AOSR News NOVEMBER 2003 WWW.AOSR.ORG Italian Preschools called ‘The Best in the World’ By Dr. Larry Dougherty, Headmaster In an article in the Boston Globe entitled, “The Real Head Start,” Howard Gardner, a noted psychologist and author from Harvard University, concluded that the pre-school programs in Reggio Emilia in northeastern It- aly are “the best in the world.” The approach in these schools is very much in keeping with the thrust of research in infant and child development over the past 40 years. “Children do best when they are allowed to explore their nascent understanding and misunderstandings, and determine where they are appropriate and where they are fun- damentally flawed.” (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/7/03) While our pre-kindergarten is not a strict Reggio Emilia program, there are several elements of our pro- gram that reflect the basic philosophies of this famous community. If you read the descriptions of preschool ac- tivities in this Falcon Flyer, you will notice many of them require young children to think and form hypotheses and explanations – “What are bubbles?”, “How are the formed?”, “When I blow air through the hole without soapy water, no bubbles form. Why?”. Students are encouraged to pursue their own interests, formulate their own ques- tions and seek their own answers. Within this context of exploration, teachers work with children on language development, vocabulary and pre-reading skills. They also help them develop social skills. They help the children begin to take turns and learn (Continued on page 8) * PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN LIVING AS WELL AS IN LEARNING By Dr. Beth Kempler Pfannl, Principal Horace Mann, the father of the common school, believed that schools should help students develop both reason and conscience. Back in 1837, he wrote, “The highest and noblest office of education pertains to our moral nature.” He stated back then that schools should “teach virtue before knowledge, for although the latter should not be ignored, knowledge without virtue poses its own dangers.” A school not only has the duty, along with parents, to help children to learn and become well informed, but also the obligation to assist children in developing the capacity to live responsibly and make wise decisions in matters of life and conduct. How do we help students develop what Horace Mann called reason and conscience? “Parents, without question, are primarily responsible for a child’s ethical instruction. There can be no substitute for a mother and father who, from the beginning of a child’s life provide loving guidance and define for the child –both by what they say and how they live- standards of good conduct.” (Ernest Boyer) Parents are a child’s first teachers and models. However, teaching virtues (time-honored understandings) cannot be left entirely to the home. Children spend approximately 175 days at school a year and formal education is one of the most powerful forces in their (Continued on page 13) Contents From the Headmaster 1 Talking with Teachers 7 News from the Counselor 16-17 Principal’s Office 1 Pre-K News 8 Sports Briefs 18 AOSR Corporate News 2 Elementary News 10 Notes from the Field 21 All-School News & 3-4 Middle School News 12-13 Rome ‘N’ About 22 PPAC 1 PTO Corner 5 High School News 14-15 Il Foro 23 By Popular Request, new (and posted!)... CAFETERIA PRICE LIST AOSR Board of Trustees and Corporation Meeting, First course € 1,85 Pizza 1,85 November 20, 7:30 PM Second course 2,15 By Richard Zacaroli Vegetables 1,40 Cold fish 2,15 As Chairman of the AOSR Board of Trustees, I Salad bar 1,50 thought this issue of the Falcon Flyer would be an ap- Fruit or yogurt 0,60 propriate time for me to discuss the role that all of you as parents and other persons with a special interest in the Dessert 1,00 school, such as teachers and alumni, have in the process Glass of tea and milk 0,30 of election of the Board of Trustees. Bread 0,30 If you are a member of the AOSR Corporation, Complete lunch: first course, second course, vegeta- you will receive two Calls to the Annual Assembly bles, and bread € 4,30 through the mail. The first will arrive the end of Octo- ber, the second early in November, notifying you that this year’s Annual Assembly of the Corporation will be held on Thursday, November 20, in our school audito- PTO Partners Wish you a Happy rium. The Annual Assembly is the vehicle by which Thanksgiving the corporation members, who are in essence its share- holders, have their input on selecting new Trustees and an opportunity to approve the balance sheet of the Carol Atwood school, and to hear about the financial plans of the Susan Berton school. All parents of AOSR students and other persons Julie Deptula Grazia Deulus with a particular interest in corporation matters are eligi- Lisa Finerty ble to be members of the Corporation. Susan Haight (Continued on page 20) Francesca Kelly Laura Rumpf Monique Smits Ana Volk Moshira Zelenka is a monthly publication of the Important Phone Numbers American Overseas School of School Number: 06-334-381 Rome (AOSR) Fax: 06-3326-2608 To make comments or suggestions, or to submit an Headmaster: Larry Dougherty 06-3343-8331 article to the Falcon Flyer, please call editor Lisa Fin- Headmaster’s Secretary : Domenica Losani 06-3343-8331 erty at 06-4782-6192, or send an email to ptonewslet- Principal: Beth Pfannl 06-3343-8326 [email protected]. A Flyer submission box is also located Principal’s Secretary: Alessandra Cozzi 06-3343-8326 in the Principal’s office. Admissions: Don Levine 06-3343-8300 Reception/Secretary: Joanne Hoberg 06-3343-8300 Financial Consultant: Elisa Bruno 06-3343-8338 Boarding/Finance: Estelle Dougherty 06-3343-8339 Next Deadline 11-19-03 Guidance Counselor: Donna Ross 06-3343-8327 The deadline for submission of articles for the Nurse: Diane Cullen-Moore 06-3343-8321 October Flyer is Wednesday, November 19, for After School Activities: Christine Hogan 06-3343-8320 Margaret Ciuffreda news and announcement for the period De- MSA Coordinator: Angela Santangelo 06-3343-8336 cember 1 through January 7, 2004 Resource Room: Karen Lee 06-3343-8302 Records Office: Marina Benetti 06-3343-8315 PTO/Boutique 06-3343-8322 Via Cassia 811 2 00189 Rome, Italy Internet: www.aosr.org All School News AOSR RECEIVES Ms. Flaherty Presents Research SECURITY GRANT Paper in London By Dr. Larry Dougherty, Headmaster Jennifer Flaherty, a new teacher at AOSR, pre- We have received a grant of $130,000 from the sented a paper on October 11 at the University of Sur- U.S. Government through the Office of Overseas rey Roehampton's 2nd Annual Renaissance Studies Schools to enhance our security. One of the most useful Conference in London. The conference, which is titled "Shakespeare's Children/Children's Shakespeare," ex- components of this grant is funding for an intercom sys- plores topics ranging from children's roles in Shake- tem that can be used to communicate throughout the speare's plays to adapting Shakespeare for children. school. This will not only help us with fire drills and At this conference she spoke about children in other safety and security matters, it will enhance out abil- Titus Andronicus. ity to communicate regularly and quickly on important Jennifer is studying Shakespeare in preparation educational or social concerns. for her Ph.D. at UNC Chapel Hill, and is particularly This grant will also fund a high-powered radio interested in Shakespeare and Shakespeare’s characters system that will connect the school with the security of- in the literary works of other writers. fices of the U.S. Embassy. In addition to ensuring direct Jennifer has presented other papers at interna- communications in times of emergency, the hand- held tional literary conferences. In fact, she participated in radios will enhance internal communications with the numerous speech tournaments in high school and col- lege. She is looking forward to the Declamations Com- school nurse, for example. We are exploring the possi- petition on November 18, and she hopes that the stu- bility of installing the radio system on each of our buses dents this year will enjoy and learn as much from par- as well. ticipating in it as she learned from her speech tourna- The third component of the grant will permit us ments in high school. to place Mylar on all of the windows throughout the She currently teaches English to 7th and 8th school. While we have already put a film on many win- grade students and AP/IB Seniors. dows to reduce heat, the new window coverings will pro- vide filters for heat and ensure that the windows will not shatter in case of natural disasters (such as earthquakes), AOSR CORPORATION MEETING and TRUS- an errant baseball or in the unlikely event of an explosion TEE ELECTION, NOVEMBER 20, 7:30 anywhere near the school. The annual meeting will be held in the Cafeteria (see de- We are soliciting bids from a number of vendors tails in Mr. Zacaroli’s article which starts on page 2). and we hope to complete the work before March 1, 2004. These new threats have necessitated significant TECHNOLOGY BITS changes in our Technology Accepted Use Policy (AUP) and by Geoff Miller the daily maintenance of our network. Your timely and prompt response to these have been extremely helpful in Senior Class Picture During the summer, as is usu- maintaining uninterrupted service to our community. To AOSR 1967 ally the case, we were able to make further facilitate this, we have posted a “Tech Support” web- significant improvements to the net- page: work infrastructure here at AOSR.