2009 Spring Globetrotter

Atlanta International School Newsletter / April 2009 • Globetrotter 1

AIS Places Third at Green Cup ChallengeBy Trevor Pendergast, Faculty Member This year, AIS, along with approximately 80 other schools throughout the southeastern Unit-ed States, participated in the second annual Green Cup Challenge. The goal of the challenge was simple: to reduce the energy usage of our respective schools by a minimum of 10% and, in so doing, to save precious dollars in these tough economic times and, more importantly, to lighten our carbon footprint on our common environment. Of course, a challenge would not be a challenge if there were not a healthy spirit of competi-tion. Therefore, in addition to achieving the minimum 10% reduction, all of the schools that participated worked together to see which school could make the biggest reduction. Some of the local schools that participated consisted of, among others, traditional AIS rivals: Marist, Woodward Academy, Westminster, Galloway and Paideia.The strategy of AIS was straightforward and easily implemented. Students made a concerted effort to turn off lights that were not required, to close blinds to prevent heat loss via the windows, to turn off computer monitors when not in use and to ensure that the thermostats were not blazing away like infernos. Meanwhile, as this was a cooperative effort, the facili-ties of AIS cooperated by ensuring that lights would not be kept on throughout the night, by keeping the field lights off when not in use, and by turning off the heat in areas that did not require heating at particular times. Dr. Brindley was also very supportive by providing the student body with an appealing incentive: every cent saved during the challenge would be donated to the student body.By the end the competition, AIS reduced its energy consumption by 24.3%. Of all the schools that participated, AIS succeeded in coming in third place, only narrowly losing out to Eastminster and Paideia. The students and staff at AIS should be commended on a great ef-fort overall, and a special commendation should go to Adrien Pellerin and Richard Smith for putting together the Green Cup challenge kickoff, and for taking the time out of their busy senior schedules to arrive at school to ensure that lights were turned off and thermostats were turned down.Congratulations AIS on reducing your carbon footprint! Let’s all work together to ensure that we keep the momentum going.

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Atlanta International School (AIS) offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) to all its students from four-year-old kindergarten through grade 12. By delivering a rigorous academic program combined with world-class standards in language acquisition within an open-minded, intercultural environment, AIS prepares its students to succeed in a globally connected world.

For more information, please contact us at 404.841.3840 or visit us online at www.aischool.org.

In This Issue

2 Spring Benefit

4 Black History Month

6 “Pinocchio”

Production

9 THIMUN

GlobetrotterThe Newsletter of Atlanta International School

April 2009

NewsNouvellesNoticiasNachrichten

Globetrotter • Atlanta International School Newsletter / April 20092

Spring Benefit Auction Items Span the GlobeBy Jay Denslow, Events Manager, and Jennene Cheshire-Rea, AIS Parent and Volunteer

Travel the world when you bid on auction items at the live and silent auction at the 2009 Spring Benefit: Passport to Africa, Discov-ery of a Continent on Saturday, April 4. The auction is made possible by our generous auction donors and a highlighted list of auction items available can be found at www.aischool.org/springbenefit.

Vacations and getaways are always among the most sought after items and this year will be no exception. The map above shows all the travel destinations available to bid on this year.

In addition to our exciting travel items, this year there will be several new and truly unique experiences donated by our very own faculty and staff here at AIS. Support the school through bidding on an activity that your child will remember forever…

For Primary School Students & Parents• Asoccer&pizzapartywithMr.Poiraud• Ateaparty&etiquettelessonwithMs.Fetter• AmorningwithMs.Fay• ASpanishcookingclasswithMs.Velez• AmoviewithMadameFrederique• AnartpartywithMs.JoyceandMs.MarieLaurence• AnorganiccookinglessonwithMs.Moji• 5Kparents:Wouldn’tyouloveafrontrowspotfortheEndofYearPresentationintheLadenmacher?•WouldyourchildbenefitfromsummerevaluationandtutoringbyChrisThomasandAssociates?

For Middle or Upper School Students• GettoknowthenewHeadmaster,KevinGlass,whileyouandyourclassmatesspendadaywithhimincommunityservice.• BetheMasteroftheCafeteriaMenuforaweek.• Playavolleyballgamevs.thePEfaculty(includespizzaparty).• Actas“HeadofUpperSchool”foradaywithPatrickHurworth(andassignyourownassistant).• RelaxasMr.Hurworthandotherupperschoolstaff/facultyserveastudentandhis/herclassmateslunch!

Preview student artwork on March 31 and enter the Tuition Drawing raffle to support the Spring BenefitStudentartworkcreatedbystudentsingrades4K–5,tobesoldattheSpringBenefitauction,willbeondisplayandavailabletobidonTuesday,March31,from3:00p.m.–5:00p.m.,intheAISauditorium.Studentsareinvitedtobringtheirparentstoaspecialreceptionto“show-off ”theirartworkandenjoyafunstory-tellerwithaninteractiveshow,whichincludesadrumcircle.

Also available during the Student Art Preview is your chance to enter the annual Tuition Drawing raffle. The drawing will be held duringtheSpringBenefitonSaturday,April4,butyouneednotbepresenttowin.Ticketpricesare$25foroneticket;$65forthreetickets;and$170foreighttickets.Fiftypercentofticketsalesuptofulltuitionforonechildwillbeawarded.Parentscanalsopur-chase tickets in the Development Office from now until April 3.

This map shows all the travel destinations available to you to bid on this year. For a larger version of the map, visit www.aischool.org/springbenefit.


Preview Party in honor of our sponsors and supportersOnWednesday,April1from6:30p.m.–8:30p.m.theSpringBenefitcommitteewillbehostingaPreviewPartyintheAISAuditorium.EnjoythemusicofTheresaHightower,oneofthegreatjazzandbluesvocalistsofourgeneration,whilepreviewingthestudentartandplacing early bids on auction items.

As always, we sincerely thank our generous auction donors and corporate sponsors for helping make the 2009 Spring Benefit a success!

Diamond: Gold:

Silver: Bronze:

Generous Supporters and In-Kind Donors are:Big Vintage ImportsCostco Lisa Cannon Taylor

We Need You to Make the Art, Science and Design Center a Reality ByCoriHymowitzRead,AssociateDirectorofDevelopment,MajorGiving

Thankstothesupportofsomanyofyou,wehaveraisednearly$14.2milliontowardour$16milliongoalforSee Beyond: The Campaign for Atlanta International School.

TheArt,ScienceandDesignCenter(ASD)willhaveamonumentaleffectonourstudents’learningandourfaculty’steachingofArt,Science and Design. The light-filled, environmentally friendly, LEED-designed building will enable us to rise above the limitations of our current facilities and implement advanced teaching strategies. Succeeding in a complex global environment depends on students’ ability to identify connections between disciplines and apply them creatively to solve problems and achieve goals. The ASD is designed to facilitate these specific learning experiences and to provide our students with sophisticated new tools to maximize their learning. We need your help to make these designs become reality.

The new athletic field and parking lot have also been part of our campus improvement initiative, and we are pleased to have completed them on schedule. Our impressive new athletic field, which has generated much enthusiasm from students and faculty alike, has trans-formed our campus and opened exciting opportunities that will significantly enhance our Physical Education curriculum and Athletics program. The new car park at the back of the school has already significantly alleviated carpool congestion at the front of the school.

AsyoumayhavereadintheHeadmaster’sBulletin,SeeBeyondwasrecentlyawardeda$2millionchallengegrantbyananonymousdonor.Thechallengemeansthatweneedtoreachourgoalof$16million(includingthisgrant)beforewecanreceivethefunds,andwecannot begin construction until we have raised the total amount. We are making wonderful progress and, with your help, we will meet our target.

If you have not yet had a chance to participate in the campaign, please contact the development office to make your three-year pledge or one-time gift today:

•Call404-841-3869tomakeyourpaymentbycreditcard•[email protected]•BringyourdonationtotheDevelopmentOffice,locatedinthemainschoolbuilding, (using the main entrance, take a right to the end of the hallway, and enter the last door on your left) •MailyourpledgetoAIS,SeeBeyond,2890NorthFultonDrive,Atlanta,GA30305

Friends of AIS:Atlanta Business Bank/Atlanta Dental Office Managers AssociationClassic Entry Systems, Inc.Collins Cooper Carusi Architects, Inc.Coxe Curry & Associates, Inc.Drs. Melisa Rathburn and Michael StewartEquifaxNeil Dobbs/AllstateNet Planner Systems, Inc.Threadgill & Associates, LLC - Landscape Architect


AIS Celebrates Black History MonthByJohnHurley,AISParentandVolunteer

InFebruary1926CarterG.Woodson,thefounderofNegroHistoryWeek,introducedtheconceptofacknowledgingandcelebratingthecontributionsofAfricanAmericansinUSHistory.Throughouttheyears,therecognitionandcelebrationhasgrowntoincludethecontributionsofBlacks(peopleofAfricandescent)inHistory,andhencethemonthofFebruaryhasbeennamedBlackHistoryMonth.

Inkeepingwiththistradition,theAISBlackParentsHarambeeCulturalClubusedthemonthofFebruarytohighlightpastandpres-ent historical contributions of Blacks in Politics, Science, Medicine, Arts and Entertainment, and Sports by sponsoring the following cultural displays:

1.HistoricaldisplayofBlacksinPoliticswaspresentedinthePrimarySchoolMainCorridor.Thisdisplayshowcasedthe political contribution of Blacks dating back as far as the First African American Congress, the struggles of the civil rights movement, and culminating in the election and inauguration of President, Barack Obama. The first African American President of the United States of America.2. The Library displayed the literary contributions of Blacks dating back to the Literary Renaissance Period and as current as the contributions of present day authors of poetry, medicine, and philosophy.3.ThemaincorridoroftheUpperandSecondarySchooldisplayedthecontributionsofBlacksinMilitaryHistory,NASA’sSpace Program, Medicine, as well as past and present inventors and patent holders.4. Displays in the SAC celebrated the contributions of Blacks in the world of Athletics and Sports. The Music Corridor of the SAC highlighted contributions in the world of Arts and Entertainment.

Followingthishistoricaltheme,theBPHCCSpeaker’sSeriespresented“AUNT”MARGARETWASHINGTONCLIFFORD,arelativeof the descendants of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, and whose family maintained significant relationships with such notablepersonsinhistoryasW.E.B.duBose.HerpresentationsontheLegacyofBookerT.WashingtonandFrederickDouglasmes-merized the fifth graders and the upper and secondary school students with documents, photographs and stories of historical events thatshapedAmericanHistoryandpavedthewayfortheeducationandopportunityaffordedtoourstudents.

InsupportoftheAISUnitofInquiryon“OurCommunity”,BPHCCarrangedavisitandpresentationtotheLowerPrimarySchoolbySec-tion Chief Joel Baker of the Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department. What a treat for the little ones who were given opportunity to tour a real fire engine and learn of the activities of fire fighters.

IncooperationwiththeNationalBlackArtsFestival,BPHCCclosedthemonthlongcelebrationofBlackHistoryMonthwithits’signatureevent“JAZZ in BLACK and WHITE,” an adult evening of dinner, dancing and live jazzentertainmentshowcasingthesensationalmusicofAtlanta’sownRio Negro, and the breath-taking performance of Vinx a one man, one voice, one drum phenomenon. If you missed this sensational evening, you too can experience Vinx on CMT.com Big and Round. This year’s event had record attendance by more than 200 people who ex-perienceda“StrollDownBourbonStreet”completewithNewOrleansStyleCuisineand Libations in a supper club atmosphere of spectacular décor, all provided by Grand GatheringsCatering.Theeventhostedseveral“specialguests”includingtheHonorableMayorofAtlanta,ShirleyFranklin,CityCouncilman,C.T.Martin,StephanieHugh-ley–PresidentandExecutiveProducerNationalBlackArtsFestival,andprospectiveparents,eagertojointheAIScommunity.BetweenLivejazzsets,wedancedtothemusicofDJ-BrianHawkins,whosepartymusickeptthedancefloorcrowded.Thiswasafuneveningforall.Nextyear’seventpromisestobeevenbetter.AlthoughJazzinBlackandWhitewasanadultevening,BPHCCdidn’tforgetourstudents.OnFebru-ary20,2009ScottBritton,PresidentofBPHCC,presented“TheInfluenceofAfricanAmericansontheCreationandEvolutionofJazz”totheUpperSchoolstudents.Thiswas a presentation that received cheers and a standing ovation from an enthusiastic student audience.

Theseactivitiesconcludethisyear’scelebrationofBlackHistoryMonth,butnottheactivitiesofBPHCC.Continuereadingfutureeditionsofthe Globetrotter and the P.O. Bulletin for announcement of upcoming events.


Summer Camp 2009 ByKatharinaMeredith,AfterSchoolandSummerProgramsManager

ThankyouforjoiningusthissummeratAIS!Mostofoursummercampstudentsare from AIS or are students from other schools who have been referred by AIS parents. Summer camp is still a growing part of this school, and we are very ex-cited about this year’s camp offerings. Our focus will be highlighting the greatest assetsofAIS–theculturaldiversityandinternationalmindset,toallareasofsum-mer camp by learning about a different country each week. Campers will receive a passport at the beginning of their stay with us, and travel through diverse countries via different experiences, such as food or music. We will have Language Camps offered in French, German, Spanish, Chinese and English. Taught by our very own teachers, these camps are a great opportunity for students of all ability levels to develop an ear for the language or practice what they have learned. Our new enrichment class chess teacher, Carolina Blanco, will be hostingChessCamp.MasterPiuswillbebackfortheverypopularTaeKwonDocamp, and AIS coaches Gregg Albright and Willie Richardson are offering Volleyball and Basketball camps to increase knowledge and ability of the two sports. Educational Technology Coordinator, Alan Preis, will have his campers develop exciting animations and Lego constructions during Design Technology and Lego Robotics Camp. And we welcome the return of Spring Mason and her talented entourage who are already gearing up to put on three different shows during Camp Stardust,developingbuddingactorstofillBroadwayinafewyears.OurKalei-doscope team is putting together a creative mix of themes so that each week is a new experience of comic books, circus, transportation and more. This year, we are also offering an afternoon camp, run by AIS’s Mark McDaniel, with its own daily schedule and activities. Newthisyeararesummercampvouchers–soletgrandpaorgrandmagiveyourchild the gift of a unique, enriching experience, which allows your student to de-velop new friendships, learn, and have fun. Registration forms for AIS-only camps immediately after school ends in June, and before school starts in August, are available in the entrance hallway of the Primary School. Visit our website at www.aischool.org/camps or contact us at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you this summer!

News from the Yearbook Committee byHelgaCollella,FacultyMember

The yearbook is currently with the publisher for printing. We expect an arrival date oflateAprilorearlyMay,andwehaveapproximately50extracopies.Ifyoumissedall other deadlines, take this last opportunity to order your copy, which now costs $ 65.PleasemakeyourcheckouttoAIS Yearbook 2008/09 and send your order andchecktoHelgaColellaformiddleandupperschoolordersorSergePetitprefor primary school orders.

Kindergarten Science Fair By Cyndi Browning, Faculty Member

Our 2009 Kindergarten Science Fair on March 3rd was a huge hit! Our “future scientists” had a wonder-ful time learning from the parent presenters. We had a broad range of creative experiments, which were presented with great flair. The experiments included UV light, litmus tests, moon craters, diaper polymers, density, electric circuits, animal blubber insulation, acids, bases, and sublima-tion, electromagnets, static electricity, hovercraft, renew-able energy, colloids, and magnetic force. Our parent group leaders kept things flowing smoothly, and were brave volunteers during ex-periments. Be sure and ask your child which experiment was his or her favorite!


Students Reflect on “Pinocchio” ProductionThree performers in the recent AIS production of “Pinocchio,” reflect

on their experiences:

“Pinocchiohasbeenagreatexperience.Idon’tthinkthatpeoplerealizehowmuchworkwentintothismiddleschoolplay.Theensemblerehearsedforsixweeks,2.5hoursaday,sometimes for longer and sometimes on Saturdays. It sounds like an overload and with school, rehearsals and homework, sometimes it was hard to find time to eat and sleep but throughout the process, the cast developed a close relationship, and the work we put in wasn’t even work- it was play. Learning lines was the easiest part for me. The hard part was creatingacompletelydifferentcharacter.FoxandIdidalotofworkwithjustus,onourwalkandthewayweinteracted.GraceandI–FoxandCat–hadtoworkonalmostmakingourselves one person on stage—that’s how strong our coordination had to be. Although thiswashard–itwasthebest!Thecastlearnedtobeanensemble.Bytheendofrehearsals,wewerenolonger“thecastofPinocchio”butwewerethefriends,enemiesandfamilyofPinocchiothepuppet.Unfortunately,Pinocchioisover(althoughitwasnicetocatchuponsleep)butnextyearit’sOliver!Ajointmiddleandupperschoolproduction!” – Sarah Schmitt, Grade 8 Student

“TheschoolproductionofPinocchiowasanamazingexperienceforme.Ihadonlydoneoneshowbefore,Seussicalinthesixthgrade.Icamehopingtojustmaketheplay,andwhenI was informed that I was Geppeto, I couldn’t believe it! The play was something I loved and enjoyeddoing.Ilearnedalotfromthisexperience;speakingclearlyandloudlyarejusttwothings that I’ve learned to do. Before, I was always shy and not sure what to do, but I’ve been abletogetoverthesethingswiththeplay.NotonlydidIhavealotoffun,buttheproduc-tion itself was amazing, and everyone in my cast was really good. I had never seen such an incredible stage, or set of people work with a show. An incredible experience, and wonderful people;that’showIwoulddescribedoingtheatreproductions.It’shardwork,butitpaysoffin the end. Pinocchio was an amazing show, and I am looking forward auditioning for more theatreproductionshereatAIS.” – Ashton Imber, Grade 8 Student

AsIcamehomefromthelastnightoftheplay,Ithought,“woah,itsover”butalsoaskedmy-self,“Well,whatdidIlearn?Ilearnedhownottobeafraidtotalktohundredsinpublicandhow to pose as a funny cricket. Then a thought occurred to me that really changed the way I see theatre: everyone is important in the play. Everybody says that Pinocchio is the most important character, but he really isn’t. If Lampwick didn’t exist, Pinocchio would have been a real boy sooner and he wouldn’t have met the coachman. Every single person is important in the play, including the audience. – Ivanna Martinez, Grade 8 Student

AIS Students Participate in Georgia Tech High School Mathematics Competition by Chloe Colberg, Grade 9 Student

On February 28, a team of five AIS ninth graders partici-pated in the Georgia Tech High School Mathematics Competi-tion. Up against very tough competition, Chloe Colberg, Alex Richard, Boris Dehem, Josh Cohen, and Quang Le did an excellent job on the grueling full-day exam, which covered a wide range of math-ematics topics. Both Chloe Colberg and Alex Richard were recognized as semi-finalists in the JV division and were invited to take an additional proof-based exam. Congratu-lations to these five students and their hard work!

Dr. Brindley Shares his Love of Rocks with Primary School Students By Luz Sanchez, faculty member

Did you know that Dr. Brindley is a geologist? Third grade thoroughly enjoyed lis-tening to Dr. Brindley explain about the characteristics and qualities of the rocks that the students asked him about. His presentation enriched our understanding of our unit, The Ever- Changing Earth. If you want to help in identifying an interesting specimen, we are sure that he can help you!


Spring Sports Spring Sports are under way at AIS. For the first time in school history, the school is offering a golf, an ultimate frisbee and a varsity tennis team.

LastyearweofferedJVandMSTennisteams.LedbyNeilSpencerandSergePetitpre,ourkidswerecompetitiveandprovedwewere ready for the next step. Coach Serge Petitpre leads the Eagles Tennis team into their first ever varsity season. The team will send the top seven boys and seven girls to four matches against local schools. Our home court is Bitsy Grant Tennis Center, located at BobbyJonesgolfcourseonNorthsideDrive.EleanorRatchfordandKarenManidistaketheplaceofNeilSpencer.Wehadthemoststudent involvement in the history of the school. More than 40 students turned out for the first practice. All but ten of the US team members are freshmen and sophomores. Tennis is on the rise!

Coach Albright had been toying with the idea of offering a golf team for years. Without the right coach and not enough golfers at the school, he passed on it. When David Bell, a professional golfer from Australia, agreed to coach the team, he decided it was time to introduce golf to the spring line up. In our inaugural season, the team has a great shot at making some noise. Seniors David ColluraandJuniorChristophKoehlerhaveundera1.5handicapeachandshouldleadtheteam.SarahMcKenneyJamesFordandMarcusKiesslingwillcompeteforastrongthirdandfourthscore.EvenahandfulofMSstudentsdecidedtocomeoutfortheteam.AlthoughtheyaretooyoungtocompeteonavarsityteamaccordingtoGHSA,theyareworkinghardatpolishingtheirtechniques.The future of the golf program is looking bright!

Trevor Pendergast, a teacher of geography and history, and Jennifer Pendergast, a teacher of visual arts, have been advocates of an ultimate frisbee team since their arrival at AIS three years ago. Last year they started a club team and because of a large turn out, de-cided with Coach Albright to open the sport to the school and start the program. As a result, ultimate has become another new sport offeredatAIS.UltimateisarapidlygrowingsportinAtlantaandaroundtheworld;itisasportthattakeshighskill,fastreactiontime and split-second decision making to perform at a high level. Under the Pendergast leadership, the team is learning the game. InthefirstevergameplayedbyAIS,RyanKristensenpassedtoPeterBeachtoscorethefirstpoint.Theywentontolosethematch,but the Pendergast vision has come to life. Thanks to the Pendergasts and their vision! With more than twenty student participants, ultimate is going to be here for a long time!

ThesethreeteamsjoinMSTennis,MSandUStrack,MSGirls,JVBoysandVarsityBoysandGirlsSoccerasAtlantaInternationalSchools’ spring sports.

AIS Sports Report By Sports Boosters

Madison Scott, All Region Saturday, February 20, Madison Scott was on hand for the Region Championship at Whitefield. She was not there to watch the great basketball being played, but to receive an award. Our Junior Center was awarded to her second All Region Team. Our Lady Eagles play in an extremely tough region. They play such teams as Pace, Whitefield and Southwest Atlanta Christian. It is a testament to Madison’s talentandhardwork,tobehonored.Madisonaveraged17pointsand10.3reboundsagame.Sheturneditontowardstheendoftheseason.MadisonisbeingrecruitedbyLSU,Tulane,NorthFlorida,GSUandotherschools.Thishonorwasagreatwaytoendatoughseason. Coach Richardson believes if she works hard this season and polishes her leadership skills, All American honors is not out of the realm of possibilities. Thanks Madison for all your hard work! We look forward to next year.


Update on Ensemble ActivitiesBy Edith Dehem, AIS Parent and Volunteer

The French Book Yard Sale: Coming up at AIS from March 26 to March 28

BooksinFrencharereallyhardtofindinAtlanta!Tohelpyoufindsomeatverylittlecostfor50¢ to $5,Ensembleisorganizingits second French book yard sale, where you will be able to prepare for the summer by making sure you and your children can practice their French during the long vacation months by stocking up on many French books.

TheYardSalewillbeatAtlantaInternationalSchool,intheSAConthefollowingdaysandtimes:

Thursday,March26from2:00p.m.to5:00p.m.Friday,March27from7:45a.m.to9:00a.m.and2:00p.m.to5:00p.m.Saturday, March 28 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

If you wish to donate French books you no longer need, you still can do so by contacting Cecile Forman at 404-567-4524 or [email protected].

We will have the following available for sale: •Second-handbooksinFrenchforallagesingoodcondition.•FrenchandFrench-EnglishDictionariesandencyclopedias,illustratedornot.•FrenchmusicCDsandmusic-sheets.•Board-games,video-gamesandcomputer-gamesinFrench.

The benefits of this operation will go toward funding the items on the primary and secondary school French departments wish lists.

French Classes Enjoy the Traditional Galette des Rois at AIS

TheweekofJanuary6,studentsenjoyeddelicious“galettes”withtheirFrench teachers and classmates. The Galette des Rois is made of puff pastry filled with frangipane, an almond-flavoured paste. It is sold in all French bakeries, and eating the galette at the beginning of January is still a very popular tradition and an opportunity for families and friends to gather around the table in France and other French-speaking countries to celebrate “LafetedesRois”(Kings’Day).

Thefunpartabouteatinglagaletteisthatthereisaluckycharm(unefève),whichoriginallywasabean,hiddeninside.Nowa-days, a ceramic token is used.

Thetraditioncallsfortheyoungestpersonintheroom(usuallyachild)tohideunderthetableandshoutoutwhichguesteachsliceofgaletteshouldbegivento.ThepersonwhofindsthefèveinhisorhersliceofgalettebecomestheKingorQueenfortheday.TheKinghastochoosehisQueen(orviceversa),anditseemsthatatAISsomeoftheroyalcouplesalsodesignatedaprince and a princess!

This year, Ensemble sponsored 30 galettes. That’s why you’ve probably seen 30 kings, 30 queens and a few little princes and princesses running around with golden crowns on their heads!

5K Students Celebrate 100 Days of SchoolByJillHuntleyandSharonBelton,FacultyMembers

Duringthe100-daycelebrationin5K,studentsdisplayedtheircollections of paper clips, pennies, pasta, rice, beans, bobby pins, tiny bulldog clips, tiny paper butterflies, foam ball stick-ers,andjellybeans.Theythenweighedandmeasuredthem.


Asian Cultural ClubByDawnKlempf,AISParentandVolunteer

A huge thanks to the dedicated and enthusiastic leadership of Jiaxing Weng and her mountains of sup-port!TheAsianCulturalclubhasenjoyedanothergreatyearatAIS!Ifyoumissedtheevents,pleasejoinusnextyearwhentheclubpresidentwillbeChiColberg.Eachmonth,afuneventisplanned.EventsrangefromaTasteofAsia,Mahjonggathering,familypotluckpingpongparty,AsianFestivalcelebration,afoodandculturalboothatWorldfest,AsianNewYearcelebrationetc.ThemissionoftheAsian Cultural Club is to assist AIS in fulfilling its mission by celebrating the diverse Asian culture within the AIS community. At the same time, it promotes and supports the Mandarin program at AIS through culturaleventssuchastheAsianNewYearcelebrationandmanymore.YouonlyneedtohaveaninterestinAsianculturetobeamember.Wehopeyouwilljoinusnextyear.Tobeincludedinourmailinglist,[email protected].

Another Excellent THIMUN Performance by AIS Students By Simon Underhill, Sandy Ferko, Darren Rollins, Faculty Members

Forthefifteenthconsecutiveyear,AISsentadelegationtoTheHagueInternationalModelUnitedNations(THIMUN)conferenceinTheHague,TheNetherlands.ThisisthecenterpieceoftheModelUnitedNationsprogramworldwide,withover3,500studentsfrommorethan70countriesattending.AISisoneofonlysixschoolsintheentireUStobeinvitedtothisprestigiousevent.Onceagain, our students did themselves and the school proud with a wonderful performance.

Ourdelegationof34studentsandthreechaperonesarrivedadayearlytorecoverfromjetlagandtopreparefortherigorsoftheconference.Thestudentsenjoyedatourofalocalfishingvillage,completewithtraditionalDutchclothing,andcheesefactory,as well as stretching their legs along the beach at Scheveningen, near our hotel. There was little time for relaxing, however, once the conference began on Monday. For the next five days, the students were locked in debate as they tried to pass their resolutions. Alliances were made and broken, passionate pleas were matched by defiant rebuttals, and resolutions proposed and discarded. To succeedatTHIMUNrequiresanuancedviewofinternationalaffairsandhistory,aswellasaflairfordebateanddiplomacy.Ourstudents worked hard for close to three months to hone these skills and they more than held their own against the other students at the conference. OurstudentsrepresentedNicaraguaandAlgeriaandwereablyledbyourambassadorsPaigeBrownlow(grade12)andKareemRosshandler(grade11).AsmallnumberofseniorsandjuniorswereselectedfortheprestigiousAdvisoryPanelontheNileRiverBasinandOliviaMesser(grade12-editor)andEmikaIjuin(grade12-photographer)werebothselectedtoworkonthedailyTHIMUNnewspaper,MUNITY,whichpublishesa16-20pagenewslettereachdayoftheconference.

All of our students can be proud of their efforts over the week. We would like to pay special tribute to our seniors for their leader-shipandfortheircommitmenttotheprogram:MeganMcGraw,ShelbiVaughn,ShivaRouhani,CiaraO’Halloran,PaigeBrownlow,MeredithLowe,OliviaMesser,EmikaIjuin,AdamWadleyandAnnieFarrell.

OnehighlightforthestudentswastheopportunitytoviewproceedingsattheInternationalTribunalfortheFormerYugoslavia.Eachday, the chaperones escorted a small group of students into the court to view the cases against various men charged with a range of war crimes from the Balkans Conflict. It was a sobering and at times confrontational experience, but to be part of that history was certainly special.

OurlastfulldayinTheNetherlandswasspentinAmsterdam,wherethestudentsvisitedtheAnneFrankHouse,exploredthestreetsandmarkets,enjoyedanIndonesianbuffet,andfinishedthedayoffwithaneveningcanalcruise.ItwasatiredbutverysatisfiedgroupofstudentswhowearilydisembarkedatHartsfield-JacksonAirportonSunday,February2.Theirperformancesovertheweekwere a credit to them and to the school and ensured that AIS will continue to be invited back.


AIS Family Attends Presidential Inauguration By Regina Deloatch-Ratliff, AIS Parent and Faculty Member

On January 20, 2009, our nation and the world witnessed the historical inauguration of the first Afri-can-Americanpresident,BarackObama;andkindergartner,LonnieRatliffIVwasinWashingtonD.C.to experience it all! It was a day of firsts as Lonnie traveled to D.C. with his family on his first train ride wherehewasmadejuniorconductoroftheday.Lonnietraveledwithhismom,ReginaDeloatch-Ratliffand aunt, Renita Deloatch and met up in D.C. with other family members from Atlanta, GA.

One of those family members was his maternal grandmother, Carol Deloatch, who was one of the thousandsthatattendedtheMarchonWashingtonin1963.“It’sgreattobebackinD.C.foranotherhis-toriceventandtothistimebeabletoshareitwithmychildrenandgrandchildren,”saidMrs.Deloatchof the inauguration.

Lonnie and his family were first in line at the inaugural parade site where they waited seven hours in freezing temperatures to see the President and First Lady walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. During his stay in D.C., Lonnie had a chance to visit famous landmarks such as The Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

Toaddevenmoreexcitementtothishistoricoccasion,LonniewasphotographedbytheBostonHeraldandappearedintheironlinemagazine.HewasphotographedstandinginfrontoftheCapitolbuilding,holdinghisBarackObamaactionfigureandanAmericanflag.Lonnie collected a lot of memorabilia during this event including photos, posters, and flags but nothing can compare to the memory of attending the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.

Gump for a Day: AIS Teacher and Literary Celebrities Pay Tribute to Samuel Beckett By Robert Shaw-Smith, AIS Faculty Member

SamuelBeckett(1906-1989)isregardedasperhapsthemostinnovativeandinfluentialplay- wright and novelist of the 20th century. In 1985,heauthorizedthecollectionofhiscorres- pondence(over15,000lettersinpublicandprivatecollections).TheLettersofSamuelBeckett;Volume One, 1929-40 is the first comprehensive edition of the letters of the Irish-born writer, providing access to primary sources now scattered in archives and private collections world-wide.

To celebrate this important literary milestone, a reading of selected letters was performed in Dublin, by acclaimed Irish actor and Beck-ettspecialistBarryMcGovern,inLondonbySirIanMcKellenandPatrickStewartandinAtlantabyEdwardAlbee,foremostAmericanplaywright, Sir Salman Rushdie, Booker of Bookers winner, Brenda Bynum and Robert Shaw-Smith.

Yes.Thereisarapidlyprecipitousdecrescendoofstarpowerattheveryendofthatlastsentence.BeinginvitedtosharetheplatformatEmory University with this literary constellation was like being Forrest Gump for a day.

Rushdie is quintessentially polished and urbane. At pains to acknowledge Beckett’s genius and his own debt to him, Rushdie of course delightedinBeckett’sdeftwieldingoflanguage,butjustasmuchinhismaudlinmelancholiaandwriter’sblockandbile.

Albeeis81,forthright,vergingonsassyandalwayshonest.HetoldusofbeingayoungmaninabarinPariswithBeckettandothers,talkingabouttheMarquisdeSade.AsAlbeerecalled,theytalkedenergeticallyonthesubjectformorethananhour.But,secretlyknow-ing nothing of de Sade, all he could do was intermittently guffaw and slap his thigh as occasion demanded.

Youcanimaginetheconversationinthegreenroombackstagebeforetheperformance,betweenthesemenofhugehistoricalandliter-aryheft.YoucanimaginehowIintermittentlyguffawedandslappedmythigh…

The letters we read ranged over Beckett’s readings and writings, his family and friends, publishers and agents, even about the death of a family dog. Often incisive or humane, sometimes witty or devastatingly moving.

At the end, as we left the stage, the four of us crossed in front of the large portrait of a young Beckett, which was standing on an easel, theupstagecenterpieceofourset.Albeeranhisfingerslightlyovertheimage;onegreatwriter’stendergestureofrespectandloveforanother.

It was an honor to be en attendance…


Join the AIS Career Network The first two meetings have been extremely well attended, and the group continues to grow. The AIS Career network is a parent-led initiative that aims to provide networking op-portunities to AIS parents, alumni, alumni parents, and spouses of AIS faculty and administra-tion staff who are seeking employment. Meetings are held every first and third Tuesday of the monthfrom7:00p.m.to8:30p.m.Thesessionsfocusonprovidingjobsearchresourcesandindustry contacts to members of the AIS community.

In addition to inviting community members who are searching for employment, we also encourage potential employers, recruiters and any members of the community who may be able to offer leads or share resources or expertise to attend these meetings. Please RSVP to JeanMillkeyatjemillkey@aischool.org.Ifyouwouldlikeustoaddressaspecificideaortopicof discussion for future meetings, or if you are willing to present a topic, please let Jean know when you RSVP. In addition to meeting twice a month, this group stays connected via LinkedIn, an online tool designed to facilitate professional connections among its users. Please take the time to registerbeforethenextmeeting.TologontotheAISCareerNetworkonLinkedIn,pleasevisithttp://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1805708&trk=anet_ug_hm • If you already have a LinkedIn account, click on the link above and then click on the button: “Join Group” • If you do NOT have a LinkedIn account, click on the link above, then click on the link towards the bottom of the page called, “Joining LinkedIn.” IfyouarenotfamiliarwithLinkedIn,pleasejoinus30minutesearlyat6:30p.m.intheLibrary at the next networking meeting to learn how this online tool works.

AIS School Store Goes Online By Amy Medford, Auxiliary Programs Manager We are pleased to offer a new service to you! Beginning April 1, PE and school supply items can be pre-ordered for the 2009-2010 school year, online. To find instructions, supply lists and links to order, visit our website at www.aischool.org/studentlife/schoolstore/.

Newfornextyear:

•OnlyPEuniforms,notebooks/workbooksandartsupplieswillbeavailableforordering online. Remaining school supplies can be purchased at the retailer of your choice.

•AllschoolworkbooksmustbepurchasedusingouronlinesystembyJune1,2009.Orders received after June 1 will not be processed.

• Notebooks/workbooks WILL NOT be available for sale throughout the school year. Therefore it is imperative that you place your order by June 1. Workbook packages have been adjusted to reflect this.

•PE,spiritwearandartsupplyitemsWILLbeavailablefororderingthroughouttheschoolyear.

•PE,spiritwear,andartsupplyitemswillbeshippeddirectlytoyourhouse.Notebooks/workbookscanbepickeduponAugust17&18,2009between9a.m.and3p.m.intheSAC.

The current school store will be operating on campus until June. After June, all items will be available online only. For more information, ordering instructions, and links, please go to www.aischool.org/studentlife/schoolstore/.

5K Students Experiment with Poetry

By Marie-Luce van Asten, Faculty Member

After learning the poem, “Dans Paris” by Paul Eluard, 5K French students com-posed their own poems using the same syntax. The class selected this example for publishing.

Dans Paris by Paul EluardDans Paris il y a une rue;Dans cette rue il y a une maison; Dans cette maison il y a un escalier;Dans cet escalier il y a une chambre;Dans cette chambre il y a une table;Sur cette table il y a un tapis;Sur ce tapis il y a une cage;Dans cette cage il y a un nid;Dans ce nid il y a un œuf,Dans cet œuf il y a un oiseau.L’oiseau renversa l’œuf;L’œuf renversa le nid;Le nid renversa la cage;La cage renversa le tapis;Le tapis renversa la table;La table renversa la chambre;La chambre renversa l’escalier;L’escalier renversa la maison; la maison renversa la rue;la rue renversa la ville de Paris.


How To Encourage Independent Reading At HomeBy Erika Velez, Faculty Member

FromMysteryreadersin5Ktoparentguestsinfifthgrade,readingiswidelypromotedatAIS.Asalearningspecialist,Isharedailyand workwithstudentsingrades5K,thirdandfourthgradeswhostrugglewithreading.Althoughstrategiesandskillsareprovidedatschool, home involvement is crucial for children’s reading success.

Homeinvolvementcanproviderichopportunitiesforchildrentodevelopasreaders,andatAISwehelpbyinstructingparentstosimply, “Readtoyourchild”or“Encourageyourchildtoreadathome”.Thismaybeastart,butitisnotenough.Parentsneedspecificsuggestions and guidelines about what to do. There are some suggestions based on our work with parents in the primary school from early grades to upper grades, which have been useful.

Keep it simple: Many parents have limited time to devote to working with their children, so at-home activities must be easy to implement. In addition, it is important to know that the recommended activities help make a positive difference in children’s reading achievements.

Parent options:Readtoyourchildren.Manyparentsbelievethis“readingto”shouldceasewhentheirchildrenbegintoreadindependently.Notso!Parentsofolderchildrenseethevalueofcontinuingtoreadaloud,perhapschaptersatbedtimeoraninterest-ing article from the newspaper. Parents can also read with their children, perhaps alternating pages or paragraphs. They may want to listen to their children read. They may want to sit side by side with their children, each reading what he or she desires. They may even want to encourage their child to read to a family pet or even a stuffed animal. All these activities are legitimate forms of independent reading at home that will lead to success in children’s literacy development.

Book lists: Our school library has a wide variety of books, which are age and language appropriate. Information about summer reading lists aswellasothersuggestedreadingmaterialscanbefoundintheschool’swebpage.Youcanaskyourchild’steachersforreading suggestions and visit our school librarian.

Five-finger rule of book selection: The child opens to a page in the middle of a book and begins to read, raising a finger each time he or she encounters an unknown word. If five fingers are raised before the page is complete, the book is probably too challeng-ingforthechildtoreadindependently.Itmayalsobenecessarytoconsiderissuesaswhetherit’sOKforachildtorereadafavoritebookortoreadbooksthatare“tooeasy.”(Inbothcases,it’sOK!)Interest-basedreadingshouldbeencouraged;thisdefinitelymoti-vates a child to read.

At-home reading should not be time consuming or complex. Instead parents can talk, encourage, answer child-initiated questions, and model their own literate behaviors.

Geographers Represent AIS At The 33rd Annual UNIS-UN Student Conference By Chris Stephenson, Faculty Member

Eightofourgrade11studentsweresuccessfullyselectedtoattendthe33rdAnnualUnitedNationsInternationalSchoolUNConferenceintheUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly,NewYorkfromMarch4to6.Thisisastudent-ledorganizationthatannuallyinvitesstudentsfromAIStoparticipateinthiswellattendedevent.Entitled“TheFoodCrisis–AGlobalChallenge,”theeventisattendedbymorethanthreehundreddelegatesfromallovertheworld.NotonlydidstudentsexperiencetheformalsettingoftheGAHallbutweretreatedtospeechesfromhisExcellency,Mr.BanKi-moon,secretarygeneraloftheUN,Mr.DanielGustafson,directoroftheLiaisonOfficeforNorthAmerica–FoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUN,A.G.Kawamura,SecretaryoftheDepartmentofFoodandAgriculturefortheStateofCaliforniaandCarylStern,presidentandCEOofU.S.FundforUNICEF,tonamejustafew.TheAISstudents,SimonThaler,AndreaPava,NicolaPardy,MarkusMc-Nally,RanaEl-Nahas,KareemRosshandler,AriLevinsonandJessicaHassettattendedtwoveryfullandbusydaysofspeeches,student-createdmovies,debatesandquestions–manyofwhichwereaddressedbyourstudentsthemselves.

“Iactuallyrealizedhowmanyofthegeographicalconceptscametogetherintherealworld,”wasoneofthemanycommentsthatcamefromconversationsaroundtheevent.AsthisisNewYork,andwhilemanyofthestudentswerewithhome-stayfamiliesarrangedbyUNIS,wehadtheopportunitytoseesomeofthesights,experiencethesoundsanduniqueatmospherethatisNewYorktogetherasagroup.SomestudentsstayedinthecityandsomebecamecitycommutersontheMetrotoQueens.Everythingfromwalkingvastdistances(whoknewablockwassofar?)toeatingwafflefriesdustedincocoaandchiliatMaxBrenner–ChocolatebytheBaldMan(norelation,Mr.Hurworth!)Weallenjoyedaworldofopportunityandincrediblediversity–allononelittletinyisland!

Wedebatedasagroupthatthisisacomplicatedwebofinterrelatedproblems–whichwillbesomeoftheproblemsthattheseverystudentspresentintheGAwillhavetodealwithinthenextfewyearstoallowequalaccesstofoodforall.Overthenext24hours,the“bottombillion”onourplanetwillgohungry,andwerealizedthatthistopicwassomuchmorethanachapterinatextbookoracasestudyassign-ment. This was the reality of the geography that we all live every day. These students will become the problem solvers and the hope that the SecretaryGeneralalludedtoinhisspeech,“Iamconfidentthatwecandealwiththeglobalfoodcrisis.Wehavetheresources.Wehavetheknowledge.Weknowwhattodo.Weshouldthereforeconsiderthisnotonlyasaproblembutalsoasanopportunity,”–BanKi-moon.


Illumniating (Eliminating) “Educated Errors”By Globetrotter’s Grammar Guru

Doyousurreptitiouslysetstraightapaintingwhenyouseeitisknockedawry?Ifyou’restandingbehindsomeonewhosesweaterlabelisstickingout,signalingtotheworlditneedstobedry-cleaned,doyougentlytuckitin?Doyouwipeyourcheekwhensomeoneacrossfromyouatdinnerhassauceonhersorbrushyourchinwhenherhusbandjugglescakecrumbsinhisbeardashetalks?

Itrynotto,butIfindtheurgeirresistible.Youmaythinkmeempathetic,idealistic,considerate,hopeful.Oryoumaylabelmecritical,unre-alistic, downright obsessive-compulsive, and perpetually picky.

Either way, I hope you will appreciate that I now face a very delicate dilemma: What to do when a really smart, well-educated, articulate personrepeatedlycommitsabasicerrorofgrammarorusage?

I recognize that while it might be considered a momentarily embarrassing kindness to whisper a suggestion to wipe egg off another’s face, it wouldbeamajorassaultonprofessionalpridetocorrectalawyer,doctor,professor,orbusinessexecutiveinpublic.Thereis,alas,nosuchthing as a discreet and diplomatic grammar lesson.

When a concert pianist strikes a wrong note, the audience can be sure that the pianist knows what note should have sounded instead. The trouble with English is that the very ones who should know what is correct—the educated souls among us—don’t always know. In short, someofthebestspeakersdon’tknowwhen“thenoteisflat.”Andtheirunwittingmistakescancausethemostdamage.

Let us acknowledge that it has become trendy to be loose in our usage and to avoid association with that which is proper, formal, intellectual. Informalverbiage,executedwell,canvergeontheeloquentandisundeniablyplayful.Butchronic“educatederrors”areproblematicbecausethey mislead children who can no longer be sure of the difference between the correct and the colloquial, the standard and the slang.

Itisaparticularproblem—youmightsay,unconscionable—inaplacelikeAtlantaInternationalSchoolwhereESOL(EnglishforSpeak-ersofOtherLanguages)isacriticalsubjectfornon-nativeswhonaturallylooktonativesforexampleandguidance.Whilethenumberofnon-native speakers of English has grown worldwide, overtaking the number of native speakers themselves, the ownership of the language is imperceptibly shifting. Could it happen that the best speakers and writers of English in the future will be the non-native learners who know theconventionsandrulesmorethoroughlythantheirnativecounterpartswhosimplycannolongerdistinguishanobjectpronounfromasubjectpronoun,anadverbfromanadjective,aprepositionfromaconjunction?

Weconsciousgrammariansmaybeadyingbreed,butwecherishthedifference.Andjustaswewantthepaintingtohangstraightandev-eryone’s face to be clean, we want parents and teachers and coaches—all who work with children—to share in our great knowledge. They oughttoknowhowtospeakcorrectlyandwritewell,ifonlyforthecollegeapplicationorthejobinterview.

Sadlyunabletoresisttheurgetoredress“educatederrors,”Iamalsounwillingtoinsultverycapableandintelligentpeople.Henceananony-mous grammar column.

Ifyoufindthatcrookedframeunperturbing,enjoyreadingthecleaninginstructionsofyourneighbor’ssweater,secretlyenjoysmirkingatyourfood-smudgeddinnercompanion,thenreadnofurther.Youwillcarenotajotoratittlethatgrammarglitchesareontheincreaseandwill find this column tedious. But if you share my love of order, of beauty, of linguistic clarity, and yes, of teaching, read on. Mind you, my interestincorrectionstemsfromaninnaterecognitionofmyownimperfection;IerrjustasanyoneelsedoesbutIstrivenotto.Humorandhumility underlie this column along with a genuine desire to illuminate and help eliminate chronic mis-usages.

The Globetrotter’s Grammar Guru column will grapple with an “educated error” all too common among native English speakers. Some of you readers may have a grammatical pet peeve of your own, which you may suggest as the focus for a future column. Of course, I welcome your trying to catch me in error. If so, write to “Globetrotter’s Grammar Guru,” [email protected]. In the meantime, look forward to “All I’s Are Not On Me” in the next Globetrotter.

Globetrotter’s

Grammar Guru


“Love Your Body” Week at Atlanta International School By Lori Jordan, Faculty Member According to research conducted by the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty: Real Girls,RealPressure,ANationalReportontheStateofSelf-Esteem,“sevenintengirls(69%)inAtlantabelievetheyarenotgoodenoughordonotmeasureupinsome way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family. Forty-five percent of teen girls admit to talking badly about them-selves.NineteenpercentofteengirlsinAtlantapracticedisorderedeating.”Probablythemostdisturbingstatisticisthat“girlswithlowselfesteemarethreetimesmorelikelythan girls with high self-esteem to engage in harmful and destructive behavior that can leavealastingimprintontheirlives.”Thesestatisticsareourreality.

With the resources and outreach programs offered by an Atlanta-based non-profit organization,EDIN:EatingDisordersInformationNetwork,studentsatAtlantaInternational School are trying to combat these alarming statistics. Each year, the AISCASgroupofEDINsponsorsafunweekofinteractiveactivitiestohelpsec-ondary school students focus on positive body image, healthy living, and the dangers associatedwitheatingdisorders.Foroverfiveyearsnow,ourEDINmembershaveplanned and coordinated student activities each February. This year’s events featured: •“Love Your Body Week” Kick-off: EDINmembersopenedtheweekwith videos from Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty for both the Upper School and MiddleSchoolmorningmeetings(www.campaignforrealbeauty.com).•Life-sizeBarbie:DidyouknowthatifBarbie,oneofthemostpopulardollsofall time, were a real person, she would be about 6feettallwitha36-inchbust,an18-inchwaistand33-inchhips?EDINstudentsputtogetheralife-sizedisplayofBarbieto promote discussion about the unrealistic statistics associated with Barbie and her popularity among impressionable young girls. •Mirror-less Wednesday: If you were in any of the secondary school bathrooms during the week, you may have noticed thatallofthemirrorswerecoveredwithblackpaper.ThiswasachancetocelebrateandthinkaboutWHOweare,andnotjustwhatwelooklike.Aboveeachmirror,EDINcraftedceramicarttilesfeaturingquotesaboutinternalbeauty.•Guest speaker from EDIN Atlanta:KrisShock,ProgramDirectorofEDIN,joinedourAIScommunitytotalktointerested students about the facts behind eating disorders and also ways that students can support and empower their friends in terms of promoting positive body image.•Hip Hop Dance Session:EDINbelievesintheimportanceofhealthyhabitsandhostedthisfunsessiontoallowstudentstheopportunityforenjoyableexerciseandtotrysomethingnew.TaughtbyAISsenior,AnushaSthanunathan,itwasagreatwayto end the school week!•Merrick’s Walk:Toconcludetheweek,ourEDINmembersjoinedhundredsofareawalkersandrunnersatChastainPark for a fundraiser walk that raised awareness for eating disorders and raised funds for treatment programs. The walk is in honor of Merrick Ryan, a 19-year old Galloway alum who died after she lost her battle with anorexia in January 2000.

ManythankstoalloftheEDINmembersfortheirplanningofaspectacularweekandtotheco-leaders,RobinKuikandEmma-lineCampbell,forbringingitalltogether!TheactivitieshostedbyEDINdon’tendwith“LoveYourBodyWeek.”Throughouttheyear,EDINmembersfocusontopicsthatrangefromleadershiptomediaawarenesstohealthywaysofcopingwithstress.Thegroup of middle and upper school students meet each week to Educate themselves and ¬Inspire others- their ultimate goal! For moreinformationonEDIN,pleasefeelfreetocontactLoriJones,[email protected].

Music Department “Notes” ByDr.RonaldL.Howard,FacultyMember

TheMusicDepartmentofAIShasenjoyedabusywinterandearlyspringseason.NineAISmusicperformanceensemblespresented programs in early December. Our senior IB Music candidates were presented in a formal recital on the evening of February 19. The Primary and Middle School divisions also presented a 90-minute public concert on February 24. A total of 24 AISstudentsperformedontheAISChamberMusicSocietyrecitalsonFebruary5andMarch2.Lastly,ourschool’sHonorChoirembarkedonanine-dayconcerttourthroughGermanyonMarch6.

Several AIS students were the recipients of various musical accolades during the winter months. Junior clarinetist Marvin Fichmueller, inadditiontohisactivitieswiththeAtlantaYouthWindSymphony,participatedinthreehonors-typebandfestivalsoverafive-weekperiod:theUniversityofGeorgiaJanFestBandFestival,theGeorgiaStateUniversityHonorBand,theGeorgiaMusicEduca-torsAssociationDistrict5HonorBand,and,mostnotably,the2009GeorgiaAll-State11-12SymphonicBand,heldinSavannah


Music Department “Notes” Continued

March5-8.MarvinperformedunderthebatonofnotedIranian-AmericancomposerandconductorSamuelR.Hazo.

AlsoperformingaspartoftheGeorgiaAll-StateweekendinSavannahweremiddleschoolmusiciansKeanuMitangaandMyrtilMi-tanga.BothwereselectedthroughcompetitiveauditiontotheAll-StateMiddleSchoolStringOrchestra,andtheyenjoyedperform-ing under the baton of conductor-author-composer Gabriel Villasurda.

TheGeorgiaStateUniversityHonorBands,underthedirectionofconductorRobertAmbrose,facultymemberatGSU,presentedapublic concert on February 23. AIS students appearing on this program were Anusha Sthanunathan and Daniel Levine, trombonists in thejazzband;JoshuaHanford,percussion,SimonKirk,clarinet,andMarvinFichtmueller,clarinet,inthesymphonicbands.

Looking forward to the closing weeks of the school year, the Upper School Jazz Band, Symphony Orchestra, Chorus, and String En-semble,underthedirectionofDr.Howard,Ms.Greenlaw,andMr.Tyberg,willpresenttheirfinalpublicprogramoftheyearonApril7.Thecommunityisinvitedtothisfreeperformance,startingat7:00pmintheAISAuditorium.TheAISChamberMusicSocietyrecitalseriescontinueswitheveningsofsolo-ensemblemusictobepresentedonApril15andMay20.ThePrimarySchoolconcertorganizations,includingtheband,ledbyAlbertSoskin,thechorus,ledbyKarenPeters,andthestrings,undertheleadershipofHer-rad Welp, will present their year-end concert on May 14. Our Middle School ensembles, the symphonic band, chorus, honor choir, and strings, will close out the year in a concert program on May 19. Many AIS music students are also looking forward to participa-tion in summer music camps and music programs at locations all across the country, including the Interlochen Center for the Arts (Michigan),NorthwesternUniversity(Illinois),aswellasFloridaStateUniversityandtheUniversityofFlorida.

On Sunday afternoon, March 22, in the AIS Auditorium, selected AIS musicians and ensembles, along with artists from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, will present a program of music sponsored by the AIS Arts Alliance. Further details can be found on the AIS website at www.aischool.org.

The AIS Department of Music, and its faculty, wish to extend appreciation to all who have supported the efforts of the department this year, whether through attendance at public recitals and concerts, support of the individual faculty members and their respective ensembles, or through encouraging our students to continue to strive for excellence in music through participation in the arts.

AIS Honor Choir Performs in Germany By Leona Greenlaw, Faculty Member OnMarch6,2009,theirthrice-weeklyearlymorningrehearsalsatAISfinallyatanend,the AISHonorChoirembarkedontheprize:anine-dayperformancetourtoGermany.Wasallthatcommitment,effort,andhardworkworthit?ThemostfrequentlyusedwordbyHonorChoirmemberstodescribetheexperiencewas“awesome!”

That word was used as well by some of the English-speaking members of their audiences to describe their singing, around which the tour revolved. In the seven days they were in Germany on tour, they sang eight concerts—in Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden, Leipzig, and Frankfurt. Venues ranged from churches and schools to a center for senior citizens.

One of the highlights for Amelia Zuver was singing in the famous St. Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where Bach directed the choir, played theorgan,andcomposedmanyofhiscompositionsfrom1723untilhisdeathin1750.ImmediatelybehindwheretheHonorChoirstoodtoperformwasBach’sgrave.Allpresentagreedthattheacousticsofthechurchwere“amazing”aswasthesenseofhistorythat was gained from being in the church where many of Bach’s compositions—including his monumental Mass in B minor—were firstperformed.(Itwasthenextday,inDresden,thatwelearnedfromourtourguidethatBachhadcomposedandsubmittedtheinitialmovements of the Mass in application for the post of Court Composer to the court of Friedrich August II, Elector of Saxony—an honor he wassubsequentlydenied.)

Anothermusicalhighlightforallwasthechoir’slastperformance—atChristtheKingChurchinFrankfurt,wherethefatherofHonorChoirmemberLizzySandlinhadbeenrectorforeightyears.Thechurchturnedoutinfullforce,providingenthusiasticap-plause after every selection, and refusing to stop their standing ovation until an encore was agreed upon. Afterwards, the girls were treatedtoalovelyreceptionandmuch“geműtlichkeit.”

But it was not all music. Every city had guided tours to its outstanding sites. Many of the students, when asked to write down their thoughts,sharedtheemotionalimpacttheWallandtheCheckpointCharlieMuseumhadonthem.RobinKuikwasmovedbythefactthat“theyhaven’tforgotten…Whiletheymostlikelyhavewantedtoforgetit,theyhaven’t,nomatterhowpainfulithasbeen.”

And, of course, the girls learned much about themselves, as well. They learned they could memorize an hour’s worth of music! They didn’tneedtorelyonotherstosingtheirpartperfectly.Theyalsolearned,asSarahCookputit,thatthough“thereweretimeswhereIgottiredofthecommitment,butintheendIwaspleasedwithmyselfandwhatIhavebeenabletodo.”

AsKatherineDavissummeditup,“Overall,IhavemademanywonderfulmemoriesthatIwillneverforget!”


AIS Students Make the A Team in MathCounts Competition By Tony Locke, Faculty Member

And now folks, here’s a report on a recent MathCounts competition written by roving reporter, Tony Locke:

It’sValentinesDay!YIPPEE!It’sSATURDAY;doubleyippeeandwhatadayforaliein.ItisdeserveditisNEEDEDandwhatisthis?Sixinthemorning,andIambeingtoldthatIMUSTgetup.No“Hereyouaredear,alovelycupofhotcoffee.”Instead,justa“Getuporyouaregoingtobelate.”Itisdarkoutthere….Itiscoldoutthere,andwhatamIdoing?IamheadingtoBuckheadtopickupMarkSchwadeandtakehimandSamLocketoGeorgiaTechforaMATHCOUNTScontest.Whydowehavetoregisterat7.30a.m.?Whatissowrongwith9.30a.m.?Middaysoundsbetterstill.

GPSisawonderfulsystem,allowingmetoeasilynavigatethewaytothevenue.Butwhatisthis?AdeadendandGPSsaysgostraightaheadthe wrong way down a one way street. It is dark, no one is around…nobody would know. But of course, one of the basic laws of life warns you that if you try this stunt, a police car will appear out of nowhere.

Anyway,wegetthereandYoungjunYi,anothermemberofthesquadistherewaiting.Whattimedidhegetup?Ofcourse7.30a.m.inAt-lantaisprobablyaround7.30p.m.inKorea,afarmoresensibletime.

Slowlybutsurely,theothermembersoftheteam,BrianCook,whichofcourseisananagramfor“Brain”isthereandsoheisprobablygoingtodowell.KeshaKanakiya,theonlyseventhgraderinthesquad,LukeSmith(whichisananagramforkule(cool?),sohemaynotdoaswellasexpected)and…hangon,whatisthis?IsAISbringinginateamofringers?HortenseBaderaniandClaireColberg,twoofourbrightesteleventhgrade11studentshavejustturnedup!Theywillneverpassaseighthgraders.OKmaybetheycouldatapush,butMr.Preishasgotnochance!He’ssmallenough,butthefacialhairisabitofagiveaway.Soheisheretohelpme,andHortenseisherebringingheryoungersister, Louise. And here comes Brice Williams, with a bag of goodies.

Soofftheteamtroopsforafun-filled45minutesofMath,thenabreak,followedbyanotherexciting45minutesofMath.AquickbreakandtheA-team(doesn’tatleastoneAteammemberhavetohaveaMohawkhaircut?)troopofffortheteamcontestwhiletherestofushuntoutthecafeteria.Mathematicianstheymaybe,buthealthyeaterstheyarenot!Soda,burgers,sugar…Youngjunisofcourseeatingwithchopsticksandproclaiminghowgreattheseeatingutensilsare.ClearlyMarkcannotmasterthem,butyouknowI’dlovetoseeYoungjuntakeonabig Texas steak with them!

ThenitisbackforafewMathjokes.Mathjokes?Areyouserious?Apparentlyso.TheonlyoneIcaneverrecallistheMathteacheraccusedofbeing part of a terrorist group… Al Gebra, when she was found carrying weapons of Math Instruction onto a plane.

Then the Countdown round, and Luke won our only attempt at that.Finally,afun-filledEIGHTHOURSafterIgotup,theawards.Whatisthis?Wedidnotwin?Can’tthesejudgescount?

Apparentlytheycan…wedidn’t.Howevertheresultsarenowinandwhileourguysdidnotwin,theydidwell,allscoringaboveaverageandBrian showed why his name has the anagram it does by qualifying for State. See, I knew he would do well. Congrats Brian!

Since February 14, we received the results and so here are a few notes about the results we received. Our eight grade 8 students, all men-tionedabove,qualifiedafterwinningtheAISMathCountscompetition.ThetopfourmadetheAteam:BriceWilliams,KeshaKanakiya,LukeSmith and Brian Cook. Brian scored high enough to qualify to go on to the State Round. All eight students scored higher then the average score at the competition. AIS was ranked eighteenth, which placed us in the top 40% of all schools that attended


Naan Bethania Neseekiren [Thinking of Bethania]By Jenna Sanborn, AIS Alumna ‘08 and Ellinor Darner

October 1, 2008 we boarded a plane in Frankfurt, Germany destined to Chennai, India. This was the first time either of us had moved away fromhome–18yearsoldandaccompaniedonlybyeachother,yetnotcollege-bound,ratherBethania-bound.Eachofuscarriedonesuitcasefilled with personal belongings and one stuffed with gifts for the children, praying we were reasonably prepared for what the next two monthsinKannivadi,TamilNaduwouldbring.Honestly,wenevercouldhavefathomedhowlife-changingthisexperiencewouldprovetobe.

After spending two days in Chennai, which served as a brief introduction to the South Indian culture, we took a smaller flight southbound. We landed in the small city of Madurai, population 1 million, at a single-room airport. Off to the side stood a small woman in a traditional greensariwithintricategolddetailing,holdingapieceofpaperwith“JennaEllinor”scribbledonit.AlthoughherEnglishwasnotperfect,her warm smile immediately made us feel welcome. Chandra took us, complete strangers, into her home several times throughout our stay inIndiaandintroducedustosomuchofherworld.Lookingback,shehasnotonlybecomeour“IndianGrandmother”butatruerolemodeldue to her many accomplishments which have positively impacted her small village of Pattiveeranpatti.

The five-minute drive off the main road down the bumpy, winding, dirt path to Bethania, nestled amongst the flat dandelion fields at the foot oftheMountains,seemedlikeyears.Weweresoanxioustoarrive,yetquestionsfloodedourminds.Howmanykidswouldtherebe?WouldtheyspeakEnglish?Wouldwefeelaccepted?Wherewouldwestay?Whatwouldweeat?Whatwouldthedailyroutinebelike?Wewerediv-ingheadfirstintoadrasticallyoppositelifestylethanbackhome,withnoanswers.Yetthefirstsmilefromlittle7-year-oldJenithatemporar-ily eased all of our worries. From day one, the children called us sisters. Everyday our familial bond continued to grow and strengthen. It was hardtofeelhomesickwhenclearlywehadanewhomeinKannivadiwith37brothersandsisters--thebestchildrenintheworld.

Veryquickly,wefellintoroutineatBethania.Ouralarmrangat7:30eachmorning;twohoursafterthekidshadawoken,completedtheirstudiesandevendonesomechores.Thebreakfastbellrangat8a.m.Uponenteringthedininghall,weweregreetedby37lovelysmiles,amicablesalutesandwaves,whichcontributedtooureagernesstowakeandjointhechildreneachday.Theendofbreakfastwasalwaysarush.Thechildrenmasterfullybroketheiriddlies(ricecakes)usingonlytheirrighthandsandthensoakedtheminsambar,atraditionalveg-etable sauce, before quickly cleaning their tin plates and hurrying to board the school bus. Instead of going to school, we hit the fields. Under the supervision of Ganapragasam, the farmer who single-handedly manages Bethania’s thirteen acres, we performed tasks like removing rocksandweedingplotsofland,plantingandharvestingtomatoandbrinjal(eggplant)cropsandcreatingmud‘bunds’toaidtheirrigationsystem. While the work was tiring in the heat, it felt good to lend a hand so that Bethania can one day become self-sufficient. After two hours of work and a cool glass of freshly squeezed lemonade, we cooled off under our tap and then ate lunch prepared for us by the lovely ladies inthekitchen.WealsoenjoyedspendingtwohoursintheafternoonassistingIshwariandSivagamiwithchoppingthevegetablesfortheevening meal. The highlight of the day was certainly at 4:30 p.m., when the Bethania bus returned and exploded with screaming and laughing children, eager for a snack and playtime. For the next hour and a half, we went wild with the children--teaching each other new games, songs anddances.Onrainydayswewouldenjoycoloringanddrawing;yetunfortunatelythepaperandgelpenswebroughtranoutquickly.Wenowcherishthesehoursspenttogether;thiswasthetimewetrulygottoknoweachchild,createpersonalbondsandinsidejokes.Thechil-dren,aged5to18,allcravedourindividualattention--thatspecialsmile,gestureorcontactthathadbeenmissingintheirlives.Thesmallestinteractions meant the world, not only to them, but also to us.

Ataround6:15p.m.,thebellwouldringagain,signifyingthedailyprayertime.Christianityisalargepartofthesechildren’slives,bring-ing them hope and determination. The aura of the room while the children chanted their powerful prayers epitomized, to us, the meaning offaith.Thesepeacefulmomentsweresoonover,asthekidsthenrushedtousbegging,“Sista,English!”TheirextremeenthusiasmtolearnEnglish spurred our excitement to teach them to the best of our abilities. It was always difficult to determine which age group we would teach each night, since that meant turning down other children keen to learn. We made sure to keep a regular schedule alternating between the different age groups. We feel the lessons really benefited their English and further stimulated their wish to speak English fluently one day.

Studytimewasconcludedbytheringofthedinnerbellat8:00p.m.,pairedwithhungryfacesyelling,“Sapdavango!”(Comeeat!)AtBetha-nia,foodisabundant,freshanddelicious--nochildcouldevergohungry.Then,after37bighugsand“IraavuVanakkam”‘s,(Goodnight’s),weheaded to the small guest house, tired, yet so happy, after a long eventful day at Bethania.

While these kids have so little, their hearts are made of gold. In return for the presents we brought them, almost everyday we received some sortofgift;whetheritwasflowers,rocks,friendshipbraceletsordrawings,thekidsalwaysfoundawaytoshowtheirappreciation.Person-ally,wefeelwetookawayjustasmuchaswehavehopefullyleftatBethaniaOrphanage.Weareforeverchanged.Wewillbebacksoon,Bethania!


Small Change Collection for Bethania Orphanage By Esther Rosenfeld, Faculty Member When you see primary school students wearing a bright fluorescent sticker, you can readily identify them as caring and empathetic contributors to the Bethania Orphan-age.AsyoumayhavereadintheHeadmaster’sBulletin,primaryschoolstudentsaredonating loose change and bills to help the children in the orphanage. The funds raised will help with purchasing additional books for Bethania’s library and improving the only existing road that leads to the small town where their schools are located. There are collection bottles located in the primary office and other areas of the primary school.

EllaHurworth,astudentinthirdgrade,tookactiononherown.“IdonatedtoBetha-niabysellinglemonade.Isoldmylemonadesfor25¢ each and got $5!Iwasveryhappy to give it to Bethania because they need it more than I do. Donating made me feelgood!”

Please support your children when they want to participate in this very worthwhile en-deavorsothattheytoocan“feelgood”abouthelpingchildrenwhohavelessthantheydo.

AIS Seniors Organize to Support Bethania Orphanage Benefit on Prom NightBy Betsy Carpenter, AIS Parent and Volunteer Turning tragedy into triumph, a potential conflict becomes a winning situation for the senior class at Atlanta International School. In keeping with today’s concern for unnecessary extravagances, and an awareness of global responsibilities, a large number of seniors and juniorsatAIShaveagreedtoforegoarestaurantdinneronpromnighttoattendtheannualfundraisingeventattheschool.

TheyearlybenefitfortheorphanageinBethania,India,isorganizedbythestudents,underthesupervisionofMs.ShantaKalyanasun-daram.AISinvolvementwithBethaniadatesbackto2005,andseveralAISstudentshaveworkedthereovertheyears.JennaSanborn,AISalumna,explained,“ItisthroughfundraisingandinvolvingtheAIScommunitythatRamya,aBethaniagirl,isnowattendingherfirstyearofcollege.Isincerelybelievethatifyoueducateagirlinalessdevelopedcountry,youeducatemanygenerations.”

When the students realized that the fundraising dinner was scheduled for the same night as their prom, they decided to make it work for them all:

“We save money on a big lavish dinner at a restaurant; all proceeds are donated to the orphanage that AIS supports in India; and the food is great.” said TC Winter, student organizer.

OntheeveningofApril25,afterthephotoshavebeentaken,thestudentswillenjoyafullIndianmeal,withliveentertainment.Afterthe dinner, they will proceed to the prom as usual. The dinner is also open to anyone interested in supporting the efforts of the Bethania orphanage.

Atfirst,therewassomeconcernthatitwasn’tlikeatypicalpromnight,butasonemotherputit,“AISisn’tyourtypicalschool.”Soon,the list of participants grew and is still growing, with the goal of 100% participation. It is up to the organizing students to provide a fun and festive evening so that the tradition may continue next year!!


Education: A Gift of Life for Bethania ChildrenJamesBrindley,AISAlumnus‘05

It’s been a little while, three years to be exact, since I worked at the Bethania home but it made such

an impression on me that it is easy to recollect the orphanage in detail. I remember clearly that the

home wasn’t a Dickens-like, depressing workhouse of a place that I thought it may be. What struck

memostwasthatthechildrenwerehappy,immenselyhappy.Theirjoyandenthusiasmcompletely

contradicted their origins as many were true orphans while others had been rescued from abusive

guardians or simply from parents who were unable to support them.

I deduced that the children were happy because they were being looked after, having food, shelter,

loveandattention;theyhadfulfillingandenjoyablelifestyles;andalsotheycouldlookforwardtoa

future far brighter than that of their parents. These three factors more or less summarizes Bethania

Orphanage’s concept. It’s not an orphanage per-se, but rather a home for needy children. The place is

a refuge to local youth who need those three basic things that we, in the developed world, have come

to expect as a given. The Bethania CAS group has given extraordinary help to Bethania, which has

enhancednotonlythechildren’scurrentlifestylesbutalsoprovidedforabetterfuture.New

transport for the children expanded learning resources and new buildings, as well as financial

support, have all been provided through funding given by the Bethania CAS group and the ever-

supportive AIS community.

One of the greatest gifts given to the Bethania home has been that of education. Each year, the oldest

residents at the home have to undertake tertiary education or apprenticeships. Even more significant

is that many of these students and apprentices are female. It’s an accepted fact that when promoting

sustainable social development, educating women and raising their status are essential for progress.

Despitethis,oftenonlymalesareeducated.However,aswomenhavetheresponsibilityofteachingtheyoungergeneration;itismostimpor-

tant that they receive this education. By providing tertiary education at the home equally to both genders, the Bethania CAS group is helping

to alleviate this problem. The AIS community is currently providing college education for two students, the first Bethania residents to ever

undertake higher education.

Still, as with any ongoing aid efforts, there remains areas for improvement at the Bethania home that need to be addressed. Firstly the con-

nectingroadsareinneedofrepairastheirpresentconditionwouldmakeeventhelunarsurfacelookassmoothastheI-85.Astheseroads

areboggyduringthemonsoonandpotholedduringthedrymonths(thephotoaboveshowsthecurrentroad)makingthechildren’sjourney

toschooldifficult,theirrepairshouldbethefocusoffutureprojects.Secondlythesite’slibraryneedstoberegularlyupdatedtoensurethat

current and practical educational resources are continually on hand. Last, but not least, the general facilities and the staff need continuing

support. As Bethania serves as the one and only home for the resident children, it must maintain the clean, nurturing environment which is

the right of every child. Bethania home should be supported so these needs can continue to be fulfilled.

I have great pride in Bethania. When I visited Bethania three years ago it was an institution that, despite being successful, still needed atten-

tion from those more fortunate. Today it serves its community in an outstanding fashion, providing needy children not only a home in which

toliveandenjoytheiryoungeryears,butalsoasecurefoundationfromwhichtheycanbuildafutureasindependentadultsinsociety.With

ongoing work and support from the AIS community and the efforts of the Bethania CAS group, I can see these futures being brighter

than ever.

Globetrotter The Globetrotter is the newsletter of Atlanta International School. Letters to the Editor should be sent to:

Gordana GoudieCommunications ManagerAtlanta International School2890NorthFultonDrive•Atlanta,GA30305404.841.3879•[email protected]

Submissions may be edited for length or content prior to publishing.

Visit us on the web at www.aischool.org

Mission Our new century needs and will be shaped by extraordinary individuals. Meeting the challenges and opportunities of an interde-pendent world will require versatile intellectual competence and uncompromising commitment. Those who thrive in and contribute to this world will have a solid sense of who they are, and respect for who others are, as individuals, as members of a group, as citizens of their nation, and as members of a global community. They will have a rigorous academic preparation and a passion to become the best they can be and to help others achieve their best. The mission of Atlanta International School is to develop such individuals.

Asian New Year Celebration

Black History Month

Middle School Production of “Pinocchio”

2009 Spring Globetrotter

Documents

Transcript of 2009 Spring Globetrotter