AOSR News February 2004 WWW.AOSR.ORG

TEACHING NEW TEACHERS By Dr. Larry Dougherty, Headmaster

Excellent schools with excellent teachers have a responsibility to educate the next generation of teachers. As some of you know, we have had eight student teachers in our school this year. We have had an outstanding group of young people finishing their university practicum with us. All of the students who come to our school first have to pass a rigorous screening by their colleges and universities. They must have outstanding references and they have to demonstrate tremendous independence to be selected for an international student placement. If they are teaching in a discipline, they have to have fulfilled all of the requirements to qualify for a teacher in that discipline. Our student teachers have come from Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa, Minnesota State College, Christian Brothers University, and Boston College. From Iowa State University, Kelsey Wallace completed her student teaching in the Kindergarten class- room with Patricia Robertson; and Karen Hoover has worked in the P.E. program together with Carlyn Zaniboni. (Continued on page 14)

HOW THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES DETERMINES TUITION By Richard Zacaroli Chairperson, AOSR Board of Trustee

At the annual January Board of Trustees meeting, the Board of Trustees will consider and decide what the tuition and fees will be for the 2004-05 school year. This is a responsibility the Trustees take very seri- ously. So, what are the Trustees’ objectives in establishing the tuition and fees schedule for the next school year? The Board determines tuition necessary to address our priorities for strengthening our academic pro- grams, attracting and retaining outstanding teachers and improving the physical and learning environment for our children. In addressing these goals, we consider the following financial considerations: The tuition and fees must be sufficient to cover our projected costs, and maintain a positive cash flow. Importantly it is not AOSR’s objective to make a profit. While AOSR pays Italian taxes, we operate as a Not- For-Profit corporation. Simultaneously it is our objective to keep tuition within the range of other international schools, as Rome is a very competitive market for English Language students. Our student population has grown because of the high quality of our faculty and our educational programs. The tuition increases we have had over the years have financed the improvements to our academic programs that have contributed to our success. We must continue to make prudent decisions regarding tuition and fees now and in the future to ensure our pro- (Continued on page 17)

Contents Message from the 1 More PTO News 10 MS News 17 Bon- 24 Headmaster Appetito Trustees’ Report 4 Poetry 12 HS News 18 Il Foro 25 All-School News 3,4,6, Pre-K News 13 News from the 19 Calendar 26 7,8 Counselor AOSR 2004 Ball 5 Carnevale 14 Sports Briefs 20,21

PPAC 8 ES News 15 Notes from the Field 22 1 PTO Corner 9 MS News 16 Rome ‘N’ About 23 Publisher’s News Welcome to Mariela Ortiz who has volunteered to be the Falcon NO CLASS DAYS Flyer’s Graphics Editor. She joins Marlene Der-Khachadourian Ski Week (Distribution) as well as our regular Monday 16 through Friday 20 columnists, Doug Kneeland, Sue Ber- School begins Monday, February 23 ton, and Claudia Sobral. We are really happy to announce a contribution to “Rome’N’About” by Sabine Neumann. Welcome to newcomer columnist Katherine Berton who will tell us what is going on in Grade 6. Corrections: In last month’s Falcon Flyer, the last line was left off of Dr. Pfannl’s National Principals’ PTO Partners Award report on page 3 of the December/January Falcon Flyer. It should read: Carol Atwood [email protected] Susan Berton [email protected] Dr. Pfannl was also presented Julie Deptula [email protected] with a U.S. Department of State Cer- Grazia Deulus [email protected] tificate of Appreciation for dedicated Lisa Finerty [email protected] Susan Haight [email protected] service and outstanding contributions Francesca Kelly [email protected] to children overseas, by the Office of Laura Rumpf [email protected] Overseas Schools directed by Dr. Monique Smits [email protected] Keith Miller. The award was given by Ana Volk [email protected] Assistant Secretary of State, Dr. Wil- Moshira Zelenka [email protected] liam Eaton.

As always, please call if we can help! Happy Valentine’s, Carnevale, Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year, and Ski Week everyone! Lisa Finerty Editor Important Phone Numbers School Number: 06-334-381 Fax: 06-3326-2608 is a monthly publication of the Headmaster: Larry Dougherty 06-3343-8331 Headmaster’s Secretary : Domenica Losani 06-3343-8331 American Overseas School of Principal: Beth Pfannl 06-3343-8326 Rome (AOSR) Principal’s Secretary: Alessandra Cozzi 06-3343-8326 Admissions: Don Levine 06-3343-8300 To make comments or suggestions, or to submit an Reception/Secretary: Joanne Hoberg 06-3343-8300 Financial Consultant: Elisa Bruno 06-3343-8338 article to the Falcon Flyer, please call editor Lisa Fin- Boarding/Finance: Estelle Dougherty 06-3343-8339 erty at 06-4782-6192, or send an email to ptonewslet- Guidance Counselor: Donna Ross 06-3343-8327 [email protected]. A Flyer submission box is also located Nurse: Diane Cullen-Moore 06-3343-8321 in the Principal’s office. After School Activities: Christine Hogan 06-3343-8320 Margaret Ciuffreda MS Actvities Coord.: Angela Santangelo 06-3343-8336 Resource Room: Karen Lee 06-3343-8302 Next Deadline 2-18-04 Records Office: Marina Benetti 06-3343-8315 The deadline for submission of articles for the PTO/Boutique 06-3343-8322 March Flyer is Wednesday, February 18, for news Via Cassia 811 and announcement for the period, March 1st 00189 Rome, Italy to April 3, 2004. Internet: www.aosr.org

2 All School News

AOSR Music Gets a Teachers bring Giant Technology Upgrade back ideas By Roy Zimmerman, HS Music Teacher from ECIS

Exciting new equipment in the computer lab conference means good news for AOSR music students. The school By Jane Rumsby and has just purchased eight music production workstations, Carlyn Zaniboni enabling Mr. Zimmerman’s theory and composition stu- dents to explore the Number One musical instrument of In November, teachers who went to the Euro- today, the computer! pean Conference of International Schools (ECIS) in The specific description of the equipment may Hamburg attended an inspiring pre-conference work- not impress the layman, but try telling a recording engi- shop, called “Operation Respect.” It was run by Peter neer about our sleek Roland PC-100 keyboard midi- Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary musical fame). controllers, which plug straight into Steinberg’s Cubase The workshop focused on de-escalation of con- sequencer, equipped with their hot new grand piano, flict, assertiveness training, communication skills, and virtual guitarist, and synthesizer/sampler plug-in mod- mutual support. These issues permeate all aspects of ules. Students will wear professional headphones as our lives --- from the way we talk to bus drivers, the they cook up their musical concoctions; they will be cleaning staff, our children, our spouses, and even to producing a whole CD full of their work by the end of the tellers at the bank. the school year. The topics learned at the workshop have been Since the advent of the digital age, every note of introduced at the MS, and the students’ response is music we hear has passed through computer processing. positive and encouraging. Grades 2-5 have the materi- Only very recently, however, has it been possible for a als also, and teachers who attended the conference have school budget to acquire complete music production offered to do hands-on workshops in the other classes. packages for its students. Without exaggerating, AOSR It has already been implemented in the Grade 3, and can say that its music production gear make mythical third grade students will present the topic of “Respect” 1960’s studios like Abbey Road or Muscle Shoals seem at an ES assembly on Friday, January 30, at 2:15. very tacky indeed.

American Women’s Associa- tion of Rome members and guests celebrated the holi- days together at an elegant reception held at Villa Tav- erna. The December event featured a special perform- ance by the American Over- seas School of Rome choir. AWAR President, Lori Hickey Mucci, wrote in their newsletter, “It was definitely a very special occasion we will all remember for many years to come. Without ques- tion, the children from the AOSR Middle School Choir provided the ultimate festive touch.” (photo courtesy of www.awar.org)

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AOSR Board of Trustee Biographies Don Levine is at it again….

•The Pinus table now has a top, with its biography and Last issue the Falcon Flyer presented the biographies of reason for being wood-carved into it. the four Board of Trustee members elected at the Novem- •The container classrooms out back now have a wooden ber corporation meeting. This month, we present the bi- porch designed and built by our own Matt Tupper. A ographies of an additional four Trustees, and present the table and chairs will be added as another work remaining four in our next issue. Contact information for area for the students and the surrounding area is being all Board members is in the School Directory. dressed up with flowerbeds and laurel bushes. It should TODD ATWOOD be very nice when completed. Todd Atwood is an American citizen and has been a •Teachers have been using the new tables and chairs resident of Rome since March 1998. He is married to Carol donated in part by the PTO. The terrace overlooking Atwood and has three children attending AOSR: Sam in Grade 5th, Jason in Grade 1st, and Sylvia in Pre-K. He has served on the Hillside theater where the new tables and chairs are the AOSR Board for four years and is currently Board Vice- located is a great place to eat lunch. Chairman. Mr. Atwood works with Colgate-Palmolive where he •The area between the gym and the Villa now has a gar- is European Business Category Director. He has previously den and sitting area. The full beauty will be realized served on the Board of Directors of Cosmederm Corporation when the Spring planting season arrives. and Duke University. Prior to his business career he was both a Next time on campus, look around! teacher and coach at Charlotte Latin School and Wallace O'Neal Day School. He attended and remains closely involved with several private schools in the U.S. and Istanbul. Hold the press: Semester II enrollment is about 600.

CHRISTINE MARCIASINI Christine Marciasini is an American citizen who has been a resident of Rome since 1989. She is currently Assistant Director and Registrar of Loyola University of Chicago in Rome. She is married to Marco Prosperi and has two children at Cafeteria News AOSR: David, Grade 7 and Sarah, Grade 3. She previously served two consecutive terms as a After cooking “three square meals” member of the Board of Trustees from 1995 to 2001. While on during the school holidays, most of us agree that it is a the Board she served AOSR as Vice Chair of the Board, Chair nice service for students to be able to purchase hot, of the Personnel Committee, and Co-Chair of the by-laws com- mittee. She took a by-law mandated pause from Board service home-made lunches that are so tasty here at school. in 2002-2003, but she continued to serve AOSR by taking on the Paying for them on the Student ID “credit cards” duties of Treasurer of the Corporation and remaining on the Per- makes things simpler also. sonnel Committee. She is also a US attorney and has practiced When the credit on these cards runs out, the international law in Italy, concentrating on employment law, cafeteria doesn’t turn your hungry student away. The non-profit corporation and corporation law for 10 years. managers of the cafeteria allow students to charge lunch on credit, but a letter from “Romana Gestione SERGIO MASSERINI Mensa,” is sent out to parents. Please respond to this Sergio Masserini is an Italian citizen, presently serving notice if you get one by sending in some money im- as a Board Member. He and his wife Mariella have a son, mediately to recharge the card. Remember, if you Lorenzo, in Grade 7 at AOSR. Mr. Masserini is a Partner and VP, Avionics and Defense for Intermark Sistemi, which is the have any money left on the card at the end of the year, Italian representative of several US leading industries. Before you can either be refunded the credit or you can elect becoming associated partner at Intermark, he led sales and mar- to carry the balance forward until the next school year. keting for Thales Communications in Italy and worked over 25 years with Rockwell Collins. Throughout this time, he worked for long periods in the U.S., managing international business development operations. Alumni News Congratulations to AOSR Alumna, Margot GENE WILLIAMS: Sikabonyi, who is starring in “Aggiungi un Posto a Gene Williams is an American citizen. He and his wife Tavola” (“Set another place at the table”), now being Genevieve have two sons. He is a graduate of Duke University performed at the Teatro La Sistina (near the Spanish and the University of Alabama. He worked for 31 years in the Steps). United States Foreign Service, 20 years abroad in seven coun- tries. He has been involved in several international schools in Margot, since graduating from AOSR in Brussels, New Delhi, Athens and Rome. He has served on the 2002, has been a regular on Italian National TV (“Un AOSR board for two years from 1996-98. His oldest son Cedric Medico in Famiglia” on RAI) and has starred in a live graduated from AOSR in June 2002. Son, Christopher, is pres- theater production, performing in French, in Paris. ently in Grade 11.

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AOSR Ball 2004 Saturday, February 7

By now you must have already circled the date on your calendar, and are already busy call- ing your friends to fill your table. Last year over 150 guests attended this wonderful evening – hopefully you will be part of the festivities this year!

The AOSR Ball will be held once again at the Hotel & Resort Borgo Bamboccio, located at Via della Giustiniana 990. This exquisitely refurbished ancient fortress of medieval design is an all-suite hotel located within the boundaries of the Archaeological Park of Veio. We en- courage you to check out their website at www.borgobamboccio.it.

Cocktails will be held in the “Don Ferdinando” room starting at 7:30pm, and we will then move to the “Pieter Van Laer” room at 8:30pm for a 5-course dinner and dancing. Maurizio Massimi and his orchestra will provide music for the evening; there will be a silent auction, as well as some lovely surprises for all who attend this elegant evening. A beautiful souvenir Gala Booklet will be distributed to all attendees, as well as to our sponsors, members of the international community in Rome, and friends of AOSR throughout the world. Further details can be found on the AOSR website.

The donation for the evening is € 70 per person, and groups of 10 people receive our “Ten for Ten” special offer – a 10% discount. All ten tickets must be paid for and picked up at the same time. Tickets are still on sale at the following locations:

AOSR – Domenica Losani – 06-3343-8331 Olgiata – Carol Atwood – 06-3088-9705 Vigna Clara – Laura Rumpf – 06-329-1827 Giustiniana/PTO Boutique – Susan Haight – 06-3031-0876

For information - please contact Domenica Losani at 06-3343-8331 for any questions you may have.

We look forward to seeing you on February 7th!

Deadline for Reservations and Payment to attend the Ball is Friday, January 30, 2004

5 All School News

(continued)

After-School Activities Abound! Second Session Starts February 23 PREPARATION UNDERWAY FOR HS WELLNESS DAY What do double-dutch jump-roping, badminton, ceramics, synchronized swimming, and board games PROGRAM have in common? That’s easy. They’re all activities in- AOSR will hold a Wellness Day for HS cluded in the new program of AOSR After-School Ac- students on March 4. tivities. Teachers and administrators are cur- Yes, it’s time to sign up again for one -- or sev- rently planning a program for this day and are eral -- fun activities that can be enjoyed right here on asking adults in the AOSR community if they our own campus, from 3:30 to 4:45 pm, once the first might be able to help present a health topic that session After-School Activities end on Thursday, Febru- is relevant to this age group. ary 12. The second session begins Monday, February Currently planned are mini seminars to 23, after Ski Week.. educate, enlighten, and inspire students to de- The program is divided into three sections -- velop positive skills. This program will focus Elementary School, Middle School and High School/ Adult -- and offers something for just about everyone. not only on the physical, but also social, emo- Elementary students have basketball, synchronized tional, relational and psychological health of the swimming, badminton, choir, guitar club, gymnastics, adolescent student. Positive growth and devel- Girl Scouts (Daisy, Brownie and Junior troops), paint- opment encompasses the “complete person.” ing, games and much more!! Middle schoolers can do 3- Adolescents struggle with many chal- on-3 basketball, Girl Scout Cadettes, music lessons, ce- lenges in the years between MS and graduation ramics, board games and more. from HS. Much research on this age group em- High School students and adults can choose phasizes the increased conflict and stress this from several activities, including music lessons, English generation must endure. The program will help conversation, board games, swimming and computer. students develop coping mechanisms for health There’s just no end to the fun you can have between challenges. now and the end of the year from 3:30 to 4:45PM. The After-School Activities program booklet Knowledge is power and thus this pro- has already been sent home, so if you haven’t seen it, be gram will serve to educate, then offer positive sure to stop in the ASA office and pick one up. Second choices, by exposing students to a variety of session After-School Activities program begins Febru- methods and techniques to cope with life’s chal- ary 23 and goes until May 28. lenges. In time of distress and crisis we all need to have a plethora of skills and positive habits to turn to which are not destructive (smoking, ex- Lost and Found cessive eating and alcohol consumption, drugs, violence, isolation-- to name but a few). All lost and found items were placed out With the assistance of our AOSR staff on tables outside of the gym on Friday, and in partnership with parents, we are seeking January 16. The unclaimed items which presenters for this program in order to meet the remain after Monday, January 26 will be washed in the unique needs of each HS student as he/she laundry room outside of the cafeteria and remain there for moves through this challenging phase of his/her one week. The items remaining will be donated to char- ity the first week of February. If you are looking for life. something specific, please see Ms. Zaniboni or one of the If you have an interest, a hobby, a pro- IB Students that are handling this project: Chiara Siravo, fession that you would like to share with the Sey Smith and Davide Lelli. staff and students, please contact Jody Ballard And remember to LABEL your children’s cloth- at 339 772-1385 or email to [email protected]. ing, especially outerware and sweatshirts. — Jody Ballard If you find clothes that do not belong to anyone Family Counselor in your family, please send them back to the Lost and Found. 6 All School News

(continued) Start Thinking about the AOSR GIRL SCOUT COOKIES EN- Summer Camp ROUTE TO AOSR! It’s a Sports Camp, an Arts and Theater By Barbara Faidley and Millie Kneeland, Camp, and a Swimming Camp all rolled into one! It’s AOSR Girl Scout Representatives the AOSR Summer Adventure Camp. The sports agenda for the 2004 camp includes This year’s supply of Girl Scout cookies started soccer, lacrosse, tennis, volleyball, flag football, bas- out from Rhode Island, by sea to Holland, by ketball, baseball, ultimate Frisbee and, for those who train to Livorno and by truck to Rome. This lit- choose the full-day program, swimming! AOSR’s tle bit of “home” will be available from all the Girl Scouts at wonderful outdoor Hillside Theater houses the ac- AOSR. The school has a Daisy, Brownie, Junior, and claimed theatrical offerings in which every camper Cadette/Senior troop that will be selling cookies as soon as takes part. Painting, acting, singing and dancing, as they arrive in Rome. Girls will be selling cookies individu- well as work on scenery and costumes are all in- ally and there will be booth sales at the school every Mon- cluded. day and Friday after school throughout the months of Janu- Designed for children ages 3-15, the camp ary and February. There are 8 types of cookies this year and features specially designed recreational activities each box will cost euro 3,00. Last year they were sold for based on summer camp programs in the United States. 3,50. (Finally, SOMETHING dropped in price!) These camp activities, songs and games are always a The cookie sale is sponsored by the Rome hit with children. And, at the end of every session, Neighborhood Girl Scouts. There will be 8 troops selling campers will take part in Olympics Day and be treated throughout the city. The Girl Scouts sell cookies at schools to a real American picnic. Of course, we’re proud of and universities throughout the city and to friends and rela- the quality of its camp instructors, including members tives. This year the Girl Scouts will be selling more than of AOSR’s own staff. As an added bonus, door-to- 4500 boxes of cookies. After paying for the cookies, part of door bus service is available. the profit goes to North Atlantic Girl Scouts to support pro- Camp is divided into two sessions:. June 21- grams for Girl Scouts throughout Europe. The rest of the July 2, and July 5-16. For the “Pre-K Pods” (pre- profits stay in the Rome Neighborhood. Most of it goes to school children ages 3-6) there is an additional session the troops and girls that were selling to cookies for special offered, June 14 to June 18. Campers may choose to events and other things for their troops. A small portion of attend the half-day program from 9 am to 12:30 pm the profits goes to the total Rome Neighborhood to help for €250 a session, or the full-day program from 9 am fund the activities for all the Girl Scouts in Rome. Girl to 3:30 pm for €350. Scouts of the USA are located at schools all around the Another camp — Total Sports — will be held world. July 19-23, and costs €175. The Girl Scouts celebrate an international celebra- Registration forms are available at the main tion of scouting on February 22 which is the birthday of both office, by writing [email protected],. Or, you Lord and Lady Baden-Powell who started the scouting can always call 06-3343-8320 for more information. movement for boys and girls. The U.S. Girl Scouts cele- brate their founder’s (Juliette Lowe) birthday on March 12. HELP THE GIRL SCOUTS IN ROME AND BUY GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. Look for posters on display at the school to show you the types of cookies available this year and when the sale will be starting. English is a Funny Language!

When sailing out from England to the eastern Let Your Fingers Do the Walking - at least parts of the Empire (India etc) the north (port) side during the planning stages! of the ship was more comfortable as it was shaded Every year there are new teachers and personnel who from the sun in the southern sky. come for the first time to Rome, so teachers and parents have When returning home, it was the starboard begun putting together a “Travel Binder” of interesting places side that was to the north, shaded, and preferred by the passengers. to visit, good places to eat, and reasonable places to stay for Wealthy travelers could afford to pay extra AOSR school newcomers. This folder, categorized by for these preferences and therefore their baggage “Europe”, “Italy” and “Rome”, is located in the Teachers’ was marked “Port Out ,Starboard Home,” or "POSH" Lounge. for short. Please direct contributions of information to this folder to Tara Rosso, in her mailbox or through email. 7 All School News PPAC NEWS (cont.)

AOSR Teachers Visit Rome’s The December 15 PPAC MEETING was cancelled in or- Holiday Exhibitions der to bid farewell to Hope Moore, the PTO President, On Wednesday, December 17, AOSR spon- whose family was transferred from Rome. The next sored this year’s first social event for teachers. meeting is scheduled for January 26, at 13:15 PM, and Twenty-three teachers (as well as the mothers of two the subsequent meeting is scheduled for February 23 at of them!) were taken, by school van, to the most sig- 9:15 AM. There will be a report on both meetings in next nificant “presepi” (nativity scenes) in Rome. AOSR month’s issue. Parent Susan Berton prepared her famous “Holiday Eggnog” (the recipe was published in the December PPAC Members: Falcon Flyer) and sent it along by thermos with the Grazia Deulus Millie Kneeland Sam Simpson bus driver. After viewing the exhibits, the teachers Carolyn Grosso Claudia Ottolenghi Claudia Sobral decided to have a holiday supper at a family restau- Susan Haight Cinzia Palana rant in Rome. Lisa Finerty Beth Pfannl, Principal The installations visited were: • The oldest presepio in the world, at St. Maria Maggiore, • The 17th century Neopolitan installation at the The AOSR Ball Benefit Owes church of Saints Cosimo and Damiano near the Republican Forum (where there are so many Much to Jimmy and Christine characters that finding Bambino Gesu is like ask- ing “Where’s Waldo?”) , • The official presepio of the diocese of Rome at AOSR has a Theater program unparalleled in Rome. St. John Lateran, and th Last year AOSR presented its 40 annual Shakespeare Festi- • The annual exhibit of 100 presepi at the Sala di val, drawing its audience from parents, neighbors, alumni, Bramante, at Piazza del Popolo. and Italian high school students. Other AOSR annual per- formances, like the MS Fall play, the HS Improv Show, the The most interesting seemed to be found th HS Night of One-Act Plays, the 5 Grade Musical, the 3rd among the installations at the Bramante exhibit: one Grade Musical, and 2nd Grade Egyptian Play are eagerly an- was entirely made out of telephone wires, and an- ticipated by participants as well as viewers. Our student per- other was designed and built by a group of adults formers have fans from all over the world! with emotional disabilities, and intended to commu- The Theater program, as well as the Fine Arts and nicate some of the anguish of mental illness. Music programs, are supported, in large part, by the fundrais- The teachers were really appreciative that the ing at the annual Ball Benefit, to be held this year on Satur- school arranged the van. All in all, it was a very wel- day, February 7 (see the advertisement on page 5). come, wonderful social event which the participants The money raised at the Ball (dinner, program adver- all want to do again soon. tisements, and silent auction) contributes to all of the school’s theater productions for costume rental, script purchases, set design and construction, stage lighting, and is also used to purchase musical instruments and scores, as well as art mate- AOSR ESL Classes for rials. Employees This year’s Ball is being organized by Jimmy McDi- vitt, an OSR alumnus and current Board Member. This is the AOSR’s maids have now joined AOSR’s bus second year that he has given his cheerful energy and organ- drivers in studying English in the school-sponsored izational skills on behalf of the Gala. They are appreciated. ESL classes. Last year was the first year of the pro- Thank you so much, Jimmy! gram, and it was very successful. The tradition of the Gala Ball Benefit, goes back a The ESL graduation ceremony in June was long way — 32 years!— and was rekindled and maintained attended by almost all of the staff and staff families, for many years by Christine Hogan, fifth grade teacher and and was followed by a reception in the Quad. AOSR parent. The AOSR Ball owes much to Christine's en- The ESL valedictorian for the class of 2003 ergy, leadership and hard work building this founda- is the person responsible for printing the Falcon tion. Thank you, Christine! Flyer, Egidio Luzi. Congratulations! 8

THE PTO’s CORNER

Along with the new year have come some ciate that – and we all know how much they deserve it! changes at the PTO. We bid a fond and sad farewell You may also have noticed that Santa Claus to our outgoing President, Hope Moore, whose pres- made an appearance right before our holiday break. ence will be very much missed. Sabine Neumann, our We are so grateful that S.C. was able to use his sleigh Vice President, has now stepped smoothly into the to fly right over Via Cassia traffic and come greet the role of Acting President with the support of other students, teachers and staff at AOSR! PTO board and committee members — it’s going to Our Boutique is doing a lucrative business this take a lot of us to replace one Hope! But we’re carry- year. Many of you sellers and buyers have discovered ing on with enthusiasm. what a hot meeting point the Boutique is every Tues- Speaking of enthusiasm, we’re putting to- day. If you don’t already know it, you can actually gether baskets for the Gala Ball Silent Auction. make quite a bit of money in the Boutique selling your (You’ve already bought your tickets to the Ball, unwanted items. (All items must be in very good condi- right? The Gala Ball is on February 7 – read all about tion with no breakage, stains or tears.) But even if you it elsewhere in the Falcon Flyer as well as on the choose not to sell, don’t forget that you can also donate www.aosr.org website.) The PTO is contributing your unwanted clothes and bric-a-brac to the Boutique, theme baskets —and this is something fun you can which allows the PTO to keep the full profit of your help with! Right now, we have the following theme donation. It’s a very worthy cause and the funds go baskets which would benefit from donations and are right back into PTO programs which benefit your kids! being coordinated by school parents and staff: Another huge school fund-raiser is the PTO- sponsored Booster Bar. Not only does this benefit Italian Basket (Gloria Contaduca) whatever club or team volunteers to run each Booster Israeli Basket (Joseph Alfassy) Bar (because they keep the profits), it also gathers the American Basket from Gaeta (Diane Halloran) community together for a fun time. New procedures are Mexican Basket (Sue Berton) now in place to help the Booster Bar work even better Book Basket from Teachers (Lori Tibbett) for you and for the school. Wine Basket from the Board (Rich Zacaroli) We’ll see you at the AOSR Gala Ball on Feb- Afternoon Tea Basket (Francesca Kelly) ruary 7th! And please join us at our next PTO meeting Magazine Basket (Francesca Kelly) on Monday, February 9, at 9:15 in the Boutique. Baking Basket (Haight and Sensi families) Francesca Kelly PTO Secretary Can you think of other fun theme baskets to put together for the Silent Auction? A pet care bas- ket? A chocoholic’s basket? A video/CD basket? A school supplies basket? A bath-time basket? A beau- tiful basket full of Italian papers and stationery? A “flu basket” full of medicines, tissues, magazines and a funny video? A cooking utensil basket? If you don’t want to make your own basket, feel free to contact one of the people above to con- tribute an item to their baskets – they’ll gladly accept. You can also come help us tie up the baskets with cellophane and ribbons so they look all the more enticing for the ball. PTO members will be in the Boutique starting at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb- ruary 4, so if you are contributing a basket, please have it delivered to the Boutique by then. You should include a list of contents, your name, the basket theme name, and an approximate value. Contact Lori Tibbett for more information at ltib- [email protected] or at 06-3089-6566. This is the bell that Dr. Pfannl received as Thank you to everyone who contributed a commemoration of her National Distin- goodies to the Teacher Appreciation Brunch in guished Principal award. It is now in the December. You can’t imagine how much they appre- School Office.

9 MORE PTO NEWS

Teacher Appreciation Valentine’s Message: Holiday Brunch Love Through the Eyes of the I wish to thank all of you who Children sent items for the Teacher Appre- ciation Holiday Brunch, and the A group of professional people posed this question to a volunteers who helped me on group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The an- that day. We had some good swers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could specialties to enjoy from the world, for our have imagined. See what you think: teachers, administration and staff. They also enjoyed the coffee and candies which Saiwa "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and donated. paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the —- time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca, Grazia Deulus age 8 “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy, age 4 "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl, age 5 Basket Items Needed "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy, The AOSR Gala 2004 will be February 7th. age 6 This event is a fun fundraiser for the art, music, "Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri, age 4 "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she and drama departments at AOSR. takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." In addition to the dancing, dining, and rev- Danny, age 7 elry, the Silent Auction is the big part of the "Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kiss- fundraiser. ing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss." Emily, age 8 As you noted in “PTO Corner” on page 9), "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop open- PTO is helping to organize the donation of sev- ing presents and listen," Bobby, age 7 eral themed baskets for the Silent Auction. We "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend need help with donations for an American Bas- who you hate". Nikka - age 6 ket, Israeli Basket, Italian Basket, Mexican Bas- "Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, and then he wears it everyday". Noelle age 7 ket, and for the book basket, and wine bas- "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still ket. Last year there was a great single malt friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy, age 6 whisky basket, too. "During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I Teachers, too, are asked to donate a book for looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore," the “Teacher-Sponsored Book Basket.” Items Cindy, age 8 can be give to Lori Tibbett or put them in her "My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone box by Wednesday, Feb.4. Any other donations else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare, age 6 or questions can be directed to any PTO mem- "Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine, age 5 ber. "Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris, age 7 "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.”Mary Ann, age 4 "I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren, age 4 "When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." Karen, age 7 Booster Bar "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget," Jessica, age 8 The PTO/Booster Bar And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia Committee has developed new guidelines and pro- once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of cedures to help run a Booster Bar event. This the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four booklet is available in the Principal’s office. Vol- year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman unteers are always needed to help with the opera- who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and tion of it on Fridays. If you are interested in help- just sat there. When his Mother asked him what he had said to the ing, call Sabine Neumann at 06 3326 6738 or neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry.” Carol Atwood at 06 3088 9705.

10 First Graders are “Heroes” in HS Stories Yearbook Issues Ms. Harris’ American Literature class practiced By Lori Tibbett writing for an audience last term. The project, writing children’s storybooks for kindergarten and first grade children, was created in cooperation with Ms. Shelly Seniors: Deadlines are approaching for this Young, who chose four first graders to come to the high year's senior pages. The deadline to send in pic- school to be interviewed by the whole 11th grade Ameri- can Literature class. They volunteered their ideas as to tures to be professionally scanned is Friday, what kind of children’s book stimulated their interest the January 30. Write-ups for senior pages will be most. due in February and completed pages, including The final books were giant-sized and, without layout will be due at the end of February to al- surprise, featured the three children as protagonists low time for the yearbook staff to read, edit and (“We’re heros!”). They were artistically done, with illus- fix any problems. trations and photos. The American Literature class volunteered to Parents: Time to start thinking about sponsor- read them to the Kindergarten at Ms. Roberts and Ms. ing this year's yearbook with an ad for your busi- Prisco’s holiday party on the last day of class before win- ness or a special ad for your graduating senior. ter break, and the kindergarten students were fascinated by the action-packed stories. The HS students learned Everyone: Articles and pictures will be ac- how to read with appropriate, dramatic expression for this age group. cepted throughout the spring. For help or infor- And all who participated at every phase of the mation, contact any yearbook member or Ms. project had fun doing this assignment. Flaherty or Ms. Tibbett.

Cheers for the Cheerleaders!

The After School Activities cheerleaders made their campus debut on January 14 at the AOSR- Marymount Basketball Game. Ms. Rosso, shown in the photo, above, with the team, coaches this dedicated group of 12 girls, in Grades 2 to Grade 6. The day of the cheerleaders’ first performance was made even more exciting by the reorganization of their final stunt. One of the team members broke her leg over the holiday vacation, and the girls needed to quickly revamp the human pyramid to accommodate the misfortune of their team member. The team was outfitted in the teeshirts that were given to them by the Cross Country Team after the ASIL Tournament Championships in October. During the season, the girls were so busy preparing their routine that they didn’t have time to make themselves pom-poms but hope to do so --- and will!-- if the activity is of- fered for a second After School session.

11 Ms. Rabin's 11th grade English class wrote poems to evoke imagery. In the class exercise, the names of the poets were removed and all poems, including some by published poets, were read aloud in class. The students then critiqued each of the poems by writing letters to their (unknown) author. Each student then received the written “fan mail” for his/her poem.

The following three poems were submitted for the exercise. Their authors are revealed here for the first time!

School On a Wet Cold Monday By Julian Brophy

The blanket of dark grey clouds, The soft pitter patter of raindrops on the ground tired feet moving slowly through the dim corridors wandering eyes, tired, not knowing where to wander. low whispers of the past few days the dank smell of predominant dampness the feeling of linen now far away. Those who stand aloof. contemplating nothing; or perhaps – the meaning of life…

Summer Day by Davide Lelli Crowd

by Agnese Marino It was a hot summer afternoon; my friends and I were playing soccer on the seashore. I stand in a crowd While we ran in the water we they walk fast could hear the splashes of it on our with their heads down undressed bodies, and we could feel the sun beams on our backs which by that Their stammering footsteps, time were starting to burn and itch. pounding with my heartbeat. The time went by swiftly and I My hands feel sweaty, and I wave them was overwhelmed by juvenile thoughts to push aside the stench of routine of how those hours should have lasted that won’t let me breathe for ever. The air I breathed gave me a sense of liberty and power. my mind is a cage of swirling thoughts These feelings are now far away, and I yell, to let some out and certainly a lot of time will pass before I can repeat this experience; grey eyes all around me – they don’t see; but now I understand that when they don’t hear; they don’t notice we have certain inspiring moments in our their faces are insipid life, those will come to an end! there is no their paths are set way one can capture a moment in time, thus all we have to do is: hope for new they walk fast emotions. with their heads down

12 Celebrate Roman PRE-K NEWS Spring! By Alessandra Giannetti, AOSR Parent This month, the Pre-K class has been putting to- gether an aquarium. We began by looking at books about Once per year it's good to have a party! fish and fish care. Next, we had to prepare the fish tank. To celebrate spring's arrival in Rome, and The children helped us clean the sand and then arrange it mostly associated with the last days before the Chris- with plants in the aquarium. They watched excitedly as we tian Lenten holiday, we fry frappe. My grandmother, poured the water into the tank. We then voted for our fa- Nonna Maria, taught me how to prepare frappe for vorite fish to live in our aquarium. After the water was six people like this: 500gr of flour, 100gr of sugar, tested at a nearby pet store, we were ready to put the fish in 50gr of butter, 3 eggs, frying oil, few drops of beer, the tank. The children are taking turns feeding the fish and a pinch of salt. You should place the flour, the each day. We enjoy observing the fish (through magnify- eggs, the sugar, the butter in pieces, the salt, the ing glasses) as they adjust in their new home. drops of beer in the center of the big table and mix by Every day in school, both 3 and 4 year old children kneading to obtain a consistent texture. Leave the participate in a time called “small group.” Here the chil- mixture to stand for an hour. Roll out the mixture, cut dren have an opportunity to work with one teacher in in strips and fry. Powder with caster (confectioner’s) groups no larger than 8 children. This time always includes sugar and serve. theme-based literature and related activities. These are traditional pastries that are made, The three year olds are investigating “Winter.” in almost an identical way, to traditional springtime They are reading books, singing songs and acting out finger pastries in other European countries. For example, in plays about winter. They worked together to make a class Spain, they are called orejas and in France, snowman (out of paper). The children sorted clothes by merveilles. I recently learned from Ms. King from “winter” and “summer” and then practiced putting on their Texas that on Mardi Gras in New Orleans they also own winter jacket and mittens or gloves and hat. The chil- make a cake, which originally was made for the king, dren also had a “snowball fight” using paper for snow and and called gallette du roi. This year, “Fat then tried to throw their snowballs into a hoop. Tuesday” (the day before Lent begins) falls on Febru- The four year olds are split into 2 groups. One ary 24. group is currently investigating their “Five Senses.” From Auguri di primavera! making their own “smelly book” to learning sign language to playing guessing games with instruments, the children are exploring their sense of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. The other group is looking closely at “The Neighborhood.” Here they are looking at community help- News from Rome ers such as people who work at the post office, the fire sta- (thank you to all contributors) tion and the police station. The children have the chance to write a letter to themselves and mail it from school. A police officer will come to visit the school this • Cars must turn on their head- month and talk about his job. lights on all main streets (e.g. raccordo annulare and highways) even in the daytime. Motorini Upcoming Events in February… must always have them on, everywhere and at all times. Pink Day — day to be announced • Starting January 2004, every 15 year old must Mid-Year Progress Reports — delivered to families by get a driving license for the motorino - it is called February 6th 'patentino'. This applies to everyone who Mid-Year Parent Teacher Conferences — the week of Feb- drives, not just to Italian citizens. ruary 9th • January marks the end of the storni bird migra- —Kimberly Murphy tion through Rome. These migrating birds, Pre-K Coordinator which roost at Termini Railroad Station and EUR during the olive harvest, will soon fly to Tunisia in order to catch the next olive harvest. Meanwhile, enjoy their million-bird formations English is a Funny Language! in the urban sky at dawn and dusk (and watch where you walk at Termini; it is especially slip- In Scotland, a new game was invented. It was entitled pery under the trees after a rain!). “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden” and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

13 It is Carnevale Time!

Each year (or rather, when Carnival in Europe Carnevale doesn't fall exactly in the middle By Dario Marino of Ski Week), Mrs. Cioli and her first-year Italian students perform the Commedia AOSR Class of 2003 dell'Arte, the classic Italian street theater, in Italian, as a According to some, the term Carnevale means Mardi Gras event at the school. literally ‘to take away meat,’ from the two Italian During the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras (“Fat words “carne” and “levare.” This meatless period is Tuesday”), Mrs. Cioli chooses dialog from one of the 990 associated with the forty days before Easter, the comedies (she never even considers the ten tragedies!) to be Christian Lent. Lent begins always on a Wednesday memorized by her Italian I class. These students then script (since Easter is always on a Sunday) and the day their "improvisations." William Kelly, now in HS, remem- before Lent is called “Fat Tuesday” or “Martedi bers when he “played the kindergarten crowd” — to rave Grasso” (Mardi Gras, for short). This is when Chris- reviews (the little ones threw confetti). "Most of them tians ate their last “fat” meal, full of meat and sweets. This explains the old tradition of building a spoke Italian, too --- and they still liked it!" Lenten bonfire and burning all the herbs and wood Jordan Musselman said that even though he is not a used to cook the meat the evening of Mardi Gras, a "language guy," he still remembers his big line, "Sei tradition which is still in use today in some European Matto!" and has used it since then. countries. Annie Neumann, who played the comedic maid, In Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Columbina, a few years ago remembers she had a great cos- France, the tradition of Carnivale can be traced back tume to wear around the school the day of the perform- to ancient pagan beliefs that gave birth to other simi- ance. She was a little nervous when the class performed for lar manifestations, such as the feasts of Dionysus, the 8th grade but there was applause — and confetti — just or the feast of Saturnalia and Lupercalia, which all the same as in the first-grade classroom. happened in the late winter/early spring part of the year. In these festivals, masters became slaves and The Commedia gained its popularity in the Renais- slaves, the masters. All wore masks and there was sance in Venice as a reaction to the stiff drama that was in great revelry and drinking. fashion during most of Medieval time. This body of work, With the conversion of the Roman Empire to which features characters such as Pucinello (the role model the Holy Roman Empire under Constantine in about of the British "Punch" of "Punch and Judy"), and Arlec- 400 AD, these traditional feasts were lost for a time chino (Harlequin) even today defines the costuming of because paganism and its rituals were not accepted Carnevale, or Mardi Gras, in Italy and especially in Venice. by Christian society. These three students are now in Mr. Hendry's Im- In the Middle Ages, however, some celebra- prov class. All think it is much easier to write — and per- tions, such as the Feast of the Donkey and of the Madman, emerged which closely resembled the pre- form improvisation — in English. vious pagan festivals, and these were somehow tol- erated. Through the Renaissance and into the eight- eenth century, public masked festivals were ex- (Continued from page 1) Dr. Dougherty: “Teaching New Teachers”…. tremely popular and new figures and characters Andrea Stauffer, from Christian Brothers University in Mem- filled the streets with colorful masked parades. In phis and worked with Mrs. Scimatore in Italian and in first this century, Paris hosted several masked balls for grade under the supervision of Shelly Young. Jennifer Per- the Opera. reault, Gina Feudi and Luke Juran came from the University After a major decline that occurred in the past of Northern Iowa. Jennifer has worked in the third grade un- century, only a few European towns are still famous der the supervision of Jane Rumsby; Gina worked with Rich- today for the great Carnevale celebrations, which are mostly characterized by colourful firecrackers, ard Rice in the P.E. program and Luke did his student teach- and puppets of made up popular characters. Venice ing in Raleigh Werberger’s history class for one period and in and Viareggio, in Italy; and Nice, Bordeaux and few the middle school for his second period under the supervision other towns in France still maintain a tradition of of Donnie Pirozzi. Courtney Lane who arrived from Boston feasting and festivals in the days leading to College has taught secondary history under the tutelage of Lent. Alessandra Telmon. Katie Mortellaro from Minnesota State In the past centuries the popular celebration of College has worked for one period with Donnie Pirozzi in the Carnivale moulded together the different social middle school and Raleigh Werberger in HS history for her classes, an event in which everyone could be what- second period. ever they wanted to be, a feast that brought together and reflected the hopes and the dreams of the most These students bring tremendous energy, enthusiasm different peoples. It is a good thing to be celebrated. and expertise to our children. They pay their own airfare, room and board to come to Rome to work in our school. They eagerly contribute their expertise during and after school.

14

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS

Workshop for AOSR ES Teachers BOOK’ AUTHOR VISIT By Clem Ricci, ES Librarian Dr. Kennith Mechling, an interna- In December, the 4th and 5th graders were tionally recognized science educa- highly entertained by visiting author Caroline Lawrence tor, will give a workshop for AOSR who spoke about her books. She has written a popular ES teachers in February on how the series of mysteries for children that take place in An- scientific method (observation, cient Roman times. measurement, inference, and test) She told the audience about the research that she can be used to teach all ES subjects, does before starting her stories, and filled them in on not just science. some very amusing facts about daily life in Ancient Dr. Mechling is known for linking science and Rome. She was a very amusing and enlightening children’s literature, in addition to his work as a scien- speaker. Maybe you noticed her walking across the tist. His hands-on method captivated the nine AOSR quad that day. She was dressed in Roman garb! teachers who attended the Mediterranean Association of The children were enthralled by her talk, and so International Schools conference in Seville, Spain, in were the teachers. Salve! November last year. “Rooted” in Second Grade Second Grade to visit Mrs. Ciuffreda’s second graders had a long-term home project related to their history studies. Pigorini Museum We have been talking about Early Man, evolu- On February 24, the Ms. Ciuffreda and Ms. tion, and ancestors. The children worked together with Rosso’s second grade classes will go to the Pigorini their families to make a Family Tree, write an autobiog- Museum at EUR where they will visit the Prehistoric raphy (including photos), and a time line. They also section. This is part of their studies of Early Man. The brought in photocopies of their birth certificates and pass- museum has an extensive collection of prehistoric fos- ports. sils, and exhibitions of early farming practices and Then each child produced a “Treasure Box” to metal smelting from all over Europe. share with everyone. Each box was full of personal, spe- cial items (i.e. the first tooth, the first curl, a pacifier, a Christening gown, a first pair of shoes) which the chil- Third Grade News dren were proud to show. By Jane Rumsby and Susan Prideaux, We presented these projects to different grades, Third Grade Teachers and then to parents and grandparents on Friday, 23 Janu- ary. This was followed by a family tea party. Unfortunately, bad things happen and we were —Ms. Ciuffreda all extremely shocked to hear that one of our third nd grade students lost both parents in a horrific car acci- 2 Grade Visited Teatro Don Bosco dent. What was so touching and impressive is that not one day has passed by without a staff member or a Second grade students had a wonderful experience student and family going to visit this student in hospi- when they went to Teatro Don Bosco, 21 November. They tal. saw their first "operetta" in Italian. They enjoyed magical All his classmates in 3rd grade have written to moments of acting, singing, and ballet. The students were him and he really loved those messages. One parent mesmerized by the swift changes in scenery and colorful made an offer to pay school fees at AOSR, if there had costumes. been any economic problems. Another parent offered "The Strange Illness of Mr. Birillo Tappo" was him a home, if he had needed one. The entire school’s adapted and performed especially for children by the cleaning, administration, cafeteria and grounds staff Mimma Testa Ballet Company. Our children behaved contributed to gifts so that he could have the feeling of beautifully and were an appreciative audience. Thanks to being special to us. So many people drop by his class- Wendy’s mother, Cinzia Ciotti, for bringing the perform- room to ask for news of him. ance to our attention! This is what being a community is about —- Margaret Ciuffreda and Tara Rosso

15

MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS

The Sweetest Month The MS Science Fair is Coming! Gummy candies, chocolate bars, and Valentine’s hearts are just a few of the The annual Seventh Grade Science Fair will be many goodies that will be on sale in held sometime in April. While Mr. Ullman will have spe- Villa #11 the week of February 2. The MS cific ideas and suggestions for students next month, par- STUCO is busy preparing bags for over 120 stu- ents and students can develop a good sense of what’s in- dents. Don’t forget to stop in and buy your friends volved with a science fair project from different internet a special treat. These Valentine’s messages and links. sweets will be distributed on Friday, February 13. Your Science Fair Project Resource Guild, www.ipl.org/youth/projectguide, is a well-designed site and a good place to start looking for help for science pro- MS Ski Trip is Snow-Bound! ject. For an explanation of the scientific method, there

is a short movie at www.brainpop.com/science/matter/ On Sunday, February 15, at 6:45 AM, all MS scientificmethod/index.weml, and a comprehensive dis- skiers should be in front of the school, ready for de- cussion at www.school.discovery.com/ parture to the Bellunese Dolomites for AOSR Ski scientificmethod.html. Week 2004! There are sample projects done by seventh-grade All students are allowed ONE luggage per students at www.edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/jtindell/ person (not including skis, ski bags, and boots), and sample.html. should have a packed lunch or snack for the 9-hour Chem4Kids.com is a site devoted to chemistry; 18 bus ride to the Ski Civitta area. Don’t forget your elements are highlighted. money for optional ski/ski boot rentals which should The site, www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/ be E35-50 for the week and personal spending money ScienceInternet/ChartsGraphs.html is very helpful in ex- (recommended: E5/day). plaining to students how to use charts and graphs to dis- By Friday, February 13, please bring any play their findings. video tapes to school to the trip chaperones, if you (Thank you, Susan Haight, for the web research!) would like to share them during our bus rides. Students will be with their ski instructor and/ or AOSR chaperone at all times, and we will have each other’s cell phone numbers. I can be reached by Sports Before High mobile phone at 338/3664696. Should you care to School contact anyone at the hotel, the best time is at break- By Doug Kneeland fast (7:30 to 8:30 AM) or dinner (7:30-8:30 PM) at the Hotel Marmolada, Caprile (BN), 0437-721107. AOSR students in elementary and middle Mr. Mancini schools learn to play many different sports in physical educa- MS Ski Trip Coordinator tion classes. In addition, many sports are offered in the after- school-activities program and in summer sports camps. In physical education classes, students learn ways to STUCO NEWS increase strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endur- ance and flexibility. They also learn how to play traditional The MS STUCO and their teachers will schedule sports such as basketball, soccer, volleyball and tennis, as numerous fun-filled events during the second se- well as sports such as lacrosse, yoga and ultimate Frisbee. mester which begins January 26. We have already Middle school students can run with the high school scheduled a Valentine’s Candy Sale, the Ski Trip, cross country team, and the annual Middle School 3-on-3 Spirit Week, a Booster Bar, the 7th Grade Science basketball tournament runs for 6 weeks on Saturdays starting Fair, the Spring Dance, Drama and Music produc- February 28. The annual Middle School Sports Day in the tions, Sports Day, the 7th and 8th grade Prom and Spring gives every student the opportunity to compete on a more. team in sports such as volleyball and basketball, as well as Ms. Santangelo fun games such as “water on the head” and tug-of-war. STUCO Coordinator For more information, contact Richard Rice, Carlyn Zaniboni, or Christine Hogan.

16 More Middle School News ANTICS OF THE

RESIDENT ZAPPOLOGIST

This Month in 6th Grade High school music teacher, Roy Zimmerman, had a special Thanksgiving holiday this year because he By Katherine Berton was invited by the University of Genoa to lead a seminar on one of his favorite musicians, Frank Zappa. Uh-oh! Exams are coming up, and every- Together with Guglielmo Bilancioni, Guido Zac- body’s very nervous. Next week is going to be very cagnini, and Pietro Gallina, Mr. Zimmerman spoke to a tough, all the studying and such. Because we in the large and attentive audience, outlining the unique career Sixth Grade have never taken midterm exams before! and the aesthetic significance of Zappa’s work. But, you have to put up with it sometimes. We are very busy in the sixth grade, as al- In case you haven’t been paying attention, the resident ways, and right now we are studying several different Zappologist would like to remind you of the following units. Take English, for example. In English with facts: Mr. Mancini, we have started more writing, rather than grammar exercises. Creative thinking, I should Zappa’s first LP was the first double album in say, is what Mr. Mancini likes to call it. In math, we the history of popular music are reviewing every unit we have done so far this It was also the first ‘concept album’, coherently year, like the Metric System and decimals and divid- structured rather than a sequence of unrelated songs. ing with decimals. In computer class, we are con- Zappa was the first musician to record with the structing a slide show on a city of our choice. And in “wah-wah” pedal on the guitar (and he immediately used geography, we are on the verge of breaking into units it on woodwinds and keyboards as well). on India and China, but currently we are covering the His group, the Mothers of Invention, was the first whole world! In science, we are doing ‘the skin’ as a rock group to work with major symphony orchestras, unit. In P.E., Coach Canter is substituting for Mr. both in concerts and on record. Hall, and he does a good job, too. Zappa was the only popular musician ever to I’d like to say we are all having an easy time receive a commission from Pierre Boulez, the prince of preparing for the exams, but you never know. I can’t avant-garde art music. speak for everyone… Zappa was the only rock musician to be ap- pointed to a prestigious government position, when he was made a cultural attaché for the Czech Republic by MS 3 on 3 Basketball president Vaclav Havel. By Doug Kneeland Zappa loudly proclaimed abhorrence of drug use and provided a positive model for popular musicians and In America, the annual NCAA basketball young people. tournament is known as March Madness. In His favorite quote: “The present-day composer Rome, March Madness is the annual Middle refuses to die.” Spoken by Edgard Varese, French Com- School 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. poser, who was Zappa’s hero from the age of 14. Starting the week after the winter break, every Saturday morning girls and boys in the 6th - 8th grades play half-court basketball games in the AOSR (Continued from page 1) Zacaroli: Setting Tuition Policy… gym. Co-ed teams are formed with up to six players on a team. Students from other schools are also welcome rams remain at the highest levels to play. Check the Spring After-School Activities Pro- The one time capital assessment that all current gram for information about how to sign up. parents have already paid helps cover our major capital projects such as building improvements This fee will likely increase for new families in 2004 to help us con- MS Students Prepare for the tinue to improve our facilities without adding an addi- Italian Exams tional burden to families who have been in our school for several years. MS Italian students will be meeting once a Finally, the Trustees and Administration will month on a Saturday morning, beginning January 24, to continue to exercise diligence, and to manage costs to prepare for the Italian State exams. The second session assure that income from tuition and fees is spent on fa- will be February 21, at 9 AM in the Villa. Official no- cilities, activities and programs that ensure the quality of your children’s academic experience at AOSR. tice has been sent to all families.

17 HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

MUN Class to The Haig January 24-31 National Honor Society Believes by Kholoud Al-Hajri, '04 Education is the Best Way to Help I am extremely happy to be this year's ambassador of by Hannah Ceen and Annie Kelly, ‘04 the AOSR’s 15-member delegation to the Model United Na- tions conference which begins Saturday, January 24 in The In February, the National Honor Society will be Hague, Netherlands. With Ms. Sandra Cozzi and Mr. Ray accepting nominations for the 2004-2005 school year. The Ross as our chaperones, we will be gone for one week. nominees applications will then be reviewed by a teacher We will be with 3,800 other students and teachers nomination board and the new NHS members will be an- from more than 200 schools who come from over 90 coun- nounced in April. Students must have a 3.2 GPA for the first tries far away as Iceland and New Zealand, Peru and Russia. semester, which ends on January 23.

All the activities are carried out in English on an informal as NHS was created for schools that are usually well as on a formal level and a high standard is demanded in within a tightly-knit community but our families are the formulation of ideas, whether in the writing of resolu- scattered all over Rome. Our school community comes tions, lobbying, or in debating with fellow students. together only at school, so NHS helps out mostly at the This past semester our class work has focused on after-hours school events. We try to set a good exam- causes of conflict between nations and we have been trying to ple to other students. Every NHS member is encour- understand the interests and motivation of countries other aged to have part in extracurricular activities such as than Senegal. Human rights, protection of the environment, yearbook and newspaper, Santa at Christmas for ES economic development, disarmament, the problems of youth kids and by setting up games and sports tournaments and of refugees, as well as the more critical issues of war and for the little kids at the school picnics. peace, are problems that we have identified and will try to We are also concerned about our world com- seek solutions through discussion, negotiation and debate, at munity. If that is not preserved and improved, then the this convention. smaller communities we are all part of will fall apart. We have learned a lot from our research, and have, in Although we are a small group, we try to help some cases, adopted views and attitudes other than our own as best we can, especially when it comes to education. in order to represent Senegal. We have also identified reasons In years past, NHS has sent money to India that went to for narrow, national self-interest, and we have identified areas building a school and supplying text books. We have which would benefit from international cooperation for Sene- given money to non-governmental and international gal. Now we just have to convince the delegations from the relief organization to help fund food programs. other countries! This year we have decided to financially adopt For those who are interested in the UN (and the a child and fund his education until he finishes school. works of the UN ("to practice tolerance and live together in This is actually the first long-term commitment the peace with one another as good neighbors"), I suggest that NHS at our school has made for quite a few years now. you join MUN next year, because this class is for you. I did The NHS at AOSR will maintain this relationship, with it last year as a normal delegate and I had to take it again this monthly letters and a monthly stipend, until the end of year because I loved it so much. his/her education.

The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) is a not-for- profit, non-governmental educational foundation associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information. The MUN Foundation organizes two conferences; a five-day simulation of the United Nations for secondary school students (in which AOSR will participate), and the Youth Assembly, a five-day conference for young individuals between the ages of 16 and 25 to develop and produce Action Papers on a variety of issues. HS Ski Trip Both conferences take place annually at the end of January in the Nether- lands Congress Centre (Nederlands Congrescentrum) in The Hague. The HS Ski Trip to the ski area of Civetta, between Marmolata Tutoring Help Available and Cortina D’Ampezzo, is a Tutoring help in Physics, Chemistry and Math is definite “go”! The small group of HS students will available to any high school student at no charge on Mon- stay in the town of Zoldo during Ski Week, Febru- day and Fridays, 3:30 to 5 PM, with Mr. Joe Miller in ary 15-21, and will be accompanied by HS teach- Room 9 of the high school. Students need to sign-up with ers. Further information will be sent home the Dr. Bree or Mr. Miller. Since this is a supervised activity, week of January 26. students who are signed up in these tutorials may ride the after-school buses home. 18

News from the Counselor Donna Ross

Our CONGRATULATIONS go to the following sen- SAT I and II iors for their acceptance to college/university: TEST DATE REGISTRATION DATE May 1 March 25 Luca Candelori — University of Bath; University of June 5 April 29 Bristol; University College London; Imperial College London, University of Manchester Institute of Science Registration for SAT is at www.collegeboard.com. Regis- and Technology tration and practice booklets for the tests are also available in my office. Ian Haight — Bowdoin College Some tenth graders should take the SAT 11 in June. Please Chrissie Skodon —University of Chicago see me if you have questions. Annalisa Kelly — Tulane University ACT PSAT RESULTS: PSAT test booklets and Score Re- TEST DATE REGISTRATION DEADLINE ports will be distributed to tenth and eleventh graders Feb. 7 Register with Mrs. Ross by Feb. 2 the week of February 2. It is extremely important for June 12 Register with Mrs. Ross by May 21 students to review the Score Report which shows the correct answer and the student’s answers to the ques- Be sure to register for the ACT with Mrs. Ross; do not send tions. Reviewing the material will enable students to registrations to the USA. Space is limited so register early. better understand the test – verbal, math problem- solving and writing skills. Remember standardized PARENTS OF JUNIORS: During second semester I will testing is only one part of the college admission proc- have an evening presentation to discuss the college admis- ess. The student’s daily academic achievement in the sion process. Then I would like to meet with you and your classroom is the most important. However, if both test- son/daughter individually to discuss specific plans. ing and academic achievement are strong, students have more options; therefore AOSR will again be offer- The National Survey of Student Engagement Institute in ing a SAT prep program for second semester. conjunction with the Pew Forum on Undergraduate Learn- ing and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of SAT PREP: Students who are interested in taking the Teaching recently released some interesting findings re- SAT Prep class should contact me by Friday, February garding student engagement in US colleges/universities. th st 6 . This class will be preparing for the May 1 SAT 1. They state that students who “experience diversity” report higher levels of engagement; they are more involved in ac- TESTING: During second semester, juniors will be tive learning and personal growth. “International students taking several tests. If you are applying to US, UK or are more engaged overall than American students.” This Canadian universities, I recommend the SAT I in May survey also pointed out that students who investigated col- and the SAT II (if appropriate) in June. ACT can be lege and “matched their interests to an institution were taken in February or June. more satisfied with their college experience.”

Did you Know???.... • Coca-Cola was originally green. • ***It is impossible to lick your elbow.*** • The State with the highest % of people who walk to work: Alaska • The youngest pope was 11 years old. • The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer. • Each king in a deck of cards represents a great king from history: Spades- King David, Hearts- Charlemagne, Clubs-Alexander, the Great Diamonds- Julius Caesar ~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~ At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

19 Sports Briefs

With Doug Kneeland

AOSR Sweeps Royals Winners and Losers?

The Falcon girls and boys basketball teams In the world of sports, there are winners and swept all four games against Marymount in the first losers. But sometimes the players on the losing team meeting this year of the cross-town rivals on January may in fact be the real winners. This is especially true 14. when one team has a clear advantage over the other in The girls’ junior varsity started things off terms of size and talent, yet the underdogs compete with a convincing win, followed by a close win by with such courage and determination that the final the girls varsity. The Falcon girls built up a big lead, score does not indicate which team really “won” the then held on at the end as the Royals rallied to get game. within ten points. This was evident in the first week of high The Falcon boys had little trouble against the school basketball competition following the winter under-manned Royals. Following an easy win by the holidays. First, Marymount came to AOSR with a junior varsity, the varsity boys started slowly but team full of freshmen and only 8 varsity players. They poured it on in the second quarter to lead by 30 played with courage before being wiped out by the Fal- points at the half. cons. Coach Phil Davis showed his usual class by The game was called in the 3rd quarter ac- playing every boy on the AOSR roster before the game cording to the "mercy rule" when the Falcons opened was ended by the “mercy rule.” up a 40-point lead to win the game 52 - 11. Ten dif- I suspect that many of the Falcon fans felt the ferent players scored for AOSR. Despite the blow- same as I did. I was happy that we won, but the Mary- out, Marymount put up a good fight, considering mount kids had played with heart and I thought they they have only 8 varsity players who are mostly un- were also winners. der-classmen. Two days later, the families of many of the AOSR high school players ventured down the auto- strada into the den of the Naples Wildcats, one of AOSR OPENS ITS SPORTS Europe’s largest high schools and strongest sports pro- FACILITIES TO ADULT grams. Naples has an awesome boys basketball team that played the game “above the rim.” Before the PLAY game, the Naples players acted like the games would be a walk in the park. The adult sports events available at school this year But a funny thing happened. Despite being are: Monday at 19.00 volleyball slowed down by injuries and reduced practice time just Tuesday at 15.30 soccer before finals, the Falcons hustled and dove for loose Tuesday at 19.00 basketball balls and hustled some more and kept stealing the ball, No charge, no sign-up, just please bring your parent and suddenly the score at half-time was 32-31. The ID to show at the front gate. game remained close until the final minutes, when the Falcons ran out of gas and Naples took advantage of their tremendous height advantage to dominate the FALL/WINTER boards and eventually win the game 75 – 53. But there SPORTS SCHEDULES were no losers in that game. BASKETBALL The young AOSR boys junior varsity contin- 2/6-7 vs. Milan at Home ued to improve, playing two close games. The Falcon 2/12-14 Mediteranean Championships at Aviano girls traveled with only 8 players and ended the week- 2/19-21 European Championships TBD end with barely enough healthy girls to make a varsity WRESTLING team. But they played with determination and they 1/31 vs. Aviano, Sigonella, Vicenza and Naples at never gave up. Shame on Naples’ coach for continuing Aviano to use a full-court press and play his first string after 2/7 Mediterranean Championships at Naples building up a lead of more than 30 points. The Falcons 2/13-14 European Championships TBD girls lost on the scoreboard, but they came away win- ners.

20 Sports Briefs

(Continued)

Grappling Issues boulder is a moving target AND actively resistant. by Tom Finerty Three wrestlers represented AOSR on Sat- urday. Ry Finerty, Michael Showalter and Marco As a first time wrestling observer, I must say Sperti (Teammate Simon Yi was sidelined with a that I was very impressed with the tournament held twisted leg injury). Team managers Yalier Alejan- this past Saturday at AOSR, pitting the Falcons dro and Trilli Gregg did a full day's work at the against Naples, Vicenzo, Sigonella and Aviano. Over timing table. 100 athetes in all competed! All had their work cut out for them. The Though each of these matches are individ- other schools have a much bigger student body ual....mano-a-mano.....there is a terrific palpable pool to pull talent from and the Falcons did not sense of camaraderie, as fellow teammates and come out on top this time. I was impressed, though, coaches urge on their competitors. The matches that Falcon Coach Joseph Ianuzzi has trained his themselves are comprised of three, two- minute peri- athletes to appreciate their individual progress and ods (unless one of the combatants is pinned which understand that the skills don't come overnight. ends the match). Thus, a defeat is not seen as a let down per se, but a It's great too, that the athletes are always learning opportunity. within six pounds of one another weight-wise, so that Each athlete on Saturday participated in in most cases, wrestling knowledge wins out over four to five matches. To say that they were ex- simple strength and speed. Tyler Carner, the assistant hausted would be an understatement. Speaking of coach of the Falcons, shared with me that even Mi- tired, the referees did an outstanding job working chael Jordan, matched up against a seasoned wrestler straight from 10:30 AM till 4:30 PM with only 15 his own size with skill, would be defeated every time. minutes off. They deserve our thanks and gratitude. In this way, the sport becomes somewhat cerebral I would encourage everyone with an and chess-like. AOSR student (girls too!) looking for a great team/ These are no easy matches. In the six min- individual sport, to consider wrestling. Now, I just utes of a match, each wrestler taxes all of his/her need to convince Dr. Dougherty to install Lazy Boy muscle groups, somewhat like isometric exercises. recliners in the bleachers and perhaps just a little Think of trying to push a boulder up a hill, only the bit stronger exhaust fan.

Freshman Michael Showalter faces-off against Naples op- ponent, Josh Teeples, in the third of five matches on Satur- day, January 18, at AOSR. 21 NOTES FROM THE FIELD

MEMORIES OF THE MOON FESTIVAL CHINESE NEW By Christine Skodon, Grade 12 YEAR If I kept a memory scrapbook, I think it would By Serena Zhang, Grade 8 probably be quite full up to this time in my life. I know of one thing that would definitely be in it: my dragon lantern. This year (2004) the Chinese New Year This lantern has had to be packed up and is on the 21st of January. This is the year of the shipped twice. It is torn and broken. Yet I still keep it and have had it in my room for the past seven years. Monkey. Although this is not the most meaningful thing I pos- On this day in China, everyone celebrates sess, my lantern reminds me of one of the most beauti- the New Year in many different ways. ful sites I’ve seen. • Going to the restaurant I lived in Singapore for three and a half years. • Staying at home with the family Every year thousands in Singapore and elsewhere in • Going out, parties or other nice things. Asia celebrate the moon festival. Each year my family and I celebrated by eating the moon cakes which are In Italy, like other places of the world molded into various shapes and filled with lotus paste. there are several China towns in different cities In my opinion, these don’t exactly have the most deli- cious taste, but flavor does grow on you. of Italy, such as Rome, Milan or Florence. They During the last moon festival that we were in can't do the same things that the Chinese people Singapore, however, I asked my parents if I could par- in China do, but they still go out, in restaurants, ticipate in the celebrations like all the other kids did. meet with family and friends. My parents took my sister and me to a neighborhood of In China they get fireworks and they ex- Singapore that has not been very westernized. There, change presents and another thing that is very we searched around for the perfect lanterns, going to popular is when old people or at least people that tons of different shops. I finally found mine. It was an are not kids anymore, they give to each child of orange cellophane dragon with a wire skeleton. It has the family a little red packet with money inside, silver glitter spots on its body, and big, round blue like 100 to 500 yuan. eyes. Its horns are made of pink cellophane and its Everyone gets dressed up very nicely, beard is blue cellophane with a green fringe goatee. My dragon was the best lantern I could find. specially using the red (for women) color be- On the festival day, my parents took us down cause it represents happiness. to the Chinese-Japanese Gardens. These are filled with floral decorations native to those two countries, being divided into two separate sections. This place is really beautiful with all the flowers, trees, and ponds. The Japanese one even has a huge pagoda which I used to Did You Know ??? love to climb to the top of and look out over the gar- ...if a statue in the park of a dens. person on a horse has both front Once the sun went down and the moon came legs in the air, the person died in up, I put a burning candle in my dragon’s belly. Ex- battle. tended from a stick, I carried him as I walked around gardens. A multitude of other children were doing the …if the horse has one front same. It was very quiet and the gardens were filled leg in the air, it means that the per- with these bobbing lights that had glowing soft colors son died as a result of wounds re- ceived in battle. from the different cellophanes. This sight was incredi- bly beautiful. I’ve remembered it all this time, walking ...if the horse has all four with my lantern and seeing all those lights. legs on the ground, the person died I’ve never celebrated a moon festival again, but of natural causes. I’ve kept my dragon. Even though his belly is torn on both sides and his goatee is falling off, I won’t get rid of him. 22 Rome ‘n’About

Baths of Dioclesian and Santa Maria Dei Angeli — Two Monuments in One! By Sabine Neumann-Heider and Nicola Voci

Rome, the center of ancient time, is also the cen- Outside of the entrance corresponds with ter of Catholicism with over 180 churches. We do not where the bath rooms of warm water of the spa have to be historians or very religious people to under- (“Calidarium”) were located. When you enter the stand how fortunate we are to live in this city and having church you can see the size and feel the unique mag- the opportunity to ‘conquer’ it. nificence. What you now see at the entrance and what you walk on was formerly the lukewarm A real Roman would say to you that it takes a baths (“Tepidarium”). lifetime to see all of the magnificence of our city -- and more time to understand all of it! -- but from my own On the ruins of this enormous spa, we can experience, having studied history of art and having lived see the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. In 1561, here for some time, it is valuable to just ‘dive’ into its Michelangelo transformed these old ruins into a beauty and stroll around with open eyes. church. Entering in this church lets you feel deep emotions, maybe more than in any other place here in Being a mother and housewife, my sightseeing Rome. time is limited, but I would like to recommend a site worth seeing, which does not take a lot of time and does The main part of the old spa is now the main not need a whole lot of ‘study’ to be able to understand, part of the church, as built by Michelangelo. Even even today, the magnificence of ancient Rome. though Michelangelo raised the original floor by two meters, the church remains at 28 metres of height Spas (or “Baths”) were important social meeting anyway! The roof is carried by 8 gigantic columns of points in ancient Roman times. All social classes could red granite, all in one piece, which he "recycled" use them. The entrance fees were low and it was the from ancient times. pride of each of the great emperors to build them even bigger and with more efficiency. The main part of the spa If you continue walking through the church served Romans as a meeting point to exchange gossip, you can see some changes to the original structure of and to have conversation while walking around. Some- Michelangelo’s church. All the magnificent work in times the Baths were meant to be the place where people the inner part of the church dates back to the 18th meet to be distracted and satisfied (“Panem et century, when Luigi Vanvitelli opened the walls of Circenses”)… the ancient spa’s‘ Frigidarium’ to lengthen the church by incorporating the area of a former outdoor swim- Each of the Roman spas had the same pattern of ming pool. construction: bathrooms, shops, fitness centre, stadium, libraries and big reading rooms. The center of the spa A thing worth seeing is a sundial. There is a always had a big garden for the gym. Men and women small hole in the roof, from which sunlight comes in entered into the changing rooms, and then continued to at noon and you can see the time, the month, and the the ‘turkish bath’, and then to the vapour baths, where signs of the zodiac on the floor of the main apse. they rubbed themselves with different oils and essences to stimulate sweat and relaxation. They could choose be- The part described here is only a small part tween the vapour baths and many other rooms with luke- of the ancient spa of Diocleziano; the rest is not that warm water. In the middle of all those ‘bathtubs’ was the important, but you can find fragments of it around big room for the baths with cold water. Men and women and behind of today’s church up to the zone of Stazi- did those baths with a different time schedule. one Termini. Today the church belongs to the Italian state and houses the tombs of Italian heroes of the Our first walk leads you to the Spa of Dio- First World War. Could we compare this spa of an- cleziano at Piazza Repubblica, a space of 14 hectares of cient Rome with the huge ‘shopping malls’ of today? land built for more than 3000 people. It is the biggest spa Maybe… in Rome. This is a place where we can imagine how big and enormous antique Rome was: how big this simple But what will remain of OUR malls in 2000 meeting place, a public bath, needed to be! years…?

23 Bon Appetito ! with Sue Berton

Perhaps you have noticed that this food Now, here we are starting out the New Year column has a new name: Bon Appetito. After and no doubt some of you are thinking this is the time many inquiries, our esteemed editor and I were to start eating healthier and exercising more. While I unable to figure out where the previous title, can’t help you with your exercise dilemma, I can offer Good Eats and Caffe, came from. We felt it was you a tasty, healthy, low-fat pasta recipe that I think time for a change, and after tossing around a few you will enjoy. ideas, we decided on something with an Italian flair. Please continue to look for us each month This one came from the In The Kitchen With Rosie cook- book (one of Oprah’s former personal chefs). It calls for under the new name, in our wonderful Falcon spinach and semolina angel hair pastas, which seem to be Flyer publication. a bit sturdier than the plain wheat flour variety. I was so pleased to receive a recipe from one of my favorite teachers here at AOSR. Okay, 1 tsp olive oil I may be a bit partial because she did teach my 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced son last year, but I am sure you will agree that she ½ cup dry white wine is warm hearted, always cheerful and loves chil- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice dren. With that in mind, she sent the following 1 cup chopped tomato (1 medium) recipe from a restaurant that she visited not long 4 ounces spinach angel hair pasta ago. Thanks a million, Jane Rumsby! 4 ounces semolina angel hair pasta ¼ cup fresh basil Pasta Alla SPQR 2 Tbls freshly grated Parmesan This was a dish found at the “Archetto” spaghetti Salt and pepper to taste joint near the Quirinale. The chef wouldn’t share his secret but we think we cracked it. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and maintain a boil. 6 red onions 100g butter Put the olive oil and garlic in a sauté pan and 125ml fresh cream cook over medium heat just until the garlic be- 1 heaped tablespoon of dill (you can use gins to brown. Remove the sauté pan from the oregano) heat and pour in the wine. Return it to the Freshly ground black pepper heat. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the Healthy pinch of salt wine has been reduced by half. Stir in the 1 Tablespoon of olive oil lemon juice and tomato. Remove the pan from Freshly grated Parmesan or grana the heat. 600g of spaghetti (you should use spaghetti but recipe tastes just as good with shorter Place the pasta in the boiling water and cook to pasta too) desired doneness, 30 seconds to 1 minute (only!). Drain the pasta and put it into a warm Gently sauté the onions in the butter until serving bowl. Add the basil, Parmesan cheese translucent. Blend them until a creamy pu- and black pepper, along with the tomato mix- ree is obtained. Add the cream, dill, salt ture. Toss and Serve immediately. Serves 4. and black pepper. As soon as the pasta is cooked and drained well, add the olive oil Finally, for next month’s article I am looking and stir. Next add the pureed onion mix- for some international recipe ideas. If you have any ture. Add grated Parmesan to Indian, middle Eastern or Asian recipes you would taste. Serves 6. like to share, please send them to me at: [email protected] .

24 Et tu, Sherlock? By Lisa Finerty, AOSR Parent

It's always fun to match wits with a good detective, be it Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Nero Wolfe, or Sir Peter Mayle. And who doesn't like the great episodic crime shows, like Il Foro Law and Order, CSI, or NYPD Blue? When you find a mystery series where the characters evolve believably from one book to the other, given the tugs and pulls on their lives, you have the best of both AOSR parents Dottoressa worlds. And, if it is non-fiction, well, you can even read it during Lorinecz and Dottore Karpel daylight hours without feeling guilty! are pediatric dentists with an It is just so in Steven Saylor's fantastic series of historical office on Via Cassia (no. 515). (real-life!) mysteries, where one is magically transported to the last They are new to Rome and days of Republican Rome. There, fictional character Gordianus, have generous hours. They (“The Finder”) sleuths actual crimes that helped shape Roman history can be reached at 06-335- -- and which, of course, is now our historical legacy! 0522. This eight-part series begins in 82 BC, and ends (so far at least) in 48 BC, a year after Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon River Tutoring available: by quali- to ultimately engage Pompei in battle for the "crown of laurels." fied Canadian teacher with 15 Although each book is a stand-alone mystery, the series is years experience, living close internally consistent, and the fictional developments in one story are to the school. Doris Firmin referred to in another--- much like a good episodic TV show. And can tutor most subjects but besides the great history review, Gordianus is a family man (unlike specializes in language most other literary sleuths) so we get to grow up with his family. (French/English) and all mid- Historian Saylor uses the transcripts of Cicero and other au- junior level Science and Math. thors, as well as primary source documents, as he wrote the Roma If interested call her at 340- Sub-Rosa stories. Reviews by other historians have been admiring, 682-8494 or 338-682-8494. and the literary reviews glowing. This series is actually used by some Italian high schools in their language studies. As much as he loves Baby sitter is needed for a Pre- history, Saylor says that the REAL inspiration for his life's work K girl on Monday through Fri- came from watching drive-in movies in his youth of Spartacus, Cleo- day 15:20 -19:30, next to the patra, and Ben Hur! school. If interested, please Republican Rome is described as a place where the desire for contact Mrs. Elena Sposito at more power by the already powerful creates murder and other may- 333-402-1157 or 06-3031- hem. I started by reading A Murder on the Appian Way (set in 52 1933. BC), where Clodius is murdered and his arch-enemy, Milo, is ac- cused. In Roman Blood (80 BC), the young Cicero takes his first An American Internist, Dr. case which involves the land-grabbing Sulla the Dictator. Arms of Susan Levenstein, has moved Nemesis (72 BC), happens during the time of the Spartacus slave re- her office with a group of mul- volt. In 63 BC, the events of Catalina’s Riddle, unfold when Cicero tilingual colleagues to a new first becomes a consul. In The Venus Throw (56 BC), Egypt's King location. Ptolomy seeks to keep his kingdom independent of Roman rule. Last Circus Maximus: Seen in Massilia (49 BC), is set on the battlefield of Marseilles. Rubi- Aventino Medical Group con (48 BC), is the story of the first few months of the Roman Civil Via della Fonte di Fauno 22 War. The Vestal Virgins are the topic in A Mist of Prophecies (48 00153 Rome, Italy BC). Gordianus painstakingly solves these intricate webs of revenge, Telephone + fax: 3906 578- deceit, betrayals, and jealousy, and still manages to remain a-political 0738 in the fractious, partisan political landscape. Readers can follow the action of each installment by refer- Many household items for encing the map at the beginning of the book. sale: desks, dining tables, bunk Although Saylor now lives in Austin, TX, there were several beds, single beds, trundle bed, Saylors who went to OSR (as our school was called) in the 1960's and wardrobes (various sizes) 1970's, so he may even be an alumnus (the school's yearbooks were bookcases. Reasonable prices. NOT as well organized then as now)! Contact Barbara Faidley at I have found many of these books at the Economy Bookstore 06-5236-1348 or on Via Torino and at Feltrinelli International on Via Orlando. There [email protected] may even be some in the Book Basket at the Gala Ball. Enjoy! 25