Anglo-American School of Sofia, P.O. Box 31, Sofia 1784, Bulgaria Phone: (+359 2) 923 8810, 923 8812 Fax: (+359 2) 923 8859

www.aas-sofia.org

Weekly Newsletter

From the Director’s Desk

AAS Sofia

Dear Anglo-American School Community / Уважаеми родители и приятели на

ААУ,

Something to Ponder

Below is a fictitious yet possibly poignant letter to consider in relation to report

cards…

Dear Mom and Dad,

I’ve asked the receptionist to give you this as soon as you get back from work, so

you’ll know where I am. Ivan’s mom is taking me to the bus station. I will be riding

the bus to Varna. I met a nice girl from there when we were on holidays. She said I

can move in with her.

I am doing this because I feel terrible for setting the house on fire. I fell asleep while

smoking. The fireman said I need to be more careful. I know this is one of many

mistakes I have made. Fortunately, for me, I only burnt my left arm and cracked a

rib while running to save the family photo album. You’ll be glad to know our cat is

okay, too.

Also, someone from school called, they said for you to call back later. I am sorry,

love,

Jimmy

P.S. I am fine and the house is fine. The note is only a joke but my report card is not

so fine. It is enclosed with this note. I have four low grades. I am eating supper at

Ivan’s house. Please call when it is safe for me to come home.

December

The month of December is here. Thus winter is just around the corner. Please see

the following page for some helpful reminders regarding the winter months. The

month of November at school is often a month of learning celebrations,

tournaments and events – it was wonderful seeing so many parents at the many

events hosted at AAS. The month of December often entails performances and

community celebrations. This December is no exception. We hope to see you at

school this month at one or perhaps more of the students’ performances – from

Pre-School students dancing to Grade 12 students performing their own works of

theatre – there is something for everyone. Finally, do not forget the PTO Holiday

Bazaar and Crafts Fair on Saturday, December 13.

Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend,

In Partnership,

Jim Urquhart, Director - Anglo-American School of Sofia

5 Dec: 1st

Trimester reports

go home

11 Dec: Grade 3-5

Winter

Performance

@18:30

13 Dec: PTO

Winter Fair : 3-7

pm

Inside the issue:

1. From the Director’s

Desk

2. Admission Info

3. MSHS News

4. ES News

5. This Week @the

Library

6. Students Share:

Food Drive

7. Arts @ AAS

8. News from

Secondary Athletics/

Activities

9. PTO

10. Announcements

11. FAQ

12. Gallery of the

Week

Upcoming Events

Volume 21, Issue 15 Dec. 5, 2014

AAS

Weekly Admissions Info

2

Admissions for 2015 - 2016

Dear AAS Parents,

It is almost the middle of the school year

and applications for next school year

have already been submitted to our

admissions office. I would like to remind

everyone that we would appreciate

your earliest notification if you plan to

send a younger/youngest child in your

family to AAS next year.

Over the last two years we have experi-

enced a substantial growth in the num-

ber of new inquiries for admissions in Ele-

mentary School. Unfortunately, the num-

ber of vacancies does not match the demand. This is why a later submission of

an application may significantly reduce the chances of your child gaining an

entry. Therefore, we would recommend that you begin submitting the applica-

tion forms to Mmihailova@aas-sofia.org in the next several weeks. If you have

any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Please note that this announcement refers to younger children in the family who

have never been registered at AAS. It doe not apply to present AAS students.

You may start the process by sending an email with the younger child’s full

name, nationality and date of birth as well as the other older siblings' names and

grade level at AAS. You can find the relevant application checklist on this site:

http://www.aas-sofia.org/page.cfm?p=522

Kindly,

Maria Mihailova

mmihailova@aas-sofia.org

AAS

Weekly MSHS News

3

Dear Secondary School Parent,

It is our pleasure to produce our first of three trimester reports for your son/daughter

over the course of the 2014/15 School Year. Today your daughter/son will be given

a first trimester report highlighting the teachers’ assessments of ‘each’ student’s

progress thus far. The entire AAS community has focused on assessment and

reporting over the past couple of years. We continue to do so in this school year as it

is a dynamic process of refining and adapting with a goal of being able to meet our

mission.

Back in October we highlighted the progress and content covered in each course

your son/daughter is enrolled through the Wolf Den. In the Trimester report you will

see today, teachers have reported on learning habits as they are crucial

connections between academic progress and the deeper goals of learning. For

students in grades 6 and 7 you will notice that teachers will also report on progress

against a set of academic/content standards reflecting the curriculum being

taught. As well, every student will find a report of ‘Overall Academic Progress” to

date.

While the purposes of grading and assessment vary from school to school, our policy

and approach has been designed to align with other international and IB schools to

keep the focus entirely on learning. Our formal Assessment Policy states,

“Assessment at the Anglo-American School of Sofia is intended to enhance

teaching and learning and ultimately to promote student understanding and

achievement.” As such, you will also find an individualized comment intended to

highlight successful achievements as well as areas of growth and learning for

students going into the next trimester and beyond as they explore and access

deeper and new components of our curriculum.

We hope this report continues a reflective process for your child that you are

strongly encouraged to participate in towards their continued growth AND areas of

success. We, as their teachers, want to invite you into this discussion and encourage

you to communicate with us as you participate in this learning journey. We are here

to guide, assist and collaborate in this process.

Jeff Marquis,

MSHS Principal

AAS

Weekly ES News

4

AAS

Weekly This Week @ the Library

5

Dear Parents,

the AAS Library has a new section

completely devoted to you! Stop by

and check out a book from our NEW

Parent Resource Center. With

gracious donations from Ms. Laura

Markov, ES Counselor, and a re-

shelving of books already in the

collection, this new section is

dedicated to helping you find the

parenting resources you need. Books

and CD’s on topics such as Love &

Logic, social issues, parenting a teen,

helping with homework, and raising

children with values can all be found

here.

AAS

Weekly Students share: Food Drive

6

So much food has been collected! THANK YOU! A variety of math, science and

language activities have happened in many of the classrooms related to the food

drive. Our HS Student Council leaders

learned a lot from organizing the event,

and the Bulgarian language students

surely extended their food vocabulary

while sorting and packing! Well done all

of us! The most exciting part - the visits

with our buddies from The Deaf School,

The Elderly Home and Hospice Milo-

surdie are planned for next week. We

are not only going to deliver food, but

we hope to bring joy and light with our

songs and surprises.

We will still accept your donations

through Monday, December 8.

БЛАГОДАРЯ!

By Ms. Rossitsa Anastassova, MS/HS/IB Bulgarian

AAS

Weekly Arts @AAS

7

Dear Community,

Don't miss this opportunity to

witness our senior IB Theatre

class at the peak of their

powers! Welcome to the IB

Theatre, Class of 2015,

Graduation Show in the

Black Box Theatre!

Wed 17 Dec at 19:00

Thu 18 Dec at 16:00

Willy Russel's Blood Brothers is

a fast-paced one-act play

and incredibly demanding

on the performers. Our

students are not performing

the rather sterile West End

musical, but rather the raw,

edgy studio play that Russell

developed with his Young

People's Theatre Company in

Liverpool.

This performance is certainly

not to be viewed by

Elementary School students.

There is no charge for

admission, but please reserve

seating to avoid

overcrowding. Send a

message to mmerrick@aas-

sofia.org to reserve a seat.

Students can even book a late bus after the Thursday performance.

A Liverpudlian West Side Story: twin brothers are separated at birth because their

mother cannot afford to keep them both. She gives one of them away to wealthy

Mrs Lyons and they grow up as friends in ignorance of their fraternity until the

inevitable quarrel unleashes a blood-bath. (Publisher, Methuen)

'Willy Russell is less concerned with political tub-thumping than with weaving a

close-knit story about the working of fate and destiny ...it carries one along with it

in almost unreserved enjoyment" (The Guardian)

Michael Merrick

Theatre Education

AAS

Weekly Secondary Athletics/Activities

8

Unbelievable participation for Basketball in

the Middle School

The МS participation this season has been

staggering with over half of our entire

school participating in basketball practices

on Tuesday and Thursday. This is exciting

news as research has proven that when

young adolescents engage in daily

physical activity they have an increase in

endorphins (the “happy” chemical); they

have more concentration in school; and

they build and maintain healthy bones and

muscles to name just a few benefits.

MS Boys Basketball Intramural Update:

Team 1 was victorious over Team 2 with a

score of 24-14. Please be reminded that

games are now on A and C days from

11:30-11:50am.

AAS Robotics participated in the First Lego League

Competition in Vienna.

Congratulations to Stefan, Sotiris and Jamieson for

receiving the prestigious Judges Award in Vienna last

weekend. The entire tournament was conducted in

German, thus it was impressive that the boys

managed a 5th place finish. The description of the

Judges Award is described as, during the course of

competition, the judges may encounter teams whose

unique efforts, performance or dynamics merit

recognition. Some teams have a story that sets them

apart in a noteworthy way. Sometimes a team is so

close to winning an award that the judges choose to

give special recognition to the team. Judges Awards

allow the freedom to recognize remarkable teams.

HS Boys and Girls Basketball Games @ AAS on December 10

Come join our Wolves in games against the American College. Girls

will play at 4:00 pm and boys will play at 5:30 ,pm. On Friday

December 12 the boys will have a game at 5:30 pm against the

Finance School.

MS Basketball Invitational January 23 & 24, 2015 There has been a

change of date, so please mark it on your calendar! Please be

reminded that we will have a friendly invitational basketball

tournament for middle school boys and girls on January 23 and 24,

2015.

HS Knowledge Bowl has started! Practices are every Tuesday and

Thursday from 3:45-5:15 pm. Eight lucky participants will be invited

to compete in Budapest on February 5-8, 2015. See Ms. O’Leary for

more details.

AAS

Weekly PTO

9

AAS

Weekly PTO

10

AAS

Weekly PTO

11

Our AAS parent, photographer Katarzyna Lason will join the Winter Fair,

Saturday, December 13th, from 3 -7 pm.

You can book a professional photo session online, here

The price is 25 BGN. For more details, please contact her at photo@euforia-art.com

Thank you,

Your PTO

Sign up link:

https://docs.google.com/a/aas-sofia.org/spreadsheets/d/1w9D0evifvhtuYPZQeo-

aWeFhZ7i_YVBsfF7i_JcuZeo/edit#gid=0

AAS

Weekly Frequently Asked Questions

Important contact information:

Reception: Ivanka Papazova (Miss Vanya)

Tel: (+359 2) 923 88 10; mobile: 0889 428 324

ipapazova@aas-sofia.org

Director: Jim Urquhart

jurquhart@aas-sofia.org

Director’s Secretary: Elise Staevska

Tel: (+359 2) 923 88 12, Fax: (+359 2) 923 88 59

estaevska@aas-sofia.org

Director of Teaching and Learning: Shary Marshall

smarshall@aas-sofia.org

ES Principal: Tim Fries Nurses: Diana Docheva, Valentine Ivanov

tfries@aas-sofia.org ddocheva@aas-sofia.org, vivanov@aas-sofia.org

MS/HS Principal: Jeff Marquis Communications: Svetla Stoyanova

jmarquis@aas-sofia.org sstoyanova@aas-sofia.org

IB Coordinator: Kaylene Connell AAS Cafe (LFS Catering): Manager Peter

Gavrilov

kconnell@aas-sofia.org p.gavrilov@lfsbg.com 0884-668104

HS Counselor & College Advising: ES Counselor: Laura Giosh-Markov

David Stephenson lgiosh-markov@aas-sofia.org

dstephenson@aas-sofia.org

Athletics Director, MS Counselor: Facilities / Operations: Todor Todorov

Andie Urquhart ttodorov@aas-sofia.org

AUrquhart@aas-sofia.org

Registrar: Dola Kay Admissions / Alumni: Maria Mihailova

dkay@aas-sofia.org mmihailova@aas-sofia.org

Security: Tzvetan Bashev 0885 146 863 Transportation Coordinator: Zhivko Vichkov

tbashev@aas-sofia.org ZVichkov@aas-sofia.org 0889 901 916

Note:

To contact a member of staff by telephone, please call the reception number. Staff emails are

available from our website: www.aas-sofia.org/contact

Please visit our website on www.aas-sofia.org to find the latest information about our school.

Become a fan of the Anglo-American School of Sofia on Facebook or follow @AAS_Sofia

on Twitter.

16 12

AAS

Weekly The School Week Gallery

13

Well done, boys and girls —great fun at the

second grade dance last night!

Composting

Projects—

our students

are

responsible.