News
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
As the Holiday Season approaches, please be reminded that everyday of school is important and teachers prepare diligently to assure a quality education for your children. Please make every effort to be in school until the last day on December 13, 2007. Middle and High School students will have final exams from December 10th to the 13th and all students need to be in attendance for these very important exams.
We thank the Senior Class and many parents for their diligent work and assistance with our annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful meal celebrating this very special holiday. Also, in November the NHS started their Christmas Toy Drive, please assist in this worthwhile activity to guide our students towards the benefit of giving to others. NHS also had a wonderful “Friday Night Movie” for our elementary children, and a good time was enjoyed by all.
Mr. Ivan Barrantes, Ms Irene Arrea and the students of AIS once again produced a marvelous Musical Program for the Christmas and Holiday Season. Their hard work and enthusiasm provides our students with countless benefits in their important roll in the Arts at AIS.
The PTO has organized a spectacular Santa's Workshop and Christmas Bazaar this year. For the first time they have put together an event for the whole family, school, and community to enjoy. A very special thanks goes out to the following mothers who initiated this wonderful event when we first had a meeting in September; Natalia Aguiluz, Orit Tarkay and Teresa Vatan as well as Lisa Vosberg, Lisa Cozzarelli and Elbita Alfonso are frequently seen on campus assisting in the organization. I realize there are many other mothers and fathers assisting and we thank you for your immense contributions as well.
Parents, during this long holiday break, please have your children read everyday. This will assist them in maintaining their English levels and hopefully improve their proficiency as well. Research shows us that improving your child's reading level will lead to academic success.
Finally, we wish all our families a very special Holiday, Christmas and New Years Season. May your time be richly spent with loved ones and your travels be safe. We look forward to your prompt return to classes when we start the second semester on January 14, 2008. Best wishes to all our families at AIS.
FROM PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE
Winter vacation is around the corner as I mentioned in the last issue that the school year is going by quickly, we just had our customary Thanksgiving Luncheon organized by the class of 2008 and their advisors, Anna Oliveras, Myrna Ruiz and Montserrat Amador. The luncheon was delicious and we were delighted to share it with students, staff, relatives and friends.
Let’s not forget “The Holiday Dream” produced by Ivan Barrantes, Music Teacher, and Irene Arrea, Art Teacher. Together with other talented staff and students, they put on a spectacular show, on Nov.29, on campus that marveled everyone who come.
Now that “The Holiday Dream “ show is over our focus is on Semester Final Exams for 6th -12th grade students and last minute applications to college. What is a semester final? At the end of each semester, final exams are given in December and June in all 6th -12th academic courses. Finals are 90 minutes long, testing all material covered during that semester. These exams count for 20% of the semester grade. Students are exempt from taking the semester final if they have an average of 92 % or above in the 1st and 2nd quarter in that particular subject. It is not the total average of the two quarters. The AIS English Dept. does not exempt. Students must take the English Literature and Grammar Finals. Students will be excused from final exams only for certified medical reasons or extenuating circumstances approved by the Director. In such cases, the student will be required to take the extraordinary exams, which are different from the original exams.
Final Exams will start Dec.10- 14. Students will receive a written study guide for each subject area on December 3rd. There will be two days for review on Dec. 6th and 7th. There will be two exams per day in the morning. Middle School and High School students will be dismissed at 12:00. They should go home and review for the next day final. If students need extra help, teachers will be here until 3:30 to answer questions. What can parents do to provide a positive and stress free experience?
Mark down test days on your calendar so you and your son/daughter are both aware of testing dates.
Encourage your son/daughter to space out time studying and homework assignments so that they will not be forced to cram on the night before the test.
Ensure that your son/daughter eats a healthy breakfast and avoid heavy foods that may make him/her groggy and avoid high sugar foods that may make him /her hyper.
Guarantee that your son/daughter gets up early enough so that he /she will be on time to school..
Let your son/daughter relax for a few hours before bed time, it can be stressful for the to study all night.
Praise your son /daughter when they do well on a final or for their hard work preparing for the finals.
Ms. Villalobos recommendations on “Helping Students Overcome Test Anxiety “ and my tips on test taking for parents will be of help for you and your son/daughter. I will be sending out more information about the week of the final exams. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me at nelicsantiago@yahoo.com.
ARTS
Genghis Khan's Eternal Blue Sky
drawings, paintings, and sculpture by Wilson McCray
The field trip to Galeria Amon to see Mr. McCray's exhibit was a great success. 20 art students from high school went by bus the morning of the 19th of Nov. Each student wrote an analysis of two pieces of artwork. Mr. McCray's work will be on display through December. You may visit the gallery or see pictures of the artwork on the gallery's website.
Galeria Amon
250 meters North of the Kiosk in Parque Morazan
Barrio Amon, San Jose
223 9725
www.amon937.com
FROM LIBRARY
Dear Parents and Families:
Don't forget that our school Book Fair will be held from December 1-8, during the Christmas Bazaar and throughout the following week. The Book Fair has great selection at good prices, and all proceeds of the Fair will benefit our school library. One of the best things you can give a child for Christmas is a book; connecting your children to good books for the holidays will help them stay refreshed and ready for school again in January.
Thank you for encouraging your child to read. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you at the Book Fair!
FROM COUNSELOR
HELPING STUDENTS OVERCOME TEST ANXIETY
Anxiety is a basic human emotion consisting of fear and uncertainty that typically appears when an individual perceives an event as being a threat to the ego or self-esteem. When children have anxiety, it often centers around doing well at school. After all, school is a child’s “job”.
Here are some tips that will help students that usually get nervous during a test. Share these with your child, and help him/her practice them.
Try to shift her/his focus from getting good grades to doing her/his best.
Motivate your child to want a take the test.
Teach your child some simple self-calming skills to use during a test:
Have her/him practice controlled breathing: holding her breath for a second when she breathes in Visual imagery: closing her eyes and picturing herself taking a test, feeling well prepared
Think good thoughts: “I will do well in the test” “I don’t need to know every answer to do well in the test”
Be sure your child gets a good night’s sleep before a test, and a really healthy breakfast on the test’s day.
On the test’s day, tell your child that you know s/he is prepared and you’re sure s/he will do well. Only once, excessive reassurance could be counterproductive.
During the test, remind your child to be a STAR: Stop, Take A breath, and Relax.
DEPORTES
Para la comunidad estudiantil y los padres de familia del AIS el departamento de Educación Física les informa de lo ocurrido en los últimos días del mes y lo que vendrá para los siguientes, en el campo del Volleyball Masculino en la categoría A, los caballeros trabajaron y compitieron en el torneo acción y su trabajo se demostró en cada momento de juego al enfrentar a las otras escuelas de la competencia llegando a jugar de una manera muy contundente y con mucha disposición teniendio en cuenta que este año el equipo contaba con muchos nuevos jugadores ......... Gracias a todos los jugadores por la buena labor sigan adelante con Actitud.
Ahora tenemos las actividades del futbol en categoria B tanto femenina como masculino y los equipos estan integrados de la siguienta manera .
Femenino: Nina Friedrich, Joseline Hernandez, Itzel Ruiz, Evelyn Sredni,Ma Laura Zamora, Autumn Befus, Yvette Benitez, Marie Marcelle Benoit, Mariana Camacho, Sarah Friedrich, Vanessa González, Andrea Zuñiga, Sarah Lucia Zelaya, Kristina Barles, Stephanie Koontz , Maia Livneh , Martha Lowrance , Madison Piacentini
Masculino: Paul Baucom Smith, Sean carli , Brandon González, Hyun Joon Jun , Michael Rowland, Alvaro Sanchaz Cid , Luis Miguel Serodio , Jaime Vila , Tyler Vivian , Esteban Zuñiga , Daniel Andrade , Paulo Araya , Jose Miguel Botero , Lawson Lowrance, Timothy Moore, Daniel Concepcion , Gianfranco Di Stefano , Daniel Peterson, Roberto Rosales , Eloy Sanchez Cid , Pablo S.Zuniga.........Bienvenidos a todos y a trabajar duro!
En Noviembre tuvimos muchas actividades deportivas como el torneo de Dodge ball en tiempo de almuerzo para Primaria y el campeón fue el equipo con los siguientes estudiantes: Aureliana Lizarazo, Andreas Probst, Matthew Callaghan, Rafaela Santos de O., Luis David Muñoz y Vincent Sunquist ; e iniciamos el Torneo de Fútbol 5.
Para secundaria seguimos con FÚTBOL 5 (Lunes, miercoles y viernes) y Basketball mixto (Martes y Jueves), el torneo de Fútbol 5 en lunch está en su etapa de clasificación.
El ACTION de Volleyball (Torneo Nacional) terminó y nuestros equipos hicieron un gran trabajo quedando en Tercer lugar Femenino Escuela Intermedia y Cuarto lugar Masculino. En Secundaria femenino: Tercer lugar.
El equipo de Fútbol de Primaria tuvo un juego contra el Colegio Europeo en nuestra cancha frente a la Biblioteca. El resultado en goles no fue muy favorable pero los estudiantes se divirtieron mucho y adquieren experiencia con cada juego. Los estudiantes que jugaron este partido fueron: Kevin Hertz, Michael Alzamora, Rogelio Ruiz, Erick Petersen, Matthew Callaghan, Gabriel Marsell, William Moore, Anthony Cozzarelli, Nicolas Ovares, Salvador Becerra, Justin Kim, Nico Callaghan, Gloriana Barrantes.
Los equipos de Fútbol tanto en secundaria como en escuela intermedia empezaron sus prácticas con mucho entusiasmo.
Los siguientes son los integrantes de cada equipo
Masculino Secundaria
Cameron Befus, Alexander Maslov, Jong Hun Lee, Bryan Raine Oscar Alpizar, Eduardo Benitez, Xavier Suárez, Victor Villalobo, Gabriel Ayala, Pedro Lizarazo, Matías Muller, Esteban Araya, Julian Delgado, Hector Chacon, Santiago Andrade, Joaquin Ramirez, Miguel Nigro, Luis Ovares, Federico Carbo, Alan Sosa, Alan Kerbel, Nicolas Cyr.
Femenino Secundaria
Gina Conejo, Karla Ruzicka, Yoo Ri Lee, Lilly Solano, Natalia Roblero, Erin Befus, Celeste Céspedes, Mariana Guillén, Karina Barles, Ariana Espinoza, Michelle Marchiano, Carolina Cuadra, Nicole Johanning, Rebecca Zelaya Monica Espinoza, Stephanie Kootnz, Beatriz Vila.
Primeros juegos del Torneo: Diciember 3, 2007: Recibimos a MBS, Diciembre 6,2007 visitamos a Blue Valley, Enero 23, 2008 Recibimos a Lincoln, Enero 29, 2008 vistamos a ICS.