D ’ N ...

V o l ume L V , I s s ue 2
A n gl ic a n I n te r n at io n a l Sc h oo l, J e r us al e m
7 th No v e m be r , 2 0 1 4
P ARENTS ’ N EWS
DIRECTOR’S NOTE ...OF INTEREST
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Secondary ...to none
2
Middle Years Program
2
IB Independent Studies
2
Elementary ...my dear
3
Pre-School ...of thought
3
Special Announcement
4
Feature: Sophie Hibbs
4
Upcoming Event Dates
November
• Tuesday 11th: Secondary
Parent Teacher Conference PM
• Friday 28th: Autumn Fair
Whole School
December
• Thursday 4th: PreSchool
Christmas Performance
• Thursday 11th: Elementary Christmas Performance
• Tuesday 16th: Christmas
Carol Service, followed
by International Winter
Traditions Dinner
• Friday 19th: Last day of
classes before Christmas
Holiday Break
Dear Parents and Guardians
Thank you for your continued help and support as
together we support all our
students in their educational journey.
As I sit to write to you, I am
thinking of two visitors who
came to school on this wet
Friday morning in Jerusalem. One was the Education Officer from the U.S
Department of State. Beatrice Cameron has had a
long relationship with our
school over 17 years and
countless Heads of School
and Directors. The other
was a former student –
Nirel Crombie who came
with her husband and
daughter to show them her
IB art work – which is the
wonderful Jerusalem vista
on the wall of my office.
Both reminded me of what
our school is all about:
Firstly, we are here to educate to the highest stand-
‘Where the world goes to school’
ard possible, and secondly,
we are in the business of
building student achievement which lasts. Our students should be proud of
themselves and of our
school. Our learning processes ought to enable
each student to achieve
their full potential and create their own treasured
memories, which stands
the test of time.
The Scriptures often refer
to the passing of time, they
talk about its swiftness but
also its purpose – in the
book of Ecclesiastes, we
are reminded that ‘there is
(Continued on page 4)
GRADE 6 STUDENTS EXPLORE
VA R I A T I O N S O N A T H E M E … . . PA R K
This year Grade 6 have been
studying a unit on Theme
Parks in MYP under the subject of Individuals and Societies ( formerly Humanities).
They have spent time looking
at geographical factors
which effect the location, set
up and facilities of a theme
park. They then started a
project to design their own
theme parks, utilizing all this
information.
They worked in groups,
where their first task was
Theme Park Design Projects
(Continued on page 3)
Pa g e 2
V o l ume L V , I s s ue 2
S E C O N DA RY . .. T O N O N E
Ms Anna Brunskill
Head of Secondary
Geared up for a dive
Despite the time off
school during the past
month, the Secondary
School seem to have
crammed an awful lot of
activity into October. We
had a very successful
whole school residential,
led by our Dean of Students Mr Mitchell. This
year we returned north,
heading to Caesarea with
an overnight at Kibbutz
Maagan in the Galilee,
then canoeing at Kfar
Blum.
Last Monday, the Middle
School participated in the
annual Community and
Service Day volunteering
at local community projects where their help was
very
well
received. Thanks to Mrs
Rania Husseini and Dr
Barbara Zinn for all their
hard work in organising
the event.
In the Athletics Department, 16 students spent
the Sukkot break scuba
diving in the balmy waters
of the Red Sea in Eilat. Some were complete
beginners and others
were advanced divers, but
all enjoyed the challenges
that scuba diving pre-
sents. I am immensely
proud of them for all they
achieved, and a little bit
proud of myself too for
receiving my own qualification.
We're now looking forward to a quiet November
in school. Our first Parent
Teacher Conferences are
on Tuesday 11th November 1.00 to 5.00 p.m. see you there!
~ Ms Anna Brunskill,
Head of Secondary
MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAM (MYP)
C O M M U N I T Y A N D S E RV I C E D AY
Dr Barbara Zinn, MYP Coord.
More MYP photos on insert
Community Service Day had
MYP students and teachers
volunteering at different
venues:
1. The Helen Keller institute
for the blind (Jerusalem)
2. The Princess Basma Institute for the Disabled
(Jerusalem)
3. Jemima House for the
Disabled (Bethlehem)
4. The SOS Children's Village
(Bethlehem)
5. The Augusta Victoria Hospital (Jerusalem), where students picked about 150kg of
olives which will be pressed
at Latrun Monastery and
should produce about 20
liters of olive oil. The students’ hard work helps support the hospital’s “Fund for
the Poor,” which ensures
IB/INDEPENDENT STUDY (IS)
Recently, I attended The IB
Africa/Europe/Middle East
(IBAEM) Regional conference
in Rome, featuring sessions
by several influential speakers in the field of education,
and where I gave a talk on
the importance of learning
for educators.
Ms Robin Press,
IB/IS Coordinator
It was very inspiring to be in
the company of 1300 IB
educators from around the
world. I returned with a
wealth of new ideas and
that cancer and dialysis
patients continue to receive
life-saving care.
My thanks to Ms Rania Husseini, our coordinator for
Community and Service, for
organizing this event which
gives AISJ students the opportunity to serve the community.
~ Dr Barbara Zinn,
MYP Coordinator
PROGRAM
food for thought. Our opening plenary speaker, Dr. Yong
Zhao spoke with wit and
insight about teaching students to prepare them for
the ever-changing world in
which they will be employed.
Discussing Albert Einstein
Dr. Zhao said, “If Einstein
were to take an IB Physics
exam, he would no doubt get
100%, but that is all he could
get.” As important as they
are in our system, there is a
limit to what exams can
measure.
This week, I made the official
IB exam enrollments for our
grade 12 class. I would encourage our students to do
their very best during the upcoming, highly stressful period. That said, I would also
encourage them not to lose a
wider perspective. Each of
them, indeed each of us, is
more than the sum of our exam scores.
P a r e nts ’ Ne w s
Pa g e 3
E L E M E N TA RY .. . M Y D E A R
Elementary school has
had a wonderful October
month. It passed by really
quickly with the holiday in
between. Still there was
enough time to learn,
play, sing and work together.
The biggest change to
Elementary is that the old
art room from last year is
back in usage and the
EY2 love their new classroom.
AISJ is also keeping up
with technology changes
and over the last month
the younger year groups
have been equipped with
an interactive whiteboard.
The children are able to
use a ‘massive’ iPad, as
one of the children called
it. We are really excited
that our children will have
access to new types of
media.
Since last week the clubs
have started running. We
are glad to see that most
of the clubs were able to
go ahead with (more than)
enough signing up. It is a
joy to see all the children
enjoying different styles of
activities after school within the school grounds.
This week we were
pleased to meet with
nearly all parents during
our first Parent Teacher
Conference of this school
year. It is really encouraging for us to hear all the
words of appreciation during these talks, which enables us to keep going the
extra mile to ensure your
children receive the best
education.
~ Mr Steffen Ferwerda,
Head of Elementary
Mr Steffen Ferwerda
Head of Elementary
(Continued from page 1)
to carry out Market Research. They integrated the
results of this into their
Theme Park designs.
This week cumulated in their
grand presentations, where
they showed us their
thoughtful models and
their creative posters and
Students give presentation
maps. They demonstrated
their incredible acting abilities with their adverts and
wowed us with their technological prowess, in their PowerPoint's......fun was had by
all....and then we ate cake!
~ Mrs Liz Album, Grade 6
Individuals and Societies
Teacher
Mrs Liz Album, Grade 6
Individuals and Societies
Teacher, LLS Coordinator
PRE-SCHOOL ...OF THOUGHT
The EY2 new classroom is
finally finished and the children have spent an exciting
two weeks settling into their
room. The new classroom is a
wonderful learning space that
is bright, light and cheerful.
Thank you to the Maintenance
Team for doing such a fantastic job.
EY2 had their entry point last
week to introduce the children
to the new IPC unit on
Transport. The parents were
invited to join their children in
creating a mode of transport
using junk modelling. I was so
impressed with the amazing
rockets, ships, fire-engines
and bicycles. Well done parents and children!
EY1 did their entry point
through role-play and having
the children dress up. They
have an airport, bus station
and other wonderful activities
in their classroom. The children had a wonderful day last
week, washing the bikes in the
rain. What a wonderful picture
of learning in action.
The new Nursery teacher arrived on Monday night and is
settling into her new life in
Jerusalem. She will be busy
getting the new classroom
ready for the little ones. Work
will begin on the new classroom
on Monday and we look forward
to seeing the end result.
The next few weeks will be busy
getting ready for our Christmas
Play, preparing the Nursery
classroom and learning through
new experiences. Thank you to
all the Pre-school parents for
your care and support.
Ms Beverly Sandy
Head of Pre-School
New EY2 Classroom
LIGHT OF M
T Hark
E Your
W O RCalendar:
LD
Tuesday 16 Dec. 6pm
Light of the World Christmas Carol Service
Winter Traditions Dinner
Mark your calendars! Join
& International
us on
Prepare to join us for a delightful evening festival of music, lights, food
and cheer for all! Bring your favourite traditional winter holiday foods
to share with everyone!
A ng l i c a n I nte r na ti o na l
S c ho o l , J e r us a l e m
where the world goes to school
82 Rehov Haneviim
PO Box 191
Jerusalem 91001
Israel
Phone: +972 (0)2 567 7200
Fax: +972 (0)2 538 4874
E-mail: office@aisj.co.il
We’re on the Web!
www.aisj.co.il
AISJ is an internationally
accredited pre-Kindergarten
to Grade 12 (ages 3-18)
school, dedicated to preparing students to succeed
throughout the world, in
schools, universities, future
responsibilities and careers,
and is founded upon Christian beliefs and values.
Our mission is to:
Lead the way, every day to
deliver the best world class
education.
Teach within the best methodology available and within
the highest standards of
Christian ethics and values.
Value, care for and encourage every child to learn to
the best of their ability and
to prepare them to take their
place as a world citizen.
Value and professionally
enhance every staff member.
Assist every school family to
partner in the learning experience of the child within this
unique and special location.
(Continued from page 1)
a time for everything under
the sun’, and we are told that
time is precious. It is time
that produces friendships
and good, established relationships such as that with
Beatrice, and it is also time
that allows for achievement,
success and wonderful memories. It took Nirel three whole
months to complete her masterpiece in my office!
So as you and I invest in our
students’ education – let’s
make sure we don’t just give
them things, but that we all
invest time – use it wisely
and, of course, use the precious treasure of ‘our time’
given to us by God to the best
possible effect.
~Dr Lawrence Hilditch,
Director
Dr Lawrence Hilditch
Director
TEACHER FEATURE
SOPHIE HIBBS
Hello I’m Sophie! This is my
first year at ASIJ and first
international teaching post;
I am really enjoying the
varied experience of teaching at an international
school.
However, this is not my first
time living in the Middle
East, in 2010 and I lived in
Bethlehem and volunteered at a special needs
school for ten months. I
am very happy to be back
and have started to learn
the local language, is really
fun to practice in the local
shops.
I also lived for a season in
California studying bible
and ministry, whilst there I
was able to visit Afghanistan which was amazing.
My favourite moment was
visiting a tailor and his family in Kabul and having a
special dress made for a
wedding I attended there.
I am really grateful for all
the difference I have had.
Ms Sophie Hibbs
PrePrimary Homeroom Teacher
I am from the UK and have
been teaching for six years.
My original degree was in
nursing science, and then
I completed a PGCE in
teaching, I am really happy
to be able to do something
that I love. Education is my
passion and it is such a
privilege to be able to positively influence children
and their families. It has
been fantastic getting to
know Pre Primary this year;
it’s my first year teaching
this age group and I am
really enjoying the challenge.
I come from a big family; I
have three sisters, a brother and a sister and brother
in law. I also have two
beautiful nieces and a
nephew. I am thankful that
Israel is quite close so that
I am able to travel home
and have my family come
and visit me. I am looking
forward to many adventures to come living in this
special place.
~ Ms Sophie Hibbs,
PP Teacher