if you feel that you can step in and help out we would greatly appreciate it. Aside from the global questions of what will the next year bring, we have an ongoing school year with kids in Moscow, who also need a sense of normalcy in their lives. Since most COVID restrictions are being lifted, I am excited to work with AAS to organize on-campus and virtual events, book fairs and other activities, but I won’t be able to do it without your support and involvement. So please don’t hesitate and reach out at pto@aas.ru.
And if you feel challenged, or feel that you’d like to organize a parent support group, I would be more than happy to assist.
Yours Truly,
Lena Feygin
- March 23, 2022
- March 16, 2022
- March 10, 2022
- March 2, 2022
- February 16, 2022
- February 9, 2022
- February 2, 2022
March 23, 2022
Hello Parents,
I hope this letter finds everyone safe and well.
Like many of you who are not in Moscow at the moment, my family is slowly adjusting to online learning and digital interactions.
However, from afar, I have been encouraged by the efforts of the staff, parents and students who are in Moscow and bringing in-person activities back to campus. The photos shared through AAS social media of students on campus made my day earlier this week!
Parents have also begun to come back to campus!
A group parents are meeting daily in the school cafeteria from 3:30–5:30pm.
If you are in Moscow, I encourage you to stop by for a cup of coffee and a chat.
The PTO also continues to hold impromptu WebEx meetings with small groups of parents. Last week Grade 11 parents came together to share their experiences and ideas. Everyone enjoyed connecting and being together virtually. We can easily arrange similar meetings for other grade levels. Send a message to pto@aas.ru or in your child’s grade level WhatsApp group if you would like to have us open the PTO WebEX for this purpose.
As always, the PTO is here to support you, your family and your children. Please contact us with any ideas or suggestions you have for how we can continue to connect as an AAS community.
Julie Michaels
March 16, 2022
Dear AAS Community,
We hope that you are all staying safe wherever your family is located right now.
The AAS community is here to support each other in any way possible.
Therefore, if you are still here in Moscow, please encourage your kids to join the Penguin Life program, so they will have the opportunity to be in contact with their peers in person.
Also, please let us know in your kid’s grade WhatsApp group, if you are still Moscow, so it will allow people to contact each other for play dates.
Together we can guide our children and support each other through these difficult times.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to any one of the Executive committee members or send us an email at pto@aas.ru if you have something that you would like to share or ask.
All the best & stay safe,
AAS PTO Committee
March 10, 2022
Dear AAS Community,
As I sit down to write this message, like all of you, I am filled with worry and anxiety about what the future holds- for Russia, for AAS and for all of our individual families.
While I do not have any insights beyond what we read in the papers, I can write with certainty about one thing – the AAS community is our greatest strength right now. Together we can guide our children, and ourselves, through the coming months.
As we all learned in the recent school communication, other CEESA schools are offering spaces for our students for families who want this option.
For those of us who cannot utilize this option, the PTO Executive committee is working closely with the school leadership to create opportunities for students and parents to stay connected, both in person in Moscow and online.
I encourage you to join one of the following drop-in online sessions where you hear from the AAS leadership, learn more about the plans for the remainder of this year and ask questions. We will also have an opportunity to share our thoughts and ideas with each other.
- Thursday, March 10 at 11:00 MSK at the PTO WebEx
note the new time
Join the 11:00 Session Here
- Thursday, March 10 at 19:00 MSK at the PTO WebEX
Join the 19:00 Session Here
Also, you can always contact any one of the Executive committee members if you have something you would like shared with the school through us.
Please stay safe wherever your family is located and I look forward to seeing you virtually very soon!
My very wishes,
Julie Michaels
Interim PTO President
March 2, 2022
Dear AAS Community,
As I write this letter, the AAS community is going through an incredibly difficult time due to the current political situation.
Two weeks ago, we were planning to organize in-person community coffees and more social events for the students. Now we’ll have to work harder and be more creative in order to support each other in these hard days.
On behalf of PTO, I am happy to say that we are here to support, listen and discuss any of your concerns and in addition to that we are open to any ideas and suggestions you might have on how to handle this situation. Please feel free to contact us via our emails.
I would also like to introduce PTO’s new interim secretary Einat Krausz, who is a mother of 4 kids in ES, MS and HS. Her family is from Israel and moved to Moscow at the beginning of this school year due to her husband’s job at the Embassy. She was an active PTO member in their previous international / American schools in Azerbaijan, Argentina & India.
I am more than confident that she will be a great enrichment to PTO with her unique existence just like all the other PTO members who serve today and had served in the previous school years.
I am wishing all of you safety and health!
Leyla Beck
AAS PTO Secretary ’21-’22
February 16, 2022
Dear AAS Families,
The Spring round of the PTO Enhancement Grants is upon us!
Every year, the PTO provides $12,000 in support of projects at AAS that enhance the learning experience of students, are aligned with the school’s goals, are practical and feasible, and are not already covered by the school’s budget. Any community AAS community member (student, teacher, parent, staff) can submit ideas for learning enhancement projects. If you have an idea that meets the criteria for an enhancement grant, you are encouraged to submit a request on or before the April 4, 2022 deadline.
The PTO Executive Committee (PTO EC) will review all Enhancement Grant proposals in partnership with AAS school leadership. Feasible projects will be presented to the AAS community at an upcoming PTO Community Coffee meeting, after which the full AAS community will vote via e-voting to choose which proposal(s) to fund. Please encourage your friends, family, and fellow co-workers to pursue this funding opportunity for their creative, innovative, and useful ideas! If you have questions about the PTO Enhancement Grants, please send an email to pto.grants@aas.ru.
The composition of the PTO Executive Committee has undergone some changes in the last few weeks. My family has been transferred from Russia to Germany, and sadly, we are leaving AAS. The PTO EC is allowed to appoint an interim president in the event that the elected president is unable to complete their term. I’m excited to share that Julie Michaels, a current EC member, has been appointed by her peers to serve as the interim PTO president. I can confidently leave the role to Julie’s care and capabilities, and I encourage parents and staff to reach out to Julie with any questions or concerns at pto@aas.ru.
I have enjoyed serving on the PTO EC, which afforded me the opportunity to meet many parents and teachers and to work closely with school leadership, school governance, and the other members of the PTO EC. My whole family will treasure special memories of our time at AAS and in Moscow.
And it’s true what they say about our school: “Once a Penguin, always a Penguin!”
Warm regards,
Celia Schweizer
🐧 Grade Level Whatsapp Groups
To connect with other parents in your child’s grade, be sure to join the Grade level WhatsApp Groups. This information is protected for privacy reasons. Current AAS parents can email pto@aas.ru to obtain the password.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina
Social Club contact information is password protected. If you're an AAS parent, and would like to get access, please email pto@aas.ru to obtain the password.
🪆 Life in Moscow
Connect, learn, and experience Moscow through other social organizations that are friends with our AAS community!
- 🌐 The International Women's Club of Moscow NEW
Olga and Disha | iwcmembership@gmail.com
www.iwcmoscow.ru | www.facebook.com/IWCMoscow/
- 🌸 The American Women's Organization of Moscow NEW
www.awomoscow.com
February 9, 2022
Dear AAS Families,
First of all, I would like to inform you that we are looking forward to seeing you on our next PTO Community Coffee next week at 10:00, on Tuesday, February 15 via Webex:
https://aas.webex.com/meet/pto
The AAS community, from its staff to students, parents to teachers, have been very resilient and patient towards Covid challenges and after all this patience, with the new scientific data, it looks like we can be more optimistic about the possibility of returning to normal as safely as we can. Updated protocols in line with local government regulations and CDC recommendations seems to reduce the likelihood of distance learning and this is good news for all of us.
I would also like to present information on two great organizations, IWC and AWO where you can connect, learn, experience and enjoy Moscow at its best.
We, as the PTO, are always here for you all and we are happy to stay connected with you via our Grade Level WhatsApp Groups, Social Clubs or also via our emails.
Warm regards,
Leyla Beck
AAS PTO Secretary ’21-’22
🐧 Grade Level Whatsapp Groups
To connect with other parents in your child’s grade, be sure to join the Grade level WhatsApp Groups. This information is protected for privacy reasons. Current AAS parents can email pto@aas.ru to obtain the password.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina
Social Club contact information is password protected. If you're an AAS parent, and would like to get access, please email pto@aas.ru to obtain the password.
🪆 Life in Moscow
Connect, learn, and experience Moscow through other social organizations that are friends with our AAS community!
- 🌐 The International Women's Club of Moscow NEW
Olga and Disha | iwcmembership@gmail.com
www.iwcmoscow.ru | www.facebook.com/IWCMoscow/
- 🌸 The American Women's Organization of Moscow NEW
www.awomoscow.com
February 2, 2022
To all families who recently joined our AAS community, a very warm welcome!
My name is Myrte Dijksman-Schouten, the “AAS-PTO Coordinator'' to New Families.
The abbreviation of “PTO” stands for: “Parents and Teachers Organizations”. At this school we run a genuine international community, of which we are very proud.
As a new citizen of this exciting city, you might wish to read some tips and advice. We therefore added the "quick guide to Moscow" booklet to the welcoming email you received earlier, for your convenience.
Read Quick Guide to Moscow Here
As the current climate is not an easy one, I would like to ask you to read the weekly AAS newsletter carefully.
Each section within our school (Elementary School “ES” / Middle School “MS” / High School “HS” / “Library News” / Health News / Penguin Life / PTO News) has an icon you can click at, containing the specific information about that section.
The PTO runs several channels to help new families to get acquainted:
- “Buddy Programme”
Matching new parents with other AAS parents to help with the questions about life in Moscow and more specifically, about life at AAS.
It is very informal and can be anywhere from email contact to meeting for coffee. If you would like to be paired up with a buddy please send an email to pto.newcomers@aas.ru.
- Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AASNewFamilies
To get registered you have to reply to a security question.
- Whatsapp group
Email your mobile phone number to pto.newcomers@aas.ru to be added to this group.
- The PTO virtual monthly coffee morning and other (virtual) events
These events are announced each week in the AAS Newsletter under PTO section.
In case of any other questions, you can reach me via pto.newcomers@aas.ru
Enjoy Moscow and the AAS.
Kind regards,
Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
AAS - PTO newcomers' coordinator.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
Social Club contact information is password protected. If you're an AAS parent, and would like to get access, please contact PTO: pto@aas.ru.
🐧 Grade Level Whatsapp Groups
To connect with other parents in your child’s grade, be sure to join the Grade level WhatsApp Groups:
January 26, 2022
Dear AAS Community,
I do hope that you and your family are doing well and staying safe and healthy.
Given the increasing number of Covid cases in Moscow, we are all enduring such a difficult time, however, I am hopeful that we will be able to find strength and joy in our family and our community.
As an Asian, specifically Korean myself, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you how Koreans celebrate the Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year falls on February 1, 2022, this year and marks the beginning of the year of the Tiger. During this time, many Koreans visit family, perform ancestral rites, wear Hanbok (traditional Korean costume), eat traditional foods, and games. Additionally, children often receive money from their elders after performing a formal bow.
On behalf of PTO, we thank you for your continued support of the PTO. We are more committed than ever to supporting our students, families, and community. To connect with other parents in your child's grade, be sure to join the Grade lever WhatsApp Groups.
I wish you a Happy Lunar New Year to everyone who celebrates. May the tiger be with you during this difficult time.
With kind regards,
Naree Jung
PTO Treasurer
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
Social Club contact information is password protected. If you're an AAS parent, and would like to get access, please contact PTO: pto@aas.ru.
🐧 Grade Level Whatsapp Groups
To connect with other parents in your child’s grade, be sure to join the Grade level WhatsApp Groups:
January 19, 2022
Dear AAS Community,
Happy 2022! I hope the New Year is off to a good start for everyone.
The January PTO Community Coffee was held via WebEx yesterday and it was really great to see one another after the long holiday break. The Deputy Director, Dr. Schuster, joined the meeting to give parents an overview of the current COVID situation at AAS, and answered many questions. If you weren’t able to join the meeting but would like to review Dr. Schuster’s message, you can click below to watch the recording.
Watch Community Coffee Recording
We also heard a very interesting presentation from a high school student, Katerina, about her experiences with the Global Online Academy, which brings together students and teachers from around the world to learn together in high-quality, relationships-based online classes. Classes are fully accredited and offer a wide-range of subjects and topics that might not ordinarily be provided for at individual schools. Katerina shared her experiences learning about data visualization and how those skills can be utilized for a career in science or marketing.
Several of the PTO Social Clubs are kicking off the New Year with plans in the coming days to engage with one another (in COVID-safe ways!) If you have not already done so, consider joining one of the great PTO social clubs.
To connect with other parents in your child’s grade, be sure to join the Grade level WhatsApp Groups.
And as always, if you have any questions, I encourage you to reach out to me or any other member of the PTO Executive Committee; we are happy to help!
Warm regards,
Celia Schweizer
PTO President
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
Social Club contact information is password protected. If you're an AAS parent, and would like to get access, please contact PTO: pto@aas.ru.
🐧 Grade Level Whatsapp Groups
To connect with other parents in your child’s grade, be sure to join the Grade level WhatsApp Groups:
January 12, 2022
Dear AAS families!
Happy New Year from the PTO!
I hope everyone had the opportunity to relax and reconnect with their families over the winter break.
As we begin this bright new year, we look forward to seeing you at the next PTO Community Coffee on Tuesday, Jan 18th at 10:00.
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of the great PTO social clubs.
To connect with other parents in your child’s grade, be sure to join the Grade level WhatsApp Groups.
Cheers!
Megan
PTO ES
🐧 Grade Level Whatsapp Groups
To connect with other parents in your child’s grade, be sure to join the Grade level WhatsApp Groups:
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
Social Club contact information is password protected. If you're an AAS parent, and would like to get access, please contact PTO: pto@aas.ru.
December 15, 2021
Dear AAS families!
I hope you are doing well and enjoying the winter wonderland in Moscow covered in a blanket of snow and sparkling with frost. This is the best season in Moscow and you can feel Holiday spirit everywhere - extravagant festive decorations, Christmas market, ice skating, and deep snow!
As the end of the year 2021 approaches, I'd like to thank our AAS communities for continuing to support the PTO. We haven't done many events as we used to do but I hope the rest of the school year brings us lots of good cheers.
I'd also like to thank the parents who participated in the December 7 and December 13 New Director candidate interviews with AAS parents.
We will resume again on January 18 at 10:00 with PTO community Coffee after the winter break so please mark your calendar!
Lastly, I wish everybody a safe and wonderful holiday season on behalf of the AAS PTO!
Best Regards,
Naree
PTO Treasurer
🐧 Grade Level Whatsapp Groups
Please see below the link to find PTO representatives and Whatsapp groups for each grade level.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
December 8, 2021
Dear all,
We are approaching the end of 2021!
As PTO we would like to bring a few topics to your attention.
Happy reading!
Warm wishes,
Gerdi van Twillert
AAS PTO – MS
🎄 Winter Holiday Party Preparations are going on for next week!
Day, time slot and program are grade-dependent; our aim is to create enjoyable memories with our children during this special time of the year!
🎄 Did you purchase some Winter Books already via the Online Book Fair?
Please find below the details; deadline for ordering is Friday Dec 10! Happy Holiday Reading!
🎄 As this is the time of year for gifts and souvenirs; please visit our Online Artisan Fair with 34 local Vendors!
Deadline for ordering is Friday Dec 10. Please find below the catalogue and order information.
🎄 Although this is traditionally a season of gift giving, AAS teachers and staff are not able to accept gifts this school year due to reporting and taxability requirements under the new NKO status of the school.
Please respect this request to avoid any disappointing situations for teachers and students.
As an alternative, we encourage each student to bring homemade cards to school for their classroom teachers, IA’s, and single subject teachers on their last day before Winter Break. A picture, a holiday greeting in their home language, or writing something special they like about their teachers are great ways for our kids to show their gratitude this season.
🎄 Join our last PTO Meeting of 2021.
This will be next Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 10:00. Looking forward to see many of you!
🎄 Last but not least...
A big compliment for the ‘Fashion Market & Winter Baazar 2021’ team to collect money for the Speransky Children’s Hospital. This year the target was overachieved and 677.000RUB was raised for this charity!
A big thank you to everyone who supported in different ways to make this happen!
📚 Online Winter Break New Book Fair
December 1-10
The Winter Break is coming, and so is the New Book Fair!
We have prepared a stock list with 1250 books exclusively available for the AAS community with a 30% discount on the market price in Russia!
The Book List spreadsheet is easy to navigate – it includes: ISBN code, Age, Book title, Author, Publisher, Price, and hyperlink containing more details about the book.
Start browsing and note your favorite books on the order form below:
Your ORDER FORM needs to be submitted by December 10th
Your book order will be completed on December 1-10.
Delivery will be on December 13-16.
Doorstep delivery: 500 RUB;
FREE for orders above 2500 RUB
Pick-up: FREE;
the pick-up point is the English Book company office:
Leningradskoe Shosse 57k1
(‘Rechnoy vokzal’ Metro)
Hours: 9am - 8pm
Phone: +7 (495) 128-21-04
Payment upon the delivery or pickup.
For delivery orders, please prepare the exact amount of money and place it in the envelope or similar.
If you have any question, please contact Gerdi van Twillert at pto.ms@aas.ru
HAPPY WINTER BREAK READING!
🪆 Virtual Artisan Fair
PTO is sponsoring another Virtual Artisan Fair that connects our international community with local artisans and craftswomen.
Be sure to check out the catalogue if you are considering holiday gifts from our host country.
A special thank you to Lera for choosing the best local products and artisans.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
December 1, 2021
Dear AAS Community,
The countdown for a well-deserved Winter Break has officially begun in our family; I can imagine the same for your families.
Lights and decorations are going up around the city and to help make the season joyous at school ES class parents are organizing the Winter Holiday Party for the students. The parties will take place on Friday, December 17th. Students will enjoy the company of their fellow classmates, teachers and TA's along with a snack, juice, and a craft, game or movie.
- It is also the time of the year where we all are in search of gifts and souvenirs; therefore, with the participation of 34 talented vendors, our Virtual Artisan Fair will take place between 1 - 10th of December. Details can be found below.
- Winter Book Fair (Virtual) is also starting as of today with giving access to more than a thousand books. Please check below for all the information.
We would like you to know that we are always reachable via our Grade Level WhatsApp Groups, our PTO Social Clubs and also via our emails for any of your questions, suggestions and concerns.
Best wishes,
Leyla Beck
AAS PTO Secretary ’21-’22
📚 Online Winter Break New Book Fair
December 1-10
The Winter Break is coming, and so is the New Book Fair!
We have prepared a stock list with 1250 books exclusively available for the AAS community with a 30% discount on the market price in Russia!
The Book List spreadsheet is easy to navigate – it includes: ISBN code, Age, Book title, Author, Publisher, Price, and hyperlink containing more details about the book.
Start browsing and note your favorite books on the order form below:
Your ORDER FORM needs to be submitted by December 10th
Your book order will be completed on December 1-10.
Delivery will be on December 13-16.
Doorstep delivery: 500 RUB;
FREE for orders above 2500 RUB
Pick-up: FREE;
the pick-up point is the English Book company office:
Leningradskoe Shosse 57k1
(‘Rechnoy vokzal’ Metro)
Hours: 9am - 8pm
Phone: +7 (495) 128-21-04
Payment upon the delivery or pickup.
For delivery orders, please prepare the exact amount of money and place it in the envelope or similar.
If you have any question, please contact Gerdi van Twillert at pto.ms@aas.ru
HAPPY WINTER BREAK READING!
🪆 Virtual Artisan Fair
PTO is sponsoring another Virtual Artisan Fair that connects our international community with local artisans and craftswomen.
Be sure to check out the catalogue if you are considering holiday gifts from our host country.
A special thank you to Lera for choosing the best local products and artisans.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
November 24, 2021
Dear AAS Community,
The past two years took a toll on how our community interacts. Instead of getting together and getting close to one another, we are separated and in need to interact via many WhatsApp groups. Yet our children are getting together every day and have a blast learning new things and exploring new areas of interest.
In my role as PTO External VP I should have been getting in contact with parents who work for organizations that could make in-kind donations for the organization of events and parties. We have in the past received beverages and snacks, decorations and umbrellas from friendly companies, usually when some of the involved parents extended their hand to help. Last year and this one changed the landscape and my role with PTO. Instead of just asking for beverages, and we do need those for the students to have in-class holiday parties, we have also began to consider other ways we can connect with our community.
We have been discussing with the school ways that PTO could support connections with outside companies to empower our students and to help the school take a central position in Moscow demonstrating its relations and connection with the city.
We have discussed many different ways that parents and their respective companies/employers could help and I am happy to share with you some of the thoughts that floated.
High School students could benefit from proper internship in bi-lingual companies. This would include connecting with parents that could support the school in both educational process and in infrastructure by becoming a partner and a patron of the school. If you think that your company could benefit from a productive relationships please do not hesitate to reach out to Kirsten Welbes, Secondary Learning Coordinator, at kirsten.welbes@aas.ru to have a conversation on how this might look.
My door is always open to discuss ideas. Please reach out if you would like to connect.
Lena Feygin
PTO External
pto.external@aas.ru
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
- November 17, 2021
- November 10, 2021
- October 27, 2021
- October 20, 2021
- October 13, 2021
- October 6, 2021
November 17, 2021
Dear AAS Community,
First of all, thanks to AAS Leadership and the candidates, last week we took the opportunity to be involved in the decision-making process for next year’s ES Principal search. We met the candidates, had a Q&A including questions collected from ES parents and we also got to introduce ourselves and share our thoughts on life in AAS and in Moscow.
I would also like to thank all the parents who joined us in our Community Coffee yesterday. It was lovely to listen to the precious MS actors/students. The reason behind their choice of play “The Little Prince” is deeply emotional; reminding us how lonely they felt during the Covid-19 quarantines and how important the human connection is for them and for all of us.
As you may already know, our school store, which was run by the PTO until this school year, has transitioned to school’s ownership with its new name: PENGUIN STORE. We had the pleasure to virtually take a peek at it yesterday during our meeting; thanks to Kirby, Rebecca and the Penguin.
It looks great!
And they are ready to take online orders from the parents and for MS and HS students, they can just go and shop every day from 8:00 – 16:00.
Another fantastic event nowadays is the FASHION MARKET & WINTER BAZAAR. This is an annual charity event where you can sell or buy new or new alike branded clothes, shoes, bags, belts, purses, wallets, jewellery and coats.
For details, please see the flyer and visit their Facebook page.
In order to stay connected to the PTO and other parents, I would like to remind you of our Grade Level WhatsApp Groups and our PTO Social Clubs. Please also remember that me or any other PTO member of the AAS PTO Executive Committee are ready to listen and answer any of your questions, suggestions and concerns.
Cheers,
Leyla Beck
AAS PTO Secretary ’21-’22
📝 AAS Weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
November 10, 2021
Hello AAS parents,
Welcome back! I hope everybody had an enjoyable autumn break. My family traveled internationally for the first time in 18 months, which was really a treat for us after such a long time.
Despite recent lockdowns and the worsening COVID situation, Moscow is opening up again. As you’re probably aware, the ongoing and mutable COVID situation prevents parental access to campus, which has made things quite challenging for our community. That being said, AAS parents are still finding ways to connect with one another and engage in our broader community; the PTO is ready and willing to help foster these connections.
Parents have formed several PTO Social Clubs in order to engage with other parents with similar interests. The Social Clubs will resume their meetings in coming weeks (in COVID-safe ways, of course!), and I encourage you to check out all their offerings. Perhaps you’d like to take a brisk walk in Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo Park? Join the “XC Skiing/Walking” club! Or attend Moscow’s White Ball at the Hyatt Regency in mid-December? Join the “Dad’s” club! Or catch up with other AAS parents over a cup of coffee? Join the “We Talk A Lot” club! These and many other PTO Social Clubs welcome you!
A group of charitable AAS mothers have formally organized themselves into a Charity Club, to continue the work they have done for many years on behalf of a local children’s hospital. This new social club invites members of the AAS community to participate in their upcoming Fashion Market/Winter Bazaar. The market will showcase gently-used clothing, shoes, and accessories from AAS community members, and select handmade specialties from local artisans. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of all items at the market will benefit Speransky Children’s Hospital burn unit. The event will take place November 23-25 from 9:00-17:00 daily at a private home in Pokrovsky Hills neighborhood. Please contact Kristina Tadic (kristina.tadic@gmail.com) or Michaela Rezkova (michaela.rezkova@volny.cz) for information about how you can participate. All sellers and buyers are welcome!
I also encourage all AAS parents to read the weekly AAS newsletter, and (if you haven’t already) to join the AAS New Families Facebook page and Grade Level WhatsApp groups to stay connected to the PTO and other parents.
And finally, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or any other member of the AAS PTO Executive Committee with your questions, suggestions, or concerns. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Celia Schweizer
AAS PTO President ’21-‘22
📝 AAS Weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
October 27, 2021
Hello AAS family!
My name is Kirsten Welbes, and I am the PTO HS VP this year. I also work at AAS. This year I am the Secondary Learning Coordinator and the Schoolwide Projects Director. Last year, I was also a High School Social Studies Teacher. This is my 20th year as an overseas educator and leader, having worked at schools in Peru, Japan, India and now Moscow.
During my time abroad, I have been fortunate to work closely with the PTO at different schools, and it is a pleasure to be part of the AAS PTO Executive Committee. This my 3rd year at AAS. I am a US citizen, but I am originally from Canada. I am here in Moscow with my husband, Todd Welbes, the High School Theater Teacher, and two daughters, Riley and Tess, grades 11 and 10 respectively.
As the PTO HS VP, I work with High School grade representatives, High School parents and the High School leadership to create special experiences for High School students. In addition, we are always looking for ways to engage High School parents in person and virtually. This is an ongoing issue as the COVID situation in Moscow still provides challenges for having community members on campus, but we are always looking for creative and innovative ways to do good things for our students!
In light of these challenges related to the worsening health situation in Moscow, the PTO and parent volunteers pivoted their original plans for Halloween and worked to find a solution, which still has Halloween treats going out to students.
There are two ways that as a parent, I can think about this time in my child’s life. I can mourn the loss of the experiences of “a normal life” OR I can celebrate all that my children have accomplished. They have learned so much – content from classes, but also flexibility, resilience, creativity, self-reliance and courage. Things they would not have learned to this extent had it been “a normal time.”
This connects me to a quote from Nelson Mandela, who was talking about the systemic discrimination of apartheid, but resonates with me now in a different time and place as we find ourselves still in the midst of a world-wide pandemic.
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
So while we may be concerned about what lies ahead for our children and fear what impact this time will have on them, it is our collective ability to triumph over this that will define this time for us as a family and as a community. I look forward to being part of the AAS community for many years to come and to help be part of this triumph.
All the best, and I hope that your family has time on the Fall Break to rest, relax and reconnect!
Kirsten Welbes
🎃 Halloween Celebrations
Wednesday, October 27
Happy Halloween!
The elementary students dressed up and had spooktacular celebrations with treats, crafts and games in their classrooms. Thank you to the classroom parents for preparing such a fun time for all the kids!
Thank you to our MS and HS parents who gave out spooky treats to students during lunch. We saw some creative MS and HS costumes and lots of smiling students.
📝 AAS Weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
October 20, 2021
Hello AAS family!
My name is Naree Jung and I am the PTO treasurer since 2019. This is my 4th year at AAS and the 3rd term as a Treasurer. I am a US citizen, originally from South Korea. I came to Moscow with my husband and 2 beautiful sons, Jamie in 8th grade and Luca in 3rd grade.
As a PTO treasurer, I am in charge of managing PTO funds. I am responsible for developing the annual budget, processing purchases and reimbursements, tracking income and spending. Also, I assist the PTO event coordinators with the budget management of their events. As the Treasurer for the past three years, I experience different anticipation and excitement planning many school events which can bring the AAS community together and strengthen the school spirit.
It's been more than a year into the pandemic and we face ongoing challenges to organize what we used to do before. However, supporting our students and families is the PTO's main role and I will continuously work with the PTO coordinators and school to determine needs and finding help in whatever way we can.
Toward that end, the PTO is organizing three key events in October for the community: Online New Book Fair, fall round of Enhancement Grants, and Halloween at AAS on October 29. Keep reading the PTO section of the newsletter to learn more about each of these events.
With colorful leaves and clear skies, autumn is definitely the most beautiful season in Moscow. Yellow and gold are the predominant colors everywhere throughout Moscow. I hope you enjoy and embrace Moscow's magical golden autumn before the winter season.
Warm regards,
Naree
📚 Online Autumn Break New Book Fair
October 13 - 22
The Autumn Break is coming, and you might like to cozy up to a good book over the break!
1. We have prepared a stock list with 1250 books exclusively available for the AAS community with a 30% discount on the market price in Russia!
The Book List spreadsheet is easy to navigate – it includes: ISBN code, Age, Book title, Author, Publisher, Price, and hyperlink containing more details about the book.
2. Start browsing and note your favorite books on the ORDER FORM below:
Your ORDER FORM needs to be submitted by October 22
3. Your book order will be completed on October 25 - 28.
Doorstep delivery: 500 RUB; FREE for orders above 2500 RUB
Pick-up: FREE; the pick-up point is the English Book company office:
Leningradskoe Shosse 57k1
(‘Rechnoy vokzal’ Metro)
Hours: 9am - 8pm
Phone: +7 (495) 128-21-04
4. Payment upon the delivery or pickup.
For delivery orders, please prepare the exact amount of money and place it in the envelope or similar.
If you have any question, please contact Gerdi van Twillert at pto.ms@aas.ru
HAPPY AUTUMN BREAK READING!
🪙 PTO Enhancement Grants
October 24
We are pleased to announce that the PTO Enhancement Grant Program is once again open!
Deadline for applying is October 24, 2021.
We are looking for applications from parents, students, or staff that will positively impact learning at AAS.
EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS ENHANCEMENT GRANTS
SUBMIT A GRANT PROPOSAL
If you have any questions, contact Irina at pto.grant@aas.ru.
🎃 Halloween Celebrations
Friday, October 29
On Friday, October 29th, students can come to school in Halloween dress - either wearing black- and orange-colored clothing or wearing a costume.
In helping your children plan what to wear, please avoid violent themes (pretend “prop” weapons such as guns, knives or swords are not appropriate for school).
Also, ES students will engage in their daily learning schedules. In the afternoon, there will be Halloween parties involving festive snacks and activities, held inside their homeroom classrooms.
📝 AAS Weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
🌇 Bridge To Moscow Walk
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Bridge To Moscow walk!
October 13, 2021
Dear AAS Community,
My name is Leyla Beck and I am on the PTO Executive Committee in the role of Secretary.
We arrived in Moscow in the summer of 2019. We have one daughter, Sophia, who is in 2nd grade. I am from Istanbul, Turkey and my husband is from Berlin, Germany with Polish background.
As the secretary, I am in charge of producing and distributing the agendas and minutes for the PTO Executive Committee. I also support the PTO President with ad hoc administrative duties and I help to monitor and reply to the PTO volunteer email account. So, if you ever plan to volunteer and write to our email, pto.volunteers@aas.ru, I will be the one to immediately get you on the PTO team.
With “MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK” in mind, we would like to thank each and every one of our VOLUNTEERS, who are willing to spend time to enrich our kids’ school experience.
Moscow was very generous with its sunshine for the long weekend and I am hoping that you all had the chance to enjoy it. Winter is on its way but let’s not get scared; the PTO has many points of interaction planned in the coming weeks to help us forget about the coming cold days.
Many thanks and cheers to all our students, staff and parents!
Warmly,
Leyla Beck
AAS PTO ’21-’22
pto.secretary@aas.ru
☕️ PTO Community Coffee
October 19, 8:45
Gerdi (PTO MS VP) will be welcoming you at the front gate of Pokrovsky Hills. Once everyone arrives, we will go on a walk and talk through the forest.
- What
PTO Community Walk and Talk
- Where
Meet at the Pokrovsky Hills Main Entrance
- When
Tuesday, October 19, 8:45 (we begin our walk at 9:00)
Please let us know if you are joining us by signing up below.
📚 Online Autumn Break New Book Fair
October 13 - 22
The Autumn Break is coming, and you might like to cozy up to a good book over the break!
1. We have prepared a stock list with 1250 books exclusively available for the AAS community with a 30% discount on the market price in Russia!
The Book List spreadsheet is easy to navigate – it includes: ISBN code, Age, Book title, Author, Publisher, Price, and hyperlink containing more details about the book.
2. Start browsing and note your favorite books on the ORDER FORM below:
Your ORDER FORM needs to be submitted by October 22
3. Your book order will be completed on October 25 - 28.
Doorstep delivery: 500 RUB; FREE for orders above 2500 RUB
Pick-up: FREE; the pick-up point is the English Book company office:
Leningradskoe Shosse 57k1
(‘Rechnoy vokzal’ Metro)
Hours: 9am - 8pm
Phone: +7 (495) 128-21-04
4. Payment upon the delivery or pickup. For delivery orders, please prepare the exact amount of money and place it in the envelope or similar.
If you have any question, please contact Gerdi van Twillert at pto.ms@aas.ru
HAPPY AUTUMN BREAK READING!
🌉 Bridge to Moscow Walking Tour
Friday, October 15, 11:00
Our partners at local tour company, Bridge to Moscow, are offering a FREE, guided walking tour of some of the most iconic Moscow sights!
Walking Tour of Moscow Center
Date & time:
Friday, 15 October at 11:00
Place:
in front of the Bolshoi Theatre at the fountain
Tour duration:
approximately 2 hours
RSVP:
pto.secretary@aas.ru by Wednesday, October 13
Tour description:
We invite you to explore central Moscow, learn the story of the most iconic sights of the city and get some tips where else to go, what else to see, where to dine, etc.
Over the course of this tour you will discover: What is the secret of the remarkable acoustics of the Bolshoi Theatre Where is the hotel Moskva and why is its facade asymmetrical? Was it possible in 1930s to move a house with people inside? What is the age of Red Square and why was it called Red? Who was Saint Basil and why was the church named after him? Join our tour and learn the most intriguing stories behind many major Moscow attractions.
We will finish the tour in one of the cafes of GUM, where you can have a coffee and ask some more questions.
🪙 PTO Enhancement Grants
October 24
We are pleased to announce that the PTO Enhancement Grant Program is once again open!
Deadline for applying is October 24, 2021.
We are looking for applications from parents, students, or staff that will positively impact learning at AAS.
EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS ENHANCEMENT GRANTS
SUBMIT A GRANT PROPOSAL
If you have any questions, contact Irina at pto.grant@aas.ru.
📝 AAS Weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
October 6, 2021
Hello parents!
My name is Julie Michaels and I am serving in the position of PTO VP-Internal this year. VP-Internal is in charge of all social activities for the community, such as new and used book fairs, craft fair and parent social events. I am also responsible for the PTO popcorn machine which student clubs use for events and fundraising.
I am a relatively new parent to AAS; my children joined at the start of last school year. However, I am not a newcomer to Moscow - I have lived here off and on since 1993! I am originally from California and I met my Australian husband in Moscow. We have three children - Abby in 8th grade, Clayton in 11th and another son in his second year of university in the U.S.
I am committed to making the most of my position despite ongoing Covid mitigations that prevent us from hosting large scale events on campus. Although we don’t know yet what many of our events will look like this year, I am working with the entirety of the PTO Executive Committee and AAS leadership to help organize as many events as possible. I am always eager to hear new ideas so if you have any suggestions as to what we can safely do please send me a message. Also, we are always looking for parents to lead these events; if you are interested in getting more involved please let me know.
Please don’t forget that we have several social clubs for you to join! For instance, the newly-formed AAS Dads’ club met for drinks and a movie last week and has plans to meet in the coming weeks for sporting events and whiskey tasting. And we also have a newly formed Russian films & conversation group. Check out all the PTO Social Clubs, and if we don’t yet have an activity that you are interested in, please let me know and we can start a new club!
And finally, our friends at local tour company, Bridge to Moscow, have offered AAS parents a free walking tour on Friday, October 15 of many of Moscow’s prominent and exciting sights. Send an email to pto.secretary@aas.ru to RSVP for this tour.
Looking forward to an active social year for our AAS community!
Julie
PTO VP Internal
pto.internal@aas.ru
🍨 PTO Treats for MS
Thank you PTO for providing MS students with a sweet treat today!
Events for Parents
🌉 Bridge to Moscow Walking Tour
Friday, October 15, 11:00
Our partners at local tour company, Bridge to Moscow, are offering a FREE, guided walking tour of some of the most iconic Moscow sights!
Walking Tour of Moscow Center
Date & time:
Friday, 15 October at 11:00
Place:
in front of the Bolshoi Theatre at the fountain
Tour duration:
approximately 2 hours
RSVP:
pto.secretary@aas.ru by Wednesday, October 13
Tour description:
We invite you to explore central Moscow, learn the story of the most iconic sights of the city and get some tips where else to go, what else to see, where to dine, etc.
Over the course of this tour you will discover: What is the secret of the remarkable acoustics of the Bolshoi Theatre Where is the hotel Moskva and why is its facade asymmetrical? Was it possible in 1930s to move a house with people inside? What is the age of Red Square and why was it called Red? Who was Saint Basil and why was the church named after him? Join our tour and learn the most intriguing stories behind many major Moscow attractions.
We will finish the tour in one of the cafes of GUM, where you can have a coffee and ask some more questions.
🪙 PTO Enhancement Grants
October 24
We are pleased to announce that the PTO Enhancement Grant Program is once again open!
Deadline for applying is October 24, 2021.
We are looking for applications from parents, students, or staff that will positively impact learning at AAS.
EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS ENHANCEMENT GRANTS
SUBMIT A GRANT PROPOSAL
If you have any questions, contact Irina at pto.grant@aas.ru.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
September 29, 2021
Dear Parents,
My name is Lena Feygin, I moved to Moscow almost 8 years ago from New York. I have two children; Joye is in Kindergarten at AAS and Abe is 14 months old.
This year I have joined the PTO Executive Committee as the VP-External, which means that I am responsible for all external connections that the school needs for the organization of events and activities. Historically, most of the juices and sodas, tables, decorations, and other in-kind donations are provided by corporate partners or parents working at organizations who are friendly to the school.
This year I will also be reaching out to parents, not only for your support of in-kind donations, but also to build strong relationships with the companies in Moscow. We’d like to explore internships for High School students, scholarships for students who excel academically, and other initiatives with corporate partners that will help us build an exceptional environment for our children.
Some parents have reached out already with invitations to movie screenings and museum tours for groups of our students and their parents; thank you! We will explore these offers, while keeping in mind the current COVID risks.
And while I am getting acquainted with everyone if you would like to be proactive please feel free to reach out to me at pto.external@aas.ru. I’d be more than happy to meet and discuss our next steps to a stronger community here at AAS.
I am looking forward to yet another fantastic year at AAS with our students, staff, and the community of amazing parents!
Warm wishes,
Lena Feygin
PTO VP External
Treats from the ES PTO
Events for Parents
Dads Social Club Meeting
Friday, October 1
The newly formed Dads Social Club is meeting the evening of Friday, October 1 for drinks and to see the movie Dune at Pioneer Hall 1 (Kutuzovsky Prospect, 21).
Contact the club leader, Fred Ledbetter at fledbetter@goldenreach.com for full details.
Bridge to Moscow Walking Tour
Friday, October 15, 11:00
Our partners at local tour company, Bridge to Moscow, are offering a FREE, guided walking tour of some of the most iconic Moscow sights!
Walking Tour of Moscow Center
Date & time:
Friday, 15 October at 11:00
Place:
in front of the Bolshoi Theatre at the fountain
Tour duration:
approximately 2 hours
RSVP:
pto.secretary@aas.ru by Wednesday, October 13
Tour description:
We invite you to explore central Moscow, learn the story of the most iconic sights of the city and get some tips where else to go, what else to see, where to dine, etc.
Over the course of this tour you will discover: What is the secret of the remarkable acoustics of the Bolshoi Theatre? Where is the hotel Moskva and why is its facade asymmetrical? Was it possible in 1930s to move a house with people inside? What is the age of Red Square and why was it called Red? Who was Saint Basil and why was the church named after him? Join our tour and learn the most intriguing stories behind many major Moscow attractions.
We will finish the tour in one of the cafes of GUM, where you can have a coffee and ask some more questions.
PTO Enhancement Grants
October 24
We are pleased to announce that the PTO Enhancement Grant Program is once again open!
Deadline for applying is October 24, 2021.
We are looking for applications from parents, students, or staff that will positively impact learning at AAS.
EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS ENHANCEMENT GRANTS
SUBMIT A GRANT PROPOSAL
If you have any questions, contact Irina at pto.grant@aas.ru.
📝 AAS Weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
- 🎥 Russian Film Appreciation Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 🎗 The Charity Club NEW
Kristina Tadic
September 22, 2021
Dear AAS Community,
I'm Irina Elizarov, my family has moved to Moscow almost 8 years ago from Israel. I have two children at AAS, Jonathan in grade 12 and Noa in grade 9.
This year I am in charge of the PTO Exchange Shop; this is my fourth year organizing the Exchange for PTO. The Exchange is a place to get or swap pre-owned school uniforms, books and skates. We have a great team of parent volunteers who help operating the shop, and we all are happy to be offering our services again.
On behalf of the PTO Exchange team, I want to thank those of you who came over to our pop-up shop this week and during the first week of school in August. It was fun seeing you, chatting with you, and helping you find the “right-for-you” items in our stock.
We will be working with the school administration to decide on ways to open the store in the future; stay tuned to the weekly newsletters. Until then, stay safe and keep us in mind when you sort your children's uniforms.
Have a great week!
Yours,
Irina
🪙 PTO Enhancement Grants
October 24
We are pleased to announce that the PTO Enhancement Grant Program is once again open!
Deadline for applying is October 24, 2021.
We are looking for applications from parents, students, or staff that will positively impact learning at AAS.
EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS ENHANCEMENT GRANTS
If you have any questions, contact Irina at pto.grant@aas.ru.
💻 WhatsApp Groups for Each AAS Grade
The PTO started to create WhatsApp groups for each AAS class.
You can join your children's grade-wide WhatsApp Parents' Groups using this link:
In case you are not registered at one of these groups, please ask for admission via: pto@aas.ru
FINAL CALL - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
❤️ Classroom Parents for ES Classes
Please, consider volunteering as a Classroom Parent this year.
It’s a great way to be part of the AAS community, meet new people, and support your children in their classroom.
Responsibilities include planning three classroom parties, Halloween, Winter, and End of the Year. Kids look forward to these special celebrations! In addition, classroom parents help with donations and gifts for teachers and instructional assistants, as well as assist ES leadership with special events such as winter and summer field days, and the 5th grade PYP exhibition and BBQ. The time commitment is minimal but has a huge impact.
We have 22 ES classes and many still need volunteers. Please check the signup below to see if your child’s classroom still needs help!
An informational session for classroom parents on September 30th will provide you with all the details you’ll need to be successful. In the meantime send any questions you have to pto.es@aas.ru.
📝 AAS Weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
September 15, 2021
Dear Parents,
My name is Gerdi van Twillert and I am the Middle School (MS) representative for the PTO this year. In this role my primary focus will be on the growth and well-being of our children.
We are a Dutch family and we moved to Moscow in September 2020. We have 3 children: Rosa (Grade 7), and Olivia & Maxim (Grade 6).
There are a variety of activities planned for the MS students this year, the main of which are treats, social gatherings, field days, and the Grade 8 celebration. I hope they contribute to creating great memories of their time at AAS.
Many thanks to those who signed up to volunteer during activities. During the course of this school year I will approach you individually, based on the activity schedule. We are always looking for extra support and if you would like to help, pls email me at pto.ms@aas.ru.
Looking forward to an exciting year with the students, AAS staff and our community!
Warm wishes,
Gerdi van Twillert
PTO VP MS
☕️ PTO Community Coffee
September 21, 8:45
This very special PTO Community Coffee will be held in-person at 8:45 on the South Field parking lot, weather permitting.
If the weather doesn't cooperate, we can shift to 10:00 virtual format.
You will receive an email from AAS the evening of September 20 confirming the location and time.
🛍 PTO Exchange Pop-Up Shop
The PTO organizes the PTO Exchange where you can donate, exchange, or buy used books and gently used uniform items.
Next week, the Exchange is operating an outdoor, COVID-safe “pop-up” shop on the AAS South Field parking lot. For safety reasons, we ask that you sign-up to shop at the Exchange, and remember to bring a signed Daily Pass and wear a mask.
SEE THE MAP PREPARE DAILY PASS
💻 WhatsApp Groups for Each AAS Grade
The PTO started to create WhatsApp groups for each AAS class.
You can join your children's grade-wide WhatsApp Parents' Groups using this link:
In case you are not registered at one of these groups, please ask for admission via: pto@aas.ru
volunteers needed
❤️ Classroom Parents for ES Classes
Please, consider volunteering as a Classroom Parent this year.
It’s a great way to be part of the AAS community, meet new people, and support your children in their classroom.
Responsibilities include planning three classroom parties, Halloween, Winter, and End of the Year. Kids look forward to these special celebrations! In addition, classroom parents help with donations and gifts for teachers and instructional assistants, as well as assist ES leadership with special events such as winter and summer field days, and the 5th grade PYP exhibition and BBQ. The time commitment is minimal but has a huge impact.
We have 22 ES classes and many still need volunteers. Please check the signup below to see if your child’s classroom still needs help!
An informational session for classroom parents on September 30th will provide you with all the details you’ll need to be successful. In the meantime send any questions you have to pto.es@aas.ru.
📝 AAS weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
September 8, 2021
Dear Community,
My name is Megan Theis and I’m the Elementary School representative for the PTO this year.
I have a daughter in grade 5, and a son in grade 8. I’m grateful each day to see the kids off to school in the morning and hear all the buzz of a new school year when they get home.
Please, consider volunteering as a Classroom Parent this year. It’s a great way to be part of the AAS community, meet new people, and support your children in their classroom. Responsibilities include planning three classroom parties, Halloween, Winter, and End of the Year. Kids look forward to these special celebrations! In addition, classroom parents help with donations and gifts for teachers and instructional assistants, as well as assist ES leadership with special events such as winter and summer field days, and the 5th grade PYP exhibition and BBQ. The time commitment is minimal but has a huge impact.
We have 22 ES classes and many still need volunteers. Please check the signup below to see if your child’s classroom still needs help!
An informational session for classroom parents on September 30th will provide you with all the details you’ll need to be successful. In the meantime send any questions you have to pto.es@aas.ru. Let’s work together to make it a great year!
Best regards,
Megan Theis
PTO ES
💻 WhatsApp Groups for Each AAS Grade
The PTO started to create WhatsApp groups for each AAS class.
You can join your children's grade-wide WhatsApp Parents' Groups using this link:
In case you are not registered at one of these groups, please ask for admission via: pto@aas.ru
☕️ PTO Community Coffee
September 21, 8:45
This very special PTO Community Coffee will be held in-person at 8:45 on the South Field parking lot, weather permitting.
If the weather doesn't cooperate, we can shift to 10am virtual format.
📝 AAS weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
September 1, 2021
👋 A Message From Myrte, AAS PTO Newcomers Coordinator
Dear AAS families,
At the end of the first school week, I was pleased with the fact I could organise all school related topics smoothly.
Last year my children had to follow long distance education until November 2020 as we were not granted to return to our house in Moscow. Being able to organise everything in time creates a positive feeling. Please email the PTO when you (still) encounter difficulties with any topic(s) related to the AAS or to settling in to Moscow.
🏡 New AAS Families Currently Outside of Moscow
In case you are still outside of Moscow, with children who are currently following long distance education, please get in touch with me as soon as you know about your arrival in Moscow.
You can find the “Quick Guide” to Moscow at the AAS Newcomers’ website, but I could also send it to you via email. Reach out to me with such request via: pto.newcomers@aas.ru
💙 Buddy Families
I am very grateful to all the AAS families who are currently volunteering as a Buddy Family.
Thank you for your effort! In case new families wish to join this PTO program please contact us: pto.newcomers@aas.ru
💻 WhatsApp Groups for Each AAS Grade
The PTO started to create WhatsApp groups for each AAS class.
You can join your children's grade-wide WhatsApp Parents' Groups using this link:
In case you are not registered at one of these groups, please ask for admission via: pto@aas.ru
🧁 PTO Coffee Morning
September 21
Last week I had the great opportunity to meet some new families in person and online. Happy faces and great enthusiasm all around. I look forward to connecting you again on September 21, more details to come on when and where.
Have a fabulous new school year at our AAS!
Best regards,
Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
PTO Newcomers’ Coordinator
📖 New Families Seminars
August 30, September 6, September 13
Monday, August 30, 10:00
New Families Seminar #1
Curriculum@AAS
Monday, September 6, 10:00
New Families Seminar #2
Counseling and Student Support Services
Monday, September 13, 10:00
New Families Seminar #3
Digital Learning, Technology and Penguin Life
🐧 Become An Elementary Class Parent
sign up is open now
Our elementary school students love it when their parents get involved in school!
- We're looking for two parents per classroom
- Main responsibilities include organizing three class parties, managing teacher gift donations, and supporting other ES events as needed
- No experience necessary! Training and support is provided
- Being a class parent is a great way to participate in your child’s class, meet other parents, and get involved with the PTO
- Please email Megan Theis with any questions
📝 AAS weekly Newsletter
It is very important to read the weekly AAS Newsletter, as it contains all important topics about school events.
It arrives at your inbox each Wednesday afternoon.
Do not miss out any event, stay tuned by reading this newsletter.
August 25, 2021
Dear Parents,
On behalf of Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Anglo-American School of Moscow (AAS) for the 2021-2022 school year.
My name is Celia Schweizer, and I am the president of the PTO. My husband, Nick, and I have two daughters at AAS in the Elementary School; Olivia in Grade 3 and Agnes in Grade 2.
I would like to say “Hello!” to the families returning for another year at AAS, and extend a special “Welcome!” to the new families who are joining the Penguin community. We hope that your families find a welcoming and vibrant community of friends at AAS.
After a long and restorative summer break, we are finally back to school! My children were so happy to return to school yesterday, and because I drive them to school, I was able to witness some of the activity and energy on campus - it was positively electric! I hope that your children, like my children, had positive things to share with you about their first day at school.
Under the leadership of the PTO Executive Committee (EC), and with the help of many parent volunteers, the PTO organizes visiting artists, book and craft fairs, community outreach, teacher appreciation, enhancement grants, and fun events for parents, families, and students. Some of our normal activities will be necessarily curtailed this year due to COVID, but the PTO EC will work closely with our volunteers and the school’s leadership to bring to life as many events as possible. All parents and teachers are automatically members of the AAS PTO, and we encourage you to maximize your membership to its fullest by participating in as many activities and volunteer opportunities as your schedule allows. Please read the PTO section of the weekly AAS Newsletter to keep up with the PTO calendar of events, and send an email to pto.volunteers@aas.ru if you would like to be contacted about future volunteer opportunities.
The PTO also runs the PTO Exchange where you can donate, exchange, or buy used books and gently used uniform items. During the first week of school, the Exchange is operating an outdoor, COVID-safe “pop-up” shop on the AAS South Field parking lot, and this Thursday afternoon at 14:30, the entire PTO EC will be available to meet and interact with parents. For safety reasons, we ask that you sign-up to shop the Exchange or attend the PTO EC meet-and-greet (remember to bring a signed Daily Pass and wear a mask).
Sign-Up Here
And finally, please reach out to me or any of the PTO EC members with your questions or concerns.
- You can find our contact details and a full overview of the PTO’s initiatives in the PTO section of the AAS website.
- You will also hear directly from each of the PTO EC members in future AAS Newsletters.
But in the meantime, we are always available and happy to answer your questions, help you make connections with other community members, and engage positively with the school.
Once again, welcome to the 2021-2022 school year at AAS. Go Penguins!
Sincerely,
Celia Schweizer
August 18, 2021
⭐️ Welcome, and welcome back!
The 2021-2022 PTO Executive Committee welcomes all of you into a new school year!
As a reminder, all teachers and parents at AAS are automatically included as members of the PTO.
We welcome volunteers as team members, class parents, event coordinators, and executive committee members. You can always email us at pto@aas.ru.
Please join our very international Executive Committee team at our Virtual Welcome Coffee, at 10am, on Tuesday, August 24.
Join us via this link: https://aas.webex.com/meet/pto
You can also find the Executive Committee’s names and contact details on the PTO section of the website.
In addition to the executive PTO team, AAS is lucky to have dozens of PTO volunteers, event organizers and coordinators helping our achieve our mission and support a positive culture of learning and collaboration in our multicultural and international learning community.
We are very blessed to have such a strong and supportive parent community.
June 16, 2021
📜 Message from The PTO President
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
Dear AAS community,
One more school year is behind us, what a school year this was! What a roller coaster of events, feelings, memories, routines…
THANK YOU dear AAS community for being an amazing part of this crazy roller coaster, we did great things this year, and we did it together.
THANK YOU goes to so many of you,
⭐️ To our school leadership and divisional teams, especially to Rhonda, Jeff, Chris, Karen and Vitali, to Kari and the whole cafeteria, to Olga and Dmitry and all the green guys, to Todd and our security team, to all of you who supported us and helped us with all of our activities and events.
⭐️ To our Library Ladies for teaching us what thinking out of the box means, you are true inspiration.
⭐️ To all the teachers for your everyday effort and passion to go through this pandemic year with the smile on your face
⭐️ To all the PTO coordinators, especially to Irina, Lera, Alexandra and Susanne, Myrte, and all the volunteers, Room parents and Grade Representatives for unselfishly investing your time and heart into PTO and AAS community
⭐️ To all our parents, this year you were more than that, you were parents, teachers, entertainers, therapists…what a year!
⭐️ To all our STUDENTS, thank you for being real AAS penguins, courageous and resilient, we are so so so PROUD OF YOU!
I always used to say, “step out of your comfort zone and become better you”, I might change this saying after this year into, “volunteer in AAS PTO during covid time and achieve impossible, learn craziest new things and above everything grow to exceptional heights with our AAS community”.
I am happy to say that I made a great choice by volunteering in PTO and being PTO President this year, I worked with an amazing team of committed and determined ladies - Ines, Dayra, Linda, Pauline, Celia, Naree and Elena, and served an exceptional community - all of you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity and for helping me lead the PTO through this pandemic year. We did step out of our comfort zone and we did become better!
Wishing you all an extraordinary summer!
Good luck to all leaving families, and see you soon to all returning families!
Stay safe and healthy!
Yours,
Kristina
🪙 PTO Exchange
Irina Elizarov | pto.exchange@aas.ru
A big thank you to all those who participated in the Exchange events last week!
During the Drop-Off, we've received hundreds of uniforms, books and skates in just 5 days! Swap tickets for those who asked, will be waiting at the Exchange in the beginning of the next school year.
In our Selling Tent in the South parking lot, we were excited to greet many parents and staff members, and to help them find the right uniforms and books for their children.
We hope to be able to open the Exchange service in August, updates will be posted in school newsletters.
Have a wonderful and restful summer!
If you have any questions, please contact Irina at pto.exchange@aas.ru.
✂️ Craft Fair
BIG THANK YOU to our super crafty CRAFT team, Ines, Susanne and Machteld, you made 11th of June an amazing day for our ES students.
Thank you to our AAS community for all the donations, we have collected close to 50 000 rub which will be reinvested in new and fun PTO activities next school year.
☀️ MESSAGE FROM THE PTO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TEAM 2020/21
UPDATES
🏫 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
"Finish Strong", that was our Slogan.
Craft fair - Students have been enjoying Crafts from our organised "modified Craft Fair". Thank you parents for your voluntary contribution and big thank you to Susanne & Machteld! "Crafting each day takes the crazy away"!
Summer field day
Rain or shine, you couldn't miss the ice-cream, handed out by Class Parents, on Summer field day.
End-of-the year Parties
It was time to party! Organised by Class parents, the End-of- the-year parties took place yesterday. Party Boxes were delivered to the classes, with the content of juice, snack and/or activity.
Grade 5 hoodies
Congratulations 5 Graders! Wear your Hoodie with pride!
Students Art work 2020-2021
Under supervision of Olga Romina, all ES students signed an Artwork that was presented to ES Leadership to memorise this extraordinary year. Great job, Olga and students!
Taganka donation
In the beginning of the school year PTO suggests a single donation of 2500 rubles per child by parents for the entire year. This amount has been used to cover gifts for the teacher and assistant(s) in the classroom. A portion was also allocated to an ES-wide pool to purchase gifts for our single subject teachers, support staff and leadership team. This year, a large amount will be donated to Taganka children's fund. This has been chosen by ES Staff and organised by PTO. Thank you ES! Richard Olson and I will make sure the donation will be handed over to Taganka and that the funds will be wisely spent.
And last but not least, a big Thank You to our amazing Class parents, supportive ES Leadership team & all other parties involved.
Happy summer time!
🏫 MIDDLE SCHOOL
Dayra Conrado | pto.ms@aas.ru
On Monday, the grade 8 students had their moving up ceremony!
Although things were much more different this year, the PTO tried hard to do as much as possible for our students and to continue traditions. One of which is gifting the MS students with a "moving up" hoodie uniquely designed by one of our talented grade 8 students. The hoodie design contest has become a tradition in it's own right and is great fun for those wishing to participate. This year's participants were Kyubin Nam, Kyuri Nam, Katie Perencevic and Erik Pedaja!
On behalf of the PTO, I would like to give a big shout out to all who participated and congratulate the winner, Erik Pedaja! Well done to all!
Wishing everyone a safe and wonderful summer!
🏫 HIGH SCHOOL
Linda Corallo | pto.hs@aas.ru
Congratulations to all high school students! Have a great summer and good luck next year!
Enjoy your ice cream from the PTO!
June 9, 2021
📜 Message from The PTO President
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
Dear AAS community,
Have you participated in our PTO Community coffee yesterday?
It was a pleasure to meet many of you and share all the news and updates happening around the school and PTO.
School year is almost over but there are still so many things happening in PTO.
MS Socials were full succes, HS grade 9 to 11 enjoying their barbeque lunches and ES is getting ready for their Summer Field day and End of the year parties, thank you Dayra, Linda and Ines for sharing it with us.
We discussed some serious topics, like the PTO budget for next school year, thank you Naree for the brief but still very informative and useful presentation.
The current PTO Executive team is pleased to announce that your new PTO Executive team is in place. Yesterday we had the pleasure to meet our future VP ES, Megan Theis, thank you everyone for your support and voting for Megan. Welcome on board!
We would like to thank our Ira for a live stream from Exchange sales (read more about it below in the text) and to our speakers and guests, our School Director Rhonda Norris for and Community Relations Director Vitali Verkhovski for updating us about school life, Pauline and Kirby Boychuk for presenting the transition of PTO Shop to Penguin Store, and big thank you to Yana Tucker, our senior speaker at the graduation ceremony for sharing her thoughts, plans and advices with us.
As always, we totally understand if you missed the meeting, that’s why we have recorded it!
Have a great day and enjoy the last days of school!
Yours,
Kristina
UPDATES
🏫 HIGH SCHOOL
Linda Corallo | pto.hs@aas.ru
This week we have our PTO High School BBQ lunches for grades 9, 10, and 11 to celebrate the end of the year.
Thank you to all the volunteers! We had a great response from all grades.
Have a great summer!
🏫 MIDDLE SCHOOL
Dayra Conrado | pto.ms@aas.ru
The grade 8 students celebrated their last social as middle schoolers last Friday.
They had a fun time playing games and just hanging out with each other. The PTO provided pizza, chicken wraps, ice cream and donuts!
This is my family's last year in Moscow and it has been my pleasure serving as PTO MS VP. I wish the students, families and staff all the best!
Safe travels wherever you may be this summer!
👕 Uniform Drop Off
Irina Elizarov | pto.exchange@aas.ru
June 7 - 11, at the time of morning drop off, 8:00 - 8:30
The PTO Exchange will be collecting your no-longer-needed uniforms. You can donate your items, or get Swap Tickets in return, for future purchases at the PTO Exchange.
- Pack your gently used uniforms clean and ironed if possible, with no holes or stains, in a taped bag
- Mark the bag with: Student name and class/grade, parent phone number/email for communication, whether or not you would like Swap Tickets in return
- Give your bag to our volunteers while dropping off your students
Swap Tickets will be waiting for you at the Exchange under the names indicated on the bags in the beginning of the next school year, after the items are quarantined and sorted.
Before packing your bags, we kindly ask you to review the AAS uniform guide and the Exchange Swap rules. All items that will not be swap-ticket-worthy, will be sent back along with the Swap tickets.
What NOT to send
(scroll to the bottom of the page)
For more information, please contact Irina at pto.exchange@aas.ru.
🪙 PTO Exchange - Selling Details
Irina Elizarov | pto.exchange@aas.ru
June 7 - 11, 9:00 - 11:00 and 14:00 - 15:30 daily
Visit the South parking lot PTO tents.
For social distancing reasons, to visit us please sign up using the link below.
The PTO Exchange will operate daily next week, offering the AAS community to swap or purchase gently used uniform items.
Please remember to wear a mask and gloves, and sanitize your hands before and after touching uniforms.
If you have any questions, please contact Irina at pto.exchange@aas.ru.
✂️ Craft Fair
Susanne Hansson | pto.craftfair@aas.ru
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
- 2 days to our covid proof version of Craft Fair for Elementary School.
- On June 11 ES has Summer Field Day and every class will also get a Craft Fair bag to work with in the class that day.
- Every class will get their own bag with crafts, but each year group will have a different theme/content in their bag and that might be connected to summer, beach or superheroes.
- PTO will use the same "Covid-formula Fundraising" as done at the Used Book Fair, meaning a volunteer contribution letter will be sent home closer to the date.
🙏 Newcomers Program
Myrte Dijksman-Schouten | pto.newcomers@aas.ru
BUDDY FAMILIES NEEDED
New families deserve a warm welcome and they might need help with their transfer into the local life in Moscow.
The PTO therefore needs your help - sign up and be a BUDDY Family.
Thank you for your kind help to our new AAS community members and for showing how supportive the AAS community truly is.
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
June 2, 2021
📜 Message from The PTO Exchange Coordinator
Irina Elizarov | pto.exchange@aas.ru
Dear AAS community,
The PTO Exchange is thrilled to be back!
We are a PTO community service offering a platform for swapping gently used uniforms, books and skates. Every year thousands of items find a new home with our help, serving all AAS family members.
Due to Covid restrictions, this year we were unable to operate, - until now.
We are excited to announce that we will run not one, but two services during the next week, from June 7-11:
- Uniform drop off: for those of you leaving or just wanting to send us your children's uniforms they no longer need or fit.
- Selling and swapping uniforms, in the open air and covid-free, at the South Field parking lot (entrance under the green bridge).
Read more about our events in the PTO Updates section below!
We are looking forward to seeing you all next week in covid proof environment!
Yours,
Irina
updates
👕 Uniform Drop Off
Irina Elizarov | pto.exchange@aas.ru
June 7 - 11, at the time of morning drop off, 8:00 - 8:30
The PTO Exchange will be collecting your no-longer-needed uniforms. You can donate your items, or get Swap Tickets in return, for future purchases at the PTO Exchange.
- Pack your gently used uniforms clean and ironed if possible, with no holes or stains, in a taped bag
- Mark the bag with: Student name and class/grade, parent phone number/email for communication, whether or not you would like Swap Tickets in return
- Give your bag to our volunteers while dropping off your students
Swap Tickets will be waiting for you at the Exchange under the names indicated on the bags in the beginning of the next school year, after the items are quarantined and sorted.
Before packing your bags, we kindly ask you to review the AAS uniform guide and the Exchange Swap rules. All items that will not be swap-ticket-worthy, will be sent back along with the Swap tickets.
What NOT to send
(scroll to the bottom of the page)
For more information, please contact Irina at pto.exchange@aas.ru.
🪙 PTO Exchange SALE
Irina Elizarov | pto.exchange@aas.ru
June 7 - 11, 9:00 - 11:00 and 14:00 - 15:30 daily
Visit the South parking lot PTO tents.
For social distancing reasons, to visit us please sign up using the link below.
The PTO Exchange will operate daily next week, offering the AAS community to swap or purchase gently used uniform items.
Please remember to wear a mask and gloves, and sanitize your hands before and after touching uniforms.
If you have any questions, please contact Irina at pto.exchange@aas.ru.
🙋 Volunteers Needed
To make our PTO Exchange drop off and selling week full success we need your help.
We are looking for volunteers to help next week and we have only 2 tasks for you:
- Getting uniforms from drivers and students at the time of morning drop off, 8:00 - 8:30
- Helping to sell and sort the uniforms, either in the morning, 9:00 - 11:00 or in the afternoon, 14:00 - 15:30
Review the slots and sign up here
Thank You!
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
☕️ PTO COMMUNITY COFFEE
June 8, 10:00
- Official, last monthly meeting for 2021/22
- Join Here via Webex
- THEME Don’t cry because it is over, SMILE BECAUSE it happened! - Dr. Seuss
- Meet our current and new PTO officers, hear from students, school leadership and PTO
- Special guest: Yana Tucker, AAS ‘21 Valedictorian
✂️ PTO CRAFT FAIR
June 11
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
✂️ Craft Fair
Susanne Hansson | pto.craftfair@aas.ru
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
- 10 days to our covid proof version of Craft Fair for Elementary School.
- On June 11 ES has Summer Field Day and every class will also get a Craft Fair bag to work with in the class that day.
- Every class will get their own bag with crafts, but each year group will have a different theme/content in their bag and that might be connected to summer, beach or superheroes.
- PTO will use the same "Covid-formula Fundraising" as done at the Used Book Fair, meaning a volunteer contribution letter will be sent home closer to the date.
🙏 Newcomers Program
Myrte Dijksman-Schouten | pto.newcomers@aas.ru
BUDDY FAMILIES NEEDED
New families deserve a warm welcome and they might need help with their transfer into the local life in Moscow.
The PTO therefore needs your help - sign up and be a BUDDY Family.
Thank you for your kind help to our new AAS community members and for showing how supportive the AAS community truly is.
May 26, 2021
📜 Message from The Newcomers Program Coordinator
Myrte Dijksman-Schouten | pto.newcomers@aas.ru
Dear AAS families,
The start of the Summer holiday is approaching, with only three more weeks in counting. Can you believe this…..? End of the school year means the beginning of a new one.
Do you remember how it felt to arrive in a new country and school?
Help our newcomer families by becoming a contact they can reach out to if they need help. We will only share your contact details with our newcomer families so they may contact you if they need help.
Click Here for more details from PTO Newcomers Coordinator, Myrte.
I wish you all a very pleasant summer break. Stay safe and healthy. See you in the new school year 2021-2022.
Kind regards,
Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
updates
☕️ PTO CONNECT
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
Thank you all for coming, we had so much fun together
Great weather and amazing company, who could ask for more?
- We started the day by having our Volunteer appreciation session, where we had a chance to say a BIG thank you to our extraordinary volunteers helping out with all PTO activities throughout the year! Thank you for having a heart and serving the AAS community in an outstanding way this past year. You are simply the best!
- Later on other parents joined us, we were more than 40. It was a pleasure to look at all the smiley faces, to be part of many small talks, to hear about summer plans and for some new life adventures.
- We had special guests from Robotics club, Maximo and Vikrant, visiting our PTO Connect to present their E-bike project. What a great idea and initiative. All the parents were interested to hear more and to support the young scientists in the pursuit for their dream.
Here is what they said after yesterday's event: “Thank you to the AAS PTO for supporting us in the ACL E-bike project! We are getting close! Help us reach our target!"
Thank you all for coming and making our picnic a full success!
🛍 PTO SHOP UPDATE
Pauline van der Sman-Archer | pto.shop@aas.ru
- We are currently planning a transition from the PTO Shop to the School this summer.
- Merchandise will stay the same and may even have a wider selection.
- recommendation Order next year’s uniform this year to avoid scrambling in August.
We can take your orders until June 1st.
- The link below showcases all our uniform items, as well as AAS hoodies and T-shirts.
See the items here
Note that the hoodies we have in multiple colors and sizes and the T-shirts come in Youth sizes and Adult unisex and Women’s sizes.
- We are also providing you the order forms for both Uniform and Spirit Wear.
Uniform Order Form Spirit Wear Order Form
- Please email your orders to pto.shop@aas.ru and one of our volunteers will be in touch.
- Payment (envelope to school) and order delivery can be made through your child's class.
🎓 High School Graduation
Linda Corallo | pto.hs@aas.ru
On Saturday May 22 we celebrated with the Class of 2021! It was a great celebration for all.
Everything was perfect including the weather. Thanks to the Leadership Team and Ms Natasha for organizing such a fabulous day.
Congratulations to all the Seniors!
Best of luck wherever you go!
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
☕️ PTO COMMUNITY COFFEE
June 8
- Official, last monthly meeting for 2021/22
- Time and place will be announced closer to the date
- Meet our current and new PTO officers, hear from students, school leadership and PTO
✂️ PTO CRAFT FAIR
June 11
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
✂️ CRAFT FAIR COMMITTEE
Susanne Hansson | pto.craftfair@aas.ru
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
Only 3 more school weeks, but still some fun activities on the PTO Calendar.
- We are pleased to let you know that we are working on a modified covid proof version of Craft Fair for Elementary School.
- On June 11 ES has Summer Field Day and every class will also get a Craft Fair bag to work with in the class that day. Every class will get their own bag with crafts, but each year group will have a different theme/content in their bag and that might be connected to summer, beach or superheroes.
- PTO will use the same "Covid-formula Fundraising" as done at the Used Book Fair, meaning a volunteer contribution letter will be sent home closer to the date.
Stay tuned for more information and enjoy the beautiful weather!
🗳 ELECTION COMMITTEE
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
PTO is proud to have the following amazing and enthusiastic candidate ready to join the PTO Executive Committee for 2021/22 as VP ES.
For more information about the candidate, please click on the link behind the candidate's name. The link contains the "letter of Interest".
VP Elementary School Megan Theis
Join us Tuesday June 8 at 10:00, for the Monthly PTO Community Coffee. You will have the opportunity to meet Megan and vote for her.
🪙 PTO ENHANCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
Irina Elizarov | pto.grant@aas.ru
The AAS Community e-vote on PTO Enhancement Grants has ended on Sunday, May 23rd.
The Grant proposal for ESports Events Support has been approved with an approval rate of 83% and will be funded by the PTO.
Thank you for taking part in the e-vote!
May 19, 2021
📜 Message from PTO MS VP
Dayra Conrado | pto.ms@aas.ru
Dear AAS Community,
Last Friday the grade 6 students celebrated their Spring Social!
The weather forecast had everyone a bit concerned but it turned out to be in our favor and could not have been better!
The kids had a great time dancing, playing games and just doing the basic things that middle schoolers do......hanging out and having fun while enjoying food, snacks, and drinks catered by D&D and provided by the PTO.
I would like to give a big "THANK YOU" to all the volunteers, as well as, to the Korean Community who graciously offered to treat the kids with Krispy Kreme donuts for all three socials!
This Friday will be the grade 7 social! Let's keep our fingers crossed for more great weather!
Best,
Dayra Conrado
☕️ PTO COMMUNITY COFFEE
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
PTO is proud to have the following amazing and enthusiastic candidates voted in for the PTO Executive Committee for 2021/22.
Candidates for Executive Committee 2021/22
⭐️ President: Celia Schweizer
⭐️ Secretary: Leyla Beck
⭐️ "Interim" Treasurer: Naree Jung
⭐️ VP Internal: Julie Michaels
⭐️ VP External: Lena Feygin
⭐️ VP High School: Kirsten Welbes
⭐️ VP Middle School: Gerdi van Twillert
⭐️ VP Elementary School still open
please email your letter of interest
till May 25 to pto@aas.ru
Thank you all for coming to the meeting and supporting our candidates by voting for them and allowing them to get on board for the new school year 2021/22.
Another thank you goes to our amazing Election Committee team: Ines Cremers, Alison Abovsky, Tiiu Pedaja, Julia Held.
The biggest thank you goes to our candidates, now PTO officers for 2021/22. You made the right decision and the AAS community is thankful to you and your efforts to help and support building a strong, caring and positive community! Good luck!
In case you have missed the meeting please follow the link below.
Watch PTO Community Coffee Recording
invitation to vote
🪙 PTO ENHANCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
Irina Elizarov | pto.grant@aas.ru
We are pleased to announce that we closed the Spring Round of PTO Enhancement Grant Program for the year 2020-2021.
We have one Grant proposal that has been approved by the PTO Executive Committee and AAS Administration and presented to the whole AAS community at the PTO Community Coffee on May 18.
Learn about ESports Event Support
- A personal email was sent yesterday to all the AAS PTO members, inviting you to vote on the Enhancement Grant Proposal (ESports Event Support).
- If you haven't received it, please check your Spam folder, and if you don't find it there, contact us at pto.grant@aas.ru.
- Results of e-voting will be announced in the newsletter and at the PTO Community Coffee in June.
If you have any questions please email pto@aas.ru.
congratulations
🎓 High School Graduation
Linda Corallo | pto.hs@aas.ru
Exciting week for our High School Seniors!
Thursday they’re off to celebrate Prom on the Radisson boat cruise and on Saturday they will have their graduation ceremony.
Looking forward to a lovely day with plenty to celebrate.
Congratulations Class of 2021! You did it!
Look for photos in next week's newsletter.
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
🚀 PTO Connect
May 25, 14:30
- Back together in person in COVID safe environment
- Informal get together - let’s meet and have fun together
- 14.30 - 15.30, South Field parking lot
🙏 PTO Volunteer Appreciation Day
May 25
- This year was special and different in many ways, but there is one thing that didn’t change at all - your support and help
- Thank you day for our dedicated volunteers
- Personal invitations will be sent out soon
☕️ PTO COMMUNITY COFFEE
June 8
- Official, last monthly meeting for 2021/22
- Time and place will be announced closer to the date
- Meet our current and new PTO officers, hear from students, school leadership and PTO
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
If you have not already done so, consider joining one of these great PTO social clubs:
- 💬 We Talk a Lot Club
Michaela Rezkova
- 📖 BOOK Club
Julie Michaels
- 🎿 Walking + XC Skiing Club
Irina Elizarov
- 🥠 Cooking Club
Janet Wahlquist
- 🧶 Crafting Club
Machteld Cottegnie
- ⭐️ Club for AAS Dads
Fred Ledbetter
updates
🛍 PTO SHOP UPDATE
Pauline van der Sman-Archer | pto.shop@aas.ru
- The Shop is currently planned to transition from the PTO to the School this summer.
- Merchandise will stay the same and may even have a wider selection.
- recommendation Order next year’s uniform this year to avoid scrambling in August.
We can take your orders until June 1st.
- The link below showcases all our uniform items, as well as AAS hoodies and T-shirts.
See the items here
Note that the hoodies we have in multiple colors and sizes and the T-shirts come in Youth sizes and Adult unisex and Women’s sizes.
- We are also providing you the order forms for both Uniform and Spirit Wear.
Uniform Order Form Spirit Wear Order Form
- Please email your orders to pto.shop@aas.ru and one of our volunteers will be in touch.
- Payment (envelope to school) and order delivery can be made through your child's class.
May 12, 2021
📜 Message from PTO Election Committee
Dear Community,
PTO is proud to have the following amazing and enthusiastic candidates ready to join PTO Executive Committee for 2021/22.
For more information about the candidate, please click on the link behind the candidates name. The link contains the "letter of Interest".
Candidates Executive Committee 2021/22
President Celia Schweizer
Secretary Leyla Beck
interim Treasurer Naree Jung
VP Internal Julie Michaels
VP External Lena Feygin
VP High School Kirsten Welbes
VP Middle School Gerdi van Twillert
VP Elementary School open
(if you are interested please email Ines Cremers, pto.es@aas.ru)
Join PTO next week Tuesday, May 18 at 10:00, for the Monthly Community Coffee. You will have the opportunity to meet the candidates as they will introduce themselves.
Positions with only one candidate are approved at the meeting, while positions with multiple candidates will be submitted for e-voting. The Results will be published on May 19 or in case of e-voting on June 2.
Thank you,
Election Committee
☕️ PTO COMMUNITY COFFEE
May 18, 10:00
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
Do you want to meet our PTO Executive Committee for 2020/21?
- Just click below and find out all about our candidates and have your vote!
- Join us for our official monthly meeting on May 18, 10:00 via WebEx
- Meet our candidates for PTO 2021/22, hear from students, school leadership and PTO, vote for our enhancement grant proposals and much more
🪙 PTO ENHANCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
Irina Elizarov | pto.grant@aas.ru
We are pleased to announce that we closed the Spring Round of PTO Enhancement Grant Program for the year 2020-2021.
We have one Grant proposal that has been approved by the PTO Executive Committee and AAS Administration.
Learn about ESports Event Support
- The application will be presented at the PTO Community Coffee on May, 18.
- Electronic voting will take place following the meeting, you will receive a separate email asking you to vote.
- Results will be announced in the newsletter and at the PTO General meeting in June.
If you have any questions please email pto@aas.ru.
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
☕️ PTO Community Coffee Morning
May 18, 10:00
- Official monthly meeting
- 10:00, via Webex
- Student, school, PTO news & updates
See the Agenda here
🚀 PTO Connect
May 25, 14:30
- Back together in person in COVID safe environment
- Informal get together - let’s meet and have fun together
- 14.30 - 15.30, South Field parking lot
🙏 PTO Volunteer Appreciation Day
May 25
- This year was special and different in many ways, but there is one thing that didn’t change at all - your support and help
- Thank you day for our dedicated volunteers
- Personal invitations will be sent out soon
updates
🛍 PTO SHOP UPDATE
Pauline van der Sman-Archer | pto.shop@aas.ru
We want to invite you to think ahead and consider getting uniform pieces now for the next school year.
It will likely reduce stress for you and for the PTO Shop volunteers alike in August if your kids are ready to go to school in the proper uniform so there is no last minute scramble.
- You may wish to buy one or even 2 sizes up. You can place your orders before June 1st allowing us enough time to get the order to you.
- You may also want to get some AAS Penguin Spirit hoodies, t-shirts, bags, mugs, either for yourself or for presents for others.
- The link below showcases all our uniform items, as well as AAS hoodies and T-shirts.
See the items here
Note that the hoodies we have in multiple colors and sizes and the T-shirts come in Youth sizes and Adult unisex and Women’s sizes.
- We are also providing you the order forms for both Uniform and Spirit Wear.
Uniform Order Form Spirit Wear Order Form
- Please email us at pto.shop@aas.ru to ask questions and/or place your order.
Thank you for all your support throughout the year!
May 5, 2021
📜 Message from PTO President
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
Dear AAS friends,
Today I would like you to meet Melisa Erdem, a Year 12 student at our fellow school, ISM! Melisa served on the Students Council and is a high achiever in all her studies.
Sadly, in 2017 Melisa fell ill and suffered heart failure. Doctors are advising that she needs a heart transplant in the next six months. Operations such as this are long, complicated and extremely expensive.
Please consider helping Melissa and her family reach the 1,100,000 Euros goal allowing her to undergo this life saving surgery.
DONATE TO MELISSA’S HEART TRANSPLANT
Melissa needs our help NOW!
The AAS Community has always shown its big heart, let's prove it one more time, together!
Thank you all in advance for your support, your big heart and readiness to help when it's needed the most!
Yours,
Kristina
🙏 PTO Vacancies for 2021/22 sign up window closed!
PTO would like to thank our Election committee for their excellent work, finding amazing and enthusiastic candidates ready to join PTO Executive Committee for 2021/22.
Big THANK YOU goes to
- Alison Abovsky
- Ines Cremers
- Julia Held
- Tiiu Pedaja
Election timeline and process details
- May 11 - PTO Executive Committee will approve all the candidates.
- May 12 - The candidates list will be published in the AAS Weekly Newsletter.
- May 18 - The Executive Committee presents the candidate list at the monthly Community Coffee. Positions with only one candidate are approved at the meeting, while positions with multiple candidates will be submitted for e-voting.
- Results will be published on May 19 or in case of e-voting on June 2.
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
☕️ PTO Community Coffee Morning
May 18, 10:00
- Official monthly meeting
- 10:00, via Webex
- Student, school, PTO news & updates
🚀 PTO Connect
May 25, 14:30
- Back together in person in COVID safe environment
- Informal get together - let’s meet and have fun together
- 14.30 - 15.30, South Field parking lot
🙏 PTO Volunteer Appreciation Day
May 25
- This year was special and different in many ways, but there is one thing that didn’t change at all - your support and help
- Thank you day for our dedicated volunteers
- Personal invitations will be sent out soon
updates
🛍 PTO SHOP UPDATE
Pauline van der Sman-Archer | pto.shop@aas.ru
We want to invite you to think ahead and consider getting uniform pieces now for the next school year.
It will likely reduce stress for you and for the PTO Shop volunteers alike in August if your kids are ready to go to school in the proper uniform so there is no last minute scramble.
- You may wish to buy one or even 2 sizes up. You can place your orders before June 1st allowing us enough time to get the order to you.
- You may also want to get some AAS Penguin Spirit hoodies, t-shirts, bags, mugs, either for yourself or for presents for others.
- The link below showcases all our uniform items, as well as AAS hoodies and T-shirts.
See the items here
Note that the hoodies we have in multiple colors and sizes and the T-shirts come in Youth sizes and Adult unisex and Women’s sizes.
- We are also providing you the order forms for both Uniform and Spirit Wear.
Uniform Order Form Spirit Wear Order Form
- Please email us at pto.shop@aas.ru to ask questions and/or place your order.
Thank you for all your support throughout the year!
April 28, 2021
📜 Message from PTO VP ES
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
Dear Community,
Today at PTO Connect one of the topics of conversation was "if your family is moving, where are you moving to?"
This summer our family is leaving after 4 great years in Moscow. We will go back to our home country, the Netherlands.
And when you know moving is around the corner, you start counting how many more weeks to enjoy Moscow. How many more weeks for my kids to go to school? I realized there are only 7 more weeks of school left.
In Elementary School we are planning, together with ES leadership, to have some fun events these last 7 weeks. Such as 5 Grade PYP Exhibitions "Picnic Celebration", Summer field day with ice-cream & End-of-year- parties!
Thanks to ES Class parents these events will be organised, enjoyable and a succes.
Wishing families who are moving too, good luck. And for families who are staying, enjoy Moscow and consider the rewarding task of being a volunteer for PTO school year 2021-2022.
Warm wishes,
Ines Cremers
updates
🚀 PTO CONNECT UPDATE
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
- The weather made us change the location of the meeting but for sure it didn’t change our mood, we spent an hour of fun, chatting and supporting each other
- THANK YOU for jumping into PTO WebEx and sharing your thoughts, suggestions and concerns
- We have agreed on having a happy hour for parents next week while our students are engaged in DL, follow up our Whatsapp groups for more info soon
🛍 PTO SHOP UPDATE
Pauline van der Sman-Archer | pto.shop@aas.ru
It is hard to believe that the end of the school year is only two months away. For many families that may mean planning for changes and saying goodbye to friends. Hopefully it also means planning for summer holiday trips! At any rate, the summer season will provide good weather and more outside time, which will be a welcome change for us all.
The PTO Shop volunteers want to thank you for your continued support for the PTO by buying uniform and spirit wear items throughout this year. We have had to be creative in getting the merchandise to you, and in many cases we exchanged multiple emails with you to make sure you were getting the merchandise you had in mind. So, thank you for your patience and flexibility.
We want to invite you to think ahead and consider getting uniform pieces now for the next school year. It will likely reduce stress for you and for the PTO Shop volunteers alike in August if your kids are ready to go to school in the proper uniform so there is no last minute scramble.
- You may wish to buy one or even 2 sizes up. You can place your orders before June 1st allowing us enough time to get the order to you.
- You may also want to get some AAS Penguin Spirit hoodies, t-shirts, bags, mugs, either for yourself or for presents for others.
- The link below showcases all our uniform items, as well as AAS hoodies and T-shirts.
See the items here
Note that the hoodies we have in multiple colors and sizes and the T-shirts come in Youth sizes and Adult unisex and Women’s sizes.
- We are also providing you the order forms for both Uniform and Spirit Wear.
Uniform Order Form Spirit Wear Order Form
- Please email us at pto.shop@aas.ru to ask questions and/or place your order.
Again, thank you for all your support throughout the year and we wish you and your family a wonderful summer.
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
☕️ PTO Community Coffee Morning
May 18, 10:00
- Official monthly meeting
- 10:00, via Webex
- Student, school, PTO news & updates
🚀 PTO Connect
May 25, 14:30
- Back together in person in COVID safe environment
- Informal get together - let’s meet and have fun together
- 14.30 - 15.30, South Field parking lot
🙏 PTO Volunteer Appreciation Day
May 25
- This year was special and different in many ways, but there is one thing that didn’t change at all - your support and help
- Thank you day for our dedicated volunteers
- Personal invitations will be sent out soon
announcements
☝️ PTO Vacancies for 2021/22
April 30
Are you thinking about joining the PTO Executive Committee for the SY 2021-22? Submit your statement of interest by April 30!
- Joining the Executive Committee is a great way to increase your connection to the school and contribute to building our AAS community. Please consider joining the Executive Committee and encourage other parents to do so as well. You are welcome to contact any of the current Executive Committee members for more information about the roles or email your queries to pto@aas.ru.
- The time commitment varies by role, with all members participating in a monthly Executive Committee and Community Coffee meetings.
- There is a "How To" guide for each position available to help get you started.
- All AAS parents are equally welcome to join the Executive Committee.
The following positions need to be filled
- President
- Vice President - Internal Affairs
- Vice President - External Affairs
- Vice President ES
- Vice President MS
- Vice President HS
- Treasurer
- Committee Secretary
Brief Description of Positions
Election timeline and process details
- March 17 - Elective Committee has been established (4 PTO Members) and starts with its work
- April 30 - Deadline to submit a Statement of Interest to pto@aas.ru
- May 5 & 12 - The candidate list is published in the AAS weekly newsletter
- May 18 - The Executive Committee presents the candidate list at the monthly Community Coffee.
- Positions with only one candidate are approved at the meeting, while positions with multiple candidates will be submitted for e-voting.
- Results will be published on May 19 or in case of e-voting on June 2.
April 21, 2021
📜 Message from PTO President
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
Dear AAS Community,
Happy snowy Wednesday to all of you!
Yesterday was another interesting day in PTO, we held our monthly PTO Community Coffee. Have you joined us?
As always, I would like to thank all of you for engaging, and for your continued support.
Thank you goes to all our speakers, we were happy to hear the words from our Director Rhonda Norris, from our Community Relations Director Vitaly Verkhovski and from our PTO officers.
ES Student Council rewarded us with great presentations of what they are doing. We have learnt that the council has 6 different, very active committees and our students are committed to their work and their constitution. They reminded us about the Earth Day on 22nd of April, and they shared with us how we can help:
- Support your children as they consider Earth Day clothing options or accessories
- Choose some activities for you to help out on Earth Day
- Respond to the Survey
In case you have missed our meeting, click on the link below, grab a coffee, find a comfortable chair and enjoy yesterday's meeting!
Watch the PTO Community Coffee
Looking forward to seeing you all next week, it’s PTO CONNECT time!
Yours,
Kristina.
announcements
☝️ PTO Vacancies for 2021/22
April 30
Are you thinking about joining the PTO Executive Committee for the SY 2021-22? Submit your statement of interest by April 30!
- Joining the Executive Committee is a great way to increase your connection to the school and contribute to building our AAS community. Please consider joining the Executive Committee and encourage other parents to do so as well. You are welcome to contact any of the current Executive Committee members for more information about the roles or email your queries to pto@aas.ru.
- The time commitment varies by role, with all members participating in a monthly Executive Committee and Community Coffee meetings.
- There is a "How To" guide for each position available to help get you started.
- All AAS parents are equally welcome to join the Executive Committee.
The following positions need to be filled
- President
- Vice President - Internal Affairs
- Vice President - External Affairs
- Vice President ES
- Vice President MS
- Vice President HS
- Treasurer
- Committee Secretary
Brief Description of Positions
Election timeline and process details
- March 17 - Elective Committee has been established (4 PTO Members) and starts with its work
- April 30 - Deadline to submit a Statement of Interest to pto@aas.ru
- May 5 & 12 - The candidate list is published in the AAS weekly newsletter
- May 18 - The Executive Committee presents the candidate list at the monthly Community Coffee.
- Positions with only one candidate are approved at the meeting, while positions with multiple candidates will be submitted for e-voting.
- Results will be published on May 19 or in case of e-voting on June 2.
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
🚀 PTO Connect
April 27, 14:30
- Back together in person in COVID safe environment!
- Informal get together - let's celebrate Spring together
- 14:30 - 15:30, location to be communicated later on
📷 Photo-Walk Club
April 28, 11:00 - 13:00
☕️ PTO Community Coffee Morning
May 18, 10:00
- Official monthly meeting
- 10:00, via Webex
- Student, school, PTO news & updates
updates
🏛 HS Update
Linda Coralo | pto.hs@aas.ru
The graduating Class of 2021 received their gifts on Monday from the PTO.
It’s a tradition every year for the Seniors to receive a personalized hoodie that has been designed by a classmate. This year we would like to thank Maria Gomez for her fabulous 2021 design.
Good Luck to all the graduating class on their exams next week!
- April 14, 2021
- March 31, 2021
- March 24, 2021
- March 17, 2021
- March 10, 2021
- March 3, 2021
- February 24, 2021
April 14, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE USED BOOK FAIR COORDINATOR
Alexandra Giannakopoulou | pto@aas.ru
Dear AAS Community,
Hope you had a relaxing Spring Break, no doubt spending some of it reading the ‘new to you’ books that you choose at the PTO Used Book Fair!! What a great event the Used Book Fair was this year!!
There are so many people to thank...
Of course all the PTO and parent volunteers who took the time to come into school to help organise the books, display them throughout the school and tidy up at the end of the event, such a happy and enthusiastic group of people to work with! Thank you so much!
The amazing Green Team, who delivered the books to each display area, collected the boxes of books at the end of the event, put the tables out and helped to load up the books we had set aside for local donations, your efficiency and cooperation made the whole event run smoothly! Большое спасибо!
All the teachers who took their classes out to visit the displays and drum up excitement about the Used Book Fair; we are so grateful you made time in your schedules to support this event!
And thank you to the wonderful Communication Department for their amazing posters, letting the whole school know about the event!
Over the 2 days the AAS community donated 130,000 Rub! Unbelievable! These funds will go towards future PTO events, that keep our school community such a happy, thriving place to learn in!
Well done everyone and happy reading!
Yours,
Alex.
announcements
☝️ PTO Vacancies for 2021/22
April 20
Are you thinking about joining the PTO Executive Committee for the SY 2021-22? Submit your statement of interest by April 20!
- Joining the Executive Committee is a great way to increase your connection to the school and contribute to building our AAS community. Please consider joining the Executive Committee and encourage other parents to do so as well. You are welcome to contact any of the current Executive Committee members for more information about the roles or email your queries to pto@aas.ru.
- The time commitment varies by role, with all members participating in a monthly Executive Committee and Community Coffee meetings.
- There is a "How To" guide for each position available to help get you started.
- All AAS parents are equally welcome to join the Executive Committee.
The following positions need to be filled
- President
- Vice President - Internal Affairs
- Vice President - External Affairs
- Vice President ES
- Vice President MS
- Vice President HS
- Treasurer
- Committee Secretary
Brief Description of Positions
🪙 PTO Enhancement Grants Program!
Open till April 18
Irina Elizarov | pto.grant@aas.ru
- We are pleased to announce that the PTO Enhancement Grant Program is once again open!
- Deadline for applying is April 18th, 2021.
- We are looking for submissions from parents, students, or staff that will positively impact learning at AAS.
Example Proposal Submit a grant proposal
If you have any questions, contact Irina.
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
☕️ PTO Community Coffee
April 20, 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for another meeting full of news, updates and fun! Pastel spring colors are a must!
Join PTO Community Coffee via Webex
Wellbeing Workshop for AAS Parents
🚀 April 20
Tuesday, April 20, Time 11:00-1:00, Zoom
Tuesday, April 20, Time 11:00-1:00, Zoom
Meet J Christopher Dadefumi and Cathryn Berger Kaye for a dynamic conversation about how to support the wellbeing of our children. Of course, AAS gives significant attention to what wellbeing means, what it looks like, and how to support each child during these uncertain times. With the school-home connection being vital to how a child thrives, what’s a parent to do? A time to share ideas, explore possibilities and learn together.
Only 30 places available due to the format of the interactive workshop.
"It was so nice to hear from other parents. I realized that many of my struggles and the experiences that my children are having are common among other AAS parents. It was nice to meet new people." - HS Parent."My children, wellbeing, school, parenting - all precious and so important topics. I have joined the last training session with J Christopher Dadefumi and Cathryn Berger Kaye, it was a pleasant and useful experience! We were sharing ideas and best practices on such crucial questions like, how can I help my children, how can I make it easier for them, what can I do as a parent, how can I help myself and make every day better and many more! I have enjoyed every second of the training, thank you AAS for organizing it!" - ES and HS parent
🚀 PTO Connect
April 27
📷 Photo-Walk with Ekaterina Dashkovskaya
April 28
updates
🏛 MS Update
Dyara Conrado | pto.ms@aas.ru
It's hard to believe that there are only a couple of months left until the end of the school year!
At the end of each year, the MS Division presents the grade 8 students with a hoodie as a gift to mark the end of their MS years. To make this rite of passage even more special, the MS organized a "hoodie design contest" where students were given the opportunity to submit a design for voting. These unique and cool hoodies were funded by the PTO as a way to recognize the hard work and effort put in by the grade 8 students. We wish them luck as they move on to high school!
The hoodie design contest was coordinated by Mrs. Caitlin O'Neal-Lopez (MS art teacher) and Mr. Matthew Treinen (Grade 8 Advisory teacher) and the winning designer worked with Anastasia in the communications department to finalize the design. The PTO would like to thank all three for making this contest a success.
We will announce the name of the participants and their designs along with the winner in the June NL! Stay tuned!
March 31, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE VP MS
Dayra Conrado | pto.ms@aas.ru
Dear AAS Community,
It has been a great start of the week! On Monday the PTO had the great pleasure of welcoming back our MS and HS students with ice cream treats! Linda Corallo (PTO HS VP) and I had so much fun handling out the icy treats that we completely forgot to take some photos but there were definitely some happy eyes and many “thank yous” from our amazingly, resilient students!
It's hard to believe that in just a few months the school year will be over! Now with school back on full campus and better weather that will allows us to be outdoors, we are excited to hopefully be able to bring back some of our end of year events!
We wish you a safe and enjoyable Spring Break!
Stay healthy and stay tuned!
All the best,
Dayra Conrado
Used Book Fair
Alexandra Giannakopoulou | pto@aas.ru
Hooray!
The PTO Annual Used Book Fair is happening this week: April 1st and 2nd! We are all so excited and hope you are too!
As with so many other activities, the book fair will look a little different this year... We won’t be able to do a book swap, or accept Book Bucks, but with your voluntary donation of 200 Rub , each student takes home up to 5 ‘new to you’ books!
Envelopes were sent home on Monday with all ES students, which can be returned with your donation. All MS and HS students were informed about the fair too, and posters are displayed around the school!
Display tables have already been set up around school just waiting for students to come and choose their favourites!
MS/HS Theme
Chill out and Read a Good Book!
Chill out and Read a Good Book!
ES Theme
Waddle You Read Today?
Waddle You Read Today?
When
April 1 and April 2
Why
Reading is Great!
All the money raised will go towards more fun PTO events!
Yours,
Alex
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
📸 Used Book Fair
April 1 & April 2
☕️ PTO Community Coffee
April 20
🚀 PTO Connect
April 27
📷 Photo-Walk with Ekaterina Dashkovskaya
April 28
announcements
☝️ PTO Vacancies for 2021/22
April 20
Are you thinking about joining the PTO Executive Committee for the SY 2021-22? Submit your statement of interest by April 20!
- Joining the Executive Committee is a great way to increase your connection to the school and contribute to building our AAS community. Please consider joining the Executive Committee and encourage other parents to do so as well. You are welcome to contact any of the current Executive Committee members for more information about the roles or email your queries to pto@aas.ru.
- The time commitment varies by role, with all members participating in a monthly Executive Committee and Community Coffee meetings.
- There is a "How To" guide for each position available to help get you started.
- All AAS parents are equally welcome to join the Executive Committee.
The following positions need to be filled
- President
- Vice President - Internal Affairs
- Vice President - External Affairs
- Vice President ES
- Vice President MS
- Vice President HS
- Treasurer
- Committee Secretary
Brief Description of Positions
Election timeline and process details
- March 17 - Elective Committee has been established (4 PTO Members) and starts with its work
- April 20 - Deadline to submit a Statement of Interest to pto@aas.ru
- May 5 & 12 - The candidate list is published in the AAS weekly newsletter
- May 18 - The Executive Committee presents the candidate list at the monthly Community Coffee.
- Positions with only one candidate are approved at the meeting, while positions with multiple candidates will be submitted for e-voting.
- Results will be published on May 19 or in case of e-voting on June 2.
🗓 Event Planning Volunteers
The PTO is working together with AAS leadership to plan for a possibility of some community events this school year. Depending on the epidemiological situation and safety factors, these may be virtual, hybrid, or in person.
We are looking for active parent volunteers to take part in planning and organizing these events. Your engagement can make a big difference to the AAS community, please email pto@aas.ru if you would like to contribute.
🪙 PTO Enhancement Grants Now Open!
April 18
Irina Elizarov | pto.grant@aas.ru
- We are pleased to announce that the PTO Enhancement Grant Program is once again open!
- Deadline for applying is April 18th, 2021.
- We are looking for submissions from parents, students, or staff that will positively impact learning at AAS.
Example Proposal Submit a grant proposal
If you have any questions, contact Irina.
updates
🖼 PTO Connect Update by VP ES
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
Yesterday at PTO Connect, our special guest Ekaterina showed us "how to capture a perfect moment"!
Join us for a "photo-walk practise" on Wednesday, 28 April, 11 am-1 pm at the City centre (exact location will be communicated closer to the date). Costs 2000 RUB per person. Please send an email to Ines Cremers if you are interested.
🏛 HS Update
Linda Corallo | pto.hs@aas.ru
Monday was a fabulous day for our HS students.
Having everyone back on campus was exciting for all. The PTO offered ice cream to all the MS and HS students during lunchtime. It was great to see all the students together again.
Last Saturday, the PTO had the great opportunity to be a part of the basketball tournament held by Mr Boychuk and Penguin Life Team.
The PTO provided snacks throughout the day so the players had energy to compete and enjoy the event. It was an incredible day that was enjoyed by all.
Go Penguins! 🐧
March 24, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE PTO USED BOOK FAIR COORDINATOR
Alexandra Giannakopoulou | pto@aas.ru
Dear AAS community,
Let's get some Penguin Spirit going, it's PTO’s Annual Used Book Fair!
MS/HS Theme
Chill out and Read a Good Book!
ES Theme
Waddle You Read Today?
When
Just over a week away, on April 1st 2nd!
Where
A corridor near you!
How
Bring in a voluntary donation of minimum 200 rubles and choose up to 5 'new to you' books!
Why
Reading is Great!
All the money raised will go towards more fun PTO events! Further details will be sent home next week!
Yours,
Alex
announcements
☝️ PTO Vacancies for 2021/22
April 20
Are you thinking about joining the PTO Executive Committee for the SY 2021-22? Submit your statement of interest by April 20!
Joining the Executive Committee is a great way to increase your connection to the school and contribute to building our AAS community. Please consider joining the Executive Committee and encourage other parents to do so as well. You are welcome to contact any of the current Executive Committee members for more information about the roles or email your queries to pto@aas.ru.
The time commitment varies by role, with all members participating in a monthly Executive Committee and Community Coffee meetings.
There is a "How To" guide for each position available to help get you started.
All AAS parents are equally welcome to join the Executive Committee.
The following positions need to be filled
- President
- Vice President - Internal Affairs
- Vice President - External Affairs
- Vice President ES
- Vice President MS
- Vice President HS
- Treasurer,
- Committee Secretary
Brief Description of Positions
Election timeline and process details
- March 17 - Elective Committee has been established (4 PTO Members) and starts with its work
- April 20 - Deadline to submit a Statement of Interest to pto@aas.ru
- May 5 & 12 - The candidate list is published in the AAS weekly newsletter
- May 18 - The Executive Committee presents the candidate list at the monthly Community Coffee.
- Positions with only one candidate are approved at the meeting, while positions with multiple candidates will be submitted for e-voting.
- Results will be published on May 19 or in case of e-voting on June 2.
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
March & April
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
It's simple, just click on the links and connect with us!
📸 PTO Connect | Photography Course
March 30, 10:00
- This time we do not accept any excuse :) you must join us!
- Mobile phone gallery full of pictures, none usable, none to show off with on Facebook or Instagram? We know how you feel, and we can change that, starting from next week, 30th of March! :)
- Bring your favorite drink along and connect with other parents!
- Special guest: Ekaterina Dashkovskaya, photographer - "How to capture a perfect moment"!
🪙 PTO Enhancement Grants Now Open!
April 18
Irina Elizarov | pto.grant@aas.ru
- We are pleased to announce that the PTO Enhancement Grant Program is once again open!
- Deadline for applying is April 18th, 2021.
- We are looking for submissions from parents, students, or staff that will positively impact learning at AAS.
Examples of previous Enhancement Grants Submit a grant proposal
If you have any questions, contact Irina.
updates
👶 ES UPDATE
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
Welcome back ES Penguins
Yesterday PTO did its best to put a smile on our students' faces. We ‘popped’ by to say hello and welcome back to modified full on campus learning to all our ES students and their teachers. Thank you for all your ‘thank you’ and ‘we appreciate what you do’ messages, they made our day and they are the best reward for all our volunteer work that we do.
🧒 MS UPDATE
Dayra Conrado | pto.ms@aas.ru
It was a pleasure to help out with snacks during the MS Basketball Tournament last Saturday! It is always nice to see our students having fun! Congratulations to all who participated!
March 17, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE PTO VP HS
Linda Corallo | pto.hs@aas.ru
Dear AAS Community,
With Spring just around the corner, I cannot believe that we have completed a full year of this Covid world. Our school will be back to full campus learning, the snow will be gone, the sun will shine brighter and there is a hint of things getting back to normal. It's time to celebrate - with masks on. The AAS community has proven that in difficult times, we are all here for each other.
It's now time to give a big shout out to all of the HS students.
I would like to take this opportunity to say Well Done! They have proven that when things get tough -they get tougher. We congratulate you on how quickly you adjusted to the new changes this school year. They no longer were in class full time, no longer travelling to represent AAS and no longer meeting up with their friends or meeting new ones. This would be challenging for anybody.
Last week the grade 12 students had their Mock exams and I had the opportunity to see them hard at work. The PTO provided a few snacks and a bit of encouraging words. It was a tough week for them but they came out of it with their heads high.
To the Class of 2021.
You have all set a fine example for all the students who will follow you. After this year, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. Good Luck! Seniors - You're almost done.
All the best,
Linda Corallo.
announcements
🪙 PTO Enhancement Grants Now Open!
April 18
Irina Elizarov | pto.grant@aas.ru
We are pleased to announce that the PTO Enhancement Grant Program is once again open!
Deadline for applying is April 18th, 2021.
We are looking for submissions from parents, students, or staff that will positively impact learning at AAS.
Examples of previous Enhancement Grants Submit a grant proposal
If you have any questions, contact Irina.
☝️ PTO Vacancies for 2021/22
April 20
Are you thinking about joining the PTO Executive Committee for the SY 2021-22? Submit your statement of interest by April 20!
Joining the Executive Committee is a great way to increase your connection to the school and contribute to building our AAS community. Please consider joining the Executive Committee and encourage other parents to do so as well. You are welcome to contact any of the current Executive Committee members for more information about the roles or email your queries to pto@aas.ru.
The time commitment varies by role, with all members participating in a monthly Executive Committee and Community Coffee meetings.
There is a "How To" guide for each position available to help get you started.
All AAS parents are equally welcome to join the Executive Committee.
The following positions need to be filled
- President
- Vice President - Internal Affairs
- Vice President - External Affairs
- Vice President ES
- Vice President MS
- Vice President HS
- Treasurer,
- Committee Secretary
Brief Description of Positions
Election timeline and process details
- March 17 - Elective Committee has been established (4 PTO Members) and starts with its work
- April 20 - Deadline to submit a Statement of Interest to pto@aas.ru
- May 5 & 12 - The candidate list is published in the AAS weekly newsletter
- May 18 - The Executive Committee presents the candidate list at the monthly Community Coffee.
- Positions with only one candidate are approved at the meeting, while positions with multiple candidates will be submitted for e-voting.
- Results will be published on May 19 or in case of e-voting on June 2.
updates
📘 PTO Community Coffee Update
Kristina Tadic | PTO President
THANK YOU all for your virtual visit to our March Community Coffee meeting!
- We have celebrated Maslenitsa by having Pancake Master class run by amazing ES chefs: Aatos, Min Joon, and Abigail from grades 3 - 5. In case you want to try to make this amazing Russian ‘blini’, please follow the recipe here, and if you want to feel the atmosphere of our master class check the photos below
- Studio 4 was another interesting live stream, it was a pleasure to see how one of PTO enhancement grants came to life, and we have learnt so much from our ES students
- It was again, an hour full of news, updates, useful information, students presentations, leadership updates and PTO events and activities
- Special thank you goes to our:
- ES students for sharing their knowledge, enthusiasm and passion with us,
- Director Rhonda Norris for joining us and talking to us about latest news, modified full on campus learning path,
- Alex, Used Book fair coordinator and Irina, Enhancement grants coordinator, for joining and sharing their projects with us
- Kari from Cafeteria, for his excellent job in preparing all we needed for our Pancake Master Class, not that we had all ingredients and equipment, he also put a special touch in decorating the table in style of Russian Holiday Maslenitsa
- Community Relation Department, Vitali, Ilya, Julia and Nastya, without you this meeting would not be possible
- In case you missed the meeting, please check it here, and make sure you join us next time, on April 20th
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
March & April
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
It's simple, just click on the links and connect with us!
📸 PTO Connect | Photography Course
March 30, 10:00
- Bring your favorite drink along and connect with other parents!
- Special guest: Ekaterina Dashkovskaya, photographer - "How to capture a perfect moment"!
📚 PTO Used Book Fair
April 1 & April 2
Alexandra Giannakopoulou | Used book fair coordinator
- The PTO’s Annual Used Book Fair is fast approaching! Needless to say, it won’t look quite the same as it has in the past but it will be a fun event for all the students!
- Spread over 2 days, April 1st and 2nd, all the students will have an opportunity to choose from a huge assortment of books: fiction, non-fiction, picture books, novels, there will be something to suit everyone’s taste!
- The PTO will be sending home details in an e-letter closer to the date, outlining the details about the event, including how to send in voluntary donations with your child for the event.
March 10, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE PTO VP SECRETARY
Celia Schweizer | pto.secretary@aas.ru
Dear AAS Community,
Happy spring! The days are getting longer and the sun has been shining quite a bit in recent weeks. I had to dig out my sunglasses for the first time in months!
I hope everyone had a lovely International Women’s Day. My family took advantage of the extra time this past weekend to further explore Moscow and enjoy the sunny weather. We just moved to Moscow in August and we still feel like “tourists” because we want to spend all our free time exploring the city and all it has to offer (in COVID-safe ways, of course!) For example, on International Women’s Day we visited the moose and deer at the Elk Biological Station, also known as “Elk Island,” which is located at Losiny Ostrov National Park. We had a lot of fun feeding – and in some cases petting! – the animals and hiking through the nearby national forest.
Like proper tourists, we took a lot of great photos during the outing. I am not a skilled photographer so I am looking forward to the March PTO Connect, which will feature photography tips and tricks from professional photographer, Ekaterina Dashkovskaya. I can’t wait to learn more about the best apps for editing photos on my phone so I can do justice to all the interesting and beautiful sites we’re visiting in Moscow.
Please join the PTO at our upcoming Community Coffee on March 16 and PTO Connect on March 30.
Warm Regards,
Celia Schweizer
updates
📘 HS UPDATE
Linda Corallo | HS VP | pto.hs@aas.ru
Good Luck to the Seniors and their Mock Exams this week!
The PTO is making sure our seniors are hydrated and fed and ready to go!
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
March
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
It's simple, just click on the links and connect with us!
🥞 PTO Community Coffee | Maslenitsa Celebration
March 16, 10am
- Celebrate Maslenitsa with us - wear something yellow, orange, red, blue, green...
- Hear the news from the students, school leadership & PTO!
- Special guests: AAS students, Used Books Fair Coordinator Alex Giannakopoulou, Enhancement Grant Coordinator Irina Elizarov
- See the agenda here
📸 PTO Connect | Photography Course
March 30, 10am
- Bring your favorite drink along and connect with other parents!
- Special guest: Ekaterina Dashkovskaya photographer - "How to capture a perfect moment"!
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
March
- NEW Mexican Food Cooking Club
Do you want to learn something new & enjoy time together with other AAS parents? Sign up for Mexican Food Cooking Club!
- small group, 3 hours, 3.500rub per person (including ingredients), hands on and have fun
- Pokrovsky Hills, VV03
- Master Chef Richard Virgil | www.latinandsoul.ru
- date to be decided
- text or email Ines Cremers for more information
- NEW Book club
- We Talk A Lot
- Walking/Cross Country Skiing Club
Tuesday 8.30 & Friday 14.00
- Tennis club
💬 PTO PARENTS' WhatsApp GROUPS
March
Please email your contact information to the appropriate grade representatives!
For MS
Grade 6 - Antonella Oldani
Grade 7 - Ines Cremers
Grade 8 - Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
Grade 7 - Ines Cremers
Grade 8 - Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
For HS
Grade 9 - Kristina Tadic
Grade 10 - Julie Michaels
Grade 11 - Michaela Rezkova
Grade 10 - Julie Michaels
Grade 11 - Michaela Rezkova
Grade 12 - Dayra Conrado & Gerda Marais
March 3, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE PTO VP INTERNAL
Pauline van der Sman-Archer | pto.internal@aas.ru
Dear AAS Community,
“To Spring or not to Spring?”
That has been a question in our house this week. Early last week it was still -20C and now it’s above 0C, so maybe, just maybe, Spring may be on its way? We started to dare and hope for warmer days now. Funny enough, all 6 of us were enjoying the cold, snowy winter with all the skating, sledding, skiing and walking across the frozen Moscow Canal until last week. But now that we have had some warmer temperatures, all of a sudden we have lost all patience with winter and want it to be Spring immediately. I realized that in our family, Spring fever combined with complete Covid fatigue may mean some more challenges in keeping the children motivated and focussed and, above all, positive. And to be honest, not just the children in our house, but also my husband and I may need to try harder to stay patient while waiting for both the Spring and some normalcy to return.
Perhaps your family experiences the same. We certainly have our days where it’s not so easy to stay positive. For me, staying busy is the only effective way to make sure I have enough energy to keep my kids ‘on track’. If you feel like staying busy is helpful, but you are not sure what to do during this time, please consider joining any of the new PTO Clubs. If you joined the last couple of PTO Coffees where the brainstorming evolved into several concrete new clubs, this is not news. But for those of you who haven’t been able to join, please consider the new Walking/Cross Country PTO group, the Book Club, the Cooking Club, the Lunch/Explore Moscow Club, the Tennis Club. Joining doesn’t involve more than showing up and having a good time doing whatever activity the group is dedicated to do. These are the groups already active, but of course if you have some more ideas, please join us at the next PTO Community Coffee or PTO Connect.
We are looking forward to seeing you there!
Best regards,
Pauline van der Sman-Archer
PS: if it starts freezing again and you are slipping and sliding on your daily walks, please email us at pto.shop@aas.ru to get a pair of amazing WhiteWalker spikes!
updates
📘 HS UPDATE
Linda Corallo | HS VP | pto.hs@aas.ru
- All our HS students enjoyed a Valentine’s Day treat last week!
- Good Luck to all grade 12 on their Mock Exams next week!
PTO will provide snacks and drinks to all the students for their exams
📗 MS UPDATE
Dayra Conrado | MS VP | pto.ms@aas.ru
Once again, it was great to surprise the MS students with a special Valentine’s Day treat bag last week!
A bit late, but as they say, “better late than never.”
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
March
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
It's simple, just click on the links and connect with us!
🥞 PTO Community Coffee | Maslenitsa Celebration
March 16, 10am
- Celebrate Maslenitsa with us - wear something yellow, orange, red, blue, green...
- Hear the news from the students, school leadership & PTO!
- Special guests: AAS students
📸 PTO Connect | Photography Course
March 30, 10am
- Bring your favorite drink along and connect with other parents!
- Special guest: Ekaterina Dashkovskaya photographer - "How to capture a perfect moment"!
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
March
- NEW Mexican Food Cooking Club
Do you want to learn something new & enjoy time together with other AAS parents? Sign up for Mexican Food Cooking Club!
- small group, 3 hours, 3.500rub per person (including ingredients), hands on and have fun
- Pokrovsky Hills, VV03
- Master Chef Richard Virgil | www.latinandsoul.ru
- date to be decided
- text or email Ines Cremers for more information
- NEW Book club
- We Talk A Lot
- Walking/Cross Country Skiing Club
Tuesday 8.30 & Friday 14.00
- Tennis club
💬 PTO PARENTS' WhatsApp GROUPS
March
Please email your contact information to the appropriate grade representatives!
For MS
Grade 6 - Antonella Oldani
Grade 7 - Ines Cremers
Grade 8 - Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
Grade 7 - Ines Cremers
Grade 8 - Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
For HS
Grade 9 - Kristina Tadic
Grade 10 - Julie Michaels
Grade 11 - Michaela Rezkova
Grade 12 - Dayra Conrado & Gerda Marais
Grade 10 - Julie Michaels
Grade 11 - Michaela Rezkova
Grade 12 - Dayra Conrado & Gerda Marais
February 24, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE PTO TREASURER
Naree Jung | pto.treasurer@aas.ru
Welcome back AAS community!
I hope that each of you had a safe & relaxing break and enjoyed time with family. I’d like to share with you my trip during the spring break.
After my Sputnik vaccination, my family and I hopped on the plane to Murmansk to catch Northern lights and see the Arctic ocean. Murmansk is approximately 1500 km away from Moscow, located in northwestern Russia, at the end of a deep bay off the Barents sea and is famous for Northern light hunt and exploring Tundra region and experiencing extremely cold weather. This is the first trip since Covid 19 outbreak and we were so excited and nervous at the same time. Life has changed after Covid 19 and we all learned to cope with new normal. We are now used to wearing masks and taking temperatures wherever we go.
During our trip to Murmansk, one of the highlights is exploring Teriberka – Arctic Ocean and the edge of the world. Just seeing splendid sceneries through the tundra on our way to the shore and looking at breathtaking view of the Arctic ocean in the end, this mother nature seemed to show me and tell me there is always HOPE which provides a positive vision for the future about what’s possible, motivating us to look forward. Life is like the ocean. It can be calm or still, and rough or rigid, but in the end, it is always beautiful. At home, school and work, we all go through the darkest times in our life and yet we are able to endure all these difficult patches because we have HOPE. To have HOPE, we feel a sense of meaning in our lives. When we believe in HOPE, Courage, and Confidence, and come in together with joint hands, we are going to win our lives downfalls.
And don’t forget that PTO is always here for you. If you want to share your hopes with us, feel free to come and connect with us.
Warmly,
Naree
updates
☕️ PTO CONNECT UPDATE
Kristina Tadic | PTO President
Yesterday we spent an hour together in pleasant conversation, talking about PTO social clubs, PTO shop, sharing ideas and simply enjoying each other company
- Special surprise was a live stream from our PTO shop, thank you Pauline and Ines for making our day yesterday :). It was amazing to see our school, PTO shop, blue Lounge, PTO Exchange, although it was only on the screen, it felt quite real. We will work on more life streaming in the future, as we realized how important it is for all of us to stay connected with the school and how precious this short but sweet experience was for our new parents who didn’t have a chance to see our school so far
- Special thank you goes to our Social Club Leaders for joining us and presenting their clubs, motivating and inspiring all the parents to join and engage
- The final thank you goes to all of you who joined us yesterday, for your time and your engagement, thank you for having your cameras on :) and thank you for sharing your views and ideas
Looking forward to seeing you at our next PTO connect in March!
📚 HS UPDATE
Linda Corallo | HS VP | pto.hs@aas.ru
Before the February break the PTO helped celebrate the grade 12 seniors on completion of their extended essay.
Every year we celebrate with cake and a personalized pen and this year was no different.
The seniors got together, along with Mr and Mrs Sonderman, and enjoyed some cake and cupcakes.
Don’t forget to ask your child to see the pen!
If your child was absent they can pick up their pen in the IB office with Ms Natasha.
Well Done Seniors!!
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
March
We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment. Browse our events, activities and clubs, decide what you like and join us.
It's simple, just click on the links and connect with us!
🥞 PTO Community Coffee | Maslenitsa Celebration
March 16 - 10am
Link to join
- Celebrate Maslenitsa with us - wear something yellow, orange, red, blue, green...
- Hear the news from the students, school leadership & PTO!
- Special guests: AAS students
📸 PTO Connect | Photography Course
March 30 - 10am
Link to Join
- Bring your favorite drink along and connect with other parents!
- Special guest: Ekaterina Dashkovskaya photographer - "How to capture a perfect moment"!
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
February / March
- NEW Exploring Moscow's Food Markets
- NEW Book club
- We Talk A Lot
- Walking/Cross Country Skiing Club
Tuesday 8.30 & Friday 14.00
- Tennis club
- Cooking club
💬 PTO PARENTS' WhatsApp GROUPS
February / March
Please email your contact information to the appropriate grade representatives!
For MS
Grade 6 - Antonella Oldani
Grade 7 - Ines Cremers
Grade 8 - Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
Grade 7 - Ines Cremers
Grade 8 - Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
For HS
Grade 9 - Kristina Tadic
Grade 10 - Julie Michaels
Grade 11 - Michaela Rezkova
Grade 12 - Dayra Conrado & Gerda Marais
Grade 10 - Julie Michaels
Grade 11 - Michaela Rezkova
Grade 12 - Dayra Conrado & Gerda Marais
- February 10, 2021
- February 3, 2021
- January 27, 2021
- January 20, 2021
- January 13, 2021
- December 16, 2020
February 10, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE PTO VP ES
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
Courage
Courage is the word we have seen, read and heard a lot about this school year, it is one of the core values in AAS.
My family loves and uses Virtue Cards at home very often, and as my curiosity was triggered by this word "Courage", I looked the Virtue Card - Courage, and I want to share with you what I have found out.
PTO shows courage, by adjusting, trying new things, making mistakes, learning from them & not giving up. Volunteers are showing courage, by deciding to help, to do things for greater good, not only for themselves, to be there for others, to get out from their comfort zone, to be there for the entire AAS community.
In PTO, we know that all of you have that courage in you, and we always look forward to seeing you joining us and helping with our events and activities, we need all of you, enthusiastic, positive community members who want to help (interested?! email pto@aas.ru).
When talking about Volunteers, I use this opportunity to thank all our wonderful class parents for helping out during ES winter field days, we appreciate your help and willingness to help and be there for our students.
❄️ Wishing you all an enjoyable February break and some Courage! ❄️
Warm Regards,
Ines Cremers
☕️ PTO COMMUNITY COFFEE UPDATE
Kristina Tadic | PTO President
February 9, 10-11am, an hour full of news, updates, useful information, students presentations, leadership updates and PTO events and activities.
If you missed it, watch it here
- Special thank you goes to our HS students and to Vitali for inviting them, to our Director Rhonda Norris for joining us and reminding us about Directors Connection happening Thursday, February 11 at 6.30pm (please make sure you join us!), and to PTO team, always ready to present new activities and update us on what PTO was up to lately!
- From our HS students we had a chance to learn about Global Health activities, please follow on Instagram for more info, and we have finished the meeting with a spectacular presentation by HS students, presenting to us the whole Penguin Life Leadership program. They were amazing and we wish them luck at the Leadership academy this Friday!
- For some fun, we played Valentine's Scavenger hunt (in 30 sec, find 5 objects that remind you of St Valentine's day, take a photo of them and send it to us) and some parents were quick and lucky enough to win our new PTO mug!
Congratulations to Celia, here is her Scavenger collage!
- pens I will give my kids as a part of their Valentine’s Day treats baskets
- chocolates
- orchid bloom
- lipstick in “Russian Red”
- AAS mug with hearts
- We are also proud to announce that our New resolution board is ready, thank you Community Relation department for creating it for us! PTO is committed to work on it hard, providing you with tips, ideas, support and lessons to help you achieve your goals and celebrate together with you!
🗓 PTO CALENDAR | Mark Your Agendas
February / March
🏘 PTO Connect | Coffee Chat
February 23 - 10am
link to join
Join us for a casual talk show, we will talk about everything and nothing, the main purpose of this is to get together and have a relaxed, interactive talk.
Bring your favorite drink along and connect with other parents!
🥞 PTO Community Coffee | Maslenitsa Celebration
March 16 - 10am
Link to join
Celebrate Maslenitsa with us - wear something yellow, orange, red, blue, green...
Hear the news from the students, school leadership & PTO!
Special guests: AAS students
📸 PTO Connect | Photography Course
March 30 - 10am
Link to Join
Bring your favorite drink along and connect with other parents!
Special guest: Ekaterina Dashkovskaya photographer - "How to capture a perfect moment"!
🦋 PTO Social Clubs
February / March
- We Talk A Lot
- Walking/Cross Country Skiing Club
- Tennis club
- Cooking club
- Exploring Grocery Stores & Markets
SOON
- Book Club
Looking for a leader!
Please if interested reach us at pto@aas.ru
💬 PTO PARENT WhatsApp GROUPS
February / March
Please email your contact information to the appropriate grade representatives!
For MS
Grade 6 - Antonella Oldani
Grade 7 - Ines Cremers
Grade 8 - Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
Grade 7 - Ines Cremers
Grade 8 - Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
For HS
Grade 9 - Kristina Tadic
Grade 10 - Julie Michaels
Grade 11 - Michaela Rezkova
Grade 12 - Dayra Conrado & Gerda Marais
Grade 10 - Julie Michaels
Grade 11 - Michaela Rezkova
Grade 12 - Dayra Conrado & Gerda Marais
update
🛍 PTO SHOP
Pauline van der Sman-Archer
VP INTERNAL & acting PTO Shop Manager
Although the PTO Shop is closed on campus, we continue to be busy filling uniform and hoody orders and getting the merchandise to new and returning customers!
During our last PTO community coffee meeting one of the parents suggested to us a great idea, to do on-line PTO shop session, we are working on it immediately after the break we will be ready with it.
2020-2021 PTO mugs designed by Soheun Lee, 7th Grade student who won the design competition, are still available!
The mugs are very well priced at only 250RUB per mug!
There is a limited supply! place your order
February 3, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE PTO VP ES
Ines Cremers | pto.es@aas.ru
Dear AAS Community,
Time flies when you are having fun! It's a saying that is very true. On the other hand with COVID-19 the saying might be changed to "Time still flies, but not always with having fun" and that is when PTO comes in to make sure the fun is always there!
That said, PTO is organising a lot of FUN activities, like cooking class, Community Coffees, PTO Connect, PTO Shop Gazebo sales, Life in Moscow seminar and many more. Check out the PTO Calendar at the bottom of this page to see upcoming activities.
Another activity to look forward to is ES Winter Field Day(s). These will be held this week Thursday and Friday. PTO will serve hot chocolate, with help from our class parents. Thank you!
I'd also like to welcome New families. If you have Elementary School child(ren) and have a question or are interested in being a class parent, please contact me at pto.es@aas.ru
Wishing you some FUN this week!
Warm Regards,
Ines Cremers
Time flies when you are having fun! It's a saying that is very true. On the other hand with COVID-19 the saying might be changed to "Time still flies, but not always with having fun" and that is when PTO comes in to make sure the fun is always there!
That said, PTO is organising a lot of FUN activities, like cooking class, Community Coffees, PTO Connect, PTO Shop Gazebo sales, Life in Moscow seminar and many more. Check out the PTO Calendar at the bottom of this page to see upcoming activities.
Another activity to look forward to is ES Winter Field Day(s). These will be held this week Thursday and Friday. PTO will serve hot chocolate, with help from our class parents. Thank you!
I'd also like to welcome New families. If you have Elementary School child(ren) and have a question or are interested in being a class parent, please contact me at pto.es@aas.ru
Wishing you some FUN this week!
Warm Regards,
Ines Cremers
update
👋 PTO NEWCOMERS PROGRAM
Newcomers Coordinator Myrte Dijksman-Schouten | pto.newcomers@aas.ru
Yesterday, the PTO together with Allison Abovsky and myself organised a seminar about “Life in Moscow”, for new families and all other interested attendees.
- We have discussed all kinds of local (online) shopping facilities/places to go for leisure, to organise birthday parties and to buy birthday gadgets/local services like Yandex and US Dental Care
- In case you missed it, feel free to watch the recorded version via this link Life in Moscow Seminar
- The knowledge about the topics described is coming from “worth of mouth” and from Alison’s own experience.
- It would be helpful if you could send us your advices and suggestions to pto.newcomers@aas.com
Parents attending the seminar had a suggestion on publishing all locations where people can get COVID tests and vaccines. We currently are still working on this topic, but we are confident it will be published next week.
We use this opportunity to thank all of you who joined us and to say big THANK YOU to Alison for spending her time with us and sharing all her great knowledge about Moscow and its life.
update
🛍 PTO SHOP
Pauline van der Sman-Archer
VP INTERNAL & acting PTO Shop Manager
Although the PTO Shop is closed on campus, we continue to be busy filling uniform and hoody orders and getting the merchandise to new and returning customers!
This week we started selling 2020-2021 PTO mugs designed by Soheun Lee, 7th Grade student who won the design competition.
The mugs are very well priced at only 250RUB per mug!
There is a limited supply! place your order
🗓 PTO FEBRUARY CALENDAR
9 February at 10:00| PTO Community Coffee
link to join
- St. Valentines theme - wear something red
- Hear the news from the students, school leadership & PTO!
- Special guests: AAS HS students
Take a look at the Agenda
23 February at 10:00 | PTO Connect
link to join
Join us for a casual talk show, we will talk about everything and nothing, the main purpose of this is to get together and have a relaxed, interactive talk.
Bring your favorite drink along and connect with other parents
Throughout the Month | PTO Social Clubs
We talk a lot, Michaela Rezkova,
-
For parents who like to meet new friends, talk and have fun exploring Moscow
-
Club will meet 2-3 times a month on Wednesday/Thursday
-
You want to sign up? Just sent whatsapp message with your name to Michaela +7 905 586-01-53
Tennis club
Michele Kuhlen, michele.kuhlen@gmail.com
Michele Kuhlen, michele.kuhlen@gmail.com
Cooking club, pto@aas.ru
🐧 MS UPDATE
DAYRA CONRADO, VP MS | pto.ms@aas.ru
Last week I had the pleasure of welcoming back the MS students with some yummy treats provided by the PTO!
It was wonderful to see the students back on campus along with all the smiles! Thank you to Linda Corallo (HS VP) for helping out!
To any MS parents who would like be added to our Parent WhatsApp groups, please email your contact information to the appropriate grade representatives:
- Grade 6 - Antonella Oldani, antoldan@yahoo.it
- Grade 7 - Ines Cremers, inescremers@me.com
- Grade 8 - Myrte Dijksman-Schouten, myrtedijksmanschouten@gmail.com
🐧 HS UPDATE
LINDA CORALLO, VP HS | pto.hs@aas.ru
Last week in high school we celebrated the return of our students to hybrid learning with a Welcome Back Treat.
All the high school students enjoyed the little surprise during their lunch time. It was great to see all their smiling faces.
To any HS parents who would like be added to our Parent WhatsApp groups, please email your contact information to the appropriate grade representatives:
- Grade 9 - Kristina Tadic, +7 985 201-62-77
- Grade 10 - Julie Michaels, +7 985 765-54-35
- Grade 11 - Michaela Rezkova, +7 905 586-01-53
- Grade 12 - Dayra Conrado, +7 916 403-05-21
Gerda Marais, +7 985 475-50-43
January 27, 2021
📜 MESSAGE FROM THE PTO PRESIDENT
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
❣️ ‘Fabulous Day!
We need to do it again!’
L.C.
We need to do it again!’
L.C.
❣️ ‘One of the best moments in 2021!
Food was so good and our guest, chef Richard,
was super nice. It was like
watching Food Network live!’
N.J.
N.J.
❣️ ‘It was fun to watch an authentic
Mexican cook demonstrate delicious-looking
recipes while chatting with friends over Webex.’
A.A.
A.A.
❣️ ‘Thank you, I enjoyed it!
The cooking class inspired me
to try new recipes at home and
I also had a fun time with other parents.’
S.E.
S.E.
❣️ I loved the Mexican Cooking Class,
organised by the PTO! Thank you
for supporting my New Year Resolution - ‘
to try a new recipe every week’!
I.C.
I.C.
Above are just a few of many positive reactions and feedbacks on our yesterday's PTO Connect meeting. We had the pleasure of seeing Richard Virgil, owner of Latin soul and trade, in action, preparing authentic Mexican food and passionately talking about the tradition, food, spices etc.
It was an amazing hour and a half of pure fun and joy, we appreciated time spent together and at the same time learning more about great Mexican cuisine and updating our recipe book with some new, interesting and colorful dishes.
Big thank you goes to all of you joining us, to our MS VP Dayra Conrado for organizing it and to Richard Virgil for visiting us and sharing his passion and excitement with us.
You missed it? No worries, here is the link, watch and enjoy and make sure you join us next time!
Yours,
Kristina
N E W
👋 PTO NEWCOMERS PROGRAM
LIFE IN MOSCOW
Newcomers Coordinator Myrte Dijksman-Schouten | pto.newcomers@aas.ru
- 2nd of February, 10am | https://aas.webex.com/meet/pto
- Join us for 1,5h of useful insights about Moscow - where, what, how, why... and many other questions will be answered by our personal insider Alison Abovksy
- Seminar is mainly organised for our New Families, but everyone is welcome to join
🗓 PTO FEBRUARY CALENDAR
February 2 | Life in Moscow
10 am - 11.30am | https://aas.webex.com/meet/pto
- Seminar for New Families
- Hosted by Myrte and Alison
February 9 | PTO Community Coffee
10am | https://aas.webex.com/meet/pto
- St. Valentines theme - wear something red
- Hear the news from the students, school leadership & PTO!
- Special guest: Ekaterina Dashkovskaya photographer, How to capture a perfect, loving moment!
February 23 | PTO Connect
10am | https://aas.webex.com/meet/pto
- Join us for a casual talk show, we will talk about everything and nothing, the main purpose of this is to get together and have a relaxed, interactive talk
- Bring your favorite drink alonge and connect with other parents
🌲 PTO NEW YEAR RESOLUTION BOARD
As promised, we are working on our PTO New Year Resolution Board. It is a work in progress and here we share small part of it!
- PTO will do its best to share tips and resources to help achieve your goals
- Your resolutions will be an inspiration to us when setting the agendas for our meetings, themes for our events, when looking for interesting speakers, and mostly when finding new ideas for our Social Clubs
- We also promised to celebrate our achievements! Our yesterday's cooking club offered us solutions, tricks and tips on how to eat healthy, learn something new every day and try new recipes every day! 3 in 1, well done to all of us!
- Help us! Send us your ideas, suggestions, tips and tricks, advices, sign up for social clubs, run them, possibilities are endless and just one email to us away - pto@aas.ru
🤝 PTO SOCIAL CLUBS
- We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment
- Browse our clubs, decide what you like and contact the Leader of the club fore more information and sign up
- Stay together and enjoy the company of other AAS parents
- We talk a lot, Michaela Rezkova,
michaela.rezkova@volny.cz - NEW- For parents who like to meet new friends, talk and have fun exploring Moscow
- Club will meet 2-3 times a month on Wednesday/Thursday
- You want to sign up? Just sent whatsapp message with your name to Michaela + 7 985 201 62 77
- Walking/Cross country skiing club,Tuesday 8.30 & Friday 14.00, Irina Elizarov, irand10@yahoo.com
- Tennis club, Michele Kuhlen, michele.kuhlen@gmail.com
- Cooking club, pto@aas.ru
January 20, 2021
MESSAGE FROM THE PTO PRESIDENT
Kristina Tadic | pto@aas.ru
Dear AAS Community,
On behalf of the Parent-Teacher Organisation (PTO), it is my pleasure to welcome you all to New Year, 2021 at AAS.
It was a pleasure to see many of you joining our Community Coffee meeting yesterday. Thank you for a very positive and productive meeting. We had an opportunity to hear from our HS students from MUN and Environmental club, our Director Rhonda Norris shared a school update with us, we had heard the news from the Community Relation Department and Library, and as always news from PTO that you can read more about in the text below.
One of the world's famous traditions is to make a New Year’s resolution, and maybe it is time to start with same tradition in AAS, and to do it as a community, to show how strong – to make a resolution and stick to it, supportive – to be there for each other and make sure we stay committed, and positive – to celebrate success of each of us, we are! During the meeting we have collected more than 40 New Year’s resolutions that you have shared with us. Here is what we want to do next:
- Share your New Resolutions with us at pto@aas.ru or using social media
- We will create AAS resolution board with all the New Year’s resolutions and we will share it with you
- We will share tips and resources to help achieve your goals, and we will ask you to help us by sharing your tips, advice, and achievements
- We will use your resolutions as inspiration when setting the agendas for our meetings, themes for our events, when looking for interesting speakers, and mostly when finding new ideas for our Social Clubs
- We will celebrate our success and achievements of each of your New Year’s resolution
Thank you again for a great meeting and in case you had missed the meeting, feel free to click here for the entire presentation and here for the recording.
Stay warm and safe!
Yours,
Kristina
STAY INFORMED AND CONNECTED
VIRTUAL PTO CONNECT
January 26, 10:00, Moscow time
- Stay connected by joining our monthly, casual get together
- It is an opportunity to connect, to meet with other parents, to have fun and to simply enjoy yourself
- When: Jan. 26 at 10 pm Moscow time
- Where: https://aas.webex.com/meet/pto
- This time we will learn about Mexican cuisine
- Richard Virgil, owner of Latin Soul and Trade will share with us his tips and tricks on how to bring more flavours and authentic Mexican food to your table
- Get ready to become an expert in making guacamole, red salsa, pico de gallo & tostadas
VIRTUAL PTO COMMUNITY COFFEE
February 9, 10:00, Moscow time
- Stay informed and join our regular connections
- When: Feb. 9 at 10 pm Moscow time
- Where: https://aas.webex.com/meet/pto
- Why: A regular connection between parents and the school helps us all support our students better and celebrate their learning journeys
- We normally host this PTO Community Coffee connection on every third Tuesday of the month. Please keep reading our section of the newsletter and check the AAS digital calendar to know when the next event is coming up
PTO SOCIAL CLUBS
- We are happy to offer to our community more opportunities to get together, virtually or in person in safe environment
- Browse our clubs, decide what you like and contact the Leader of the club fore more information and sign up
- Stay together and enjoy the company of other AAS parents
- Meet & Greet club, Michaela Rezkova, michaela.rezkova@volny.cz
- Walking/Cross country skiing club,Tuesday 8.30 & Friday 14.00, Irina Elizarov, irand10@yahoo.com
- Tennis club, Michele Kuhlen, michele.kuhlen@gmail.com
- Cooking club, pto@aas.ru
PTO NEWCOMERS PROGRAM
- It's not too late to join our Newcomers Buddy program! Sign up HERE!
- Join our Facebook group for New Families
- For more information, please contact our Newcomers Coordinator Myrte Dijksman-Schouten
ENGAGE
The heart of all PTO initiatives are parent volunteers just like you. We could not accomplish anything without your participation. We would love to have your support by participating in the events and activities planned throughout the year. You can choose from being an executive committee member, volunteer, or an attendee. Whatever level of participation you select, your time and involvement will certainly be appreciated.
HOW TO VOLUNTEER
- Be a part of your child(ren)’s AAS experience, get involved with the AAS Moscow PTO!
- Being a volunteer is a great way to meet people, have fun, and give back to the AAS community.
- Email us at pto@aas.ru to learn more about available opportunities.
- Ready to make a difference? If so, we are looking forward having you onboard
January 13, 2021
MESSAGE FROM THE PTO NEWCOMERS' COORDINATOR
Myrte Dijksman-Schouten | pto.newcomers@aas.ru
Dear AAS families,
First of all the PTO wishes you and your family a very happy, prosperous and healthy 2021. Secondly, a warm welcome to the new families who recently joined our school.
The PTO is happy to announce that the AAS “Buddy Programme” will soon start again. With this programme we aim to match new parents with another AAS parent to help with the questions that arise when adjusting to life in Moscow and more specifically, to life at AAS. It is very informal and can be anywhere from email contact to meeting for coffee. If you would like to be paired up with a buddy please contact us at pto.newcomers@aas.ru. In case you wish to volunteer as a Buddy Family, please contact us as well.
The PTO tries to make the transition to Moscow as smoothly as possible. We therefore use the following media programmes:
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Click here for the New Families Facebook Page. In order to become a member of this site, you have to reply to a security question. After giving the answer, you will get access.
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Newcomers’ What's app group 2020-2021. Please send your mobile phone number (-s) to Myrte at pto.newcomers@aas.ru.
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Series of welcome events and weekly orientation seminars organized by the school and the PTO, more info to follow
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The PTO runs an amended set of social events, “COVID proof”. We announce them on our Newcomers Facebook page/ via the What's app group/ in the AAS Newsletter. It offers a nice way to get relevant information and to stay connected.
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This coming Thursday, January 14 at 9 am Moscow time, AAS community relations will run an information session. It will be a Webex Meeting, which you could join after downloading the Webex Meeting App. JOIN HERE!
Have a great week!
Kind regards,
Myrte
PTO Events in January
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Hear from our students + New Year Resolution session
PTO Connect
- January 26, 10am
- Mexican Cooking Club
- CLICK HERE TO JOIN
SOCIAL CLUBS - NEW!
PTO Walking/Cross country skiing club
Leader: Irina Elizarov
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E-mail: irand10@yahoo.com
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Tuesday 8.30 & Friday 14.00
PTO Tennis club
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Leader: Michele Kuhlen
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E-mail: michele.kuhlen@gmail.com
PTO cooking club
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Mexican cuisine
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A live stream event hosted by a professional chef
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26th of January, 10am
December 16, 2020
email us at: pto@aas.ru
MESSAGE FROM THE PTO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
PTO COMMUNITY COFFEE
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Thank you for joining yesterday's PTO Community coffee, the last one in 2021!
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Yesterday’s meeting was a great opportunity to reflect on what was going on so far and to wish Happy Holidays to the entire community.
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We were honored to have HS students presenting the Blue Dragon initiative, thank you Maria and Amelie for letting us be proud of our AAS students and their commitment to make our world a better place.
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Community Relation Department has shared an update on their initiatives, we appreciate a lot all the efforts and possibility to preview the videos that are shared with the AAS community only in today’s NL.
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English Book Company, our Book fair supplier, wants to thank the AAS community for participating in our first virtual Book fair by offering a special 25% discount to the entire community. Please visit their website https://english-bookshop.ru/ and use promo code: AAS 2021
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Click here to watch the meeting in case you missed it
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Looking forward seeing you all in January
ES UPDATE by INES CREMERS, VP ES
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December is the month of the Winter Holiday Parties
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The students will enjoy a treat, movie and/or craft, some dancing and time together with their classmates, teacher and TA.
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Teachers, TA, single subject teachers, ES staff and ES leadership will enjoy a token of appreciation, made possible by the "ES voluntary gift contribution". Thank you, parents!
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Big thank you also goes out to all the class parents, ES staff and the maintenance team for organising, supporting and contributing to PTO ES!
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Wishing you all a wonderful break and a good start of 2021!
PTO CALENDAR for JANUARY 2021
19th - PTO Community Coffee
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10 am, click here to join
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New Year Resolution session
26th - PTO Connect
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10am, click here to join
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Mexican Cooking Club
PTO Social Clubs
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PTO Walking club
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Leader: Irina Elizarov
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E-mail: irand10@yahoo.com
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Tuesday 8.30 & Friday 14.00
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PTO Tennis club
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Leader: Michele Kuhlen
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E-mail: michele.kuhlen@gmail.com
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PTO cooking club
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Mexican cuisine
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run by professional chef, life streaming
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26th of January, 10am
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