News
DIRECTOR´S MESSAGE
We hope that all our families had a wonderful Easter vacation and our students enjoyed their time off from school. At the same time, we look forward to the return of our students to start the fourth and final quarter of the year.
I would like to congratulate our student athletes on accomplishments in the AASCA Soccer Tournament in March. The boy’s team was not the best; however, they brought home the impressive Sportsmanship Trophy for the tournament. This is a commendable task, especially when the results are not going: they did not give up. I truly believe in the saying “It is not whether you win or lose, it is how you play the game,” and our boys showed great sportsmanship. Our girl’s team did bring home the Championship Trophy! For the second time this year, the girl’s team was in the finals and they proved to be the best in soccer. They were also in the finals, here in the Action Tournament. However, they lost in penalty kicks 4 to 3. This is a great result if you take into consideration that the Lincoln School is six times larger than AIS. We are all very proud of our two soccer teams here at AIS.
Our financial situation is improving slowly, and when we secure the loan approved by the Associates, we will be able to move ahead. I request that all parents make their tuition payments in the timely manner, numerous parents are late in their payments on a monthly basis. It is a burden on the front office to make constant phone calls, late payment also difficult for us to meet meeting our financial responsibilities. The payments for the assessment, special services and tuition increase are moving forward with approximately 25% of the families paying in full. Another 15% have come in and set-up payment arrangements to cancel these expenses. I realize some individuals are reluctant to pay due to past circumstances. Please be assured we are correcting these issues to prevent this from occurring in the future. One important step that was taken was to solicit assistance from the US Embassy and State Department. Dr. Bill Scotti of the U.S. State Department continues his support of AIS by sending down Dr. Ron Marino, who will be here for three days at the beginning of April. To analyze the financial situation and meet with the Board and the Director in a fact finding visit.
Dr. Marino will return to AIS later in April to meet with the Board, Parents, and Teachers to discuss his findings and give recommendations on how the school should proceed in the future. We are extremely grateful for the continuous support of the U.S. Embassy and State Department and look forward to their recurring assistance as we move out of this difficult financial situation.
I would like to congratulate Ms. Mildred Hipolito and Ms. Barbara Cruz teacher sponsors and the National Honor Society Members on a superb induction ceremony in early March. NHS is an exceptionally prestigious organization that represents the highest standards of scholarship, character, service, and leadership. On this evening at the Spanish Club, the NHS members and sponsors inducted four new members with an exceptional ceremony and dinner. Please see the related article inside for the names of all members and new inductees.
Do not miss all the exciting activities in the month of April! The International Luncheon celebrating multinational cliental, the Costa Rican Symphony Orchestra will perform thanks to Mr. Barrantes assistance for having them at AIS, the AIS Talent Show, and the Sports Festival round out the major activities. Student Council and NHS will also have fun activities and events for the students throughout the month. Please check the calendar for all time and dates.
Last and most important are the Parent –Teacher Conferences that are schedule for Thursday, April 3, 2008. Report cards will be distributed at that time, and it gives the parents a chance to discuss with the teachers their child’s strengths and find out the areas that need to be reinforced and strengthen. Elementary parents, please be on time as the conference times are only fifteen minutes and we do not want to delay or take time away from others.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
April and May are months of standardized tests. As you know, AIS is taking the TerraNova Tests this week, during the first two periods of the day for students in 4th grade through 11th grade. The AP tests for Spanish Language are scheduled for May 6th, from 8:00-12:00, and Spanish Literature for May 16 from 8:00 -12:00, on campus. Also, the SAT exams will be May 3rd at Lincoln School - eleventh grade students must register online. Finally, the MEP exam for the 11th grade Bachillerato students has not been scheduled by MEP. As soon as MEP informs the school, we will in turn inform the parents and students.
Congratulations to the AIS senior class of 2008 who have received acceptance letters from the following universities.
Saginaw Valley State University, MI; State of Florida University , Panama Campus ; Suffolk University Boston , MA; Western New Mexico University, NM; Ripon College, WI; Randolph College, VA; West Texas A&M, TX; LIM New York, and Michigan State University, MI; Georgia Southern University, GA. AIS is very proud of these students and we are also pleased for the two students who received scholarships. Bachillerato students are also applying for Costa Rican national and private universities. They are in the process of taking the entrance exams. As soon as we have some news, we will inform you.
This year 6th grade and 9th grade will not be taking the MEP exams but students will receive a diploma. They will receive a “ Certificado de Aprobación de Estudios? signed by the Ministry of Education of Costa Rica.
Please contact me if you have any questions about the above information.
Neli Santiago, Principal
BOARD NEWS
We are proud to announce the attendance in April of two specialists from the US State Department to evaluate and coach A. I. S. in addressing our current challenges. Dr Marino is a consultant who assists overseas American Schools and Bill Scotty the Regional Education Officer from the US State Department who is responsible for American Schools in Central and Southern America. They will provide assistance to the Board and our Director by making an additional financial evaluation and establishing long range budge goals. Also they will work with the Director, Board and Faculty to improve our goals and performance.
A. I. S. is going through many changes, and it is the Boards commitment and intention to continue to follow this closely, to utilize evaluation tools to assess our current position with our new Director, and provide feedback related to those findings to our Associates. We are committed to developing strategies and making decisions that are necessary to move our school in the direction that will allow it to be the best school it can be.
We continue to move forward and have improved our financial cash flow as a result of the recent tuition increases. With this improvement in cash flor, our Bank Loan is anticipated which will help continue the improvements needed to our electric system.
We will continue to utilize grant monies obtained from the US embassy for computer improvements as well as faculty professional development. We will establish a Computer Development Committee made up of Associates and faculty. We are interested in Associates with knowledge in computers systems to be part of this committee. This committee will work with the Director and report to the Board. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested at Board@aiscr.com.
Board Facts:
The A. I. S. May General Assembly is around the corner, and we have much to accomplish on this date to nominate and elect our Board of Directors for 2008 -2010.
A.I. S. Board positions to be elected at the General Assembly on May 8th 2008 are:
President, Vice President, Treasurer, Vice Treasurer, Secretary, Vice Secretary, Vocal and Fiscal. The President, Vice President, Secretary, Vice Secretary and Fiscal are 2 year terms. The Treasurer, Vice Treasurer and Vocal are for 1 year terms to finish the 2 year terms of those associates in these positions who have resigned for varies reasons
An additional point for all Associates to be aware of pertains to the privilege to vote on May 8th. In our bylaws it states that all Associates in “good standing” are able to vote. “Good standing” is defined as paid in full without delinquent payments for no more than 3 months. Since the new assessment fees where activated in February that would also pertained to those additional fees to be paid and up to date. If you have any questions related to this, please talk with Mr. Briggs or the administrative office to clarify your status prior to the Assembly to avoid any confusion.
LIBRARY NEWS
THE BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
To further encourage reading at AIS, the school library will soon begin another reading activity entitled “The Battle of the Books,” an intensive reading contest that takes place every year in the AIS library. In this activity, students from the 4th and 5th grades will be placed in teams of four students and asked to read a series of award-winning books so that they can compete in a question/answer “battle” with each other to see which group has the best readers.
The Battle of the Books will begin just as The 1000 Page Club (another program now in progress in which students are encouraged to read 1000 pages over a specific period of time) is ending. On the week of April 7th, students will be introduced to the seven books that will be used for this activity; each of the seven books will have to be read by at least one student in the team. Books may be checked out for a three-week period; however, so that everyone will have a chance to read all the books, the students will not be allowed to renew any book. Group points will be taken off for any book returned after the due date. The students have five weeks to read all seven books. In the last week, the integrated 4th and 5th grade groups will compete: using a game show format, each group will be asked questions about the books, and points will be awarded for correct answers. The prize for the winning group will be a pizza party in the library.
We hope you share our enthusiasm for this activity and invite you to our Battle of the Books contest on May 12 and 13. If you have any questions about this activity, please see Nina in the library. Thanks so much for your participation.
Thanks so much to the Murillo Saenz family for their gift to the school of two boxes of beautiful new text books! We all apréciate it tremendously. These Hill be of great use to the school.
FROM THE NURSE
SERVICES GIVEN BY THE SCHOOL NURSE
The nurse’s role has expanded greatly from its original focus, but the essence of the practice remains the same. The school nurse supports student success by providing health care assessment, intervention, and follow-up for all children within the school setting.
The role of the school nurse is:
THE SCHOOL NURSE PROVIDES LEADERSHIP FOR THE PROVISION OF HEALTH SERVICES. This leadership role includes developing a plan for responding to emergencies and disasters.
THE SCHOOL NURSE PROVIDES SCREENING AND REFERRAL FOR HEALTH CONDITIONS In order to address potential health problems that are barriers to learning, the school nurse engages in screening activities that include vision, hearing, and physical tests.
THE SCHOOL NURSE PROMOTES A HEALTHY SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT. The school nurse provides for the physical and emotional safety of the school community. This includes immunizations, preventive measures for infectious diseases, assessment of the physical environment. Additionally, the school nurse addresses the emotional environment of the school to decrease conditions that may lead to an unhealthy environment.
THE SCHOOL NURSE PROMOTES HEALTH. The nurse provides health education and information directly to individuals, groups of students or classes. Other health promotion activities include health fairs for students, families and staff.
THE SCHOOL NURSE PROVIDES DIRECT HEALTH CARE TO STUDENTS AND STAFF. The nurse provides care to students and staff who have been injured or who present acute illnesses. The school nurse also assists faculty and staff in monitoring chronic health conditions. The school nurse is responsible for medication administration. We have always provided the school’s students and staff with over the counter medication and other medical supplies. You are already aware of the financial status of the school, as an administrative decision we will have to cut down on these services. If your child needs any type of medication to use during school hours please send it from home. Hopefully, we will restore this service again soon.
A professional nurse addresses the physical, mental, emotional and social health of visor her clients. The school nurse provides services to the entire school population, which includes infants, pre-schoolers, children, teenagers, children with special needs, and adults.
FROM ILT
Promising Increase in Writing Proficiency
After carefully assessing the last Narrative Writing Sample that was delivered on February 8, the faculty has found a promising increase in the school’s proficiency in writing. The school wide average increased from 2.4 to 3 as a result of the intensive writing program that has been applied in all levels.
The Bringing Writing to Life program has been a constant endeavor in the classroom throughout the year. Students are now writing journals, essays or summaries on a daily basis, according to a writing schedule that comprises four different subject areas, namely Language Arts/English/ESL (at least twice a week), Social Studies/History, Science, and Spanish/French.
The faculty hopes to see further improvement by the end of the school year, as we continue to encourage students of all ages to better their writing skills in different genres and fields of knowledge.
SCIENCE BRIEF
Reminder to parents that all high-school students taking a science class (excluding 11 & 12 MEP) are participating in a mural & essay contest to celebrate Costa Rica's biodiversity. Teams (2-3 students) will be competing for gift certificates to Libreria Internacional and the right to paint their mural designs on the hallway walls at AIS. Please encourage students by providing the time and resources to complete both the essay and mural design. The seáis and mural design proposals are due April 16th.
On Friday April 4th, Ms. Ramirez and Mr. McCray will be taking the ESL Life Science and Earth Science classes on a field trip to INBio Park in Santo Domingo. The park is dedicated to educating people on the extraordinary natural wonders of Costa Rica. The park will be a great resource for the students as they prepare for the essay & mural contest.
NHS NEWS
On the evening of March 12, the NHS Induction Ceremony for the new NHS members was held. Many thanks to all the NHS members and their families for attending. Special thanks to Michelle Marchiano and Erin Befus for their valid collaboration in the organization of this activity. It was a great night and a wonderful event.
Congratulations to all the new members: Rebecca Zelaya, Jose Antonio Moranchel, Lucia Zelaya , Alexander Sasha Maslov and to the new officers: President: Erin Befus, Vice-President: Rebecca Zelaya, Treasurer: Alexander Sasha Maslov, secretary: Lucia Zelaya.
For this month, the NHS will have the following activities:
Wednesday, April 16th : Homework and Sports Day from 3:00-6:30 pm (3000 colones).
Thursday, April 17th: Dress Down (300 colones).
FROM COUNSELOR
Love and Education
Every person has an emotional tank, a place of emotional strength that can fuel him through challenging situations. Just as cars are powered by reserves in the gas tank, our children are fueled from their emotional tanks. We need to fill our children`s emotional tanks with unconditional love, because real love is always unconditional. Unconditional love is a full love that accepts and affirms a child for who he is, not for what he does. If children feel genuinely loved by their parents, they will be more responsive to parental guidance in all areas of their lives.
According to G Chapman and R. Campelll, there are five languages of love: physical touch (hugs, kisses, etc), words of affirmation (I love you, I am so proud!), quality time (schedule time and plan activities with your children, meal times in family are a great), gifts (but not as substitutes for love), and acts of service(help your child practice for the sports team, prepare a surprise breakfast). For any person to feel loved, we must learn to speak her unique love language. We all need to receive love in all those five languages, but we all have a primary love language.
Parents are the first and most important teachers; and one of our primary teaching aids is discipline. Proper discipline with love, also can spur learning and social skills. For a child to be able to learn well at any age level, he must be at the emotional maturational level of that particular age level. The more mature the child is emotionally, the better he is able to learn. We need to dedicate time to speak the five languages of love to our children. Emotional growth is as important as giving them food, shelter and clothing. And we have the tools to make it happen.
It is very important to keep your child motivated. The key to motivating a child is to get her to take responsibility for her own behavior. First, patiently observe what he enjoys and likes to do, and encourage him in that direction. Let the child take the initiative. And second, allow your child to take responsibility. If he needs help with homework, guide him, but don`t give him the answers. If you realize that you have been intensively involved in your child`s school work, try to gradually shift the responsibility to your child.
Your children will reach their highest motivation and success in learning at school when they are secure in your love.
SPORTS
El Torneo de Capture the Ball inició con los siguientes equipos:
Capture the Ball Teams and Schedule
| TEAM A | TEAM B | TEAM C |
| William | Anthony | Valeria |
| Alicia | Suli | Patrick |
| Nico C. | Nico O. | Andreas |
| Taylor | Paul | Bridget |
| Aureliana | Salvador | Vincent |
| Mark | Valery | Tair |
| Orlando | Rafaela | Marie |
| Matthew | Oscar | Victor |
| Joseph | Mackenzie | Ioav |
| Matias R. |
El ACTION de Fútbol (Torneo Nacional) llega a las semifinales con nuestro equipo femenino contra Blue Valley y esperando la Final contra los estudiantes atletas que nos representaron en El Salvador con el Torneo AASCA de Fútbol trajeron un Primer lugar en Femenino y un Octavo lugar en Masculino con el premio al Juego Limpio del Torneo.
El Torneo Nacional de Basketball (ACTION) iniciará en este mes con la participación de los siguientes colegios: Lincoln, Calazans, Marian Baker, Blue Valley, United World College, Country Day, Humboldt, International Christian School y AIS.
Nuestro Festival Deportivo se llevará a cabo el Sábado 26 de Abril a partir de las 8:30 a.m. Hasta las 3:00 p.m. Con la participación de la Asociación Deportiva Belemita de Baloncesto y Volleyball al igual que la Escuela Británica, en todas las disciplinas deportivas y en nuestras categorías.
Los esperamos!
Schedule
A vs B
C vs A
B vs C
B vs A
A vs C
C vs B
A vs B
C vs A
B vs C
A vs B
A vs C
C vs B
Finals
Free Game
STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS
Dear Parents and Students,
We are very happy to inform that March was another month of success. We had the auditions for the talent show, and also two “Fun Days”.
On April 18th, we will be having our Talent Show 2008, and it will be held in our gymnasium from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Auditions are over, and the contestants will have a chance to shine.
There is also a dress down day to start the month, on April 4th.
All the Student Council members are thankful for your support, and enthusiasm to make this month another joyful one.
STUDENT COUNCIL 2007-2008:
“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” - Anatole France