Volume 11 - June 2015 The American International School of Bucharest
In this volume:
Message from the Director
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School-Wide News
Message from the PTO
Bucharest Buzz
Volume 11 - June 2015
Director’s Message | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 1
Message from the Director
Dr. Robert Brindley, Director
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Preparing for Summer
Dear Parents,
Incredible though it may
be, here we are at the
end of an exhilarating
school year. I would like to
thank the entire communi-
ty for the warm welcome
and support through my
first year at AISB.
The main goal that the
AISB Leadership Team and
I shared this year was to
focus on defining our dy-
namic, articulated, and
thoughtful Early Childhood
to 12th Grade International Baccalaureate curricu-
lum, and a pastoral program that reinforces re-
spect and values. I would like to think that we
have achieved significant success in this respect,
laying the foundations for defining student out-
comes and teaching expectations, as well as our
Mission and Values, more clearly.
As we venture into the summer months, there are
many staff members who will be working to pre-
pare the school for our August start of the 2015-
2016 academic year. There are several major cap-
ital projects underway that will improve the cam-
pus:
Notable changes will be made to the en-
trance security and playground spaces.
The car-park and drop-off areas will be sepa-
rated from the school buildings so that we can
control the flow of visitors to the school.
An entrance lobby will be built that will extend
the Atrium towards the carpark. This lobby will
contain the Reception Office (including securi-
ty controls) and a PTO Office or School Shop.
These changes are setting the groundwork for
more enhanced security as of August, when all
visitors to the school, including parents, will
have to wear identity badges whilst on cam-
pus.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Pregatiri pentru Vara
Dragi parinti,
Desi pare incredibil, iata
ca am ajuns la finalul unui
alt an scolar. Pe aceasta
cale as dori sa multumesc
intregii comunitati pentru
primirea calduroasa si
pentru sprijinul acordat pe
parcursul in primul meu an
la AISB.
Principalul obiectiv al in-
tregii echipe de con-
ducere a scolii a fost sa
ne concentram toata
atentia pe definirea planului holistic de studii in-
cepand cu grupa EC 3 si terminand cu clasa a 12-
a, plan ce are la baza programa de invatamant a
Bacalaureatului International un cadru education-
al remarcabil, dotat cu o profunda putere de con-
solidare a valorilor si a sentimentelor de stima si
pretuire.
Imi place sa cred ca am reusit in acest sens sa
punem bazele unei fundatii solide ca mai tarziu sa
putem contura cat mai clar si cu exactitate re-
zultatele elevilor, asteptarile profesorilor cat si misi-
unea si valorile scolii noastre.
Chiar daca scoala intra in vacanta de vara, mai
multi membrii ai personalului nostru vor lucra
pentru a pregati inceputul noului an scolar in luna
august. Exista 7 proiecte majore la care se lucrea-
za momentan si care vor ajuta la inbunatatirea
campusului AISB:
Spatiile de joaca si zona de control de securi-
tate de la intrarea principala vor suferi schim-
bari notabile.
Parcarea si zonele in care sunt lasati elevii vor fi
separate de cladirea scolii pentru a putea
controla mai bine fluxul de vizitatori.
Holul principal (Atrium) va fi prelungit printr-o
Director’s Message | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 2
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In ‘Central Park,’ the space near the gym will
be transformed into an all-weather pitch, so
that the Elementary School students have a
better place to play or be involved in their
sporting activities.
There will also be upgrades to the Physics La-
boratory as well as minor changes to offices
and classrooms.
The Admissions and Communications offices
will be moved to spaces adjacent to the Atri-
um, facilitating support to our existing parent
community as well as new families, and easing
communication between staff.
While we hope that you will get a chance to dis-
connect from work and school over the summer,
recharging and spending time with family and
friends, we encourage you to check emails from
time to time as there will be more parent commu-
nications during August to inform you of other de-
tails concerning the start of the academic year.
Enjoy the break, safe travels and I wish you a very
happy, refreshing summer holiday.
Best Regards,
Robert Brindley
constructie aditionala catre parcarea princi-
pala care va include biroul de receptie, un
punct de control de securitate si un birou PTO
sau un magazin al scolii. Aceste schimbari fac
parte din planul nostru de a spori siguranta in
campus incepand cu luna august cand toti
vizitatorii scolii, inclusiv parintii elevilor inscrisi,
vor trebui sa poarte legitimatii atata timp cat
se afla in scoala.
In curtea interioara, zona de langa sala de
sport va fi transformata intr-un teren ce poate fi
folosit indiferent de vreme, astfel incat elevii sa
beneficieze de mai bune conditii pentru activi-
tatile sportive.
Vom imbunatati laboratorul de fizica si vom
face mici schimbari atat in clase cat si la
birouri.
Biroul de Admiteri si Comunicare se va muta in
holul principal (Atrium), intr-un spatiu nou ame-
najat pentru a sprijini comunitatea de parinti si
pentru a facilita comunicarea intre diverse de-
partamente ale scolii noastre.
Speram ca in aceasta vacanta de vara va veti
putea de-conecta atat de la serviciu cat si de la
scoala, va veti putea reincarca bateriile si veti
putea petrece cat mai mult timp cu familia si pri-
etenii. Va rugam insa ca in luna august sa va verifi-
cati posta electronica deoarece vom trimite mai
multe informari legate de inceperea noului an sco-
lar.
Va doresc sa va bucurati de vacanta, sa calatoriti
in siguranta si sa aveti o vara minunata si revigor-
anta!
Cu stima,
Robert Brindley
School-Wide News | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 3
School-Wide News
We are the AISB Vampires! | Community Time at the Gazebo
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Alumni WORLD Magazine
Congratulations to our Alumni for publishing the next issue of their bi-
annual WORLD Magazine. Volume 4, Issue 1 brings together amazing
interviews, great stories, and inspiring personalities to carry you from
past, to present, to future. Enjoy interviews with AISB Board of Trustees
Members and pieces from AISB Faculty members, find out about the
successes of our Alumni around the world, and get to know about our
active alumni members and their plans for the Alumni Association mov-
ing forward. Read about sweet memories and plans for making more,
reminisce about events, and view photos of experiences passed.
Enjoy the latest issue of the Summer 2015 Edition of the Alumni WORLD
Magazine. Click on the links above, on the photo, or copy and paste
the following web address into your browser to access the magazine:
http://issuu.com/urbanbrand/docs/world_magazine_summer15_e?
e=3797710%2F13534386
Past issues of the WORLD Magazine can also be found on our website,
at: http://www.aisb.ro/page.cfm?p=4081
Happy reading, and don't forget to share and like the publication!
Salwa Patricia Khalil, AISB Communications and Alumni Coordinator
Last Chance to Order your Child’s School Photos for this Year
The school photographer, Mr. Bogdan Greavu, has taken photos of every student and every class. If you
haven’t ordered your child’s school photographs yet, you still have a chance to do so. Please visit: http://
www.twenty9studio.com/f748945089, and use the password from last week’s Weekly Newsletters to access
the pictures. Download the order form from http://www.twenty9studio.com/1415-ybpho.pdf and get in
touch with Mr. Greavu to place your order. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Mr.
Greavu at <[email protected]>.
HR Corner with Roxana Lungu, HR Manager at AISB
Dear AISB Reader,
I hope it was as fun for you to read the HR Corner as it was for me to discover the
hidden traits and gems among our teaching and non-teaching staff. I admire
each one of you for all the work and effort you dedicate to making AISB the
best educational place in Romania.
Please drop by the HR office whenever you feel like sharing, telling, complaining,
explaining or just saying hello. Our door is always open and my attention is al-
ways dedicated to you.
To end the school year in glory, I’ve asked a very important personality to be
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
School-Wide News | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 4
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featured in June’s HR Corner.
He is new at the school, is extremely popular and loved, and brings
only smiles and laughs to everybody’s faces. Considering his birthday
is in June, he was a sure pick.
So to everyone’s surprise, say Happy Birthday to Vampy!
1. As a little bat what did you want to become when you grew
up? As a little bat I dreamed of being a rock star and that through
my music and dancing I could spread the word that bats are not all
bad. You know – we get a really bad rap… everyone thinks vampire
bats are bad but I want to spread the word that you just can’t judge
a book by its cover or a bat by its name!
2. Tell us a few words about your family and your upbringing. I
was born in the hills of Transylvania into a loving colony of bats. It’s
such a beautiful, peaceful place to grow up – all those lovely green
hills and picturesque farms. But of course I didn’t actually get to see
much – because we only came out at night! My mates and I used to
just hang out all day and by night go out in search of bugs. But I really
felt a need to stretch my wings, to get out and see the world and spread the truth about bats. So one day I
unfurled my wings and flew south and now I am here at AISB and already I feel a change is happening.
Now when people see me they smile and laugh. Lots want to hug me!
3. Please continue the sentence: I love to… …dance and get lots of hugs!
4. Because everyone lives for a bit of intrigue: are there any intriguing/funny stories that you can share
with us? Intriguing… why does everyone want to pull my head off?… or look inside my mouth?… just love
me please!
5. What is the craziest life experience you have lived so far? Well I am just a little bat but I guess it
was my arrival here and introduction to AISB… My dream had come true… I was a rock star at last!
6. Do you think penguins have knees? More importantly – do bats????
A special thank you and big hugs go to Ms. Leah Bramley, Vampy’s adoptive mother here at AISB, who was
very supportive of Vampy having this interview. She is an amazing dedicated artist and a lovely person to
be around.
NoticeBoard at AISB!
We’ve put together a fan-
tastic new tool that com-
bines news and visuals so
that we can share what’s
happening at AISB with
you in the best way possi-
ble. We’d like to introduce
you to the AISB Notice-
Board. From today, you
will be able to access the NoticeBoard from the homepage of our
website, within the icons on the right side, and also the first link in
the green bar on top.
Check out the AISB NoticeBoard now by clicking on the images, or by visiting http://noticeboard.aisb.ro/
directly, and let us know what you think. Scroll down and watch the page update with what’s been going
on at AISB over the last few months. You can bookmark the page on your computer, and you can also sub-
scribe to the RSS feed, by clicking on the orange icon on the top right of the page.
If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected] and I’ll be happy to help you out.
Salwa Patricia Khalil, AISB Communications and Alumni Coordinator
School-Wide News | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 5
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Roots and Shoots Service Learning Group at AISB
For the past 2 years, our Roots and Shoots “Eco
house” group has been aspiring to build an eco-
house for our remarkable school. Finally, after what
felt like centuries of planning and preparation, the
Roots and Shoots group have acquired the resources
to make our dream come true. This wouldn’t have
transpired without the help of an amazing company
called Agro Kit. This organization sells products that
help us sustain the environment and pursue an eco-
friendly lifestyle in enjoyable ways. Their mission is to
develop ecofriendly tools and equipment and satisfy
customer needs sustainably. They generously dis-
counted the cost of the materials required for build-
ing our marvelous eco house. Even though it is still a
work in progress, we can already envision the eco
house will be a tremendous benefit to the environment and our school by giving us fresh vegetables for our
beloved cafeteria.
We organized an exclusive interview with Stani, one of the founding greenhouse members. It was he who
brought up the idea and had started the master plan of the green house
Us: Who helped build the plan?
Stani: Andrei, Ovi, Maxim, Stani, Ignatio, Shahar, Oliver, Luca, Ms. Fairlie and Mrs. Murphy. These are all stu-
dents and teachers in our school.
Us: What was your inspiration?
Stani: Our inspiration was wanting more green space in our school. Of course we have the standard trees
and grass, but we didn’t think that was enough. Our vision was to start growing fruits and vegetables for our
school cafeteria and to inspire other students to help the environment.
Us: What was the initial goal of the group other than building the greenhouse?
Stani: The initial goal of the group was helping the environment. We found that although we had quite a bit
of green space, creating a greenhouse which helps us produce fresh vegetables for our students would re-
ally set us to the top of our game!
Overall we can see that the greenhouse group has been very productive this year with the devotion of all
the group members and the incredible help of Agro Kit. Building a greenhouse isn’t easy, especially for a
small group of students, but with the support of teachers and the amazing ecofriendly company, that is
Agro Kit, we achieved our goal to help the environment by building a greenhouse.
Roots and Shoots Group
Returning Library Books and Summer Check-Outs
You can now check out books for the summer from our Library. Parents and students are encouraged to
borrow books for the summer holidays if their accounts are clear of overdue books and fees.
Students in grades 2 and below must be with a caregiver to check-out up to 10 books for the summer.
Students in grades 3 and above can independently check-out up to 10 books for the summer.
Middle and High School Students can borrow up to 10 books
Parents are permitted to check-out up to 25 books for the summer.
Students and parents are responsible for fees if books are lost or damaged during the summer period.
The library has created summer reading lists for Middle and High school students, which are available on the
library homepage. There are also several displays with suggestions.
Please note that the library will close on Friday, June 19th at 12:00pm and will re-open on Monday, August
10th at 8:00am.
School-Wide News | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 6
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2015 Fifth Annual ES Spelling Bee, Monday, June 8, 2015
The championship word: Tintinnabulation
Twenty seven spellers in grades 2-5 competed in the Fifth Annual AISBee. Returning spellers, Ingrid Z.
(Champion) and Patricia T. (2nd Place), whom both represented AISB at the Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn
Bee, were the two finalists. Having survived 105 minutes of spelling, these grade 5 girls displayed their
"orthography: The art of writing words with the proper letters, according to accepted usage, correct
spelling" as they graced the stage facing judges: Ms. Ely, Mrs. Hughes, Ms. Garrigan, and 2014 champ,
Brynne C. Liam M-B., 2014 2nd place winner, awarded medals. Ms. Socholotuk was our pronouncer assist-
ed by Ms. Tyson who verified words, while Ms. Matthews and Ms. Jones worked behind the scenes to take
care of our "bees." We congratulate and marvel at each speller's tenacity and courage.
Sportsmanship Award: Ingrid Z. and Vaida R.
Dedication and Effort: Dan B., Clara N., Taekhoon K.
Top Five Spellers: Ingrid Z., Patricia T., Luana O., Ana R., Itay M.
Celebrating Sportsmanship at our All School Sports Day
Friday May 29th, 2015 was the All School Sports day at AISB, in which all stu-
dents, from Early Childhood 3 to Grade 11, participated in large group games
that required collaboration, strategy, enthusiasm and a healthy touch of com-
petitiveness.
At 8am, all students and teachers got together for an energetic Zumba® warm-
up with Miss Alina and her squad of expert dancers, and together, they got
everyone ready for the fantastic day of games and sportsmanship ahead.
The students joined their groups and followed their team leaders through a se-
ries of 13 exciting games, where the smallest children and the oldest ones
worked together to overcome challenges. They were all wonderful advocates
of the word: sportsmanship. They helped each other, they played fairly, and
they built a community spirit like no other.
Some of the games were creative and active renditions of some board games,
including Hungry Hippos and Cross the River. Angry Birds, became a real-life ver-
sion of the ever-popular digital game. The Inflatable Slide was a hit among the
younger students, and Hide & Seek was a great way to bring the inner child out
of even the oldest students. Carnival games included the Duck Hunt, and there
were many more games like Island Soccer, Balloon Space Man, Bullrush Dodge,
and the innovated Tri-Athalon that required the students to work together to
compete against their peers.
The cherry on top was the much awaited Vampire Dash, an extensive obstacle
course that got the older students jumping up high, down on all fours, full of
mud, running through caution tape, hosed down, and so much more, all with a
grand smile. Our mascot, Vampy, was around for the whole day cheering our
students on and beaming for photos with his biggest fans.
Thank you to our teachers Carla Bowles and Erik Custer for putting together this
tremendous day that really highlighted the fabulous team spirit we have at
AISB. The support and work of all the teacher leaders was also magnificent and
we are already counting down the days until next year’s All School Sports Day!
PTO Message | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 7
Message from the PTO
Fabiana Papastefani-Pezzoni, President
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Dear AISB Community,
It has been a terrific year! It truly has been, dear AISB friends. The PTO
has tried its best to support and serve the parent, student and teacher
communities to the best of its possibilities, while also organizing and
hosting community events, fund raising events, and friend raising
events.
This has been a fantastic year not only for me personally, having again
had the privilege to lead the Parent Teacher Organization, but also for
the whole team. We have had one of the best Harvest Festivals ever;
thank you Terry O'Donnell Parsons for organizing it. We have had one of
the best Gala's of all and I especially would like to thank not only all our
volunteers and sponsors, but Ms. Gardescu and her team for their huge
support in this. We have had wonderful parent meetings; thank you Fela,
Ana Miriam, Daniela and Terry for organizing, together with the School
Principals, the very helpful Parent & Principal Coffee Mornings. Never
before have we had such a wonderful and wide participation at the
International Day and I thank Ms. Hofman, our High School students, Ms.
Gardescu, and all the wonderful PTO volunteers for making this a su-
perb day! We truly are a wonderful community. We are also very spe-
cial — parents who were new this school year told us that they have
been impressed by the AISB community, atmosphere, and spirit. I in-
clude here also our wonderful support staff, who walk the extra mile
each time, and reach out for help and support. Thank you!
Working side by side with a new School Director has also been one the
best parts of the fun I had this year. Thank you, Dr. Brindley, for being so
supportive of the PTO. I have enjoyed working with you through parent
workshops, parent meetings, discussing with you and the parent com-
munity various new paths on how to raise the bar of the education at
our school, and how to raise the level of AISB activities and events. You
have been a great interlocutor, and you always came to our work-
shops with a lot of insights, action proposals, and strategies! Thank you!
I had the chance to meet and know the Board of Trustees members
who I appreciate so much! You do such a great job, dedicate so many
volunteering hours and efforts to our school and we all thank you with
great admiration.
We are taking things further! Be prepared for another great year to-
gether during the 2015-2016 school year. The PTO will be welcoming
you all back in August. We will also be welcoming our new community
members at the Orientation Day on August 24th, 2015 at AISB! Come
by, meet us, meet the new teachers, bring your kids with you to meet
the new students, help orient and brief newcomers, and meet new
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
PTO Message | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 8
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friends.
Next year the PTO is planning to extend the parent support & help
through:
ongoing orientation & briefing events/activities;
new comers coffee mornings, where we will help new (and not so
new) parents connect and get to better know the various aspects
of their kids’ school life, getting around Bucharest, connecting with
country liaisons and respective language communities, etc;
parent workshops; and
social events.
Please consider getting involved and volunteering for events you most
enjoy doing. We are looking for parents to help with:
Annual Auction Gala - being as this is our only fundraising event,
and also the most anticipated one, we are looking forward to cre-
ating a team as early as the school starts, so we can start brain-
storming and planning! It is so much fun! Join the team and fun!
Social Events Coordination;
New Comers Coordination;
Nationality Liaison Coordination;
Athletics & Activities Booster Club Coordination; and
International Day, Harvest Festival, International Day team mem-
bers - the more the merrier!
I would like to close the last news letter for this year with best wishes for
a wonderful summer! Enjoy your holiday, your families, the sun, and re-
charge your batteries! The PTO would like to wish "The Best of Luck" to
all of our AISB community members who are moving on to other ad-
ventures. We will miss you!
HAPPY SUMMER to every one!
Fabiana Papastefani-Pezzoni, PTO President
American International School of Bucharest
Bucharest Buzz | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 9
Bucharest Buzz
Herăstrău Park Cultural Festival | Bucharest Jazz Festival
The Bucharest Buzz section of the Monthly Newsletter is a place to share information about-events and
places with those in our community. Are there events coming up that you want others to know about? Did
you go somewhere worth a visit? Send your Bucharest Buzz items of maximum 150 words and 1 photo to our
Manager of Admissions and External Relations, Ms. Catalina Gardescu, at [email protected] and if
appropriate, your news items will be featured in the next Monthly Newsletter.
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Yellow Bird Apache Dancers Tour in Romania
The above-named Native American group will have presentations in
Sibiu, Targu-Jiu, and Bucharest, as part of a tour organized by the US
Embassy’s Public Diplomacy Office. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Yellow
Bird is a professional family dance company, specializing in celebrat-
ing and promoting the American Indian culture. They will be in Bu-
charest on June 20 and 21, presenting at the Dimitrie Gusti National
Village Museum, at 5pm on Saturday and 3pm on Sunday.
John Gray comes to Romania for Conferences
Best-Selling author of “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus,”
John Gray, will visit Romania in November. Gray, one of the most fa-
mous relationship counselors in the world, will hold two conferences,
one in Bucharest on the 17th of November, and the other in Cluj-
Napoca on the 19th of November.
The event is organized by Extreme Training. You can find out more
about the event here, and sign up here.
Dino Park opening in Rasnov on June 12th!
Get ready for a family fun day! From June 12th, life-size dinosaurs will
become part of your life. Visit the newest amusement park in Rasnov,
near Brasov, to wander around the forest with 45 dinosaurs between
8 to 24 meters long and 2 to 20 meters high. The 1.4 hectare park is
the largest dinosaur-themed park in South-Eastern Europe, and prom-
ises to be an amazing day out. The park will also have playgrounds, a
food court, and other leisure facilities.
Find out more from our friends at Romania Insider, here.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015