AOSR Falcon Flyer Spring 2013

S P R I N G 2 0 1 3

Save the Date!

the

Falcon Flyer Celebrating the AOSR Community!

Mayfair 2013! This year Mayfair will be held at AOSR on Saturday, May 11th. Mayfair is a fabulous festive event that highlights the best of our community’s strengths and resources. Mayfair is also the school’s largest single fund-raising event of the year. This year's proceeds will help offset the cost of a new SIS (School Information System) that will provide state-of-the-art services for the entire AOSR community.

At the Mayfair, there will be game booths, international food, selective vendors, music, and a fabulous raffle. This raffle will give away great prizes including brand name electronics, gift certificates, raffle baskets and much more. Buy your tickets!

A busy time at AOSR! AOSR students have been hard at work exploring the world around them! Grades 1 and 5 visited a Mozzarella farm, grade 3 visited the Castel Sant’Angelo, and MS students travelled to the United Kingdom, Spain and Campania as well as exploring areas closer to home.

The picture above is of our cheerleading squad. They recently travelled to Cervia for the Italian Nationals Competition where they placed second in their division! We believe that learning happens through a myriad of experiences and AOSR works to bring those opportunities to our students!

Mayfair

Saturday, May 11

Shakespeare Festival

Thursday & Friday, May 23, 24

19:00-21:00

Graduation

Friday, May 31

18:30 followed by dinner

and dancing in the quad with a live band!

11:00-16:00

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SPRING 2013

Kindergarten

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Spring has Sprung!

We counted yummy treats on the 100th day of the school, had a special visitor tell us about Chinese New Year, made beautiful masks for Carnival, exchanged cards with our classmates on Valentines Day, tasted green eggs and had fun with rhymes on Dr. Seuss's birthday and read books with our dads on Fathers’ Day. Kindergarten is such a fun place to learn!

Spring has sprung and the kindergarteners are in full bloom! Our current theme of study is Growing and Changing and we are learning about the life cycles of plants and animals. We have also been reflecting on what we have learned and how much WE have grown since the beginning of the year!

Pre-K

The Pre-K children celebrated dads and special friends at our annual Fathers’ and Special Friends’ Breakfast on March 15th. The Dinosaurs and Turtles were very busy as they prepared for the breakfast. In the science center, they baked yogurt cake, mixed pancake batter and made their own butter. In language center, each child prepared a special poem about their dad and in art they created and painted a clay pinch pot to give as a gift to their special guest. The children were proud of the all their hard work to get ready for this special event and we were happy to have so many dads and special friends join us!

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SPRING 2013

Visit to a Mozzarella Farm Grades 1 & 5

Students in grades one and five joined together to visit the Salvucci Farm and learn about how mozzarella is made.

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SPRING 2013

Learning about the Ice Age Grade 2

Second grade students have been studying the Ice Age. Our students created some great cave painting art.

Grade 3

Students in third grade took a special tour of Castel Sant’Angelo and learned about the amazing history of the castle including that it was originally a mausoleum built by Emperor Hadrian in 139 AD.

Grade 4

Recently the grade 4 students visited the necropolis at Cerveteri as a tie-in with their Etruscan unit in social studies. Ask a student to explain the difference between a "tumulus" and "dadi" tomb!

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SPRING 2013

Visit to the Coliseum Grade 5

Did you know??? The average life expectancy for an Ancient Roman woman was about 29 years. The only women who lived much longer were the Vestal Virgins. One thousand sailors from Naples were employed to hoist a giant canopy over the Coliseum during the Games. Arena comes from a Latin word meaning sand. Sand was used to soak up the sweat and blood of the gladiators and animals.

In order to increase the number of spectators at the games people would drape their legs over the shoulders of the people in front! Julius Caesar built the Curia, the great brick Senate building in the Forum, for the same men who that had him killed! With the decline of the Roman Empire, the Forum was used less and less. In the Middle Ages it was filled with dirt and made into a meadow. Thus it became known as Campo Vaccino or Cow Field in English. For a long, long time no one had any idea of the treasures that were underneath.

We learned all this and much much more on our trip to the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. We also went on our annual Mozzarella Making Adventure with 1st Grade. We have been studying physical and chemical changes in science and this gives us a chance to do a liquid to solid transformation! Is it chemical or physical? We all know it’s edible and delicious. We were also able to catch a glimpse of the Easter Bunny. A big thank you to our visiting Iowa teachers who joined us on the trip!

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SPRING 2013

News from AOSR Libraries

New Books in the Library

Thanks to all of your support at the Scholastic Book Fair last fall. We raised enough funds to purchase 297 new books! Here are some of the latest titles: "Great Sporting Events: Cricket", "Skip Across the Ocean: Nursery Rhymes From Around the World", "Slimy Science and Awesome Experiments", "The Top Ten Inventions that Changed the World", "Star Wars Origami : 36 Amazing Paper-Folding Projects From a Galaxy Far, Far Away", "Ahmed and the Feather Girl", “The Highly Intuitive Child: a Guide to Understanding and Parenting Unusually Sensitive and Emphatic Children", "Animal Encyclopedia: 2,500 Animals with Photos, Maps, and More!", "The Happiest Tree: a Yoga Story" and many more! Please stop by and check them out.

Lost in the Library

There was once a 4th grader who liked books but didn't know where to find them. Until, with a little help from her friends, she discovered the magic of the AOSR library website, the joys of searching a catalog and the bliss of finding what she was looking for on the shelves. Join her on this journey of discovery and see if you can learn a thing or two as well or if you're going to remain...LOST IN THE LIBRARY!!! Go to https://sites.google.com/a/aosr.org/aosr-library/ and see Ms. Gustafson's class's fun instructional video on how to find books in our library.

Dr. Seuss

The elementary school celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday by reading and discussing loads of his playful books! Go to http://www.seausville.com if you would like to delve deeper into the world of Dr. Seuss and know more his books and life. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

Special Visitors

Did you know that the Vatican offers Library Science courses? They do! For over 20 years, every spring, their students have visited AOSR libraries to see first-hand what a modern school libraries is like in action. http://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php?pag=scuola&ling=eng&BC=11

Spring Author Workshops for K-5

On May 20th, Anna Harwell Celenza will work with the elementary school students in collaboration with the library and music department. She has authored a beautiful series of award-winning children's books: The Farewell Symphony (2000), Pictures at an Exhibition (2003), The Heroic Symphony (2004), Bach's Goldberg Variations (2005),Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (2006), Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite (2011) and a 14-part syndicated series on Louis Armstrong. Her work has been featured on nationally syndicated radio and TV programs, including NPR's "Todd Mundt Show", BBC's "Music Matters" and "Proms Broadcasts", and C-Span's "Book-TV". Additionally, she is Professor of Music at Georgetown University and the author of several scholarly books, the most recent being Hans Christian Andersen and Music: The Nightingale Revealed (2005). Go to www.annacelenza.com for more information!

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SPRING 2013

Reflections on our Annual Week of MS Cultural Trips By: Ms. Sarah Ellyson (MS Coordinator)

The week of March 11 – 15, 2013 afforded the students and teachers of the Middle School the opportunity to explore and learn from experiences outside of the AOSR Campus. A multi-grade level trip to Rome which focused on the use of water as an architectural device visited the Ninfa Gardens, Tivoli’s Villa d’Este, a Rome fountain tour and visit to the wax museum and finally a visit and soak at the thermal baths at Viterbo’s Terme dei Papi. Students worked throughout the week on a blog of their experiences and created fabulous memories of their week together! The Sixth Grade out of Rome trip explored the wonders found in the Bay of Naples region, including Pompeii, Vesuvius, Caserta, Naples and Capri. Students reported highlights being a tarantella dance lesson, pizza making workshop and surviving the high seas on the boat trip around Capri! The Seventh Grade out of Rome experience was to London where students experienced a whirlwind of the many splendors of the royal city. This year the group was away for six days. The extra day allowed a day trip to Greenwich where students were able to stand on the Prime Meridian and tour the Cutty Sark clipper. Highlights included trips to the theater to see 39 Steps and the musical We Will Rock You. Grade Eight students who traveled out of Rome enjoyed a six day tour of Spain’s Andalucia region. Many students reported a favorite aspect to be the Doñana Natural Reserve, Flamenco show in Sevilla and the glory of the Alhambra Palace in Granada. A special thank you to all of the teachers who organized, chaperoned and participated in the experience with the students!

Grade 7 students taking in the sights in London

Grade 8 students spent a week touring in Andalucia, Spain

Grade 6 students visiting a volcanic crater at Solfatara in Campania

Students in grades 6-8

visited sites around the city

of Rome, including the

Ninfa Gardens and thermal

springs of Viterbo.

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SPRING 2013

AOSR Students Raise Money for the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center

By Zoe Z. and Shae K. (Gr. 8)

Recently, MS & HS STUCOs organized a drive for the refugees in the Joel Nafauma Refugee Center. Located in St. Paul’s Within the Walls Church in Rome. This all-men center helps people fleeing persecution and harsh living conditions from poor countries in northern Africa and the Middle East. The STUCOs encouraged the AOSR community to donate clothes, bags, and anything the refugees might need in various boxes. These boxes, identified by posters and flyers, are located by the High School entrance, the Elementary library, outside of the Elementary Principal’s office, and outside Villa 6. So far, we've raised a substantial amount of donation money with our bake sales and personal contributions. The boxes are getting filled up constantly by the generous donations made by members of our community.

The boxes are still here and the drive has not closed. Please make an effort to donate any new or second hand necessities. Remember, the center is an all male community. Such necessities include: collapsible umbrellas, backpacks, jackets, coats, toiletries (soap, shampoo, disposable razors etc.), unused undergarments, shirts etc. Any donations are very much appreciated by (both) STUCOs and the center. Please feel free to drop off anything the center may need. It will make a difference in a refugee’s life.

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SPRING 2013

MS STUCO Continue Outreach to Refugee Center

On April 9, a group of six Middle School STUCO members had the opportunity to spend the day at the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center and had the chance to witness first had the important role which the center has in individual people’s lives. En route to the center which is housed in the basement of St. Paul's Within the Walls Episcopal church, students learned a great deal from Ms. Beth Stickney, an immigration lawyer, who accompanied the group that day. She clearly expressed the difference between refugee and asylum seeker. The United Nations uses the following definition of a refugee: "Any person who: owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country" whereas an asylum seeker describes someone who has applied for protection as a refugee and is awaiting the determination of his or her status (www.unesco.org). Upon arrival to the center, students first had a debriefing session with full-time volunteer Jill Rios to better understand what a refugee is and how the center attempts to help them while they are here in Rome. When down in the center, students helped in English lessons, art therapy group sessions, played table tennis and Foosball, as well as got to chance to

"Because the men cannot stay in the dormitory shelters throughout the day, the JNRC becomes their daytime place between 10:00 – 14:00. While there, I helped to distribute items to the guests from the supply room. Men lined up with their registration card to receive a razor, soap and lotion to shave, get a monthly toothbrush and perhaps get lucky that a pair of shoes, pants or a shirt their size was donated that day. Always needed are clean or new socks, new men’s underwear and toiletries. Each one of us can help a great deal by picking up extra items at the store to donate – every little bit helps!” – Ms. Sarah Ellyson

“When we, the students of AOSR and of the University of Washington, were gathered upstairs with Mrs. Rios, I felt anxious. I didn't know how the men downstairs would react to our visiting them: would they welcome us? shy away? get angry? My imagination really was carried away when Mrs. Rios described the best exits to go out from should a fight break out. Shae and I, English class volunteers, walked down to the common area tentatively. The men stared as we descended, of course, but the general activity was not interrupted.” Zoe

“The first thing that I noticed was the people there were laughing, joking, and having fun between them. However, before to arriving here had experienced a very tough life. I had to admit at first I was scared and nervous about this experience because they were people that had though lives and have stress inside them and that they wouldn't be open with us….The men there just want to restart a new, better life from what they started out with….This experience was very helpful to me to see a different side of life. I would do return to that place work as a volunteer anything to make those men’s lives better.” Nicole

“I think it was a great experience going to the center to see how the people live and what their stories are. It really touched my heart how they got treated by such mean people and that they are still very generous people after.” Calvin

talk, draw, play and interact with the with the center’s guests. The students feel strongly about maintaining a connection with the center through educating their classmates by leading and hosting an assembly and also continue to collect items which are desperately needed every day at the center. It is never too late to help and every donation counts! A booth will be set up at Mayfair which will accept monetary donations and needed items can be brought to Villa 6 now through the end of the school year. Needed items include: razors, personal size or full size toiletries (soap, lotion, shampoo, baby oil, hair gel, Nivea cream, toothpaste, tissue packets), men’s socks and underwear (new), men’s pants, shirts, t-shirts, belts, backpacks and shoulder bags.

By: Ms. Sarah Ellyson (MS Coordinator)

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SPRING 2013

By: Mr. Stephen Foster (former AOSR elementary school principal)

AOSR 4th grader Virginia W. meets Secretary of State John Kerry at the US Embassy on Feb. 28, 2013. He interviewed her and asked her to say something in Italian. She responded, "Io sono americana!" Also pictured, Ambassador David Thorne (former AOSR student) and his wife Rose Thorne.

Year Two of the AOSR-North Tama School-to-School Partnership

From March 16 to 23, four teachers from North Tama School in Traer, Iowa visited AOSR as the next step in the school-to-school partnership that began last year when four teachers from AOSR visited North Tama. Both schools see value in this partnership, which is funded with a grant from Office of Overseas Schools at the US State Department. AOSR and NT are about the same size and their programs are remarkably similar. One of the ways North Tama benefits is by learning about the cultural diversity of AOSR and seeing how the faculty builds inclusiveness into the daily life of the school. One of the ways AOSR benefits is from access to the professional development initiatives that North Tama can provide. Both schools benefit from each other through the personal connections made during the visits. Even now, plans are being made for future cooperative learning experiences between the schools using the Internet. For example, both schools use the same science curriculum at the middle school and the goal is to compare experimental results, and to perhaps even try a shared, virtual science fair. The Iowa teachers want to thank everyone at AOSR for the hospitality shown to them on their visit, and they are hoping that next year will see another visit to North Tama from AOSR.

AOSR Student Meets Secretary of State

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SPRING 2013

Photography Club By: Ms. Jessica Schwarz

Here is a photo of the Photography Club's photo exhibit on display in the Villa. The After School Activity Club ran from October until February. The ladies of the Photography Club worked on photo composition and digital photo editing. They also visited the MACRO Testaccio Museum for an exhibit on documentary photography. This exhibit is a display of a few of our final products.

Global Issues Network In Global Issues Network we look into issues that are happening around the world and come up with solutions by initiating creative and fun projects. This year we worked really hard to conduct an investigation on the ethical issues of how pharmaceutical companies produce and market medicines. We presented our study at the GIN Conference in Düsseldorf, Germany. On this trip we toured the research facility of Bayer, a global pharmaceutical company, and did some hands-on lab activities. On the fun side, the conference coincided with Carnival and we happened to be at the Carnival Central of Germany, so we also had a super fun time participating in local celebrations. As a community, we have decided to work on two different projects that will directly involve our school. The first one is the window farm, which creates vertical farms in plastic bottles that can be attached to windows. This approach allows everyone to grow vegetables such as carrots or tomatoes at their own home. We will pilot this project in the elementary school, with further plans to spread it to the upper school in the future. Our second project is going to be focused in the high school by using the TV in the hallways to show videos of rap songs that highlight various current global issues. These videos will be updated each month. Periodically we will also show these videos on the big screen at the cafeteria, so we can hear about what is happening around the world during high school lunch. The scope of this is to raise awareness so that everyone can take actions in making the world a better place. Look out for the cool rap songs on the TV in the halls!

By: Veronica G. (Gr. 11)

THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY!

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SPRING 2013

HS Drama Delivers “Doses of Insanity”

By: Veronica G. (Gr. 11)

In the play Doses of Insanity the crew decided to represent all of the different types of insanity in a reverse way. For example, the performance showed how a group of popular kids following trends and styles, thought that the insane people were the ones who decided to not go along with the majority of society, while they were the ones in fact that appeared insane to the public. The play was composed of many different skits written by the actors, many of which were very funny.

The Magical World of OZ! Congratulations to our Gr. 5 Students on a Magical Performance!

News from AOSR Performing ARTS!

The little sub plays were narrated by the leader of the group who was telling his/her experience to the public, while the other members acted out the story. Furthermore the performers decided to interview different students on campus, asking them what they thought about certain events that had never happened, for example an earthquake, and many of the people being interviewed invented stories (lied), so the actors decided to include this in their play to show how at the end, all of us are a bit insane, and to give the play an ironic touch.

After a great deal of practice, our fifth graders put on a stellar performance of the Magical World of Oz with singing and dancing.

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SPRING 2013

AOSR Alumni in the News By: Mr. Geoff Miller (AOSR Alumni Coordinator)

Olivia Foschi (’99) has been achieving success and acclaim. As stated below (from her website http://www.olliviafoschi.com) she credits AOSR for her career path! “OLIVIA was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and grew up dividing her time between Italy and the United States. She started

Under the guidance of Roy Zimmerman, she took her first theory of music classes in high school and discovered her passion for jazz. While pursuing her undergraduate studies at the University of San Francisco, she sang in two vocal ensembles directed by Rick Roberts: USF Women’s Voices and USF Jazz Voices.Around that same time, she had her first experiences as a recording artist and began collaborating with jazz and folk musicians around the Bay Area.” Her debut album, Perennial Dreamer, was released last month and has received glowing reviews: http://karionproductions.blogspot.it/2013/03/olivia-foschi-is-reviewed-by-music-man.html http://voices.yahoo.com/album-review-perennial-dreamer-olivia-foschi-12035235.html Check out her performance at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkBcvGgZesE. Check out other recent alumni visits and news on our AOSR website at: http://www.aosr.org/page.cfm?p=354

AOSR TEACHERS PRESENT at RISA CONFERENCE

AOSR teachers shared their classroom expertise with other

educators in the Rome International Schools Association

at the annual RISA conference on Saturday, March 16th.

Ms. Jane Rumsby presented a workshop titled, “Sing your Way

to Understanding,” Ms. Katherine Thompson on “Mindfulness

Practice for the Classroom,” Ms. Christine D’Aquanni an

“Introduction to Project G.L.A.D” and Ms. Lauren Waite on

“Differentiated Instruction in an iPad Era.” The workshops were

very well received and the day was a learning success for all who

attended.

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SPRING 2013

Gymnastics Cup

On Saturday, April 20th. AOSR hosted the first Gymnastics Cup competition. Our gymnasts competed against two other gymnastic schools, Giliga and Punto e Virgola. About forty gymnasts were present ranging from 5 years old to High School. The events were: trampoline, vault, balance beam, and floor exercises. Our students have only started gymnastics this October and many of them only go to one lesson a week. In spite of this, they performed to a high standard and we are very proud of them. We hope that this course will continue next year and that we will be able to participate in other competitions. After an exciting morning all the gymnasts and their families enjoyed a picnic lunch together. I would like to thank Chiara Costa for her tireless organization of this event. Thanks go to: Mr. Kunin Judges: Nicole B., Sofia M. and Mr. Alan Ricci. Assistants: Francesca R. and Claudia S. Photographer: Marco C. ASA: Ms. Mencarelli and Ms. Hogan Musicians: Diego M. and Carlotta A. Gymnastics exhibition performer Gianlorenzo R. Mr. Piccioni and AOSR maintenance staff

By: Ms. Christine Hogan (ASA Coordinator)

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SPRING 2013

Pupils of Rome International Math Event On Friday, April 19th, AOSR hosted the 5th annual PRIME Math Competition. We are very proud of the nine students who represented AOSR: Team 1) Nicolà D., Koby H., Yoojoeng S. Team 2) Louis S., Leonardo C., Yoojin S. Team 3) Frankie D., Yixin K., Sonia M. Our teams competed against six other international schools, sixty students in all. The teams had 9 rounds of questions, each round having a time limit of 15 minutes, so the atmosphere was electric! At the end of the competition the top scores were all very close, only one point between the first three teams and 2 points between 3rd. and 4th. Our Team 1 took 4th place. 1st place: St. George’s School with 33 points 2nd place: Marymount with 32 points 3rd place: New School/St. George’s School with 31 points 4th place: AOSR Team 1 with 29 points Our team players were worthy ambassadors of our school. I would like to thank math teachers Ms. Houpis and Mr. Stewart who both worked so hard to make the day a success. As always, behind the scenes was the efficient teamwork of the AOSR administrative team, Ms. Bruno, Mr. Piccioni, Ms. Troisi, and the AOSR maintenance staff. Thank you to Mr. Kunin who presented the awards.

By: Ms. Christine Hogan (ASA Coordinator)

AOSR’s Global Issues Network (GIN) student group invited our school to participate in the Save the Artic global project organized by Green Peace A massive global mobilization took place on April 18 to show support for the ongoing campaign to keep oil companies out of the Artic. An oil spill would devastate the habitat for people and animals and would be impossible to clean up. Thousands of people from around the world in over 30 countries came together to form human banners spelling

I ♥ Arctic

Save the Arctic

THE FALCON FLYER SPRING 2016

Dr. Pfannl Goes to Washington, DC

In January, Dr. Pfannl had the honor of meeting President Barak Obama in the Oval Office at The White House with her family. She told the President about AOSR and her work in American education overseas. She reported that, “he was very interested in hearing that everyone in my family had attended American schools overseas.” While in Washington, Dr. Pfannl and her family were invited to attend President Obama’s inauguration on January 21 and other inaugural activities.