ETHOS WINTER 2014

Our Mission: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.

Reception Desk: Ext. 206, 233 Office of the President: Ext. 201Office of Enrollment Management & Technology: Ext. 263Admissions Office: Ext. 263, 251Finance: Ext.202, 207 Office of Alumni Affairs/Procurement: Ext. 207Human Resources Office: Ext. 204Cashier: Ext. 208 Bookstore: Ext. 214 Transportation Office: Ext. 239Health Office: Ext. 217 Cafeteria: Ext. 236

Academy Office: Ext. 222 Academy Citizenship: Ext. 404Middle School Office: Ext. 261Middle School Citizenship: Ext. 267Elementary School Office: Ext. 229Office of Student Services: Ext. 226IB/AP Programs: Ext. 247, 248Academy/MS Library: Ext. 219, 220ES Library: Ext. 293Athletic Office: Ext. 327, 401Institute for Innovationand Creativity: Ext. 402Optimal Learning Center: Ext. 237, 265Theater Office: Ext. 331, 302

Security: Ext. 240Night Entrance Security: 210 6393555

Ethos is a bi-annual publication of ACS Athens showcasing the life and activity of the Institution.

Publisher: ACS AthensEditor-in-Chief and Creative Director: Leda TsoukiaCo-Editors: Peggy Pelonis John PapadakisProduction team:Frances TottasMarianna SavvasCopy editing /Text Proofing:Amalia MelisContributors:ACS Athens FacultyStaff, Students,Parents and AlumniLayout concept & design:Leda Tsoukia

Copyright©2014-2015. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine (text or images) may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher

ACS AthensAmerican Community Schools

Empowering Individuals to Transform the World as Architects of their Own Learning

ACS Athens (American Community Schools)

129 Ag.Paraskevis Street, GR 15234 Halandri Athens, GreeceΑγ.Παρασκευής 129, 15234 Χαλάνδρι, Αθήνα, Ελλάδα

E: acs@acs.gr W: acsathens.gr T: +30 210 6393200-3, +30 210 6016152 F: +30 210 6390051

ETHOS WINTER 2014

from the editorby Leda Tsoukia, Editor in Chief and Creative Director

70 Years Celebration

This is a very special academic year as our school celebrates the 70 years of its existence as an edu-cational institution. Providing students with an

academic experience that is unique in its excellence gives us much to celebrate. Embracing the American educational philosophy, principles and values, our school aims above all to create global citizens with ethos.

ACS Athens is an evolving, living entity because it is comprised of an international community with ed-ucators, administrators and students tackling aca-demic learning within the holistic framework of cre-ating a balanced, complete student body which is ethical and empathetic. ACS Athens does more than offer students learned knowledge. 

There is a certain continuity that exists in everything that  the faculty, staff and administrators have been doing all these years: The common denominator is our effort to create students who are fully-formed, who are educated in a holistic, meaningful and har-monious way.

As educator Sir Ken Robinson once said: “The garden-er does not make the plant grow. The job of a garden-er is to create optimal conditions.”

Our school, for the last 70 years, has steadily led to the present environment which strives to create the proper conditions so that our students can reach their fullest potential. ACS Athens students are prepared to

face the world as they follow the path of their choice for higher education and eventually as they move into society as adults with the most important goal in mind: to have the desire to make this world a better place to live in.

Welcome to our latest issue of ETHOS Magazine as we stand today celebrating the 70 years of ACS Ath-ens existence.

Throughout these pages, we will try to highlight what the spirit of ACS Athens is and celebrate these 70 years of Excellence in Education!

■

3

4

From the Editor 2Q&A with the President by Leda Tsoukia 6Our School Cultureby Margarita Gournaris and Evelyn Pittas 13Can Good Citizenship BeTaught? The ACS Athens Reparations Model by Peggy Pelonis & Julia Tokatlidou 14Senior Class Student Council Leadership by Evelyn Pittas & Frances Tottas 18What Color is Your House? by Anna Velivasaki & Paul Evloyias 20Meeting Student Needs in an International School by John Papadakis 22It Takes a Village: The Four Conditions of i²Flex Success by Maria Avgerinou 24eduTECHby Maria Roussou 34 Schooling Plus Education Equals Intellectual Curiosityby Nicholas G. Karambelas 42Years Later by Zacharo Diamanto Gialamas 45 Three Assemblage Sculptures: Commentary on Process by Amalia Melis 46ACS Athens Wall of Fame by Annie Constantinides 48

The “Hasib Sabbagh and Diana Tamari” Athletic Scholarships by Leda Tsoukia & Annie Constantinides 50Preparing Tomorrow’s Global Leaders with Ethosby Satheesh Namasivayam & Bade Kucukoglu 54

The YOLO Clubby Ellen Vriniotis 58Cognitive Jazz by Ben Williamson 63Middle School UN

by Christina Bakoyannis & Hrisi Sandravelis 68 The Math and Writing Studioby Matina Katsiyianni, Hercules Lianos

& Bobby Zervas 70The Hour of Codeby Helen Sarantes 72ACS Athens Science Fair by Christina Bakoyannis 73Middle School Art by Sophia Stella Soseilos 75

10th Grade Combo Class by Jonathan Ruelens and David Nelson 76Expanding Opportunities for our Academy Seniors in College Admissionsby Anna Makris 79

Alumni Affairs 80 Alumni Affairs: Reflectionsby Kathy Capous-Chrisovergis 82Alumni Affairs: Reflectionsby Bill Sinunu 84Maintenanceby Stavros Tzanetakos 86

ETHOS WINTER 2014

06Q&A with the

President Dr. S. Gialamas

13The Culture

of ACS Athens

24i2Flex

48Athletics

68Educational

Connections

80Alumni Affairs

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Q&A with the President,

Dr. S. Gialamasby Leda Tsoukia, Editor in Chief and Creative Director

70 Years Celebration

Q: Can you tell us a few words about the school’s vision? What does “to empower students to be-come architects of their own learning” mean for the school, the parents and the students them-selves?

A: The school’s vision is based on a student-centered innovative approach to teaching and learning. Stu-dents are of the utmost importance to institutions of learning. In fact, if institutions are to be successful in transmitting knowledge in ways that allow students to assimilate it and turn it into tacit knowledge (Pearl-son & Saunders, 2006), “learning must be student centered where students engage in critical thinking. This means that students do more than reproduce knowledge; they question and challenge the ideas of others and forward their own opinions and ideas” (UTAS, undated).

Innovation must be the norm and not the exception. That means students, faculty and administrators must develop and sustain an institutional culture fos-tering risk taking, thinking outside of the box, and not dwelling on judgment of unsuccessful initiatives.

The institution’s culture is defined by its history, pol-icies, management style, and most importantly the thinking and behavior of its constituents (Pelonis & Gialamas, 2010), in other words, it is the way of doing business within the institution. But as society chang-es, so culture must change. In changing however, it is important to resist rejecting the old in favor of an

all new way of doing things, for there is wisdom and experience embedded in the ‘old ways’, therefore, change means keeping from the existing culture what is meaningful and useful while being open and flexible toward societal changes/needs and adopting innova-tive practices to meet these needs. Innovation then refers to the inclination to think ‘outside of the box’. It is not enough to have new ideas, it is necessary to develop new ways of doing business, alternate ways of thinking about a condition and multiple problem solving approaches so as to develop the new compe-tencies necessary to meet societal challenges head on. Preparing students to address future challenges through innovation also means preparing students to be flexible and open minded so that when solutions meet with dead ends or when they seem non-exis-tent, the hope and desire to continue searching does not diminish.

Furthermore, in order to empower students to be-come leaders of their own learning, the School’s cur-riculum must be directly related to what is relevant to each individual’s learning ability and life. The curricu-lum must be exciting, current and congruent with the needs of the global community and must naturally include aspects from the Arts, Humanities, and Social Studies to Mathematics and Sciences. Innovative cur-riculum is comprised of four inseparable and integrat-ed components (SCRI):

Skill competencies: acquiring new skills and mas-tering existing skills

Critical thinking competencies: developing deci-sion-making competencies for problem solving

Relevance applicability: Relating competencies to one’s environment (Course of study and real life situations)

Inspirational delivery: Expressing the under-standing of complex concepts in a unique and re-freshing way.

In particular, the curriculum of an international school must take care not to reflect any local cultural bias (Western, Eastern, etc) and thus must be reviewed often. The design suggested, calls for a vertical ap-proach that recommends beginning at the upper end of studies (senior year) and moving downwards. The desired competencies and learning outcomes once carefully chosen can then allow a vertically down-ward movement where necessary and sufficient en-abling objects can be identified.

To illustrate, let us assume that one of the learning objectives to be acquired by senior year is for students to determine whether a collection of data is reliable and valid. Students must have the knowledge to an-alyze and compare statistical numbers such as the mean, median, mode, standard deviation and correla-tion coefficient and they must be able to run statisti-cal tests. They must also be able to master available technology tools to simplify the process of calculating such statistical numbers. This presupposes that in or-

7

der for faculty leaders to continuously develop, filter, and crystallize the curriculum in their areas of exper-tise, they must also always remain learners and seek continuous content knowledge as curriculum needs and demands increase dramatically in certain areas such as science, mathematics, technology, business, economics.

“Ideally, a curriculum should be able to be modified or customized to meet the needs of both teacher and student.” (Orkwis, McLane, 1998).

The curriculum must also be articulated by consider-ing both ends of the educational spectrum. Thus, cur-riculum development and revision cannot take place in isolation. For example, changing the Mathematics curriculum at the High School level makes sense only if faculty are well aware of what takes place during the first and second year of college just as much as they are aware of what takes place in the Middle school or Junior High school.

Faculty are considered an essential component in adopting a student-centered educational approach.They are the ones who transmit knowledge, skills and learning attitudes to students, either explicitly or tacitly. Faculty who promote and foster innovation are not afraid to generate, adopt new ideas and de-velop different teaching methods. There should be a high degree of autonomy and independent judgment among faculty without the need to have the adminis-tration’s approval every step of the way.

Such faculty have a high degree of social interest as well as the courage to move forward with half devel-oped ideas. Usually, such faculty have a range of per-sonal and professional interests and are constantly stimulated to grow and develop professionally. They are self-motivated, hard working, dedicated and able to hold and process multiple ideas simultaneously. Ac-cording to Lightfoot (1983), in her book The Good High School; portraits of character and culture, “one of the most important qualities of a good school is the con-sistent, unswerving attitudes toward students. The first impression is that teachers are not afraid of their students” (p.342). This fearless regard of adolescents is striking. Thus, the rapport developed between stu-dents and teachers and the ease with which teachers move among their students is a good indicator of the courage to live among, educate, mentor and guide students in innovative ways without the regard for possible obstacles along the way.

Finally, in order to attain our goal for a student-cen-tered model of education, we have to be able to con-sider all the available teaching and learning tools. Delivery options are endless. The opportunities are invigorating for any faculty committed to providing the best educational experience for students. “Face to face” teaching and learning, independent learning can be enhanced with online opportunities, learning tools (such as videos, simulations, virtual environments, etc) eliminating barriers and being inviting to all learning styles. Furthermore, faculty can create many enhancement opportunities for student learning as

the faculty is no longer the only source of knowl-edge and information. This gives faculty, as well as administrators the opportunity to apply this to their own everyday work: independent learning, face to face and guided learning could mean: one or more faculty for students; a colleague, supervi-sor or a leader, in general, for faculty; a functional area leader or the leader of the institution for ad-ministrators.

While curriculum delivery today can be very de-manding, usage of the available tools can create fresh, diverse and challenging teaching and learn-ing methods, which can prove to be very reward-ing.

Q: We frequently mention that students trans-form their world. Can you give us a practical example of how this can happen? Why is it so important for our students to show leadership skills in shaping their future?

A: ACS Athens students are attending the best col-leges and universities in the world. They become leaders in multiple sectors of society: Business, Service, Politics, Arts, etc.

This phenomenon is created because students are fostered in an environment that allows for the ac-quisition of knowledge which is not only pursued for the purpose of gaining future employment and maintaining a competitive edge in careers but for individual growth and satisfying one’s curiosi-ty. Knowledge devoid of the awareness and skills toward the betterment of the human condition is an incomplete education. Holistic education encourages the student to go beyond the self to-ward the common good. Social awareness accord-ing to Goleman (2006 p. 84) “refers to a spectrum that runs from instantaneously sensing another’s inner state, to understanding the other’s feelings and thoughts, to ‘getting’ complicated social situ-ations”.

Therefore, academic institutions, now more than ever, play a leading role in preparing young peo-ple to cope with and be productive members of an increasingly global society. The opportunities and learning outcomes, for students attending schools, are directly related to the educational ex-perience and thus the credentials they receive.

ACS Athens has imbedded principles and values via the Global Morfosis paradigm aiming for a Holis-tic, Meaningful, and Harmonious Education guid-ed by Ethos in its students. It is our dream to see all students, well equipped to serve humanity and make the world a better place to live in for all citizens; and each one of these stu-dents to shape the path so that others can become leaders, too.

8

Q: When did our journey begin and how did we arrive to where we are now? What were the most significant events that changed the course of the school, how did it alter the way students, faculty and staff think and react?

A: The following significant events are engraved in my mind from the 2005-2006 academic year until the current 2014-2015 academic year. I cannot reference anything that took place prior to 2005 in a meaning-ful and significant way.

◉ In May 2005, 15 full tuition academic scholar-ships (for 3 years beginning with the 2005-2006 academic year) were implemented by SKY Media Group for exceptional students who had finished 9th Grade in other institutions and wanted to complete their high school studies at ACS Athens. The caliber of the entering scholarship students had an invaluable impact in shaping the future of ACS Athens. From that point on, and in the next 3 years, the enrollment of ACS Athens increased by 40% in terms of quality and integrity. From ap-proximately 450 students total, the school went up to 750 students enrolled and eventually pop-ulation stabilized at 850. The graduating class of 2008 set the standards for college placement for our graduates.

As a result today we are achieving 95% and above for first or second choice college placement of our graduates.

◉ In 2006, Mr. Suheil and Mr. Samir Sabbagh pro-vided 3 year scholarships to young boys and girls giving them the opportunity to flourish academ-ically and athletically. The idea was to help stu-dents who had a proven record of academic excel-lence, athletic skills and whose families were of limited financial resources. This opportunity for talented youth to become part of the ACS Athens community raised the bar for the student popu-lation in the classroom and in the gymnasium. Since then, and up to the present time, 34 young students have received The Hasib J. Sabbagh and the Diana W. Tamari (respectively for boys and girls) scholarships.

◉ The Advanced placement courses (AP courses) further enhanced the curriculum which led stu-dents to receive the American High School Diplo-ma (accredited by the Middle School Association of Colleges and Schools-MSA), the IB Diploma and of course, the AP international diploma.

◉ ACS Athens Governance structure transforma-tion

In the 2007-2008 academic year, the Governance of Structure for ACS Athens was transformed.From its inception until the Academic year 2006-2007, ACS Athens was governed by a Board of Education consisting of 7 elected parents. These members were elected every two years by par-ents. The Board of Education also had a signifi-

ETHOS WINTER 2014

cant responsibility for the management and op-eration of the school.

In June 2007 the Board of Education presented a referendum to its membership (all parents in good standing) regarding the establishment of a new Governance structure. Parents, with a re-markable 94% affirmative vote, decided to estab-lish the Board of Trustees structure and moved quickly to develop the bylaws and its member-ship. The new structure currently has18 mem-bers, including 3 members appointed by the U.S. Ambassador, 3 elected parents for a period of 2 years and 12 members elected by the Board of Trustees, of which, 6 reside in the U.S.

The ACS Athens Board of Trustees structure holds all the necessary and sufficient elements, which are included in Board of Trustees structures for all non-profit U.S. universities and all the U.S. inde-pendent K-12 schools.

The primary role of the Board of Trustees is to establish policies, hire its Chief Executive Officer (President) and be the guardian of the well being of the school. The Board is responsible for approv-ing and overseeing the execution of the budget proposed by the administration, and finally to as-sess the performance of its president.

The catalyst for such a transformation of Gov-ernance was the chairman of the MSA visiting team, Dr. Ken Kasstle, who strongly suggested the improvement of the Governance of ACS Ath-ens, back in the spring of 2007.

The first Chairman of the Board of Trustees was Colonel Steve Boukedes (one year) then Mr. Con-stantine Stergides (6 years). The current chair-man is Mr. Suheil Sabbagh.

◉ The establishment of the Institute of Innovation and Creativity (IIC)

The Institute of Innovation and Creativity offers a variety of after school courses for our students. Most importantly, it offers college level courses in collaboration with U.S. universities or self de-signed. The spectrum of these courses is wide; from aviation, mathematics to leadership. One of the highlights was the establishment of the “lead-ership program”(for students in grades 10 and 11), in collaboration with the Jepson School of Leader-ship Studies of the University of Richmond.

In 2009, this program received the prestigious award from the American Association of Univer-sity Administrators (AAUA), The Nikolai Khalad-jan Innovation Award.

ACS Athens was the first ever and still is the only K-12 institution to receive such a prestigious award from AAUA (www.aaua.org).

◉ In 2009, a group of ACS Athens Academy stu-dents took it upon themselves to create a doc-umentary regarding the Israeli-Palestinian con-flict.  Students researched historical background, interviewed relevant parties, wrote the script, produced, directed and narrated the project.  Fol-lowing its completion and after receiving signif-icant media attention, students along with ACS Athens chaperons, decided to visit the lands and see the situation up close.

The documentary entitled “The Israeli and Pal-estinian Struggle”, created and produced by ACS Athens students can be viewed at:www.vimeo.com/9064384

Q: What is the ultimate goal? What is the Vision’s vision? How would you like to see today’s students 10 years from now, and how would you like to see the school 10 years from now?

A: The implementation of the Global Morfosis Educa-tional paradigm is broken down into three major ar-eas: The Morfosis Educational Philosophy, the i2Flex Delivery Methodology and the Aristeia leadership.

Our vision is to see the complete praxis of the Global Morfosis Paradigm (GMP) from Pre-school all the way through 12th grade.

When learning a new concept, students could take a number of different initiatives. With the guidance of their mentors, they could express different ideas and master that concept in many different modali-ties. They could have the option of shaping their own way of learning, with essays, artwork, interactive projects, or any other choice they may make. This way, depending on the way a project unfolds and the unique way that each concept is being taught to each student, the faculty develops, in turn, diverse assess-ment tools. Assessment is not only based on grades, but on diverse multi-dimensional factors.

Our vision is to see the Global Morfosis Paradigm be-ing implemented not only for students but also for Faculty and Administrators.

Faculty with the same thinking process could search for new approaches to teaching and learning. This is what has been happening, for more than a year, with the Action Research project. Research is not done outside our school premises in a University or a High-er Education Institution, but here in ACS Athens, by our faculty.

As part of the new accreditation protocol, Sustaining Excellence, ACS Athens faculty were elected to partic-ipate in the Action Research Project, due to its high standards and teaching excellence. It refers to ongo-ing research by all faculty and specialists during their daily teaching/counseling so as to continuously im-prove methodology and practice.

Administrators motivate and inspire faculty and staff

ETHOS WINTER 2014

by utilizing authentic avenues and also expressing their appreciation by developing a reward mecha-nism.

My personal vision is to see a community of students, faculty, staff and administrators engaging themselves in individual and collective learning, respecting each other, utilizing the authentic and unique strengths, diverse ideas, embracing diverse cultures, without a perspective of a dominant culture and a dogmatic superiority of a subgroup of the community, but with the holistic approach that our School philosophy de-fines.

In addition, it is our dream to see the GMP be adopted and implemented worldwide and for ACS Athens to become the catalyst for transforming education.

■

Holistic education encourages the student to go beyond the self toward the common good

a curriculum should be able to be modified or customized to meet the needs of both teacher and student

Friday, February 13, 2015

Reception: 8 p.m.Dinner: 8:30 p.m.

Formal Dress

Hotel Grande BretagneConstitution Square, Athens

70th AnniversaryCelebration Dinner

Donation: €80 All proceeds will benefit ACS Athens initiatives

RSVP: Valerie Alexopoulos • 210-6070264 • alexopoulosv@acs.gr

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Our School Cultureby Margarita Gournaris and Evelyn Pittas,

Academy Faculty

The Cultureof ACSAthens

Many of us are aware of the term “school cul-ture” and most of us know a “good” culture when we see it, but what are we really talking

about when we refer to school culture? There is some-thing about the unique quality of how students in a particular school act, how they dress, what they talk about and how members of the community interact with each other that defines the culture of the school. Culture is the heart and soul of an organization. It is the spirit of the organization and is reflected in the artifacts, perceptions, values and deep underlying as-sumptions of the culture.

So, how does our school go about developing the type of culture where the needs of each individual student are paramount, where dedicated and noble teachers love to teach and where students strongly identify with their school?

In collaboration with our school community we ask, “What sort of culture do we want?”Building a positive school culture or developing an ex-isting one is not a simple task, nor a quick one. Our school often shares stories of past successes, special efforts, and unique accomplishments to communi-cate its core values. As our students work together on a project to assist young people in another part of the country or how the passionate staff share ideas, materials and support, it communicates some of the things the school holds as important parts of its cul-ture. When our students work together to develop an Art Gallery, to honor their classmates, or to cheer for

the Lancers, the core values of the school are com-municated without having them explicitly stated. Our teachers have a passion for facilitating the learn-ing of young people. They enjoy learning themselves and they pass on that enthusiasm to their students. They are knowledgeable about what they teach and, more importantly, they can pass on that knowledge to others. Excellent teachers like young people, and it shows. They advocate for them with passion and do not give up on even the most recalcitrant. The most wonderful thing that can happen to a teacher is being there when a child’s face lights up and he or she says, “I understand.” As these stories and efforts become part of the school’s history and as they are repeated from one generation to the next, the school’s culture is es-tablished.

In the same way, symbols around the school convey its culture. Our school’s logo in the front courtyard, the mission statement in the offices, the photos of children in their respective schools, the names on school buildings, the flags flying in the courtyard, all signal ideals and assumptions about our school cul-ture, reinforcing key values for existing members of the school, and advertising these values to those who are new. Our school logo, for example, shows an owl to symbolize the importance the school places on ac-ademic success. It is reinforced by our motto, “ACS Athens: Empowering Individuals to Transform the World as Architects of their Own Learning.” All of these symbols express powerful things about the type of school we are in and convey the culture on a daily basis.

Finally, we build school culture through Ceremonies, Rituals, and Traditions. These activities become very important in binding members of the school com-munity together and shaping the unwritten culture that reinforces the bond year after year. Formal grad-uation ceremonies that include recurring rituals from one year to the next, entwine themselves into the life of the school and become something graduates talk about to their children as the next generation enters the school. School rituals quickly become school tra-ditions that reinforce the importance the schoolplaces on relationships and intensify commitment to the organization. A rich culture in a school is imme-diately apparent to those associated with the school or to members of the wider community. It says some-thing powerful about what the school stands for, how it feels about those it nurtures within its doors and what values it wishes its graduates to take into the world. That is why it is so important that we as a school community accept the challenge to build the school we want by working together to establish the culture that will give us that school.

Take your time to think about our school; what is im-portant to you that already exists, what you would like to see existing in the future and the type of image and message you would like to see our school project to visitors and newcomers. We can work together to build the best school we possibly can!

■

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Developing competent, responsible and produc-tive citizens who will positively contribute to the community both socially and economically

is no small task for both parents and educators. The question then to be asked is what factors lead to youth becoming responsible, cooperative, productive, use-ful members who contribute to society? According to Coloroso: “part of raising kids who can think and act ethically involves looking for ways of being in the world that will reduce the harm we do to one another and to our planet. At the same time, it involves creat-ing homes, schools and communities that will effec-tively support us in raising our kids”(2005). The fact that “we are currently facing an ethical crisis which is greater in scope and depth than any financial crisis and which has tragic implications for the future of hu-manity” (Gialamas 2014 Vision presentation) is not to be taken lightly and most importantly the education-al systems of the world are being called upon to recon-sider and redefine the process by which human beings are molded into becoming ethical, caring, productive

Can Good Citizenship be

Taught?The ACS Athens

Reparations Model by Peggy Pelonis, Dean of Student Affairs

and Julia Tokatlidou, Academy Vice Principal and Director of IB/AP programs

members of society. To this end a Holistic, Meaning-ful, Harmonious approach (Gialamas, Pelonis 2008) in educating the whole person to the degree possi-ble and available in any given educational system is deemed necessary. The key ingredients in developing, molding and influencing young people toward being optimal members of society and balanced individuals are relational (Bitter 2009) and collaborative (Giala-mas 2014). Positive, consistent and caring yet firm relationships that provide opportunities for students to take healthy risks, fail and get back on their feet, learn from adversity, experience consequences and take responsibility for their choices are what create environments that allow diverse and effective learn-ing to take place . It is the child’s experience of being safe within these relationships with parents, teach-ers, counselors, administrators and adults in general that allow them to be receptive rather than reactive (Seigel 2010).

Caring and positive relationships are not to be con-fused with allowing children to believe that children are entitled to privileges but rather that these must be earned. They are not meant to protect children from the pain of adversity or the internal conflict of making choices that are good for them rather than choices that always make them feel good. They are not meant to send adults racing to their rescue at ev-ery difficult turn. They are relationships that teach children the consequences of their actions yet direct them toward finding solutions that will repair the damage done to self, other and the environment. They are solution oriented and problem solving, inno-vative ways that can lead to individuals who believe they indeed have a choice and within their corner of the universe can make a difference mainly by the way they choose to live their lives and by how they treat and value the lives of others. Providing opportunities for such competencies to develop is the responsibility of the adults yet we often become the greatest obsta-cle to this type of learning because of our love, indif-ference, lack of understanding, hectic lifestyle, fears, and anxieties for the well being of our children. These emotions can impulsively send us to battle in their place depriving children of the learning experiences that allow them to find their way when caretakers

15

are not around. Further, to allow for such learning to take place implies that as adults we accept the no-tion that our kids, as all human beings, are fallible and will make mistakes. Accepting the responsibility for these mistakes, finding solutions to repair the dam-age and moving on provides opportunities for the development of healthy, balanced individuals rather than those who constantly strive toward the illusion of perfection ailed by never ending internal anxiety lest they fall short.

While focusing on the acquisition of basic academic skills in schools is certainly essential, the attainment of knowledge in the traditional sense is a narrow fo-cus at best if we expect children to cope with a fast paced and ever changing, challenging global world. The traditional three R’s of education (‘Reading’, ‘Rit-ing’ and ‘Rithmetic’) are no longer sufficient to prepare children to meet the challenges that lie ahead. Like-wise protecting children from the ills of society is not always possible. On the other hand strengthening their psychological immune system and providing so-cial vaccines is a direction to strive toward. The ques-tions now being asked are along the lines of: what happens in children’s lives to lead them to success despite adverse life situations? What conditions with-in the family and the school environment encourage children to flourish even in difficult circumstances or at-risk situations? We have come to understand that we must add a fourth ‘R’ to the realm of educa-tion; Resilience. Resilience “involves the acquisition of essential social-emotional competencies that en-able one to handle life’s tasks, stressors and difficul-ties in stride, resilience involves the ability to bounce back from the set-backs or obstacles and continue on in a positive, responsible, productive direction in life” (Nicoll 2011). Social- emotional intelligence refers to the development of one’s character and this must be part of every school’s curriculum and most important-ly it must align with the philosophy of the school. Dr. John Phillips, founder of Exeter Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy, envisioned a school where ‘above all it is expected that the attention of the instructors to the disposition of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge will exceed every other care; well considering that though goodness without knowl-

edge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous, and that both united form the noblest character and lay the sweet foundation of usefulness to mankind’ (1781).

Research indicates that poorly developed social-emo-tional competence has been closely connected to greater than before social adjustment problems, school failure and bullying. Resilient children on the other hand, exhibit social-emotional competencies such as ‘understanding oneself, responsiveness to others, empathy, caring, communication skills, hu-mor, positive social relationships, responsibility, flex-ibility and adaptability in solving social problems’ (Bernard, 2004). Furthermore, the ability to adapt socially and emotionally long term, develop academi-cally and cognitively and build citizenship skills can be greatly enhanced through exposure to opportunities for developing and strengthening social competen-cies during childhood. (Nicoll 2011, Bitter, Masanger, Nicoll, Nicoll 2009, Nicoll, Pelonis 2014).

Bitter (2009) refers to Bernard (2004) and confirms the following:

◉◉ Resilient children seek love by attracting the at-tention of available adults;

◉◉ When children receive empathy and caring, they develop a capacity for it;

◉◉ Compassion, altruism and forgiveness are re-turned to the giver and act as a buffer against difficult times;

◉◉ Insight allows children and families living in great adversity to figure out that not all adults abuse others; that bizarre behavior is not nor-mal;

◉◉ The development of autonomy and self-esteem, when linked to competence in any skill or task, will enhance intrinsic motivation;

◉◉ Refusing to accept negative messages about one’s self, gender, or culture/race serves as a powerful protector of autonomy;

◉◉ Strong positive ethnic/gender identities are associated with high self-esteem, a strong com-mitment to doing well in school, a strong sense of purpose in life, greater confidence in one’s

16

own efficacy and high academic achievement;◉◉ An internal locus of control is associated with

better health habits and fewer illnesses, and believing that events in one’s life is determined largely by one’s own efforts is associated with self-efficacy and mastery;

◉◉ A sense of humor is one of the most critical adaptive/mature defenses used by resilient indi-viduals across the lifespan;

◉◉ A positive and strong future focus is consistently identified with task success, positive self-identi-ty, and fewer health-risk behaviors;

◉◉ Creativity and imagination are critical to surviv-ing and transcending trauma and risk;

◉◉ Optimism in addressing causes of bad events is related to the generation of hope, and hope is critical to positive outcomes, such as social com-petence, problem-solving, and self-efficacy;

◉◉ Whether people draw strength from faith or spir-ituality or meaningful philosophies, stability and coherence are enhanced by having a sense of purpose, self-worth, and center of value;

◉◉ Human organisms and systems seek stability in the face of change, and it is meaning that helps to create stability.

Bitter (2011) also explains that Adler was the first to define the idea of Social interest:

“A community feeling that defined the healthy, func-tional, and effective personality of being oriented to-ward the well-being of others”. Individuals with such social interest experience feelings of belonging to the human community. They have a place in the world and see themselves as social equals, capable of making contributions to others. Consequently, they have what is now called “high self-esteem”. Conversely people with diminished social interest do not experience a sta-ble sense of belonging. They feel inferior to others, and the compensation they demand often is to be treated as if they are special. Faced with life’s challenges, they retreat or seek special care and treatment. It is as if they are declaring, “I don’t feel that I belong unless peo-ple give in to me, provide me with desired service, or

do what I want when I want. I should get to avoid any difficulty I don’t want to face. I don’t feel up to most tasks, nor am I good enough as I am.”

Social interest is essential in developing character and contributing to holistic well being and resilience.

Within schools, research further indicates that piece-meal, fragmented approaches to discipline are ineffec-tive in preventing disciplinary issues and in promoting a positive school climate that enhances academics as well as citizenship development. (Mark T. Greenberg Roger P. Weissberg and Mary Utne O’Brien, Joseph E. Zins, Linda Fredericks, Hank Resnik, Maurice J. Elias, American Psychologist June /July 2003 Vol. 58, No. 6/7, 466–467. Nowadays school profiles are not identified as noteworthy solely by academic performance but by the social profile of their students as well. Thus, there is an increasing demand for ethical, moral citizenship development exhibited in behavior, thought and in-terrelation skills. As the effectiveness of creating a positive school climate using traditional approaches to discipline is questioned, alternative approaches have been explored. There is strong indication that effectiveness is enhanced by a comprehensive / ho-listic approach, one that takes into account the en-tire school community. (Mark T. Greenberg Roger P. Weissberg and Mary Utne O’Brien, Joseph E. Zins, Lin-da Fredericks, Hank Resnik, Maurice J. Elias, American Psychologist June /July 2003 Vol. 58, No. 6/7, 467–472). This idea points in the direction of developing a ho-listic disciplinary approach closely aligned with the educational philosophy and mission of the school: social responsibility, social interest, ethical decision making, caring, and empathic individuals, tolerant and appreciative of differences within a servant lead-ership model encouraging a culture where reparation and restoration are central tenants

http://www.iirp.edu/what-is-restorative-practices.php

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Academy Citizenship Development practices at ACS Athens:

A holistic approach to citizenship is closely aligned with the ACS Athens philosophy - Holistic Meaningful Harmonious (HMH) mission (….preparing global citizens) and vision (….architects of their own learning) of the school. Students can be empowered to be ‘architects of their own learning’ and of their lives in general when the school model of citi-zenship allows for and encourages accountability, responsi-bility,social interest, learning in any setting and community culture across all three schools. The citizenship develop-ment model stresses the following:

◉ The principle of positive action, restoration and repara-tion regarding behavioral issues and their consequenc-es

◉ The premise of shared responsibility in creating caring, ethical, balanced and resilient students

◉ The belief that leading by example is essential in main-taining a positive school culture.

Monitoring practices and consistency in the implementa-tion of rules raises student accountability. Students are encouraged to assume full ownership of their actions and to take positive steps to correct their infractions. It has become evident that raising student accountability has improved attendance and has stimulated a noticeable ef-fort on the part of the students to improve their behavior. Implementing positive action and devoting time to repair the effects of inappropriate behavior with the guidance of school personnel is a productive course of action rather than spending time in a detention room. It provides an op-portunity for social learning with the guidance of faculty, counselors, administrators and staff. Thus, students are ex-pected to use their lunch time, for example, to assist staff/technicians with their duties, elementary and middle school faculty in the classroom and courtyard or to research, with faculty guidance, topics that are related to their question-able behavior. This then refers to the idea of reparation (making amends or repairing). Administrators receive feedback from participating faculty members and evalua-tive comments for each student’s reparative actions are re-corded. This system allows faculty from all three schools to get to know high school students personally thus moving away from rumors or misperceptions. At the same time the approach works as positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior and contributes to student self esteem.

Citizenship development is not the duty of one person nor is it an overnight phenomenon. It is a shared responsibility of administrators, faculty, and counselors, supporting staff, parents and students. It is a long term investment in the broader wellbeing of students that requires patience, com-mitment and consistency. Alignment across the different constituencies provides the framework of a stable and pos-itive school culture. Faculty and staff have been very willing participants in the implementation of the ACS Reparations Model. Their welcoming and guiding attitude towards stu-dents provide opportunities that allow students to focus on giving back to the community, on looking at the issues at hand from a constructive perspective and on evaluating social learning from experience. Student testimonials from the reparations activities during the first semester indicate that social understanding was more acute and satisfaction from contributing to the community was enhanced. Stu-

dents return from reparations with a more positive attitude, a sense of satisfaction and feelings of being useful. Numer-ous faculty have highly praised the caring and responsible - student conduct during their reparations service.

Maintaining a continuous flow of communication between the citizenship coordinator, counselors, parents and stu-dents improves student accountability and responsibility, clarifies understanding of expectations, provides opportu-nities for more balanced, holistic and student tailored rep-arations and finally enhances community awareness of the challenges as well as the progress in student life.

Students, like faculty and administrators, are expected to serve as models of good citizenship for others. While no one expects all students to be perfect individuals, understand-ing what it means to do the right thing and practicing the right thing daily is one of the main goals of our school’s ed-ucational philosophy. Good behavior is inspiring, serves as a benchmark of social recognition and is sustainable when it is connected to the individual underlying belief system. Common understanding and belief of what is considered good, acceptable or inappropriate, ethical or dishonest, car-ing or apathetic is required in order to achieve the school’s mission and develop the ACS Athens graduate profile. Mod-eling good citizenship by all ACS Athens constituencies cre-ates and maintains an ethical, balanced, caring, responsi-ble school culture.

All of the above make the necessity of a partnership be-tween the school community, parents and students more essential. Students will only buy into the culture of an in-stitution; its rules and practices when the adults involved show seriousness and consistency of rule enforcement within a caring, room for growth atmosphere; a place where mistakes are expected and forgiven as long as we find ways to correct, repair, and restore justice, where valuing ourselves and others is a given, where creating a culture of belonging is central and ‘doing the right thing when no one is watching’ is gradually ingrained. Students will rise to the occasion when there is an expectation from adults that they are capable of doing so. Thus to the question, can good citi-zenship be taught? We have developed a model that involves the entire school culture. Its parameters are not carved in stone; rather it is constantly and diligently revised and fine tuned to meet the needs in the best way possible. Buy-in from students requires buy-in from the adults because there is no doubt that we are all invested in developing optimal citizens of tomorrow. Our society depends on it.In closing, when Dr. Jonas Salk , thirty-five years after dis-covering the polio vaccine, was asked what he would be working on today if he was a young scientist, he replied “I’d still do immunization, but I’d do it psychologically rather than biologically”. The road may seem long with twists and turns and full of ups and downs but helping our children develop strong psychological immune systems with social vaccines is well worth the journey.

■

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Senior Class Student Council

Leadership by Evelyn Pittas and Frances Tottas,

Senior Class Advisors

It gives us great pleasure to have this opportunity to honor the students who represent the Senior Class of 2015. Every one of these students has worked

towards doing the extra that makes the ordinary, ex-traordinary!

John William Gardner, U.S. Secretary of Health, Edu-cation, and Welfare (1965-68), puts it like this: “Some people have greatness thrust upon them. Few have excellence thrust upon them, they achieve it. They do not achieve it unwittingly by doing what comes nat-urally and they don’t stumble into it in the course of amusing themselves. All excellence involves discipline and tenacity of purpose.” All members of the senior class student council have displayed the kind of dis-cipline, leadership and tenacity of purpose that has allowed them to achieve their goals. Their example, their passion and their dedication is an inspiration to us all. We congratulate and salute each one of them!

Citizenship at ACS, AthensBy Konstantinos Papadimitriou, Senior Class Presi-dent

Being a conscientious citizen has different mean-ings influenced by the setting one is placed in. A hy-pothetical example of citizenship is helping your sick neighbors by going to the pharmacy so as to provide them with their medicine, something essential for their wellbeing. Furthermore, in a different context, another appropriate example is when one helps in

replanting trees in burnt areas. Through such action the individual does not only help the environment and strives towards the sustainability of the planet but also the people that live close by the area and are directly affected by the disaster. Being a noble citizen means being an active one, taking responsibilities and providing services to other people without expecting anything in return.

A principled citizen in a community such as school must obtain qualities of responsibility, respect for the others but also for the environment - the school grounds - and the innate interest of being aware of all the events and issues which a school is involved with. More specifically, citizenship in our school entails tak-ing part in various projects such as recycling, in which the 9th grade has done an exceptionally successful job, making sure that all recyclable items are collect-ed and not gone to waste. Through this 9th grade task, collectively ACS students, teachers and admin-istration have contributed in providing a healthy envi-ronment, through multiple recycling projects such as collecting bottle caps that Nestle recycles to provide wheelchairs for disabled children.

On another level, citizenship at ACS is displayed through the way in which students treat each other on campus. For example when a student visits the school or is new to the school, there is always some-one who includes them into the community, shows them around campus and also helps them get to know all the teachers and students. This unique and friendly spirit has been evident throughout ACS’s his-tory in the past years and is the reason for all crucial elements which lay behind ACS’s educational goals. Furthermore as ACS is an “international school em-bracing American educational philosophy,” it hosts students from all around the world from beautiful cultures, interesting lifestyles and different languag-es. Owing to the high diversity of students, respect towards all ethnicities and ethnic groups is an essen-tial element in determining the pleasant and interna-tional spirit the school has acquired.

Finally, ethical citizenship in a school environment is portrayed by the students’ actions when they come face-to-face with their role in social standing. Being aware of their social and moral responsibilities and acting upon them if needed ultimately proves that citizenship in the American Community School of Athens is represented by the phrase, “doing the right thing when no one is watching!”

Opposite page:

Senior Class student council with their Class Advisors, Ms Tottas and Ms Pittas

19

On Being a Responsible CitizenBy Achilleas Vriniotis, Senior Class Vice PresidentAres Adam, Senior Class TreasurerMyrto Manticas, Senior Class Secretary

In today’s society the essence of responsible citizen-ship seems to be slowly fading away. It is our respon-sibility as youth, to restore this virtue, and revive true nobility and kindness. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” If we take a look around, we see that corruption and vice has tak-en over our world. If we want to be able to call our-selves honorable global citizens, we should first seek to better ourselves in our community and inspire oth-ers around us to do the same. A conscientious citizen in a community needs to attain values such as empa-thy, gentleness, compassion, honesty and decency. Good citizens are role models; responsible for inspir-ing and encouraging others to seek self-improvement and to desire a difference in the world. Pessimists may believe that the world is doomed, but the world can change just as the eyes of humanity have seen it change throughout time, and it always starts with re-sponsible citizenship!

For the true improvement of our society, the values of a responsible citizen must be implemented through our actions. Good citizenship can be exemplified through simple acts of kindness that can range from helping an old lady pass the street, to distributing sandwiches to people in need. However, the true self-improvement in being a responsible citizen starts in the school environment. Examples of such citizen-ship within school can be and have been seen through picking up garbage when finishing lunch, opening the door when students and teachers pass by, or prevent-ing a bullying incident through protecting a defense-less classmate. Practicing these simple deeds on a daily basis can motivate others to follow and together truly impact the world. Acts of kindness and thought-ful gestures can lead to a world where good citizen-ship is the global value.

■

A good citizen needs to attain values such as empathy, gentleness, compassion, honesty and decency

Pessimists may believe that the world is doomed

but the world can change just as the eyes of humanity have seen it change throughout time

responsible for inspiring and encouraging others to seek self-improvement and to desire a difference in the world

20

What Color is your House?

by Anna Velivasaki and Paul Evloyias, Student Affairs

Have you ever wondered what the beautiful col-orful plaques from the late 70s above the main entrance of the Academy represent? Are you a

child of the 70’s? If you were born at that time and at-tended ACS Athens, do you recall being a member of a house? What color represented your house?

Anyone who was here through the late 70’s surely knows about the House System that began at ACS Athens in 1950 and continued to 1978. Each student, teacher, administrator and staff member belonged to one of the four houses as a life-time member: Athe-nian (green), Corinthian (red), Spartan (blue), or Trojan (yellow). Anyone here before 1992, when the plaza was constructed, might remember the plaques in front of the Academy. These plaques were present-ed each year to the school in honor of the winning house of that particular year and were laid into the ce-ment as a permanent recording of ACS Athens history.

The House System is a great concept which bonds teachers and students, encourages school spirit and builds a strong sense of belonging within the school. In addition to encouraging school spirit, the House System’s purpose is to create a sense of continuity and permanence for our graduates. This project ben-efits our school in the following ways:

◉ Awareness- it creates awareness for current stu-dents about the alumni association

◉ Tradition – it fosters a life-long commitment to ACS Athens (giving and receiving)

◉ Legacies – it allows for contributions that create traditions and family like feelings

◉ Alumni Involvement – i.e. during the Reunion Weekend, alumni can participate in games by house that will also gain points towards that school year’s winner

◉ Sense of belonging – it connects new students and builds a sense of belonging

Every student, teacher and staff member has inherent house membership. Those who are alumni (or have alumni parents) share the same house as their par-ents, as do faculty/staff members and their children. All families and siblings/cousins belong to the same house. Beginning in Pre-K, students and faculty can earn points for their houses in the following ways:

◉ For every co-curricular club students are involved in

◉ For every JV team they are a part of ◉ For every Varsity team ◉ For every Award or Special Recognition ◉ Student Council Member / IB Council / NHS / Ath-

letic Council ◉ Team Captain, Editor in Chief ◉ First place in any tournament (Forensics, Athlet-

ic, etc.) ◉ Principal’s List ◉ High Honor Roll ◉ Honor Roll ◉ Community Service: points are awarded depend-

ing on the commitment

Faculty members earn points by coaching / advising clubs and activities and participating in student ac-tivities and/or sports (i.e. student vs. faculty games). Points will be tallied and posted on a monthly basis in the Middle School and Academy hallways and soon enough in a “race like” board which will be placed in the cafeteria.

What has been done for the House System recent-ly?

◉ House Plaques have been re-established on the north wall of the plaza.

◉ Students with the most points receive School Spirit Certificates at the end of the year Awards Assemblies.

◉ The boy and girl in each school’s graduating class who has earned the most points over their middle or high school career is recognized at the gradua-tion ceremony with a “Most Spirited” award.

◉ The House System has expanded to include the Elementary School and is now school-wide! Thus, each school has someone to coordinate House activities and points.

◉ The PTO has supported the House System by sell-ing House T-Shirts at the Welcome Back BBQ and other events.

What more can be done?

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Alpha Bank. A consistent point of reference in the Greek banking system.

YS_Pylonas_205x100.indd 1 15/05/2014 17:10

Lots! We used to have House Shields; we’d like to bring them back. We used to have House Captains; we’d like to bring them back. We used to have House Compe-titions, House Intramurals, House T-shirts, House badges, House pins; we’d like to bring them back!

We’d like to invite our student leaders to take part in coordinating House point events and rejuvenating the House System!

One of our school-wide goals is Civic Responsibility. Promoting the House System can be an effective way of addressing this goal by encouraging our students’ involvement in co-curricular school activities, com-munity service, and academic excellence. We chal-lenge you to become part of this exciting journey!!

■

Current page left:House plaques outside the main court yard

Current page right, from top to bottom:House plaques in the main  entrance of the Academy

ETHOS WINTER 2014

A student interested in joining the community of learners of an international school has to over-come much more than an academic assess-

ment or succeed in reaching the academic standard at the school he/she’s attempting to be admitted to. International schools are known for their design to admit, assist and assimilate students from several dissimilar cultures, mentalities and educational back-grounds. That is why it is vital that a new student is seen as a complex equation of traits which in order to be successful in the new environment, the school has to provide a well designed support framework of activities, personnel and structures targeted to each individual’s needs.

Every family expects that the needs of its child should be met at an optimal level. From the standpoint of the national schools  though, each student must fit and compliment the school’s operation, curriculum design, teaching practices and assessment standards and processes. There is little or no adjustment leeway for students not appropriately prepared for it, assum-ing that all incoming applicants have been prepared by their previous schools. International schools how-ever cannot assume this. Students may come from different countries that differ not only in their edu-cational systems but also in their set of cultural and social values.

A good example would be students from some East Asian school systems. Although countries from the region can be industrialized, western style free-mar-

Meeting Student Needs; an

Important Factor in an International

School by John Papadakis, Director of Enrollment Mgmt.

& Technology

23

ket economies, some have a very particular socio-cul-tural profile, where family values are only overshad-owed by the social cohesion system of strict hierarchy dictated by unwritten and tentatively inflexible civic laws. Some Asian students are nationally assessed and ranked, earning thus priority for entrance in the national higher education system on top of the reg-ular entry exams. Such students are expected to al-ways excel, always be competitive, and always be honorable to their families, social circle and wider community. There are strong indications that stu-dents from the region excel in mathematics and sci-ences, more so than languages, especially western ones. A language handicap, due to the adjustment, is very common in those students, when they apply to international schools, where a different curricular ar-rangement must be made in order to accommodate their language deficiency and at the same time be able to complement their math/science superiority. How-ever academic support is only a part of the package they should be offered; a student, no matter the age/grade, must also be supported socially and culturally, in order to adapt more easily in a liberal, relaxed, stu-dent centered environment, where priority is given not to the ranking - that used to dictate status - but to academic/cultural/community/athletic choices, a holistic approach to a student in his effort to adjust, assimilate and excel.

Of course, such non-English speaking students are just examples of some of the incoming students who come from all around the world. Even English speak-ing students coming from the United States can pres-ent a challenge to an international school admission system. Students from faith-based environments need to be assessed through a different prism. Home schooling is a system widely practiced in the U.S., es-pecially within communities in remote rural areas, or among certain religious denominations and sub-groups. Students from this background may have a se-rious impediment adjusting in a secular environment, where faith plays no role, other than an underpin-ning framework for ethical behavior. Their academic standing lies on the approximation of achievement as this is assessed by their own family against external benchmarks supplied by local, state or federal author-ities. But how can a school assess the readiness or willingness of a student to adjust to an environment where the student can no longer feel like the center of the universe? The school counseling framework must take such attributes in consideration, by providing advising and psychological support especially for the initial few weeks, if not months, so that the student immerses him/herself into the student body and fac-es challenges of social assimilation. Cultural norms or predispositions are bound to be shattered, especially in liberal arts/social sciences classes. The danger for an uncontrolled, unprotected immersion to such an environment might be detrimental to students with these experiences. 

The most prominent and serious challenge facing the school framework has to be the entry of new appli-cants with learning differences, diagnosed or not. According to LDonline (http://www.ldonline.org/ld-

basics/whatisld) “a learning disability (difference) is defined as a neurological disorder. In simple terms, a learning disability results from a difference in the way a person’s brain is ‘wired’. Children with learning dis-abilities are as smart or smarter than their peers. But they may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, recalling and/or organizing information if left to figure things out by themselves or if taught in conventional ways.” Coming from schools with little or no intervention or support, students with LD cannot possibly anticipate  what the new environment has to offer. Although the change to a system where LD cases are anticipated and accommodated is a positive one, a student, having a predominantly negative or at best a neutral experience, has to adjust to the men-tality of the instructor/collaborator, non-judgmental class assessment, supportive academic framework. A culture of stigma, taboo and hiding of LD related con-ditions as expressed within the classroom but also at the playground and the athletic arena, has to be reversed, trust has to be built, acceptance has to be established and self-confidence through counseling and group work should be part of a daily schedule of activities.

Culture, as a factor of adjustment level for a student, cannot be clearly defined. It includes not only ethnic and national origin, but also traits of previous edu-cational experience, family and social background, and innate personal qualities, talents, differences and skills. A school must be able to act at the same time as the melting pot of tolerance but also as the student-centered litmus test for defining personal characteristics that will ultimately shape the learning profile of a student in his/her course towards individ-ual and collective success.

■

Students may come from countries that differ not only in their educational systems but also in their set of cultural and social values.

the school has to provide a well designed support framework of activities, and structures targeted to each individual’s needs

24

It Takes a Village: The Four

Conditions of i²Flex Success

by Maria D. Avgerinou with Labrini Rontogiannis, Tonia Firigou, Kathleen Jasonides and Amalia Zavaco-poulou, Demetrios G. Sampson, Mary-Ann Augousta-

tos, and Brian Gerbracht

i2Flex

A. Introduction

by Maria D. Avgerinou, Ph.D., Director, Educational Technology & eLearning

Growing up is not an easy, isolated, or unilateral affair, hence the African proverb it takes a village to raise a child. Indeed, apart from the immedi-

ate family, the entire community is typically involved in child rearing. The same applies to the educational innovation that has been implemented since last year in our school as a vehicle to foster Morfosis: as the i2F-lex teaching methodology grows and transforms the way learning takes place, the entire ACS Athens com-munity participates from different vantage points but always with the student benefit in mind. Unquestion-ably, i2Flex is student-centered. Its main goal is to optimize student learning by providing personalized learning opportunities in and out of the classroom, facilitated by technology in the broader sense of the term (Avgerinou, Gialamas, & Tsoukia, 2014). After all,

in Greek, tekhnologia refers to the systematic applica-tion of science in art, engineering, and other fields, to invent useful things or to solve problems.

Yet, for i2Flex to serve students as efficiently and effec-tively as possible, fulfill its educational potential and achieve its goal, aside from the students themselves, other key constituencies of our school community need to actively embrace and enacte it- most impor-tantly, to work in close partnership with one another!

These are the teachers, the school administrators/leaders, and the parents (Kinsey & Shorr, 2014) of the ACS Athens students.

Let us start with the focus of i2Flex, and the principal condition for its success: the students who need to become educated about, and by the new i2Flex teach-ing and learning methods. It is critical that all of the above constituencies in strong partnership with one another, assist students to become aware of the new set of expectations that come with this new concept of teaching and learning. Learning to make personal-ly meaningful educational choices by design; learning to work independently at their own pace and time; learning to benefit from technological devices as cognitive tools (Jonassen & Reeves, 1996) able to pro-vide augmented learning opportunities far beyond the limited scope of a traditional class; learning in an active, responsible but also timely manner; learn-ing to search for answers to, but also extending the breadth and depth of their teachers’ prompts; learn-ing to thrive in collaborative and co-operative class projects, are among the new set of expectations. Of course, with great power comes great responsibility, as Vol-taire originally stated. That’s exactly what we should help our students understand and put into praxis. Re-sponsibilities in this context include the development of (digital) citizenship (a major focus in our school this year); being prepared for different types of learn-ing blends; and, seriously focusing on the challenge of independent learning. This also entails systematic efforts to improve organization, study, communication, and time management skills that are related specifically to the online component of the i2Flex. All of the above are essential for the student to become well equipped for the 21st century university, careers, and citizenship demands, and ACS Athens is indeed the place to hone the respective skills.

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Teachers have traditionally been those who carry the most significant weight in determining students’ satisfaction with their overall learning which, as we know, goes hand in hand with performance: the more satisfied students are with their learning, the better they perform academically (Avgerinou, 2010; Bollig-er & Erichsen, 2013). Regarding the i2Flex, ACS Athens faculty is not just responsible for designing and teach-ing the face-to-face components of their classes, but they are also in charge of the design, development and delivery of the online component and all related digi-tal content. Our faculty has thus needed to be even more proactive than when teaching just face-to-face, in that that they have begun to transform their teaching philosophy and practice to embrace a more constructivist, democratic class structure where

the student is support-ed to gradually become an independent learner, a co-creator of learning ex-periences, and ultimately an architect of their own learning pathway. Faculty has generated their own professional agendas per-tinent to the i2Flex circum-stances of their classes, each asking for different

types of instructional de-sign and media support, and even themselves act-ing as agents of change within their departments and divisions when they share their new teaching experiences and invite a collective reflection on them. They design and implement, evaluate, re-flect and communicate the outcomes of their i2Flex teaching with the other important groups of the ACS Athens learning community. As for those who, for re-accreditation purposes, have designed their Ac-tion Research proposal around their i2Flex journeys, they already have committed to sharing best practic-es based on these journeys, beyond our school com-munity to those professional teacher communities in Greece and abroad who will be attending our Re-search Colloquium in the Spring of 2016.

Both experience and research confirm that parents play a very important role in their children’s learning. Nevertheless, what is more effective and more re-warding than an involved parent, is a well-informed, involved parent! In the case of i2Flex, ACS Athens par-ents in partnership with teachers and administra-tors are offered various opportunities to realize that today’s technological devices are, and can be uti-lized as learning tools; understand and appreciate the changing role of the teacher from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side; become open to supporting student learning in ways compatible with the 21st century education and skills (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2006; 2009); turn into advocates of this type of learning for their own children when the latter feel challenged and in need of encouragement; and, follow the school’s digital footprint through the social media and all other channels available to them.

School administrators/leaders have been a major part in the success of i2Flex. Starting from the ACS Athens president who has defined the term innovative leadership/partnership (Gialamas, 2012, p. 37) as:

“the continuous act of effectively engaging all constituencies and utilizing peoples’ differenc-es, their authentic energies, creative ideas, and diverse qualities for the benefit of the students, faculty, staff, and every member of the academic institutional community”,

all school leaders have become fully engaged in this school-wide innovation leading to educational re-form. Each in their own way, they have modeled true leadership by identifying and removing any barriers that would have otherwise hindered the progress of i2Flex; by walking the talk on all accounts, and most recently by being involved in training about blend-ed teaching evaluation per the most current and re-search-based U.S. benchmarks and standards, as delivered by the QualityMatters® association (2014); and, ultimately by being present, supportive, and ap-preciative of teachers’, and parents’ changing roles and responsibilities toward producing “students who are learners not learned” (Kinsey & Shorr, 2014).

changing the role of the teacher from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side

the student is supported to gradually become an independent learner, a co-creator of learning experiences

ETHOS WINTER 2014

The second part of this document presents intellectu-ally invigorating and thought-provoking testimonials by members of each of the above-identified major constituencies of the ACS Athens community. They all send the same powerful message: we are in this together!

B. Teachers & Students

by Labrini Rontogiannis, M.Ed. (Science/Middle School)

From the moment I first stepped into a classroom un-til today, my teaching has evolved into something I would never have imagined. My career started with plain old chalk and a green board. Years later, the over-head projector relieved me of the “chalk dust on the pants” issue. With the overhead projector, I could ma-nipulate transparencies, print on them, play around with marker colors to create the effect I hoped would help my students learn. Then, I moved on to the LCD projector connected to my computer. Now this was indeed cutting edge, I thought! I could type on the computer and my students could see what I was do-ing. I could prepare notes from the night before and simply project them on the screen. I could highlight, point out things and even show them images and vid-eos from websites. It was perfection and what better way to end that year, than by getting a Starboard! This could not get any better-or so I thought...

With advances in educational technology, comes an-other change that we sometimes neglect: our stu-

dents. The students in our classes today, are what ed-ucational technology innovator Marc Prensky (2001) calls the digital natives. The students presently at-tending my classes do not know what life is like with-out a mobile phone. Students in my classes, do not know what school research is like without Google. Students in my classes have never held anything big-ger than an iPod for listening to music. Whether we would like to accept it or not, and whether we like it or not, the mind of a digital native is wired different-ly. Today’s student has grown up in a world filled with technology and is stimulated when engaged with it. However, today’s student also faces an unknown fu-ture, one for which educators must prepare them.

27

i2Flex has been an incredible journey in discovering what I can do as an educator and how I can best reach the digital natives in my classes. i2Flex is about nur-turing an independent student, one who will get information and search for his or her own answers using technology. i2Flex is about making learning and teaching flexible and allowing students to reach their potential. i2Flex is about using tools available to us outside the brick and mortar classroom and ensuring that our face-to-face time is valuable and memorable.

My use of video lessons inside and outside the class-room walls, have really allowed me to take my teaching to a different level. Students are often asked to watch video lessons, created by me (or per-haps accessed from educational sites). They watch the videos for “homework” and then return to class having been exposed to the material before hand. Students can watch the video at their own leisure, independent of time or place. They can watch the videos as many times as they feel is necessary. They can post or ask clarifying questions through online media or during the next day’s face-to-face lesson. Students can access videos when absent or use them for review. Then, in the classroom, face-to-face time is used to engage them in the concepts through the use of hands-on, experiential activities. I am given more time to do laboratory experiments. I can use mobile devices or the computer lab to have them work on interactive online simulations. We have more oppor-tunities for collaborative work and “fun” activities to reinforce concepts and make connections.

Like all teaching methodologies, especially ones that are new and innovative, there is always the need to evaluate and reflect. I am always looking for ways to improve my methods and ensure that students are learning and loving to learn! Their feedback and com-ments have helped me examine the work I do, the techniques that work best and the improvements I can make. In their own words:

“I like to listen to the lesson on video, because it’s more quiet than the class, you pay more attention and if you missed or didn’t understand something you can put it back and listen to it again.”

“I like them (i.e. class videos) because they can help me revise for quizzes and tests.”

“(I like class videos) Because I can have a visual and acoustic way of the lesson.”

“Watching the video allows you to go through all the material rather than skipping to the stuff I need to an-swer the homework questions.”

“I like that we get to do labs, and use the iPads in class. I liked using the probes to measure heat rate.”

Opposite and current page:Students engaged in laboratory experiments

28

by Tonia Firigou, Ph.D., IB French/Academy

When Albert Einstein said: “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination” he could probably not predict that the 21st century’s learning would be so much related to imagination and creativity, where creativity would be the center of education!

Being a lifelong learner, a teacher always desires to have a proactive role, and thus takes risks trying in-novative methods of teaching and learning. When last year, we were exposed to the i2Flex methodolo-gy, I could not imagine that this methodology would change so drastically the entire concept of learning and my own teaching philosophy. The expectations I had from my students changed as the expectations from myself as a teacher changed. The picture of the active learner I had in my mind as a seasoned teach-er, has now been replaced by a new model of an en-gaged student who works independently while using my guidance creatively to successfully complete the learning process. And it is my belief that it is because of all this independent work, that the student is able to engage in more challenging and sophisticated dis-cussion at the higher levels of Bloom’s revised taxon-omy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) when we meet in the face-to-face part of the class.

My own role as a teacher also shifted. Upon reflection on what I had previously done, but also what kind of educator our students now need, I realized that de-signing and delivering i2Flex learning experiences not only meets students’ expectations of their schooling, but in particular in our school, it contributes to our global morfosis education paradigm.

What I really like about i2Flex teaching is that from the first moment it is introduced to class, students are empowered to begin acting as the architects of their own learning, while teachers magically trans-form their professional practice into a more creative, engaging educational process, where, the center of the world is the student!

Understand how they understand, learn how they learn, feel how they feel, it gives both sides the message that before teaching and grading the teacher is an individual who cares about the stu-dents and respects difference and individuality. The i2Flex method with the support of carefully selected technology, allows the teacher to adapt her teaching practice to create individualized learning experienc-es, unique for and hence appealing to each student. This year’s i2Flex learning in my class is different from last year’s because I invested a great deal last summer reflecting upon and revising what we had done, and how we had done it when we first introduced the i2F-lex methodology last year.

In the beginning of this academic year, students were enthusiastic to continue with i2Flex and they already knew that we didn’t need to waste valuable class time to give feedback on their research articles. It is understood that once they submit them via Moodle, they will electronically get my feedback and before next time we meet, they will be able to follow the in-structions given and prepare better quality work. This year’s face-to-face part of the class is more powerful and mostly at the level of Bloom’s revised taxonomy, where the discussions have to do with analysis, syn-thesis and evaluation instead of merely comprehen-sion of questions.

Even though last year’s students’ feedback was very encouraging, this year’s feedback is extremely im-pressive:

“The i2Flex is useful in a way that allows to constantly practicing our French skills. When homework is given to us through VoiceThread, we are given the opportunity to speak the French language, outside of class. Overall I think that i2Flex should be used in more classes as it helps you to im-

ETHOS WINTER 2014

prove and progress in a particular subject.”

“Due to i2Flex we do not waste time in class writing or trying to find articles, we are able to do our homework electroni-cally, having fun and being productive simultaneously.”

“i2Flex is extremely useful as it allows us to not waste time in class therefore giving us the opportunity to focus on oth-er things such as written tasks, internals or oral in class dis-cussions. Another great thing about i2Flex is that because it’s done out in class, we are able to explore other resources and use it as pieces of information for our Voice Thread as-signments.”

“The i2Flex is doing a very good job at preparing us for our oral exam in February. I believe that this method should be used in more language classes.”

by Kathleen Jasonides, M.A. and Amalia Zavacopoulou, M.A., Honors Humanities, Academy

This year the Honors Humanities course continues its reputation as a “modern classic” by fully adopting i2Flex as a teaching paradigm. An interdisciplinary, team-taught course that was created at ACS in the early 1970’s, Honors Humanities has been reinventing itself for over four decades. Moving away from being an exclusively face-to-face class, it now offers three additional semester courses that are totally on-line, each of which culminates in a field study trip. Starting last year, the instructors began to include the i2Flex model approximately once a week in the regular face-to-face course, while this year students are involved in face-to-face activities during half of the class peri-ods and are engaged in guided, on-line, independent learning activities during the other half. Thus, stu-dents meet face-to-face three times a week and work on-line independently in class three times a week.

One important benefit in adopting this approach is that it provides the flexibility for more students to take the course, which involves both a Social Studies and an English class period. In the past, this was dif-ficult due to scheduling issues. Now, all the students are enrolled in the same block for the face-to-face ses-sion, but they can select several possible options for the guided, on-line sessions, according to their course schedule.

Another significant benefit has been the improve-ment in students’ study skills in comparison to last year. Students arrive promptly to their i2Flex session, eager to begin. Because of the well-organized format of the Moodle shell adopted by the ACS class this year, they understand what they are expected to complete during the session. We have noticed that students seem focused and attentive to pacing themselves and managing their time. Through the guided, on-line activities, students begin to make meaning of the information they are presented with, which prepares them for class discussions and activities that go be-yond just basic information.

As teachers, we have found that the guided, on-line sessions allow us to observe how much time our as-signments actually take students to complete on average and, as a result, help us to reflect on how to tailor assignments to meet our students’ needs. By observing how well our students follow instructions during the on-line sessions, we can identify problems of understanding and address them immediately. It also informs our practice regarding how we present content and instructions to students. Most impor-tantly, the fact that instruction begins with students working independently to process basic information allows us to follow a more constructivist approach to teaching and learning, which encourages critical thinking and higher-level learning.

Through our experience we have come to realize that incorporating i2Flex into our teaching requires com-mitment, energy and a willingness to devote consid-erable time to both finding and creating appropriate digital materials and learning how to use them in the most effective way. However, we also are surprised at how enjoyable and rewarding this process can be for both students and teachers. Our students seem very engaged in the learning process, using technology that has become almost second nature to them, while we as teachers are developing new skills and understandings of our craft by channeling this technology to meet our goals as educators.

Opposite page:The face-to -face component of i2Flex

Current page:Online independent learning activities through the Honors Humanities course

ETHOS WINTER 2014

C. Parents

by Demetrios G. Sampson, Ph.D., ACS Athens Parent; Professor at the University of Piraeus, Greece

ACS Athens is an international school that leads today global efforts for educational innovations aiming to transform traditional schooling, based on both state-of-the-art scientific knowledge and collective profes-sional experience accumulated over several years. At a time that many schools around the globe claim to be the “Schools of the Future”, it is my strong belief that ACS Athens realizes the School of Tomorrow, today.

This transformation is done in a systematic and peda-gogically meaningful way through ACS Athens unique education paradigm, referred to as Morfosis and i2F-lex, the vehicle to operationalize Morfosis at a large scale within ACS Athens and beyond. While Morfosis and i2Flex are exhaustively presented and discussed in other articles, in my short article, I will attempt to of-fer my own ACS Athens parent perspective combining both my personal experiences as a parent of two ACS students, who enjoy unique learning experiences tai-lored to their personal needs and capacities through the exceptionally high quality educational offers of ACS Athens, and my professional experiences as a University Professor of Educational Technology.

As part of my professional activities, I get to travel all over the world, from North and South America to Eu-rope, Asia and the Arab World, teaching and research-ing on how global education with respect to local values can be become better and more effective with the sup-port of digital technologies, extending its scope well beyond preparing for college admission, and re-as-suming its historical role as a fundamental institution in human societies. As a result, I have the opportunity to engage in several formal and informal discussions with students, parents, educators, administrators, school leaders, researchers; with the industry and businesses; with policy makers and with the govern-ments on the role of education in a fast changing world.

Indeed, educational institutions at all levels, as well as societies and their governments are faced with the major challenge to respond to the demand for better, more efficient and more effective educational ser-vices for their students; with the main challenge be-ing to prepare their students for the competences of the future (namely, the 21st Century Competences for Citizenship, for Leadership, for Businesses, for Jobs), while maintaining and preserving the values and prin-ciples which have been the foundations of our civiliza-tion and humanity for centuries. After all, civilization, as H.G. Wells wrote, is in a race between education and catastrophe. And, if education is to win, all of us involved in education in our different roles and capacities, including parents, need to meet the challenge of innovating and changing. This is not an easy challenge!

Sir Ken Robinson, an Emeritus Professor of the Uni-versity of Warwick and a world known educational visionary tells us that these days, education has four main roles:

Individual: All children are born with natural powers of curiosity and creativity. And all children have their own special talents and passions. Education should support each and every single student to realize and enhance his/her unique capacities.Cultural: Education should help children to appreci-ate the accomplishments and the traditions of their own and other communities, in an environment that fosters ethos and tolerance to difference.Economic: Education should support all students in developing competences for contributing to common wealth, in ways that are ethical with opportunities for all.Social: Education should foster the spirit of setting common goals, collaborating to achieve them, as-suming responsibilities and roles in communities which negotiate and share common values.

ACS Athens is an exceptional educational institution where all these challenges are not just a theme for a nice academic speech, but are met in practice thanks to the inspired hard work of a team of highly com-petent educational leaders with both the vision and the professional experience to lead changes; as well as a team of motivated and engaged educators who appreciate that any change in education needs to be

31

grounded on reflective educational practice.

Both Morfosis and i2Flex have the transformative power that places ACS Athens at the league of inter-national schools that set up global quality standards for facilitating students learning in the 21st Century, as the U.S. Middle States Association accreditation is also recognizing. So, my message to my fellow ACS Athens Parents is to continue being constructive-ly engaged in the ACS Athens School Community. High quality education can only be realized by schools which are at the heart of strong communities, and by design ACS Athens is this kind of school, in strong partnership with parents and families fostering the spirit and practice of community life and joined re-sponsibility. After all, this is how ACS Athens empow-ers our children to transform the world as “architects of their own learning”.

D. Administrators

by Mary-Ann Augoustatos, M.A., Middle School Principal & Brian Gerbracht, M.Sc., Academy Principal

Few would have the foresight to predict where the world would be in the year 2015. The number of changes is staggering and the way our daily lives are impacted by those changes can be overwhelming. As a learner in the 21st century, i2Flex is necessary for the constant cultivation of higher-order thinking skills, establishing safe, intellectually stimulating learning environments and promoting academic conversa-tions or dialogue that foster critical thinking. In order to keep up with the way students are currently nav-igating in the world, ACS Athens has introduced the educational methodology of i2Flex since 2013.

First and foremost, i2Flex is about good teaching. This methodology requires our faculty to evaluate their content to determine the best way to engage students in and out of class. The goal is to spend our limited face-to-face time, which is at a premium, on higher order thinking opportunities. We have been slowly moving in this direction for the past 7 years. Only in the last two, with the introduction of i2Flex, has the process ramped up.

With i2Flex, the role of the instructor must change. No longer is it assumed the faculty member is the one with all the knowledge. This is the most dynamic as-pect of this shift. Faculty need to adopt, and adapt to teaching also via the digital platform. However, it is not so much as changing what they do, more so how they do it. Seeing how the digital component works is not always visible in class. However, the results of the students’ independent work are visible. An online blog, reflection on a posted video, or the posting of an online creation from the student can be witnessed.

We must meet students in their domains. When properly constructed, learning experiences are cre-ated online, we find that the student engages with basic content at a higher level, thereby allowing for higher order processing to happen with the guidance and the inspiration of the instructor. Students are

continually interacting with technology and most are natives in this area. Yet, most might be new to the idea of using technology for educational purposes. Guiding students to use the i2Flex methodology of teaching is a work in progress. In the Middle School we begin preparing students to be successful by the time they reach the Academy and finally reach profi-ciency by the time they enter University.

Our professional development in the i2Flex methodol-ogy has convinced us that because this methodology comes down to good instruction, there is no major change in how we as administrators evaluate our fac-ulty. However, we are working with the Director for Educational Technology on how to extend our range of evaluation expertise to identify particulars related specifically to designing and implementing the online component of the i2Flex class.

■REFERENCESAnderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for

learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s Tax-onomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.

Avgerinou, M.D., Gialamas, S., & Tsoukia, L. (2014). i2Flex: The meeting point of web-based education and innovative lead-ership in a K-12 international school setting. In D.G. Samp-son, D. Ifenthaler, J.M. Spector, & P. Isaias (Eds.). Digital sys-tems for open access to formal and informal learning (pp. 329-344). New York: Springer.

Avgerinou, M.D. (2010). Teacher vs. student satisfaction with online learning experiences based on personality type. In A. Jimoyiannis (ed.), Proceedings of the 7th Pan-Hellenic Con-ference with International Participation «I in Education» (pp.223-231). Korinthos, Greece: University of Peloponnese.

Bolliger, D.U., & Erichsen, E.A. (2013). Student satisfaction with blended and online courses based on personality type. Ca-nadian Journal of Learning and Technology (CJLT), 39(1). Retrieved October 10, 2014 from http://cjlt.csj.ualberta.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/view/655/354

Gialamas, S. (2012- Spring). Leadership and the string theory. In-ternational Schools Magazine, pp. 36/37.

Kinsey, M.,& Shorr, J.(2014- September) Blended learning in the mix. Available in Edutopia. Retrieved September 20, 2014 from:http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blended-learning-en-gaged-administrator-megan-kinseyhttp://www.edutopia.org/blog/blended-learning-proac-tive-teacher-megan-kinseyhttp://www.edutopia.org/blog/blended-learning-in-formed-parent-megan-kinsey

Jonassen, D. H., & Reeves, T. C. (1996). Learning with technology: Using computers as cognitive tools. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research for educational communications and technology, 1st ed. (pp. 693-719). New York: Macmillan.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). Framework for 21st century learning. Retrieved November 7, 2013 from http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-frameworkPartnership for 21st Century Skills.(2006, July).A state lead-ers action.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives; Digital immigrants. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digi-tal%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Quality Matters® Rubric (2011-2014).https://www.qualitymat-ters.org. Maryland Online.

32

Student learning at ACS Athens: What,

How, When? by Dora Andrikopoulos, Mathematics Coordinator

While the choice of a school’s curriculum de-termines what will be taught at each grade, the how and when choices reflect both the

teacher’s teaching style and the school’s educational philosophy. Technology advancement has enhanced the variety of choices as to the “How and When” stu-dent learning takes place providing greater opportu-nities for student learning optimization.

Student learning optimization focuses on the use of student skills and resources in order to meet, at the highest level possible, the demands for higher breadth and depth of knowledge at the high school level, the increasing academic preferences for flexi-bility and customization of students’ course schedule, the increasing diversity of student learning skills. For a number of years now, educational institutions have explored and implemented, in addition to the tradi-tional classroom teaching approach, independent learning, inquiry based learning and now days inter-net based learning. The degree of implementation of each or a combination of the above teaching/learn-ing styles depends on the school’s philosophy and on the level of integration and alignment of these styles with the school’s mission.

To effectively meet the demands of higher academic institutions and in becoming accomplished archi-tects of their own learning, ACS Athens students are taught and guided at all grade levels using a balanced combination of all of the above types of learning. Through the i2Flex model, they are given the opportu-

nity to use all of their skills and abilities, to apply and explore inquisition, to become confident independent learners using the internet and to complete work ac-cording to their own pace and time frame. Students, given their various skills and interests, can use their time efficiently to maximize their learning.

The i2Flex model gives students the opportunity to use their intuition to the maximum degree. Through artistically and articulately designed lessons, prob-lem-solving and activities, students are given the opportunity to breathe life into their own creations, designs and to go beyond the walls of the classroom, enriching their knowledge and feeling emotionally satisfied and complete.

i2Flex learning at ACS Athens is a tool for attaining the ultimate goal of flexibility and personalization of edu-cation through the use of technology.

Through a plethora of hands-on and web based ac-tivities, investigations, projects and discussions, stu-dents have the flexibility to be divergent and creative thinkers.

The following examples are brief descriptions of some of the numerous activities I engage my students in, to encourage and promote divergent and creative think-ing.

USE OF INTERNET-BASED TOOLSeLearning- Using Screencast-O-Matic

This tool allows students to listen to a lecture multi-ple times, before and after the lesson. It allows stu-dents to learn at their own pacehttp://moodle.acs.gr/mod/resource/view.php?id=84815

Online Math ActivitiesWe can engage students physically with interactive online activities, directly related to the content.http://www.mathnook.com/math/brainracerfraction.html

Online Videos and Practice TestsThis gives students the opportunity to listen to a lesson over again and to revise for their assessment through online multiple choice tests. The program assesses student answers and gives explanations to incorrect answers, thus giving students the chance to try again.

http://www.phschool.com/atschool/academy123/english/academy123_content/wl-book-demo/ph-037s.html (Video Lesson-Exponents and Multiplication)

ETHOS WINTER 2014

http://phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?wcprefix-=ada&wcsuffix=0452&area=view&x=16&y=7 (Exponents Test)

Discussion Forums

This tool enables students to have asynchronous dis-cussions; allows teacher and/or peer evaluations; al-lows for extension activities, for example ‘brain teas-ers’ for students to ponder and suggest solutions. It also allows the teacher to make quick assessmentshttp://moodle.acs.gr/mod/forum/view.php?id=86727

Submission of assignments electronically and assess-ments made online through comments.http://moodle.acs.gr/mod/assign/view.php?id=86395&ac-tion=grading(Submissions and assessment of Pascal’s Triangle Project)

This is a new way of assessing students as feedback is online. Students do not print out hard copies of as-signments and teachers can begin to grade as soon as students submit their work.

Voice Thread

Voice Thread is a web-based application that allows you to place and collect media like images, videos, documents, and presentations at the center of an asynchronous conversation. A Voice Thread allows students to have conversations and to make com-ments using any mix of text, microphone, camera or uploaded video file.http://moodle.acs.gr/mod/assign/view.php?id=87752

This is an extremely exciting experience as students like making audio recordings and then listening to their own voice.Their responses can also give teachers immediate feedback as to where they are conceptually and how then to proceed.

There is definitely flexibility in the various ways that students are engaged. They become active learners and are motivated to work independently, using tech-nology.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A BALANCED CURRICULUMMathematical Proficiency We need citizens who can problem solve and think critically to compete in an ever-changing technolog-ical and global society. We must produce students who are capable of becoming life-long learners and successful citizens in a global market place. There-fore, students must develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts and possess a strong foun-dation of number sense in order to become proficient in mathematics. Instructionally, this goal translates into three components: conceptual understanding; procedural fluency; problem solving.

Conceptual understanding involves the understand-ing of mathematical ideas and procedures. Students use conceptual understanding of mathematics when

they identify and apply principles, know and ap-ply facts and definitions, and compare and con-trast related concepts.

Procedural fluency is the skill in carrying out pro-cedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and ap-propriately. It includes algorithms (the step-by step routines needed to perform operations). When students learn procedures through under-standing, they are more likely to remember the procedures and less likely to make common com-putational errors.

Problem solving is the ability to formulate, repre-sent, and solve mathematical problems.Mathematics instruction must include the teach-ing of many strategies to empower all students to become successful problem solvers.

Educators at all levels should seek to develop “processes and proficiencies” in their students.

G. H. Hardy (1877-1947) said,“A mathematician, like a painter or a poet is a maker of patterns. The mathematician’s pat-terns, like the painter’s or the poet’s must be beautiful; the ideas like the colors or the words must fit together in a harmonious way”

Some examples used are from my own textbooks.http://www.shopmybook.com/en/Dora-Andrikopou-los/Mathematics-A-Thematic-Approach-Book

■

eduTech

Trends and Ideas Shaping Education Through Technology in the 21st Century

35

Does 1/3 or 1/4 give us more pie? An interactive virtual repre-sentation of abstract mathematics concepts for elementary school students

By Maria Roussou, PhD, MFA, MSc, Make believe design & consulting (www.make-believe.gr) and ACS Athens parent

Defining learning is notoriously difficult. There are a range of differ-ent perspectives on learning and a great number of theories on how learning takes place. Additionally, there are different types of learning

(learning of facts, data, statistics, etc.; learning of skills, methods, processes, etc.; learning of concepts, representations, abstract systems, etc.). It is the de-velopment of the latter, i.e. of the deeper, transferable understandings of gen-eralizable, abstract knowledge that presents the biggest difficulty to children, especially in elementary and early adolescence (7 – 11 years of age).

Children in this age group often have non-normative understandings of con-cepts. For instance, students often have misconceptions of physical proper-ties that cannot be easily observed, such as the shape of the earth, which they experience as being flat but are taught that it is round (Vosniadou, 1994).The understandings that children carry can be quite powerful, even early on. For example, some children have been found to hold onto their preconception of a flat earth by imagining a round earth to be shaped like a pancake (Vosniadou and Brewer, 1992).

Take another example of an abstract concept: mathematical fractions. Many children have trouble giving up the notion that one-fourth is greater than one-third, because the number four is a bigger number than the number three (Gel-man and Gallistel, 1985). The use of fractions is prevalent in our everyday lives, even at a very early age. As children we agree to eat half our vegetables, grudg-ingly give up half of our cookie for a younger sibling, and even announce that we are three and a half years old (Bialystok and Codd, 2000). However, the con-cept of fractions and the ability to produce notational representations for frac-tions are among the most difficult topics of mathematics for elementary school students. Fractions are conceptually complex because they involve ratio quan-tities, and their notations are specialized and require specific instruction. Stu-dents have difficulty recognizing when two fractions are equal, putting frac-tions in order by size, and understanding that the symbol for a fraction represents a single number and not two numbers as its form suggests. Students also rarely have the opportunity to understand fractions before they are asked to perform arith-metical operations on them.

Fractions are typically being taught to elementary school students in grades 4, 5, and 6, which usually means children are between 7 and 11 years of age. Tradi-tionally, fractions have been represent-ed with a notation system (for example “1/3”), which essentially is an “artificial” construct used for performing arithmeti-cal operations and learning fractions in school. Mathematics as taught in school is deeply paper-based and symbolism such as the above involves manipulating num-bers written on paper.

To facilitate understanding of fractions, educators have been using the “pie” met- figure 1

36

aphor (Niemi, 1996) to teach fractions. This 2D pictorial representation relates somewhat to real-world situations, as do other scenarios that involve dividing pizzas or chocolate cakes (Figure 1).The problem, however, of connecting the symbols to real-world situations remains; it is often difficult for students to integrate formal instruction with their informal knowledge (Mack, 1990). Re-search has shown that students begin to construct a deeper understanding of fractions when these are represented in a variety of ways and when there are explicit linkages to everyday life and familiar situations involving their use. Lesh et al. (1983) suggest that children learn by having opportunities to explore ideas in these different ways and by making connections between the different representations.

This research explores an alternative representation of fractions, manifested as a game in an immersive interactive virtual reality environment. This expe-riential form of presenting fractions combines the pictorial representation of fractions with a simulation of real-world situations, and the power of manip-ulative aids, albeit virtual.

Virtual Reality and Interactivity

Virtual reality (VR), regarded as a three-dimensional multi-sensory immersive (surround) and interactive digital environment, has triggered public imagi-nation as a technological metaphor for the way our work, education, and lei-sure will be delivered in the future. While VR has yet to become a widespread technology, it may not be long before VR installations and applications make their way into the schools and the home, considering also the plethoric devel-opment of interactive systems at large (Roussou, 2004). Interactivity is a defin-ing quality of a virtual environment; it is the process through which users can have a first-person experience and explore, act upon, control, and even modify the environment. Interactivity is promoted widely for its effectiveness, moti-vational impact, and significance for learning, yet little systematic research exists to prove this. The research presented here aims to investigate how an interactive three-dimensional virtual learning environment affects conceptual learning, such as the understanding of fractions, for example. We designed and implemented the Virtual Playground, an interactive simulation-based game in which children must complete a set of constructivist tasks addressing fractions problems.

The Virtual Playground game

The Virtual Playground is a digital playground “gone wrong” and the player’s task is to fix it. The playground has six main elements (swings, monkey bars, a slide, a merry-go-round, a crawl tunnel, and a sandbox), and six different-

ly colored sets of blocks rep-resenting the area that each one of the elements ought to cover in the playground (Fig-ure 2). The area—that is, set of blocks—representing each ele-ment is initially incorrect (ei-ther too big or too small) and must be modified by rules re-quiring fraction calculations. For example, the swings ini-tially cover a 3 x 4 area—that is, 12 blocks in three rows of four. The scenario requires in-creasing the area by compar-

ing two fractions (1/3 and 1/4) and choosing the number representing the larger amount. In this case, the player must choose 1/3, which results in four blocks, and add those blocks to the swings area by picking blocks from a central pool of blocks and placing them on the four tiles that must be covered.

The player learns the game’s rules from virtual characters: an owl presents the overall storyline and goal to the player, while colored birds float over each area

figure 2

ETHOS WINTER 2014

and tell the player what must be done there when he or she clicks on them (Figure 2). To interact with the virtual environment, the player uses a “magic wand”, which includes a joystick for navigating and three color-coded buttons for picking and placing blocks, clicking on birds, toggling between views, and triggering other actions.

When the player correctly constructs an area for an element (by adding or removing blocks according to the rules), the corrected playground element appears in place of the blocks. If the area isn’t formed properly, the element doesn’t appear and the game prompts the player to reconsider his or her ac-tions. The system also provides intrinsic feedback concerning placement of the blocks on the playground tiles. For example, the system won’t let the player place a block next to the fence, near the benches, on the yellow-brick footpath, or next to a block of a different color. Visual and audio cues respond to player’s activity and reinforce these restrictions.

Studying the effect on fractions understanding

We evaluated the Virtual Playground game through empirical studies carried out at the virtual reality room of the University College London with 50 elemen-tary school students (ages 8 to 12), from different schools and socioeconomic backgrounds. We conducted the experiment with one participant at a time, for an average of 90 minutes. The experimental methods included direct obser-vation, interviews, and pre-test and post-test question-naires, designed in collaboration with math teachers. We aimed to examine whether young us-ers’ learning im-proves through interacting in an immersive virtu-al reality environ-ment, compared to non-interactive or non-immersive en-vironments.

We, thus, assigned each participant to one of three differ-ent experimental scenarios:

• An interactive VR scenario, in which each p a r t i c i p a n t used the wire-less wand to navigate the virtual world and to select and place virtual objects (Figure 3).

• A passive VR scenario, in which each participant simply wore 3D glass-es and observed (without interacting) a virtual robot named Spike as he went about listening to the rules and moving blocks in a pre-recorded sequence of actions involving redesign of the playground (Figure 4). The observer encouraged the participant to predict Spike’s actions (“What would you do if you were Spike?”) and explain why Spike did what he did to correct each playground element.

• A non-digital scenario, in which the participant used Lego bricks to de-sign a playground on a grid-like floor plan, similar to seeing the play-ground from above in the VR environment. Similarly to the virtual world, the different-colored bricks represent the swings, slides, and so

figure 3

ETHOS WINTER 2014

on. However, in this case, the participant positioned the bricks accord-ing to rules on cards (Figure 5). Also, although each participant was ac-tively involved in designing the playground, there was no “system” to provide a response or feedback.

The participants were free to interact with the playground (virtual or Lego) for as long as they wished. A researcher who was simultaneously an interviewer and observer was constantly present, encouraging the participant to explain her or his actions (by thinking aloud).

Triggering reflective ob-servation

These experiments have resulted in an enormous pool of multiple types of data, which we analyzed quantitatively and qual-itatively. The qualitative analysis, performed us-ing the analytical frame-work of Activity Theory (Roussou et al., 2008), seemed to better describe the richness of interac-tion between the factors that came into play in these experiments, and led to some evidence that interactivity in such an ex-periential simulation environment affects children’s ability to learn fractions.

For the interactive VR scenario, our observations indicate that participants made some decisions in-tuitively, supported by the environment’s visual cues (the shape of each area and the surrounding space) and the feedback programmed by us into the system. These cues and feedback helped some children solve the learn-ing problems. This sug-gests that their intuitive action might be closely linked to our virtual rep-resentation of fractions versus the symbolic lan-guage used in formal, abstract instruction.The analysis of the empirical studies suggests that in-teractivity promotes skill and problem solving and that it can provide op-portunities for “concep-tual contradictions” to emerge. However, inter-activity does not neces-sarily lead to resolution of these contradictions nor does it ensure that, if res-olution is made, this will be at the conceptual level. We saw no evidence that successful problem solv-figure 5

figure 4

39

ing in the interactive VR scenario resulted in the understanding of the under-lying concept or in conceptual change on a deep level. In other words, although a fully interactive environment, such as the one in the interactive VR scenario, might aid problem solving, it might not provide a framework for conceptual learning.

The passive-VR scenario (where Spike performed the tasks) was what proved surprisingly interesting. All the children participating in the passive VR sce-nario enjoyed watching and verbally directing the robot to perform the tasks. For children finding the tasks difficult, the robot seemed to take on the role of a more able peer, essentially demonstrating the correct answer. In this sense, the passive VR scenario implicitly provided a guided experience where the learner embarked on reflective observation. The robot acted as an additional level of mediation that seemed to support the children’s ability to step back and consider a situation critically and analytically, with growing awareness of their own learning process.

What has been learned through these experiments is that studying the as-sumed relationship between interactivity and conceptual learning is not straightforward. A host of factors which can affect learning come into play, including the context of learning and the learner’s style. An important param-eter, though, is the social structure that forms a critical element for guidance and prompting. In the Virtual Playground, this social structure was embodied in the robot, Spike, which led the activity, thus encompassing an implicit in-structional role. Additionally, the researcher (who was observing the children and prompting them to think aloud during the activity), also part of this social structure, had a positive role on some children’s learning, even if unintention-ally. What this suggests is that the social structure may be more important than interactivity, on its own, in supporting the process from problem solving to the making of meaning. Yet, in combination, interactivity and guided ac-tivity in a digital environment may be a powerful scaffolding tool to support reflection and sustained conceptual understanding of abstract concepts, such as mathematical fractions problems.

■REFERENCESBialystok, E., & Codd, J. (2000). Representing quantity beyond whole numbers: Some, none, and part. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 54(2).Gelman, R., & Gallistel, C. R. (1985). The child’s understanding of number (2nd ed.). Cam-bridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press.Lesh, R., Landau, M., & Hamilton, E. (1983). Conceptual models in applied mathematical problem solving research. In R. Lesh & M. Landau (Eds.), (pp. 263–343). NY: Academic Press.Mack, N. K. (1990). Learning fractions with understanding: Building on informal knowledge. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 21, 16–32.Niemi, D. (1996). A fraction is not a piece of pie: assessing exceptional performance and deep understanding in elementary school mathematics, 40, 70–80.Roussou, M. (2004). Learning by doing and learning through play. Computers in Entertain-ment, 2(1), 10. doi:10.1145/973801.973818Roussou, M., Oliver, M., & Slater, M. (2008). Exploring Activity Theory as a Tool for Evaluat-ing Interactivity and Learning in Virtual Environments for Children. Cognition, Technology & Work, 10(2), 141–153. doi:1007/s10055-006-0035-5Vosniadou, S. (1994).Capturing and modeling the process of conceptual change. Learning and Instruction, 4(1), 45–69.Vosniadou, S., & Brewer, W. F. (1992). Mental models of the earth: A study of conceptual change in childhood. Cognitive Psychology, 24, 535–585.

Figure 1. The ubiquitous pie metaphor for representing fractions has its problems... (Illustrations by Daniel Postgate, from the Murderous Maths series book Fractions and Averages: the Mean and Vulgar Bits by Kjartan Poskitt, Scholas-tic Children’s Books, 2000, used here with permission).

Figure 2. In the Virtual Playground, children redesign the playground layout on the basis of rules provided by expressive virtual characters. An owl greets each player and provides the general rules before the player starts the design game. Virtual “talking birds” float over each color-coded area of the playground that needs to be changed,speaking out the rule for that area.

Figure 3. Children participating in the Virtual Playground experiment.

Figure 4. In the passiveVR scenario, a robot called Spike plays back a pre-recorded action sequence. Children observed and commented as Spike manipulated the elements.

Figure 5. In the non-digital scenario, participants used Lego bricks to redesign the playground layout. In this case, the rules for positioning the bricks were written on cards but the participants did not receive any other kind of instruction or feedback on their actions.

42

Schooling Plus Education Equals

Intellectual Curiosity

by Nicholas G. Karambelas, class of 1971 and member of the ACS Athens Advisory Council

Musings

The great American author and social critic Sam-uel Clemmons, better known as Mark Twain, coined a maxim which cautioned “never let your

schooling interfere with your education”. Like all maxims, this maxim attempts to encapsulate in a few words of wisdom drawn from the life experience of the author of the maxim. Of course, wisdom is com-plicated and cannot be imparted in a few words. Nev-ertheless, a maxim is a symbol of a truth and merits serious contemplation. Mark Twain’s maxim distin-guishes between schooling and education.I see that distinction in my experience at ACS.

I entered ACS in 1966 into the 8th grade at the age of 13 years and graduated in 1971 at the age of 18 years. At the risk of sounding clinical, we all agree that these years are formative years. The experiences during these years profoundly affect our values and charac-ter as we evolve into adults. I took the usual curricu-lum which ACS offered at that time. English, history, math, chemistry,

gym, Spanish language and others were the sub-jects. On the whole, our teachers were exception-al. They knew their subjects and, most import-ant, knew how to teach. That was my schooling. That was ACS fulfilling its primary mission.

But then there was my education. I believe that by education Mark Twain meant developing views of the way the universe works and a per-sonal philosophy about how to relate to the uni-verse and to the persons around you. I was ed-ucated through activities offered by ACS and my relationships with fellow classmates. I learned leadership and public service as a member of the Student Council in 10th grade through 12th grade. I learned to persevere as a Lancer through vic-tory and defeat in football and basketball. I also learned pain as the field at that time was made up of dirt, dust and small rocks. Most signifi-cantly, I learned how to treat other people and to make meaningful and enduring relationships. Our annual Easter break trip to Rhodes, skipping class to go to the showing of the original Wood-stock movie, summers on Myconos and patroniz-ing establishments in old Plaka all contributed to forming these relationships.

The only skill I had in math was drawing the num-bers. Beyond that I was pitiful as all 3 of my math teachers will attest. However, I will attempt an equation: Schooling plus education equals in-tellectual curiosity. To be intellectually curious means to continually and objectively observe the universe around us, passionately participate in the evolution of that universe and understand that which works and that which does not work through courageous trial and error.

I have practiced law for more than 35 years. I have experienced simple and complex situations. Intellectual curiosity has been and is the most significant quality in dealing with any such situ-ation. At ACS Athens I began learning how to be intellectually curious, a lesson which has contin-ued since graduation and will continue into the future.

■

ETHOS WINTER 2014

The Platonic Form of an International Schoolby Dr. Edward B. Burger*, President of Southwestern Univ., and member of the ACS Athens Advisory Council

Who exactly was Aristotle? Was he a Philoso-pher? Political Scientist? Physicist? Moralist? Logician? Educator? Musician? Biologist?

The answer is “yes” (that is, “all the above”). In fact, Aristotle is the ideal product of a truly transforma-tive multi-faceted educational experience—the kind of well-rounded learning that ACS has been deliver-ing for 70 years.  I have had the great honor of being connected with ACS Athens for 15 years.  However it was on my very first visit that I was instantly drawn to both the philosophy and fundamental principles of ACS Athens—and even more, to the talented stu-dents the School attracts and educates.

ACS Athens is committed to developing the whole-person and preparing that student for further studies. Creativity, curiosity, and imagination are all fostered at ACS Athens and over the past 70 years the School has produced countless leaders in all endeav-ors and all areas of human thought.  Although I had

ETHOS WINTER 2014

the honor of delivering the Commencement Address at the graduation in 2008, my richest engagement was in the summer of 2006, when I helped launch what would later be renamed the Institute for Innova-tion and Creativity and had the opportunity to teach ACS Athens students.  That experience is a joyful gift I will hold on to forever.

Today I am the president of Southwestern Univer-sity—the oldest institution of higher education in Texas and the premiere liberal arts undergraduate institution in the state.   Southwestern’s distinctive interdisciplinary curriculum that focuses on thinking and making connections is called paideia and as ACS Athens celebrates its 70th anniversary, SU celebrates our 175th anniversary.  Thus our two great institutions share so many important elements and I hope our two schools will continue to find ways of engaging and collaborating in the educational space in creative ways. For now, however, I want to add my voice to the many others who send good wishes to ACS Athens as it celebrates 70 years of moving minds and making meaning—two of the most noble pursuits that truly are at the heart of the Platonic form of education.

■

* Dr. Edward Burger is President of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas and serves as a member on the ACS Ad-visory Council. His latest book on learning, “The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking,” has been translated into 15 different languages.

I hope we will continue to find ways of engaging and collaborating in the educational space in creative ways

ACS Athens celebrates 70 years of moving minds and making meaning

Aristotle is the ideal product of a truly transformative multi-faceted educational experience

Current page:Summer 2006, with ACS Athens students

45

Years Laterby Zacharo Diamanto Gialamas, Student at George

Washington University, ACS Athens alumna

Years later, I still remember the day my parents told my brother and I that we were going to move to Ath-ens and my father was going to be the next president of ACS Athens. I reacted as all youngsters my age would have reacted; I did not want to go.

Now, as I sit on a bench during my senior year at the George Washington University campus, I think about how ACS Athens was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

This school gave me the knowledge I carry with me everywhere I go. It has given me the opportunity to attend a great university and the opportunity to in-corporate what I have learned in the past to pretty much any situation that I am in. It gave me a great education but also something that will truly be in my heart forever: a family.

I grew to love the campus and people quickly. I still see my friends often and we continue to visit the faculty every year. I now see everyone as my friend and peo-ple who I can be comfortable and honest with.

ACS Athens gave me something priceless and I thank all of those who helped me dearly. I had the privilege of meeting people from all around the world; I learned so many things about different cultures and perspec-tives. I felt at home and I think that is such a rare qual-ity for a school to have.

The teachers truly care about the students. I know

this because I remember several teachers chasing me for my homework. Also, I may be biased, but I do tru-ly believe that my father has had a great influence on ACS Athens. I arrived years ago when there were only 500 students enrolled and now the attendance rate has doubled. I think this has so much to do with the faculty and the way they educate young minds.

As students, we also had the privilege of participating in hands-on learning. From Mr. Nelson’s Truman Trial to IB trips to MUN to so much more. Teachers pointed out the strengths I had as well as other students had. I still remember the first English class I took. I realized that I loved literature but going that route may not have been the safest choice for me. I ended up major-ing in Political Science and while that is a great degree to have, I now know that I truly want to become a writer.

I do believe that ACS Athens has influenced my writ-ing in many ways from the people I met to the books I read and the writers I fell in love with. It has inspired me to chase my dreams and not be afraid of being dif-ferent.

My friends are off living their dreams. Several are on their way to becoming surgeons, artists, engineers, mathematicians and so much more.

ACS Athens protected me and made me feel safe when the world seemed to be caving in on itself and to this day, it still does. I know that every time I visit, I smile and I am happy as I greet people who have changed my life forever.

70 years of education, of inspiring others

and lighting minds.

70 years of education, making a difference, one child at a time.

let us hope for 70 more, one child

at a time, can makeall the difference,

even in a worldof many.

46

Three Assemblage Sculptures:

Commentary on Process

by Amalia Melis*, writer

I have found there is a connection between using my hands and the process of writing: shaping found ob-jects like wires, metal, and other pieces into a coher-ent whole is much like what goes on in my head when I write. At some point the shapes begin to make sense to me. I have bags full of embroidery threads, beads, and “tamata,” the Greek votive offerings that I have loved since childhood. They hung in front of icons at church, each one symbolizing a story: a boat, an arm, an eye, a torso, a book, a house, etc. And they made me wonder what the wish, the prayer may have been. Stories told only to a saint. I collect them like mad from flea markets and stores selling religious goods. Though I use them sparingly, they are an important part of the three-dimensional stories I create with as-semblages.

I might hang a piece of metal on the balcony wall and ignore it for days or months, or pay it some attention but get on with doing other things, or I might pounce and work until dark to go deeper and deeper into the

Current page from top to bottom:“Torso”Copyright © 2010–2014, by Amalia Melis

“Hop On, I’ll Give You a Ride”Copyright © 2013–2014All rights reserved

Opposite page:“Hidden within”Copyright © 2010–2014, by Amalia MelisAll rights reserved

ETHOS WINTER 2014

“abyss”—not quite sure where I am going—only know-ing I must go—and forgetting where I am—forgetting about eating or anything other than focusing on the assemblage. It is a magical “slide” into the space I seek. This whole process works as a stepping stone to something I am working out in my head.

I work that way with stories, too, writing in stages to get the first draft: getting some words down in any shape or form, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few years. And I am not even touching the part where I re-write, throw out, and shape the writing to make a story—that might take another block of time to get words right. Writing essays comes closest to the writing I have done professionally (hard news and feature writing). There is no room for fan-tasy or play; but yet there is, so long as I stick to the facts. I love to write lyrical essays. All the contents are true but the flow of words reads more like poetry or “story.”

Fiction writing hands me a blank canvas that is both terrifying and exciting. I can make my characters hang upside down, cry or fly; but I am also captive to what they want to say, just as in my first novel man-uscript, which unfolds in a patchwork kind of way. It was during this time of exploration and anguish into the world of fiction writing that I paid attention to scraps of metal thrown on many Athenian streets. They “popped” out at me for the first time and while I may have looked like a junk collector I was trying to find ways into my story, except in a physical way, a way to help me avoid the blank page that was pain-ful to go to. And so the process of making assemblage sculptures was born.

Telling my story of Greek immigrant women with metal and wires made it safer to return to the pages I had written, and eventually to put together an entire novel. Now the assemblages I continue to create are not connected to the novel anymore. They tell their own stories, some of which are more fun and light-hearted.

And now I am daring to write the first pages of a sec-ond novel. I am not sure what sort of assemblages might emerge as I try to figure out where I want to go with this story.

The writing and the assemblages are intertwined for me. I go from one medium to the other to express stories that I need to tell. Sharing them with an au-dience happens after the stories end for me. I don’t think about audience while creating or I would freeze. I think about what the process is telling me about sto-ry. Then I tell that to the audience in hopes they want to see and hear the result.— Andros, Greece, July 2014

■

Essay first appeared in KYSO Flash (Issue 1, Fall 2014), www.kysoflash.com

*Amalia Melis is a Greek-American journalist and fiction writ-er born and raised in New York, who currently lives in Greece.

Her fiction and essays have appeared in Glimmer Train Stories and other publications. She is working on a lon-ger essay about American painter Betty Ryan. She has completed her first novel and is now working on a new one.Ms. Melis is the founder of the Aegean Arts Circle writ-ing workshops, which host annual writing seminars with award-winning international authors in Andros, Greece. An artist as well as writer, her assemblage sculptures have been part of group art exhibits in Greece, Germany, and the U.S.

ETHOS WINTER 2014

ACS Athens Wall of Fame in the ACS Athens

Gymnasium.A tribute to

the Past... an Inspiration for the

Present and the Future

by Annie Constantinides, Director of Athletics, Summer Camp and Recreational Programs

Athletics

The 2014-2015 academic year marks the 70th year anniversary of ACS Athens; an institution with a rich history, providing quality education for

thousands of young individuals. At ACS Athens, great memories are created. For some, these memories may be short-lived but sweet, as their passage could have been for a brief period of time. For others howev-er, these memories are many and lifelong!

Athletics play an important role at ACS Athens. It is an essential component of the American education model; important in shaping young individuals with values that can be taught and experienced outside the classroom. While academics shape young minds intellectually, athletics have the power of molding character, personality, the psyche and values of those individuals. Furthermore, through vast international competitions provided to our student athletes, they have had the experience of being primed for a fast changing global community.

ACS Athens is an institution that values what athlet-ics can provide to a student and a lifelong learner; the qualities and characteristics of a well rounded indi-vidual ready to face their future and their world with respect, discipline, effort, motivation, sportsmanship and pride. These values are the backbone of our ath-letic philosophy.

As an alumnus involved in athletics in the 70s, I re-member our competitions in the Aegean tournament in Thessaloniki, the 3km race through the Sahara des-ert during the Cairo American College track meet and the EMAC competitions in the Middle East. I am sure that many athletes who came through ACS Athens have fond memories not only of their overall sports experience, but also of individuals such as Coach Dav-enport, Coach Constantinides, Coach Romeo, Coach Hollenbeck, Coach Kalavritinos and others. As years went by, our competitions were more diverse not only in terms of the sports offered but also in regards to the cultural opportunities offered to our student athletes. Throughout all these sports teams and com-petitions, strong friendships were developed which after so many years, from my own experience, have been revived through Facebook – incredible indeed, and those memories, to this day, bring out a sweet nostalgia.

ACS Athens athletics have a strong and rich legacy; a number of our alumni student athletes pursued their sports passion at the university level, competed at a high level and have represented our school in the best possible way. To recognize and honor these in-dividuals, and at the same time hopefully inspire the younger generations, the ACS Athens “Wall of Fame “ was created; we have gone back in time and traced as many athletes as we could and we will continue with our search. Individual alumni jerseys from the uni-versities have been solicited and are now on display in our gymnasium. It is important for a school with a rich history to remember and acknowledge such ac-complishments.

This “Wall of Fame” not only represents individuals but also values; values that we try to instill in our students every day and which are vital for individual growth, maturity and success in every aspect of one’s life.

■

49

1983 Rony Seikaly Syracuse University NBA Miami Heat

1979 Annie Constantinides McGill University Basketball

1980 Demetri Pelidis Boston College Soccer

1993 Demetris Stanotas Bentley College Soccer

1995 Angelo Patentas Williams College Soccer

2010 Jessica Ogunnorin Stony Brook University Basketball

2010 Kostas Genidounias University of Southern California Water Polo

2010 Sergio Spassof Colby-Sawyer College Tennis/Basketball

2011 Philip Tripodakis Southern New Hampshire University Basketball

2012 Kostas Mantalvanos Southern New Hampshire University Basketball

2012 Veroniki Nikolaki Worcester Polytechnic Institute Diving

2012 Alex Apostolides Tufts University Cross Country

2012 Evangelos Loukas University of Nothern British Columbia Basketball

2013 Melina Kolia Bentley University Basketball

2013 Natassa Koniali Southern New Hampshire University Basketball

2013 Daphne Apostolides Northeastern University Cross Country

2013 Nick Efstratudakis Sarah Lawrence College Basketball

2013 Hannah Amis Bluefield College Volleyball

50

The “Hasib Sabbagh and Diana Tamari”

Athletic Scholarships by Leda Tsoukia, Ethos magazine Editor

Annie Constantinides, Director of Athleticsand Amalia Melis, writer

A responsible person is one who steps outside himself to give back to the immediate world around him

The scholarships were generously offered to honor the memory of their parents Hasib Sabbagh and Diana Tamari.

Since 2006, a total of 34 young boys and girls have attended ACS Athens as the “Sabbagh Scholarship recipients”

ACS Athens has been lucky enough to have ben-efited from generous parents and community members who have cared about ACS Athens as

an academic institution. In the academic year 2006-2007 a generous offer was made by Mr. Suheil Sab-bagh and his brother Mr. Samir Sabbagh. There were academically excellent students with limited financial means who could be brought into the fold and the scholarships these generous men offered was the ve-hicle to attract and keep such students. A 3-year schol-arship program for Academy students was set up to help highlight these students’ academic and athletic abilities. The scholarships were generously offered to ACS Athens to honor the memory of their parents Ha-sib Sabbagh and Diana Tamari. The Sabbagh siblings have helped 34 students, to date, realize their dreams because these scholarships have changed their lives.

Mr. Suheil Sabbagh remembers:My brother and I were raised with values taught to us by our family. Our mother and father respected and focused their efforts for us and our future by investing in our education, in our ability to see beyond our own lives and satisfaction. A responsible person is one who steps outside himself to give back to the immediate world around him. We created these scholarships to do exactly that: we wanted to honor an academic institution whose vision is to create ethical young adults. We wanted to help in our own way by providing scholarships to worthy young adults in the hope that they will become active members of society in the future capable of also giving back to the world they choose to live in and create in. By cultivating a young person’s desire to be the best he can be academically and athletically we hope to give that person the means to develop in a positive way. We do honor our parents in this way since education and giving back to society were values our parents valued.”

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Reflections from Annie Constantinides, Director of Athletics:The Hasib Sabbagh and Diana Tamari Academic / Athletic Scholarships have been part of ACS Athens since 2006 and even though we are in the ninth year of awarding such scholarships, it seems like yester-day when the original idea was being discussed and the details of this “project” were being determined. The word “project” can have many connotations; it may refer to a business transaction or a goal in a multinational company or a specific event, yet in our case, this “project” does not provide just another tan-gible “deliverable”; it is something that has changed and will continue to change young peoples’ lives in many ways. In this difficult situation the world is in, these types of projects seem to be more a dream than actuality.

Let us take a walk down memory lane…. In 2006, Mr. Suheil Sabbagh and Mr. Samir Sabbagh chose to provide 3-year scholarships to young boys and girls to attend ACS Athens (their last three years of high school). With these scholarships, young boys and girls would be given the opportunity to flourish academically and athletically in an institution that strongly values holistic education. Their gesture was one of many they kindly bestowed on the school and in doing so they found a constructive way to honor their parents who firmly believed in philanthropy and giving back to the com-munity. Since education is something highly

prized in the Sabbagh family, it seemed quite appro-priate to initiate and support this endeavor. So, every year, two boys would receive these scholarships to honor their father, Mr. Hasib Sabbagh and two girls would receive the scholarships honoring their moth-er, Mrs. Diana Tamari.

From the very beginning, the driving thought was to “invest” in young people, not only for their immedi-ate and short term future, but actually to provide the path for them to explore their capabilities, to pursue their dreams and aspirations and to become global citizens with ethos in order to, some day, not only be successful human beings but also to give back to oth-ers in need.

The “project’s” first step was to determine the crite-ria for the selection of the scholarship recipients. The applicants had to have: a) academic qualifications needed to be admitted to ACS Athens; b) athletic cre-dentials (basketball skills) and c) be in financial need. As the years went by, the criteria were fine tuned, in order to make sure that every student chosen to re-ceive this scholarship was the best possible candidate for success, not only at ACS Athens, but also in their college/university, in their careers and beyond.

The fundamental purpose and philosophy of the schol-arship program was simple: to offer educational op-

portunities to deserving stu-dents who had a proven record of academic ex-cellence, ath-letic skills and whose fam-ilies were of limited finan-cial resourc-es. Through-out the years, these students came to us from diverse social back-grounds and from a different e d u c a t i o n a l system. They were success-ful during their ACS Athens years not only academically, but athletically as well, since they represent-ed our school teams in the various tourna-ments.

Another aim of this long term endeavor is to sup-

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Ms. Vassiliki Makou, graduated from ACS ATH-ENS in 2010. She was one of the students who received the Sabbagh scholarship in 2007. As an invited guest to the athletic banquet held for the 2013-2014 academic year, Ms. Makou gave a speech to those in attendance. Here is a short excerpt from her speech:

“...I am Vasiliki Makou and I graduated in 2010. I was one of the lucky girls along with Jessica Ogunnorin to receive an academic and athletic scholarship in 2007 from two amazing people. There are some moments in your life where you have to take the most important decisions. I am glad that I grabbed the opportunity; On September 2007, I started my… new life I would say!

My first year was pretty hard, I should admit that! But, I always had people around me, teachers, coaches who were helping me to overcome the difficulties – mainly with the language.

I finished my year with very good grades and I was prepared to attend the IB program. In ad-dition, that summer I was called from the Greek National Team to attend the pre-selection gath-ering/tournament but I could not join the team because I had a serious injury on my hip.

I graduated ACS Athens with 3 diplomas, the IB Diploma, the American Diploma as well as the Greek Isotimia Diploma and being a member of the National Honor Society. I got accepted in Lancaster University in the UK to study Market-ing. Lancaster University’s Management School is in the top 5 in the UK and the Marketing De-partment is 1st in rankings at the moment. I con-tinued playing basketball in England and I was the captain of the team. In my final year, I was studying, I was playing basketball (never missed a game), I was working, doing 2 jobs and I was sending CVs, but my main focus was always my uni and my courses. I finally graduated re-ceived a Second Class Honors Degree (2:1). In August......

To sum up, I know that I would not have suc-ceeded in my life and at university without learning some very important values – those of hard work, team spirit, being able to collaborate with multicultural individuals, from everyone in ACS Athens…..

But most importantly, I would not have attended ACS Athens without these two wonderful, gen-erous and humble brothers, Mr. Samir Sabbagh and Mr. Suheil Sabbagh , you offered me an exciting life, full of new opportunities and mo-ments. You gave me the best gift I could ever ask for. And all I have to say is THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart”.

port and enrich the future of ACS Athens as an insti-tution; through its rich history, ACS Athens has been fortunate to have a number of distinguished alumni, including actors, film producers, scientists, profes-sional athletes and other successful professionals. By providing these scholarships to individuals that have valuable academic and athletic talents, we are in the process of creating a future pool of notable successful alumni, who will hopefully give back to this institu-tion and contribute to its on-going legacy.Since 2006, a total of 34 young boys and girls have attended ACS Athens as the “Sabbagh Scholarship re-cipients”; some of them have already graduated from higher education institutions and some are presently attending universities either by receiving full or par-tial scholarships or by providing their own funding. A few are even in the professional world in fields of their choosing; a path that may have not been available to them had they not been fortunate enough to be cho-sen for the Sabbagh scholarships. It is our hope, as more and more young students will be receiving these scholarships, that they will find their own path of success and well being to demon-strate in their lives some of the qualities and values portrayed through their education at ACS Athens.

■ 

53

54

Preparing Tomorrow’s Global Leaders with Ethos

by Satheesh Namasivayam and Bade Kucukoglu*, co-Founders of MindVISA

Socialawareness

In October 2014, we were about to begin our presen-tation to about 30 Heads of Schools, who had as-sembled in Istanbul for an educational conference.

Even as a lot of participants were still sitting down, someone in the audience asked: “Why did you name your organization as MindVISA”? Neither did we know that the simple-looking questioner with a smiling face was Mr. Stefanos Gialamas, President of ACS Athens, nor did we realize that it was just his first thoughtful question in a series of many. He began probing deep-er into our values as Founders of an organization that claims to be successful in preparing young adults to be tomorrow’s global leaders with ethos! During our presentation and dialogues that ensued – for many hours spanning multiple days – we shared with Mr. Gialamas the philosophies and values underpinning our work, as well as our life stories, resulting in an in-vite to write an article for this 70th Anniversary Issue of the Ethos magazine.

We live in a world of interconnected differences. And for the future, we all hope for a better, more peaceful world. How then should we nurture young adults to learn, adapt and cooperate to build that future world?Founded by alumni of Harvard and Brandeis Univer-sities, MindVISA believes that the answer lies in help-ing high school students from diverse backgrounds cross borders, and collaborate beyond borders, early in their lives. By bringing together, and handholding, students across borders – such as local and global; rural and urban; rich and poor – MindVISA programs break the boundaries between young people, and

Current page and opposite page from top to bottom:An elevating moment

Learning in an Indian farm

ETHOS WINTER 2014

ETHOS WINTER 2014

57

promote peer-to-peer understanding of our common humanity.

In 1800s, slaves and owners never met in a co-learn-ing environment. Similarly, for most of the last cen-tury, boys and girls never went to the same schools. The world might be a different place if the boundaries defined by race or gender had been crossed earlier. By separating young people during their formative years, we inhibit their innate abilities to discover our interconnectedness. With nearly 3.5 billion people below $4-a-day incomes, the defining international division of this century is the ever-widening econom-ic disparity. And, we are repeating the same mistake of previous centuries by not letting our young people from rich and poor backgrounds meet together on an equal platform for co-learning.When we let such an exchange happen between young people across borders, as we do in our programs, it results in them gaining life-changing perspectives about the world they live in. We believe that knowing self by knowing others will help young people learn how to mobilize others – and galvanize our collective strengths – to make better choices for a better world.

Currently, the German government invests Euro 40 Million annually – in a program entitled “Weltwarts” – to send around 3,000 young Germans, who have just graduated from high school, to travel and im-merse themselves for a year in underdeveloped parts of the world. Why? Simply because the German gov-ernment realizes that the country cannot sustain and grow, if young Germans do not see the alternative re-alities of the rest of the world, and groom themselves to be global leaders.

Similarly for last 50 years, U.S. federal government has funded over 200,000 young Americans to travel to, and live for a year in, about 140 countries. Peace Corps, as it is popularly known, aims to promote world peace and friendship. Although its young vol-unteers are sent abroad to help the local communi-ties in building better lives, the volunteers themselves – and their country – are enriched the most, because of the opportunities for unparalleled immersion in foreign cultures and ways of lives.

A Gandhi would not have been who he was if not for the fact that he travelled to London – despite being ex-pelled from his caste for this action– during his teens. Similarly, President Obama would not be who he is but for the years he spent in Asia during his childhood. Different eras call for different kinds of travel and cul-tural immersion experiences. The emerging century is shaping to be an Asian Century. To thrive as a global citizen and as a global leader, a young student needs to have an Asian experience during their formative years. While students have long been traveling to Eu-rope and the U.S. for summer programs, we realized that young adults of today need to have a real on-the-ground Asian experience during their summer or in short-duration programs. By 2050, India is expected to be the largest economy in the world – larger in size than the U.S.. That’s why we developed in India an in-terdisciplinary program to help high school students

learn what it would mean to live and lead in an Asian Century. It is no surprise to us that major universities value an Asian experience to be a significant asset for university applicants, as evidenced from our program alumni’s applications highlighting their Indian expe-rience and their subsequent admissions into major universities.

While designing our India program, we were clear that such a program would better serve the participants only if it would bring international students together with their poorer Indian peers on an equal platform for co-learning. While charity has a noble place in the world, charity alone would not prepare a young mind to better serve oneself for tomorrow’s world. When young students engage in charity activities, they are already approaching their work as a “giver” – and the person on the other end becomes a “receiver”. But, could the rich student’s learning be complete with-out also being a “receiver” – receiver of those gifts of learning from their poorer peers, who have learned the critical life skill to thrive despite all the scarcities they face? When students attend our programs, they co-live with their economically poorer peers and co-learn with them on an equal platform. And, they learn how to collaborate for global common good despite our differences. To handhold young people from deep-ly diverse backgrounds – such as rich and poor; rural and urban; foreign and local – our world-class facili-tators use art, games, music, dance, theatre and re-flective dialogues extensively. At the end, everyone is enriched by being both givers and receivers simulta-neously in an exchange of equals.

So, why did we name our organization as “MindVISA”? To learn to be a global player in this century, it does not matter if you have financial access with your VISA card; or geographical access through a country’s visa; but it matters whether you are able to gain emotional access to people from varied backgrounds, for which you need a visa for your own mind. Through our on-going dialogue with ACS Athens, we earnestly look forward to facilitating that learning for your students in our India programs soon.

*Bade Kucukoglu and Satheesh Namasivayam are co-Found-ers of MindVISA, an innovative education organization that pioneers new service and leadership learning models to pre-pare high schools students for the emerging world.

Opposite page from top to bottom:Cultural immersion in Kerala

Turkish studens with Indian students

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Making a Difference:

The YOLO! Club Plants the Seeds of

Good Deedsby Ellen Vriniotis, Academy Faculty

The 70th anniversary of ACS Athens is a stark re-minder that the very halls we walk through ev-eryday resonate with the energy, aspirations and

achievements of thousands of graduates who have al-ready left their mark in the world, once challenged the mindset of their favorite teachers here, scuffed their knees on the soccer field, wrote their most brilliant essay, found their first love but, most of all, had made a difference in the world before leaving the front gates of this school for the last time.

To be an ACS student and graduate comes with the profound understanding that we, alone and collec-tively, are responsible for shaping our world, caring for our world, sustaining it and mentoring the atti-tudes that we want to see in others. The magnitude of our experience of life is boundless when we can do something good, no matter how great or small, for someone else. It is with this mind frame that 30 ACS Athens high school students who make up the YOLO! CLUB (Youth Optimizing Leadership Opportunities)

set out to mentor Elementary School students, JK-5, in honor of Make A Difference Day that is celebrated October 25th each year.

Inspired by a series of children’s books written by Greek-American author Nick Katsoris about a little Greek lamb named “Loukoumi” who does good deeds, students read the books to every elementary school class and generated discussions about the good deeds that others have done for them, but more important-ly, what acts of kindness they will choose to nurture including friendship with others. They symbolically planted sunflower seeds that reflected the outcome of an act of generosity and then went on to write sto-ries and letters to “Loukoumi”.

This project continued beyond the walls of ACS Ath-ens to Dyktio-The Children’s Rights Network—where YOLO! CLUB students set out to retell the Loukoumi story and “plant the seeds of good deeds” with Greek, refugee and immigrant children. They reflected on their acts of kindness in their ACS notebooks. Later children were given a colorful flower pot and soil and planted a real tulip bulb to symbolize our new friend-ship that is now bound by the ideal of inspiring the “greater good” in others. When they grow the aim is to replant them in the neighborhood and spread the word to do good deeds. The evening ended with cup-cake treats and a plan to work together throughout the year—ACS students have been mentoring the youth in this community, this year, teaching English and playing soccer weekly.

Loukoumi and the work of the YOLO! students didn’t end there. The idea spread like wildfire and before we knew it, ten other schools in Athens and the province of Ileia came on board to share the Loukoumi story and do good deeds. ACS Athens has been engaging in service projects in the province of Ileia for the last 12 years through the IB Retreat and the Village Project. This year we inspired the schools to work collabora-tively on a project—children across the province have committed to a wheel chair project to support chil-dren with mobility challenges.

Since the first ACS Athens service project 70 years ago that benefited the Save the Children project in Afri-ca, we have engaged students with opportunities to “do good” with organizations such as Hatzipatereion, Habitat for Humanity, Smile of the Child, Paidon Chil-dren’s Hospital, Pamakaristos, Amnesty Internation-al, Greek Council for Refugees, Local nursing homes, Lyreion Orphanage, Archelon Protection of the Sea Turtle Society, MDA Hellas, Hellenic Ministries Soup Kitchen, Klimaka Homeless Center, Athens Homeless Center (KYADA), Boroume, and quite possibly others! Here’s to the next 70 years of ACS Athens students im-pacting the world!!

■

Opposite page top:Venetia Hatzidakis-Ilia Georganta & Ioanna mentoring the Junior Kindergarten

Opposite page bottom:Vasilis reading to 2nd graders

59

60

Current and opposite page:Planting the seeds of Good Deeds at “Dyktio”, the Children’s Rights Network

ETHOS WINTER 2014

The Wild Poppies, Henri Matisse, 1953Goauche, charcoal, and collageDetroit Institute of Arts. © 2012

Teaching and Learning at the edge of possibility

What if ?

Athens, GreeceMay 6-9, 2015

10th Conference on Learning Di�erences and INNOVATION SUMMIT

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, May 6, 7, 8• Three-day Teaching and Learning InstituteInstitute 1: What if educators across disciplines and grade levels collaborated to share their work, problem solve and create? RE-imagining profession-al development as collaborative research, response and reflection. Critical Friends Groups (CFGs): New Coaches Training. In cooperation with the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF), Bloomington, IN 

Thursday and Friday, May 7-8• Two-day Teaching and Learning InstitutesInstitute 2: What if counseling were collaborative practice? RE-imagining partnerships among counselors, classroom teachers and special educators. (Sponsored by ECIS Counseling Committee)Institute 3: What if? RE-imagining our approaches to and uses of diagnostic testing.Institute 4: What if LD instruction were data driven? RE-imagining teaching and learning as data-driven individualized instruction.

Saturday, May 9 • INNOVATION SUMMIT and Best-Practice Workshops

Innovation Summit -- A series of 15-minute TED-style talks spurred by the question, “What if?” -- celebrating, promoting, championing, predicting meaningful innovations in our schools and lives; to be followed by lunchtime discussions with the speakers focused on the question, “What does this mean for our teaching practice?”

Best Practices Workshops -- Reimagining teaching and learning: Outstanding educators share innovative practices that promote meaningful learning for all students in over twenty interactive, hands-on/minds-on, 70minute workshops.

For information & registration, visit:

acsathens.gr

Computing Brains: Neuroscience, Machine Intelligence and Big Data in the

Cognitive Classroom*By Ben Williamson, Lecturer, University of Stirling

*This article was first published on dmlcentral.net

The human brain has become a major topic in education. The field of educational neuroscience, or neuroeducation, is flourishing. At the same time, a number of initiatives based in computer science departments

and major technology companies are also taking the brain seriously. Computer scientists talk of developing new brain-inspired cognitive learning systems, or of developing new theoretical and computational understandings of the brain in order to then build new and more effective forms of machine intelligence. The important aspect of these synchronous developments in neuroscience and brain-based systems is that they are beginning to come together in particular technological developments and products targeted specifically at schools.

Neuropedagogies

How are neuroscience and computer science coming together in education? According to its advocates, neuroeducation promises to revolutionize the understanding of how the human brain actually learns. In turn, these insights are being used to design new teaching and learning approaches such as “brain-targeted teaching” and other apparently brain-compatible “neuropedagogies.” A great deal of this is based on emerging neuroscientific insights into the malleability and plasticity of the brain. The brain, so neuroscience has taught us, is ultimately shaped and reshaped through experience, with synaptic connections constantly forming or being trimmed in response to experience — leading to new ideas about the capacity of the brain to be “rewired” throughout the lifecourse.

As explained in the book “Neuro,” the brain now appears as an organ that is open to environmental input, with the environment shaping the neural architecture and functional organization of the brain. Thanks to our neuroplasticity, we learn through constant observation and interaction with the environment. The result is that new techniques are now being devised to recognize and manage the processes involved in shaping and reshaping the brain. In the educational field, as a consequence, there has been a proliferation of brain-based programs which, based on insights about neuroplasticity, promote the idea that the brain is flexible, mouldable, able to be trained, rewired, improved and ultimately optimized. The brain sciences are even being governmentalized as policymakers are attracted to emerging arguments about neuroscience in education and other government concerns.

Neural Networks

Computer science is increasingly concerned with coming up with new computational understandings of the brain. Researchers in this area are interested in the possibilities of modelling the brain in computer code and from there studying its functions, with the objective of using those insights to then build better forms of machine intelligence and other cognitive-based systems. For instance, the field of neural networks combines expertise from neuroscience, computer science and other related disciplines to explore the possibilities of brain-inspired computational intelligence:

One of the key elements of a neural network is its ability to learn. A neural network is not just a complex system, but a complex adaptive system, meaning

it can change its internal structure based on the information flowing through it.

For researchers of neural networks, the elasticity and plasticity of the human brain to learn and adapt is a source of inspiration for the construction of computational forms of intelligence.

Some of the latest advances in robotics, for example, start from the idea that any artificial intelligence needs to learn in the same ways that the human brain learns — through experience and environment input. The focus for such projects is less on programming robots and more on behavioural training, with learning understood to occur through repetition, imitation and social interaction. Just like humans, it seems, robots also have plastic brains — robots are learning machines.

Cognitive Classrooms

The more significant issue is in how insights from neuroscience, now imported into computer science ambitions to build learning machines, are being applied to schooling in the shape of pedagogic technologies. I have previously written about “smart schools in sentient cities” where the educational environment appears to have some kind of life of its own. The sentient city can “think of us” just as we can think of it, moulding itself around us by constantly mining and analyzing our data and then responding with automated suggestions, recommendations and micro-nudges toward certain kinds of behaviours and actions. In other words, the sentient city is a learning environment with the machine intelligence to observe us through our data, learn about us through our online interactions, and adapt to us just as we, with our plastic brains, learn from the wider social environment and adapt to it. The ideal educational institution for the sentient city is the cerebral school with the intelligence to mould and adapt itself to the learner.

A clear example of how such emerging forms of sentience are beginning to penetrate educational settings is supplied by the IBM Smarter Classroom project, part of its global Smarter Cities and Smarter Planet agendas. According to its website, the IBM “smarter classroom” is a “classroom that will learn you” through “cognitive-based learning systems.” The idea of the cognitive classroom that will learn you resonates with the sentient city that can think of us. It utilizes cognitive-based learning systems that are themselves at least partly based on neuroscientific explanations that have been translated into computational models of the brain. The smarter classroom runs on a technical infrastructure of machine intelligence and is characterized by new digitally-mediated neuropedagogies — technology-based approaches to teaching and learning that are based on understandings of the brain, and that target the brain’s improvement.

Big Data-brains

A central issue for educational researchers is how such smarter classrooms and cerebral schools will “learn.” Critical educational research, to date, has not scrutinized the heavily pedagogic claims surrounding such technologies as cognitive learning systems, machine learning, learning analytics and so on. Yet, as I’ve already said, the issue of how machines learn is now a priority for computer scientists and many of the world’s most powerful technology companies. A recent article on artificial intelligence in Wired magazine, for example, routinely deploys the language of teaching and learning, claiming that:

Every intelligence has to be taught … the incredible avalanche of collected data about our world … provides the schooling that AIs need. Massive databases, self-tracking, web cookies, online footprints, terabytes of storage, decades of search results, Wikipedia, and the entire digital universe became the teachers making AI smart.

The article also talks of “deep-learning algorithms” and of “artificial smartness” that might ultimately lead us to question our existing assumptions about human intelligence and learning. The kind of machine intelligence articulated here is not the kind dystopically typified by Hollywood movies, but the kind that lumbers in the “technological unconscious” of everyday life, gathering its energy and dynamism from devouring and digesting our data trails.

From this perspective, brain-based advances in machine intelligence are now being accelerated through the kind of “tutoring” provided by big data. Big data is the teacher of machine intelligence. Indeed, the relationship between big data and machine intelligence is not unidirectional, but is rather reciprocal, with big data helping to train machines, and machine intelligence being used to advance the development of big data analytics. The reciprocal relationship between big data and machine intelligence is itself an emerging concern in the interdisciplinary field of neural networks, where it has been suggested that “the brain is arguably the best and most elegant big data processor and is the inspiration for neural network learning methods”:

Neural network algorithms, in particular, can take advantage of massively parallel (brain-like) computations, which use very simple processors that other machine learning technologies cannot. Specialized neuromorphic hardware, originally meant for large-scale brain simulations, is becoming available to implement these algorithms in a massively parallel fashion.

Even if the specialist language is off-putting to readers from outside the field, the symmetries between brain science and computer science are clear, with “brain-like” computations and simulations positioned as the technical solution to the analysis of big data, while big data also stimulates the development of machine intelligence.

Yet, the role of big data in machine intelligence adds another level of complexity because “computers don’t remember anything on their own.” Rather than a neutral and unbiased product of computational processes and algorithms, big data is actually the product of many human hands, values, assumptions, and ways of thinking about the world, many of them held by the computing and data science specialists who have programmed the technologies and designed the methods and algorithms to collect and analyse the data.

So, when we hear that big data is the tutor of machine intelligence, we need to query not just the machinery itself, but all of the human systems of thinking, values, assumptions and so on that have gone into the production of the data informing it. As a recent book entitled “Machine Intelligence” claims, the creation of “smarter-than-human AI” requires a massive “encoding of the entire system of human values for an AI: explaining them to a mind that is alien to us.” This would represent a monumentally complex pedagogical task of training machines to do what we want them to do and to share our values. As a result, questions about how machine intelligence, deep-learning algorithms, cognitive learning systems and artificial smartness are taught, and of who or what teaches them, using what methods, data and materials, and according to what educational theories, may become significant as cerebral schools develop in which such technologies are routinely deployed to interact with students.

Brainy Spaces

Moreover, we need to ask about the “brain-like” computational models that are operationalized in such cerebral school systems and spaces. Putting it crudely, cognitive systems depend on translating the human brain into a model in the machine. That’s why brain simulation technologies have become an essential part of the technical apparatus in neural networks and machine intelligence research.

Research in neuroplasticity and neurobiology has taught us that the human brain is pliable, plastic and improvable, and constantly being shaped and reshaped through interaction with the environment. When the environment itself has these “brain-like” learning functions built-in, as in the sentient city and in the cognitive learning systems of the smarter classroom, then it is possible to see how human brains may be likely to be shaped and reshaped through interaction with such computationally brainy spaces.

The task of translating the brain into the machine, however, is no simple matter. Is the grey matter itself, and the synaptic connections that make it work, all that counts? Philosophers would wonder about the capacity to model human consciousness, values and thought computationally. Yet,  how we think tends to evolve in tandem with the technological and media landscape:

We think through, with, and alongside digital media, and … our intense engagements with them have profound neurological, biological, and psychological consequences, as well as obvious social, economic, institutional and political effects.

The digital landscape clearly has important effects in education, not least in the neurological consequences for learners. How we think and learn is partly becoming an issue of how machines have been taught to ‘think’ and learn, based on notions of the human brain itself as a big data-processor. This has significant implications for understanding how the forms of machine intelligence, neural networks and machine learning algorithms that constitute the brainy spaces of educational environments, such as cognitive classrooms, think and learn with us, of us, perhaps, even, for us.

We are moving toward a situation where a series of connections are being made between the human brain, processes of computational modelling, big data analysis, and the construction of brain-based pedagogic systems that then, as part of the brainy spaces of the cerebral school, have the computational capacity to act back on the learner. If the neuroscientists and the computer scientists have it right, then we are getting close to computing brains in the cognitive classroom.

■

Ben Williamson

Ben Williamson is a Lecturer in Education at the University of Stirling. His research examines the interweaving of politics, governing, and digital technologies in education. He studies «network governance» in education policy, and is leading a funded project exploring how computer code interacts with educational institutions, pedagogic practices, and governing processes: http://codeactsineducation.wordpress.com/about/.

This article was first published on dmlcentral.net, Digital Media + Learning: The power of Participation

http://dmlcentral.net/blog/ben-williamson/computing-brains-neuroscience-machine-

intelligence-and-big-data-cognitive-classr

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Middle School United Nations

“Global Citizenship and Youth”

by Christina Bakoyannis and and Hrisi SandravelisMiddle School Teachers and United Nations Day

Coordinators

EducationalConnections

Tradition and great pride were demonstrated at the ACS Middle School during our local celebra-tion of the work done by the United Nations.

On October 24th, 2014, the day commemorating the declaration of the official charter of the United Na-tions,  we took the opportunity to hone in on what makes us human, humans.  

The day was structured around the MY World sur-vey, which was developed by the United Nations for a better world.  This global survey asks for citizens to get involved and voice their opinions on which of the six issues, from a list of sixteen, are most important in their lives. The information collected, both online and offline, will be shared with global leaders in order to shape the new development agenda for 2015. So, why not have our students voice their opinions about what issues are important in their lives? In prepara-tion for the day, the voices of our students were cap-tured.  The top three priorities, as determined by ACS Athens students were as follows: first, a good educa-

...Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treated with dignity.

So here I stand, one girl among many. I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard...

Current page from top to bottom:Student leader speaks about the human right to education to the middle school students

Students enjoying their international lunch with their advisory group

69

tion, the second (two) most important issues were a better healthcare and equality between men and women, and third in line was protecting forests, riv-ers and oceans.

On United Nations Day, spending the entire day with our advisory groups, we were afforded the opportuni-ty to explore the 16 subtopics as identified by the Unit-ed Nations deeper.  Students read about, reflected on, analyzed and created a presentation for one of the re-spective subtopics.  

To start the day students were provided with a brief historical background about the United Nations and the work done in service of humanity.  Afterwards 20 advisors facilitated break-out sessions run by nomi-nated student-leaders.  In these groups, students ex-plored, in great depth, a specific subtopic and relat-ed their topic to their daily lives.  The theme, “Global Citizenship and Youth,” was eloquently intertwined with the task at hand.  Student-leaders took initiative by demonstrating patience, understanding and guid-ance for their respective groups.  

After session one, we celebrated the diversity here at ACS Athens by partaking in an international lunch.   Each advisee was asked to bring a dish from his or her country of origin.   Students and advisors alike enjoyed the treat as it allowed us to truly appre-ciate our individuality  and our unity simultaneously.  

During session two, student-leaders took the lead again by helping their groups create an original skit, play, video or artistic scene to represent the newly acquired knowledge.  These presentations were per-formed for the entire Middle School to see.   After the culminating performances, students were asked to return to their advisory groups and reflect on the day’s work.  In their small groups, they were to determine how we can practice global citizenship here at ACS Athens, in our communities, our countries, our conti-nents, and in the greater world.  These reflections can be read on the first floor of the Middle School.

Celebrating diversity, understanding humanity and the importance of human rights around the world is no small task.  But, as per the norm, ACS Athens stu-dents led the way with their warm hearts and inquis-itive minds.   The culminating idea, being global citi-zens begins with us, here, today.  

This day would not have been possible without the perseverance and determination of our student-lead-ers who took an active role in guiding their adviso-ry groups.  Also, a big thank you goes to our  middle school colleagues for enthusiastically guiding and fa-cilitating their groups through the day .

An advisory group reflection on the day:

The newly acquired knowledge I gained today, applies to my advisory as the topics we talked about were easier to understand when we shared with our group.

It applies to my school as ACS Athens is an interna-

tional school with a diverse student population who have the power and the compassionate hearts to make a difference in the world someday.

It applies to the country I live in, Greece, because there is an economic crisis and maybe with educa-tion, knowledge and using human rights we can pull Greece out of this crisis.

It applies to the continent we live in because all this information can help Europe unite.

It applies to the planet as we can clean the pollution, feed the poor, provide clean water and a good edu-cation for everyone. We can fight discrimination and help in getting better healthcare.

A reflection from a student leader:

“I have really enjoyed and learned a lot about being a UN leader. Since I went to Syria in 2012 and watched the events and conflict unfold in front of my eyes, it has been my greatest desire to work in the UN and help all those people in trouble. During UN day, not just me, but the whole Middle School gained knowl-edge and got an example of how the UN deals with issues around the world by being assigned different topics to study. “ (Manu Malotra, 7th grade student)

70

Education is a Human Right

ACS students voiced their opinion about what issues are important in their lives and their fam-ilies. Receiving a good education ranked first in their choices which demonstrates the value they place in their education here at ACS Athens. Stu-dent-leaders presented during the morning as-sembly the right to education as well as the work of Malala, the youngest Nobel prize laureate for her work on girls’ education in her country.

“So here I stand, one girl among many. I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treat-ed with dignity. Their right to equality of oppor-tunity. Their right to be educated.” (Malala Yousafzai)

■

Previous page from top to bottom:A 7th grade advisory group presents the issues of discrimination and girls’ education

A 6th grade advisory group presents the issue of water pollution

The Math and Writing Studioby Matina Katsiyianni – Math Studio CoordinatorHercules Lianos - Writing Studio CoordinatorBobby Zervas - Writing Studio Coordinator

The task of the excellent teacher is to stimulate ‘apparently ordinary’ people to unusual effort. The tough problem is not in identifying win-

ners: it is in making winners out of ordinary people.  K. Patricia Cross

What is teaching effectively? In theory, it is meeting the educational needs of students in a short allotted time. Considering that a class is composed of 15-20 students, each with their own approach to learning, this is not an easy task. So, how does an educator effectively address variance among learners in the classroom?

At ACS Athens we strive to boost student achievement by recognizing and understanding diverse learning styles and abilities. In order to further differentiate and individualize learning, ACS Athens has created Math and Writing Studios. The goal of the studios is to as-sist students with structured, long-term support that aligns with course curriculums and allows students to evolve at their own pace. This is achieved by providing a controlled environment with a sense of comfort to build confidence.

Three experts of the field provide students with guid-ance to enhance math and writing skills. Focusing on these particular areas of interest, the instructors guide students in the most efficient manner and help them resolve questions, and concerns by taking a multidi-mensional approach to learning. The studios are not only designed for individual students, but provide extra guidance and support to small groups and entire class-

ETHOS WINTER 2014

es that want to work outside the limits of a classroom.

The Math Studio focuses on grasping mathematical concepts, which also fall under the scope of science, to assist on assignments and review for tests. Students in the Math Studio are taught using online resources, hands-on activities and games for a more enjoyable ex-perience.  Moreover, progress in the Math Studio is as-sessed in various ways: basic tests, quizzes, open-end-ed questions or through feedback. Some tests and quizzes are conducted online to provide the students with instant results and solutions.

The Writing Studio assists students with the process, structure and elements of writing which can be applied to all courses. Students are assisted with their written assignments at all stages of the writing process, from brainstorming to creating outlines to editing drafts and referencing sources. In addition to helping with as-signments from a variety of disciplines, such as IB The-ory of Knowledge, IB History, Middle School Language

Arts and Science, the Writing Studio also encourages students to participate in international poetry and es-say contests.

Although students view the teacher as having all of the answers, teachers are guides who assist students in finding the answers within. However, convention-al ways of teaching cannot accomplish this when ad-dressing the varied needs of all students in a classroom. The ACS Athens Math and Writing Studios are present to further ensure that no student is left behind.

Both studios are located on the third floor of the Hasib J. Sabbagh Library and are open five days a week, Mon-day through Friday, from 9:00 to 17:00.

■

ETHOS WINTER 2014

The Hour of Codeby Helen Sarantes, Elementary Technology Faculty

The week of December 8-14 was Computer Science Education Week. ACS Athens stu-dents participated in “The Hour of Code”,

a global event to promote computer program-ming.

For elementary school they provided 20-hour modules for the various grade levels which fea-tured videos, puzzles, and game-design. The curriculum included video lectures by Mark Zuck-erberg and Bill Gates and the puzzles featured Angry Birds, Frozen and programming with Scratch.

For Middle school they provided computer sci-ence and programming activities that integrated into existing math and science courses including an introduction to JavaScript from Kahn Acad-emy, programming with Light Bot to learn to write procedures, sequence instructions and uti-lize loops and CODE.High school students used tutorials for program-ming with JavaScript, MIT App Inventor and programming with Python.

■

Current page from top to bottom:Students from all classes participate in the Hour of Code, promoting computer programming.

73

ACS Athens Local Science Fair Results and NVSF Rankings

by Christina Bakoyannis, Middle School Science Teacher and NVSF Coordinator

The science fair projects below were distinguished at the ACS Athens local science fair, while the 7th grade projects moved on to the second round of

the NVSF and earned distinctions.

6th Grade Teams

1st PLACETeam 38 - Marian Bitsikas and Nefeli NaoumCategory:       ChemistryProject:           Permanent marker stain removal from various materials using different solvents

2nd PLACETeam 30 - Lou Charitat, Maria Kulukundis and Di-ana SabbaghCategory:       ChemistryProject:           How does the amount of cocoa affect the melting of chocolates?

3rd PLACETeam 41 - Spyros Koliopoulos and Dimitris Panta-zisCategory:       ChemistryProject:           What colors are present in different candy using paper chromatography?

4th PLACE-TieTeam 33 – Pavlo Karampoulas and Kellin RathCategory:       Invention technologyProject:           The Windmill Weight LiftTeam 54 - Suami Dekker

Category:       Invention technologyProject:                 Blade design and the effect on the spins of the windmill

5th PLACETeam 45 - Harris Salivaras, George Soukakos and Stefano SpassofCategory:       BiologyProject:                   Amount of bacteria present in the mouth after chewing gum

7th Grade Teams

1st PLACEInternational Team 3 -Myra Pyrgioti and Hyun Joung YoonRanked 3rd place overall in the NVSF and Best Physics ProjectCategory:       PhysicsProject:                   How does the length of the string affect the period of the pendulum and the accel-eration due to gravity?

2nd PLACETeam 4 - Juliette Bloomfield, Alex Bofilios and George Sotiropoulos3rd place overall in the NVSF physics categoryCategory : PhysicsProject: Effect of voltage on the magnetic field of an electromagnet

3rd PLACETeam 5 - Christina Duni, Ilia Ioannidi and Nikitas Ke-falogiannisRanked Best Invention Technology project over-allCategory: Environmental ScienceProject: Hydroelectric Generator

4th PLACETeam 19 - Marcia Staikidis and Isaak Trochopou-losCategory: BiologyProject: Ecosystem

5th PLACETeam 10 – Daeira Cavadias and Fé VersteegCategory: ChemistryProject: Does the cost of moisturizer impact the effect on your skin?

ACS Athens and AIS Kuwait NESA Virtual Sci-ence Fair international team ranked third place

ACS Athens Science Fair 7th grade team consist-ing of Myra Pirgioti and Hyun Joung Yoon joined Philippos Eleftheriadis from AIS Kuwait on a joint international collaboration on a science fair ex-periment. Their experiment focused on “How does the length of the string affect the period of the pendulum and the acceleration due to grav-ity?” These students worked from two different locations in order to perform a common experi-ment, gather data and then share their data and conclusions. When the team moved to the final

74

round of the competition, which consists of the top 5 teams, this team collaborated in responding to their challenge scenario within three days.

Hyun Joung Yoon speaks of this experience:“At first collaborating with a person living in a differ-ent part of the world was hard. We began communi-cating using emails and that was difficult at first. As time went by, it became easier to communicate and we became friends. I still remember how we thought the same way when we were working on the final champion’s league round late at night. We used goo-gle drive to work on the document and as we were working we kept asking each other whether we agree or disagree. It was fun to get to work with a person that I did not know and I enjoyed working with an in-ternational teammate. As we did not know each oth-er, we had to be respectful to one another. It was the first time that I could truly laugh working with anoth-er person. I guess that is why we got to earn the third place in the NESA Virtual Science Fair project.”

■

Current page from left to right:Their page on the NVSF MS International Teams page on moodle that both teams used to post their progress reports, photos and communicate with their e-mentor

The champion’s league challenge scenario posted on the NVSF International team page on moodle. The students had three days to collaborate in order to respond to this prompt

These students worked from two different locations in order to perform a common experiment,

then collaborated in responding to their challenge scenario within three days

ACS Athens students joined students from AIS Kuwait on a joint international collaboration on a science fair experiment

ETHOS WINTER 2014

First Place for Third Consecutive YearMiddle School Art

by Sophia Stella Soseilos, Middle School Art Teacher, Arts Coordinator K-12

For the past three years the Indian Embassy or-ganized the Shankar “On-the-spot” Painting and Drawing Competition, at Byron College. All the

private international schools of Athens participated. We, here at ACS Athens, were very pleased to find out that this year, 2014, for the third consecutive year one of our students was awarded first place. Nora Jor-gensen, a very talented, young artist won in the 11-13 age group with her interpretation of the topic, “Life.” For the topic, “Life” she depicted a person who was half young and half old. The colors used were earthy and warm in all stages of ‘life.’ On the ‘young side’ on the right, there was light coming behind him and on the other side there were mature growing plants with leaves, flowers and butterflies.

Teaching art is a wonderful and exciting journey. Each one of my students is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually and socially. It is my desire as an educator to help them meet their fullest potential in these areas by concen-trating not only on skill building and art history ap-proaches to styles, but also on stimulating and en-couraging imagination and creativity.

Last year in the same age group Kaitlyn Hughey won 1st place and Fe Versteeg 2nd place. The theme was ‘Freedom’.

In addition in 2012 in the same age group with the topic ‘Children of the World’ Fe Versteeg won the first place.

■

Nora Jorgensen, ‘Life’

ETHOS WINTER 2014

10th Grade American Studies

Combo Brings Learning to Life and

Life to Learning:The Supreme Court

of Combo 2014by Jonathan Ruelens, Literature

and David Nelson, History

The Supreme Court of the United States hears about eighty cases a year from among a plethora of petitions. The 10th grade integrated American

Studies, honors combo class hears five of them, even before the Justices do. In our unit on the United States Constitution, it is information and concepts that pro-vide the backdrop for connecting students to their learning, while it is context and real world cases that provide the motivation.

10th Grade Combo is an integrated American Stud-ies course, which combines American Literature and American History and Government. Students engage in a variety of thematically based units that connect them to their learning. “The Legacy of the Constitu-tion” unit provides the opportunity for students to explore the development and evolution of the U.S. Constitution and its role in defining American liberties and social responsibility in society. In history class, the students explore the concepts of absolute free-dom, constitutional law, historical precedents, and

the inner workings of the three branches of the U.S. government. In American Literature, students utilize methods of persuasion, use of figurative language, and application of structure.

Over the course of several weeks, students explore in-depth a real case on the Supreme Court’s docket. They use an online platform, at the discretion of each group, to organize their notes and discuss their up-coming debate. Research is done online, and at the end of the process students submit their case notes to be assessed. The carefully structured lessons uti-lize the i2flex methodology to maximize class time and encourage the groups to research and interact collab-oratively online as well as face-to-face.

On the day their case is heard, students attempt to persuade the class, which acts as the Court itself, to decide the case in their favor. Each case takes up real life constitutional issues and two groups argue that the law or issue under debate is “constitutional” or “un-constitutional.” The tension builds as the debate progresses; the arguments are heard, evidence is pre-sented (including real legal precedent and the text of the constitution itself), rebuttals are offered. Finally, the class votes yay or nay. Whether or not their side wins the debate, students take away a real-life ap-plication of the concepts learned in Honors Combo. Rhetorical techniques are honed, the intricacies of the U.S. Constitution are explored, and the unique American system of government is brought to life.

This year’s topics and results included the following:Privacy: The National Security Agency (NSA) has the right to collect data from third parties, such as metadata on phone calls or emails in the Unit-ed States, in order to maintain national security. (Combo 2014 Outcome=Unconstitutional 2-1)

Marriage Equality:   Individual states in the USA have the constitutional right to restrict marriage to traditional couples and are not legally required to accept same sex marriage licenses issued by other states. Combo 2014 Outcome=Unconstitutional 2-1)

First Amendment: Public school districts have the right to fire school teachers who teach the scien-tific strengths and weaknesses of biological evolu-tion. (Combo 2014 Outcome=Unconstitutional 2-1)

Self Defense: Citizens who reasonably believe their lives are in danger may be granted immunity from prosecution for murder under the “stand your ground” law. (Combo 2014 Outcome=Unconstitu-tional 2-1)

Religious Discrimination: Private businesses such as Abercrombie have the right to discriminate against a job applicant or employee based on visible religious practices, such as the wearing of a hijab, when such practices contravene that company’s image profile. (Combo 2014 Out come=Unconstitu-tional 2-1)

77

78

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Expanding Opportunities

for our Academy Seniors in College

Admissionsby Anna Makris, Advisory Counselor

The Council of International Schools (CIS), of which ACS Athens is a long-standing member, held a forum on International Admissions and

Guidance in the center of Amsterdam in November 2014. This conference brought together universi-ty admissions counselors and high school guidance counselors from all over the world for a two-day con-vention with the purpose of exchanging ideas about current trends within the guidance community. The conference was an opportunity to gain knowledge, not only about admissions in U.S./UK Universities, but also for a more specialized understanding of ad-missions in other European countries and beyond, something which is of utmost significance as our students are increasingly choosing these options for their post-secondary education.

Counselors were awarded the opportunity to at-tend sessions delivered by seasoned professionals within the community. Workshops such as “How to Research Degree Course Offerings at European Uni-

versities” and “The Importance of Higher Education Accreditation in Europe” provided key information concerning European university options and “Admis-sions Case Studies” offered the opportunity to expand knowledge about selective institutions within the U.S. system. High school representatives were also invited to showcase and discuss their school profiles and accomplishments in ‘booths’, visited by college admissions counselors and other members of CIS.

The Forum was a tremendous success, attended by over 600 professionals world-wide. A powerful, holis-tic understanding of admissions trends is imperative in the choice of a best fit university. The presence of an ACS Athens representative at CIS provides counsel-ors with stronger tools to guide our students in their university choices. 

■

Previous page from top to bottom:10th Grade Combo Students, Andreas, Otis, Alex and Chung Min take on the Constitutionality of the National Security to collect metadata on phone calls and emails in the United States.   Their team won in a 2-1 “Combo Supreme Court Decision”.

Barbarita, Sophia, Otto and Virgil were narrowly defeated as they addressed the Combo Supreme Court.  Their carefully chosen case precedents were not enough to win.

Opposite page from top to bottom:Otis, Alex, Andreas and Chung Min hold their props:   a rubber stamp representing their interpretation of the authority of the FISA courts and a Mouse Trap corresponding to their case line, “We are trapped in our own sense of freedom”.

Fay Nikolopoulou presenting a portion of her group’s case for marriage equality.  The group of Alex, Vangelis, Elli, and Fay won in a close 2-1 decision.

ETHOS WINTER 2014

The legacy of ACS Athens has been to provide a top notch education to international students for the past 70 years. Because of this legacy the

alumni, parents and friends  have formed a unique bond resulting in a feeling of life-long belonging.

This year, ACS Athens has established a  stateside association called  ACS Athens Global.  The Association’s primary initial goal is to establish a stateside presence, by bridging the gap between our world-wide members through the launch of  www.acsathensglobal.org, a site and directory designed to be used as a tool to professionally connect and network within our community.

Association members will have the opportunity to: 

◉ register, free-of-charge

◉ take advantage of listing their professions and/or businesses

◉ view and search the directory,  offer and use dis-counts made available by other members

◉ receive  The HOO’s Who, a monthly newsletter profiling one community member and news    

◉ post job opportunities and a classified section for items for sale/to buy.  

Members may also register for events such as the February 13th  70 Year Celebration at the Grande Bretagne, and the  70 Year Homecoming Reunion on Campus, June 17th this coming year.  

Please register, as soon as possible, on www.acsathensglobal.org, and spread the word to other community members, so we can build a solid network to benefit all. 

Introducing:www.acsathensglobal.org

AlumniAffairs

81

Save the Dates!!February 13, 2015,70 Year Dinner Celebration,Grande Bretagne Athens

June 17, 2015, 70 Year Alumni Homecoming Reunion,ACS Athens Campus

82

Reflectionsby Kathy Capous-Chrisovergis

Class of ‘78

I feel like it was only yesterday that I attended and graduated ACS Athens. As many Hellenic-American expats and indeed all Alumni can verify, the ACS Ath-

ens experience is an “experience in life”.

In 1974 my parents decided to leave the U.S., where I was born, and move to Greece. The whole process of uprooting and relocating was quite daunting but ex-citing at the same time. When we moved to Athens, thankfully my parents decided I would attend ACS Athens. At the time it was just another school that, due to its international background, eased the experi-ence of living in a new land where everything seemed foreign. Little did I know that while receiving a diver-sified education in a multicultural and multinational environment, I was also becoming part of a local and global expat network, and I was right at the center of it all at ACS.

Leaving ACS Athens, I found myself well equipped with an empowering set of skills. The diversified cur-riculum taught me everything from accounting to typing and set me on my way to immediate employ-ment. In fact, my first job was in a moving company and that is where I caught the “moving bug”. With this newfound passion as a spark and a whole community at our side, a few years later my husband and I started our own international moving company, Celebrity In-ternational Movers SA. The support that we received from ACS Athens both locally and internationally, at a personal level and at a professional level, be it from encouraging wishes to assigning projects, was indeed

heart-warming and priceless.

Today Celebrity can boast a host of clients ranging from private individuals, to embassies, schools, to multinational corporations. The global mobility ser-vices we provide are diverse, tailor made and second to none. Our team is like a second family to us and the relationship we have developed together is both long-term and open-hearted. This has helped us build a reputation of trust both locally and internationally. So, it was no surprise to us when ACS Athens Princi-pals Ammerman, Hunt, Dr. Dorbis, their families and even the current President, Dr. Gialamas awarded us their private moving and relocation projects.

In turn both I, on a personal level, and Celebrity as a company do our very best to support ACS Athens. Over the years we have participated in various events, sponsored the many worthwhile bazaars and sup-ported the yearbook too. It is also without hesitation that we introduce all our expat relocation clients to ACS Athens, readily recommending it as the place to mold the minds of the future generation. Indeed, when those minds graduate we have received them both as interviewees and employees.

For me, ACS Athens is not only an institution of learn-ing, it is a place that warmly receives students from many cultures from all over the world, it works to welcome them and help them flourish. ACS Athens creates a community that lives by ethical means and (as this magazine is so rightly named) ethos. It is this ethos that has carried me to where I am now, that has guided me in building a very successful international moving and relocation company and continues to in-fluence my actions to this day. It is this enduring ethos that I observe in ACS Athens that compels me to con-tinue supporting the school.

It is therefore with great pleasure that I stand witness and have the honor to participate in the celebration of 70 years ACS Athens excellence and ethos. I would like to extend a great thank you to ACS Athens, the PTO and the Alumni for all their support and I think the best wish I can give, both as an expat and as a Greek, is “ΝΑ ΤΑ ΕΚΑΤΟΣΤΗΣΕΤΕ.” I look forward to be-ing there to celebrate that with you too!!!

■

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Opposite page:George Chrisovergis with Kathy Capous-Chrisovergis (holding white bubble-wrap), with the Celebrity team at their warehouse in Pallini

Current page from top to bottom:Kathy Capous-Chrisovergis (middle) as a student at ACS, sitting in the recess areaKathy Capous-Chrisovergis (bottom right) with her ACS Athens peers

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Reflectionsby Bill Sinunu, MA

Speaker / Author / TrainerClass of ‘78

Bill Sinunu is one of America’s leading experts in cross-cultural communication. A passionate leader and professional speaker, he is committed

to helping people understand and appreciate cultures different than their own – and then delivers his mes-sage with panache. He has established and developed corporate cultures for organizations, was appointed to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services task force and delivered an unforgettable TED talk. A best-selling author, his cross-cultural insights have appeared in a variety of publications, including Vanity Fair and USA Today. He has worked globally with cor-porate and academic leaders—all the while emceeing events, leading conferences, and moderating panels at venues around the world.

Bill’s approach, which is well-known for simplifying the art of global communication, has been widely ac-knowledged and embraced worldwide. His insightful material, energetic style, and captivating presenta-tions garner kudos from a broad audience including the likes of Harvard professor Tal Ben-Shahar, Virgin American Senior Executive Adam Green and Academy Award nominee Greg Kinnear. His underlying message is clear—by understanding and respecting other cul-tures’ norms, values and mores, we can build respect-ful multicultural teams, structure functional global organizations and create harmonious intercultural relationships. His acclaimed book on connecting peo-ple around the world, Life Could Be Sweeter, was pub-lished by Avalon in 2005 and reprinted and re-released in 2007 by Barnes & Noble as The Sweet Life. His latest

book on global life lessons, Living Without Borders: What Other Cultures Can Teach Us About Fun, Fulfill-ment and The Pursuit of Happiness, was released last year. His cultural guides for American business, Sales Evolution and HR Evolution, were also published in 2013 and his latest book designed for Asian scholars, Western Culture: A Guide for Asian Students was just published in August 2014.

As the son of a U.S. executive, he was born and raised abroad in a number of locales, and has explored over 100 countries on six continents during his lifetime. He speaks, reads and writes several languages. As part of a prominent political family, his background has pro-vided him a unique understanding of foreign policy dynamics, along with a multinational perspective on the world’s strengths and its struggles. After earning his M.A. at the University of Chicago, Bill spent sever-al years in the airline industry and spent considerable time traveling the globe, interacting with global lead-ers and researching his books. He played an instru-mental role in building JetBlue’s customer focused and employee friendly corporate culture. Bill is a board member at Purdue University’s Center for International Business Education and Research and publishes regu-larly through his acclaimed cultural guides, The Evolv-ing Globe Series.

Bill attributes his success to his welcoming demean-or and inclusive approach that gently challenges even the most ethnocentric audiences to rethink how they perceive business associates, friends and neighbors

85

around the world. (www.billsinunu.com).

Global turmoil, Religious intolerance. Territorial dis-putes. Financial uncertainty. How can we unite as one people around the world and work together in harmo-ny? The future is reliant on the next generation and that means YOU. So what can you do to prepare your-self for an increasingly interactive world?

Navigating your path beyond academic excellence into global citizenship requires a well-balanced cross-cul-tural vision. Since ACS Athens is a highly diverse insti-tution, you are at a distinct advantage as compared to other insulated student populations around the globe. A vital, and rarely recognized, part of the World Citi-zenship evolution is to understand how it feels to not belong and thus, see the world through an outsider or minority perspective.

Now that may sound like an illogical assertion. Doesn’t being a world citizen connote a comfort level in most, if not all, global locales? However, the key to welcoming those who hail from cultures different than your own and becoming a future world leader is to understand the essence of what it feels like to be an outsider. That feeling is what fine tunes your observation skills and creates the opportunity to learn how to connect with all people from all backgrounds and is especially pow-erful for scholars to recognize as you interact with a diverse academic population. When you don’t belong, you learn how to adapt, fit in, acclimate and connect. Most minority members will relate to my logic. For the rest of you who are majority members or the power-base, keep an open mind and my point will become clearer as you read on.

The minority knows more about the majority than the majority knows about itself.

I heard this meaningful adage for the first time during a lecture in graduate school at the University of Chica-go. And I have no doubt the adage is one most minority members understand well. Women know more about operating in a man’s world than most men ever think or thought about. And, in my home country, the USA—Blacks, Latinos and Asians know more about conform-ing to Caucasian norms than most fair-skinned Ameri-cans ever thought twice about. And the adage applies beyond gender and race. For example, gays and lesbi-ans know more about fitting into a straight world than most heterosexuals ever contemplated and so on. The reality—the powerbase typically doesn’t concern itself with its own actions or take the time to “look in the mir-ror” because the majority doesn’t need to. The major-ity set the rules and others simply follow the societal norm. As the number of minority members swell and the established societal network of yesteryear dissi-pates, you will fare well in the new global economy if you can understand challenges minorities face and re-late to perspectives they may have.

The adage is universal and is applicable around the world. For example Turkish immigrants, who have flocked to Germany in huge numbers, are often more

cognizant about the norms and values of German soci-ety than those born and raised in Germany. But, for me, as an ACS Athens alumnus and one who, much like you, was raised amongst students from around the globe, the adage takes on a different meaning as revealed in the following:

People around the globe know more about the United States than Americans know about them-selves.

In my travel experiences, I am constantly amazed by how much people around the world know about Amer-ica and Americans. A BBC survey showed that a larger percentage of Japanese followed the last U.S. Presiden-tial election than Americans. Conversely, how many Americans are familiar with Japan’s political structure or leaders? Another example: although Iraq, Iran and an array of Middle Eastern countries are constantly in the U.S. spotlight, why can only 11% of the U.S. pop-ulation identify these countries on a map of the Mid-dle East? It’s because the adage once again rings true; majority members (in this case, Americans) often feel they can’t relate to and therefore, don’t have to concern themselves with minority issues or challenges (the rest of the world).

Regardless of your political affiliation or thoughts, we can all agree Barack Obama’s tenure and his cor-responding multicultural background has opened the door for Americans to expand their global vision and has moved many Americans down the multicultural experience curve. A variety of factors in his personal life—growing up in Indonesia and multi-cultural Ha-waii in a bi-racial family with a Kenyan father, an In-donesian step-father, and a Caucasian mother—have set the stage for many Americans in terms of cultural exploration. And although controversial at home in the U.S., one of the main reasons Obama is adored by many around the world is because of his perceived abili-ty to relate to and understand a number of internation-al perspectives. He can be seen as someone capable of interpersonally connecting on levels superior to other American leaders in the recent past and as a result, his global popularity is higher than any other American leader in the past 50 years (since John F. Kennedy).

While our own experiences are unique, living abroad has taught us to observe, listen, adapt and thrive. We have been exposed to new cultural approaches to life and learned to appreciate diverse ways of living. The more we travel and interact, the more we realize how much we have in common simply as people—re-gardless of our backgrounds. Most of us have families, relationships, friendships and share many common threads like the desire for respect and appreciation. We can maintain our customs, but still come together as humans. I lived it, felt it and know it to be true. Now it’s your turn and I pass the baton. Encourage harmony and make the world a more compassionate and wel-coming realm. You are surrounded by diversity and the skill set—YOU can make it happen.

■

86

Summer 2014 Capital Projectsby Stavros Tzanetakos, Facilities Manager

Maintenance

Every summer, ACS Athens carries out many projects related to the renovation of school buildings, grounds and infrastructure, with the aim of having our stu-dents enjoy a safe and beautiful school environment. As always, this summer was busy, with many changes taking place all over the campus:

Renovation of the school bathrooms

An extensive renovation of all major bathrooms was carried out during the summer. It was an elaborate project because of the limited time available for com-pletion and the high standards of construction exper-tise required. The project involved the architectural re-design and the complete replacing of all interior building mate-rials and electromechanical components of the bath-rooms, for example:The water supply system has been designed accord-ing to the latest European standards, implementing double water supply piping and special connectors, providing the highest hygiene levels against stagnat-ing water, which is critical for a school. Also, pressure regulating valves and water flow economizers have been implemented to reduce the actual water con-sumption. Multilayer pipes were used, made of cross-linked PE and aluminum layers. The old sewage system was removed and replaced with heavy duty sound-proof pipes. Piping and auxiliary materials used in both water sup-ply and sewage systems are imported from Germany. All electrical equipment and wiring has been fully re-

placed. New independent electrical panels for each WC have been installed to provide full control and electrical autonomy. New LED lighting of high effi-ciency has also been installed, connected to motion detectors in order to minimize power consumption.The tile bonding components are of high quality ep-oxy, to prevent humidity penetration and ensure long lifespan.Bathroom divider panels have been tailor-made using high quality colored material.The floor tiles are made with high quality, full body granite.New heating pipes and high quality radiators without sharp edges were installed to prevent accidents.We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to all our parents who contributed to the reconstruc-tion of the school bathrooms.

Mobile computer stations

The usage of mobile computer stations could trans-form any ACS classroom to a computer lab. We pur-chased two mobile computer stations and 60 laptops for the creation of two mobile labs. Currently, they are used to support HS and MS classes. We wish to thank our PTO for their generous donation that made this project possible.

Security improvements through the U.S. State Department grant:

Buildings intruder alarm systemThe system consists of advanced detection radars and sensors, evenly distributed at building entrances and in areas that require extra protection, e.g. labs, boiler rooms, etc.

Diesel electric power generatorWe installed a diesel electric powered generator to act as emergency power supply in case of a power black-out. The generator will support the major communi-cation and safety systems of the school, e.g. the pub-lic address system, the security cameras, the phone switchboard, the main server and network hubs, etc. Independent electric switchboards have been in-stalled at each area of interest, which automatically switch to generator power in case of main power fail-ure.

Parking drop down barA drop down bar has been installed at the main park-ing entrance, to control access of cars entering or ex-iting. This bar is remotely operated by the main gate’s security guard.

FencingA new metal fence has been installed in the new 5th grade Elementary School wing to increase safety and security of ES children.

BollardsTwenty five reinforced bollards have been mounted around the main entrance of ACS, to protect people inside the main gate from the outside street traffic.

ETHOS WINTER 2014

Moreover, an additional component of this grant is the replacement of all school campus outside night lighting with high energy, efficient LED lights. This project will be completed by the end of December. We would like to express our appreciation to the Secu-rity personnel of the US. Embassy for their immense support in securing this grant.

Fire detection system in athletics and theaterA high tech fire detection system has been installed to protect the athletic and theater buildings. It consists of over 100 addressable smoke and heat detectors, plus sirens and push buttons, evenly spread through-out the areas. This system is connected to the rest of the school’s fire detection system. It would accurately detect smoke or fire and provide school security with the exact location of the alarm.

Furthermore, the school installed twenty additional sirens throughout the campus, beyond the legal re-quirements and fire department regulations, to en-sure that any person on campus will be safely warned in case of an incident.

Cafeteria renovationThe cafeteria kitchen and seating areas have been renovated, targeting higher quality standards for stu-dents and personnel. The ceiling of the sitting area has been re-designed to improve acoustics and aes-thetics, installing new high performance LED lights together with especially manufactured sound-ab-sorbing panels.

Athletics locker roomsWe partially renovated all swimming pool and bas-ketball locker rooms and hallways. We replaced the existing floor with new anti-slip granite tiles to im-prove both appearance and hygiene.

Climbing wallWe certified the gym climbing wall by an independent body (TUV). Furthermore, following the recommen-dation of TUV, we improved the safety of the wall be-yond the standard design.

Electrical panels & switchboardsAs part of an ongoing maintenance and renovation plan, we fully replaced 6 main electric panels. This on-going infrastructure improvement is very critical for the safe and uninterrupted operation of ACS Athens.

Waste collection in maintenance areaThe main waste collection area on the campus has been reviewed and reformed, targeting higher stan-dards in hygiene. New garbage and recycling bins have also been added.

IT and technology upgradesMore than 50 computer stations (in classrooms and various working positions) have been upgraded by replacing old PCs with modern laptop and desktop computers. We installed new firewall software that makes internet use secure and safe for students and staff. We improved the ACS wireless network (Wi-Fi) by adding new antennas across the campus and up-

ETHOS WINTER 2014

graded the active network equipment at the Foreign Languages lab. We also purchased new iPads, as well as new projectors for use in the classrooms.

Furniture purchasesWe purchased classroom and office furniture for the creation of the New Learning, Writing, Math and IB centers at the 2nd floor of HS Library, as well as for the OLP Annex classrooms.

Moreover, our maintenance department fulfilled many work orders, satisfying both faculty requests and completing the summer school maintenance schedule.

We wish to convey our thanks to our colleagues in maintenance, support staff and administration, who worked right through the summer months with dedication to bring the aforementioned projects to successful completion.

■

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K