n I SSUE # 5 n F EB . 2 0 1 2 A OSR n 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2 F al CON F LYER Produced by the High School Desktop Publishing students with the support of AOSR Staff & Parents. MLK DAY: A C ELEBR ATION OF L OVE , P E ac E A ND E QU A LITY In the 1950-60s the voice of Martin Luther King Jr. tolerance and understanding are an integral part was heard across the US and around the world of our school’s value system and identity. The as he spoke time and again about his dream for assembly to commemorate MLK day on January equality for blacks in a white dominated society. 20th was a reflection of the beliefs and dreams Assassinated in 1968, his message still inspires of our student body and faculty. Students helped those who dream of a world free of discrimination to communicate a message of peace through and war. dramatic performances, musical interpretations, and even a cheer led by our cheerleading squad. Students at AOSR have a unique opportunity to be educated in a multicultural environment where IN THIS ISSUE: PAGES 2-7: News from the Elementary School PAGES 8-9: Libraries and Elementary Art PAGES 10-11: HS Sports and MS News PAGES 12-13: Alumni News PAGES 14-18: Announcements & Secondary News Things we saw along the way PK4 PANdaS: F IELD T RI P ! AFTER INVESTIGAING AND out if we can also use Google Earth to CREATING MANY DIFFERENT visit their houses and the places their KINDS OF HOUSES, THE PRE- families are from. We’re all looking K4 PANDAS HAVE BECOME forward to seeing where we wind up INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE next! ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOODS SURROUNDING THEM. This has led us to our newest adventure- taking a trip around our school neighborhood! We found so many interesting things along the way. Some of the highlights were numbers and letters, plants, patterns, gelato and pizza! After returning to our classroom, the Pandas were very excited to map out their journey and start learning more about maps and geography. This week we took a trip on Google earth all the way from outer space to AOSR. The pandas are now excited to find The prime purpose of being four is to enjoy being four - of secondary importance is to prepare for being five. ~Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook, 1985 E L E M EN ta RY N EWS KINDER: H O P ING FOR S NOW ! DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS LEARNED All throughout January we practiced putting on our jackets “all by ourselves” while ABOUT THE SEASONS AND THE WEATHER! wishing for snow!! Every day we checked the thermometer to see if the conditionswere right for our wish to come true. While we waited for white flakes, we are worked on decorating our very own snowman collage, so if you get a chance come on by to take a look! During January we also learned about Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and how he worked to make the world a better place. In art we have made special hats with dragons for the celebration of the Chinese New year. A big warm welcome to our new students Elena C. and Cole W. By: Ms.Antinucci and Ms. D’Aquanni GRadE 2: A B USY M ONTH ! WE HAVE JUMPED RIGHT INTO THE NEW YEAR. WE CELEBRATED MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY BY LEARNING ABOUT FAIRNESS AND PEACE TO ALL PEOPLE. Ms. Waite’s class performed at the school assembly with High School students singing I’ve got peace like a river… Ms. DeVito’s class wrote special dreams they had to make the world a better place. All students shared their own “HISTORY” in a classroom museum. They wrote timelines and autobiographies, drew a self-portrait, and displayed their treasures and special collections for students and parents. This was a wonderful event for the entire 2nd grade! The 2nd graders visited a new exhibit in downtown Rome, Homo sapiens. This matched nicely with our study of early man and civilizations. We even were fortunate to have two guest chaperones: Ms. Ciuffreda and Ms. Prisco. They both were former 2nd grade teachers at AOSR. The children said it was a great experience. If you have the opportunity to visit this international, interactive multimedia exhibit, all the 2nd graders would highly recommend it. E L E M EN ta RY N EWS GRadE 3: A W A RM W EL C OME ! HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2012 is a special year for third grade as we welcome Ms. Robin Andrews to our third grade community. Ms. Andrews is replacing Ms. Kim Wheeler as she and her family moved to Australia. Ms. Andrews has been part of the AOSR family for many years and we are lucky to have such a wonderful, caring teacher who has been able to navigate this transitional time so seamlessly. We welcome you to AOSR, Ms. Andrews! In Social Studies and Science, third graders have been busy learning how to write the Greek alphabet and making healthy choices, respectively. Our historians have learned how to write their names in the Greek alphabet and our scientists have learned how to use the food pyramid in order to become healthy eaters. At home, we encourage you to discuss how the decisions we make about exercise, food, and sleep affect our overall health. Scientists have also studied a timeline of advances in health and would be interested to read the newspaper with you and learn of any new developments. In the future, we will be studying Greek architecture and simple machines. Thanks for helping us make cross-curricular connections! H E alt HC A RE NEWS FROM: G R A DE 5 Making models in math to explain your Our community service project has ideas and have a concrete example raised money for the Cinque Terre, of how you worked things out is one to help them rebuild a school. We of the best ways to improve your are also buying country books for math skills. Studies have shown the library. Thanks to all of you who that people who learn math only by have helped out by providing goods or using algorithms, and are not really consuming them at our Bake Sales. understanding how numbers work, do not do well in university. In the We are getting started with ever-growing reliance of our society ThinkQuest, an initiative started by on technology, math is a skill that we Ms. Moose last year, to help us learn all need at a higher level. Fifth grade responsible internet usage and how is preparing for that. We have been to use technology for educational learning multiplication, division, and purposes. fractions by building models. You We will be going on a joint field trip have probably noticed the steam to the Salvicci Farm in March with coming from our brains as we have first grade as part of our science battled with this and after much program. We all make mozzarella and tribulation –yayyyyyyea! We are fifth grade will teach first grade about making it happen. Phases of Matter. H E alt HC GA RER ad E 5 TEH S VENTEEN HELPERS A ND CINQUE TERRE MS. RUMSBY’S CLASS OF 5TH outlining their plan and pledging their GRADE STUDENTS decided that support. A bake-sale was next on the they would like to help out The Cinque agenda, our first one made over 300 Terre after devastating rainfall worked euro. its havoc in October 2011. Meantime we were busy doing Many of our community have artwork, discussing what had visited The Cinque Terre, which is a happened and how the people of The UNESCO World Heritage site, and Cinque Terre were feeling and writing famous for its beauty and its wonderful about what we were learning. breath-taking trails We were also trying out many new We looked at videos and news things in technology and were very footage of how it was and how it had thankful to Mr. Harroo for giving a become and the students decided that hand when the going got tough. they wanted to help in some way and at the same time learn more about this Our last fundraiser was in January wonderful place. and on the bake sale alone we made They had two over 300 euro. We goals: the first was still have to find out fundraising and about the Booster the second was to Bar. Students from drive and conclude the other classes in this project by 5th grade helped us themselves. This with this fundraiser was a total learning too and we were experience as none very thankful to the of us, especially PTO Booster Bar the teacher, had volunteers and the worked this way moms and dads who worked with us. before. (She just kept remembering We will be sending our donation to the words of Sugata Mitra, ‘children The Cinque Terre along with our DVD are the best teachers’ and crossing documentary. You can check out the her fingers tightly). blog for The Cinque Terre below. They chose their name, as you can http://www.rebuildmonterosso.com/ see from the title, and got on with the process of making a documentary of what they were doing. They wrote emails to the Mayor of Monterosso NEWS FROM THE AOSR LIBRARIES H E alt HC A RE Accelerated Reader The Middle and by Marta Rahm and Maria Falgoust Author Visit Elementary school students are becoming Happy new year! 2012 brings a new library familiar with the Accelerated Reader system to AOSR, called Follet Destiny https:// program.