001076_02_GREECE_ETHOS_240x240_v2o.indd 1 5/4/12 3:51 PM

For every person who believes that his country will not make it through, millions of babies are taking their first steps.

INTERNAL # 1280 • FILE NAME: 001429_02_ETHOS_ENG_CC_FIRSTSTEP • 15/11/12 • V1CLIENT: COCA-COLA • COUNTRY: GR • SUBJECT: RTB PRINT • OPERATOR: MPSIZE: 241 X 242 MM (5 MM BLEED) • PUBLICATION: ETHOS

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mission

winter 2012 3

ourmission

How to contact us:Office of the President ext. 201Office of enrollment Management & Communications & technology ext. 263Admissions Office: ext. 263, 251School ext. 206, 233Office of Alumni Affairs ext. 207Human resources Office ext. 204Business Office ext. 202, 207institute for innovation and Creativity ext. 402Office 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. 261

Middle School Discipline ext. 267elementary School Office ext. 229iB Office ext. 247, 248Stavros niarchos Learning Center ext. 237, 265HS/MS Media Center / Library ext. 219, 220eS Library ext. 293Athletic Office ext. 327, 401theater Office ext. 331, 302Security ext. 240night entrance Security 210 6393555

American Community Schools of Athens129 Aghias Paraskevis St, GR 152 34 Halandri, Athens, Greece

Αγίας Παρασκευής 129, 152 34 Χαλάνδρι, Αθήνα, Ελλάδα

Tel.: 210 639 3200-3 • 210 601 6152 • Fax: 210 639 0051E-mail: acs@acs.gr • Web: www.acs.gr

Ethos is a bi-annual publication of ACS Athens showcasing the life and activity of the InstitutionPublisher: ACS AthensEditor-in-Chief and Creative Director: Leda TsoukiaCo-Editors: Peggy Pelonis, John PapadakisProduction team: Frances Tottas, Anna Velivasaki, Mari-anna SavvasText Proofing: Amalia ZavacopoulouContributors: ACS Athens Faculty, Staff, Students, Parents and AlumniArt Direction and Layout Design: Artwise Printing: Demetrios A. Psillidis and CoCopyright © 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this mag-azine (text or images) may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher.

ACS 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.

On Accreditation:The Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools of

The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) has extended the academic accreditation of ACS Athens until 2016. ACS

Athens is the first international school considered for re-accreditation on the top level Sustaining Excellence Accreditation Protocol

ourmission

A World Class International School Leading Innovation in Education

Cover Story

The concept T5 in the cover expresses the focus ACS Athens gives to 5th Grade academic experience by expressing the 5 T’s:

• Transitioning to Middle School

• Turning point

• Transcending expectations

• Transforming personalities

• Thirst for knowledge

001076_02_GREECE_ETHOS_240x240_v2o.indd 1 5/4/12 3:51 PM

letter

We often mistakenly think that there is

a lot of time ahead of us and we can

always prepare kids later, or we just don’t

believe the extra help and attention

will be remembered many years later

when actual career choices are made.

“When i grow up, can i become a gardener?” … “Look mom, i built an airplane! Can i make it fly into space?” … “when

people die, do they live all together in the sky?”…

these are some of the hundreds of questions my five-year old has asked. Being a mom of a preschooler is the most amazing thing, because one discovers the world from the… ant’s point of view; kids are truly free to pay attention to the smallest detail and look at things in the most creative way!

But as fun as this is, i know that one day my little one will grow up, and when that time comes, i wonder, what will i want him to be?

there may be many things we would like our kids to be when they grow up, reflecting perhaps on our own experiences, or unfulfilled dreams.

Happy? Of course, even though we all know that this is not an at-tribute that can be forever attached to someone. Happiness will come and go, perhaps many times.

Be that as it may, what is the most important of all?

what do we really want as parents?

i could say that my biggest concern for my son is for him to be able to learn who he is and follow his personal dream. that is the great-est advice i can give him.

the key question may be: when does all this start? Can we really make a difference from such early age?

we often mistakenly think that there is a lot of time ahead of us and we can always prepare kids later, or we just don’t believe the extra

help and attention will be remembered many years later when ac-tual career choices are made.

this issue of ethos magazine stands against this perception. we, at ACS Athens, consider elementary School as a crucial step at the heart of an educational system which heavily influences the direc-tion our kids will take.

research now offers ample evidence on a very important time, somewhere around the age of 10, when kids are either drawn to certain classes or (if left alone) turn away and never exhibit to-wards these classes again any particular interest. Moreover, by one estimate, 65 percent of children entering grade school last year will end up working in careers that haven’t even been in-vented yet.

this leaves lots of things in limbo. And questions we’re force-fed to answer now, rather than later.

For example, why are literature and language classes at University level dominated by women whereas science and engineering de-partments overwhelmed by men? is the deciding factor purely so-cietal? Does this phenomenon find its roots in gender perception? Are the efforts expended in college insufficient or misapplied? Or does the University come into play too late to change what has been decided much earlier? if so, perhaps greater flexibility in de-ciding amongst alternative career paths could be achieved if we paid extra attention on how various classes are taught at an earlier age – as early as elementary school.

ACS Athens has already started making a difference. Fifth graders are now experiencing a transitional stage towards a radically re-vamped educational approach. they are prepared in a very thor-ough and holistic way to enter Middle School and face their future academic challenges with as many alternatives as possible open for further exploration.

i invite you all to browse through the pages of this issue and read all the great activities our students are involved in, be inspired by all thoughts and ideas of our writers/ educators, who really make a difference in their effort to educate our children in a meaningful way and prepare the new leaders of the future.

When I Grow Up... Preparing Students for an Undiscovered Future

by Leda Tsoukia Creative Director and Editor of Ethos magazine

4 etHOS MAGAZine

ediTor’sLETTEr editor’s

contents

MAY 1 - JUNE 14, 2013ONLINE LEARNING

JUNE 22 – JULY 5, 2013 ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY PROGRAM

The Summer Leadership Discovery Institute is a unique and challenging interdisciplinary

university-level course for talented high school students offered by the Institute for Innovation and Creativity

at ACS Athens in collaboration with St. Louis University.

winter 2012 5

contents

ouToFThebox13

CrossingThEboundaries35

ProfessionaLDEVELoPMENT52

TheNExTsTeP40

LearningENhANCEMENT 57

TrueTrANSITIoNS32

aChievemenTs 46

table

6 etHOS MAGAZine

TabLeoFConTenTs contents● Q&a

why not a different path for education in the 21st century? 8

● CheCkingIN

All i really need to know... 12

● ouToFThebox

Learning through Giving the 11th Grade Bonding retreat 13

Veni, Vidi, Velcro “i came, i saw and what i learned i used over and over again!” 16

Andros Adventure for a Day the 10th Grade Bonding experience 19

when i grow up… can i become an astronaut, a pilot, a nuclear scientist? 20

neSA Virtual Science Fair 2012 results 21

● CommuniTySErVICE

reciprocal Connections through generations 23

Leading in an Uncertain Future 25

● LiTeraryArTS

interview with Pulitzer Prize Author robert Olen Butler 28

● oLymPiCTrIALS

Fourth Graders become Olympic Athletes 30

● voLunTeersINaCTion

the Future of our earth is in their Hands 31

● TrueTrANSITIoNS

the Fifth Grade Milestone 32

Summer 2012 Capital improvement Projects 33

● CrossingThEboundaries

ACS Athens Collaboration with St. Louis University 35

● TheNExTsTeP

CiS University Admissions Fair 2012 40

it’ all about networking, Collaboration and trust… 41

● TakingThEnexTSTEP

Academic Advisory Helping Students Find their way 43

● aChievemenTs

Hindsight is Fashionable 46

My 1st 100-Miler Living Life Beyond the Comfort Zone 47

Arête Award winners 2011-2012 50

Sportsmanship and literary talent in one Family 51

● ProfessionaLDEVELoPMENT

Visualizing Mathematics 52

Collaborative Learning Communities at ACS Athens: teachers working together to improve student learning 53

Aero Science institute Summer 2012 55

● musings

reminiscing the Future 56

● LearningENhANCEMENT

when i grow up… i want to travel around the world 57

Leadership and the “Gateway” to education 58

take Charge through Self-Study teacher research 59

Assessments in Special education An intensive Professional Qualification Program 59

● CiviCs

Middle School United nations Day: Sustaining Our Diversity at ACS and Beyond 61

the USA Presidential elections come to life at ACS Athens 63

● aThLeTiCSPIrIT

Motivation - effort - Discipline - Sportsmanship - Pride - respect Fall Sports teams end their Season Having Finished with their isst And Local tournaments 65

● CeLebraTions

ACS Athens Halloween Carnival By the community… for the community 68

● aLumniAFFAIrS

Dear ACS Athens Alumni 69

ACS Athens Stateside Alumni reunion, Albuquerque, new Mexico, we were there and left our mark – a good one! 69

School Airline travel …Frequent Flyer Miles 70

Why not a Di�erent Path for Education in the 21st Century?

There is a lot of research, in particular areas like Mathematics or Science, which indicates that stu-dents at the grades of 3, 4, 5, 6 will make one of the following choices:They will either love Math and Science, or hate them.There is very strong evidence that the students will develop big interest in these classes if they are inspired by their teacher. On the other hand, we can not leave the teachers on their own. We have to prepare them, continue developing them and give them the tools with which they can inspire and motivate the students.

The curriculum has to be relevant. The students should feel free to express their understanding of di�cult concepts in their own way. For example: If we want a student to understand the concept of a fraction, we have to let the student explain how he or she understands it and internalize the particular concept.If we put 10 kids who do not understand or like mathematics in a classroom and we exhaust them with mathematical concepts for 80 min, then at the end, not only do we have 10 kids not liking math, but we have 10 kids hating math.The other challenge is with our faculty: In order to be able to understand these concepts, teachers have to be well prepared, and willing to learn mathematics deeper, in order for them to be at least a motivating factor to the students. Otherwise, curriculum can be very cold and non stimulating, faculty will be very traditional and not motivating, and students, at the end, lose any interest on the subject.

The students have to be able to understand that ACS Athens is an institution where opportunities are the foundation of the educational experience. Opportunity to express themselves, opportunity to build on their strengths or weaknesses.These opportunities should not be o�ered only in the classroom.Whether they ‘ll be discussing current a�airs in the library, or going to a neighborhood and engage themselves into cleaning it.

Thinking out of the box:

Students start maximizing the time they spend outside of the classroom and minimizing the time they spend within the classroom boundaries.Education is the only industry in the world that we do not ask the customer how he or she feels about the product they are receiving.

So how can we do this differently? We should listen!The students can get any kind of information anyway: From the Internet, from a number of di�erent sources. We have to listen to them to realize how they learn.

LISTEN TO THESTUDENT

This piece is a re�ection of a discussion with Dr. Stefanos Gialamas, ACS Athens President, after his annual presentation to the community that took place in October 2012 in which he shared the School’s vision and goals for the coming years. This year's presenta-tion was interactive with students showcasing their work and exhibiting their individual talents. It can be seen on its entirety here: http://vimeo.com/51506361

A new school system in Sweden

eliminated all of its classrooms in favor of

an environment that fosters children’s

curiosity and creativity.

After we figure out how they learn, then we figure out how we popu-late the course shells in a meaningful way. Today we have a plethora of information and we have to educate ourselves and the students: How to determine which of this information is accurate, which is not biased, and which is relevant to their learning.

How can we prepare the students to make the appropriate decision in terms of the information they receive:

By fostering critical thinking.

We are collaborating with the Herakleidon Museum. The Museum will help us take mathematical concepts and map them into understanding how speci�c artwork is created. Mathematical concepts can be used to create something beautiful. We wish to convince the students that it is both im-portant and fun to see the art behind the math and vice versa. After they are convinced we move on to applications and computations.

Wha

t we

need

to d

o as

edu

cato

rs is

thi

nk o

f al

tern

ativ

e w

ays

of in

trod

ucin

g m

athe

mat

ical

co

ncep

s to

kid

s so

that

the

cour

se b

ecom

es in

spir

ing

and

exci

ting

18 18A 1917A 18 18A 1917A 18 18A19

17A

18 18A 1917A 18 18A 1917A 18 18A17A

A Group of Schools in Sweden is

abandoning Classrooms EntirelyNEWS

by Leda Tsoukia Editor

questionsandanswersQ&a

Why not a Di�erent Path for Education in the 21st Century?

There is a lot of research, in particular areas like Mathematics or Science, which indicates that stu-dents at the grades of 3, 4, 5, 6 will make one of the following choices:They will either love Math and Science, or hate them.There is very strong evidence that the students will develop big interest in these classes if they are inspired by their teacher. On the other hand, we can not leave the teachers on their own. We have to prepare them, continue developing them and give them the tools with which they can inspire and motivate the students.

The curriculum has to be relevant. The students should feel free to express their understanding of di�cult concepts in their own way. For example: If we want a student to understand the concept of a fraction, we have to let the student explain how he or she understands it and internalize the particular concept.If we put 10 kids who do not understand or like mathematics in a classroom and we exhaust them with mathematical concepts for 80 min, then at the end, not only do we have 10 kids not liking math, but we have 10 kids hating math.The other challenge is with our faculty: In order to be able to understand these concepts, teachers have to be well prepared, and willing to learn mathematics deeper, in order for them to be at least a motivating factor to the students. Otherwise, curriculum can be very cold and non stimulating, faculty will be very traditional and not motivating, and students, at the end, lose any interest on the subject.

The students have to be able to understand that ACS Athens is an institution where opportunities are the foundation of the educational experience. Opportunity to express themselves, opportunity to build on their strengths or weaknesses.These opportunities should not be o�ered only in the classroom.Whether they ‘ll be discussing current a�airs in the library, or going to a neighborhood and engage themselves into cleaning it.

Thinking out of the box:

Students start maximizing the time they spend outside of the classroom and minimizing the time they spend within the classroom boundaries.Education is the only industry in the world that we do not ask the customer how he or she feels about the product they are receiving.

So how can we do this differently? We should listen!The students can get any kind of information anyway: From the Internet, from a number of di�erent sources. We have to listen to them to realize how they learn.

LISTEN TO THESTUDENT

This piece is a re�ection of a discussion with Dr. Stefanos Gialamas, ACS Athens President, after his annual presentation to the community that took place in October 2012 in which he shared the School’s vision and goals for the coming years. This year's presenta-tion was interactive with students showcasing their work and exhibiting their individual talents. It can be seen on its entirety here: http://vimeo.com/51506361

A new school system in Sweden

eliminated all of its classrooms in favor of

an environment that fosters children’s

curiosity and creativity.

After we figure out how they learn, then we figure out how we popu-late the course shells in a meaningful way. Today we have a plethora of information and we have to educate ourselves and the students: How to determine which of this information is accurate, which is not biased, and which is relevant to their learning.

How can we prepare the students to make the appropriate decision in terms of the information they receive:

By fostering critical thinking.

We are collaborating with the Herakleidon Museum. The Museum will help us take mathematical concepts and map them into understanding how speci�c artwork is created. Mathematical concepts can be used to create something beautiful. We wish to convince the students that it is both im-portant and fun to see the art behind the math and vice versa. After they are convinced we move on to applications and computations.

Wha

t we

need

to d

o as

edu

cato

rs is

thi

nk o

f al

tern

ativ

e w

ays

of in

trod

ucin

g m

athe

mat

ical

co

ncep

s to

kid

s so

that

the

cour

se b

ecom

es in

spir

ing

and

exci

ting

18 18A 1917A 18 18A 1917A 18 18A

1917A

18 18A 1917A 18 18A 1917A 18 18A17A

A Group of Schools in Sweden is

abandoning Classrooms EntirelyNEWS

questionsandanswersanswers

There are new collabora-tions that will help us do all that, such as the one with St. Louis Universitywhere students, as young as 14 years old, will be able to visit the SLU campus for a few days, live like college students, sit in lectures and do assignments. This is how we shape the future leaders. For example, students will be able to attend an Aviation course. They will be taught how to �y an airplane inside the �ight simulator, and they will learn how to work as a team in order to succeed. They will be able to understand what digital communication is, how to convey a message, by using the latest communication equipment. They will meet with the Mayor of St. Louis, or the Governor of Missouri and familiarize themselves with how the public sector works. At the same time, they will have to live in the dormitories, do their own laundry and they will be treated as college students.

On the other hand, under the same agreement, ACS Athens faculty will be able to go and teach a class for a few days in St. Louis University. They will de�nitely come back with a di�erent air of con�dence. There is so much to gain from this experience. This way, our curriculum will be elevated, teaching experience itself will be enriched, our whole community will become more authentic by creating a learning environment that exists nowhere else.When a prestigious external entity, such as the University of St. Louis acknowledges that our faculty is quali�ed to teach at college level, it is evident that we are a unique institution which o�ers unique opportunities to the kids.Under the same agreement, SLU faculty will also visit our School to teach, which actually shows how higher education institutions �nally recognize that there is great intellectual ability in the K12 environment.

THE5thGRADE

Faculty to Faculty:Faculty members have to feel free, look and learn from each other’s teaching and be inspired by one another.

Students to Faculty:students have to be able to ask freely and discuss outside of the classroom about anything they think is interesting. At the end, the ultimate goal is for everyone to communicate with everyone freely at all times.The fear to make a mistake is the death of learning.This is what we hope to achieve in a pilot program with 6 kids from the Elementary and 6 kids from Middle School.We will be there to observe and see what is going to happen and it will really be exciting! There are four levels of Leadership:First level: I do, you watch me.Second level: I do, you participate.Third level: we do it together.Fourth level: you do it, I guide you.It is the same way with Learning

Genuine morphosis takes place when the student drives the entire learning process: that is beautiful!

Student to Student:What we want is the student to learn from the faculty but we also want the student to learn from the student because we have found out that the student learns from other students more e�ectively than from adults. There is a kind of distance between a student and an adult, which does not exist between students.A teacher, for the little kid is an authority, who always carries a particular weight; when there is no authority, and there are two equals, there is no bias from either side. There are no exams. Nobody tries to prove anything to anyone. The student is not afraid to say that he doesn’t know because he is not being judged.

Pure learning can happen in an innovation zone. We have a 9th grader taking pre-calculus and a little kid in Elementary who learns square roots. What is going to happen when we put them together?

We believe that 5th grade is very important. We need to prepare the students for a completely di�erent thinking process.At the beginning of Elementary school, students have a di�erent way of thinking. 5th grade also coincides with a time of profound changes as socio-physiological evidence suggests that many kids are now entering puberty in an earlier age than ever before. They are confused about who they are and who they are becoming.They deal with problems that students in the past dealt with in 10th or 11th grade.

The educators have to be willing to challenge themselves. They have to be lifelong learnersand feel comfortable giving authority to the child. They have to continuously ask themselves if they want to become better and seek continuously to �nd relevant issues which will inspire their students. What they need to give is:

Global education experience enhanced by local reality.

We

stro

ngly

adv

ocat

e th

at

peop

le te

achi

ng in

the

K12

Scho

ol

shou

ld h

ave

the

sam

e hi

gh s

tand

ards

as

thos

e te

achi

ng in

the

Uni

vers

ity.

10 etHOS MAGAZine

questionsandanswersQ&a questionsandanswers

There are new collabora-tions that will help us do all that, such as the one with St. Louis Universitywhere students, as young as 14 years old, will be able to visit the SLU campus for a few days, live like college students, sit in lectures and do assignments. This is how we shape the future leaders. For example, students will be able to attend an Aviation course. They will be taught how to �y an airplane inside the �ight simulator, and they will learn how to work as a team in order to succeed. They will be able to understand what digital communication is, how to convey a message, by using the latest communication equipment. They will meet with the Mayor of St. Louis, or the Governor of Missouri and familiarize themselves with how the public sector works. At the same time, they will have to live in the dormitories, do their own laundry and they will be treated as college students.

On the other hand, under the same agreement, ACS Athens faculty will be able to go and teach a class for a few days in St. Louis University. They will de�nitely come back with a di�erent air of con�dence. There is so much to gain from this experience. This way, our curriculum will be elevated, teaching experience itself will be enriched, our whole community will become more authentic by creating a learning environment that exists nowhere else.When a prestigious external entity, such as the University of St. Louis acknowledges that our faculty is quali�ed to teach at college level, it is evident that we are a unique institution which o�ers unique opportunities to the kids.Under the same agreement, SLU faculty will also visit our School to teach, which actually shows how higher education institutions �nally recognize that there is great intellectual ability in the K12 environment.

THE5thGRADE

Faculty to Faculty:Faculty members have to feel free, look and learn from each other’s teaching and be inspired by one another.

Students to Faculty:students have to be able to ask freely and discuss outside of the classroom about anything they think is interesting. At the end, the ultimate goal is for everyone to communicate with everyone freely at all times.The fear to make a mistake is the death of learning.This is what we hope to achieve in a pilot program with 6 kids from the Elementary and 6 kids from Middle School.We will be there to observe and see what is going to happen and it will really be exciting! There are four levels of Leadership:First level: I do, you watch me.Second level: I do, you participate.Third level: we do it together.Fourth level: you do it, I guide you.It is the same way with Learning

Genuine morphosis takes place when the student drives the entire learning process: that is beautiful!

Student to Student:What we want is the student to learn from the faculty but we also want the student to learn from the student because we have found out that the student learns from other students more e�ectively than from adults. There is a kind of distance between a student and an adult, which does not exist between students.A teacher, for the little kid is an authority, who always carries a particular weight; when there is no authority, and there are two equals, there is no bias from either side. There are no exams. Nobody tries to prove anything to anyone. The student is not afraid to say that he doesn’t know because he is not being judged.

Pure learning can happen in an innovation zone. We have a 9th grader taking pre-calculus and a little kid in Elementary who learns square roots. What is going to happen when we put them together?

We believe that 5th grade is very important. We need to prepare the students for a completely di�erent thinking process.At the beginning of Elementary school, students have a di�erent way of thinking. 5th grade also coincides with a time of profound changes as socio-physiological evidence suggests that many kids are now entering puberty in an earlier age than ever before. They are confused about who they are and who they are becoming.They deal with problems that students in the past dealt with in 10th or 11th grade.

The educators have to be willing to challenge themselves. They have to be lifelong learnersand feel comfortable giving authority to the child. They have to continuously ask themselves if they want to become better and seek continuously to �nd relevant issues which will inspire their students. What they need to give is:

Global education experience enhanced by local reality.

We

stro

ngly

adv

ocat

e th

at

peop

le te

achi

ng in

the

K12

Scho

ol

shou

ld h

ave

the

sam

e hi

gh s

tand

ards

as

thos

e te

achi

ng in

the

Uni

vers

ity.

questionsandanswersquestionsandanswers

ACS Athens places a high value on

the fundamental beliefs introduced in Junior Kindergarten, important pieces of

wisdom for our daily lives. It gives me

great pride that in the Academy we live

out these ideals.

in February 2012, Dr. Gialamas interviewed me for the position of Academy Principal. even though we spoke for over an hour, our

conversation centered on mostly two topics. First, we talked of all the exciting and innovative programs that ACS Athens offers. in the short time i have been here, i have been constantly amazed at the opportunities we provide for our students. then we discussed the idea of ethos. i expressed my feelings on the subject of ethos and made it clear how important this topic was to me.

A few days after the interview i thought of a book my wife intro-duced to me called All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergar-ten: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things by robert Fulghem. As the title implies, it recalls all those lessons learned early in our formal education that create a foundation for the rest of our lives:

• Share everything.• Play fair.• Don’t hit people.• Put things back where you found them.• Clean up your own mess.• Don’t take things that aren’t yours.• Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.• watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together• warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

ACS Athens places a high value on the fundamental beliefs intro-duced in Junior Kindergarten. in my opinion, they are the most im-portant pieces of wisdom one can incorporate into their daily lives. it gives me great pride that in the Academy we live out these ideals. Our Honor Code Committee is an extension this philosophy; as is our faculty Collaborative Learning Community. in each class, civic responsibility is a pillar around which we construct our teaching.

the students at ACS Athens will be exposed to a diverse wealth of information in a multitude of ways. they are pushed to extend their creativity and abilities in dynamic ways. However, for all they learn, for all they accomplish, it is the basics that will make a difference in the relationships they foster with colleagues, peers, acquaintances, and loved ones.

Like the Butterfly effect, everything touches something else, and can have an effect, either good or bad. we are all connected. each life touches another and ripples outward. Actions within a commu-nity, especially a school, can have ethical repercussions that carry out further than one can envision.

Parents of all students, not just elementary School students, teach your children the fundamental beliefs of ethos. Model them every-day. Make a lasting difference in how they interact with others. Be a positive force in this world and teach your children to do the same.

All I Really Need to Know... by brian f. gerbraChT Academy Principal

12 etHOS MAGAZine

checkinginCheCkingIN checkingin

outofthe

winter 2012 13

outofthebox ouToFThebox

Learning Through GivingThe 11th Grade Bonding Retreatby JuLia TokaTLidou Director of Ib and AP Programs

seventy 11th graders and two elementary School ACS Athens students,   along with faculty members Dr. M. Konstantoulaki-

Biology,  Dr e. Prodromidi- Biology/eSS, Dr. n. romanos- Chemistry, Ms e. Drogaris- economics, Mr. D. Bradshaw- world Literature, Ms. M. Dragatakis- High school counselor, Ms A. Makris- CAS Coordi-nator and Ms Julia tokatlidou - Director of AP/iB Programs,   trav-eled to the western Peloponnese on October 7 through October 9, to apply the values they have been taught since elementary School:  Learning through Giving.

All students and their chaperones were engaged in the weeding of the botanical garden at the archaeological site of Ancient Olympia and the two smaller gardens in the elementary School of Ancient Olympia and the front entrance to the train station. Learning what to weed out was a big challenge for all!!  

Students practiced what they have been taught since El-ementary School. Teamwork, creativity, initiative and group leadership, all put into action to express love, happiness, and positivity. their aim was to put a smile on the faces of the chil-dren- patients of the Chronic illness Care Unit Lehenon (western Peloponnese). they did so, in a playful way, interacting with the pa-tients through color and pictures while they were drawing on the walls of their rooms.  

Here are some student reflections on their learning from the visit and their artistic activities in the institution of Chronic illness Care Unit Lehenon. “As one of the designated photographers of the trip, dur-ing our visit to the Institution I followed teachers and students into the rooms of the patients… they looked as if they were five years old, but they actually were more than twenty five. They could not talk and were smiling and waving at us, as they could feel our love and support, not our pity. They only wanted to touch and feel us and this made them very happy. In the beginning I was really shocked… but in the end this experience helped me understand how blessed I am. We left the insti-tute heavily loaded with memories and thoughts we have never had before,” writes Marios Mystidis.

“After leaving the institution I still felt that I had not done enough. This made me realize that I have a lot more to offer society… I have found

that I’m just as responsible as the person next to me to help my com-munity. I might not be the best artist but there are always ways to help improve the lives of the people around us,” reflects David Johansson.

“I wish we were all born on this earth as equals but I understand that if we were all equal, we would not know diversity and individualism. We are all

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1 Weeding Ancient Olympia Botanical Gar-dens was a challenge for all.

2 Group work, love for nature and col-laboration skills are essential when you work outdoors.

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outoftheboxI felt unique while being part of their

lives. Feeling part of society or a group

and realizing the significance of your

presence for these people are the most

amazing feelings.

beautiful human beings put on this earth for a specific reason, and I am just glad that I can be a part of it,” writes Madeline Gerbracht.

“I sang to an audience for the first time, which was a big deal for me. At the same time I feel I really made these people happy. I was smiling and so were they. I have left this place confident in performing, made people

happy, and very inspired,” writes Angela Fisher.

“Initially, I believed that I was visiting them in order to help them, and in a sense, ‘take care of them’.  Yet the oxymoron is that in a way, they were looking out for me,” writes Dafni Apostolopoulou

Julianna Tsamantanis in her trip reflection writes: “I realized that happiness can come to us from very simple things and the person who seeks for less and asks for less is the one who can truly be happy.  Pure happiness comes from the things that are given to us for free, such as love, hope and faith.”

“This experience was definitely a wake-up call.  It made me realize that I am ungrateful about many things in my life.  From now on, I really want to start doing more charity and volunteer work,” writes Irinna Vavaletskou.

11th grader Christina Angelou writes: “I felt unique while being part

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of their lives even though this takes place through a painting.  Feeling part of society or a group and realizing the significance of your pres-ence for these people are the most amazing feelings - knowing that your actions can bring a change.  The theme of appreciation came to mind; appreciation of what they have and appreciation of what I have.”

“My experience at KEPEP changed the way I view the world now com-pletely and made me a more positive person as well as opening my horizons.  This experience gave me the chance to get to know people better and be aware of everything going on around me, outside the protected environment of my home,” writes Elena Kefalogianni.

Isabelle Bloomfield, in her reflection notes writes: “I think the rea-

son why this stood out for me so much was because I had never really been in a position where I could make a difference that would actually be noticed; more “traditional” forms of ACS community service, such as helping out at a booth at a school event/ fair, seemed to only help the school community.  The idea that my contributions would directly help someone else instead of just my own school community made me re-ally proud.”

Perhaps Philip Georgiadis captured the essence of the trip’s motto Learning through Giving when he wrote: “In order to perfect such a method, we first have to start from the smaller grades and work up from there, because nobody can suddenly develop morals from noth-ing. You have to learn to have them from an early age.”

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1 Students playing music to the patients of the Chronic Illness Care Unit of Lehena.

2 & 3 Indoor decorating and wall painting by ACS Athens students added a cheerful and colorful note to the life of the patients.

4 The Tree of Life: "The energy for LIFE springs from the value of the SIMPLE things".

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ACS Athens students, their faculty and staff of the Chronic Illness Care Unit of Lehena take their group photo outside the main building of the Center. Annual visits to the Unit have become a community service staple for the ACS Athens Academy.

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Field study provides a model for

individual inquiry that has applications

in all disciplines. Carefully planned

field study can build confidence even in reluctant

students because the experience

makes knowledge accessible. Students

take “ownership” of their work and

learn to collaborate with their peers and

teachers in authentic investigation.

velcro is found everywhere these days – on bags and shoes, clothing and up-

holstery covers, almost anywhere a good fastener is needed. it was invented in 1948 by the Swiss mountaineer and inventor George Maestral after taking his dog for a hike in the mountains. Both man and dog came back covered with burrs, plant seed sacks with tiny hooks that clung tenaciously to the tiny loops of his pants and his dog’s fur. After examining the burrs under a mi-croscope, he decided to design a two-sided fastener which he would call “Velcro,” a com-bination of the words “velour” and “crochet,” and patented his invention in 1955. Now, Velcro is as generic as “Kleenex” or “Band Aid” and is a multi-million dollar industry. in reading about Maestral’s invention, how-ever, one finds no mention of what kind of education he received. Chances are that the qualities of an ingenious inventor – cu-riosity, divergent thinking, and the patience to make tedious observations and replicate experiments – were not developed in the classroom.

there’s no doubt that in order to equip young people for a future we cannot even imagine, educators must provide students of all ages with opportunities to develop skill sets and attitudes that can be applied to new situations. Careful observation, critical thinking, collaboration on problem solving and clear writing are essential skills no mat-ter what occupation a student might dream of. Of course, these skills can be developed in the classroom, but getting learners out of the classroom offers them the excitement of interacting directly with complex subject matter. Field study provides a model for in-dividual inquiry that has applications in all disciplines and can be used with students of all ages. Carefully planned field study can

build confidence even in reluctant students because the experience makes knowledge accessible. Students take “ownership” of their work and learn to collaborate with their peers and teachers in authentic investigation. the field trip, however, should be viewed as only part of the process, not as an end in itself. Stu-dents and teachers must be well-prepared, have thoughtful and engaging activities to pursue on the site and take time to reflect

on the experience. Field studies challenge students to think critically as they question, analyze, synthesize and reflect. they also in-spire creativity in many forms. At ACS Athens, students as young as three or four years old venture out of the classroom to explore the world around them, getting to know their community and meeting aspects of the host country face to face.

Students in the first grade were exposed to the joys and challenges of on-site study when they explored the temple of Olym-pian Zeus with their teacher, Christina Birbil, as part of their study of Classical Greece in June, 2012. Ms. Birbil’s careful photo docu-mentation of the first graders in action tells the story of student engagement, problem-solving and risk-taking:

Students also conducted an interesting vi-sual experiment by drawing the other half

Veni, Vidi, Velcro“I Came, I Saw and what I Learned I Used Over and Over Again!”by kaThLeen Jasonides Division Chair of Language & Literature, JaneT karvouniaris Division Chair of Social Studies and amaLia ZavaCoPouLou Writing Center Supervisor

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of Hadrian’s arch, the roman structure that separated Athens during the roman era.

After a full morning of field study activities, students went to the national Garden for a picnic and playtime. this opportunity to get to know their city better was packed with intellectual challenges and social interac-tion as they applied knowledge learned in the classroom to an authentic situation. throughout the elementary School grades,

students continue to practice the skills they have acquired and apply them to new field study experiences.

in the Middle School, the 6th grade So-cial Studies curriculum includes the study of ancient rome. to bring this content to life, students undertake a walk of ancient Athens with a focus on roman ruins and monuments such as Hadrian’s library, the tower of the winds and the Herod Atticus theater. this is not a “tour” where the teach-ers do the talking and the students try to “get it all down” in their notebooks, though. Prior to the walk, the sixth graders work in collaborative groups doing research from books and websites to prepare their on-site presentations. During the walk, they are the “tour guides,” presenting their re-search on a specific monument to their peers. “tourists sometimes listen in and then follow our group to the next destina-tion!” says their teacher, Ms. Vicky Akrivou. All the students keep a field notebook in which they record their own observations, information they learn onsite, sketches and reflections. there is no classroom substi-tute for this kind of learning and no virtual experience can compare to on-site study. As Ms. Akrivou asserts, “Only by visiting the sites can students grasp the scale of ro-man architecture.” in fact, the intellectual benefits do not stop there. Back at school students have lively conversations as they share their field study notebooks and re-flect upon what they have learned.

we are fortunate to live in a city which offers such a wealth of opportunities for field study. Units of study and even courses, such as the Honors Humanities Program, are designed to take full advantage of our unique location in Greece and in europe. in High School, the field studies are more sophisticated, cutting across several disciplines. they also tend to be more varied in terms of destinations and duration. in just one year of the two-year Honors Humanities Program a student will experience one-day study trips to several Athens museums, a weekend trip to either the ancient site of Delphi or the Byzantine city of Mistra, and an eight-day study trip to either France or italy. even students who depend on the internet for much of their in-teraction with the world acknowledge that a “virtual tour” pales in comparison to the firsthand interaction that takes place on-site. Museum visits and travel abroad contribute to developing the multicultural literacy nec-essary in today’s global society and essential for the world of tomorrow.

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1 This visual shows the scale of Temple in relation to the children.

2 These first grade boys are hard at work sketching from life.

3 The famous “fallen column”. How many drums can you count, excluding the base and the capital?

4 These first grade girls focus on sketching from life.

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1 Anna is drawing the other half of Hadrian’s Arch which requires complete concentration.

2 These first grade boys must study the diagram and then draw the other half of Hadrian’s Arch. Other tasks include counting the drums of the column, drawing the capital and naming the style of the capital.

3 A group of sixth-graders provide historical background on site at the Herod Atticus Theater.

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1 An Honors Humanities student carefully records her observation of frescoes in Perivleptos Church at Mistra.

2 After a long climb to the ruins of the for-tress at Mistra, students write and sketch in their field notebooks.

3 In front of The Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

4 The Accelerator: Protons are acceler-ated by a continuous polarization and depolarization of each compartment of the accelerator, in the same manner that a nerve impulse is accelerated in a nerve cell.

There is a big chasm between science in the classroom and real world science.

The practical aspects of science come alive outside the

classroom. In class, concepts are very

abstract.

the value of field study has gradually be-come recognized by ACS teachers other than those in the fields of humanities and the arts. Last year, Ms.Sana Kassem and Dr. Ligourgos Hristakos of the Science Depart-ment accompanied a group of students to Cern in Switzerland, to visit the european Organization for nuclear research. this is the location of the Hadrun Collider, the largest collider in the world, where scien-tists from all over the globe are trying to replicate the Big Bang. Ms. Kassem could hardly contain her enthusiasm about the trip. to set the context for their visit to Cern

the group first visited the History of Science Museum in Geneva. “Cern is the center of the universe for scientific research,” she said. Young scientists explained the processes and problems to the students, allowing them to see science in action on a huge scale. ACS students talked with scientists who are working to have an impact on their world. Learning firsthand about what scientists do also opened discussion about careers in science. “there is a big chasm between science in the classroom and real world science. the practical aspects of sci-ence come alive outside the classroom. in class, concepts are very abstract. this trip bridged the gap,” explained Ms. Kassem. She emphasized the importance of thor-ough preparation in advance of the trip, and pointed out the significance of obser-vation, questioning and processing of new scientific information on the site as a means to foster critical thinking. the underrepre-sentation of women at this level of scientific

research was an observation that struck Ms. Kassem and the students, provoking seri-ous discussion among the group. there was also time for personal reflection about the ethics of science. the fact that all scientific work must be published so it is available to anyone is evidence that “science belongs to all humanity,” said Ms. Kassem. “the entire experience was transformational for teach-ers and students alike,” she concluded.

in his book the world is Flat, thomas Fried-man suggests that “…In the future, how we educate our children may prove to be more important than how much we educate them.” Learning how to learn is one of the characteristic skill sets needed to be prepared for a yet “undiscovered future.” the ability to apply what one knows to new situations and solve problems individually and in collaboration with others will be as-sets in any career setting. with careful plan-ning and thoughtful follow-up, learning op-portunities outside the classroom are very powerful and lasting. At their best, they are transformational. who knows what the fu-ture holds for our students? By becoming careful observers of the world, developing critical thinking and multicultural literacy, they may change the world the way George Maestral did with his ingenious invention…and like Velcro, what is learned through field study can be used over and over again in ways we have never dreamed of.

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1 Group picture with the “Unknown Sailor” at Hora-Rivas Square, Andros.

2 Menites Springs- Teacher chaperones from left to right-Chris Perakis, Vasilli Gakis, William Papatassos, Pauline Mamouzellos, and Joan Margaritis in the background.

on October 19, 2012, 45 10th grade students skeptically set out to visit the island of Andros in hopes of bonding and expand-

ing their horizons. Frankly, i also did not quite know what to expect, as it was a packed itinerary that included sea travel. it was a relief to be greeted by my cheerful colleagues at 6:15 a.m. on that chilly morning in the ACS parking lot, and an even greater relief to see all the students dropped off by their parents in a timely fashion.

At the port of rafina, as the wind wound around the docked boats and the lights twinkled as the night’s darkness crept away, i felt that the group glowed with a very positive electrical buzz. Students chattered, teachers parented, the crisp, salty air rose, greeted and accompanied us through the boat ride, around Andros and back to Athens. traveling is always so exciting! it fulfills promises, dreams and wishes for each individual and gives a sense of freedom. i be-lieve that on this day all of us felt this, each in a unique, special way.

Andros did not let us down. As the bus traversed the island, stu-dents pondered on rock formations, ancient ruins, architecture of new and older structures, and the exhibitions of the Archaeological and Modern Art Museums. Church structures, statues and parts of the “Old City’ were seen and admired by all. the pH of beautiful nat-ural springs, surrounded by green leafy blankets and dirt roads, and the ocean waters were measured. in Hora students went around looking at shops, chose somewhere to eat and played at the beach. At one point we discussed going to one of the several monasteries, but as i glanced up at the location of Agios Panteleimonas, i regret-

fully felt it needed to be saved for another time. truly it lay up in the mountains caressed by the morning clouds, much closer to the heavenly than what lay below.

Students went through the day in groups with their assigned teacher, asking and answering questions. Many new friends were made and many friendships grew, while students also developed closer ties with their teachers. the most frequent criticism was that the trip was not long enough. Many of those who did not attend, regretted their absence. On the way back, despite a delay requir-ing we return to Andros port, the students worked busily on their assignments. we were proud of their exemplary behavior and the local residents admired their manners. i felt a personal satisfaction that all had gone well and that surely the experience could be re-peated again next year.

i would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my colleagues Vas-sili Gaki, Sana Kassem, Matina Katsiyianni, Joan Margaritis, william Papatassos, and Chris Perakis for all their support and a job well done. And a special thank you to Mr. Gerbracht, Academy Principal, for his support.

Andros Adventure for a DayThe 10th Grade Bonding Experienceby PauLine n. mamouZeLLos M.Ph. ACS Academy Science Teacher and Trip Coordinator

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What made this a great experience was not only launching a model space rocket,

commanding a space shuttle or even

looking at the stars through a high-tech telescope, it was the

teamwork, discipline, and creativity that

students developed throughout this

program.

as a child, i remember myself asking my parents all the time why i could not

stay out all night to look at the sky, why it would be impossible to count all the stars, why i could not see other planets in the sky… Perhaps this is why the ceiling of my bedroom looked like a real sky, which magi-cally glowed phosphorescent every time i switched off the lights, traveling me to un-known and undiscovered worlds!

i almost felt the same way this past sum-mer (June 24-30, 2012), when i coordinated and visited the Space Camp in izmir, turkey (licensed with the Alabama Space Science exhibit Commission and headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama) as an adult and chap-erone teacher. together with Ms. Mary-Ann Augoustatos, we escorted twelve ACS Ath-ens students between the ages of 12 and 15, both girls and boys, to an unforgettable and unique one-week experience of Space Science and technology in an international environment designed to inspire and edu-cate eager young minds. Six of the partici-pating students were awarded academic scholarships to attend the Space Camp, offered by a non-profit organization. the winners of neSA Virtual Science Fair 2011, an international Science Competition held every year in our Middle School, were also included among the scholars.

what made this a different and worth-while experience was not only walking on the moon, ‘reading’ the sky, identifying the planets in our milky way galaxy, or building and launching a model space rocket, com-

manding a space shuttle or even looking at the stars through a high-tech telescope, to name but a few of the activities both chaperones and students were involved in. in fact, it was the trust, teamwork, dis-cipline, and creativity that students devel-oped throughout this short program, even though they did not speak the same lan-guage as their peers, which was the most enriching aspect of this experience.

exposing students to such learning and en-tertaining experiences from a young age, is that not what makes a difference in a child’s life, what allows a child to make dreams? After all, is that not what shapes future leaders?

When I Grow Up… can I Become an Astronaut, a Pilot, a Nuclear Scientist?

by Dr. eLina ProdromidiAcademy Science Faculty

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For the fourth consecutive year, ACS Athens participated in the 2011-2012 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. the ACS Athens Middle School participated with a total of 82 teams and were joined by over 340 teams representing 15 schools.

ACS RANKING IN THE NESA VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR 2012

3rd Place Overall - Team 58 The Effect of Curcumin on the Growth of MCF7 Breast Cancer cells By Maria Fernandes Camano Garcia and Lilena Marinou

6th Place Overall and Best Invention Technology Project – Team 11 A Rotary High-Voltage Ion Motor By Konstantinos Karydas

9th Place overall – Team 53 Sustainable Transportation Methods By Destrenta Agjan and Alexander Kalantzakis

10th Place Overall and Best Physics Project – Team 7 Determining the Speed of Sound by Sound and Light By Fotis Spyridakos and George Yatzoglou

Best Environmental Science Project – Team 44 The Effects of Roof Materials on Air Temperature By Elena Mocas

1st Place in 7th grade physics – Team 24 On what Surface does a Car Stop on the Best? By Angelo Makras and Chris Sougioultzoglou

2nd Place in 8th Grade Environmental Science – Team 69 Solar Panel Conversion of Solar Energy to Thermal Energy By Eleni Chatziparaskeva, Ariadne Myrivili-Higgins and Valeria Nikolaki

2nd Place in 7th Grade Invention Technology – Team 46 The Effects of the Length of Turbine Blades on the Speed of a Boat By Lena Alafouzos and Sofia Pipa

2nd place in 6th Grade Chemistry – Team 9 The Effect of Temperature and Particle Size on the Rate of a Simple Reaction By Zacharias Sitinas

3rd Place in 7th Grade Physics – Team 35 Car Damage during a Crash By Artemis Fotinos, Vasiliki Grant and Barbarita Radmann

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1 Students training in the Space Station Mobility Trainer, which simulates how astronauts on board exercise.

2 The Space Shuttle Discovery, a replica of NASA’s orbiter.

3 An ACS 9th grade student training in the Manned Maneuvering Unit, which simulates how astronauts travel untethered in space for short distances.

4 Ms. Mary-Ann Augous-tatos and Dr. Elina Prodromidi proudly showing their model space rockets.

5 A Space Camp Counce-lor demonstrating a science experiment to Space Camp partici-pants.

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Student work being reviewed by one of the judges.

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1 Science Fair participants with their energy related projects.

2 Picture of 3rd Place Overall Winners with Dr Gialamas.

by ChrisTina bakoyannis Middle School Science TeacherNESA Virtual Science Fair Coordinator

NESA Virtual Science Fair 2012 Results

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.

NESA VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR 2012 – 3rd PLACE OVERALL

Maria Fernandes Camano Garcia and Lilena Marinou, with their project on “the effect of Curcumin on the Growth of MCF7 Breast Cancer cells,” ranked third place overall in the neSA Virtual Science Fair 2012. they were part of the final round of the competition, which 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 challenge scenario asked them to consider the follow-ing: “redesign an investigation to compare the anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin with naproxen and ibuprofen. You do nOt ac-tually conduct this experiment; however, write a new hypothesis, propose a BrieF revised procedure with an explicit plan for data collection, and formulate a tentative strategy for data analysis.” with a lot of perseverance and intense research, these students were able to put together a new experimental design. this re-quired a lot of critical thinking skills and group collaboration.

Here are excerpts from the team’s answers to the second round questions:

when asked about the most interesting science concept they learned:

“in order to conduct this experiment correctly, a lot of research was needed. Cancer was our first research concept that we had to find information about and understand. we learned about what causes cancer, how it starts and grows, metastasis, and that is it is

a very hard disease to fight against because it has various forms. the next science concept we researched was chemoprevention. Many people confuse it with chemotherapy but it is an entirely different concept. Unlike chemotherapy, chemoprevention is a way to fight diseases with natural substances and not medicine. Lastly, the anti-proliferative effect of curcumin on cancer had to be researched, because this was our project’s basis. we found out that curcumin could slow down or even stop the growth of a tumor and this is how we came up with the idea of the project.”

when asked about the scientific techniques and skills used to conduct the investigation:

“it was our obligation to use specific scientific techniques and skills carefully for this project because any little mistake or miscal-culation could change our project’s results dramatically. we were lucky enough to get some help from a post-doc of the Medical School of Athens to teach us how to use a tissue culture room, calculate the exact amounts of PBS, Mtt assay and curcumin that we added to each well, use the eLiSA well-plate reader, and take great care of the cells, since they are living organisms.”

Congratulations to all the winners! we are looking forward to an exciting neSA Virtual Science Fair 2013!

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Visiting the elderly at the church-support-ed nursing home in Aghia Paraskevi dur-ing the month of July last summer was a great experience. through our conversa-tions with older people, we learned how different life was for young people 60 years ago, and how much has changed in Greece since then. each afternoon we visited the nursing home with Ms. Vriniotis we brought fruit, milk and other items that were needed; the nursing home is run by volunteers and Father Constantinos. even though some of us did not understand Greek, we were surprised to find how easy it was to communicate emotions and feelings with facial expressions and body gestures. Almost everyone out of the 60 people there wanted to talk to us and they all had something to share.

it was really fascinating to meet with a gentleman who had a great life story. One question that was asked of him was: “Did you play any sports when you were young?” After i got his answer i realized how stupid my question was. His answer was: “we didn’t really play any sports; we were more focused on finding food so that our families could survive…You know over 400,000 people died of starvation those years.” i did not really have an idea of this because i don’t know that much about Modern Greek history, but it really shows how much Greece has changed in the last 60 years. He then went on to tell me how he went to America in search of

a better future. He attended the University of Berkeley and got a Ph.D. in Soil Science. He then returned to Greece and worked at Dimocritos. His job was to test the effects of the nuclear fallout from Chernobyl on northern Greece. then he went on to talk about his two sons and his grandchildren who come to visit him regularly.

Of course there were many more details of my conversation with him, but this story

shows what a different life young people had back in the 1940’s, compared to the lives of students at ACS today. His story was not the only one; there were others who talked about going to Germany to find work, being kidnapped from their village to marry someone, serving in the Greek army, surviving war, and many more stories of hardship. Some people were there be-cause they were alone, others had been ill or injured and needed to be cared for. One

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ACS students find that listening to life stories from the elderly can be an enriching educational experience.

Reciprocal Connections through Generationsby david Johansson, georgina vrinioTis, Zoe sCurLeTis, oresTes adam

This experience was much more

interesting than we expected it to be.

Even though there was an age gap,

when we talked to these people it was

on a human-to-human level. They showed love to us as if we were their

children.

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woman was there because she could no longer afford the expenses of living alone. no matter what their story was, they want-ed to be heard and remembered. they also wanted to give us advice and share stories for us to learn from.

the oldest gentleman in the nursing home was 104 years old. the memories that stood out to him most were those from the Sec-ond world war, the dictatorship, and his

disappointment from the lack of trust in the government and political parties. He warned us young people to keep our eyes open, to question and know what is going on around us so that we can make sound decisions based on our values. He also said, “Change the way you live.” By this he meant that if we lived within our means, then we would not support the corruption around us. One woman told us that the most im-portant thing is education. while many

people strive to save money in Greece to build a house for their children, to her, edu-cation was the most important. that is what she strived for—to educate her children. She kept stressing that we should love our education.

each afternoon, when it was time to leave, most of the people had smiles on their fac-es. there was especially one woman who kept on shouting out in Greek: “May you all live to be over 100 and God bless you.” the experience was very humbling, if anything. we may complain from time to time about how much school work we have or about eating the same cafeteria food, but com-paring it to the lives of the generations be-fore us should make us all realize that what we complain about is really ridiculous. we are not starving, we do not live in poverty and we all have people who want to help us, be that teachers, friends, or family.

this experience was much more interest-ing than we expected it to be. even though there was an age gap, when we talked to these people it was on a human-to-human level. they showed love to us as if we were their children. everyone wants to make a difference. And if you cannot get out there to do so, then you can make a difference to those that come to you. that is what the el-derly did—they offered us their wisdom and their love, hoping to make a difference in our life. their care and company felt so genuine.

Another observation was that the healthier people watched over the older ones who had declining health. the men and wom-en were constantly telling us to be good children and to be careful. they loved our company and appreciated the fact that we took the time to be with them. Despite the language barrier, the people appreciated us, smiling and paying attention to what we were saying, and asking us to return, each time that we said goodbye. Memories make us who we are and our life experi-ences are what define us. in listening to the stories of the elderly, we realized that going through the cycle of life we are what we do, what we say and what we give to others.

communityserviceCommuniTySErVICE

From the moment we come into this world, we enter into a “symbiot-ic” relationship between leaders and followers. Symbiosis, a word that stems from the ancient Greek, “συνβίωσις”, refers to living together in a sense of community, much like the co-existence of diverse organ-isms in the natural world. the efficiency of this interdependent rela-tionship relies on the reciprocity of giving. whether we are in a posi-tion to lead or follow, we are relied upon to act or give of ourselves to achieve a common purpose for the common good, whether that be in our family, the classroom, the community or the world.

As infants, our behavior and natural responses to the environment lead or guide our caregivers to nurture and care for us. Later as we enter school and other social environments, we follow the lead of others to learn how to cooperate, collaborate and care for them in return. Leading and following is like the ebb and flow of a tide, if you will, the one hand that washes the other , the perfect syn-chronicity of a symphony, a set of dominoes falling, of birds migrat-ing, of nature within and of itself. Leading and following happens interchangeably, as it does when we give and receive. if we can acknowledge that the best moments in life are those that are en-gaged in building positive relationships, creating, and making posi-tive change in our lives or the world, then we can understand the importance of symbiosis—life becomes more meaningful when we are connected to or serving others.

these are some of the ideas that students from the Leadership & ethics Honors course have been contemplating in examining the characteristics of effective leaders and citizens in their communi-ty. the leaders that students interviewed, each in their own way, has shown their ability to serve and inspire others to reach their potential, because, they too, value and model excellence in their leadership roles. Despite the diversity of leadership positions, styles, organizational structures and personalities, it was clear that leading in an uncertain future makes the challenge of leadership more dif-ficult, and the answers to leadership challenges are more creative and ethically complex.

Students in the Leadership & ethics class spent the quarter eval-uating leadership skills and characteristics between classic and modern leaders. in wondering what characteristics make a good

leader, or whether leaders are born or made, most of the interview-ees agreed that leaders are made and that although it is helpful to be biologically endowed with some leadership personality traits, such as open-mindedness, sociability, and agreeableness, social and emotional intelligence, the ability to lead others also requires education, motivation, commitment and a vision.

in an interview led by Dimos Papaleonardos, Dr. Gialamas, Presi-dent of ACS Athens stressed the importance of ethos in leading. He said: “Leadership without ethos is like a mother without a child. Simple elements such as ethos make one a leader. to be a man-ager, a captain is a position, others consider you a leader.” important characteristics of a good leader, according to Dr. Gialamas, is being a good listener, being knowledgeable, and having a vision. He re-ferred to the Dalai Lama’s three C’s of leadership: being collected (knowledgeable), connected (having positive relationships) and cool (emotional regulation). Dr. Gialamas spoke of leadership as a tree that needs consistent nurturing: “Good soil is the foundation (values of one’s upbringing), that needs watering (listening, reflect-ing and then speaking). the fruits of the tree are for others such as is servant leadership. i am mostly a servant.”

Leadership and ethics go hand in hand, said General Manager and President of the board of directors of Abbott Laboratory Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Pascal Apostolidis, who granted an inter-view to Tedi Tsopelas. “this is something that citizens of the world demand. ethics is the fuel for the leader to go forth.” He also be-lieves that a good leader is one who “leads by example... Listen to everyone, but at the end of the day, someone needs to make a de-cision and that person is you. Be fair. try to empower and delegate, lower the barriers for better interaction and be a team player. Also, be tough, when there is no other option.”

Other community leaders, such as Mr. Evangelos Mytilineos, Chief Executive officer for Mytilineos Holdings S.A., who met with Soti-ris Papadopoulos, added that good leaders must have good judg-ment and be a hard worker. “You must go to work first and leave last. One must be both fair and tough,” he said. “A good leader is usually respected by his employees and must be able to unite and inspire his people.” The Ambassador of Iraq to Greece, Mr. Abu Khawam,

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ACS Athens students at the gate of the church-sponsored home for the elderly.

winter 2012 25

communityservicecommunityserviceLeading in an Uncertain Futureby the LeadershiP & eThiCs honors sTudenTs under the guidance of eLLen frousTis-vrinioTis

communityserviceStudents in the

Leadership & Ethics class spent the

quarter evaluating leadership skills

and characteristics between classic and

modern leaders. In wondering what

characteristics make a good leader, or

whether leaders are born or made, most of the interviewees agreed that leaders

are made. The ability to lead others

requires education, motivation,

commitment and a vision.

26 etHOS MAGAZine

CommuniTySErVICE

wisely noted that “leaders are made depending on the environment, the circumstances in one’s life and the situation one has to deal with.” He contnued by saying: “You have to feel your people and be one with them. You have to hear your people and know what they want. You have to be responsible, charismatic and most important to me, make them (the people) as happy as you can.”

Our very own Mr. Medeiros, Dean, ACS Athens IIC Institute, who spoke with George Cremos, stressed the importance of personal responsibility. He said: “we’re all products of our nurture, if you will. You can’t divorce your style as a leader from your values, from your perceptions of the world. Of course we’re shaped by our experi-ences, but i’d like to think that our lives are the consequences of the choices that we make. we’re not just pawns and some fate out there that’s determining our life; i believe my character, which is a result of all the forces – genetic and environmental – that have shaped me, led me to make the decisions i make, and the deci-sions i make shape the life that i have. So in some sense, i believe i’m responsible for my life and i believe that leadership, whatever that means – people demonstrate that in a thousand ways – has nothing to do with position, it has nothing to do with authority, it has nothing to do with status. i think it has to do with meeting whatever challenges come in front of you at a time. And then you step forth so everybody has potential.” Our leadership styles and visions also influence our ability to manage crisis.

today’s crisis of leadership often resembles a world that is desper-ately trying to balance on a tight rope with a traffic jam. Mr. Bobby Mitropoulos, Managing Director of the ship brokerage firm, Weberseas, was interviewed by Peter Mitropoulos. He attributes this fragile condition of the world to leaders lacking in courage, ethics and values, but abundant in ignorance and corruption. He observes that leaders “are not willing to take a risk for the benefit of the world, by sacrificing their own benefits.” Yet, at the same time, there are many skilled leaders around the world, whatever field they are in (politics, business etc..) that will always be around. He referred to admirable leaders such as Jack welch, ex-CeO of General electric, winston Churchill and Collin Powell as leaders who have the ability to develop potential that can be transformed to real-ity. Dr. Gialamas referred to Socrates, Alexander the Great, nelson Mandela, Obama, Messi and Michael Jordon as several leaders who have shown consistency in what they said and what they did. they were people who were consistent in “sustaining excellence.” Could it be that consistency in exercising our rights and responsibilities, both as leaders and followers, is what is needed to sustain a func-tional symbiotic relationship that could untangle the traffic jam and free the tight rope?

Moral courage is a fundamental characteristic of leading for peace, stability and social change. Mr. Abdallah Dardari, Former Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs in Syria, who was interviewed over social media by Salma Al Tabaa, advises that, first and foremost,

we must be ethical ourselves, “otherwise you are a hypocrite…. Un-derstand the social, political, economic and cultural root causes of corruption and (address) it on all fronts in a synchronized manner. Most importantly we must be aware that corruption is degrading to human dignity, even in the eyes of those who commit it. Make human dignity your guide and you will see results.” Preserving hu-man dignity and striving for quality of life is at the core of what it means to be human, despite differences that people may have in political, economic, and religious beliefs and ideologies. these two focal points find their roots in nurture, giving and serving and hav-ing the moral courage to lead for positive social change.

As for leading in an undecided future with an uncertain vision, owner and business consultant to “Spinsystems” Charis Bakaloukas, inter-viewed by Dimitris Elezoglou, points out that challenges of leader-ship in the world today are to “preserve the peace and softening of national and religious conflicts, the improvement of communication between people of different cultures and habits, the preservation of environmental conditions, elimination of poverty, hunger and child mortality.” Mr. Apostolidis explains that the way we lead must change: “there is a demand for shifting priorities, which is putting pressure on characteristics that a leader should demonstrate. espe-cially in the case of our country in Greece, we need to make sure our people have the necessary capabilities and tools to cope with this crisis. You need change agents, to disrupt how things have been done for a long period of time. what was acceptable then is not ac-ceptable now. we need leaders who will make changes in the mar-ketplace that will withstand the test of time.”

in addressing the global issues of the world today, the Ambassa-dor of Iraq reflects that there are many (political) forms of schools and ideologies, but the world has decided that democracy is the best one, but it is still not the one that pleases everyone. Until we find that ideology, people will always be unhappy. with patience we need to fix all the problems and not hide them and we always need to have a goal in mind. Mr. Khawam believes that balance can be achieved in the world by “giving everyone an equal op-portunity in life, such as in education, so that we all have an equal chance to make it and to give it back to the world.” Likewise, Mr. Mytilineos added that good knowledge, education, discipline and social awareness are the key components in helping the process of balancing the world. Mr. Mitropoulos viewed compassion, cour-age, mental and spiritual strength as necessary attributes to help leaders face the new challenges of the world.

in looking for answers, good leadership begins with good ques-tions to address the challenges of our world. Mr. Medeiros points out that, leaders (could) help us say: “what are our responsibilities? Based on our responsibilities, what can we do collectively to im-prove our situation? i think that leaders really do need to help us identify what is the common interest rather than what is the inter-est of the few. i think that leaders will arise when people say, ‘OK,

communityservice

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Students participating in the Leadership and Ethics course.

winter 2012 27

how can i take my responsibility for... etc... i’m looking to people in their twenties and thirties to kind of get together and say, ‘Fine. we don’t have work. what are we going to do? How will we take responsibility for transforming the situation?’ i really think there’s power in those things.”

As for our younger leaders, Mr. Mitropoulos ponders on the life that lies ahead for young people and advises youth to “stay positive – do not let fear control your life; seize the day and live your life to the fullest; maintain high values, have faith in yourself and always love and respect yourself.” Mr Apostolides sees many lessons for young people in today’s absence of leadership. For him school is “a good example of creating leaders. i didn’t have the opportuni-ties that you have today, you are not yet a working citizen and you have had a lot of exposure and are much more developed to take these challenges than i was at your age. You can be helping Greece

from different positions. You can be a leader from anywhere in the world, this is what a global economy means.” Dr. Gialamas adds the dimension of time as a rare commodity to be used wisely. “You cannot buy a day”, he reminds us. “investing our time well, while leading, observing and reflecting are important leadership goals for the future... and don’t forget ethos; it’s the glue that binds lead-ers and followers together in a symbiotic relationship that inspires active citizenship, service, social responsibility, purpose and posi-tive social change.”

Leadership & Ethics Honors Student who participated in this project: Salma Al tabaa, Hannah Amis, enri Baguca, George Cremos, Dimitris elezo-glou, Peter Mitropoulos, Sotiris Papadopoulos, Dimosthenis Papaleonardos, Utkan Pulat, tedi tsopelas, iosif Xiradakis.

communityservice

literaryarts

often, students come to me thinking

too much. They haven’t forgotten

enough. Art doesn’t come from the mind

or the analytical, rational faculties;

it comes from the place where you

dream. So the forgetting is the forgetting of the

rational analytical part.

This past summer (2012), i had the honor of meeting and spending some time

with a Pulitzer Prize writer, robert Olen Butler, on the island of Andros where he was the invited instructor for the tenth an-niversary of the Aegean Arts Circle creative writing workshops. Although i, myself, don’t have a burning passion for writing fiction, the lessons he teaches us in his first non-fiction book From Where You Dream (a series of lectures that focus on the process of writ-ing fiction), are of great use to me for inspi-ration as well as helpful for any writing as-signment i may need to write that requires moving away from fact, and into imagina-tion. i got the chance to ask Mr. Butler a few questions and to get a peek at what he tries to teach his university students and the writing workshop participants in Andros.

Q. When did you first start writing? a. During my childhood… in 4th or 5th grade i wrote a few short stories about

jet planes fighting each other. My early childhood was lived at the tail end of the Korean war and as many kids might have been at the time, i was interested in war. i did some writing in high school and i had a few influential english teachers that i still keep in touch with and see on book tour every time i have a book come out.

Q. How did they influence you? a. By encouraging me and teaching me the basics and high school level techniques; mainly they were encouraging. My main interest actually was in acting. i was in a lot of plays all throughout high school, but then i went off to northwestern University where i did very well but about half way through i decided i’d rather write the words than interpret them. i got a Masters degree in playwriting, though i was a horrible playwright (laughs). i should have known better. My most impassioned writing was going into the stage directions - that’s a bad sign for a playwright. i was actually a closeted fiction writer. After the Masters i went off to the army--though not voluntarily--during the Vietnam war. i ended up being sent to school to become a counter intelligence special agent and then i was sent to Vietnamese language school for a year. i studied full-time for a year with a native speaker.

Q. How do you think that affected your writing? a. From the first day in the country i spoke fluent Vietnamese and as linguists know, learning a new language is basically a matter of renaming the world. everything around you has a new and drastically different name, and if you are a nascent writer this intensifies your moment-to-moment sense-based experience, a crucial thing for a literary fiction writer. Being

sent into war heightens all of your senses just like your sense of mortality becomes heightened. My experiences in Vietnam went into my collective unconscious and many years later i wrote Good Scent From a Strange Mountain (which earned Mr. Butler the Pulitzer Prize.)

Q. What inspired you to write this book about the writing process? a. in some sense i didn’t exactly write it – for years i had been giving the lectures that are in From Where you Dream as the first six or seven weeks each time i taught a fiction workshop. i really, really don’t like writing non-fiction, and i had a wonderful colleague named Janet Burroway, a very prominent writer and educator who had written the definitive textbook on craft and technique, a book called Writing Fiction; she was intrigued with my lectures and approach. this book would never have been written if it were not for Janet. She once suggested: “why don’t we record your lectures and i’ll get them transcribed.” So in fact, i never did write that book as a book writing project. My fingertip energy is so focused on my fiction writing self that that is all i’m really comfortable doing.

Q. On Page 10 of From Where you Dream you said you realized the “mistakes” you made in your early writing. Why were those twelve plays, five novels and forty short stories such failures? a. the realization came later. Most people might wonder how you can write that much unsuccessful stuff and keep going. My best friend at that time was self deception, until ultimately something turned in me and i understood clearly what was wrong. i had a very good teacher in a fiction night class in new York City. while i was working as a newspaper editor

Interview with Pulitzer Prize Author Robert Olen Butler by anna PasPaLas ACS Student

28 etHOS MAGAZine

LiTeraryArTS

literaryartsi finally took this class at the new School. i studied with a man named Anatole Boroyard, the most powerful book critic in the country at the time and a daily reviewer on the nY times staff. in that class i showed him some of the earlier stuff i had written, probably still half expecting him to think it was terrific – but he didn’t think my writing was terrific. He made that quite clear. So i started writing things for him (the Alleys of Eden which was my first good, published book). that doesn’t explain how i could suddenly write the Alleys of Eden but i knew i couldn’t continue down the same path.

Q. How did you come to realize all of this theory that you wrote about? How did you develop your theory of writing from your unconscious? a. it developed as a practice before it developed as a theory. that’s what i started doing with my first good book, which i wrote in 1979 and published in 1981. On publication day by the way, Anatole gave it a rave review in the times and with that, my career and i “took off.” it wasn’t until 1985 that I was able to leave my job as a newspaper editor and become a teacher of creative writing at Mcneese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. when i was confronted with the challenge of teaching i had to then stop and consider what my process in fact was. So, the theory really developed – as all theories should of practitioners of art – after the fact. it was just a way of articulating what i had already been doing instinctively.

Q. How do you get the courage to be so blunt to other writers by telling them, “you aren’t nearly as good as you think you are.” a. i don’t put it in quite those terms. But i certainly was not nearly as good as i thought i was for most of those years, writing those million words of dreck; to some extent, it helped keep me going but it certainly prolonged the dreck. Unfortunately a lot of the creative writing pedagogy in the world may help sharpen the awareness of some of the techniques

that are used, but not only does it not get you to that next great level of actual accomplished artistic creation, it can hold you back in many ways. it gives the young writer the impression that he/she must use her analytical mind to create art. that’s utterly wrong. So i teach process and i find that the student writers sitting before me who have already achieved their Masters of Arts in Creative writing, know the second through the tenth thing about being an artist, but don’t know the first thing about it. they come to me thinking too much. they haven’t forgotten enough. So therefore in effect, that’s what i teach them. they arrive assuming they are fully-fledged artists and just need a little tweaking, and often they are headed in the wrong direction in terms of creating truly great works of literary art.

Q. Why is “forgetting” what you have learned so important? a. Because the essence of what i teach is that art doesn’t come from the mind or the analytical, rational faculties; it comes from the place where you dream. So the forgetting is the forgetting of the rational analytical part. this is hard since we are rational beings, and the paradox is that i often teach—as we all often must—in a rational philosophical way. But the paradox is that an aspiring artist must, in the act of creation, be irrational and set philosophy aside. A writer has to learn craft and technique, but even that must be assimilated into the writer’s unconscious dream space.

Q. How does it feel to have 20 books published (as of October 2012)? a. i am reminded of the old expression of having a “body” of work and there is indeed a sense of having an external manifestation of who you are. those books exist as a kind of outward expression of my inner self – how i see the world and how i experience and understand the human condition.

Q. Do you feel accomplished/like you’ve led a successful life? a. Yes, i mean i don’t sit on my balcony

on Andros – which by the way, is one of the most beautiful places i’ve ever been to and has inspired me and given me a beautiful new voice that i’m putting into my new novel – but i don’t sit on my balcony thinking “Gee, i’m so satisfied with my life, what a terrific fellow i am…” if anything, there is a sense of restlessness inside me about the books i haven’t written. But of course, i feel blessed and very fortunate to find my way to this creative production. God knows, i could have given up somewhere along the way seeing as i began the first of those awful plays on my 21st birthday, and i was a few months shy of being 37 years old when i published my first good novel. So that is a long time of pursuing a dream and not really getting there.

Q. What advice do you give to someone who is just starting out with writing? a. read my book. (laughs) the essence of the book is something really useful for beginning writers to understand. especially if their life experience is too much “un-dissolved” into their unconscious, as they move forward they have to learn craft and technique, but it would be wise for them to remember where they are heading. Students here at this workshop are not so young – they have significant life experience and have forgotten a lot in the appropriate way (it has dissolved into their unconscious) and are fully ready to write complex things. those beginner writers have to be patient with themselves, because the well that they will draw from is deep and full. All works of art are objects of the body and the senses, not of the mind or rationality. the creation of any work of art in any medium is the creation of an object of the senses—that is at the heart of every art form. it’s a different way of understanding the world from what we’re used to. Artists are not intellectuals; they are sensualists.

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Anna Paspalas with Pulitzer Prize Author Robert Olen Butler.

winter 2012 29

literaryarts

All students were so excited to be learning about

olympic swimmers, researching their

strengths, discussing the events and

also learning the strokes during their

lessons. Students were experiencing

their swim classes as olympic athletes!

every spring, the fourth graders at ACS become modern Olympians in the unit

Modern Olympic Games. we read, recite and follow the Olympic oath. we read, re-search and learn about the history, athletes, rules, events and ethics of the modern games. However, this unit came to life last spring. the students were able to experi-ence the Games firsthand as they watched London prepare for the summer games on Youtube week by week. the students also heard true testimonials from Athletes on Cnn as they tirelessly prepared for the games. Following the Olympic Oath, and specifically of sportsmanship, it was obvi-ous that the students had to experience Olympic Games firsthand and not in mock activities as was done in the past. in order to provide this authentic experience to the students, we had to think collaboratively.

in particular, in Pe, spring means swimming lessons for the elementary School. it was an obvious connection. Swimming would be the focal sport of the unit. together with Ms

Salouras, we focused on the unit objectives and goals for each. Our first concern was to cover our curriculum in such a way that the students would receive the proper learning goals through realistic experiences. through this collaboration, we developed an interdis-ciplinary unit where students became the Olympians swimming for their ACS Houses.

this authentic experience changed swim-ming for many of our students. Swimming was not just another lesson in the day, it became an opportunity for the students to become the next Michael Phelps! they were all so excited to be learning about Olympic swimmers, researching their strengths, dis-cussing the events and also learning the strokes during their lessons. Students were experiencing their swim classes as athletes and then coming to homeroom class en-

thusiastic and energized to report their ac-complishments.

At the end of the unit, students took part in water relays, butterfly stroke, backstroke, freestyle and canoeing races. Similarly, they participated in a medal award ceremony af-ter the events. After this, students truly felt the pride, exhaustion and hard work that every athlete experiences.

these types of collaborations allow learn-ing to go beyond the classroom. the stu-dents transform themselves and broaden their horizons, they experience their classes in an innovative and exciting way. we, as teachers, can never predict the outcome of our lessons for each individual. However, providing these experiences may plant the seed that will change a child’s future.

oLymPiCTrIALS

30 etHOS MAGAZine

Fourth Graders become Olympic Athletes by irene soTeres Elementary School Teacher

and sTavrouLa saLouros PE Teacher

“In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, re-specting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams.”

The Modern Olympic Oath

olympicolympictrials

1

2 3

The ACS elementary turtle Club is a source of hands-on environmental education

for students. the club’s action component takes club participants to the rescue Center for realistic experiences and holistic learning, which develops all facets of their learning in the club. the building of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and attitudes comes together as we witness real conservationists in action. through this experience, students are made aware of real issues that volunteers, conser-vationists and marine biologists face on a daily basis at the Archelon Sea turtle rescue Center in Glyfada.

Last year students participated in the Young Volunteers in Action, a new initiative in the 4th grade through the turtle Club, where they experienced what true volunteers at the rescue center experience routinely. A 12-member team of 4th grade volunteers were committed to working at the center for three days. Part of their duties included

cutting and measuring food for the turtles, cleaning the tanks, observing and record-ing data of the sea turtles in the tanks. their final duty as conservationists was to lead visiting groups through the rescue center.

Students reflect on their experiences as vol-unteers.

The Young Volunteers is a program that gives young children the chance to become sea turtle volunteers. On the first day we learned about the sea turtles and the facilities of the Rescue Center. We saw some injured turtles in the tanks. The experience was great! Marina

The program Young Volunteers teaches young volunteers to protect the turtles. On the sec-ond day we also talked about how turtles get injured. We could bring fish or squid so we could feed the turtles. Barbara

We got to clean the tank, it was fun and we

got to feed the turtles. My turtle was named Cleo and weighs 66 kilos. In the end, she will be released in the ocean. Will

I fed a turtle named Costas. In the end we saw the adult volunteers put Cleo in the tank we cleaned because she was ready to be released. In the third day visitors are going to come to the Rescue Center and we will guide them. George

I had an awesome time! The adult volunteers do really work hard, much harder than us! Omer

Being a young volunteer is not easy. People of the age of 18 can take care of the injured turtles. Sometimes when turtles can’t eat by themselves, they have to mash their food and put it in an eating tube so they can swallow it. These volunteers also bathe the turtles and give them medicine. They care for over 25 injured turtles and also clean the tanks and release the healthy turtles. This is what it is like being a volunteer at the Archelon Rescue Center. Marian

through these experiences, students have the opportunity to broaden their horizons and develop a vision for an environmen-tally conscious future. Our earth is indeed in need of conservationists and the turtle Club hopes to be a source of inspiration for our students.

The Future of our Earth is in their Handsby irene soTeres Elementary School Teacher and irini rovoLi Elementary School Greek Teacher

actionvolunteersin

winter 2012 31

voLunTeersINaCTion

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1 Elementary students wait for their warm-up laps.

2 & 3 Swimmers jumping in for their routines.

CurrenT Page

1 Turtle rescue center volunteer exhibits a turtle x-ray to the student visitors.

2 Turtles are been kept and fed in big tubs of water before they are released.

3 Smiling faces for a job well-done at snack time.

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21

5th Grade is a critical time when students

are transitioning from the elementary

phase and yet are not quite ready to be

with the older kids of the upper levels.

in the milestones of academia, the Fifth Grade is often overlooked. we hear

about High School, Kindergarten and First Grade making the most influential mo-ments list, alongside the first spelling test, first field trip – all the familiar first of lasts. But rarely will someone mention the Fifth Grade, and when they do, it is towards the end of the list. Yet this period is specifically important in a child’s academic, personal, and social emotional development. this is a critical time when students are tran-sitioning from the elementary phase and yet are not quite ready to be with the older kids of the upper levels. this is both an exciting and sometimes confusing or

stressful time for students as they prepare to shed their younger class experiences of the lower levels and break into a newer, more mature phase of self- awareness. it is at this point that they need their personal space to adjust, develop and evolve into older students.

Our new Fifth Grade wing will provide the students with not only the appropri-ate space away from the younger kids and the daily crossings of the older kids, but also the facilities they need to properly nurture this transitional time in their per-sonal and academic lives. this new space, complemented by our academic program,

is designed to enable the student to ex-plore, grow and mature. the ability of ex-ploring during this transitional plateau pe-riod, while also bridging the old and new, will provide our kids with the confidence and tools they need to make a successful, smooth passage into their next phase of development.

the faculty and administration of ACS Athens has given considerable amount of planning and thought into the elements of the new Fifth Grade wing and program, which we believe our ACS family will find an enriching experience for students, as they transition into their next important phase of life: Middle and High School. One of our innovative programs will be initi-ated during the second semester of this school year and it involves a very different approach to mathematical understand-ing. Under the guidance of Dr. tsokos and Ms. Andrikopoulos, the fifth grade teach-ers will expose students to an approach that will help them make connections and gain a deeper understanding of the top-ics taught in mathematics. to enrich this work, the institute for innovation and Cre-ativity and the Herakleidon Museum have entered into a collaboration to develop a program of studies involving the investi-gation of mathematics through the study of art, in alignment with our curriculum for ACS Athens students. thus, key conceptual mathematical ideas taught in grades 4-6 will also be explored through the connec-tions between art and mathematics. Cur-rently, the Herakleidon Museum houses an exhibition of works by M.C. escher and V. Vasarely chosen along the theme of art and mathematics: Art & mathematics: From the aesthetics of art to the logic of mathematics. this is a three year project in which the ACS Athens faculty will be able to utilize the expertise of the museum educators to create meaningful learning opportunities for our students.

TrueTrANSITIoNS

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The Fifth Grade Milestone by CaThy makroPouLos Elementary School Principal

truetransitions

T

summer is the time when our school makes renovations to class-rooms and offices to improve the appearance and enhance the

overall infrastructure of our campus. this summer was very busy, there were many changes that took place all over the campus. we wish to convey our thanks to our colleagues in the maintenance, support staff and administration departments, who worked with dedication right through the summer months to bring the follow-ing projects to successful completion:

1 The construction of the Elementary School Fifth Grade Wing: we constructed/renovated 260 square meters of building space and converted the surrounding area, totaling about 420 square meters, into a student-friendly playground. this new facility con-tains three classrooms, two conference offices, a kitchen, storage areas and separate wC facilities. All areas are fully air-conditioned

and include state-of-the-art technology and safety equipment. Ms Kynigou and Ms Coklas moved into this modern, well-equipped space at the beginning of October, along with 51 5th graders. We would like to thank one of our parents who generously donated and covered a significant portion of the cost of this project.

2 The complete renovation of Chemistry Lab (room 103), which includes the purchase of new state-of-the-art benches for experiments and scientific work and a mounting gas device for science experiments along with the appropriate safety sys-tem. All funds needed for this project were raised by the school board fundraising efforts. we have to thank the seven parents who generously contributed towards funding these renova-tions. their contribution will be greatly appreciated by the cur-rent and future generations of ACS students.

Summer 2012 Capital Improvement Projects by nanCy vogoPouLou

business office

winter 2012 33

Lastly, as educators we seek to provide children with endless opportunities to demonstrate potential excellence. we act as facilitators in the learning process and are constantly researching ways this new generation can be challenged. Fifth grad-ers at ACS Athens also partake in the 5th Grade Play. a culminating exhibition of learning. this project is important not only from a creative perspective but also in terms of student self- confidence, esteem and public speaking skills. these program elements are stepping stones that will guide students from the familiar and basic foundations onto a new and more chal-lenging level, with the required skills for their continued success in the upper level elementary curriculum and beyond.

truetransitionstruetransitionsoPPosiTe Page

Adjustment to the new 5th Grade Wing is smooth and complete.

CurrenT Page

One of the two 5th grade section buzzing with questions.

CurrenT Page

View of the new Fifth Grade Wing classroom and recreational area.

ΝΕΧΤ Page

1 New, double padded floor, ideal for dancing and other physical ac-tivities, was installed in the Elementary School gym.

2 New Physics (dry) lab in place for student projects.

3 New state of the art chemistry (wet) lab en-hances science classes.T5

In addition to the construction of the Elementary School

Fifth Grade Wing, there were many

changes that took pace all over campus

in order to improve the appearance and enhance the overall

infrastructure of our School.

3 The renovation of the Academy Physics Lab (room 213), where we renovated the floor with new tiles, repainted the area, added new benches for scientific experiments and a new sink. we also added new cabinets for microscopes to the Academy Biology room.

4 The installation of school wide Public Address system was finalized. this system helps keep everyone up to date with an-nouncements and is part of our safety system.

5 The purchase of 38 new computers. We installed 25 new computers in the Foreign Languages Lab, five in the Sabbagh Library and two in the Academy Art Suite. incorporating tech-nology in all aspects of education is a priority at ACS Athens.

6 The soundproofing of the school’s Music Room, which in-cluded the installation of new air-conditioning and ventilation energy saving units (VAM). we also purchased new musical in-struments on which students can practice their skills.

7 The replacement of the Elementary School gym floor: we would like to thank the PtO for this generous donation. the PtO always contributes to improving the education and safety of our students.

8 The upgrade of many electrical panels and addition of new safety devices. we also renovated our main electricity substa-tion and completed a study of how the school can save energy and cost around campus, as part of our goal to make the school greener for current and future generations of students.

9 The beautification of the Elementary School classrooms. we purchased new furniture, added flowerpots, installed new floors, curtains and blinds in many classrooms. the elementary School Library was also upgraded with new projectors and new computers

10 The administration office floor was renovated and new air-conditioning was installed.

11 The girls’ lockers and showers in the swimming pool were renovated.

these projects were completed in addition to the normal mainte-nance workload of the summer. More than two hundred specific work requests from the teaching staff regarding painting, repairing and cleaning were also completed.

TrueTrANSITIoNS

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The multi-disciplinary program is designed to challenge students to complete university-level study and to make meaningful connections among the various strands of the program in an active, hands-on, minds-on experience.

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winter 2012 35

by sTeve medeiros Dean, Institute for Innovation & Creativity

on Friday, november 9, Dr. Stefanos Gialamas, ACS Athens President, and Dr. Paul Vita, Dean of the Madrid campus of

University of St. Louis, representing the administration of St. Louis University, signed a memorandum of understanding outling the terms of a partnership between the two institutions that will result in enhanced learning and professional development opportunities for ACS Athens students and faculty. this partnership, executed as an initiative of the institute for innovation and Creativity at ACS Ath-ens, is the latest and most expansive of the university partnerships that the iiC has developed in its six-year history. (See box.)

Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, and is ranked among the top research universities in the United States. Founded in 1818, SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi river. ACS Athens and SLU make fitting partners becasue of the two institutions’ shared commit-ment to promoting and fostering academic excellence; free, active and original inquiry; innovative, creative and critical thought; ser-vice to humanity; ethical citizenship; and living with ethos.

the partnership agreement envisions collaboration between the two schools in five areas:• Summer Leadership Discovery institute for ACS Athens students• SLU international Advanced University Credit Program at ACS

Athens• ACS Athens/SLU Visiting Scholars’ Program• ACS Athens/SLU teaching intern Program• ACS Athens/SLU research Partners’ Program

work is currently underway to design an exciting university learn-ing experience for qualified ACS Athens students during the sum-mer of 2013. Drawing on SLU’s unrivalled programs in aviation, communications and service learning, the SLA/ACSAthens Sum-mer Leadership Discovery institute will challenge students to clar-ify their concepts of leadership and develop their own leadership potential as they study the basics of flight, learn to make a movie, participate in SLU run service projects and interact with leaders from a wide range of endeavor. the multi-disciplinary program – which will involve one month of on-line learning and three days of seminars in Athens led by ACS Athens faculty in preparation for two weeks of study on the SLU campus in St. Louis – is de-signed to challenge students to complete university-level study

and to make meaningful connections among the various strands of the program in an active, hands-on, minds-on experience. the program will also offer students the opportunity to experience US university life first-hand (in a program designed specifically for them) and to provide them with a close-up look at American life and culture: including baseball, Broadway shows, summer fairs and Fourth of July fireworks too!

within the framework of the international Advanced University Credit Program, ACS Athens students may have the opportunity to enroll in SLU courses, taught by ACS Athens faculty in Athens, for university credit. ACS Athens faculty, deisgnated Fellows of the iiC and chosen to participate in the Visiting Scholars’ Program, will spend 1-2 weeks on the SLU campus, taking advantage of all of the intellectual opportunities the campus affords. they may at-tend lectures, classes and labs, make use of research resources and museum collections, participate in service learning projects, and interact with university faculty and students workingin their fields. they will also have the opportunity to share their exper-tise in seminars and other formal or informal presentations with SLU education students in training to become teachers. two SLU faculty, Dr. Diana Pascoe, Director of eSL in the College of Arts and Sciences and her departmental colleague Dr. Larry Schmidt, will visit ACS Athens as featured presenters at the eighth Annual Conference on Learning Differences. ACS Athens has also com-mitted to developing an 8-12 week teaching internship/study abroad program on the ACS Athens campus for SLU students pre-paring to enter teaching careers. the research Partners’ Program envisions ACS Athens faculty working in concert with SLU faculty and graduate students to conduct educational research on the ACS Athens campus that addresses signifigant questions about the teaching - learning process that will help us to improve and enhance student learning.

why does such a collaboration matter for ACS Athens students and faculty? in his address to the Academy faculty and student body preceeding the signing of the memorandum of under-standing, Mr. Steve Medeiros, iiC Dean, noted that such a partner-ship between ACS Athens and a nationally ranked US university is signifigant for a number of reasons. Firstly, it provides for in-novative university-level learning opportunities for ACS Athens students. the programs also provide innovative professional

ACS Athens Collaboration with St. Louis University

This partnership also speaks to ACS

Athens’ institutional credibility and

international reputation, which

follow our students as they apply for admission

to colleges and universities in the

uS and around the world.

development opportunities for ACS Athens faculty. At the same time, the agreement recognizes the academic achievement and potential of ACS Athens students as well as the excellence and expertise of the school’s teaching faculty. the partnership also

speaks – in no small way – to ACS Athens’ institutional credibility and international reputation, which follow our students as they apply for admission to colleges and universities in the US and around the world.

Dr. Paul Vita, Director and Academic Dean of the Madrid campus of Saint Louis Uni-versity, recently visited our school, repre-senting the University, in order to sign an agreement between the two schools. it is an agreement for collaboration on a num-ber of levels, opportunities for the students as well as faculty, to help connect the two institutions.

Q. Could you tell us a few things about Saint Louis University?a. St Louis University is a Jesuit School which was founded in 1818. it is the first University west of Mississippi, composed of Schools and Colleges of all kinds: Parks College of engineering, Aviation and technology, John Cook School of Business, Medical School, nursing, Physical therapy and so on. As a Jesuit University, the tradition of edu-cation goes back 400 years and it’s commit-ted to the formation of students. it has actu-

ally received national recognition because its students are committed to social justice and helping people around the world.what is also very special about this School is, in addition to having a magnificent cam-pus in St. Louis, Missouri, it has a 700 student campus in Madrid, Spain, where students can also pursue degrees, start their programs and then transfer to St. Louis or elsewhere. we also offer a few graduate programs. it is overall a great place to start your degree in engineering, aviation, business, or pursue even international degrees such as: interna-tional relations, Political Science and so forth.

Q. What is the significance of your trip to ACS Athens?a. i am honoured to be here. it is a magnifi-cent opportunity to visit a wonderful city and a wonderful School that is famous and impressive. i come as an ambassador for the whole Uni-

versity and not just my campus, where i am the Director and Academic Dean. i come representing our Academic Vice President to sign an agreement with your President for collaboration on a number of levels, oppor-tunities for faculty, opportunities for summer programs for students and exchanges, in or-der to help connect the two institutions.

Q. Representing such a significant academic institution, how do you see the relationship between higher and secondary education?a. there is so much happening in Second-ary education that is formative and essen-tial for the students nowadays.the American Community Schools are pre-paring students not just for University but for their future life and that is exactly what the best Universities are doing, too. they are not just professional Schools that they are going to turn you into a doctor or a dentist, 36 etHOS MAGAZine

crossingtheboundariescrossingtheboundariesCrossingThEboundaries

IIC -- A History of University PartnershipsNorth American Colleges and Universities2006 -2008 Tufts University, Williams College, York University (Athens Summer institute: “Promoting Ctitical and Creative thinking”)2008 Boston University (Summer Professional Leadership institute)2009-2011 University of Richmond (Summer Leadership institute)2009-2012 University of Winnipeg (Summer teacher Professional Development institute; ACS Athens teaching intern Program)2010 University of Mary Washington (Articulation Agreement)2011 Pepperdine University (Articulation Agreement) 2010-2012 University of Northern Iowa (ACS Athens teaching intern Program)2012 St. Louis University

Local Universities2009 - 2012 University of Indianapolis (Professional Development Program)2011-2012 AKTO Art and Design (Portfolio Development program for ACS Athens students)2011- 2012 Athens Information Technology (robotics/Computer Programming courses for ACS Athens students)2012 Hellenic American University (University music classes for ACS Athens students)

Interview with Dr Paul Vita by Leda Tsoukia Editor

crossingtheboundariescrossingtheboundaries

winter 2012 37

MAY 1 - JUNE 14, 2013ONLINE LEARNING

JUNE 22 – JULY 5, 2013 ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY PROGRAM

The Summer Leadership Discovery Institute is a unique and challenging interdisciplinary

university-level course for talented high school students offered by the Institute for Innovation and Creativity

at ACS Athens in collaboration with St. Louis University.

The American Community Schools are preparing students not just for the university, they are shaping the leaders of the future, and that is exactly what the best universities are doing, too.

It is an agreement for collaboration

on a number of levels, opportunities

for faculty, opportunities for

summer programs for students and

exchanges, in order to help connect the

two institutions.

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they are shaping the leaders of the future.in high school, students’ best skills, exper-tise and special talents start to come out, especially following the American system, where all the options remain open. the stu-dents don’t have to specialize when they are 15 or 16, they have time to discover whether they have the drive to become medical doctors or engineers or if they have the passion for teaching, later on.i am talking about the relationship between the American High School and University Sys-tem and the celebration of choice and option.i think institutions like ACS Athens and SLU (St. Louis University) are helping the students to deal not only with their current problems but also with the problems down the road in an ethical, creative and critical way.the better preparation high school stu-dents get, the more they will get out of their University education. they are going to be better professionals later on with fine perspectives and better understanding of their place in society.

Q. Is SLU interested in attracting more international students and why?a. SLU has a global perspective while it’s in the heart of the United States. it already has a wonderful international profile. Our Madrid campus, just as the city of Madrid, or Athens, is international by its nature. we have a large percentage of Americans, 20 – 25% Spanish, and then kids from 70 other countries. in a sense, it is similar with the multicultural environment that ACS Athens offers. Stepping into the Madrid campus, a student will be immersed in the Spanish culture, while, a student stepping into the St. Louis campus would be entering into Middle America but in an international, supportive, multicultural way.there is a new building, a magnificent struc-ture, right in the middle of our campus: the «Center for Global education», where won-derful eSL programs are offered, helping in-ternational students’ transition into the US model of education.

Q. Could you give us the profile of an SLU student?a. well, there is not only one! i think what is

special about our School is that it celebrates all kinds of students. there is a Jewish kid from rhode island who wants to study the-ater, a Spaniard who loves soccer and wants to get a Finance degree, a Chinese young woman who is passionate about poetry and is working on her english major. there is everything!what all of these different students share, though, is a community. One walks in SLU and is astonished by all these students, wearing their SLU sweatshirts, sitting on the beautiful lawn of the campus, one immedi-ately feels some sort of shared community and pride in what this school represents: the Jesuit commitment to social justice, most importantly. it is more than just being educated for yourself, it is being educated to give back to your community.

Q. Why should an ACS Athens student choose SLU for his/her studies?a. if a student feels that it is the best fit for him/her, then the student should definite-ly apply. Students have so many options coming out of your school (ACS Athens). they should talk to their counselor, talk to their parents, they should look at all these different options and, if they think SLU is a great fit, they should go. Some kids may want to be in new York, north east, Cali-fornia, some may want to spend 2 years in Madrid and then go to St Louis. i think University education is about a choice. if a student doesn’t look at options and make the right judgement for him/her, there is something left out in the education and formation of the student.the students choosing to go to SLU is go-ing to have a fantastic experience and su-perb education. they will probably experi-ence that in other schools too, but with this collaboration between ACS Athens and SLU more options are being offered, that wouldn’t be available with a different school.

Q. What are the characteristics, the traits you are looking for in a student who applies to SLU?a. we want excellence, we want diversity in campus, we want a student that is con-

nected to his/her community, who is in-quisitive, critical, who likes to study! we are looking for someone who asks questions, who is open-minded, who is not afraid to talk about his/her own values or beliefs. we certainly look for students who show con-cern for others, who value tolerance.

Q. What can a student study in SLU that would be unique from other Universities?a. there are over 80 different programs that a student can choose from. the international Politics in Madrid is a unique program. Some other programs are highly competi-tive, like for example, nursing, radiation therapy or the Health Sciences depart-ment, which is a very popular program; it is a nationally ranked Medical School.there is also a program for excellent stu-dents, the “Medical Scholar program”, where they can enter as medical scholars and in which, if they succeed, they are guaranteed a place in the Medical School after their sophomore year.there are some unique international pro-grams that actually develop our students. SLU is famous for its Aviation program. A student can start in Madrid, then maybe spend 2 years in St Louis and by the end of the fourth year, one can go back to Madrid and get a european as well as a US license in aviation.there are also the programs that engage students in active learning. the “Center for Service and Community engagement” offers enormous volunteer and engage-ment opportunities to students. in these programs, the learning in the classroom is coupled with a service learning compo-nent, that will either happen on campus or maybe somewhere else during the stu-dent’s spring break. the students learn, this way, to make a difference.Moreover, the faculty develop their classes or syllabi with a service component em-bedded. the commitment that the School puts into this Center is unique and this is a great opportunity for students.

Introducing:

the Innovation Zone@ ACS Athens

leading innovationin education

www.acs.gr

thenextstep

A great school helps instill a sense of

ethos and a love of learning early

on, empowers and assists students in

developing the skills to cope with the

most challenging situations; situations

where students themselves demand

that their own voice is heard

through the noise of expectations.

The Council of International Schools once again organized a conference/fair (November 13-15, 2012) that was rich in con-

tent and provided the forum where representatives of universities from around the world met counselors from international schools. the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco buzzed with excitement as people came together to exchange ideas, get the latest updates on col-lege admission and find opportunities to connect students with the best-fit universities of their choice. the presentations discussed the latest admissions requirements, updated counselors on finan-cial aid, iB and AP impact on admission decisions, College Board changes to the application system, interviews and current trends in best guidance strategies. the fair, where contact information be-tween admissions agents and counselors was exchanged, featured over 230 universities and over 180 secondary schools.

Furthermore, behind the scenes at lunch and cocktail receptions, between sessions and at coffee breaks, the information exchange continued and topics of conversation centered on the questions that concern admissions reps, and thus universities, regarding their potential students. How much time do students have to put into their applications? How much do students struggle with writing their essay? How much preparation takes place prior to standard-ized tests? Are the activities and sports or community service proj-ects wisely chosen to prevent student burnout? How will they cope once they come to the college? there were no black or white an-swers… Only questions that led to long philosophical discussions,

and the recognition that the information overload available with a push of a button, the enormous competition to get to the “right” college and the strain on students’ attempts to “do it all” while “keeping a balance” is a reality of today.

these “to do” expectations leave little time for young people “to be” with themselves, with each other and with their natural environ-ment. the sense of urgency to make long lists, lest something be left undone, to run all over the place with activity or to never rest until all bases are covered can create a cacophony of fragmented energy. Both university admissions officers and counselors are aware of the demands being placed on young people today to per-form; the incongruity that in the heart of a child we often expect to find the mind of an adult; the pressures leading many to complete the process by compromising the natural growing course of be-ing children just to get through it all. we all know that senior year demands of young people their time, energy, sleep, friends and recreation. Yet, we stress holistic education: balance, coping and being true to oneself. Certainly senior year is not the place to start learning these skills, it’s instead a time to reflect on and use what students learned since kindergarten.

in the end, it seems, this is what separates a good school from a great school; the expectation of excellence. A great school helps instill a sense of ethos and a love of learning early on, empowers and assists students in developing the skills to cope with the most challenging situations; situations where students themselves demand that their own voice is heard through the noise of expectations.

CIS University Admissions Fair 2012by Peggy PeLonis Dean, Student Affairs

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aCS Athens’ Athletic tradition dates back to the 60’s and continues strong until

the present day; this is of no surprise since our school has a history of over 65 years… Our sports teams have participated in a number of tournaments and conferences, within Greece as well as the Middle east and europe, and our athletes have received athletic awards and honors for many sports – team sports as well as individual.

numerous athletes went on to pursue their higher education in the United States and, although quite talented in their sport, did not have the opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics. Did all of our student athletes have the talent to com-pete and play in high level college sports? Maybe yes, maybe no. However, the fact is that ACS Athens, as an institution, was not

so much “in the picture” – at least not for in-tercollegiate sports.

College sports in the United States have become an “industry” – there is a specific “mechanism” that is followed by coaches and institutions, which includes extensive recruiting of young High School prospects. Particularly in the case of universities that provide full athletic scholarships (Division 1 and Division 2), the recruitment process is very meticulous and not left to chance. High School students are being looked at and observed as early as 10th grade – it is a long process and universities invest not only money, but manpower in attracting their future college prospects.

As a result of the “system”, and because of the fact that ACS Athens is so far away, the

chances of our student athletes being ob-served and thus having the opportunity of being recruited are not very good. Usu-ally, when our student athletes made any efforts from this side of the Atlantic, they were quite late in the process and could not be seen as easily by the coaches. Fur-thermore, coaches prefer to see any future prospects “live” in action as opposed to viewing videos of highlights or full games, which some time ago that was the only means to use.

technology has changed enormously; it has made life a bit easier from the point of view that a few years ago, sending a DVD was easy and even more recently, high-lights on Youtube are now the fastest way of promoting oneself. there are even sites where athletes can upload their profiles

oPPosiTe Page

1 Universities and secondary education international schools exchange information and make connections for collaboration.

2 ACS Athens has been a regular participant at the CIS international conference for the benefit of its students.

CurrenT Page

Stan Spirou, Head Mens Coach of Southern New Hamphshire University, with Annie Constantinides, Director of Athletics in ACS Athens and Karen Pinkos, Head Women’s coach of Southern New Hamphsire University.

nexT Page

U.S. east coast map show-ing visits to universities in the past two academic years.

winter 2012 41

thenextstepIt’ all about

Networking, Collaboration and Trust… by annie ConsTanTinides Director of Athletics, Summer Camp and recreational Programs

Networking, collaboration and

trust are all very important factors

in the recruiting process, especially

in the international recruiting.

Establishing credibility for our

institution, in terms of athletics, is a

slow but yet much-needed process in

order to see results that will benefit our

students.

and they can be accessed by coaches all over the world – amazing indeed!

is this fast-pace technology enough to make connections? i wouldn’t say so; technology is simply a tool that saves time and makes a student athlete’s information available – it’s out there! time is not wasted in sending a package and waiting for it to arrive some-where – the world wide web is here!

in the past few years, ACS Athens has made a conscious effort to connect with institutions, athletic directors and coaches of various sports, in order to make our school sports programs known to them. it was and contin-ues to be an effort “to put us on the map”. the competition is fierce and the reality is that they will not come to us – rather, we need to go to them! Visits to universities have been made and will continue, because an email is not enough… recognizing a face, and devel-oping a more personal relationship, is neces-sary to replace a series of impersonal emails. this is how coaches will take the time to look at what we have to offer them. All this is sim-ply called networking! it is the only way to establish a relationship so that they can trust us; establishing credibility for our institution, in terms of athletics, is a slow but yet much-needed process in order to see results that will benefit our students.

in addition to our visits, the establishment of key international events and their exposure has also been instrumental in further devel-oping the collaboration and trust with insti-tutions; for example, the Annual internation-al Basketball Coaches clinic has brought 11 university coaches to our campus to speak to a large audience and at the same time see some of our school’s talent. During their visit, these coaches had the opportunity to speak with teachers, counselors and administra-tors, thus gaining a “firsthand” experience and opinion of our school. As a result, these individuals return home and speak highly of ACS Athens to other professionals!

All of our efforts have slowly started to pay off. A full athletic scholarship was offered to Jessica Ogunnorin in 2010 (University of

California @ riverside), to Philip tripodakis in 2011, to Konstantinos Mantalvanos in 2012 (both at Southern new Hampshire Univer-sity) and two of our present seniors, natasa Koniali (Southern new Hampshire Univer-sity) and Melina Kolia (Bentley University) will be attending universities in 2013 with full sports scholarships! All of these schol-arships have been awarded to basketball players; with the collaboration that we have initiated with a number of universities and the personal contacts made during the vis-its in the United States, we are currently ex-tending into possible opportunities for our tennis, soccer volleyball and track athletes!

the final key element in the success of this outreach is trust; it is very important for coaches in the United States to trust us, as professionals and as an institution. it is also very important for both parties to begin to know each other and the only way to do this is by meeting them in person and spend some time to discuss and talk about our ath-letes as well as our institutions. Only then we will be able to be successful in providing the right opportunities for our student athletes.

KAREN PINKOS’ statement“I feel that networking, collaboration and trust

are all very important factors in the recruiting process, especially in the international recruit-ing.  It is important for head coaches to trust the references they are using.   To trust the ref-erences, you need to build relationships with your support system including athletic direc-tors, coaches, guidance counselors, scouting services, etc…  College coaches rely on these people as resources.   When we recruit interna-tionally, it’s not easy to meet all these people in person, so you really don’t know who you might be dealing with on the other end.  This is why trust plays such an important factor.  When I trust a resource, I know that person is going to send an honest and a fair evaluation of the recruit’s skill level and personality traits and not ‘pad it.’  Their reputation is on the line as well.  If an international resource turns out wrong we will not use that person again.If it’s good and the player has a great experi-ence, we will go right back to that school or club team again in search of another player.”

Spirou Quote: “Trust is a two way street. We have had a num-ber of players from Greece that have done well both on and off the court. These relationships have helped to develop a bond with our Greek basketball alumni and our present and future basketball recruits.”

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knowing what i now know about college planning, i’m surprised how it all worked out for me as easily as it

did when i was planning to go to college. For my family, a college education was a must! we were not the norm; growing up in Africa and with origins from Karpathos, Greece, pursuing a college education in the US seemed more a dream rather than a possible reality. College plan-ning has become a science at ACS-Athens, significantly different from my days as a senior in the 80’s. today, the ACS school counselors play a key role in helping students explore their options. this process begins with Academic Advisory-9, as early as the 9th grade!

During our Academic Advisory class students can find the important answers to important questions: what is the best suitable job for me? How can i prepare for my college major? which college or university will be the best fit for me? through Academic Advisory activities, students are encouraged to set goals for academic suc-cess and ACS counselors provide the necessary informa-tion to help them make a smooth transition from Middle School to the Academy. Students learn about our course credit system and understand the importance of building a strong college preparatory program.

the ultimate goal during our Academic Development unit is to foster the understanding that grades matter, that the work completed in grades 9-12 will greatly en-hance student college acceptances in the future. the most important questions presented to students by iB Coordinator Ms. tokatlkidou, and ACS School Counselors Ms. Dragatakis and Mr. Kalogridakis, include whether they should pursue the full international Baccalaureate pro-gram, consider Advanced Placement courses or pursue a combination of AP and iB courses. to paraphrase a well-known Shakespeare play: to iB or not iB is the question! iB coordinator and ACS counselors help students find their answer to this question by engaging them in this process as early as the 9th grade to identify the best-fit academic program for each. there are many factors stu-dents must consider when selecting a program of study. will the High School program prepare a student for entry into their best-fit college and prepare them for their best fit-college major? Students in AA-9/10 begin their think-ing about course selection and explore careers in great

detail. this approach to college and career exploration minimizes the stress from waiting until the senior year of High School.

During our Career exploration Unit, Academic Advisory students in grades 9 and 10 are enrolled in the ACt Career Discover Program. this is a web-based career program that enables students to identify their aptitudes (academ-ic/work strengths), interests (what i like to do as it relates to work), and work values (what do i value in connection to work). Students strive to answer the very important questions: “who Am i?” and “what do i like to do?” As they complete the Career Discover program, students are in-formed of potential future jobs and career clusters as they relate to their interests, abilities and work values. As the class reaches its end, students leave with a better under-standing of where they may fit in the world-of-work.

During the first semester of Academic Advisory-9, Acad-emy Counselors work with 9th grade students to help them complete their 4-year plan, which is linked to the student’s ACt Career Discover results. it functions as a blueprint for enrolling in future courses, as the students strive to prepare for High School graduation and ulti-mately prepare for a college major and college accep-tance. through this process Academic Advisory helps the student to understand the value of making academic choices that lead to important college and career goals. By the end of 10th grade, students have already begun the process of identifying a potential college list to further explore with their families and counselors in 11th and 12th grade. these necessary steps assist ACS stu-dents to develop their future plans in a realistic manner.

As early as 9th grade, students have the opportunity to visit with college and university representatives during our Academic Advisory classes. Helping our students understand that there is a best-fit college or university for everyone is the most important message we can give them. As College Admissions Counselors visit our Academic Advisory classes, they explain how they use high school grades, class rankings, and SAt/ACt scores to determine who they admit. As a result, students have a greater understanding of what colleges are looking for in future applicants. this year we have been fortu-nate to have hosted representatives from Yale, north-western, Princeton, Boston University, Suffolk, London School of economics, Kings, and imperial College, to name but a few.

Making the decision to identify a potential career path and making the decision to go to college and then find-ing a best-fit college/university is a challenge. Academic Advisory takes a systematic approach that assists students in realizing their place in the world-of-work. through var-ious initiatives, such as researching the best-fit career and cultivating an awareness of factors that influence college admission, Academic Advisory helps reduce the stress that may be associated with transitioning from high school to college and the workplace. Academic Advisory also provides the platform for students to explore the process of making good future decisions.

Academic Advisory

Helping Students Find Their Way

winter 2012 43

by demeTri PeLidisAcademy Counselor9th/10th Grade Advisory

takingtheTakingThEnexTSTEPtakingthenextstep

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KX_IZoiMePaidia_48x24.indd 1-2 23/11/2012 17:50

i took a few minutes to look back at my life last Friday when i was asked to write

a short article about myself, and my work; a few minutes became a few hours, and then a few days. i realized that my mind is so overwhelmed by everything that is happening in the now, that it’s become extremely difficult to recall moments in the

past. After an attempt to travel back in time, i decided to give up and begin with who i am now. At age twenty-five i find myself in a very different place than i would have expected when i graduated ACS AtHenS in 2005. Back then, I would have told you that in seven years you would find me living and working in the United States, hopefully for the United nations. i am now living in Athens, Greece and running a fashion label named MArAVeYA (my surname), one year old this november. this is after i received my degree in interior architecture from Pratt institute in 2010. in hindsight i always had a calling for fashion. it was a dream that was never realized or that i considered in-tangible at the time. Until one day i under-stood that the only thing that separates us from who we are and who we want to be is the choices we make. And that’s when i decided to make my own brand and begin a journey into where you find me today.

no person can account for who they are without taking a good look at the people and experiences they’ve lived. i attended ACS AtHenS from junior kindergarden through highschool, so it can be easily as-sumed that my education and encounters helped shape me, from the teachers that cultivated my knowledge to the friends that allowed me to grow as a human be-ing. Some of the most vital parts of one’s personality are instilled during the earliest years of our lives, regardless of if we can identify specific memories that demon-strate this. i still remember all my teachers at ACS AtHenS my friends, school plays, Christmas bazaars, field trips and many other things helped me build something i’ll refer to as my “social profile”. this social

profile, i believe, has been my strong card in everything that i do. Academics are vital, but without social skills it is very difficult to apply and demonstrate your knowledge, in any field, much less in fashion.

Looking back at my life, the international environment i grew up in, has given me the tools to compete in a harsh and global industry. My broad knowledge of people and cultures is a result of growing up with kids from all over the world, visiting their homes, their families, and spending every day learning something new not only in books but about life.

by vivianna maraveya Alumna, Fashion Designer

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** I dedicate this article to my former cross country athletes, but es-pecially, to Daphne Apostolides, a senior, who over the years gently nudged me back into competitive running and systematic training. She continues to inspire me as an athlete.

i doubt that as a child i dreamt that when i grew up i would suc-cessfully complete a 100-mile/164-kilometer ultra marathon race.

Although my parents may not have raised me to become an ultra-marathon runner, they did raise me to believe that i could do what-ever i set my mind to. not once did they tell me that i could not do something, nor did they teach me that being female was in some way limiting in what i could achieve or experience. On the contrary, they encouraged me to be athletic, to do my best in school (and in other activities), and to have a strong moral character. Although my parents both only finished high school, they exposed me to the world through travel, fitness (often times, including me in their routine), and other experiences. they did not limit me, nor were they overprotective to the point of trying to rescue me from ev-ery stumble in life. they didn’t treat me differently from my brother because i was a girl, and i am grateful that they raised me to be self-reliant and tough. these life lessons prepared me for my undis-covered future because i knew that whatever i decided to grow up to be, i had to make sure it was something that i enjoyed and that i lived in a way that would make me happy. in other words, i had to live my own life and not the life expected by others. it is important to understand that school is not the only influence in a student’s life, it is also the solid foundation provided at home. And while i had great teachers and coaches that helped me reach for the stars in my life, it was the solid foundation at home that gave me the self-confidence and ambition to do so.

to this day, although i recognize the power and importance of books, i recognize that learning truly comes alive by “doing” or “experiencing.” while it is wonderful to read about the exploits of famous explorers, like Sir edmund Hillary who climbed Mount ever-est, it is even better to go out into the world and attempt to con-quer your own everest, whether that be rock climbing, learning a difficult language, or getting into the most competitive university in the world. we can use the classroom as a starting point or step-ping stone to our dreams and to study up on what it is we would like to do, but then only we can follow that through outside the classroom walls and realize our own potential.

i had a chance to realize my own potential on October 19-20, 2012, in northern Greece, where i ran my first 100 miler called the rodopi Ultra trail Advendurun. it started in Dasiko Horio, erimanthos, Xan-thi, in the rodopi Mountains national Park near the Bulgarian bor-der, and the course was laid along mountain paths and forest dirt roads. the philosophy of the organizers is adventure – the course deliberately avoids inhabited places, such as villages and towns, in order to allow the runners to experience nature, be mostly self-reliant, and understand what they are made of, both physi-cally and mentally. there are only six aid stations, containing food, drink, medical staff, and volunteers, which means that runners are required to carry much of their gear (water, food, warm clothing, an emergency blanket, whistle, and other survival items) on their backs for the race. the time limit for completing this race is 42 hours and the idea is that participants do not sleep. they must go through many check points throughout the race and get to some checkpoints within a certain time limit. it also means that all partici-pants will experience at least a full night of running in the darkness, with the use of only a headlamp and tiny phosphorescent signs,

My 1st 100-MilerLiving Life Beyond the Comfort Zoneby ranneLLe mcCoy Middle School Faculty

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1 One of Viviana Mara-veyas, dresses; her style in some of her dresses are inspired by ancient Greek motifs.

2 Designer Vivianna Maraveya (left) with one of her models, Yvonne Bosniak.

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Rannelle McCoy receiving her trophy after the completion of the ultra marathon.

I run with my heart and my soul –the

body achieves what the mind believes.

ultra marathons are about 90% mental

and only 10% physical.

to guide them through the forest. Amongst the mountain running community, it is considered the Golgotha of mountain races and many warned me of hallucinations, the excruciating solitude of running in the forest at night, and the minimal signage that was sure to lead to a runner getting lost and perhaps crossing over the Bulgarian border accidentally. Many warned that this was a race not to be run alone. . .

now, what would possess a person to take on such a challenge will-ingly? well, for this ACS teacher and alumna, it was the challenge of seeing if i could do it. this past summer i had pushed my limits competing in and successfully finishing a 118-kilometer race in the Dolomite Mountains of italy, in the area of Cortina d’Ampezzo, and a United nations world Heritage site. i thought that my curiosity to see what i was made of would die there and with the soreness and pain that i lived through, that would be the farthest i would run. Little did i know that less than a week later, i would seek a greater challenge and attempt the legendary 100-mile distance of ultra marathons. Ultra marathons usually consist of competing in dis-tances greater than a marathon (42 kilometers/26.2 miles) and can be run on any surface – paved and dirt roads, as well as mountain

paths. My favorite type of running, whether ultra marathon, mara-thon, or sub marathon, takes place in the mountains and includes difficult ascents. the races in italy and rodopi both are mountain races, the type that attract my sense of adventure.

it was only in January 2010 that i ran my first half-marathon and October 2010 my first marathon. After only two years of distance running, i would now be attempting almost 4 consecutive mara-thons in a row – the 100-miler. would my legs be up for it? would my mind go crazy in the woods, in the middle of the night, with the wild bears, wolves, and deer inhabiting the woods of rodopi? i will also note that this was not my idea, originally. it was the suggestion of a good friend to attempt the race. At first, i didn’t want to hear about it, but once i completed the race in italy, i agreed, but on the condition of running with a buddy the entire way. i continued to train using a program supplied by my coach, tried to feed my body in the healthiest way possible, and experimented with different foods on my solitary long runs in the mountains.

when race day came, at 6 am on Friday morning, October 19th, i started with my buddy, but soon lost him in the first three kilome-ters. i had to make a decision, as everyone passed me and i waited for my friend to catch up. Fear attempted to diminish me at this point and i had to decide. would i wait for him and give in to every fear i had about running this race alone, or would i leave him to his fate and go it alone, and truly face my fears? the famous and wise words of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) flooded into my mind: “the only thing we have left to fear is fear itself.” i decided to face my fears because it was the only way i could test my inner strength and grow as a human being. i went on to suc-cessfully complete the race alone, breaking the woman’s record by almost two and half hours, winning first place in the women’s cat-egory, finishing 6th overall amongst 68 runners (only 34 finished the race), and managing to complete the course in 29 hours and 50 minutes (an incredible time indeed and completely unexpected by me and the race organizers).

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How did I do it?1 Following a proper training program. this meant no cheating,

putting off runs for another day, or changing up the program to my liking. Completing a race like this does not allow you to “cut corners” or pay your way to the finish line. You have to work hard, be consistent, and on the days when you don’t feel like it, you still have to drag yourself outside and do the practice any-way. this also means practicing in conditions similar to the race conditions – night training runs with a head lamp, running in the cold and the heat, running on mountain paths, and running with a backpack and a hydration system.

2 Extreme focus. Following the minimal signage in the forest was like a meditation for me – it required me to stay on task, listen to my breath to ensure i did not run too quickly and would have energy to finish the race, and listen to my body to determine when to feed myself and when to drink. it also meant i had to concentrate on staying calm, even in the middle of the night when i heard the cries of wolves and had a close encounter with a bear near a river (whom i could hear, but not see). i had to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and trusting the bell attached to my backpack to warn the animals of my presence and encourage them to move away from me.

3 Physical and mental strength. Both of these strengths are like a well inside of us... sometimes we have to dig very deep to get to the water, but it is there. i run with my heart and my soul – the body achieves what the mind believes. Ultra marathons are about 90% mental and only 10% physical.

4 Constant revision of my goals throughout the race. i started the race with the goal of just finishing. within seven kilometers, the competitive spirit kicked in and i decided to go for first place amongst women (there were three of us running). As the race progressed and i increased the gap between myself and the other two women, i began to compete against the clock as a realized that if i continued at the pace i was running at, i could possibly break the women’s record (32 hours 14 minutes). to-wards the last six hours of the race, i learned that i was in the top 15 and thus revised my goal to competing against the men in the race and fighting for a better overall position. these constant revisions of goals allowed me to achieve a great time and truly challenge myself, rather than ease back and settle for a much easier victory of 38 hours (the second woman ran 39 hours and 10 minutes).

5 Listen to your own voice. i did not take the advice of everyone that offered it, especially since much of the advice was conflict-ing. while i did read up on the race and ultra marathon training, in the end i listened to my own body and let it guide me through

the forest, determining the correct pace for me. i also did not run with others, so that i could focus better on the task at hand. it gave me a chance to really explore myself.

i want to thank everyone who supported me during my prepara-tion for the race and during the race itself, especially my students, who continue to believe in me and who encourage me to inspire them with great accomplishments. i close this article with a quote and a life lesson that i learned after my childhood, which seems appropriate given the topic of this article: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” by neale David walsch. if we allow our children and students to constantly remain in their comfort zone, they will not grow nor realize their true potential.

For more information about this race, please visit the website (both in Greek and in english): http://www.rout.gr

if you like the photography included in this article, please visit: http://www.go-mrp.com and http://goexperience.com.gr for more information.

For more information about the work of my coach, please visit: http://www.kasimistraining.gr winter 2012 49

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1 Running on the moun-tain is full of surprises. Wild life might just turn up ready for a photo-op.

2 Rannelle with one of her co-athletes.

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Enjoying the trail despite body aching from the ultra-effort.

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The Arête Award pays tribute to

members of the ACS Athens community for embodying the

spirit of arête and civic responsibility,

demonstrating extraordinary

initiative to serve others;

once again, the 2011-2012 school year ended with the awarding of the ACS

Arête Award for Civic responsibility, an award created and sponsored by the Social Studies Department since the 2008-2009 school year. it pays tribute to members of the ACS community for embodying the spirit of arête and civic responsibility; dem-onstrating extraordinary initiative to serve others; striving socially and ethically as healthy, responsible members of the com-munity; modeling service at ACS and/or in the local community; 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 community. to receive the award, a person must be nominated by a student, teacher, or community member and a special com-mittee consisting of administrators, faculty, parents, and students reviews these nomi-nations and decides on the finalists. this year, we received a large number of nomi-nations for all categories of the award. Let us celebrate the following 2011-2012 win-ners by category:

ACS Athens Employee

nassos neris, Carrie Brinkman, and therese weimholt, received the Arête Award for an ingenious fundraising project they thought

up and carried out with students - the “Do-Gooders Club.” Mr. neris of the Main-tenance Department had the wonderful idea of picking the olives of ACS’s olive trees and taking them to be pressed into olive oil. Ms. Brinkman, former Middle and Acad-emy Math teacher and Ms. weimholt, for-mer Middle School Language Arts teacher, helped bottle the product and engage the Middle and High School members of the club to market and sell the olive oil around campus, to staff and parents. the “harvest” of olive oil sold for 10 euros a bottle and the group raised 750 Euros. The members of the Do-Gooders club chose the charity they wanted to donate the money to, SOS Children’s Village, by using research skills to investigate which charities maximized do-nation dollars.

ACS Community Member

Ms. Marina Katsioti, the mother of current 9th grade student Lefteris Portokaloglou, won the Arête award because she vol-unteers once a week at a school for chil-dren with mental and physical disabilities, and has been doing so for some time. Ms. Katsioti works with the children through art, mainly drawing, and story-telling through books. in the words of her son, when asked about the outcome that best speaks to the success of her work, he wrote “the children show it with their smiles.” in terms of how this activity serves others, Lefteris wrote, “she provides happiness and fun for the children.”

Academy Student

eleni Alafouzos, an 11th grader last year, won the Arête Award for 2011-2012. For the past couple of years, she has been helping a charity called “Smile train”. what makes Ms. Alafouzos’ work unique is that she set up her own website called “Cookies for

Smiles” to sell her very own home-baked cookies, in order to raise money for surger-ies, for children born with a cleft palate. the families of these children cannot afford the surgery themselves and often, these chil-dren are stigmatized in their community for looking different or have such a severe case of cleft palate that other health issues exist. Her website advertises: “Help these children live a better life by buying cookies. Buy a pack of cookies and help put a smile on a child’s face.” As of June 2012, Ms. Alafouzos has raised over 5000 Euros for Smile Train and according to the organization, one sur-gery costs about $250 (a little less that 200 euros). this means that Ms. Alafouzos and her customers have provided about 25 sur-geries since she started her business! eleni’s website: http://cookiesforsmiles.blogspot.gr/Smile train’s website: http://www.smiletrain.org/

Middle School Student

Maria-Alexia Fragaki, an 8th grader last year, won the Arête Award for the work that she and her family did in nigeria. in Christ-mas 2011, she and her family filled several suitcases with clothes and toys, and then boarded a plane to nigeria. while there, they visited a family friend and through that friend, visited a poverty-stricken village. A full day was spent at this village, where the Fragaki family interacted with the peo-ple there and donated all the clothes and toys to people in need. Ms. Fragaki fondly recalled her experiences on stage at the Middle School end of Year Awards Assem-bly, explaining to her classmates how she played with the children there and learned about the culture. this is not the first time the Fragaki family has been to nigeria and has donated to a village. they have done so several times in the past and plan to con-tinue doing so as often as they can.

Arête Award Winners 2011-2012by ranneLLe mcCoy Middle School Faculty

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Elementary School

the turtle Club, an ecology group reaching and taking action, was selected as the recipi-ent for the Arête Award. it met twice a week to discuss the problems and life of the Caretta Caretta turtle, an endangered animal in the Mediterranean region and special to Greece, whose shores host the fragile eggs of these magnificent creatures. the turtle Club also

took action by informing other classes in the elementary school of the turtles’ plight, mak-ing posters and being involved in the Vol-unteers in Action Program that was created by the club advisors, irene Soteres and irini rovoli. this program was modeled after the volunteers at the rescue Center in the south-ern Athens suburb of Glyfada. the members of this program have gone there for three consecutive Saturdays to train and become

volunteers. the turtle Club’s work involved all grades in the elementary School, although it was mostly the 2nd and 4th graders who were involved in the actual meetings.Archelon’s website: http://www.archelon.gr/index_eng.php

Stay tuned to the ACS website in the spring of 2013, when nominations will open up once again for the Arête Award.

Learning to engage athleticism and so-cial care is a great virtue. it is admirable

thus to see this value engraved in a young man’s daily life, making it not only a part of his routine as a responsibility, but as a duty. Doddi elgabry, a 13-year-old teenager, has grown up alongside his biggest passions: horses. with affection he takes care of them every day, feeding and cleaning them, mak-ing sure they receive adequate training. Spending hours after school and during the weekends, his life revolves around these

pure creatures. Balancing between his schoolwork and riding training for at least three hours a day, he manages to achieve excellence in both areas. His love for riding is motivational, as he is laudably persistent in his aims and always pursues perfection. Last summer, Doddi qualified for the Greek national team and competed in the 1.15 – 1.25m show jumping class; he placed in the top ten riders in the entire Balkan region. Good luck Doddi – know that ACS is always supportive!

Our very own ACS Athens horse whisperer!

We are nearing the one year anniversary of the publication of the novella ever-

lasting written by ACS alumna Mariam elga-bry. One of the youngest Greek writers, Mar-iam presented her novella at our Arts Center last year on January 27, 2011, referring to the perpetual struggle of man against the es-tablishment through realistic fiction within the elizabethan era. She wrote the novella when she was only fourteen and worked on

this piece four years later to publish it and dedicate it to dear Hassib Sabbagh (1920 – 2010), the founder of the Consolidated Con-tractors Company (CCC). A year has gone by since he has passed away, but his memory will always remain preserved through this novella. Her next piece of work, a collection of short stories, is already in the making and we hope she will continue to be a strong representative of our community!

Coming up!

Sportsmanship and Literary Talent in One Familyby mariam eLgabry ACS Athens Alumna

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Elementary School faculty, Ms. Soteres (left) and Ms. Rovoli (right), receiving the Aréte Award for their work with the Mediterranean turtles.

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1 Doddi Elgabry with his favorite horse.

2 Mariam and Doddi, during Mariam's book-signing ceremony in 2011 at the ACS Athens Theater Atrium.

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Give children a map and they

will understand mathematics

conceptually. have students visualize their learning and their wisdom will

become a stepping stone to higher

order thinking in mathematics.

With the primary goal of “unpacking” the AerO/Common Core Mathematics

Standards for number sense and examin-ing what teaching to these standards looks like in the classroom, the United States De-partment of Overseas Schools sponsored Ms. erma Anderson’s week-long visit to ACS Athens in november 2012. Ms. Anderson, currently a science/mathematics consultant with the Office of Overseas Schools AerO Project and the US High School redesign Project, worked to demonstrate the teach-ing of mathematics in a way that helps build students’ conceptual understanding. She en-gaged most of our elementary School grade level faculty and the Middle School Math faculty in a one and a half day workshop. teachers collaborated across all grade lev-els and engaged in exploring practical and useful techniques to enhance conceptual learning in math classrooms. Ms. Marla Cok-las, grade 5 teacher, reported using some

of these techniques the very next day with her class, and could see the light bulbs turn-ing on in her student’s minds, because they could “see” the way numbers work.

For the remainder of her visit, Ms. Anderson worked with grade level teams, reviewing principles of teaching math for understand-ing, and helping teachers prioritize elements of curriculum at each grade level, to focus teaching on the central core concepts, de-emphasizing the teaching of procedures. She also met with our Optimal Learning Department, recognizing their role in sup-porting student learning of mathematics at all levels of the learning spectrum. Ms Anderson provided teachers with a multi-tude of resources for the application and implementation of teaching mathematics conceptually. She explained how to acceler-ate learning through developing depth of knowledge, which is developed when stu-dents at each level engage individually and collaboratively in solving complex and chal-lenging problems. A shortened half-day ver-sion of her workshop was presented to our Academy and Middle School Math and Sci-ence Departments. in summarizing her work with the faculty, Ms. Anderson stated: “All the math we need to know for lives, we learn by the 4th grade. Between grades 5-8, teachers give breadth and depth to the curriculum, and between grades 9-12 students follow a specific path.” the message is clear: give chil-

Visualizing Mathematics by mary-ann augousTaTos Middle School Principal

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Erma Anderson  is a former high school physics and mathematics teacher and Al-bert Einstein Distinguished Fellow in the united States Senate. She was a Senior Program officer with the National research Council assisting in the development of the National Science Education Standards and a Christa McAuliffe Fellow with the National Foundation for the Improvement of Education. She has worked with the National Science Teachers Association on several projects including the Men-toring Initiative e-Mentoring for Student Success (eMSS), development of sciLINKS (www.sciLINKS.org) and Project Manager of  Scope, Sequence and Coordination of Secondary School Science. She was a consultant and advisor to the Council for basic Education’s Schools Around the World (www.s-a-w.org) project, developing and implementing the Evidence to Excellence protocol and a series of professional development activities that use student work from nine participating countries to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics and science. She has facilitat-ed workshops for Educational Field Studies, National Institute of Medicine, united States Forestry Service, National Park Service, Kidsnet, school districts, and states. Currently she is a science/mathematics consultant with the office of overseas Schools AEro Project and the uS high School redesign Project.

development

CLC is a “think tank” that allows teachers to gain access to ideas from people who think differently; it brings a stronger sense of community and inspires everyone to strive forward.

dren a map and they will understand mathe-matics conceptually. Have students visualize their learning and their wisdom will become a stepping stone to higher order thinking in mathematics.

Many faculty members shared their com-ments after the workshop, and their views have been incorporated within this article. i would like to thank Ms. Dora Andrikopou-los, Ms. Marla Coklas, Ms. Vasiliki Koutsiou-kis, Ms. Penny Kynigou, Mr. Patrick Perry, Ms. Maria Lambrinos, Ms. Chryssoula Plou-tou, Ms. irene Soteres and Ms. tracy the-odoropoulou for sharing their experiences of the week with me.

Ms. Kynigou summed up the feeling of fac-ulty members who spent a week learning about teaching mathematics conceptually by “doing” math and thinking mathemati-cally: “we sat, ten teachers around a table, utterly absorbed in the fascination and challenge of “doing” math. working in pairs using unifix cubes and

base ten blocks, we learned to repre-sent problems in fractions and decimals. Groans of exasperation gave way to gasps of wonder and cheers of delight, as in wrestling with the problems, debating and explaining to each other, we came to the realization that we had constructed a far

deeper understanding of the math con-cepts taught in elementary School. this conceptual approach to teaching math of-fers a new, developmentally appropriate, and exciting way to engage our students in the process of doing math and con-structing deep conceptual understanding, which goes way beyond rote mastery of procedures. i’m sure my students will em-powered by learning math in this way. “

And as Pythagoras, the famous Greek phi-losopher and mathematician, once said: “wisdom thoroughly learned will never be forgotten.”

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Cathy Makropoulos (Elementary School Principal). Erma Anderson (AERO Project), Andreas Tsokos (Math & Science Division Chair), Steve Medeiros (IIC Dean), Mary-Ann Augoustatos (Middle School Principal).

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Collaborative Learning Communities are expanding at ACS Athens, allow-

ing more teachers to discover ways to improve student learning. Last year, ten teachers were trained to facilitate col-laborative groups in the model of Critical Friends Groups, founded by the national School reform Faculty in Bloomington, indiana. this pilot group of CLC partici-pants has invited teachers to join in this unique style of collaboration, in which teachers from all three schools come to-gether to fine-tune lesson designs, solve professional dilemmas, share successes, review professional work, discuss profes-sional journal articles, and examine stu-dent work. each group focuses on teach-

ers helping teachers, as critical friends, to examine their work in the classroom and to collectively focus on ways to improve. this innovative style of professional de-velopment builds communities of teach-ers so that they may focus on improving their craft, according to the needs of each professional in the group. Drawing on var-ied years of experience, levels of teaching, and content specialties, teachers utilize structured meeting formats, or protocols, in order to maximize their discussion and problem solving sessions. One member of the pilot group described a CLC as a “think tank” that allows teachers to “gain access to ideas from people who think differently.” Another member highlighted that CLCs

“bring a stronger sense of community and inspire you to strive forward.” repeatedly, teachers who have experienced CLCs re-flect that the collaboration helps to im-prove reflective practices, offers new ideas and perspectives, widens the level of sup-port, instills confidence and solidarity, and provides motivation to try new things. As another member so eloquently shared af-ter presenting work of one of her students who was struggling with writing: “the comments and suggestions of my peers gave me a multi-dimensional view, which took off my own blinders. On my own, i could put this child’s work under a magni-fier, but the group input was like suddenly viewing with an electron microscope.”

Collaborative Learning Communities at ACS Athens:

Teachers Working Together to Improve Student Learningby david neLson Faculty Development and Growth Program Coordinatorand Penny kynigou CLC Co-Coordinator

development

On november 14, the faculty was invited to view a “fishbowl” presentation of the CLC in action, so that they could learn more about this collaborative style of professional de-velopment. teachers listened and shared intently as one of the CLC members pre-sented her dilemma with transitioning all levels of students more effectively into her classroom and into the culture of ACS Ath-ens. Pictured above is the CLC Pilot Group at the center table processing the dilemma, while the faculty looks on to learn about how the protocols function.

After watching the “fishbowl” demonstra-tion, one faculty member shared: “initially, i found the rigid structure of the protocol

with its rigorous comment formats and strict timings off-putting. By the end, i realized that it was exactly this structure which made the meeting productive and brought about useful results.”

in our second year of development, a to-tal of 48 faculty members from all of the schools have volunteered to join a group in order to explore the power of CLCs. we would like to thank the ACS Administration who has worked diligently to provide time for these groups to meet. Additionally, we would like to thank the neSA organization (near east South Asia Council of Overseas Schools) that helped to make possible the initial training for teachers by provid-

ing a neSA Collaboration Grant, further validating the work that we do. the grant has made possible an ongoing collabora-tion with the American School of Mumbai (ASB), which is also undergoing a similar style of professional development. the energy created among educators not only within the building of ACS Athens, but also from around the world, will help bring pro-fessional development to a new level.

if you would like to learn more about CLCs and what they can offer, visit the following website to view a copy of the PowerPoint/Video that outlines their characteristics and practical applications:http://tinyurl.com/clcs-at-acs. 54 etHOS MAGAZine

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Center table CLC Pilot Group in the Library during their “fishbowl”

demonstration to the faculty: left to right clockwise- David Nelson (facilitator), Matt Perroni, Vicky

Akrivou, Irene Soteres, Penny Kynigou (co-coordinator), Ellen

Vriniotis, April Wanex, Christina Birbil, and Christina Rocha. (Not pictured, Maria Falidas and Ran-

nelle Mccoy (presenter)) + Faculty members from ACS Athens

the AerO Mathematics institute was led by erma Anderson, Peter Lee and Dan Hovland. the focus of the conference was on the rigor of classroom assessments and AerO /Com-mon Core Plus. the Mathematics institute gave teachers the opportunities to reflect on the following: • How the K-8 AerO Framework aligns with the Common Core Standard• How the AerO High School Framework aligns with the Common Core Standards• Mathematical Proficiency • How the Four levels of Depth of Knowledge (DOK) are used in the AerO  Mathematics

Curriculum Framework.• Blooms revised taxonomy versus webb’s depth of knowledge• Mathematical Processes• ASSeSSMent  • Standards based system • rit Continuum of key ideas (K-6)• MAP 2011 normative Data Overview• instructional Pacing guides and examples for grades K-8 and Gap Analysis for academy

courses• Additional math practice and resources

from June 17-22 2012, the AerO (Amer-ican education reaches Out) Math-

ematics & Science Summer institute took place at the Potomac School in suburban washington, D.C. the U.S. State Depart-ment partially funded faculty from ACS Athens to participate in this institute. the AerO Science institute was led by Gerry wheeler, executive Director of nStA (na-tional Science teachers Association), and Chad Johnson, teacher at the American international School of Muscat (Oman). the institute presented the recently re-leased AerO Science Curriculum Frame-work. Participants were able to increase their knowledge of the Framework and its components, as well as take part in valu-able conversations about teaching sci-ence content and skills, assessing student work, identifying the depth of knowledge in assessments and developing units of study. the institute also allowed teachers to reflect on the opportunities given to students to learn science and the instruc-tional practices that help in the learning of science, as well as how the evidence of student learning can improve teaching and learning in the classroom.

development

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Aero Science Institute Summer 2012by ChrisTina bakoyannis MS Science and Science Coordinatorand dora andrikoPouLos Middle School Math, JK-12 mathematics coordinator

professionaldevelopment

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From left to right: Christina Bakoyannis, MS Science and Science Coordinator. Naomi Woolsey, AERO Project Director. Dora Andrikopoulos, MS Math and Math Coordinator.

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A holistic education, develops wisdom

and teaches students how to use meaningful

experience when dealing with the

unknown.

“i want to be a good husband and a great father,” replied my fourth

grade student when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. As the tears trickled down my cheeks, i knew that Giorgio would be alright no matter what life dealt him; he would come out unscathed because, at age ten, he had al-ready figured out the important things in life: family and love.

incorporating good ethics and values in our teaching is one way we can prepare young adults for what is to come, as hav-ing ethos and “doing the right thing when no one is watching” is what makes strong leaders and well-rounded individuals.

teachers must pass on the message to children and help them recognize that they control their own destiny and only they have the power to decide the direc-tion they want their lives to take.

we often worry about our students’ future. Parents and teachers alike want to pro-vide the best education for their children in order to secure a successful and bright future for them. A rich education can en-sure strong career opportunities, which in turn can provide financial stability. we try to prepare our students for the changing times ahead, although the future has al-ways been and will continue to be unpre-dictable, as it is as yet undiscovered.

A holistic education, part of the ACS Ath-ens philosophy, develops wisdom and teaches students how to use meaningful experience when dealing with the un-known, incorporating cutting-edge teach-ing methods and the use of modern tech-nology in doing so. the ability to transfer acquired knowledge is crucial in today’s world and is a necessary tool for profes-sional survival.

education today, now more than ever, has become as demanding and stressful, with its ever-challenging curriculum, as the world outside school walls. educators are providing students with a challenging curriculum through extracurricular ac-tivities, community service, the provision of a safe learning environment and best teaching practices. the demand for good grades, taking higher level courses and getting into prestigious institutions are but only some of the pressures we place on our children, creating high stress levels which may lead to emotional instability. As parents and teachers we can nurture our children, foster their competencies, keep them well and empower them to be the best that they can be.

in essence, preparing for the future means the same it always has: teachers continue to provide students with a stimulating, creative, demanding and innovative edu-cation, and parents continue to focus on raising well-mannered, motivated and principled children. these are the founda-tions we lay for our students to build upon and lead their lives. After all, being able to stand on one’s own two feet and learning to be resilient are necessary tools for fac-ing the future.

And Giorgio? in preparation for the future, i can only hope that the life lessons he will have learned will help guide him on the life journeys that await.

Reminiscing the Future by ChrysouLa PLouTou Coordinator, optimal Learning Program

enhancementlearning

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Holistic education involves the develop-ment of the artistic side from a very young age. The future might be so abstract that it can only be painted.

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1 Chris Perakis at the Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD.

2 CTY's next stop: Greece (?)

winter 2012 57

LearningENhANCEMENT

education has been the vehicle for me to see the world and experience many

different cultures and education systems; always questioning why and how has taken me to different places in search for answers. in the many professional development opportunities i have had the past 30 plus years, visiting the Johns Hopkins Univer-sity Center of talented Youth has certainly been an enlightening and fulfilling experi-ence. i have had the pleasure of visiting the CtY three times over the past 6 years, and i always wondered how wonderful it would be for CtY to host programs in Greece for the benefit the local and international com-munity.

Little did i know that the seed i planted a few years back would actually become a reality. this past summer, i was invited by the CtY teAM to join their study group of exploring the possibility of establishing a CtY in Greece. After a successful series of meetings in Baltimore, Maryland, the institute of innovation and Creativity was proud to host the CtY visiting team for an on-campus meeting on October 16, 2012. the team discussed information about CtY’s international talent search and ad-vanced programs and the CtY staff was in-vited by the Stavros niarchos Foundation to explore the possibility of establishing a CtY in Greece. i am honored to be part of this team and optimistic about the new in-novative possibilities this would mean for our school and Greece in general.

When I Grow Up… I Want to Travel Around the Worldby ChrisTiana Perakis Director, Learning Enhancement Programs & SNFLC

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LearningENhANCEMENT

on a collective level, people

throughout the world will become leaders of the self,

leaders of their inner growth, leaders of

wisdom and critical thinking, rather than

collectors of pieces of information.

We live in fascinating times. never be-fore in human history have such in-

credible changes unfolded over the course of a few decades. that we can access any piece of information in seconds or just a few minutes, with a mere click may seem the most natural thing in the world for people born the last 20 years or so, but in fact, what is taken for granted today was inconceiv-able prior to the invention of computers, and especially the internet. it comes as no surprise, therefore, that this drastic and al-most magical development of communica-tion is affecting all areas of human existence. throughout the globe, people are meeting on-line, shopping on-line, entertaining on-line, and doing business on-line. People can also get an education on-line, and it is not uncommon nowadays for learners of various levels to derive their knowledge primarily from web sources. in the midst of so much instantly available information, an important question emerges: why do we need education today? Since all the infor-mation and pieces of knowledge humans will ever need are at our fingertips, then why go through traditional educational routes? this question surely offers much food for thought, since there are no ready answers; there is no history, nothing to compare our times with, no data deriving from a similar context – one that challenges everything that had until recently been a given. these remarkable times unfold endless possibili-ties; we cannot even begin to imagine how they will manifest themselves.

regardless, however, of the form and shape that learning will acquire in the years to come, there is one certainty: leadership will also have to drastically change form so as to have meaning in these fast-changing times. As leadership from above will probably have increasingly less meaning, this new era will be calling for the emergence of a dynamic, confident, inclusive leadership derived from within. in other words, and as education will become increasingly more personalized, so will leadership. On a collective level, people will have to come of age, people through-out the world will become leaders of the self, leaders of their inner growth, leaders of wis-dom and critical thinking, rather than collec-tors of pieces of information. this is the job of computers, which allows us humans to free ourselves from the accumulation of data in order to emphasize meaning, creativity, and critical thinking, focus on thinking out of the box and out of the ordinary, which will finally enable us to pursue the extraordinary.

the essence of personalized education is the ability to learn collaboratively, each person bringing their own personal background and knowledge to a diverse environment, where the exchange of information and personal perspective is the breathing component of learning. in the “Gateway to ACS Athens” program, students with very different back-grounds had a common goal: to learn. they each had their doubts and insecurities of this rigorous high expectation program; how and if they would fit into the puzzle; if they would gain the necessary knowledge and be able to apply it accordingly. the program itself would have been but a typical preparatory course, if not for the chemistry and the personal con-nections that developed among its mem-bers and three co-teachers. the Academy students, though challenged with their own milestones, embraced the Middle School stu-dents with serious care and understanding.

this warmth spread across the entire group, enabling students to overcome their insecuri-ties, open up, share and learn from each other without hesitation and competition.

Obviously, this was not a lesson learned, it was more of a silent agreement among the students: that we are all stronger and can ac-complish more if each one contributes will-ingly, honestly, openly and in pursuit of the common goal of learning. in only the first few hours of the course, friendships were established, differences were rectified, and bonds were formed, all in a demanding pro-gram that challenged each individual stu-dent to different extents. Comments such as, “they treat us fairly here,” “we can express our opinions freely without being judged or criticized,” and “where is Manolis?” were openly stated. Furthermore, instead of sepa-rating during lunchtime, all students would re-unite to reflect on whether these feelings were unanimously felt or not, and laugh about their mishaps or occasional blunders of the day. Some students exceeded them-selves by assisting their fellow classmates to complete an activity collaboratively, by supporting students who faced personal struggles or even by encouraging students who were petrified of presenting in front of their peers and were especially challenged by their learning differences.

All this unfolded under the umbrella of edu-cation at ACS Athens, where the expectations are high. During this very strenuous program in the mist of the summer heat, the students planned optimistically for their reunion in the coming fall, instead of planning their escape. witnessing these students overcome their milestones and accomplish their goal to enroll in the school has been a very fulfilling experience. it only proves how remarkable times unfold immeasurable possibilities that we cannot even begin to envisage.

Leadership and the “Gateway” to Education by eveLyn PiTTas Academy Faculty, franCine geroLymaTou oLP Aide

and ChrisTiana Perakis Director Learning Enhancement Programs & SNFLC

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learningenhancementlearningenhancement

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1 Chris Perakis, Evelyn Pittas and Francine Gerolymatos, col-laborating during the Summer "Gateway" program 2012.

2 Students explora-tion during Summer "Gateway" 2012.

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Dr. Anastasia Samaras (seventh from left stand-ing) among participants in her presentation on self-study teacher research.

winter 2012 59

the American Community School of Ath-ens, together with the institute for innova-tion and Creativity and the Fulbright Foun-dation of Greece, was very proud to host a presentation by Dr. Anastasia Samaras, Ph.D. twenty five faculty members attend-ed this presentation on an introduction to the exciting process of “Self Study teacher research.”

the presentation focused on Dr. Samaras’ work with the Self Study teacher research and the Fulbright Foundation, as well as providing an overview of the self-study re-search model, including “Seven Key Design Principles” (Samaras, 2011).

Participants gained insight of how teachers have moved towards higher mastery by re-searching something they care about and by working with “critical friends.” this idea is

very much related to the CLC model we fol-low at ACS Athens. the highlight was to see how the Self Study teacher research uses data from the classroom to improve teach-ing and learning.

Dr. Samaras and i also gave a presentation

on developing new programs for inclusion in schools to the graduate students of the University of ioannina. this partnership and sharing of ideas provides an avenue for our continued professional development, the long-term recipients and beneficiaries of which are our students!

Assessments in Special EducationAn intensive Professional Qualification Program

Take Charge through Self-Study Teacher Researchby ChrisTiana Perakis Director Learning Enhancement Programs & SNFLC

Announcement:

With great pleasure we announce the offering of a summer course on Assessments in Special Education led by Professors Michael Castleberry and Imran riaz from George Washington university. The course is designed to refine educator’s skills in formal measurement and informal and diagnostic techniques. The course will provide instructional experiences that will bring expansion of theoretical concept of assessment, practice

with formal assessment instruments, utilizing assessment data to program specifically for the special needs student and in-terpreting assessment data in conferences with teachers and families.

This class is open to psychologists, counselors, special educa-tors, and other interested teachers/professionals. Graduate credit will also be offered. For more information please visit www.acs.gr or contact Ms. Chris Perakis at perakisc@acs.gr

8th Annual Conference on Learning Differences

April 18-20, 2013Athens, Greece

Conference strands include:• Response to Intervention (RTI)• Autism• ELL, ESL, EFL• Creating a Student-Centered Classroom: Enhanced Learning for all Students

Registration begins:January 2013

more information:w w w . a c s . g r

SAVE THE DATE

2-day institutes90’ workshops

Innovative Teaching | Inclusive Learning8th Annual Conference on Learning Differences

April 18-20, 2013Athens, Greece

Conference strands include:• Response to Intervention (RTI)• Autism• ELL, ESL, EFL• Creating a Student-Centered Classroom: Enhanced Learning for all Students

Registration begins:January 2013

more information:w w w . a c s . g r

SAVE THE DATE

2-day institutes90’ workshops

Innovative Teaching | Inclusive Learning

civics

This year, the annual celebration of United nations day in the ACS Middle

school on October 24, 2012, added a few new twists. the tradition of Middle School Advisory, a program that groups 6th to 8th grade students together with a faculty advi-sor, was combined with the program of Un day. Advisory groups were to meet during Un day and carry out the activities of the day together, both as a way to bond, and as a way to participate in the activities of the day. this year’s theme for Un day was “sus-tainability.” this theme of sustainability was linked both to diversity at ACS Athens and to the natural environment.

the morning started off in the theater, with an introduction to the day’s activities and a few videos highlighting the Millen-nium Development goals and their link to sustainability. Students also viewed video clips about this goal and a special project regarding bringing light to different com-munities, to make it easier for children to do their homework at night and participating in after school activities, such as soccer, that require light in the evening. the idea was that students could see how something as simple as having electricity when it is dark outside can affect the lives of children around the world. the theater session end-ed with a small video clip of the ACS faculty and staff-bonding day at the beginning of the school year, before classes began, to show how we as a staff work to sustain our school and our diversity. this bonding ac-tivity included organic gardening, planting flowers around campus, cooking for the en-tire staff, beautifying the campus inside and out, making practical changes to various

areas of the school, and documenting the day. it is important for students to see that we too love our campus, work to sustain it, and also have times to bond in diverse groups.

Once the introduction was over, students reported to the rooms of their advisors for a wonderful international brunch that was as waste-free as possible. this brunch was organized beforehand, in advisory, where students signed up to bring a brunch item each. Brunch items were served in the classroom and included a sign of ingredi-ents, the name of the dish, and the country

of origin. to celebrate student diversity, it was decided that students and staff would share breakfast and lunch items from their home country or in the case of many, who are from two or more cultures, an item from the culture of their choice. this was designed as a bonding tool – we can “sus-tain” each other by nourishing one another in a warm, supportive environment. Sec-ondly, students can be exposed to diverse cultures, both through trying new foods and learning how this food is made and en-joyed. Finally, by having mixed grade level groups, students are ensured a diversity of perspectives and ideas. two interesting

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Students celebrating ethnic diversity by tasting food from different cultures.

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1 Engaging in a grati-tude exercise during UN day.

2 Middle School faculty engaging students in discussion about diversity.

3 Students preparing ethnic dishes.

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civicsMiddle School United Nations Day: Sustaining Our Diversity at ACS and Beyond by ranneLLe mcCoy MS Faculty and uN Day Advisor

and ChrisTina bakoyannis MS Faculty and uN Day Advisor

CiviCs

Gratitude helps us to sustain ourselves through life and the

goal was to examine everyday things that may get overlooked.

things happened during the brunch – one is that many students revealed that they themselves had prepared the brunch item for their group members, which lead to discussions of food preparation. Second, so much food was prepared that during the break, numerous students left their groups to share their food with other groups near-by– it turned into an impromptu demon-stration of generosity and sharing of stories between groups. the atmosphere in the Middle School during this time was full of positive energy and love – one that we hope continues throughout the year.

During the brunch, students also worked together to come up with a working defini-tion of sustainability and diversity. Students also explored case studies regarding the Millennium Development Goal of Sustain-able energy for all, which is three-fold in its plan of achievement by 2015: ensur-ing people have access to modern energy services, renewable energy resources are doubled, and energy efficiency is doubled. Students examined case studies to see how people take leadership in their com-munities to meet this goal and how, when resources are limited, people use creativity to solve problems. Students also worked on a recycled art project with materials brought from home and some groups even used waste (when present) from the actual brunch to contribute to the project. these works of art were displayed near the main office of the Middle School.

Un day came to a close with a gratitude exercise. Oprah winfrey, a legendary Ameri-can talk-show host and media mogul, has made it her daily practice and encourages others to keep a gratitude journal. in this journal, she emphasizes that every expe-rience in life has a meaningful lesson and that we should be grateful for this learning. She also emphasizes being grateful for what we have, rather than what is missing in our lives, and to see obstacles as opportuni-ties. During these difficult times in Greece and worldwide with the economic crisis, it seemed appropriate to have students engage in this exercise and focus on the positive in their lives. Gratitude helps us to sustain ourselves through life and the goal was to examine everyday things that may get overlooked. On a small piece of paper, students were encouraged to write at least one item down on paper they were grate-ful for and these notes were combined on a bulletin board in the Middle School near the attendance office.

in the next advisory lesson, thursday, no-vember 8th, students revisited the gratitude bulletin board and reflected on what their classmates were grateful for, on what may have been overlooked, and to think about

what they had written themselves. they also revisited the themes of sustainability to reflect upon what they had learned on Un Day.

As Un Day advisors, we would like to thank our Middle School colleagues for helping to make this day a success, whether it was by guiding their advisory groups through the day, cooking a dish for their advisory group, sending out Un day letters to stu-dents, or through input into the plan of the day beforehand. A very special thank you to Middle School parents who helped make this day successful, by either allowing their wonderful children to act as chefs in the kitchen, or by preparing the meal them-selves for the advisory groups. it made the day extra special and allowed each and ev-ery one of us to leave the campus with a full tummy and good stories to share with our loved ones. And finally, a special thank you to the ones who matter the most – our vivacious students who came to Un Day with an open heart, an open mind, and an empty stomach.

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standing in line, ready to cast their ballots, Middle School and Academy students at ACS Athens shared their democratic voic-

es as they expressed their views on the American election. in So-cial Studies classes at ACS Athens, students are engaged in learning with methods that celebrate teachable moments. By combining the concepts and skills taught in their grade levels, Social Studies teachers invited their students to analyze and evaluate the candi-dates within the 2012 American Presidential race. A mock referen-dum, created to enhance discussion of issues directly concerning the students, was also added.

This year’s Mock Presidential Election took place on November 5-6 to allign with the actual elections. Students from the 10th grade American Studies classes ran the entire election process, including managing the polling station and counting the votes. in classes across the grade levels, teachers created opportunities for students to engage in the issues. in the Honors Combo American Studies Class, students debated key Presidential issues as the class was di-vided equally on both sides of the debate. Students posted signs and slogans promoting their candidates and skillfully persuased the audience on their positions. within all American Studies classes, the impeccable timing of the elections aligns with our unit study of the American Political system and the USA Constitution, which creates an ideal match for the lesson. in other classes, such as eco-nomics, students analyzed economic policies of both presdential candidates, while in Middle School classes, students learned about the electoral College and compared the polices of the Democrats and republicans. Across the schools, students were made more aware of the issues and were better able to cast an educated vote.

in addition to the Presidential election, students also cast their vote for a school-wide referendum on the ACS Honor Code. the word-

ing of the referendum was created by the Student Honor Code Committee, advised by emilia Drogaris, and added to the ballot. the referendum opened discussion about the role of an Honor Code and the responsibilities that go along with empowerment.

As Social Studies teachers, we take pride in bringing current events into our curriculum and in making learning more applicable to our students. History begins in the textbook, but ultimaltey must be brought to life with real world experiences that make learning more memorable for our students. this year’s mock election is but one example of how we work to make student learning more en-gaging and meaningful.

Here are the results of this year’s mock election, which were calcu-lated and verified by the the 10th Grade Combo students:

2012 ACS Mock Presidential Election Results (Grades 6-12):

President Obama: (287 Votes) 83%

Governor romney: (28 Votes) 8%

Other third party candidates: 9%

Total Voter Turnout: 75%

Honor Code referendum: YeS: 90.4%

nO: 9.6%

The USA Presidential Elections come to Life at ACS Athensby david neLson and Jakob house Academy Faculty

winter 2012 63

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Students engaged in a mock presidential debate.

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1 Students counting the ballots.

2 Presidential candidate Romney represented by a student in the debate.

3 Obama debate team member preparing the materials for the debate.

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In the honors Combo American

Studies Class, students debated

key Presidential issues as the class

was divided equally on both sides of the

debate.

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MOCK BALLOT MEASURE# 2012 (ACS, ATHENS GREECE)

ACS HONOR CODE REFERENDUM: requires that Students at the American Community Schools of Athens be empowered to develop an Honor Code with the goals of achieving the following:

to create a community at ACS Athens in which all members of the community feel that:

they are safe; they are responsible; they can trust each other; they can be useful in the community; there is basic justice and fairness.

SUMMARY: the Honor Code states that students are expected to act as responsible individuals, to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity both personally and academically, and to respect the rights of others. ACS considers these standards to be essential to its mission.

YES- I AGREE WITH THIS REFERENDUM/ STUDENTS SHOULD BE EMPOWERED TO CREATE AN HONOR CCODE

NO- I DO NOT AGREE/ STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE EMPOWERED TO CREATE AN HONOR CODE

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When people enter the ACS Athens gymnasium, they can’t help but to

look up and stare at all the banners on the walls – as a matter of fact, there is hardly any space for many more. the central ban-ner that clearly stands out states our sports identity: “ACS Athens- Home of the Fighting Lancers”. For many years, ACS Athens ath-letes are the LAnCerS; how did this mascot come about? no one knows, but the fact remains that there is great tradition and his-tory in the ACS Athens Lancers.

the Lancer success can be seen by our tournament banners decorating the wall; categorized and placed by sports, one can clearly see the achievements of our teams, ranging from the track, cross country, ten-nis, soccer, volleyball, swimming or bas-ketball teams. Of course these tournament banners are only the most recent part of our sports history… let us not forget that ACS Athens goes back so many years, when our teams participated in a number of con-ferences, such as the Aegean tournaments and the eMAC conference. now, our teams participate in the iSSt and SCiS tourna-ments, and have been quite successful in the recent years.

However, we at ACS Athens Athletics value attributes that are not only important in sports, but also in life. Our motivational banners – six of them on the wall- remind us that talent is not the only thing that mat-ters and winning should not be the sole pursuit. You need to have many “ingredi-ents” for success: Motivation, Effort, Disci-pline, Sportsmanship, Pride and Respect.

All of these values are experienced and nec-essary in every aspect of sports; whether an individual or team sport.

Our Fall Sports season started in early Sep-tember; first, there was the excitement of tryouts and then the rhythm of practices and local games swiftly followed. Some teams had good results from the begin-ning, while others did not. whatever the case, all of our teams – Varsity and Junior Varsity- prepared for the end-of-season tournaments. the Junior Varsity teams have the local tournaments that are hosted by a number of international schools, including

our own. Our Junior Varsity teams had lots of enthusiasm and the desire to participate – they were eager to learn their sport!

the Varsity teams, while they participated in local tournaments, their season climax takes place with the iSSt championships. this year, our teams were, on the most part, young and energetic, but lacking in the experience necessary to be victorious in tournament play. Our Varsity Girls Soc-cer team, after losing a number of seniors from last year’s team, had a roster with nov-ice players who showed great enthusiasm and desire during their play. their persever-

Motivation - Effort - Discipline - Sportsmanship - Pride - RespectFall Sports Teams End Their Season Having Finished With Their ISST And Local Tournaments by annie ConsTanTinides Director of Athletics, Summer Camp and recreational Programs

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Varsity girls soccer team in Dusseldorf, Germany.

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ance paid off as they left the tournament in Dusseldorf with one strong win against Sir James Henderson School in Milan (3-0); they finished in 7th place and are eager to improve next year.

Our Varsity Girls Volleyball team was chal-lenged the most, since for the first time ever, they competed in the Division 1 iSSt tournament. Again, having lost three all-star seniors from last year’s squad, they had to compete against excellent volleyball teams. Unfortunately, their enthusiasm and effort was not enough to keep them in the Division 1 since they will be competing in Division 2 next year; however, the experi-ence gained during this championship pro-vides “added value” to returning players.

not far from the girl’s tournament, the Boys Varsity Volleyball team surprised many in Munich by making it to the semi-finals and playing for the bronze medal. Led by the seniors, the young team showed tremen-dous athleticism and desire, but fell short of the bronze and placed fourth in the tournament.

while a lot of competition was taking place

all over europe, the Varsity Boys Soccer team competed at home; ACS Athens hosted the Division 3 iSSt soccer tournament. Just two kilometers from our campus, at the Aghia

Paraskevi Municipal Soccer field, our boys faced some tough competition throughout the tournament’s two and a half days. they played hard and finished second; some of

Talent is not the only thing that

matters and winning should not be the

sole pursuit. You need to have many

“ingredients” for success: Motivation,

Effort, Discipline, Sportsmanship,

Pride and respect.

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aThLeTiCSPIrIT

them were disappointed, but at the end of the day, they were proud to have earned the silver medal! For the seniors, it was a great way to end their ACS soccer tenure.

Our Cross Country teams travelled the far-thest! Off to London and tASiS, the host school, our JV and Varsity teams competed against runners from many other inter-

national schools. Cross Country is a sport where motivation, effort, discipline and dedication are crucial; runners are a breed of their own! we had personal best perfor-mances and some top placements during the races, and we need more runners in the years to come!

Our Cross Country teams are and have been “leaders” in the athletic department in terms of community service. every year our runners run for charity and participate for special causes. For many years, they have raised money for PnOe in their sup-port of families with children who are being treated in intensive Care. this year was the 12th consecutive year of our involvement, with runners participating in the 5 km and 10 km races of the Athens Marathon event day. in addition, for the past few years, our runners, as well as many community mem-bers, participate in the Susan Komen race for the Cure, a global breast cancer aware-ness event. Sports provide a great avenue to help community members and we, at ACS Athens, are committed to serving those in need.

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1 Varsity girls volleyball team in Brussels, Belgium.

2 Varsity boys volleyball team in Munich, Germany.

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1 Silver Medalists. Bruno Cindric, Neal Marrano and Mike Economo-poulos were selected on the all-tournament team.

2 Daphne Apostolides was one of the top run-ners in the ISST cross country competition in London, England.

3 Dimitris Elezoglou was selected on the all-tournament volleyball team.

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affairsairsThe Halloween Carnival has been a tradi-

tion at ACS Athens for many years; an event that goes back to the early 90s and one in which all members of the community are involved. it is an attraction for many: young and old, ACS community members and visi-tors from other schools and guests as well. it is an event that is by now an ACS trademark!

what is intriguing, is that each of the differ-ent constituencies of our community take on an important part of the carnival – the end result is a fun and special evening for all.

the game booths, the Haunted House and the Pumpkin Patch at the entrance of our school are all the result of hard work by students and their teachers/supervisors. the Pumpkin Patch actually sets the “tone”

of the evening – all the carved pumpkins by elementary School students and the lit candles provide a unique Halloween atmo-sphere that makes this day very special!

the Haunted House, this year prepared by the ACS Athens Spirit Club students, was frightening not only for our younger visi-tors, but also for the older ones. it seemed that two hours were not enough…the line of children waiting to get in seemed end-less! the game booths in the gymnasium, organized by the students of the various Middle School and High School activity clubs, as well as the Fall Sports teams (with their faculty supervisors and coaches), were also lots of fun for our young guests, who were going around with their Halloween bag collecting their prizes. when they got tired, children and parents alike, they just went to the Food Court area to eat, drink and rest. A number of volunteer parents were serving, while others donated baked goods; you cannot have a Halloween Carni-val without a table full of candy and sweets!

the organization and planning for the Hal-loween Carnival begins days before the ac-tual date, as parents, teachers and students prepare for it. A fundraising event for the student activities clubs that is supported by the entire community: we, at ACS Athens, are very proud of OUr Halloween Carnival!

ACS Athens Halloween CarnivalBy the Community… for the Community

What is intriguing, is that each of

the different constituencies of our

community take on an important part

of the carnival – the end result is a fun

and special evening for all.

Clubs and Sports teams involved: Spirit Club, nHS, Spanish Club, Varsity Boys Volleyball, Varsity Girls Volleyball, JV Boys Volleyball, JV Girls Volleyball, JV Boys Soccer, JV Girls Soccer, Varsity Girls Soccer, Varsity Boys Soccer, MUn, Cross Country, Middle School Student Council, Literary Magazine, Blue and Gold, UneSCO club, iB CAS, Village project, Senior Student Council, 11th Grade Student Council

celebratiocelebrationsCeLebraTions

68 etHOS MAGAZine

by annie ConsTanTinides Director of Athletics, Summer Camp and recreational Programs

Dear ACS Athens Alumni,Welcome to the Alumni section of the twelfth issue of the ACS Athens Ethos. To submit your articles for the next Ethos issue, please email us at alumni@acs.gr.

To join the ACS Athens Alumni Directory, please visit our website at www.acs.gr and follow these steps:

1. Click on “Profile” > “Alumni” > “Verification for Alumni Di-rectory Form”

2. Fill out the form. An approval email will be sent to you shortly after. Follow the directions in the email

3. Login with the “username” and “Password” you have se-lected

4. Fill out the Alumni Directory Form.

5. Please make sure to click on the visibility checkbox if you would like to have your social/personal information vis-ible to other alumni.  

6. You may want to bookmark the “Alumni Directory Form” page for future reference

Thank you for being an active member of the ACS Athens Alumni community!

affairsairsalumni fifty-seven of us gathered for our Bi-Annual ACS Athens All Class/

All School Stateside reunion in Albuquerque, new Mexico, home of the Annual Balloon Fiesta. we got up early Saturday morn-ing and met in the Hospitality Suite at 5:15 am for breakfast, be-fore we boarded the bus to the Balloon Fiesta Park in order to view the ascension of hundreds of hot air balloons. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and the hot air balloons could not take off. However, while wandering around the park some of the group found ACS Athens Alumnus Dimitri Brandetsas “Demo” (1960-1963) with his POw/MiA balloon, and chatted with him and his crew. A couple of people who had driven to Albuquerque instead of flying drove back to the park on Sunday morning, and were treated to a mass ascension of hundreds of colorful hot air balloons. Some of our group gathered in the Hospitality Suite early enough on Sun-day morning to watch from the windows.

ACS Athens Stateside Alumni ReunionALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICOWe were there and left our mark – a good one!by ann LaPPas-sTiLes Alumni Stateside representativeClass of ‘66

alumniaffairsalumniaffairs

winter 2012 69

aLumniAFFAIrS

oPPosiTe Page

Fun, games and activities during the Halloween celebration, an annual ACS Athens tradition.

CurrenT & nexT Page

ACS Athens alumni celebrating a reunion by soaring above Albuquergue in a hot air balloon. The Balloon Fiesta Park provided a colorful venue for the reunion.

alumniaffairs

70 etHOS MAGAZine

aLumniAFFAIrS

School Airline Travel …Frequent Flyer Miles by marianna savvasbusiness office Administrative Assistant

since november 2010, ACS Athens is a member of the Luf-thansa PartnerPlusBenefit Corporate Program, a bonus

program that allows us to earn and redeem mileage benefit points when travelling with Lufthansa and other partner Star Alliance airlines, such as Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, Continental and United Airlines. recently, ACS Athens obtained Corpo-rate Miles & More cards, such as “On Business” with British Air-ways, and “BlueBiz” with Air France, KLM, and Delta Airlines.

One of the significant advantages to being members of the Frequent Flyer Miles Corporate Program is that not only does ACS Athens obtain valuable BenefitPoints on flights used, but as individual cardholders, students flying for school events have the benefit to also earn miles for their own per-sonal mileage account.

For further details on how to register for a Lufthansa Part-nerPlusBenefit Miles & More card, please visit their website at www.partnerplusbenefit.com. through this site, you will be provided with information on how many BenefitPoints you can accrue per route, your Benefit Awards as a member, which includes BenefitFreeFlights, BenefitUpgrades, BenefitEx-cess Baggage, Bonus Vouchers and Benefit Worldshop Awards.

to date, ACS Athens is working towards earning a sufficient amount of Frequent Flyer miles to help support future school travels. However, the selection of airlines depends on best ticket price, convenience in date / time of departure and ar-rival, and minimal hours of stopovers.

Additionally, ACS Athens is in the process of gathering in-formation with further airlines concerning Miles & More pro-grams, which will allow both the school and the individual cardholder to enjoy all the benefits on offer.

i also went for a ride in a hot air balloon - it was indescribably awe-some! in the meantime, the hotel’s shuttle bus was kept busy, tak-ing groups back and forth to Old town that boasted a beautiful old church with a lot of history to tell, where lots of shops were waiting for us to spend, spend, spend! Among the shops was also a beautiful park where musicians played and artists were showing their talents. if you did not buy a DVD of the indian flute players, you missed out!

thursday evening’s welcome buffet featured a feast of Southwest-ern cuisine. Fajitas and fixins – it must have been good because we had to refill our plates numerous times! the Mariachi band played and entertained us for an hour...sure was fun! On Friday night many people went to tucano’s Brazilian Grill. we were stuffed, but every time you put your fork down, the servers were there with some-thing else for you to try. Skewers were brought to the tables and sizzling portions were sliced onto our plates.

On Saturday night we were treated to Greek cuisine, camaraderie and dancing until the morning hours. Mr. Steve Medeiros, Dean of the institute for innovation and Creativity at ACS Athens, flew from Greece to be with us for the reunion. He truly enjoyed his time with us! Mr. Medeiros brought copies of the DVD that was created for the 2007 reunion that took place in Greece, as so many stateside alumni from different parts of the US had attended this particular reunion. they were so happy to have received a copy of the 2007 reunion video.

All in all, the reunion was a great success. i enjoyed speaking to alumni from all years, beginning from the class of 1954. We are looking forward to the next ACS Athens All Class/All School State-side reunion in 2014.

Hope YOU can make it!

The reunion was a great success.

I enjoyed speaking to alumni from all

years, beginning from the class

of 1954. We are looking forward to the

next ACS Athens All Class/All School

Stateside reunion in 2014.

alumniaffairs

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