Volume 11 - June 2015

The American International School of Bucharest

In this volume:

Message from the Director

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School-Wide News

Message from the PTO

Bucharest Buzz

Volume 11 - June 2015

Director’s Message | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 1

Message from the Director

Dr. Robert Brindley, Director

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Preparing for Summer

Dear Parents,

Incredible though it may

be, here we are at the

end of an exhilarating

school year. I would like to

thank the entire communi-

ty for the warm welcome

and support through my

first year at AISB.

The main goal that the

AISB Leadership Team and

I shared this year was to

focus on defining our dy-

namic, articulated, and

thoughtful Early Childhood

to 12th Grade International Baccalaureate curricu-

lum, and a pastoral program that reinforces re-

spect and values. I would like to think that we

have achieved significant success in this respect,

laying the foundations for defining student out-

comes and teaching expectations, as well as our

Mission and Values, more clearly.

As we venture into the summer months, there are

many staff members who will be working to pre-

pare the school for our August start of the 2015-

2016 academic year. There are several major cap-

ital projects underway that will improve the cam-

pus:

Notable changes will be made to the en-

trance security and playground spaces.

The car-park and drop-off areas will be sepa-

rated from the school buildings so that we can

control the flow of visitors to the school.

An entrance lobby will be built that will extend

the Atrium towards the carpark. This lobby will

contain the Reception Office (including securi-

ty controls) and a PTO Office or School Shop.

These changes are setting the groundwork for

more enhanced security as of August, when all

visitors to the school, including parents, will

have to wear identity badges whilst on cam-

pus.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Pregatiri pentru Vara

Dragi parinti,

Desi pare incredibil, iata

ca am ajuns la finalul unui

alt an scolar. Pe aceasta

cale as dori sa multumesc

intregii comunitati pentru

primirea calduroasa si

pentru sprijinul acordat pe

parcursul in primul meu an

la AISB.

Principalul obiectiv al in-

tregii echipe de con-

ducere a scolii a fost sa

ne concentram toata

atentia pe definirea planului holistic de studii in-

cepand cu grupa EC 3 si terminand cu clasa a 12-

a, plan ce are la baza programa de invatamant a

Bacalaureatului International un cadru education-

al remarcabil, dotat cu o profunda putere de con-

solidare a valorilor si a sentimentelor de stima si

pretuire.

Imi place sa cred ca am reusit in acest sens sa

punem bazele unei fundatii solide ca mai tarziu sa

putem contura cat mai clar si cu exactitate re-

zultatele elevilor, asteptarile profesorilor cat si misi-

unea si valorile scolii noastre.

Chiar daca scoala intra in vacanta de vara, mai

multi membrii ai personalului nostru vor lucra

pentru a pregati inceputul noului an scolar in luna

august. Exista 7 proiecte majore la care se lucrea-

za momentan si care vor ajuta la inbunatatirea

campusului AISB:

Spatiile de joaca si zona de control de securi-

tate de la intrarea principala vor suferi schim-

bari notabile.

Parcarea si zonele in care sunt lasati elevii vor fi

separate de cladirea scolii pentru a putea

controla mai bine fluxul de vizitatori.

Holul principal (Atrium) va fi prelungit printr-o

Director’s Message | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 2

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In ‘Central Park,’ the space near the gym will

be transformed into an all-weather pitch, so

that the Elementary School students have a

better place to play or be involved in their

sporting activities.

There will also be upgrades to the Physics La-

boratory as well as minor changes to offices

and classrooms.

The Admissions and Communications offices

will be moved to spaces adjacent to the Atri-

um, facilitating support to our existing parent

community as well as new families, and easing

communication between staff.

While we hope that you will get a chance to dis-

connect from work and school over the summer,

recharging and spending time with family and

friends, we encourage you to check emails from

time to time as there will be more parent commu-

nications during August to inform you of other de-

tails concerning the start of the academic year.

Enjoy the break, safe travels and I wish you a very

happy, refreshing summer holiday.

Best Regards,

Robert Brindley

constructie aditionala catre parcarea princi-

pala care va include biroul de receptie, un

punct de control de securitate si un birou PTO

sau un magazin al scolii. Aceste schimbari fac

parte din planul nostru de a spori siguranta in

campus incepand cu luna august cand toti

vizitatorii scolii, inclusiv parintii elevilor inscrisi,

vor trebui sa poarte legitimatii atata timp cat

se afla in scoala.

In curtea interioara, zona de langa sala de

sport va fi transformata intr-un teren ce poate fi

folosit indiferent de vreme, astfel incat elevii sa

beneficieze de mai bune conditii pentru activi-

tatile sportive.

Vom imbunatati laboratorul de fizica si vom

face mici schimbari atat in clase cat si la

birouri.

Biroul de Admiteri si Comunicare se va muta in

holul principal (Atrium), intr-un spatiu nou ame-

najat pentru a sprijini comunitatea de parinti si

pentru a facilita comunicarea intre diverse de-

partamente ale scolii noastre.

Speram ca in aceasta vacanta de vara va veti

putea de-conecta atat de la serviciu cat si de la

scoala, va veti putea reincarca bateriile si veti

putea petrece cat mai mult timp cu familia si pri-

etenii. Va rugam insa ca in luna august sa va verifi-

cati posta electronica deoarece vom trimite mai

multe informari legate de inceperea noului an sco-

lar.

Va doresc sa va bucurati de vacanta, sa calatoriti

in siguranta si sa aveti o vara minunata si revigor-

anta!

Cu stima,

Robert Brindley

School-Wide News | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 3

School-Wide News

We are the AISB Vampires! | Community Time at the Gazebo

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Alumni WORLD Magazine

Congratulations to our Alumni for publishing the next issue of their bi-

annual WORLD Magazine. Volume 4, Issue 1 brings together amazing

interviews, great stories, and inspiring personalities to carry you from

past, to present, to future. Enjoy interviews with AISB Board of Trustees

Members and pieces from AISB Faculty members, find out about the

successes of our Alumni around the world, and get to know about our

active alumni members and their plans for the Alumni Association mov-

ing forward. Read about sweet memories and plans for making more,

reminisce about events, and view photos of experiences passed.

Enjoy the latest issue of the Summer 2015 Edition of the Alumni WORLD

Magazine. Click on the links above, on the photo, or copy and paste

the following web address into your browser to access the magazine:

http://issuu.com/urbanbrand/docs/world_magazine_summer15_e?

e=3797710%2F13534386

Past issues of the WORLD Magazine can also be found on our website,

at: http://www.aisb.ro/page.cfm?p=4081

Happy reading, and don't forget to share and like the publication!

Salwa Patricia Khalil, AISB Communications and Alumni Coordinator

Last Chance to Order your Child’s School Photos for this Year

The school photographer, Mr. Bogdan Greavu, has taken photos of every student and every class. If you

haven’t ordered your child’s school photographs yet, you still have a chance to do so. Please visit: http://

www.twenty9studio.com/f748945089, and use the password from last week’s Weekly Newsletters to access

the pictures. Download the order form from http://www.twenty9studio.com/1415-ybpho.pdf and get in

touch with Mr. Greavu to place your order. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Mr.

Greavu at <bogdan@bogdangreavu.com>.

HR Corner with Roxana Lungu, HR Manager at AISB

Dear AISB Reader,

I hope it was as fun for you to read the HR Corner as it was for me to discover the

hidden traits and gems among our teaching and non-teaching staff. I admire

each one of you for all the work and effort you dedicate to making AISB the

best educational place in Romania.

Please drop by the HR office whenever you feel like sharing, telling, complaining,

explaining or just saying hello. Our door is always open and my attention is al-

ways dedicated to you.

To end the school year in glory, I’ve asked a very important personality to be

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

School-Wide News | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 4

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featured in June’s HR Corner.

He is new at the school, is extremely popular and loved, and brings

only smiles and laughs to everybody’s faces. Considering his birthday

is in June, he was a sure pick.

So to everyone’s surprise, say Happy Birthday to Vampy!

1. As a little bat what did you want to become when you grew

up? As a little bat I dreamed of being a rock star and that through

my music and dancing I could spread the word that bats are not all

bad. You know – we get a really bad rap… everyone thinks vampire

bats are bad but I want to spread the word that you just can’t judge

a book by its cover or a bat by its name!

2. Tell us a few words about your family and your upbringing. I

was born in the hills of Transylvania into a loving colony of bats. It’s

such a beautiful, peaceful place to grow up – all those lovely green

hills and picturesque farms. But of course I didn’t actually get to see

much – because we only came out at night! My mates and I used to

just hang out all day and by night go out in search of bugs. But I really

felt a need to stretch my wings, to get out and see the world and spread the truth about bats. So one day I

unfurled my wings and flew south and now I am here at AISB and already I feel a change is happening.

Now when people see me they smile and laugh. Lots want to hug me!

3. Please continue the sentence: I love to… …dance and get lots of hugs!

4. Because everyone lives for a bit of intrigue: are there any intriguing/funny stories that you can share

with us? Intriguing… why does everyone want to pull my head off?… or look inside my mouth?… just love

me please!

5. What is the craziest life experience you have lived so far? Well I am just a little bat but I guess it

was my arrival here and introduction to AISB… My dream had come true… I was a rock star at last!

6. Do you think penguins have knees? More importantly – do bats????

A special thank you and big hugs go to Ms. Leah Bramley, Vampy’s adoptive mother here at AISB, who was

very supportive of Vampy having this interview. She is an amazing dedicated artist and a lovely person to

be around.

NoticeBoard at AISB!

We’ve put together a fan-

tastic new tool that com-

bines news and visuals so

that we can share what’s

happening at AISB with

you in the best way possi-

ble. We’d like to introduce

you to the AISB Notice-

Board. From today, you

will be able to access the NoticeBoard from the homepage of our

website, within the icons on the right side, and also the first link in

the green bar on top.

Check out the AISB NoticeBoard now by clicking on the images, or by visiting http://noticeboard.aisb.ro/

directly, and let us know what you think. Scroll down and watch the page update with what’s been going

on at AISB over the last few months. You can bookmark the page on your computer, and you can also sub-

scribe to the RSS feed, by clicking on the orange icon on the top right of the page.

If you have any questions, please contact me at skhalil@aisb.ro and I’ll be happy to help you out.

Salwa Patricia Khalil, AISB Communications and Alumni Coordinator

School-Wide News | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 5

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Roots and Shoots Service Learning Group at AISB

For the past 2 years, our Roots and Shoots “Eco

house” group has been aspiring to build an eco-

house for our remarkable school. Finally, after what

felt like centuries of planning and preparation, the

Roots and Shoots group have acquired the resources

to make our dream come true. This wouldn’t have

transpired without the help of an amazing company

called Agro Kit. This organization sells products that

help us sustain the environment and pursue an eco-

friendly lifestyle in enjoyable ways. Their mission is to

develop ecofriendly tools and equipment and satisfy

customer needs sustainably. They generously dis-

counted the cost of the materials required for build-

ing our marvelous eco house. Even though it is still a

work in progress, we can already envision the eco

house will be a tremendous benefit to the environment and our school by giving us fresh vegetables for our

beloved cafeteria.

We organized an exclusive interview with Stani, one of the founding greenhouse members. It was he who

brought up the idea and had started the master plan of the green house

Us: Who helped build the plan?

Stani: Andrei, Ovi, Maxim, Stani, Ignatio, Shahar, Oliver, Luca, Ms. Fairlie and Mrs. Murphy. These are all stu-

dents and teachers in our school.

Us: What was your inspiration?

Stani: Our inspiration was wanting more green space in our school. Of course we have the standard trees

and grass, but we didn’t think that was enough. Our vision was to start growing fruits and vegetables for our

school cafeteria and to inspire other students to help the environment.

Us: What was the initial goal of the group other than building the greenhouse?

Stani: The initial goal of the group was helping the environment. We found that although we had quite a bit

of green space, creating a greenhouse which helps us produce fresh vegetables for our students would re-

ally set us to the top of our game!

Overall we can see that the greenhouse group has been very productive this year with the devotion of all

the group members and the incredible help of Agro Kit. Building a greenhouse isn’t easy, especially for a

small group of students, but with the support of teachers and the amazing ecofriendly company, that is

Agro Kit, we achieved our goal to help the environment by building a greenhouse.

Roots and Shoots Group

Returning Library Books and Summer Check-Outs

You can now check out books for the summer from our Library. Parents and students are encouraged to

borrow books for the summer holidays if their accounts are clear of overdue books and fees.

Students in grades 2 and below must be with a caregiver to check-out up to 10 books for the summer.

Students in grades 3 and above can independently check-out up to 10 books for the summer.

Middle and High School Students can borrow up to 10 books

Parents are permitted to check-out up to 25 books for the summer.

Students and parents are responsible for fees if books are lost or damaged during the summer period.

The library has created summer reading lists for Middle and High school students, which are available on the

library homepage. There are also several displays with suggestions.

Please note that the library will close on Friday, June 19th at 12:00pm and will re-open on Monday, August

10th at 8:00am.

School-Wide News | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 6

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2015 Fifth Annual ES Spelling Bee, Monday, June 8, 2015

The championship word: Tintinnabulation

Twenty seven spellers in grades 2-5 competed in the Fifth Annual AISBee. Returning spellers, Ingrid Z.

(Champion) and Patricia T. (2nd Place), whom both represented AISB at the Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn

Bee, were the two finalists. Having survived 105 minutes of spelling, these grade 5 girls displayed their

"orthography: The art of writing words with the proper letters, according to accepted usage, correct

spelling" as they graced the stage facing judges: Ms. Ely, Mrs. Hughes, Ms. Garrigan, and 2014 champ,

Brynne C. Liam M-B., 2014 2nd place winner, awarded medals. Ms. Socholotuk was our pronouncer assist-

ed by Ms. Tyson who verified words, while Ms. Matthews and Ms. Jones worked behind the scenes to take

care of our "bees." We congratulate and marvel at each speller's tenacity and courage.

Sportsmanship Award: Ingrid Z. and Vaida R.

Dedication and Effort: Dan B., Clara N., Taekhoon K.

Top Five Spellers: Ingrid Z., Patricia T., Luana O., Ana R., Itay M.

Celebrating Sportsmanship at our All School Sports Day

Friday May 29th, 2015 was the All School Sports day at AISB, in which all stu-

dents, from Early Childhood 3 to Grade 11, participated in large group games

that required collaboration, strategy, enthusiasm and a healthy touch of com-

petitiveness.

At 8am, all students and teachers got together for an energetic Zumba® warm-

up with Miss Alina and her squad of expert dancers, and together, they got

everyone ready for the fantastic day of games and sportsmanship ahead.

The students joined their groups and followed their team leaders through a se-

ries of 13 exciting games, where the smallest children and the oldest ones

worked together to overcome challenges. They were all wonderful advocates

of the word: sportsmanship. They helped each other, they played fairly, and

they built a community spirit like no other.

Some of the games were creative and active renditions of some board games,

including Hungry Hippos and Cross the River. Angry Birds, became a real-life ver-

sion of the ever-popular digital game. The Inflatable Slide was a hit among the

younger students, and Hide & Seek was a great way to bring the inner child out

of even the oldest students. Carnival games included the Duck Hunt, and there

were many more games like Island Soccer, Balloon Space Man, Bullrush Dodge,

and the innovated Tri-Athalon that required the students to work together to

compete against their peers.

The cherry on top was the much awaited Vampire Dash, an extensive obstacle

course that got the older students jumping up high, down on all fours, full of

mud, running through caution tape, hosed down, and so much more, all with a

grand smile. Our mascot, Vampy, was around for the whole day cheering our

students on and beaming for photos with his biggest fans.

Thank you to our teachers Carla Bowles and Erik Custer for putting together this

tremendous day that really highlighted the fabulous team spirit we have at

AISB. The support and work of all the teacher leaders was also magnificent and

we are already counting down the days until next year’s All School Sports Day!

PTO Message | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 7

Message from the PTO

Fabiana Papastefani-Pezzoni, President

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Dear AISB Community,

It has been a terrific year! It truly has been, dear AISB friends. The PTO

has tried its best to support and serve the parent, student and teacher

communities to the best of its possibilities, while also organizing and

hosting community events, fund raising events, and friend raising

events.

This has been a fantastic year not only for me personally, having again

had the privilege to lead the Parent Teacher Organization, but also for

the whole team. We have had one of the best Harvest Festivals ever;

thank you Terry O'Donnell Parsons for organizing it. We have had one of

the best Gala's of all and I especially would like to thank not only all our

volunteers and sponsors, but Ms. Gardescu and her team for their huge

support in this. We have had wonderful parent meetings; thank you Fela,

Ana Miriam, Daniela and Terry for organizing, together with the School

Principals, the very helpful Parent & Principal Coffee Mornings. Never

before have we had such a wonderful and wide participation at the

International Day and I thank Ms. Hofman, our High School students, Ms.

Gardescu, and all the wonderful PTO volunteers for making this a su-

perb day! We truly are a wonderful community. We are also very spe-

cial — parents who were new this school year told us that they have

been impressed by the AISB community, atmosphere, and spirit. I in-

clude here also our wonderful support staff, who walk the extra mile

each time, and reach out for help and support. Thank you!

Working side by side with a new School Director has also been one the

best parts of the fun I had this year. Thank you, Dr. Brindley, for being so

supportive of the PTO. I have enjoyed working with you through parent

workshops, parent meetings, discussing with you and the parent com-

munity various new paths on how to raise the bar of the education at

our school, and how to raise the level of AISB activities and events. You

have been a great interlocutor, and you always came to our work-

shops with a lot of insights, action proposals, and strategies! Thank you!

I had the chance to meet and know the Board of Trustees members

who I appreciate so much! You do such a great job, dedicate so many

volunteering hours and efforts to our school and we all thank you with

great admiration.

We are taking things further! Be prepared for another great year to-

gether during the 2015-2016 school year. The PTO will be welcoming

you all back in August. We will also be welcoming our new community

members at the Orientation Day on August 24th, 2015 at AISB! Come

by, meet us, meet the new teachers, bring your kids with you to meet

the new students, help orient and brief newcomers, and meet new

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

PTO Message | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 8

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friends.

Next year the PTO is planning to extend the parent support & help

through:

ongoing orientation & briefing events/activities;

new comers coffee mornings, where we will help new (and not so

new) parents connect and get to better know the various aspects

of their kids’ school life, getting around Bucharest, connecting with

country liaisons and respective language communities, etc;

parent workshops; and

social events.

Please consider getting involved and volunteering for events you most

enjoy doing. We are looking for parents to help with:

Annual Auction Gala - being as this is our only fundraising event,

and also the most anticipated one, we are looking forward to cre-

ating a team as early as the school starts, so we can start brain-

storming and planning! It is so much fun! Join the team and fun!

Social Events Coordination;

New Comers Coordination;

Nationality Liaison Coordination;

Athletics & Activities Booster Club Coordination; and

International Day, Harvest Festival, International Day team mem-

bers - the more the merrier!

I would like to close the last news letter for this year with best wishes for

a wonderful summer! Enjoy your holiday, your families, the sun, and re-

charge your batteries! The PTO would like to wish "The Best of Luck" to

all of our AISB community members who are moving on to other ad-

ventures. We will miss you!

HAPPY SUMMER to every one!

Fabiana Papastefani-Pezzoni, PTO President

American International School of Bucharest

Bucharest Buzz | AISB Monthly Newsletter | 9

Bucharest Buzz

Herăstrău Park Cultural Festival | Bucharest Jazz Festival

The Bucharest Buzz section of the Monthly Newsletter is a place to share information about-events and

places with those in our community. Are there events coming up that you want others to know about? Did

you go somewhere worth a visit? Send your Bucharest Buzz items of maximum 150 words and 1 photo to our

Manager of Admissions and External Relations, Ms. Catalina Gardescu, at cgardescu@aisb.ro and if

appropriate, your news items will be featured in the next Monthly Newsletter.

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Yellow Bird Apache Dancers Tour in Romania

The above-named Native American group will have presentations in

Sibiu, Targu-Jiu, and Bucharest, as part of a tour organized by the US

Embassy’s Public Diplomacy Office. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Yellow

Bird is a professional family dance company, specializing in celebrat-

ing and promoting the American Indian culture. They will be in Bu-

charest on June 20 and 21, presenting at the Dimitrie Gusti National

Village Museum, at 5pm on Saturday and 3pm on Sunday.

John Gray comes to Romania for Conferences

Best-Selling author of “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus,”

John Gray, will visit Romania in November. Gray, one of the most fa-

mous relationship counselors in the world, will hold two conferences,

one in Bucharest on the 17th of November, and the other in Cluj-

Napoca on the 19th of November.

The event is organized by Extreme Training. You can find out more

about the event here, and sign up here.

Dino Park opening in Rasnov on June 12th!

Get ready for a family fun day! From June 12th, life-size dinosaurs will

become part of your life. Visit the newest amusement park in Rasnov,

near Brasov, to wander around the forest with 45 dinosaurs between

8 to 24 meters long and 2 to 20 meters high. The 1.4 hectare park is

the largest dinosaur-themed park in South-Eastern Europe, and prom-

ises to be an amazing day out. The park will also have playgrounds, a

food court, and other leisure facilities.

Find out more from our friends at Romania Insider, here.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015