The Metropolitan Interna-

tional School team hopes

that everyone had an en-

joyable summer and are

ready to begin school! Be

sure that you welcome

our many new students to

the MIS family. On Tues-

day, we invite parents to

come meet their children’s

teachers at the Parent’s

Evening in the Blue Hall, fol-

lowed by a meeting in the

students’ classrooms. We

look forward to meeting new

families and greeting return-

ing ones. We have a caring

staff that enjoys collaborating

with one another to help our

children reach their fullest

potential.

Welcome Back to School MIS!

I N S I D E

T H I S

I S S U E :

Meet the

Head Teach-

2

Meet the

New Second-

ary Teachers

3

Meet the

New Second-

ary Teachers

4

Meet the

New Recep-

tion Teachers

5

Welcome

Back Staff!

6

Information 7

MIS 8

M I S

N E W S L E T T E R

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

September 18 Parent‘s Evening at 7pm, begins in the blue hall

September 29 Back to School Party @ TOSCA 2pm to 6pm

October 3 Tag der Einheit: Federal Holiday

October 22-Nov. 2 Fall break

November 9 St. Martin‘s Event

November 16 Progress Alerts

November 19 Parent-Teacher

November 22, 23 Thanksgiving Holiday

November 29 Phot Day @ MIS

December 7 Movie Night

December 15 Winter Bazaar

December 21 Winterwonderland and last day of school before the winter break

Important upcoming events...

P A G E 2

Primary Head Teacher

Reception Head Teacher

Secondary Head Teacher Dear Parents,

I would like to welcome you all to the new school year at MIS. I am very excited to be taking on

the new role of Gymnasium Head Teacher this year. This will be my fourth year at MIS and I have

seen many developments and improvements throughout this time.

I am looking forward to working with the dedicated highly motivated staff here at MIS. And I am

sure new parents will get to know all of the friendly faces on our teaching staff.

Strong committed parents have played a crucial role in the development of our school and I look

forward to continuing this relationship. At MIS we have a parents association called ‘MISPA’ new

parents will learn more about joining this group at the upcoming Parents Evening. I look forward to meeting you all throughout the coming weeks.

David Henderson

Head Teacher Gymnasium

Reception 1 and 2 (MIS' preschool and kindergarten) have two new teachers, new

schedules and new plans for the school year. The Reception 1 classroom is more

user-friendly, having been redesigned to allow for work, craft, snack and play areas, as well as a reading

center where students can work on developing their literacy skills. Reception teachers and aides are

very dedicated to giving MIS' youngest students a superb early education, setting a solid foundation for

future learning and excellence. As Reception Coordinator and Reception 1 teacher, I am so pleased to

be working in the international environment that is MIS, where our students are exposed to the

diverse cultures and languages of classmates, schoolmates, parents, teachers, and administration. We are

creating global citizens, starting with the youngest of some of the world's brightest children.

Kristina Stellhorn

Reception Head Teacher

Dear Parents,

Over the past years I have visited many schools and after I while you know what

you want to see in a school. When I first visited MIS I was very impressed by the warm, caring

atmosphere and the happy, involved students. This I thought is a school I would be pleased to join.

Working closely with all the teachers during our preparation week, my initial feelings were confirmed. All

members of the school wish to give your children a unique educational experience and work hard to

achieve this.

This is a young and growing school in the process of becoming an established centre for learning. I

am pleased to accompany it as it develops, sharing my experience as Head of Primary in an International

School in France. The success of a school depends also on the quality of the partnership between parents and teachers.

We are all working together in the best interests of the students, your children.

I look forward to meeting you all in the coming months.

Sincerely,

John Tyson

Head of Primary

New Teachers in the Secondary School

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

Ms. Kathryn Verboom, English and Sport

I was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and have been living and working in Germany for the last two years. I came to Germany originally to play basketball in the 2. Bundesliga and during the last two years have also taught English and sport as a supply teacher at a Gymnasium in Speyer. I am really looking forward to teaching at MIS this year and cannot wait to see what this year has in store for all of us.

Miss Yvonne von Oven, Mathematics

Ich wurde in Uruguay geboren, bin in Deutschland aufgewachsen und habe in England Mathematikdidaktik Studiert, weshalb ich fließend Deutsch, Englisch und Spanisch spreche. Ich freue mich sehr, Mathematik an der MIS unterrichten zu können und meine Begeisterung dafür weiterzureichen. I was born in Uruguay, grew up in Germany and studied Mathematics Education in England, which allowed me to be proficient in German, English and Spanish. I am enthusiastic about teaching mathematics at MIS and making learning enjoyable.

Miss Sina Kröger, German and Social Studies

Ich wurde in Russland geboren und lebe bereits seit 20 Jahren in Deutschland. Das Lehramtsstudium absolvierte ich in Frankfurt am Main und arbeitete anschließend am Starkenburg Gymnasium in Heppenheim.

Miss Apolonia Kukla, French and Biology

Originally from Canada but also a Polish citizen, studied in the U.S. and Canada before coming here. I am a huge soccer fan and player, so this is one of my favorite hobbies, I also enjoy listening to music and being creative. Being a teacher is a great responsibility as we spend a lot of time providing mentorship and guidance, therefore I would like to create an open-minded environment where the students can feel safe to voice their opinions, and develop a global perspective in and out of the classroom. I would like to provide them with a solid foundation for critical thinking while always encouraging imagination and creativity. This is one of the reasons I am really excited to be at MIS because they have given me the opportunity to do just that.

P A G E 4

Ms. Elizabeth Duncan, Homeroom Grade 2

Howdy! I am excited to be working at MIS for the 2012-2013 school year. I am American and have lived in Spain, Japan, and New Zealand. I received a BS in Education and have recently completed graduate school in England. I am really excited about working with the grade 2 children this school year!

Miss Brittany Brunell, Homeroom Grade 1

My name is Brittany Burnell and I am from Chicago, Illinois, USA. I just moved to Germany to be with my boyfriend of two years who is working towards completing his Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering. This is my second year teaching, and I am very excited to be working at MIS this year in first grade! I am a very creative, hardworking, and motivated teacher who loves the outdoors. My teaching goals for the year are to ensure that each child is pushed to their learning potential in a positive, interactive, learning environment. I look forward to the year's adventures!

Mr. John Tyson, Primary Head Teacher and Homeroom Grade 4

After teaching for 5 years in the UK, I moved to France, where I taught in a French International Primary School with French, English and German language sections. I am pleased now to join MIS, where I feel my values in education can be developed. I strongly believe that children learn best when they feel secure emotionally, when they are actively involved in their learning and when they are in a rich and structured learning environment. In the holidays I like to travel. This summer we drove from New Orleans to Chicago via Florida, Charleston, the Blue Ridge Mountains, New York, Ithaca and Lakes Ontario and Michigan. Other trips have taken us to India, Senegal, Istanbul, Montenegro, Sri Lanka and, of course, England!

Frau Dana Edinger, German Grade 1 & 4

Seit Juni 2012 bin ich an der MIS tätig und unterrichte hier alle deutschsprachigen Fächer in der vierten Klasse. Im kommenden Schuljahr werde ich zusätzlich eine der ersten Klasse übernehmen. Nach meinem Studium der Betriebswirtschaft an der BA Mannheim entschied ich mich für das Lehramtsstudium an der PH Heidelberg mit den Fächern Biologie, Englisch und Deutsch. Seit vier Jahren bin ich als Lehrerin tätig. An der MIS reizt mich vor allem die Möglichkeit, an einer der wenigen bilingualen und internationalen Schulen in Deutschland arbeiten und damit die Vielfalt der Kulturen hautnah erfahren zu können.

New Characters in the Primary School

Frau Doren Lorscheid, German Grade 1

P A G E 5

Miss Ashley Price, Reception 2

I was born in Heilbronn to American military parents. I grew up in Texas and attended Texas A&M University where I studied Special Education. My hobbies include traveling and scuba diving.

Miss Kristina Stellhorn, Reception Head Teacher

I come from Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Since I was a child -- having grown up with a dad who spoke German to us as children -- I have always wanted to live and work in Germany. Before I came to MIS, I was working on my master's and studying speech pathology. I love the fact that MIS is so international, and students hail from so many places worldwide. I couldn't have asked for a more ideal international teaching atmosphere.

The New Faces in the Reception School

Important People to Know

Bernhard Bentgens, Proprietor

Music Teacher Grade 1 to 12

Julia Bentgens, Proprietress

Managing Director

Dagmar Schulz

Administration

Melek Bayindirli-Wenchel, Reception Spanish

P A G E 6 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

The Returning Faculty & Staff

Julian Gibbons

Reception 1

David Henderson

Gymnasium Head Teacher,

Art & Sport

Stephan Kay

Gymnasium, English, IGCSE

History

Stefan Heckman

Gymnasium, German, Social

Studies

Elva Torres

Gymnasium, Science

Meghan Martin

Spanish

Kriztsina Lakics

Reception 2

Traci Hogrefe

Grade 3 Homeroom

Melissa Paterson

Grade 1 Homeroom

Nicole Dardano

Grade 2 & 3 German

Georginan Hamu

Kitchen Manager

Andrei Boureanu

Maintenence

Bernard Steinkamp

German Reception

Jennifer Quilty

Music Teacher

Daily Physical Activity

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

Daily Physical Activity (DPA) is

based on the belief that healthy,

active students are better able

to learn. It is a physical activity

program that encourages

student movement, teamwork

and cooperation using simple,

organized activities that can be

performed within the

classroom setting. MIS will be

incorporating DPA into the

daily routines of Gymnasium

and Grundschule students in an

effort to help develop the

positive habits needed for a

healthy, active lifestyle.

Reception and Primary Blogs

Metropolitan International School Parent Association Dear parents,

Especially families that are new

to MIS this year, I wanted to

briefly introduce our parent-

teacher association, MISPA. We

work side by side with the MIS

teachers to support the school,

organise events, and discuss

issues pertaining to MIS. Any

MIS parent or family member is

welcome to join MISPA. We

appreciate new ideas, event

volunteers, and enthusiasm! It is

a lot of fun getting together and

getting to know each other as

well! Should you be interested

please contact

me, Krisztina Lakics, or Mr.

David Henderson.

Kristina Lakics

krisztina.lakics@gmail.com

David Henderson

david.henderson@metropolitan-

international-school.com

Both the Primary School and the Reception School have blogs to keep family and

friends updated on special events as they arise. Pictures, stories, and students work

will be posted at varies times throughout the school year. Make sure that you check

out the blog and share this site with your family and friends. Some teachers may post

important news about your child‘s class or informaiton on upcoming events. Many

teachers in the upper grades are using the educational social network, edmodo to

communicate information to students and their families throughout the school year. Students

should already know which classes are using edmodo and be signed up to use it.

The current blog sites are:

Reception: http://misreception1.blogspot.de/

Primary School: http://primarymis.blogspot.de/

Metropolitan International School

Walter-Gropius-Allee-3

D-68519 Viernheim

Phone: +49(0) 6204/708 7796

Website: http://www.metroschools.de/

E-mail: info@metroschools.de

Our Mission is to empower our students to become lifelong

learners and successful participants in a global community

by providing a well-rounded education.

At the Metropolitan International School, our Vision is to

provide an international, bilingual environment where

students can learn safely, comfortably, and with enjoyment.

We strive to encourage lifelong learning by using a variety of

teaching methods, resources, and meaningful experiences.

We provide a challenging, personalized education that

supports the development of each individual student.

Students leave MIS as confident citizens with international

competence, ready to participate successfully in a global

community.

We believe that quality education combined with a range of

extra curricular activities can shape a child’s intellect while

also improving their self-confidence and self-assurance.

MIS Newsletter