ACS-Ethos 8

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Fall 2010 ñ Volume 5 ñ Issue 1 Cover stories: Interactive Mathematical Investigations & Write On! Student Leaders: TEDxYouth@ACSAthens Student Speakers - November 20th Pedagogy in Action: The IB Retreat Trip Community Connections: Innovation, Collaboration and Bridging the Transition from High School to University Engineering Critical Thinking for the 21st Century Engineering Critical Thinking for the 21st Century Alumni Affairs ñ Staff Development ñ Community Connections ñ Smiles around Campus

Transcript of ACS-Ethos 8

Page 1: ACS-Ethos 8

Fall 2010 ñ Volume 5 ñ Issue 1

Cover stories:Interactive MathematicalInvestigations & WriteOn!

Student Leaders:TEDxYouth@ACSAthensStudent Speakers -November 20th

Pedagogy in Action:The IB Retreat Trip

CommunityConnections:Innovation, Collaborationand Bridging theTransition from HighSchool to University

Engineering Critical Thinking for the 21st Century

Engineering Critical Thinking for the 21st Century

Alumni Affairs ñ Staff Development ñ Community Connections ñ Smiles around Campus

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Our MissionACS Athens is a student-centered

international school, embracing American

educational philosophy, principles and values.

Through excellence in teaching

and diverse educational experiences, ACS Athens

challenges all students to realize their unique

potential: academically, intellectually,

socially and ethically – to thrive as responsible

global citizens.

Publisher: ACS Athens. Editor-in-Chief: Desiree Michael. Production team: John Papadakis, Marianna Savvas, Stacy Filippou. Contributors: ACS Athens Faculty, Staff, Students, Parents and Alumni. Art Direction, Design & Printing: Multimedia SA. Cover Design & Concept: Dot Repro SA. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine (text or images) may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher.

About the Cover and our ACS Athens Alumnus: In accordance with our theme of ‘Engineering Critical Thinking,’ the image of an active mind was chosen for the cov-

er of this Ethos _ The Arrangement of Guests by James M. Lane.

"Arrangement of Guests" is a combination of hand drawing, photography and digital processing. On one level it depicts the human central nervous system as a bewil-

dering yet aesthetically pleasing entanglement with no end or beginning. Numerous dynamic meandrous lines perplex and puzzle in contrast to a few simple tonal vari-

ations and transparencies that paradoxically manage to disambiguate the whole by suggesting the human form.

Line and tonality compliment and inform each other reflecting other pairs of opposites such as the abstract/ figurative, artificial/organic, logic/emotion and even IQ/EQ.

The mathematical perplexity that is suggested by a circuitous linear construct would remain flat, inert and meaningless, if it wasn't for a few mentally perceived lines that

breathe life to the whole, placing it within the boundaries of the human sphere.

In engineering the idea of design without the application of science would be implausible. In art the idea of design without the element of human conjecture would

be unimaginable.

James M. Lane was born in Athens, but lived in the US during the late 80s’ and early 90’s. He studied photography at Parsons School of Design in New York and Ecole

Parsons in Paris, France. He has presented his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Athens, New York, Paris, Madrid, Seoul and St. Petersburg. He taught art

and literature at ACS Athens in the late 60’s. James works with multi-media such as video and audio installations, computer imaging, and photography. James lives and

works in Athens, Greece and his wife and son are both members of the ACS Athens Community.

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L E T T E R S

"Sexy!"…is usually not a word or phrase used to describe educa-

tion or anything related to it. However, it is used to describe cars.

And one day, while surfing the Net to find a website that embodied

the innovation, class and engineering design that I see in ACS Athens,

I stumbled upon porsche.gr and found their latest concept car--the

Porsche 918 Spyder…that is sexy.

For a ‘machine’ person like me--who got out of my parents’ car

at age 14 when they stopped at a gas station off of the Munich Au-

tobahn and who got down on my hands and knees and looked un-

der the body of a Mercedes Benz and declared, "That is a car!"--in-

telligent design in engineering is a must. As an American teen watch-

ing cars drive at top speeds of 120 miles per hour and glide over

bumps without a rattled…that experience sealed my allegiance to

excellence in engineering.

So, what do sexiness and engineering have to do with education

and ACS Athens? In my eyes, the sexy 918 Spyder concept car is the

epitome of intelligent design in engineering and what the faculty and

staff of ACS Athens are designing in educational concepts is the

equivalent in the world of education. The same terms Porsche uses

to describe its concept and those who built it are the same terms

that describe the current direction at ACS Athens.

Porsche understands that excellence in design is about the future.

It’s about performance. It’s about innovative intelligence. It’s about

making concepts real. It’s about improving on the past. Porsche could

not have said it better, "We don't have to win. We just have to get

moving--forward." Our president, Dr. Gialamas, clearly sees the

needed direction of education for which he has delineate the next

five-year road map (outlined in the last edition of Ethos www.

http://www.acs.gr/ethos-magazine/2010/7/2/volume-4-issue-2.html).

Besides sharing identical verbiage, the second correlation to ACS

Athens and the development of the 918 Spyder is that our president

and our ACS Athens community realize that, "Without the intelli-

gence of our engineers, there is no performance." Therefore, this is-

sue of Ethos is dedicated to the engineers--our faculty--who engineer

innovation, who engineer critical thinking, who engineer content and

who, most of all, engineer the future opportunities of our students.

Through "clever execution" ACS Athens is putting forth a "bold

plan" for innovation in education. In this issue, you can read about

faculty who are designing educational opportunities through global

blogging (Penny Kynigou, 5th Grade) and mathematics (Tamyra

Walker, ES Mathematics Specialist); new faculty who come with fresh

new ideas; alumni who are returning to speak on stage with ACS stu-

dent speakers through programs offered by the ACS Athens Institute

for Innovation and Critical Thinking (TEDxYouthDay); off-campus

learning opportunities (Freshman Connection, IB Retreat & Journal-

ism in Palestine); university-level courses designed by Dr. Gialamas,

Steve Medeiros, Peggy Pelonis and others (Bridging the gap to Uni-

versity); and finally, the training of faculty members who travel

abroad (Nice, France) and who offer international training to local

and international educators (ACS Athens’ Annual Learning Differ-

ences Conference).

So, I’m sorry, but when I look under the bodies and hoods of

schools and see the innovative excellence that I see at ACS Athens,

I may not say, "That’s a car," but I can say, "That’s a school and it’s

sexy!" ACS Athens is truly Engineering Thought for the 21st Centu-

ry, as so intelligently depicted on the cover of this Ethos by very our

own ACS Athens alumnus, James M. Lane.

Enjoy the intellectual ride!

Letter from theEditor

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Word from our President

Engineering Education at its best: ACS Athens President, Dr. Gialamas, currently teaches two mathematics courses at ACS Athens-

the Heart of Mathematics and Knot Theory. The courses are designed for higher-level learning. They are also the ‘next-step’ cours-

es that will help define the ACS Athens authentic diploma.

However, following his vision to engineer innovative learning opportunities for all students, Dr. Gialamas provided us with a copy

of one of his most recent papers in which he and others outlined a step-by-step sample of how teachers can take university-level sci-

entific data and turn it into effective high-school cross-curricular content. The paper can be found in its entirety online under Dr. Gi-

alamas’ publications http://www.acs.gr/publications/.

Abour H. Cherif1, Gerald E. Adams2, David Morabito3,

Robert Aron1,

Jeremy Dunning4, and Stefanos Gialamas5

1DeVry University, Downers Grove, IL, USA

[email protected] , [email protected]

2Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

[email protected]

3DeVry University, Pomona, CA, USA [email protected]

4Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

[email protected]

5American Community Schools of Athens, Athens, Greece

[email protected]

Abstract

The recent missions to Mars have produced a

mass of data and information in all forms and have

forced the minds of many people world-wide to

rethink their own perspectives on life itself. This

drama unfolding about 35 million miles from

Earth, and digitally on our TV screens, is offering a

growing reservoir for teachable moments. The cu-

riosity and wonder of every image received

prompts innumerable opportunities for inquiry. In

this paper we share some of our ideas on how to

bring into the classroom these exciting resources

emanating from the Red Planet. Opportunities to

reflect on myth and hypothesize about possibilities

are obvious places to start when teaching about

the potential of life on Mars.

The explosion of resources and information

(previously unavailable) from recent explorations

of Mars stimulates students to examine further the

environment around them. We share some of the

activities we have been using in our classrooms to

motivate readers to develop their own ideas on

how to take advantage of the Mars missions for

their classrooms. We offer strategies to create au-

thentic learning experiences to engage students. In

addition, we intend the activity to inspire teachers

to use other contemporary teachable moments

that may capture the imagination of their students

as they discover science. Whether you are teach-

ing topics related to desertification or deforesta-

tion, design and technology, or space travel or col-

onization, to name a few, the planet Mars and the

recent missions to its environment will become

part of your continually expanding resources in

teaching science.

Helping teachers develop ways to utilize and

capitalize on emerging scientific data as it material-

izes is very useful. The learning activities we de-

scribe and discuss in this paper integrate some of

the recently available photographs from Mars (in-

cluding some from the Mars Rover missions) to

pose thought-provoking questions that are envi-

ronmental and geological in nature. It is our partic-

ular goal to use this and similar activities to dispel a

couple of pervasive misconceptions that we have

observed, and that some students (and the gener-

al public) might still hold about science and the en-

vironment. In one of these misconceptions, science

is perceived as static and thus answers can be

found in textbooks and memorized in order to

learn science.

Another misconception is that environmental

change happens largely or solely as a result of peo-

ple doing bad things, and that geological, and in

turn environmental, change does not happen with-

out human intervention (Berry, 2009; Cherif,

Adams, & Loehr, 2001; Chew & Laubichler, 2003;

Miller, 2005; Shuttleworth, 2009).

A Martian Invasion of Teachable Moments

for Environmental Science and Related Issues

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C O N T E N T S

Staff Development 62

Enhancing Education 9

Pedagogy in Action 41

Student Leaders 22

TEDxYouthDay 26

Community Connections 48

Alumni 55Cover Story 12

Hail and Farewell 34

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Table of ContentsOur Mission 3Editor 4Word from our President… 5Errata 7

ENHANCING EDUCATION Steve Kakaris 9

COVER STORIES 12Engineering Critical Thought in Education 12Interactive Mathematical Investigations Tamyra Walker 13Tying it All Together Sarah Kaldelli 15Mathematics Fair Ms. Falidas 15Write On! Using Social Networks Tools Penny Kynigou 16Quantitative Poem Jeff Bear 19

STUDENT LEADERS 22Leadership & Journalism at ACS Athens John Papadakis 22What’s in a book? Antonia Hapsis-Ladas 25TEDxYouth@ACSAthens/Student Speakers Carla Tanas and Desiree Michael 26Critical Thinking Needed: FACEBOOK dos and don’ts Ms. Spiliot and student authors 31National Honor Society Inductees Antonia Hapsis-Ladas 32

HAIL AND FAREWELL 34Crisscrossing the World - Travels of our Diplomatic Family 34 New Teachers 36

PEDAGOGY IN ACTION 41Freshman Connect Day at the Ranch Dimitri Pelidis 41 ACS Athens IB Retreat Natalia Kyriakopoulou 42

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS 48Innovation, Collaboration…from High School to University Steve Medeiros and Peggy Pelonis 48Arete Award Winnres 2009-2010 Ranelle McCoy 52Making a Difference Sue Protopsaltis 53NESA Virtual Science Fair 2010 Results Christina Bakoyannis 54

ALUMNI AFFAIRS Marianna Savvas 55Back to my Alma Mater Marianna Savvas/Robert Hunt 56Philadelphia Reunion Ann Lappas-Stiles 58Express Yourself with Speaking Roses Ellie Doukoudakis 59 ACS Athens Alumni Among the Stars Interview with Scott Parasyzki 60A Book Plea for Ethos John Bournazo 61

STAFF DEVELOPMENT 62ACS Athens Summer Camp Zaharo Hilentzaris 62Nice La Belle Vasiliki Klimou 63Staff Development Photos 665th Annunal Conference on Learning Difference Chris Perakis 68

SMILES AROUND CAMPUS 69

Kotixi salt lake

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E R R ATA

As magazines go, the editor often finds missing content after the fact. In an effort

to rectify the ‘after-the-fact’ findings, we have added this section of minor correc-

tions and posted the omitted articles online at: http://www.acs.gr/ethos-errata/

Ethos 7-- See link for omissions:

1. OM students on the Meaning of Leadership.

2. Matina Argeitakou--Recycling Pioneers: "The Great Green Effort?"

3. Mary Sexson--NESA Teachers’ Workshop

P.49 Brian Kelly was omitted from co-authors list of the Journalism and Democ-

racy Project

P. 64--What’s New in IT? The ‘IT Department’ should read the ‘Technology De-

partment’.

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E N H A N C I N G EDUCATION

Summer 2010 Facility ProjectsSteve Kakaris,

Director of Finance

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E N H A N C I N G EDUCATION

Summer is the time when our school renovates classrooms and offices the most.

It is also the time that we work to improve the campus appearance and overall

infrastructure.

I wish to convey the administration's thanks to my colleagues in maintenance, to

the support staff and to other administrative departments for their dedication and

work through the summer months to complete the below projects. These addi-

tional annual projects are completed on top of 200 maintenance requests for

painting, repairing and cleaning.

1. The renovation of our Preschool playground area and replacement of all play-

ground equipment; this area is now one of the greenest and most beautiful areas

on campus.

2. The triple increase in size of the school's front yard green grass area and in-

stallment of an automated watering system.

3. The building and furnishing of a new First Grade classroom in the Elementary

building, in time for the record increase in this grade’s student body.

4. The complete renovation of all the Academy bathrooms per students’ requests.

5. The purchase and coding of about 25,000 Euros worth of new books for the

school libraries; this came from a generous donation from our own Parent

Teacher Organization, (PTO), who every year sponsors and assists the school to

complete a great project.

6. The purchase and installment of thirty new computer and interactive board sys-

tems.

7. The purchase of new microscopes for our labs.

8. The replacement of many older furnishings and classroom curtains.

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Finally, we extend our gratitude to the architect Mrs. Paulin Apostolides, an

ACS Athens parent, who again volunteered her services to help us with the

design and implementation for some of the above projects.

Steve Kakaris

Director of Finance

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C O V E R story

Engineering Critical Thinking for the 21st Century

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Interactive Mathematical Investigations in the Elementary Math Classroom

Tamyra Walker,

Elementary Math Specialist

According to the Partnership for 21st century skills, the four Cs of essen-

tial 21st century skills include: critical thinking and problem solving; communi-

cation and collaboration; creativity and innovation. Due to the changing nature

of our world we must cultivate creative thinkers and problem solvers who are

effectively able to relay thoughts and information. As a result, the methods we

have traditionally used in our classrooms must be altered to meet the de-

mands of our new world, approaches to mathematics teaching and learning

being one of the most critical. In the past, mathematics instruction has been

rooted in the process of rote memorization, and student ability assessed by

their ability to recall and successfully apply an equation or a rule. As I think

back on my math experiences, this cycle of memorization and application was

usually pretty easy for me because I was naturally adept at mathematics. How-

ever, when I talk to many adults, including parents, I find that many are intim-

idated by math and struggled with math during their formative years. As a

math instructor, it is my goal to alleviate these struggles by creating cognitive

pathways that deepen student understanding. Deepened conceptual under-

standing in turn facilitates a more intuitive and creative approach to mathe-

matical problem solving.

One of the most essential components of developing this level of quanti-

tative reasoning is through collaborative problem solving. Simply put, students

work together to solve problems. Collaborative grouping is a widely used

methodology, but the measure of its effectiveness lies in how a task is engi-

neered and the learning goals that are accomplished by the task. In order to

facilitate critical thinking and quantitative reasoning skills, the emphasis of

group problem solving must be on the process rather than on the solution.

This depth of exploration must be present in math classrooms as early as pos-

sible. Students as young as kindergarten should be able to justify solutions to

math problems through models and verbal descriptions.

In my classroom, my students work collaboratively almost daily. We be-

gin our lesson cycle with manipulative oriented investigations that build on

student’s prior knowledge. I then use these explorations as a common expe-

rience to draw from as I further explain concepts and processes. After the ex-

planation of the concepts, students are asked to work in groups or in partners

to further investigate a concept through problem based application. Once the

student groups have completed their investigation, student groups switch

work and use essential questions to critique another group’s representation of

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C O V E R story

the problem solving process. To conclude the cycle, I facilitate a class discus-

sion that results in a whole group representation of the problem solving

process.

An inquiry based approach to mathematics teaching and learning allows

students to learn on the diagonal by developing computational skills and quan-

titative reasoning skills simultaneously. When implemented appropriately, this

process also effectively differentiates. The computational skills are embedded

in the problem solving process for those students who still need skill rein-

forcement. Having the students use models to represent quantities uses the

power of visualization to create concrete relationship between numbers. By

collaborating, students get to hear the thinking of others and evaluate their

own thinking. Students also experience new perspectives, and discover multi-

ple methods of arriving at the same solution which may serve as an opportu-

nity for extension for higher functioning students. Collaboration also teaches

students to compromise in order to construct one cohesive representation

that reflects the group’s perspective. Student’s communication skills are also

strengthened through the written and oral justifications shared during the re-

flection phase of the process.

This reflection phase is perhaps the most important component of the

process. As a result, facilitation of math discussions must be goal oriented in

approach. Math discussions have to make student thinking transparent. The

purpose is not to solely prompt a correct solution, but to reveal misconcep-

tions and address them as a group. Other purposes of a math discussion are

to explore a concept at the appropriate depth of knowledge, to assess what

knowledge and information the students already know, and what instruction-

al gaps must be addressed. All of the above mentioned goals can be accom-

plished through the use of effective questioning techniques that probe student

response beneath its surface. I also facilitate discourse amongst students by

making them take a stance on a solution or a response and justify that stance

(i.e. Do you agree? Why or why not?). It is also of central importance to cul-

tivate a learning environment that not only encourages students to share what

they know, but also encourages them to request further clarification on things

they don’t know.

At times, the inquiry based model of instruction is not always the easiest

to employ, but the pay –off is student growth and development in their math-

ematical reasoning skills. Slowly but surely students begin to approach prob-

lems creatively, and express their solutions with sophisticated content related

vocabulary and sound logic. As the year progresses, we will create video jour-

nals of our processes so they can witness and celebrate their growth and

mathematical innovations. I also look forward to witnessing their pride and the

increase in confidence that knowledge affords. These successes are at the

helm of our collective advancement as 21st century mathematical investiga-

tors. They are what drive the practice of encouraging students to dig deeper

into math concepts and processes.

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Innovation in teaching not only incorporates current methods, and the latest tech-

nology in our classrooms, it is also the knowledge and ability to guide students toward

understanding how subjects taught in our classes connect to the world around us. At

times we must teach skills in isolation; this is vitally important for children. Through these

skills they will be able to succeed not only in school, but in their future workforce as

well. Innovation begins when we empower our children to understand the links between

concepts, how one event leads to so many others. The time-old ‘ripple effect’ can be

used as a teaching innovation, because through understanding, students (and later

adults) will be able to discern why their personal actions may affect global conditions,

why an event from the past can have such profound implications in the present and fu-

ture, and why one field or discipline has repercussions on others. Growing up, we were

not all taught to see these relationships, minds were not consistently trained to do so.

People have to make an effort to see global connections and to understand why certain

minor factors influence and lead to major events. Do students understand the ramifica-

tions of the mine collapse in Chile for other nations? Do they understand the effects of

new energy sources, or the gargantuan repercussions of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mex-

ico? The oil spill, for example, is not limited to disaster in the environmental arena but

demands attention from manufacturers, fishermen, laborers, oceanographers, social sci-

entists, counselors, teachers, economists and leaders of nations to name a few.

During instruction, we must allow time and opportunities for discussion and explo-

ration of these links and chains. At our school, we have the luxury of technology and re-

sources. These will permit us to construct ideas that explain and justify consequences

and repercussions. We must facilitate these discussions so students can share their own

personal experiences, cultural backgrounds and perceptions. In our international class-

rooms we can begin to understand and connect ideas. We must never forget that our

students, from a young age, already carry infinite experiences, abilities and perceptions;

pooling these experiences and using them in our lessons will assist us in expanding hori-

zons (our own included) and examining our similarities and differences.

Innovation in teaching needs not be limited to "new" methods, "modern" tools, and

"recent" research. Innovative teaching should rely on student thinking, so that these

young community members use their minds to comprehend the vastness of our world,

the severity of our actions and the seriousness of decisions. This understanding will guide

us toward grasping a part of our personal purpose and place in the world.

Tying it all together… Sarah Kaldelli and Lia Sinouri,

Elementary Optimal Match Program

Mathematics Fair: A summer celebration at ACS AthensMs. Falidas,

Academy Mathematics Teacher

On June 25 and 26th of 2010, the Mathematics Literature Club of ACS Athens

& ICCT hosted the Math Literature Fair organized by Thales and Friends, a non-

profit organization that aims in building the chasm between Mathematics and oth-

er cultural forms.

Fifteen schools from Greece and Cyprus participated in the fair with the sole pur-

pose of sharing their experiences as members of a book club that focused on

mathematical fiction. Elementary, Middle and High school students performed

on the theater stage plays, songs, short films and documentaries relating to the

mathematical ideas of their literature readings, the mathematicians they met from

the books and their feelings negative and positive towards Mathematics. Euclid,

Pythagoras, Thales, Fermat, Fibonacci, Gauss, Galois, Gödel, Hilbert and many

more mathematicians of all times were awoken in student scripts, PowerPoint

presentations and a gallery of posters and artwork in the atrium.

Tefcros Michaelides, the author of the book Pythagorean Crimes that our club

read last year and founding member of Thales and Friends met with the students

of the Mathematics Literature club and answered student questions about the

book. In his featured presentation "Devouring Cats and Single girls" he introduced

the mathematical concept of dynamical systems. His presentation was dedicated

to the memory of French novelist Denis Guedj, author of the Parrots Theorem,

who died last April.

Apostolos Doxiadis, author of Logicomix that won the 2010 Russell Society

award and was voted in the top 10 non-fiction books list of Time Magazine, in

his talk titled "How logic are comics; A stroll through the Ninth art" took us back-

stage in the making of a comic book. In a panel discussion Apostolos Doxiadis

and Monika, songwriter and performer shared ideas, passions and inspirations in

film and music with mathematics as their center.

Kostas Pelonis from the ACS Athens Mathematics Literature club has created a

poster on architectural design using famous mathematical ratios and proportions.

Anastasios Dedes and Dimitrios Dionysopoulos, presented a short documentary

inspired and composed by the Math Literature Club students summarizing the

ACS Athens Mathematics Literature club’s year long activities. The documentary

is available in Greek on the ACS website.

Special thanks to all Club members and International Baccalaureate students that

volunteered their services the days of the event.

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C O V E R story

Write On! Using social networking tools to bring a new excitement to writing class!

By Penny Kynigou, 5th grade teacher

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Imagine a bulletin board that stretches beyond the confines of the classroom!

Imagine a bulletin board visited by parents, grandparents and friends from any

corner of the globe!

Imagine a bulletin board where children post stories even during vacations!

Imagine a bulletin board where visitors leave comments for the authors!

Seems impossible? Not at all……

That figment of your imagination is actually a reality!

It's the 5thgrade writing blog: Write On!

Young writers get excited about writing when they know it will be read

by an audience, and their voice will be heard and responded to. In our class-

room, students share their writing with their peers and post writing on bul-

letin boards in the hallway. Our new blog offers the chance to share that writ-

ing beyond the four walls of the school. Students can now choose to share

the personal writing they have developed during writing workshop time in my

classroom by submitting it for publication on the blog. Getting feedback from

the comments of the students, parents, grandparents, other teachers and

friends is a big motivator!

What kinds of comments are appropriate? As the blog is designed as a

learning tool, comments need to be ones which help students grow as writers:

specific comments that identify "what works" in a piece of writing. In reading

class, 5th graders focus on identifying examples of author's craft in the class nov-

els we read together. They learn to identify powerful descriptive language, vivid

verbs, similes and metaphors, characterization, dialogue, etc. etc. Students then

learn to constructively criticize both their own written work and their peers’,

and are trained to write feedback on what works in a specific piece of writing.

Students write a similar style of comment for the blog, and all comments are

moderated by the teacher.

Any reader of the blog can comment on any story at any time. Imagine

the buzz when one day a student came in to class thrilled with excitement

that the Elementary School Principal had commented on his story the previ-

ous night!

"... and later this morning we'll have writing workshop time!"

Everyone cheers!

Writing workshop has been one of our most popular activities this year

and became a regular feature of the 5thgrade classroom. Rather than writing

exclusively to assigned topics, students have the opportunity to develop writ-

ing on topics that they choose themselves. They learn to develop topic lists,

and explore writing in many different forms. They have the chance to confer-

ence individually with teachers or peers, and to revise and improve their writ-

ing.

By 5th grade, many students are ready and eager to tackle longer writing pro-

jects, and many sustain long stories over multiple chapters. Several of these have

been published to the blog episode by episode, each ending with a cliffhanger and

the ominous words," to be continued... " Some stories have gained quite a fol-

lowing of readers, all eager for the next part! For these writers, writing has be-

come a self-sustaining activity; they write for the joy of communication and are

well on the way to becoming lifelong writers.

Write On! The 5th grade writing blog is accessible by invitation only, but if you

would like an invitation to view the blog please send an e-mail to [email protected].

Our students love comments, so don't forget to add yours!

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C O V E R story

Quantitative PoemJeff Bear,

Middle School Art

Math

gives

us this

neat verse form

via Greg Pincus,

‘tis a Fibonacci sequence:

each

line

has as

many sibs

as both lines before

this line now needs eight syllables!

One

by

Jeff Bear,

"Arcuda"

(the preferred pen name)

of this ACS art teacher.

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20

STUDENTleaders

ACS Athens students traveled for 6 days to Israel and Palestine on May 23rd

– 27th, 2010 motivated by the overwhelming response of the community to a

mini-documentary on the Israeli/Palestinian Struggle produced in cooperation

with Newscoop - a media organization based in the U.S. - in 2009. Dr. Stefanos

Gialamas (President of ACS Athens), John Papadakis (Director of Communi-

cations, Technology & Enrollment and a student advisor for the project), and

parents Sophia Hilentzaris and Eric Sharp, accompanied four students, two of

which had participated in the production of the documentary. Eleventh

Graders, Zacharo Gialamas, Thornbern Alexander Klingert, Ilyana Kotinis and

Anastasi Sharp visited schools and universities in the Israeli and Palestinian ter-

ritories, talked to local students about their lives, their view of the conflict, their

hopes and expectations for the future, and collected more than 15 hours of

video material and 1500 photographs for the creation of a follow-up docu-

mentary – journal. The new production will be ready during the new school

year 2010-11, as part of the new Leadership & Journalism program of ACS

Athens.

Leadership & Journalism at ACS Athens: Peace and Co-existence in the Middle East through the eyes of students

John Papadakis,

Director of Enrollment,

Communications and Technology

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Some of the places the ACS Athens group visited included: Al Quds Uni-

versity in East Jerusalem, the Old City of Jerusalem, the Holocaust History

Memorial – Yad VaShem, Qurtuba School in Hebron, the Evangelical Lutheran

School in Beit Sahour, a Lutheran School in Talitha Kumi and a Jewish Ortho-

dox School in West Jerusalem. The group also had the chance to tour many

of the cultural and religious monuments in Jerusalem and experience the mul-

ti-cultural and multi-religious mosaic of modern Israel, while they visited the

city of Jericho, the so-called most ancient city of the world, and the Dead Sea,

a lake lying at the lowest point on earth (1300 meters below sea level).

Students met with Dr. Gershon Baskin and Mr. Hanna Siniora (co-directors

of the Israeli-Palestinian Center for Research and Information IPCRI) – dis-

cussing the perspectives for negotiations and the peace process as it stands

now and the importance of Jerusalem in the negotiations. IPCRI is a joint insti-

tution of Israelis and Palestinians dedicated to the resolution of the Israeli-

Palestinian conflict on the basis of "two-states for two peoples" solution. Dr.

Baskin – who contributes weekly political op-eds to the Jerusalem Post – holds

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STUDENTleaders

an MA and a PhD. in International Affairs and has long been active in the Is-

raeli-Arab peace process. Mr. Siniora, a distinguished writer and publisher, is

Chairman of East Jerusalem Development Corporation and a Member of the

Palestinian National Council (PNC).

Students had a rare opportunity to meet with Mr. Yitzhak Frankenthal, an or-

thodox Jewish businessman, who has focused his energies on public activities

aiming to foster reconciliation, tolerance and peace, after his son was kid-

napped and killed by Hamas in 1994. Mr. Frankenthal established the "Parents

Circle - Families Forum" - an organization of over 500 bereaved Israeli and

Palestinian families sharing a common sentiment: "If we, who have lost our dear

ones, do not seek revenge and hatred but reconciliation - so can anyone." Late-

ly Mr. Frankenthal has created the Arik Institute for Reconciliation Tolerance &

Peace, named after his son.

During all meetings, ACS Athens students admitted gaining tremendous in-

sight and perspective on one of the most contested, researched and debated

issues of human history. Walking through the narrow corridors of the old city

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of Jerusalem, visiting ancient proto-Christian and Byzantine churches, and local

Jewish monuments like the Tomb of King David, the group took advantage of

this rare opportunity that their voluntary school program offered as creativity

met critical thinking and the thirst for learning. At ACS Athens, students are

tackling today’s contemporary problems and current events through the cre-

ation of short documentaries and news pieces. Over the last year, Newscoop

partnered with ACS Athens to establish and refine a strong model of news re-

search and production. ACS Athens organized a Newscoop Club, and their

students chose the very challenging issue of the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle for

their first news report. The intention of this partnership was to revolutionize

the way students access and share news-related information. The documentary

is created 100% from the ground up, with the students researching, writing

scripts, filming and editing video.

The documentary, which debuted for the first time at the NESA Leadership

Conference in Athens in 2009, received positive acclaim from the public which

included political figures and Ambassadors, among them the Ambassadors of

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STUDENTleaders

the U.S. and Lebanon in Greece. The documentary was designed to showcase

the ACS Athens students’ work on a project that offered them a great oppor-

tunity to explore and learn about a highly contested issue by researching, writ-

ing and producing a video documentary piece aimed at portraying a fair and

unbiased view of the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle (www.vimeo.com/9064384).

ACS Athens students managed to collect valuable material for the creation

of a follow-up documentary from their trip and stated that it was a life time ex-

perience! Dr. Stefanos Gialamas, President of ACS Athens, in one of his inter-

views, commented: "When young people attempt to explore such controver-

sial issues and we support them on that, the results are always positive. I be-

lieve we should allow young minds to be creative and give them more oppor-

tunities to build a safer world." Mr. John Papadakis, Director of Enrollment,

Communications and Technology, commented: "What we wanted to do was

to urge students to explore this topic via extensive research and I believe we

succeeded."

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Fund-Raiser: from November 1 until

December 15, 2010.

ACS ninth grader, Max Ginnis,

read Three Cups of Tea by Greg

Mortensen in the summer and de-

cided to undertake this initiative as a

service learning project. Pennies for

Peace is a program of the Central

Asia Institute (CAI), founded by

Greg Mortenson. CAI is a registered

nonprofit organization that pro-

motes and provides community-

based education and literacy pro-

grams, especially for girls, in remote

mountain regions of Central Asia.

Founded in 1996, CAI has built near-

ly 100 schools in Afghanistan and

Pakistan, which serve more than

28,000 students, over 14,000 of whom are girls.

How can a penny bring peace? It doesn’t buy much in Athens. Howev-

er, in the villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan, a penny can buy a pencil,

start an education, and transform a life…thank you Max for initiating

change from a local starting point ACS Athens. Join us in supporting the

global efforts of our students.

What’s in a book?

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TEDxYouthDay

TEDxYouth@ACSAthens: ‘Honoring the Idea’

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED (Technology Entertainment and

Design) has created a program called TEDx. TEDx programs are local, self-or-

ganized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. The

'x'=independently organized TED event.

At 11AM on Saturday, November 20th, ACS Athens will host their first

TEDx event--TEDxYouth@ACSAthens--in acknowledgment of Universal Chil-

dren’s Day. In effort to recognize the rights of children internationally, in 1954,

the United Nations’ General Assembly declared November 20th as a day "of

worldwide fraternity and understanding between children." The creators of

TEDx have designed an interconnected web of over 54 organizations dedicat-

ed to uniting children on a global scale through modern technology and the co-

ordinated effort of endless volunteers who believe in children. It is called

TEDxYouthDay.

The Director of the ACS Athens Institute of Innovation and Creative

Thinking (the hosting entity of TEDxYouth@ACSAthens), Steve Medeiros

once envisioned the ACS Athens theater serving as a place for the school com-

munity to meet and speak about ideas that invoke critical thinking. Thus, in

combining his idea and the TEDx philosophy, curators of the ACS Athens

TEDxYouthDay event, Desiree Michael and Carla Tanas, decided to honor the

ideas of students for the school’s first TEDx event: The theme of Saturday,

November 20th is "Honoring the Idea." We have included a collection of what

inspired the ideas of our student speakers. Enjoy!

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The reason I chose to pursue this idea is because in Greece we are surround-

ed by the Greek Orthodox religion and by iconolatry specifically. Whenever I en-

ter a Greek Orthodox Church during a service I often see people wearing Disney

brand-name clothing standing right beside the icons. My presentation questions

whether Walt Disney wanted us to establish a deeper relationship with his ‘icons’

than the icons suggest.

I am glad that I have the opportunity to present my thoughts to my peers and

others, because it is one of the few speaking activities at our school where you

can truly be alone with your idea…and one billion computer screens without as

many restrictions. TED invites much more creativity to its presentations and I

hope my presentation will invite people into my mind, and allow them to hear a

story about how ideas are formed through my example. However, I do not want

to impose my ideas on anyone by any means; I regard both Byzantine icons and

cartoons equally for different reasons.

This is a concept for a Space Elevator. The reason that I have chosen to pur-

sue this idea is because the topic of building a space elevator has been in the spot-

light a lot in the past couple of years and I wish to present my idea on how such

a task could be accomplished more effectively.

I have thought of an alternative way to build such a machine--a machine which

is sure to have a very big and positive impact on our world. I am glad I have the

opportunity to present my thoughts to my peers and others because I want to

share my ideas with other people and I hope that in some way my ideas can help

advance this concept. I hope my presentation will contribute to the global think

tank that exists regarding this topic.

Dimitrios KotinisGrade 10

Isabel Aharonian

Anastasi SharpGrade 12

"Stairway to Heaven" The chain of smiling

Where Byzantine Icons and Cartoons Meet

DR. YANNI ALEXANDER LOUKISSAS WILL PRESENT: NURTURING INNOVATION / CREATING INNOVATION

Dr. Loukissas is an interdisciplinary researcher and educator working across multiple fields, including architecture, art, engineering, and an-

thropology. His work is driven by a persistent interest in how new technologies shape our social, spatial and intellectual landscapes. At

present, he is developing visualization tools for the study of human-machine relationships in complex environments, such as multi-modal

traffic systems, undersea archeology, and space exploration. He is also writing a book based on his doctoral dissertation, "Conceptions of

Design in a Culture of Simulation."

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TEDxYouthDay

The reason I chose to pursue this idea is because I am fascinated with the ex-

plosion and utility found in the interaction of mobile devices with our daily lives. I

am hoping to translate this fascinating new medium of information to the class-

room in order to facilitate the learner and teacher, and establish a stronger bond

between the student and his/her learning.

I hope my presentation will change the views educators and students have on

the centuries-old method of teaching. I hope to ignite a new paradigm to the pen-

paper methods of teaching. I am glad I have the opportunity to present my

thoughts since I believe this is something truly useful and efficient in every sense.

It allows interaction, efficiency, discovery, and most importantly, fun in the class-

room without compromising the content taught.

Our presentation summarizes the concentrated efforts of the past three years

by students of ACS

Athens to aid the village of Lepreo, Greece, which was struck by the fires of

2008. The project was headed by Ms. Vriniotis and her idea was to innovate the

traditional thinking of village redevelopment after unforeseen events. She envi-

sioned how students could be used as helpful guides and role models for the res-

idents of the village.

The reason we chose to pursue this idea is because we truly felt proud to par-

ticipate in her project as it exhibits how children can actually become resources

and offer substantial help, sometimes more efficiently than adults.

We are glad to have the opportunity to present our experiences to our

peers and others, because we believe that by showing how simple it is to help

and how much students can offer, more people will design projects like ours.

We also hope that this presentation will encourage people to think of how

lucky we are to have what we have and how fulfilling it is to share our good-

fortune with others.

The Village Project

Revolutionizing Classroom Learning:Using Tablet and Social Media Technology

Alex Stelea,Grade 11

By OrestisAdam, Gi-annaArgeitakosand NataliaBotonakis,Academy

DR. YANNI ALEXANDER LOUKISSAS WILL PRESENT: NURTURING INNOVATION / CREATING INNOVATION

Dr. Loukissas is currently a postdoctoral associate at MIT, where he works with the Laboratory for Automation, Robotics, and Society

(LARS). He has taught architectural design, visual art, computer programming, and social theory at Cornell, MIT, and the Museum School.

He also consults on projects that bring together art and technology in innovative ways. Most recently, he worked with Small Design Firm

on an art information system for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He holds a PhD and a SMArchS in Design and

Computation from MIT and a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University. He graduated from ACS Athens in 1994.

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Coming from diverse backgrounds and different schools got us thinking: "What if there were a platform

for students where different ideas from all parts of the world could be cultivated and shared? What if

there was a place where students could both share ideas to better innovate within their community and

the world at large? What if this ‘interface’ could host several activities initiated by students on an interna-

tional scale?"

This idea started as we thought of an interface that can help schools collectively fundraise during relief

efforts to help areas affected by natural disasters (i.e. floods, fires, etc…). As we examined the giant scope

of this idea, we realized the many limitations, both structural and logistic, it retains. As a result, we decid-

ed to expand its scope to make it a place where not only humanitarian relief ideas could be hosted, but

diverse ideas in general. In presenting our idea, we hope to inspire a more effective way for students to

share ideas that empower them to improve their communities and share their ideas with the world.

The reason I chose to pursue this idea is because everyone can relate to it. I

take issue with the social pressure to keep up with constantly creating "friendships"

in a digital world on internet-based social platforms.

I am really glad I have the opportunity to present my thoughts to my peers, be-

cause I think it is really important that they give greater consideration to their ac-

tions before creating a Facebook or other social-networking accounts on the in-

ternet. I hope my presentation will address the implications of a friendship in the

digital world and possibly help others to consider the issues and solutions that I

have confronted in my own digital world 'friendship' experience.

Cultivating Student Ideas in an International Context

Laith and Gaith Kalai,Grades 11 & 12

Friendship in the Digital World

Katalina Holland,Grade 11

DESIREE MICHAEL: MDG CHALLENGE (MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS)

TO BILL AND MELINDA GATES & THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY

Ms. Michael is a graduate of Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA. She received her undergraduate degree in International Relations and a

minor in Philosophy. She later went on to pursue her interest in the secular institution of public education its living role in building and

sustaining communities. She received an MAT and Administrative Certificate from John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill and Cuper-

tino, California respectively. Ms. Michael has spent eleven years in the field of education. She has taught JK-12 grade students and served

on many county and city commissions to observe the impact of policies and community development on the health of the next genera-

tion. Currently, she is serving ACS Athens as their Web Administrator and school Editor of Ethos magazine.

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S P O N S O R S

Coca-Cola and Special Olympics

Coca-Cola is a global proud sponsor of Special Olympics for more than 40 years and is getting ready to

welcome the next Special Olympics World Summer Games in Greece. This leading sporting occasion

promotes the vision of a society which is not defined by those who are excluded, but by those who

are part of it, flying the flag of perseverance and dignity.

This was also the vision of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who made possible the first Special Olympics

Summer Games in 1968 in Chicago.

It is a great honour that Greece will host the XIII Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens,

between June 25th – July 4th, with 7500 athletes from 185 countries taking part in 22 Olympic-type

events and is especially symbolic because it will be held in the country that gave birth to the Olympic ideal.

Special Olympics as a global movement gives people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to take part in sport, to integrate so-

cially and to prove themselves to society which they live, regardless of cultural, religious or other differences. This competition is a

great school of humanity, while its athletes continuously provide a lesson in determination, ability and dignity, communicating the mes-

sage that the lack of some physical skills cannot be a reason for exclusion.

Coca-Cola by supporting the Special Olympics is sending the world a message of unity and respect for difference urging people to

unite people inside and outside the stadium, inviting them to reject stereotypes and prejudice and adopt an attitude governed by the

acceptance of difference.

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31

STUDENTtips

10th Graders that Diligently & Seriously worked on this Educational Effort:

Block 1 - Alafouzos Eleni, Amis Hannah, Anastopoulou Evanthia, Apostolidis

Daphne, Apostolou George, Arafeh Suheil, Drimoussis Harry, Ginnis Max, Manticas

Nicholas, Marshall Marysia, Panou Athina, Papaconstantinou Nicolas, Papaleonardos

Dimosthenis, Petrakos Anna, Pulat Utkan, Rentumis Manolis, Schoinas Ioannis,

Siomou Christine, Souroulides Eleni, Todd Brian, Tsitsilonis Konstantinos, Tsopelas

Anastasia, Ventouris Antonis. Block 2 - Rentis Margi, Wolper Michael, Cindric Bruno,

Kotinis Dimitrios, Vlastos Delphine, Karydas Kassi, Papanikolaou Sofia, Evloyias Ted,

Sharaf Raseel, Aquarone Maryne, Kim Ji Woo, Skalkos Andriana, Morgane Copp,

Nikolaidis Konstantinos, Kavalini Anastasia Block 3 - Theodosiou Giovan, Scheunert

Alexandra, Kourassis Dimitris, Peterson Susanna, Elezoglou Dimitris, Naill Matthew,

Moffatt Jake, Verriopoulos Stephanie, Lauren Dominic, El Saleh Sobhi, Kalantzakis

Nicolas, Mitropoulos Peter, Geragidis Ermis, Seguin Maxime, Zafar Aliasha, Potami-

anos George, Politis Kostantinos, Block 6 - Xiradakis Sifis, Efstratudakis Nikos, Vla-

chos Fotis, Aharonian Marta, Papachristodoulou Elvira, Liakakou- Perrou Elli, My-

lonopoulou Veroniki, Koniali Anastasia, Barounas Sotiris, White Zach, Ismailos Mad-

dy, Papadakis Kalomira, Kavalini Maraia, Ino Lignou Block 8 - Vassiliou Evangeline,

Ghoneim Tarek, Camacho Amanda, Mertikas Panagiotis, Kyriakopoulos Peter, Anna

Nikitaki, Papadopoulos Sotiris, Katie Kyriakidou, Coliviras Selena, Ming-Fan Chen, Pan-

telis Vagionas, Alexander Menjivar, Chen Maria Wewe, Nomikou Anna

Critical Thinking Needed... before joining a social network!

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NHSinductees

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33

Abuel Basal, Nassos Anas

Al-Ajlani, Haya

Angelidis, Angelos

Apostolidis, Alexandros

Cavadias, Daphne

Fatah, Akhmad

Flari, Agapi

Georgakopoulos, Nikitas

Ghazal, Dina

Hu, Jason

Kakaris, Artemis

Kazakeas, Alexander

Kim, JooYeon

Kormpou, Maria

Kotini, Charikleia

Kyriakopoulou, Natalia

Liakakos-Perros, Angelos

Nikitakis, Georgios

Papanastasiou, Thisvi

Samad, Sara

Spassof, Lydia

Tatsina, Nefeli

Tzelalis, Irene

Vangelatou, Maria

Vontetsianos, Angelos

Zachares, Peter

Zachares, Sophia

2010-2011 National Honor Society Inductees

Our students’ achievements in the realms of Scholarship, Leadership, Community Service, and Character were honored and celebrated on Thursday, October 21, 2010,

by their induction into the National Honor Society. An honor such as this was a wonderful way for our school and community to recognize and celebrate the choices, and

sometimes the sacrifices, our students make. A heart-felt congratulates goes out to each of our students and their families.

Antonia Hapsis-Ladas, Academy Principal

(photo: top left corner)

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HAILand farewell

My Grandmother, who lived

until the astonishing age of 107,

so often asked me, "Where are

you moving to again? How far is

it from here? Do they have good

meat there?" After answering her

questions and showing her

where we were going to on a

map, she would ask the last

question that always tugged at

my heart, "And when will I see

you again?"

Growing up in a small town in

the beautiful Finger Lakes region

of upstate New York, I never

imagined living all over the world.

My fascination for other cultures

started when I was an exchange

student in Cologne, Germany in

1986. From there, I moved to

Washington, D.C. where I met

my future husband, Tsewang

Topden, who grew up in Sikkim,

a picturesque northeastern state

of India, located in the foothills of

the Himalayas. Tsewang was

then a First Secretary at the Embassy of India in Washington. We often laugh and

say that it was fate that brought us both together at a dinner party in 1988, and

since then life has been one adventure after another.

The list of adventures is too long…..Briefly, since 1992, we have lived in eight

countries, first in Kathmandu, Nepal with the breathtaking view of the snow capped

Himalayan mountains and the our visits to the ancient city of Bhaktapur. Next we

moved to Prague in the Czech Republic with the beautiful Charles Bridge, Prague

Castle and Old Town Square.

Next we went back to Delhi, In-

dia which is a bustling metropolis

that offers a mind boggling array

of energy – colors, sounds, foods,

peoples and commerce. Memo-

rable sights are Rashtrapati Bha-

van with the North and South

Blocks, the Red Fort, India Gate

and the beautiful Taj Mahal a few

hours away. Then we headed

back to Europe to Frankfurt, Ger-

many. We so enjoyed visiting the

'Wiehnachtsmarkt' (Christmas

market), walking in the forests of

the Taunus Mountains and the

trips along the River Rhine. Next

we headed east again to Vien-

tiane, Laos where we took morn-

ing walks to the golden stupa of

That Luang and relaxed near the

languid Mekong River. Then

Africa beckoned us. We spent al-

most four wonderful years in the

beautiful country of Namibia.

Namibia has limitless sunshine,

spectacular landscapes like the sand dunes of Walvis Bay, where desert meets the

Atlantic Ocean and where there is an amazing variety of wildlife especially in the

Etosha National Park with its Big Five (Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Buffalo and Rhino).

Europe has called us again as we arrived in Greece in early August. Tsewang pre-

sented his credentials as Ambassador of India to the President of Greece on Sep-

tember 16th. Greece with its rich history and welcoming people offers so much and

we are thrilled to be here!

Crisscrossing the World - Travels of our Diplomatic Family

Erindi Game Reserve, Omaruru, Namibia 2010

In the Spring Issue of Ethos (Ethos 7), we said farewell to some of our transitioning staff members. In this issue, we’d like to ex-

tend a warm welcome to some of our new hires and families from abroad. In the following pages, we have recognized their ori-

gin and what they bring to the ACS Athens community. Welcome!

Michele Topden,

parent

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35

Very often I am asked, "Do you enjoy moving so much? Is it hard for you and

your son to make new friends every few years? What has been your favorite

country?" My diplomatic and truthful answers after many years of experience are:

Moving is not easy but after a few months of settling in, each country and house

becomes home. It is hard to leave friends but quite easy to make new ones. We

have learned that being friendly and warm ourselves opens many doors and

Calden, our 14 year old son, a true 'third culture kid', thankfully, makes friends eas-

ily and is comfortable everywhere. And my favorite country? I have enjoyed living

in each and every place. Each country and culture has so much to offer and I feel

privileged to have had so many enriching experiences.

So here we are - very happy to be at ACS, a multi-cultural and international en-

vironment where children are comfortable both with their own identity and with

other nationalities. While keeping their roots, students learn to be broad minded,

tolerant and to find common ground. And when there are differences, children in-

stinctively learn to compromise and trust each other. In today’s globalized world,

perhaps these are some of the necessary prerequisites for their happy and suc-

cessful futures.

And back to the questions… In the years to come, I sense that I will be the one

asking Calden, "And when will I see you again?" I am hopeful that Calden's answer

will be, "Soon Mom, soon."

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HAILand farewell

Heike Arnold

MS German teacher

I’m a passionate teacher because

I ‘m convinced that one of the

most meaningful contributions to

society one can provide is educat-

ing children.

My challenge as a German

teacher at the ACS school is to

develop and to strengthen the

individual social competences of

my students as well as to en-

large their cultural horizon, while

approaching and learning a new

foreign language.

Ann Freeston,

MS Optimal Match

Specialist

I believe every child learns in a

different way and every child has

undiscovered gifts, talents, and

potential. I provide small group

and one-on-one instruction

while embracing the learning

styles and strengths of each stu-

dent to continuously build upon

their knowledge and skills.

Alexandria Selemidis,

Junior Kindergarten

Throughout my early years, I

started working with children in

my community. My love of help-

ing others resulted in me having

studied elementary education.

Specifically, I love watching stu-

dents learn and grow and having

the "aha" moment when the

light bulb turns on and their

faces light up.

Ioanna Lamprou

1st grade

As a teacher, I would like my

students to learn appreciation of

one another and respect to-

wards all. Having lived in three

different countries, I have come

across all ethnicities and diverse

cultures. I found my personal ex-

perience to be enlightening and

life changing. We can learn so

much from each other. Also, I

would like my students to learn

what a gift books are to our

lives. It is such a joy to open up

a book and explore new worlds.

In today's rapidly changing soci-

ety with its technological ad-

vances the traditional approach

to reading is necessary, so that

we don't lose the joy of reading.

We have a 'book hospital' in

our classroom where we nur-

ture, love and take care of torn

or damaged books. This is a skill

and a passion I would like my

students to have for life.

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37

Matina B. Argeitakou-

Stergiopoulos,

Academy English

My goal is to assist students in

developing their roles as future

leaders while fostering an enjoyable

and safe learning environment,

where all ideas can be freely

shared and the true definition of

the word, respect (both for self

and others) is embraced.

Through my challenging teach-

ing experiences of working in

low socioeconomic communities

(Bronx, New York), I’ve gained a

unique insight to the importance

of promoting confidence, posi-

tivity, and of course, a high level

of academic expectations as

pathways to success.

I am confident that through

sincere compassion and hope

for each student’s academic and

social success, the students will

acquire the desire to put the

necessary effort into their

achievements. I am elated and

profoundly proud of being en-

trusted with the education of

such wonderful individuals and

for being a member of the ACS

Athens Academy faculty.

Marla Coklas,

5th grade

My passion for teaching

comes from the outstanding

teachers I have had throughout

my life. I always remember feel-

ing safe, loved and inspired. This

is what I want my students to

feel. Without love, without feel-

ing secure enough to be who

you are and express your

thoughts in a "safe" setting, and

without inspiration, learning can-

not take place - period. My goal

has always been to be a small,

yet, important factor in my stu-

dents becoming educated indi-

viduals that inspire leadership

and be a positive force in chang-

ing the world to become a bet-

ter place. If we all work togeth-

er, this can happen one person

at a time. "It takes a village to

raise a child." (Ancient Nigerian

proverb)

Susan Ernst,

3rd Grade Teacher

It is my desire to employ

many forms of student engage-

ment within the classroom in or-

der to help students take own-

ership of their education,

whether it is through group

learning or partner work, hands-

on manipulatives or self-directed

projects.

I differentiate activities based

on student needs, enabling all

students to have meaningful

learning experiences each day.

The combination of a safe learn-

ing environment and high expec-

tations enables students to grow

as learners.

Kimberly Jones,

Elementary Art

One of my favorite aspects

about teaching art is helping stu-

dents understand that there are

no right or wrong answers in

art. In my classroom I am able

to give an entire class a ‘prob-

lem’. Every student solves the

problem in a different way and

they are all acceptable solutions.

I believe it is important to teach

students that problems can have

more than one answer and that

there are many ways to see and

interpret the world.

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38

HAILand farewell

Stacie La Grow,

Academy Counselor

My goal is to provide a com-

fortable place for students to

address personal issues, receive

academic planning in a holistic

fashion, as well as seek out in-

formation to help plan for their

future beyond ACS Athens. I

love that I have the opportunity

to affect positive change in a

student's life.

Carrie Brinkman,

Academy/MS Mathematics

My goal in teaching is to give

students opportunities to be

successful. In mathematics, I

want to assist in creating and

maintaining positive attitudes to-

wards both the subject and the

students' abilities in math. To

be able to see a student suc-

ceed and gain confidence is the

most rewarding part of teaching.

Smaragda Smirnaki ,

MS/HS Music

My goal is to teach my stu-

dents to enjoy expressing their

feelings through music. My pas-

sion for teaching comes from in-

spiring teachers of mine, and my

dedication to our mission: make

these children feel proud and

happy with their musical

achievements.

After all, it is great to see stu-

dents coming to your classroom

and writing on the board ‘I love

music’!

Jeff Kalas ,

MS Counselor

My goal is to assist students

to develop a genuine apprecia-

tion and respect for themselves,

others, and their surroundings.

This occurs through an open

sharing of ideas and a sensible

approach to social/emotional

concerns. When each student's

voice is heard, an environment is

created where students can

openly engage in meaningful dis-

cussion. I believe that students

have a greater respect for their

teachers, their administrators,

their peers, and their curriculum

when they feel safe and confi-

dent in the expectations placed

upon them.

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39

Tamyra Walker,

Elem. Math Specialist

My passion in teaching is to

decode the mystical and magical

symbology of mathematics.

Together, my students and I

roll up our sleeves and explore

math concepts with our hands,

eyes, ears and most importantly

open minds.

Edward L. Woolbert,

MS Technology

In my classes I try to create a

positive and productive learning

environment. One of my main

goals for Middle School Tech-

nology students is to teach them

how to properly and successfully

navigate through multiple soft-

ware applications. Multitasking

and group collaboration are es-

sential skills that students need

for both school and their future

work place.

Sevasti Koniossis

Academy Social Studies

Having taught all levels of So-

cial Studies, ranging from Hon-

ors to Inclusion, it is my goal to

create an educational experi-

ence which is all-inclusive and in-

corporates the talents of all stu-

dents in the learning process.

There is nothing greater than

giving students the tools to un-

derstand and be an active part

of the world they live in by in-

spiring them in the classroom!

Leigh Anderson,

Library Manager

The ACS Middle

School/Academy and Elemen-

tary School Libraries are the

heart of our school. It is a place

for all the ACS Community to

share. I hope over the next year

to enhance the book collection

and develop programs that cele-

brate poetry, music, reading and

writing: where older students

will read to younger students,

where blue grass or classical mu-

sic could play at lunchtime,

where plays could be read aloud

and movies could be shown on

a Friday afternoon. We might

have an adult book club or adult

informational sessions. I hope to

see every member of our com-

munity enjoying the book collec-

tion and activities in the library

over the next year.

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41

PEDAGOGYin action

Ninth graders headed off for a Freshman Connec-

tion Day at "The Ranch", on October 14th, to cele-

brate a day of friendship and bonding amongst the

new members of the freshman class.

The morning rain quickly subsided as students ar-

rived at the western style ranch located in Sophico,

Corinth. Students spent the day participating in team

building and athletic activities that were spread across

a lush green valley of 330 stremmata in the middle of

a pine forest. While some students preferred the

challenge of a friendly soccer, basketball or volleyball

match, others enjoyed a brisk stroll through the walk-

ing trails, a game of ping pong, touring the facilities on

a train ride, or interacting with the horses at the sta-

bles. After a lunch break at the "Saloon", the culmi-

nating activity was perhaps the most challenging of

all--lifting an enormous parachute off the ground with

precision, focus, and collaboration!

The Freshman Connection Day was part of a

greater initiative by the ACS Athens Wellness Cen-

ter to facilitate students’ transition into high school

and encourage a strong sense of connectedness to

their teachers, counselors and peers, in a natural en-

vironment away from daily academic pressures.

Freshman Connection Day at the RanchDimitri Pelidis,

College Planning

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42

PEDAGOGYin actionPh

otos

by

Laith

Kal

ai

ACS Athens’ Annual IB Retreat

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43

The IB Retreat Trip(through my – generally oblivious to the world around me – eyes) Natalie Kyriakopoulou,

Grade 11 IB Diploma

This fall, thirty-eight Year 1 IB Diploma students, accompannied by Ms. Tokatlidou, Director of IB and AP programs, Ms.

Kassem, IB chemistry teacher, Ms. Lagrow, academy counselor and Mr. Pupovac, took part in the Annual Bonding/IB

Overview conference retreat at Hotel Ilis in Ancient Olympia. The focus of this trip was to provide our students with out of

classroom learning experiences as well as opportunities for community service.

This year's trip focused on developing civic responsibility by having stu-

dents collaborate with volunteer organizations and the local forestry de-

partment plant trees in the fire-struck area of Olympia; also, students

were given an opportunity to take part in a social awareness and appre-

ciation via a visit to the Lehaina Children's Hospital; in addition to writing

workshops on extended essays for students' Theory of Knowledge (TOK)

and Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) papers, students experienced a

scientific component in which they performed soil and water tests from the

salt-lake of Kotixi. Julia Tokatlidou, Director IB&AP Programs

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PEDAGOGYin action

44

What’s the first thing you learn when you go on a

school field trip? Nothing will go according to plan. If

the hotel happens to be a good one, the program will

be messed up or – in our case – it was the weather.

Yes, I know it’s autumn; yes I know it is only normal to

rain cats and dogs in mid-October, but did it really

have to happen on our field trip? And we were all so

enthusiastic…

On the road…

No matter how many high school trips you’ll take,

the atmosphere inside the bus is unique: it has a mix-

ture of fun, and feelings of enthusiasm, happiness, im-

patience; arguments for the back seats; arguments for

the type of music to choose; and "Who ate souvlaki in-

side the bus?" It is a mosaic of pictures and words as

the bus hits the road and the teachers are desperate-

ly (and rather fruitlessly) trying to have everyone seat-

ed with seatbelts. The only clouds looming over our

excitement are those in the sky, and we’ll definitely not

let them ruin our good mood…three days away from

school and our homes, in a totally new place, and with

our friends. Our destination: Olympia, the place where

the ancient Olympic Games took place. Or let’s be

more contemporary--a place wounded deeply from

the fires in the summer of 2007. How many of us have

been there before? Not many.

Passion for Nature!

I look around me at the breakfast tables in the ho-

tel. Most of us are bleary-eyed, having forced our-

selves out of bed – and fought for the right to show-

er first – trying to make sense of the printed words

on the itinerary. So… The first thing today will be

tree planting… But what about the weather? Last

night’s clouds are still making their presence known in

the sky. Oh well…

We walk the way to the Hill of Galanis. We’re get-

ting lost on our way there; thankfully, before we get

completely out of the village. The pre-decided meet-

ing point is outside the local High School. There is

van there and the most nimble – or lucky – hop on,

hoping to avoid the rest of the walking. Grumbling

under our breath, the rest of us follow them on foot.

However, the moodiness soon disappears and the

walk turns into the perfect excuse for bonding time

and of course photos. Midway the van comes back

and we get a small break before getting down to ac-

tion.

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45

One hundred and eighty trees waiting to be put

back into the earth. We climb up and down the hill,

wary of the holes on the ground_they were ready

and waiting for us to place a new life inside them. But

they can be great traps if you don’t watch where

you’re going. As I run around carrying trees, I notice

the patters. Small groups are formed where one car-

ries the young plants and the rest place them inside

the soil. Some students wear surgery gloves. I don’t

see why. What’s the point of planting anything if you

don’t feel the life inside the soft, rich soil?

In no time we’re finished. I can’t help but smile as

we’re looking for local journalists to talk about the

experience. Usually, we’re reprimanded for speaking

Greek within the school. Yet here, we are now look-

ing for someone who can actually speak the lan-

guage. Oh, the life’s small ironies…

After lunch we return to the hotel for some "quiet

time" before the first workshop. It takes some

willpower not to fall asleep the moment I see my bed.

Soon the corridors come alive. Students are running

up and down, banging doors, grouping in different

rooms, making the so-called quiet time a rather noisy

one_but one in which our experiences are shared.

A mystery unraveled

A far more appropriate title for the first work-

shop, in my humble opinion. The extended essay is

one of the most feared requirements for the IB

Diploma, along with the CAS hours. It is a mystery

indeed. The only thing we know for sure is the four

thousand word limit. Thankfully, it is a rather infor-

mative experience. We learn more about the

process than I had actually expected. I let out a sigh

of relief. It will probably be easier than I expected to

write it.

Mirror Images

The bus is quiet as we leave the Childrenãs Hos-

pital. Of course, we had been prepared for a situa-

tion much worse than the one we saw but, I don’t

think the images will disappear anytime soon. My

friends often accuse me of acting like a mother,

mainly because I let them use me as an outlet for all

their problems and I had always defined my role as

such. I turn the music up on my mp3 and let the

lyrics carry me away: "I am a rock. I am an island. And

a rock feels no pain. And an island never cries." Then

why did I have to turn and blink a few tears away be-

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46

PEDAGOGYin actionfore smiling to these children? No matter their age I

can’t use another term to describe them. They are

children, forever trapped into their own private

world because of an accident or because they were

born this way. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have

the strength to carry on caring for these children for-

ever. I didn’t even have the strength to go on the

second and third level, where the most severe cases

are. Yet, as we leave and I look back at the building,

I can’t help to think that I’ve never seen more real

smiles than those I’ve on those children’s faces.

A lake by the sea

After a quick visit to the folklore museum at

Lehenon, where I really laughed reading some century

old newspaper headlines, we headed to the sea-water

lake at Kotixi. The people working there are producing

a delicacy much like caviar. The lake is a true marvel of

nature, with the water flowing from the sea for six

hours and then back to the sea for the next three. Our

role there isn’t to admire this phenomenon however.

We are supposed to conduct a few experiments, like

measuring the pH and conductivity of the water.

Which brings me back to my first impressions...if

something is to go wrong, it will. First my team’s calcu-

lator ran out of batteries. Then the measurements that

appeared would not stop changing, making the calcu-

lation of an average nearly impossible--not that we

were very keen on the idea to begin with. Most of us

simply wanted to rest someplace quiet. I couldn’t help

but stare longingly at the bus.

An hour-long enlightenment

Once we’re back at the hotel, everyone hurries

to their rooms. It’s marvellous how those people

who couldn’t fight yawn after yawn are now full of

energy. And the door banging begins once again.

But not for long…

On our second workshop, it’s Mr. Pupovac’s turn

to enlighten us on the secret arts of the IB Diploma.

Yesterday, it was the Extended Essay. Today, it is the

TOK one. Okay, this one seems a little harder. But

then again, philosophy was never really my thing and

reading the essay topics in front of me is an eerie re-

minder of it. And, because philosophy always fell in

the same era as the arts (Renaissance anyone?), Mr.

Pupovac wouldn’t let us go without a song. Despite

my tiredness, I inwardly smile. It’s moments like this

I’ll miss from my high-school years.

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A tribute to the past

It’s our last day here and we still have a packed

schedule. The original plan was for us to visit the ar-

chaeological museum of Ancient Olympia the day we

replanted Hill of Galanis, but the skies decided it

would be more fun to drench us on the way back to

the hotel, so the idea was promptly dropped. But to-

day the weather seems decent and we will pay our re-

spects to this hive of the ancient Greek civilization

whether we like it or not. I have no complains. There

is nothing to stress me, unlike some others who wait-

ed for the last--cough--possible--cough--moment to

complete their CAS forms. Besides – and I say this

risking to be labeled a nerd – it is fun to study history.

Hey! Why is everyone looking weirdly at me?!

Take me home, country roads…

Eli Pupovac: OK faculty

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48

COMMUNITYconnections

We asked the Director of the Institute of

Innovative and Critical Thinking, Mr. Steve

Medeiros and the Director of Student Ser-

vices, Ms. Peggy Pelonis, how are they ‘engi-

neering’ the process of helping students to

think critically so that they are prepared for

the future. They responded with their steps

to creating small sustainable experiences for

high school students to interact with college-

level professors and programs. The result?

Students are exposed to a higher-level of

learning and academic inquiry while still in

high school.

ACS Athens is committed to establishing

partnerships with North American colleges

and universities in an on-going effort to bridge

the gap between the high school and college

experiences for our students; thus, we are en-

gineering a platform for higher learning.

In the past four years ACS Athens – the

Office of Student Services and the Institute

for Innovation and Creativity have worked to

establish a variety of partnerships and univer-

sity collaborations.

The first order of business has been sim-

ply to reach out to university admissions offi-

cers to introduce them to the ACS Athens

program and our holistic, meaningful and har-

monious approach to teaching and learning.

To this end, Dr. Stefanos Gialamas, ACS

Athens President; Ms. Peggy Pelonis, Director

of Student Services; Mr. Steve Medeiros, Di-

rector of the Institute; and Ms. Chris Perakis,

Director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation

Learning Center – along with members of

the counseling staff – have met personally

with over 150 admissions officers.

Together, we have established relation-

ships to help us promote our students and

create individual foundations for further col-

laborative endeavors: From 2006-2008, we

have brought universities to our campus for

three summer learning institutes projects:

Professors from Tufts University, Williams

College and York University, working with

Innovation, Collaboration and Bridging the Transition from High School to University

Steve Medeiros, Director Institute

for Innovation and Creativity,

Peggy Pelonis, Director of Student Services

Mr. Steve Medeiros, Director of the Institute

ACS Athens Summer Leadership Institute Students

ACS Athens Students

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49

members of the ACS Athens faculty led in-

tensive, interdisciplinary and project-based

classes over a two-week period.

The courses were offered to talented

ACS Athens students in International Rela-

tions, Mathematics, and Creativity and The-

ater.

Taking advantage of the historical and cul-

tural sites of Greece, the summer programs

were exceptional learning and growth expe-

riences for the student participants, who ex-

celled in the university-level courses.

These collaborations were also a growth

experience for the ACS Athens and universi-

ty faculty who taught the students.

Reflecting on the results of our summer

learning institute, we next sought to expand it.

We offered students the opportunity not on-

ly to do university level work, but to experi-

ence college life and US culture first-hand.

Thus, was born our partnership with the

Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the

University of Richmond. Working with Jep-

son Dean, Dr. Sandra Peart; Director of In-

ternational Education, Dr. Iualana Gabara; and

Professor Thomas Wren, we created the

Summer Leadership Institute.

The summer institute reversed the

process of the universities coming to ACS

Athens and instead, now takes the students

to the university environment and culture in

which they will study. The program includes:

1. One week of study in Athens

Led by Dr. Gialamas, Steve Medeiros and

Peggy Pelonis

2. One week of university classes and

field study in the surrounding area of the Uni-

versity of Richmond

Led by Dr. Wren, Mr. Medeiros, Mr. Kel-

ly (former ACS Athens Academy Principal)

and faculty member, Mr. Pupovac (see pho-

to gallery of students online: http://jepson.

smugmug.com/Other/jepson-athens/)

3. One week of field study in Washing-

ton, D.C.

We have concluded two successful Sum-

mer Leadership Institutes and look forward

to the third in 2011. We are currently in ne-

gotiations with Dodge School of Film Studies

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50

COMMUNITYconnectionsat Chapman University in California to estab-

lish a second summer program, modeled on

the University of Richmond prototype, focus-

ing on the theme of mass media, film and TV

production.

Building on our desire to provide stu-

dents with as much information about the

experiences of university life, we have also es-

tablished a successful program of week-long

college/university visits to the US (involving

13 Boston-area schools) and to the UK (in-

volving 12 London areas schools). Led by

ACS Athens faculty, these visits give student

participants the opportunity to become ac-

quainted with the institutions first hand by

meeting with admissions officers, touring

campuses, meeting with students (ACS

Athens alumni whenever possible) and at-

tending classes. As they debrief the visits with

the tour leaders, students come to under-

stand the myriad elements that make particu-

lar schools a "good fit" for their abilities, tal-

ents, interests and personalities.

Pushing ahead with our commitment to

leading innovation in education, ACS Athens

has embarked this year on yet another av-

enue of collaboration designed to bridge the

gap. With firm belief in the quality of our ed-

ucational program, we have reached out to

selected US colleges and universities by ask-

ing them to enter into agreements with us

that specify exactly the university credit that

students can earn for work completed at

ACS Athens. While US institutions generally

award credit for successful completion of AP

and IB courses, we are asking them to take a

look at four authentic, interdisciplinary ACS

Athens-developed courses:

ñHumanities

ñLeadership Studies

ñThe Heart of Mathematics

ñKnot Theory

These four courses are of equal academic

caliber, with an eye towards awarding our

students university credit for work done in

these classes. This decision is in line with our

firm commitment to providing choices and al-

ternatives for our students, allowing them to

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51

build the best program that meets their indi-

vidual academic and intellectual needs.

Our proposal challenges the institutions we

approach to look at our program in a more

holistic way and outside of the limits of tradi-

tional categories. It is also a challenge to our-

selves to understand that there are many

routes to excellence: We have the capability

and creativity to draw on our own traditions

and new knowledge and experiences in an

effort to develop programs that cross discipli-

nary boundaries and lead our students to

think in sophisticated, creative and analytical

ways.

To date, we have concluded our first agree-

ment with the University of Mary Washing-

ton and are in the final stages of negotiations

with the University of Richmond. We are in

the initial stages of discussions with 10 addi-

tional colleges and universities, and our goal is

to establish a portfolio of brochures outlining

our agreements with 25-30 colleges and uni-

versities, which will serve as an invaluable

source of information for our Academy stu-

dents as they plan for university study and

navigate the application process.

During negotiations with university offi-

cials – admissions officers, members of regis-

trars’ and provosts’ offices, deans and presi-

dent’s office staff -- we have the opportunity

to describe and explain the ACS Athens pro-

gram in depth. This information provides

them with a rich context and deep under-

standing of our students’ educational experi-

ences when they are reviewing our students’

applications for admissions. This advantage

may be even more important than the credit

that students may earn.

These innovative agreements provide our

students with added confidence in their

knowledge and in our school programs: an in-

valuable and empowering attitude that gives

them the confidence to engineer their own

choices and design their own abilities to suc-

ceed in the next phase of their academic ca-

reers.

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52

COMMUNITYconnections

The ACS Areté Award for Civic Responsibility, launched by the Social Stud-

ies department in 2008-2009, pays tribute to members of the ACS community

for embodying the spirit of areté and civic responsibility; demonstrating extraor-

dinary initiative to serve others; striving socially and ethically as healthy, responsi-

ble members of the community; modeling service at ACS and/or in the local com-

munity; and inspiring others to become involved. In turn, it is hoped that this

recognition will inspire others to rise up and become more involved in their com-

munity. To receive the award, a person must be nominated by a student, teacher,

or parent and a special committee reviews these nominations and decides on the

finalists. This year, an elementary student was not nominated, but we hope to get

nominations for the next school year. Let us celebrate the following 2009-2010

winners:

Middle School StudentAt the middle school level, 7th grader Aliyah White (now 8th grade) was rec-

ognized. Her love for animals motivates her to volunteer her time with an animal

protection group, which provides different services such as medical treatment,

neutering, food, and shelter for abandoned and stray animals. Aliyah lives her life

according to her principles – she does not believe in harming animals and thus

lives her life as a vegetarian. When she saw the many stray cats on the ACS

Athens campus, she decided to do something about it. Aliyah spent her own

money buying cat food and kitty litter and hauling both of these items to school

regularly to make the lives of the cats better. Not only did she feed them, but she

also spent most of her lunches taking care of them and giving them love. She cam-

paigned endlessly to find homes for them by designing colorful, computer-gener-

ated "Wanted" posters and posting them around the campus with the picture of

each cat and the personalized name she gave each one. One teacher describes

Aliyah as a self-less person, who is self-confident and recognizes the importance

of having a big heart. When she was given the award last spring at a middle school

assembly, she was given the microphone to address her peers. Thanking her

friends graciously for assisting her these past two years with the cats on campus,

she recognized the contributions of Austin Pardue and Micaela Moffatt and she

showed humility in receiving the award.

High School StudentGaith and Laith Kalai, 10th and 11th graders last year, were awarded for

their hard work in realizing the creation of a guidebook for new students to

ACS. Having joined ACS one and a half years ago, these dynamic brothers en-

tered the school half way through the school year. Entering half way through the

year made their transition quite difficult, as they did not know anyone and they

felt "dropped" into many new classes without knowing anything about the ACS

system. After this difficult transition, they managed to get comfortable and make

new friends. In the 2009-2010 school year, they decided to use this experience

to help other students in their situation. They created a new group called "New

Student Initiative" (NSI) and recruited 20 students to help them. The vision was

to create a booklet written from a student’s perspective about ACS and what

is offered. The language of the book needed to be easily accessible to students,

rather than in the lingo used by teachers and administrators. Students who were

already part of clubs or participated in past field trips, wrote about their indi-

vidual activities in this booklet and what students could gain from these activi-

ties. Currently, the book is online and in circulation. In addition, a video was

made for the IB students.

ACS Athens FacultyMrs. Toni Fleeher, a Middle School Science teacher and Mrs. Jane Man-

tarakis, a 2nd grade teacher, were honored for the formation and founding of

an ACS Earth Club and Earth Day. Both teachers initiated, planned, organized

and led the newly established Earth Club. Voluntarily and outside school hours,

both worked tirelessly to establish the club and the culmination of their work

was with April 2010 Earth Day activities on campus in both the elementary and

middle school. ACS students and faculty directly participated in Earth Club and

Earth Day activities, helping them raise their environmental awareness and in-

terest in global stewardship for the rest of their lives. Both faculty members are

committed to saving the Earth and live by example through their work with

ACS students, their own families, and ultimately, the good of humanity. An ar-

ticle was already written about this club in a previous Ethos edition entitled

"Earth Club – Leading by Example."

Category: ACS Family MemberMs. Despina Yannouli-Soukakos, mother of 2nd grader George Soukakos, re-

ceived the award for her low key approach and self-less manner in helping ACS

students in the elementary school. During swine flu season, she wanted to find a

way to help the younger students become more aware of keeping their hands

clean and not transfer germs from one person to another. With the help of Nurse

Mary Papalanis and Art teacher Miah Confer, information was shared with stu-

dents. Mrs. Soukakos created bookmarks for students in JK-8 and bracelets for stu-

dents in JK-5, as well as posters and a banner. All expenses were covered by her.

In addition to this project, she worked with the 2nd grade to create a service

learning unit on saving the endangered Caretta Caretta turtles in the Mediter-

ranean. She created a booklet for each classroom teacher which outlined ways to

extend service learning and connecting with the ARCHELON society for rehabil-

itation of seat turtles that have been harmed in some way. She worked with

teachers and helped students create a booth at the Spring Fair to get communi-

ty members to adopt hatchlings and help the 2nd grade meet its goal of provid-

ing medical care and support for a sea turtle at the rehabilitation center located

in Glyfada.

Arete Award Winners: 2009-2010Ranelle McCoy,

Middle School Social Studies

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53

Each year the NESA (Near East South Asia ) Council of Overseas

Schools gives Community Service awards, including grants of $750, to mem-

ber schools which bring faculty and students together in an ongoing effort

to serve the less fortunate in their host communities. Last spring the eighth

grade students for the school year 2009-2010 were happy to have their

work with the Hatzipaterion Rehabilitation Center for Children with Cere-

bral Palsy recognized. It was the first time that the Middle School has been

selected to receive a NESA grant, so we were very proud.

Since 2001, our 8th graders have been doing various fundraising activi-

ties throughout the years in order to support the wonderful work done at

the Center. In May, we delivered the check to Hatzipaterion and spent

some time with the children. The check will be used for the purchase of

materials that are needed by the Speech Therapy and Psychology Depart-

ments.

Making a DifferenceSue Protopsaltis, Middle School Mathematics

Eighth Grade Community & Service Project – Hatzipaterion Center

8th graders outside the Middle School (before we left for Hatzipaterion) with an oversized check

8th graders at Hatzipaterion Center (with the oversized check)

Alexander Sharp, last year's Student CouncilPresident, presenting the check to a staffmember at Hatzipaterion

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54

6th GRADE

1st PLACE: TEAM 16 - Zeena Shawa, Layan El-Choufani and Maria Guli-

no

What is the adhesion and cohesion of homemade glue on different types of

materials comparing to the adhesion and cohesion of bought glue?

2nd PLACE: TEAM 6 - Micaela Moffatt and Aubrey Keys

Do different types of music affect math test scores?

3rd PLACE: TEAM 13 - Peter Gyorgy (Ranked 5th place overall)

How do magnets affect the growth (rate and direction) of plants?

7th GRADE

1st PLACE: TEAM 41 - Constantine Kutson, Ryan and Cole Sitar

How can we measure the amount of energy in foods using a calorimeter?

TEAM 86 - Angelina Valsami

Does natural work with natural?

2nd PLACE: TEAM 27 - Max Gavrilovits, Dionysis Sakellaropoulos and

Jason Panagiotou

How does the shape of a parachute affect its landing?

3rd PLACE: TEAM 34 - Teo Ananiadis

Are people more honest when someone is watching (in an observed environ-

ment)?

8th GRADE

1st PLACE: TEAM 68 - Conner Arman, Nicole Spaulding and Daniel

Zoumaya

Is it possible to construct very low cost wind, solar, and hydro sources of elec-

tricity using mostly recyclable and natural sources for rural areas?

2nd PLACE: TEAM 57- Alexis Balascas and George Gulino (Ranked 6th

place overall)

Which substance absorbs motor oil most effectively, saw dust, cat litter, wheat

flour, corn starch, or potting soil?

3rd PLACE: TEAM 63 - Salma Koudsi, Anran Lin and Courtney New-

man

RESULTS FOR THE ACS ATHENS LOCAL SCIENCE FAIR

ACS Athens participated for the second year in a row in the 2009-2010 NESA Virtual Science Fair Project. The NVSF is an exciting hands-on science project that

involves schools from the Near East South Asia (NESA) region. In this project, students are asked to think like scientists and collaborate with other students in their

teams as well as form a collaborative online community with their e-mentors. ACS Athens participated with a total of 87 teams, whereas there were over 350 teams

that participated from 14 schools.

NESA VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR 2010 – FINAL ROUND RESULTS

Two of our ACS Athens teams moved on to the final round of the competition that consisted of the top 10 teams overall from all schools in the NESA region.

The final results were scored virtually by 1 physicist, 1 ecologist, 1 geneticist, 1 microbiologist, 1 chemist, 1 zoologist, 1 environmental engineer and 2 high school

science teachers. The final round of the competition asked students to take their science fair project and see it in a new context through a challenge scenario that

was presented to them. The team had to write a new hypothesis and their background information, specify their variables, plan their procedure and data collec-

tion for their challenge scenario. ACS Athens Team 13 ranked 5th place overall, while ACS Athens Team 57 ranked 6th place.

COMMUNITYconnections

NESA Virtual Science Fair 2010 ResultsChristina Bakoyannis

ACS Athens NESA Virtual Science Fair Coordinator

Middle School Science Teacher

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55

Grapevine

Dear Alumni,Welcome to the Alumni Section of the eighth issue of ACS Athens Ethos. To submit your information in the next issue, please email [email protected]. To join the ACS Athens Alumni Directory, please visit our website at www.acs.gr, and

follow these steps:

Top Navigation Bar

1. ACS Profile (scroll down)

2. Alumni

3. Alumni Verification for Alumni Directory Form (complete this first)

4. Await USERNAME and PASSWORD approval and CONFIRMATION email

with registration link.

Marianna Savvas (‘98)

Alumni Affairs

In this section of Alumni News, we

would like to share with you infor-

mation on two of our ACS Athens

Alumni, Stan Kontogiannis class of

1985 and recent graduate George

Angelidis, class of 2008.

Stan Kontogannis has been re-

elected (July) as Vice President for

the Connecticut Alumni Club of

Syracuse serving over 7,000 alumni in

the state and was recently appointed

(May) as a Board of Director mem-

ber for the Manchester (Connecti-

cut) Chamber of Commerce. Stan

was recently asked by the Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut to sit

on the Democracy Fund as a Democrat and accepted and has re-

signed from the Commission on Disabilities after serving 5 years

(2005-2010).

George Angelidis entered ACS

Athens in 2005 after receiving a

Scholarship from

Mr. Alafouzos (SKAII) that gave

him the opportunity to continue his

education at ACS Athens. This great

opportunity given to George opened

a wide horizon and made his dreams

come true to study aeronautics in

America.

After graduating high school in

2008, George Angelidis went on to

attend Embry- Riddle Aeronautical

University in Florida. George is cur-

rently a senior majoring in Aero-

space Engineering with a concentration in Aeronautics and a minor in

Mathematics, Aviation Safety and High Performance Vehicles.

One of George’s University experiences and a very successful part

of his life up to date is a project that he along with a few of his Uni-

versity classmates had been working on called "Project Infinity"

ALUMNIaffairs

Alumni News

ACS_ETH_55-61_ALUMNI 16-11-10 16:06·fiÁ ™ÂÏ›‰· 55

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56

ALUMNIaffairs(www.thelimitisinfinity.com). Project infinity is a weather balloon that he and his

classmates created launching at around 100,000ft to take pictures of the curva-

ture of the Earth. After that, together with the amazing pictures, three world

records were recorded: 1) The youngest team to launch such a balloon and take

pictures of the earth without the presence or help of a professor, 2) The first

team to photograph pictures of the stars Venus (the planet) and Sargas (tail of

Scorpio constellation) at daylight with a non specialized camera and finally 3) The

first team to travel the greatest ground distance of 220 miles (approximately 350

kilometers).

According to George "Our goal was to test our science and skills ability to the

limit. For the time being…if we fail we are going to try again. If we succeed we

have to move on. Stagnatation is the vengeance to those who don’t imagine and

attempt new things…DON’T expect to walk in the road of success without

work…even if you are actually running on it, since you don’t stay for long

there…sometimes you will not imagine how much work you have put into

something for achieving such results."

One of their project’s accomplishments as quoted by George was to "gain per-

sonal satisfaction and proof that you don’t need to be a genius in order to make

something "extra" ordinary. Thinking out of the box is for those who believe that

initially there is a box. I believe that there is not a box or a kind of boundary. You

are as free to think and act as you believe so."

During his studies at ACS Athens, George feels that his teachers gave him cul-

ture and the will to investigate and be creative in his life. "Dr. Tsokos inspired me

in physics and mathematics, and helped a lot in my future in aeronautics, which

was, and will become more and more one of my greatest loves. Mrs. Pittas, who

as a "mother" embraced us all and provided me with the belief that when I would

be caught in a difficult and stressful time, such as the late nights of hard studying,

there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. Mrs. Tokatlidou who made

us understand well that in life you will always have to sacrifice something to get

or achieve something.

Ms. Kassem in Chemistry who I was definitely thinking when filling the bal-

loon with helium since everything is based in proven equations. Mr. Dim-

itropoulos and Mr. Mikros who taught me to race and fight to the end. Mrs.

Kormaris managed to calm me down, develop and "tame" my untamed philo-

sophical issues that concern me. Mr. Nelson for making me love history and

critical thinking again."

Amongst the teachers were also many people behind the scenes who guided

George. "Mrs. Pelonis, whose assistance was invaluable while finding Universities

in America as she played a great role to the realization of my dreams, Dr. Giala-

mas who encouraged me and other classmates and gave us strength to contin-

ue the difficult struggle, and Mr. Medeiros for caring about our cultural-education

in general."

Last but not least, "I would like to thank the family of ACS Athens that

helped me in any way. I wanted to finish with the words of Alexander the

Great that I will always remember, "In my parents I owe my being, in my teach-

ers the well-being."

To read the article of their project in the Daytona Beach News Journal titled

Another team snaps photos of Venus, please visit the below site:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/florida/space/2010/04/14/experiment-

off-the-ground-for-erau-students.html

September 17, 2010 was a day of remembrance for alumnus Robert Hunt who

visited the school campus after 32 years. Robert attended ACS Athens for three

years from 7th-9th grade (1976-1978). Born in Columbus, Ohio, Robert had many

traveling experiences as he attended 9 different schools from 1st to the 12th grade.

As he quotes "His father was in the US Air Force and worked for Joint US Military

Aid Group Greece (JUSMAGG) working to provide military assistance and equip-

ment to the Greek Air Force."

As Robert entered the school grounds he was surprised and amazed how much

ACS Athens had changed, but at its core it still remained the school that he re-

members so fondly. As he quotes "I fondly remember my Greek Language classes,

field trips to Olympia and Marathon, riding by the Acropolis every day on the way to

and from school, football intramurals, and making friends from every walk of life (mil-

itary children, diplomatic children from many nations etc.)."

For Robert, his most favorite memories and recollection of teachers are from his

3 years of attendance at ACS Athens. "I remember Mr. Macrides (Math), Mrs.

Panopoulos (Language Arts), Mr. Wayne (Social Studies), Ms. Missiriotis (Greek), Ms.

McCarthy (History)."

After graduating from high school, Robert received an Air Force ROTC scholar-

ship to the University of Texas from 1981-1985 and was requested to serve 4 years

in the US Air Force after graduation. Robert enjoyed seeing the world and felt good

about serving his country and before he knew it he had made a career as an Air

Force officer. Robert has been stationed in England, South Korea, and several places

in the US prior to his assignment to NATO in Brussels, Belgium where he will be

there for the next two years.

"The education and experiences that I received while at ACS Athens have been

very valuable to my career. As an Air force officer, I’ve had the good fortune to be

able to work various jobs around the world. I’ve worked with the Korean military to

help keep the peace on the Korean peninsula and worked on various US-Korea is-

sues. I’ve helped conduct peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Kosovo. I have de-

ployed to Iraq and tried to be a good representative of the American people. I’ve

worked for the European Command intelligence agency in the UK and now work-

ing on various NATO subcommittees. All these jobs have required diplomacy, tact,

Back to my Alma Mater…Marianna Savvas,

Alumni Affairs

ACS_ETH_56_ALLAGH 16-11-10 17:32·fiÁ ™ÂÏ›‰· 56

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57

and understanding of different cultures other than my own. These are the same skills

I started learning while at ACS Athens. After spending all my youth in the US, I had

to dive in and learn, understand and respect different cultures, attitudes and ideas.

ACS Athens was a perfect and welcoming environment for that. The rich cultural ex-

periences at ACS Athens have made me a better Air Force Officer, a better US cit-

izen, and a better citizen of the world."

Roberts’s advice to our students: "although you might not realize it today, you will

always remember the education and experiences you have received at ACS Athens.

I hope you are lucky as I was and are able to return to ACS Athens many years from

now. You may see physical changes on campus, but the fundamental things will not

change…a great education, fantastic teachers…. dedicated and talented teachers."

Bill Price recently retired from South Burlington (VT) High school after 25

years there.

Ron Davenport basketball coach and physical education teacher at the Ele-

mentary and High school in the 1960’s and 1970’s died in May 2010 in Dover,

North Carolina.

Teacher News from the 70’s

Robert Hunt and Marianna Savvas

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ALUMNIaffairs

Our ACS Athens 2010 Reunion in Philadelphia was "wonderful", "terrific",

"had a great time." "I can’t wait until the next one"…that’s what they said.

It began Thursday in the Hospitality Suite with meeting and greeting old and

new friends, picking up packets and noshing on snacks--you should have seen

the cooler! Thank you to Gene Papalardo (class of ’67) and his employer Fresh

Delmonte for the additional fruit and vegetable treats. The afternoon turned

into an evening welcome buffet reception with Philly Cheese steaks fixin’s and

Philly cheesecake and Tasty Cakes for dessert. It turned out that the bartender,

George, is Greek and attended ACS in 1997. He is now on the Alumni list so

he’ll be receiving updates and says he’ll attend future gatherings.

Friday night on the 33rd floor of the Loews Hotel with its spectacular view

of the city was turned into a Taverna of sorts with plenty of Greek foods

(which the hotel chefs did a great job of creating) and Greek music from local

DJ Steve Doulis I’m told the hotel chefs practiced several times with recipes

and were hoping they did it right. It certainly looked like everyone’s taste buds

and tummies were very happy. Moussaka, Lemon Chicken, Gyros and more….

and for dessert, Baklava and Honey Walnut Cake rounded out the buffet.

Sketcher Rob created sketches for us (really did a good job of making us look

like we were teens again). Valeina, the Belly Dancer, joined us later to enter-

tain us and who also gave some ladies a few quick lessons and the girls did a

short number to our delight. Our DJ (also Greek-found at the Greek church

nearby) was sponsored by Dr. Tom Tavantzis (attended ACS Athens in 1967-

1968) and wife Martha of Innovative Management Development . Thank you

Tom and Martha for your sponsorship which was in remembrance of his best

friend Basil Vlahopolis.

Saturday night rounded out the weekend with a plated dinner and a slide

presentation by Mr. Steve Medeiros, Director, Institute for Innovation and Cre-

ativity at ACS Athens, informing us on what’s happening at ACS and the future

plans of our school. How impressed we all are with where our school is and

how much it has grown since we were there. Thank you Steve!!! We all en-

joyed meeting you and sharing stories with you too. The evening continued

with more reminiscing, music and dancing ‘till midnight.

Everyone loved the City. There is an abundance of history in Philadelphia

from the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross’s House, Franklin Mint and

the famous Museum of Art where Rocky ran up the steps, just to name a few.

Many made their way around the sites by either walking or taking the bus tours

found across the street.

Thanks to Joyce Schwartz McMillan for the design of our T-shirt. Many

thanks to Kit (attended 1959-1960) and Jessica Cottrel, Buck Johnson (attend-

ed 1958-1963), Anne Cassidy (attended 1977-1978), Henry Van Ryan, and

Charla (Godenschwager) (attended 1962-1965) and Warren Brinker for help-

ing in the Hospitality Suite. Thank you to Tony Lappas for being our photog-

rapher. Pictures are currently available on Facebook and soon on one of the

other photo sites.

Many thanks to Mariana Savvas and ACS for its help in spreading the word

and its continued support.

Where to next--looking into Albuquerque, New Mexico for 2012. Hopeful-

ly, more from Athens and beyond will be able to join us next time. Keep in

touch.

Why you ask there…well why not!

Philadelphia ReunionSeptember 16-19, 2010 Loews Hotel

Ann Lappas-Stiles Alumni Stateside Representative/Reunion Coordinator

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An international

p h e n o m e n o n ,

Speaking Roses, has

finally made its way

to Greece through

one of our own

ACS ALUMNI, Ellie

Doukoudaki Class

of ’99.

In a day when

personalization is in

high demand, Ellie’s

Speaking Roses has

become the new way of expression! The ability to

emboss a custom text, personalized message,

beautiful photo, or classy logo directly onto the

petals of live flowers creates a floral arrangement

that is a unique gift for anyone and will be sure to

melt their heart or a one-of-a-kind advertisement

that "speaks" to everyone who sees it. The printed

flowers themselves create a striking visual effect, al-

lowing the sender to convey meaningful messages

that aren’t always conveyed when one simply sends

flowers. Making a personalized statement in this

one-of-a-kind way gives an extremely refined

touch to the gift of flowers. Clearly printed flowers

are the perfect gift for any holiday or special occa-

sion such as name days and birthdays, a great ad-

dition to romantic occasions like weddings, an-

niversaries and proms, and a promotional item that

has a much different look and feel than your usual

cap or pen.

A patented process prints any message directly

onto the petals of roses or other flowers, without

harming or shortening the life of the flower, person-

alized flowers are not just part of the floral industry,

but they can be part of the gift industry, the greeting

card industry, the promotional industry, and more

because they can say anything, and can be embossed

with heartfelt messages, handwriting, autographs,

photos, and logos or brand names. This makes

them the perfect way to evoke emotion, advertise a

brand, or celebrate a special day.

And that’s not all! At Ellie’s Speaking Roses, you

can find many gifts that are ready to be personalized

with your own message! From picture frames to

wine carafes to company gifts, you are sure to find

an exclusive gift for every occasion.

Express yourself with Speaking Roses!

Ellie’s Speaking Roses

Leoforos Anapafseos 30

Vrilissia, Athens 15235

2106136193

www.elliespeakingroses.gr

ACS_ETH_55-61_ALUMNI 16-11-10 16:07·fiÁ ™ÂÏ›‰· 59

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60

ALUMNIaffairs

Almost everyone has a question or two about

"living" in space, but for our young readers who may

be reading this article would like to know…

Q: "What Do Astronauts Do In Space?"

A: "We build space stations; we conduct im-

portant science, like developing materials for next

generation computer systems; we repair and main-

tain satellites. Exercising in space is also an important

part of the job. Most of all, we look out at the heav-

ens to try to establish our place in the Universe. Liv-

ing in Space is different…you have to think about

what you are leaving behind."

On September 21, 2010 I was delighted for the opportunity to interview by

phone, ACS Athens Alumnus and former NASA Astronaut, Dr. Scott E. Parazynski.

Dr. Parazynski has made countless visits to different schools around the world, in-

cluding ACS Athens in 1999 when he spoke to Elementary, Middle and High school

students about his experiences in space.

Who is Dr. Scott E. Parazynski? A Brief Insight.... For the few of you who may not

know of him, he was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1961. He attended junior high

school in Dakar, Senegal, and Beirut, Lebanon. Later on he attended high school at

the Tehran American School in Iran, and lastly the American Community Schools of

Athens graduating in 1979. Scott received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology

from Stanford University in 1983. He continued on to graduate with honors from

Stanford Medical School in 1989. While an undergraduate at Stanford University, he

studied the basis of African Sleeping Sickness, using sophisticated molecular biologi-

cal techniques. He then went on to serve his medical internship at the Brigham and

Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School in 1990. He had completed 22

months of a residency program in emergency medicine in Denver, Colorado when

selected to the Astronaut Corps. While in medical school, Scott was awarded a

NASA Graduate Student Fellowship and conducted research at the NASA-Ames

Research Center on fluid shifts that occur during human space flight. Additionally, he

has been involved in the design of several exercise devices that are being developed

for long-duration space flight and has conducted research on high-altitude acclimati-

zation.

In 1992 Scott was selected to join NASA’s Astronaut Corps. He reported to the

Johnson Space Center where he completed one year of training and evaluation and

was qualified as a mission specialist. Eventually Scott flew 5 Space Shuttle Missions

and conducted 7 spacewalks. In all, he has spent over 8 weeks in space and more

than 47 hours outside on spacewalks. Scott has been a life-long scuba diver and

mountaineer. He is a commercial, instrument, multiengine and seaplane-rated pilot

with over 2,500 flight hours. Scott has climbed in

the Alaska Range, the Cascades, the Rockies, the

Alps, the Andes and the Himalayas. On his second

attempt to scale Mount Everest, he became the

first Astronaut to stand on top of the world on

May 20, 2009. His first attempt to scale Mount

Everest failed in 2008 after a severe back injury.

Scott retired from NASA in March of 2009 to start

a new career with Wyle Labs in Houston, and to

pursue other entrepreneurial interests.

Scott is a member of many organizations: Fel-

low of the Aerospace Medical Association and the

Explorers Club, a member of the American Soci-

ety for Gravitational and Space Biology, the

Wilderness Medical Society, the American Alpine

Club, the Association of Space Explorers, the Experimental Aircraft Association, and

the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He is Chairman of the Board of the Chal-

lenger Center for Space Science Education Trustee of the Houston Museum of Nat-

ural Science.

He is the recipient of many special honors: National Institutes of Health Predoc-

toral Training Award in Cancer Biology (1983); Rhodes Scholarship finalist (1984);

NASA Graduate Student Researcher’s Award (1988); Stanford Medical Scholars Pro-

gram (1988); Research Honors Award from Stanford Medical School (1989); NASA-

Ames Certificate of Recognition (1990); Wilderness Medical Society Research Award

(1991); Space Station Team Excellence Award (1996); Vladimir Komarov Diploma

from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (1995, 1999); NASA Exceptional

Service Medals (1998, 1999); NASA Space Flight Medals (1994, 1997, 1998, 2001,

2007); NASA Distinguished Service Medals (2002, 2009); Ellis Island Family Heritage

Award (2005); Flight Achievement Award from the American Astronomical Associa-

tion (1998, 2008); Aviation Week Laureate Award (2008); Lowell Thomas Award

from the Explorers Club (2008); Randolph C. Lovelace Award from the Society of

NASA Flight Surgeons (2008); Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame (2008).

As Scott reminisces on his teenage years as a student at ACS Athens, he realizes

how much positive impact teachers have had on his life to follow his dream of being

an Astronaut. Scott quotes "I was very fortunate to have had wonderful teachers at

ACS Athens who gave me the inspiration to pursue challenging subjects and who en-

couraged my curiosity. Teachers such as Mr. Fontinelli, Mr. Tzelepis, Madame Man-

glivera, Mr. Demos and Ms. Valoris all had wonderful teaching styles. I enjoyed cours-

es such as Physics, Earth Science, Math and the great sports programs there. I was al-

so grateful for the opportunity to travel and meet people from different cultures. A

lot of life’s greatest lessons come outside of the classroom setting. I remember our

track and basketball meets, and other educational school trips around Europe and

the Middle East."

ACS Athens Alumni among the starsMarianna Savvas,

Alumni Affairs

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For our students interested in considering the possibility of becoming an As-

tronaut one day or finding work related to space, Scott recommends, "if you

want to achieve something substantial in life, be patient, but work hard. I en-

courage you to have big dreams, but then have the courage to work to make

them come true. Some will work out and some will not. Try to pursue Math,

Science, and Engineering, as these are the languages of our increasingly techno-

logical world. Work globally and participate in athletics. I recommend the study

of foreign languages as now-a-days many Astronauts originate from different

countries.

Scott leaves us with this message: "ACS Athens is an amazing school that

opens doors for its students towards a brighter future. ACS certainly helped me

launch my career!" (SCOTTS PHOTO WITH ACS ATHENS ELEMENTARY

SCHOOL STUDENTS)

When all is said and done, there is only one article of faith which counts:

that a book which can be held, read and smelled has such living qualities which

far surpass any technological gizmo. That is, no one can be tempted to read,

touch and smell a...corpse shrouded in electronic wizardry. So, the human be-

ing who has warm flowing blood cannot settle for anything less than "the real

McCoy." Would it suffice then to maintain only books in a library while keeping

computers at arm’s length? No, not at all. Computers have their purposes, but

pushing books in the background isn’t one of them. Books and computers can

cohabit in the same space, but none should impose its presence on the other.

In other words, live and let live should be the norm.

When the persons who patronize a library do so for other reasons than

what books evoke and provide, there is a definite cloture in the proceedings as

those who misuse their presence there wrangle their obnoxiousness and misfit

obstreperousness so that the ones who are immersed in their reading are put

off and put out by the barbarian-like behavior of those who choose not to re-

spect the library’s value.

What does a book mean to a student who relishes its potential? A book

should not be thrown to the dogs. Why, then, do students largely abstain from

indulging in the book cornucopia displayed in a library? Because, for some, the

institution of a library has ceased to function as a library and has been trans-

formed into a more or less bastion of nonacademic standards. This cannot but

make a sham of the hundreds of books whose authors strained and toiled to

impart their innermost thoughts and feelings and experiences to others–all

awaiting on the bookshelves but with no takers.

How, then, can this be resolved? By simply knocking out the deadwood and

replacing it with sturdy supports which will carry the load of true knowledge and

life found in books and in students’ minds and hearts when given the chance.

A plea for Book ethosJohn Bournazo - ACS alumnus ‘56

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The 2010 ACS Summer Youth Camp proved to be as fun-filled and exciting as

the previous years; however, this year the total number of camp participants reached

a record number of 500 individuals. The participants ranged from four to fourteen

years of age and were divided into the groups: Early Childhood (ages 4-6), Kids (ages

6-8), Juniors (ages 9-11) and Teens (ages 12-14). For the first time, the Kids group was

subdivided into smaller "teams" that were led and monitored by student volunteers.

This addition to the summer camp proved to enhance daily activity organization and

the smoothness of activity transitions.

This year’s camp offered an array of activities, some of which included: Archery,

Basketball, Mini Golf, Karate, Soccer, Dance, and Volleyball. In addition to physical ac-

tivities, the participants could also choose to take part in English, Art, Music, Chinese

and Computers. Based on the kids’ responses, the most popular activities for the 2010

ACS Youth Camp were Tennis, Wall Climbing and Swimming. Highlights of the 2010

Summer Camp included a dance performance during the second week, a musical per-

formance and slide show during the third week, and an open house where family

members joined their children for their favorite camp activities.

In conclusion, the 2010 ACS Summer Youth Camp was a successful adventure in

which children were able to experience a variety of activities while making new con-

nections and friendships with children their age. The camp came together thanks to

the hard work of administrators, coaches, teachers and volunteers. All would agree

that the work was well worth it just to see the joy, excitement and smiles on each

camp participant’s face.

SUMMER 2010in review

ACS Athens Summer CampZaharo Hilentzaris

Summer Camp Administrative Assistant

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STAFFdevelopment

Nice, France63

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STAFFdevelopment

In July of this year, I travelled to the beautiful and charming "Cote-d’Azur"

(French Riviera) to learn more about the culture, the people and study

French with a group of teachers in a professional development course in

Nice, France. Having grown up speaking 3 languages fluently by the age of 5

years old, I decided to take this course to further my studies and open my

eyes to new cultures.

As a French teacher in an international setting, going to Nice seemed

like the perfect decision because it attracts people from all over the world.

The course, "Training for Teachers of FLE" (Français Langue Etrangère-

French as a Foreign Language) took place in the heart of Nice, at the most

renowned language school in the city, Azurlingua. The rich and diversified

program focused on methodology, grammar and class activities, linguistic

perfection, and new technologies. Beyond the technical aspect of the

course, which itself was rigorous yet engaging, the school organized differ-

ent theme nights and excursions, enabling us to discover one of the most

beautiful areas in the south of France from a local perspective. Being able

to explore this city with French teachers from all over the world was truly

a unique experience. We came from China, Montenegro, Canada, Italy,

Romania and Scandinavia and shared our ideas, philosophies, and ideologies

with one another. As we exchanged our experiences, it became clear that

we were united by our passion for the French language, the culture, the

"joie de vivre," and teaching.

Nice La BelleVasiliki Klimou,

Middle School French

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While my lessons in the course varied, I

started each day with a typical French flair –

"un petit café" and a warm "croissant au

beurre" or a "pain au amandes." I then contin-

ued with the course, engaging myself in the

various modules of the program. As part of

the course, we travelled also to Cannes, Eze

village, VilleFranche-sur-mer, Monaco and

Montecarlo and St. Marguerite Island. Some of

the highlights of my course included a trip to

the famous perfumery factory, "Fragonard,"

where we learned how French perfumes and

soaps are made. Being in the South of France

was also a culinary experience as we were ex-

posed to a plethora of local dishes such as,

socca (a type of pancake made from chickpea

flour), pissalladière (a local tart made from

onions and anchovies), farcis noiçois (a dish

made from vegetables stuffed with bread-

crumbs), to name a few.

Taking this course meant a lot to me, be-

cause it gave me the opportunity to fully im-

merse myself in something that I will give back

to my students each day in class. I value experi-

encing the power of both learning and teaching.

As a life-long learner with many interests, I want

to share my love of knowledge with my stu-

dents. As teachers, I think it is very important

that we continually venture into new teaching

strategies; the educative process can be exciting

and inspiring for teachers and students, alike.

The course experience was also my way of

venturing into something new in order to keep

things fresh and evolving in the classroom. I am

passionate about teaching French and since taking

this course, I can already see the difference it has

made in my approach. I certainly intend on tak-

ing more courses like the course in beautiful Nice.

For decades now, the picturesque Nicean sur-

roundings have attracted not only those in search

of relaxation, but also those seeking inspiration. I

found this inspiration in Nice and am truly joyed

to bring this inspiration back into my classroom. A

bientôt!

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STAFFdevelopment

Association for theAdvancement of In-ternational Educa-tion Annual Confer-ence: ChallengingYour Most Able Stu-dents, June 27-30,2010 at Johns Hop-kins University andthe Center of Tal-ented Youth.

University of Crete graduatesof Early Childhood Educationwith Mrs. Christiana PerakisEvloyias, Director of Stavros

Niarchos Foundation LearningCenter. Mrs. Perakis was an

invited guest at the Universityby Professor Anastasios Mat-sopoulos, to talk about ACSAthens’ Optimal Match pro-

gram and the Annual Confer-ence on Learning Differences.

May 26-27, 2010

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International

Renowned Faculty

Training

Conference for

Learning Differences

is coming up

May 13-14th,

2011.

Visit the ACS Athens

website for more

information:

http://www.acs.gr/6th-

annual-conference/

International

Renowned Faculty

Training

Conference for

Learning Differences

is coming up

May 13-14th,

2011.

Visit the ACS Athens

website for more

information:

http://www.acs.gr/6th-

annual-conference/

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STAFFdevelopment

ACS Athens hosted its 5th Annual Conference on Learning Differences titled

"Leading by Example: Holistic, Meaningful and Harmonious Approaches to

Teaching All Children", on May 14-15, 2010, under the auspices of the Greek Min-

istry of Education, Lifelong Learning & Religion.

This year's theme was dedicated to strategies, approaches, and methods of meet-

ing the needs of students with a wide variety of learning challenges. Emphasis was

given to math, science, and technology, as well as to the development of leadership

skills and to the special needs of high-performing students.

The conference consisted of six units, in which 34 inspiring lectures and in-

teractive, hands-on workshops took place, presented by 31 top educators who

came from the United States, India, Lebanon, Qatar, and Greece. Among the

20 distinguished presenters were, Dr. Cheryl Temple, Program Manager and

Sandra Morrissette, Assistive Technology Resource Teacher of

Assistive Technology Services in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), Virginia;

Dr. Michele Mazzocco, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the

Johns Hopkins University, Director of the Math Skills Development Project at

the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Dr. Stefanos Gialamas,

President, ACS Athens, Athens Greece, Anna Sugarman, Professional Devel-

opment Trainer/Coordinator (K-12) for Shenendehowa Central Schools in Clifton

Park, New York, Dora Andrikopoulos and Sue Protopsaltis, Math Teachers, ACS

Athens, Athens Greece, and Michael Soria, Executive Director of Education,

TouchMath, Innovative Learning Concepts Inc., CO, USA. The keynote presen-

tation was delivered by Dr. Sandra J. Peart, Dean at the Jepson School of Lead-

ership Studies, at the University of Richmond.

Math and technology titles included:

ñ Why is Math So Hard for Some Students? Identifying sources of children’s math-

ematical learning difficulties

ñ Math and Technology: Bringing Research to Practice

ñ TouchMath Presentation

ñ Gaining Insight in Teaching Mathematics in a Creative & Meaningful Way

ñ Are You Looking for a Relationship?

ñ Quantitate This! (grades 9-12)

ñ Technology to Build Vocabulary (K-12)

ñ Marvelous Math Technology Resources in the Elementary Classroom (K-6)

ñ I Didn’t Know it Did That! - Microsoft 2007 Word Strategies for Students and

Teachers (4-12)

ñ EZ Does It!" Using Technology to Support Diverse Learners (K-12)

ñ Using MS Office to Create Classroom Books to Support Literacy (K-6)

The presenters shared best practice and offered their expertise and invaluable

insight on latest research and developments, acknowledging that differences can

be a source of richness in the classroom, and that instruction must address these

differences so that all students can succeed. There was a strong international

presence, with parents, teachers, and professionals attending the conference from

several countries, including, England, Switzerland, France, India, Egypt, Lebanon,

the United States and Greece.

ACS Athens is committed to implementing an inclusive, holistic American philos-

ophy of education within an international setting. The annual learning differences con-

ferences are testament to the school’s commitment to promoting life-long learning

and to the professional development of the community of educators.

5th Annual Conference on Learning Differences"Leading by Example: Holistic, Meaningful and Harmonious Approaches to Teaching All Children"

Chris Perakis,

Director of the NSLCF

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Smi lesaroundCampus

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Office of the President ext. 201Office of Enrollment Management & Community Relations ext. 263Admissions Office ext. 263, 251Reception ext. 206, 233Office of Alumni Affairs ext. 207Human Resources Office ext. 204Business Office ext. 202, 207Office of Academic Affairs & Innovative Programs ext. 402, 409Office of Student Services ext. 226Cashier ext. 208Bookstore ext. 214Transportation Office ext. 239Health Office ext. 217Cafeteria ext. 236Academy Office ext. 222Academy Discipline ext. 404Middle School Office ext. 261Middle School Discipline ext. 267Elementary School Office ext. 229IB Office ext. 247, 244Stavros Niarchos Learning Center ext. 237, 265HS/MS Media Center / Library ext. 219, 220ES Library ext. 293Publications Office ext. 271Athletic Office ext. 327, 401Theater Office ext. 331, 302 Security ext. 240Night Entrance Security 210-6393555

American Community Schools of Athens129 Aghias Paraskevis ∞Á›·˜ ¶·Ú·Û΢‹˜ 129 Tel.: 210-639-3200-3GR 152 34 Halandri 152 34 ÷ϿӉÚÈ 210-601-6152Athens, Greece ∞ı‹Ó·, ∂ÏÏ¿‰· Fax: 210-639-0051E-mail: [email protected] http://www.acs.gr

C O N T A C T S

How to Contact Us

70

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Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs

Faculty Mentoring / Academic Advising Library & Information Resources Writing Center Health Services The Career Development

Program

Financial aid

ALUMNISUPPORT &

ASSOCIATIONThe University supports the Alumni

Association efforts. Membership in the

Alumni Association provides graduates with

a lifelong connection to the Hellenic

American University. The Association is

governed by a volunteer Board of Directors

and maintains an office on the Hellenic

American University premises. Soon, alumni

will have their own link, with exclusive access,

on the Hellenic American University website.

Membership in the Alumni Association gives

graduates the opportunity to exchange ideas and share experiences, to make

contacts that will help them professionally, and

to participate in special activities and events.

STUDENTSERVICES

Hellenic American University admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion,

physical disability, or veteran status to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to

students at the University. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, physical disability, or veteran status in administration of its educational

policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs.

HEADQUARTERS: Salmon 36, Manchester, NH 03104, USA,

Tel.: 603 645 1800ATHENS CAMPUS:

Kaplanon 12, 106 80 Athens, (Metro station: Panepistimio),

Tel.: +30 210 368 0950 Fax: +30 210 363 3174, e-mail: [email protected]

www.hau.edu.gr

Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature (BAELL)Students in English Language and Literature will acquire in-depth

knowledge of the English language, including its grammar and syntax,

as well as the social and cognitive aspects of language usage.

Bachelor of Music (BM)A professional music degree, it balances the academic study of

music through courses in music theory and music history with

rigorous technical training in music performance.

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA)Students in Business Administration will acquire a general

understanding of a wide range of information about business

and competencies in business practices as well as specialized

knowledge about their area of concentration (optional).

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT)A competency-based program, which provides students with

all the necessary credentials to deal with traditional business

technologies and evolving multimedia-related technologies and

services.

Bachelor of Science in Psychology (BSPsy)The undergraduate program in Psychology combines

perspectives from the social and the natural sciences to gain an

understanding of human behavior and provides the option to

students to focus on their particular area of interest.

Associate of Science in Enterprise Network Administration (ASENA)Students in Enterprise Network Administration will acquire the

technical skills necessary to install, configure, operate and maintain

a network.

PhD in Applied LinguisticsThe Program is intended for a broad range of working

professionals in a variety of occupational fields, but is specifically

designed for practitioners who work in the Teaching of English to

Speakers of other Languages (TESOL), English language testing or

translation/interpretation.

Professional Master of Business Administration (PMBA)The Professional MBA is designed to address the educational and

career needs of individuals with five or more years of business

experience. It aims to promote career mobility, flexibility and

multi-functionality.

The MBA program is designed to address the student’s desire

for practical knowledge, a promising career path and personal

development.

Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT)The Master of Science in Information Technology is a graduate

education program designed to develop exceptional IT

specialists who are recognized for their high level technological

expertise,creative and inventive thinking and professional

competencies.

Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics (MAAL)The program provides participants who have a professional

interest in language with a valuable opportunity to familiarize

themselves with the latest developments in the field of Applied

Linguistics. It offers them rigorous training in the application of

linguistic principles in the areas of Teaching English as Second/

Foreign Language and Testing.

Master of Arts in Translation (MAT)The program emphasizes the integration of academic and real-

world preparation for translators. It complies with the European

Commission’s Directorate General for Translation guidelines for

Master’s degree programs in translation and can be completed in

one year of full-time study.

Master of Arts in Conference Interpretation (MACI) The program equips students with the theoretical foundation

and practical skills needed for consecutive and simultaneous

interpretation in their specific language pairs. It complies with the

European Commission’s Directorate General for Interpretation

guidelines for Master’s degree programs in interpretation and can

be completed in one year of full-time study.

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