SHARKThe American International School of Rotterdam

From the Director

“....We are entering a typically busy admissions period...”

Happy Friday everyone! Today I thought I would give you an update on enrollment for SY2013-14.

Admissions activity is up approximately 40%. However, as everyone knows, the US Army has left the area and the Coast Guard is also relocating at the end of this year. Between the increase in admissions and the departure of the Army and Coast Guard, student enrollment for next year is currently status quo, which means we will have closed the gap left by the Army and Coast Guard in about one year.

We are entering a typically busy admissions period and we expect the trend to continue. The Unilever move into the area has brought us additional students and we expect that there will be more coming in the next few months, and throughout next year. While the number of students in each grade level will vary, we expect that our overall student population will be higher next year than it was this year.

And while economic and municipal conditions may change, we see no reason why the increase in admissions activity can’t be maintained over the next year or two. And without another mass move out of the area, we see no reason why we can’t set an enrollment record in one or two years.

We worked very hard to re-brand and market the school, as well as develop better programs that will begin in the fall. We believe that this investment of time and resources was very effective and we will ensure that we continue this pace through next year to ensure that we continue to develop the best possible program for our students and are the most attractive option in the area for families looking for international education.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Best regards,Neal Dilk

Directorneal.dilk@aisr.nl

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17.05.13.Bulletin...

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Elementary Principal’s Message

“....It was a fantastic afternoon for the Elementary Students...”

As we roll into the last couple of weeks for this year, the students and staff have been very busy! On Tuesday, The Book Carnival concluded the inspiring Elementary Reading Month! It was a fantastic afternoon for the Elementary Students with Grades K-5 participating in an insightful author skype with author Amy Krouse Rosenthal, enjoying ‘Book Tastings’ and being read aloud to by their ‘next’ home-class teacher!

This was the first time AISR student's had an official 'Book Tasting'. With classical violin music in the background, students sampled several books each by reading the summary and the first few pages, made predictions about the story and decided whether they were interested in checking it out at a later time. On the menu were, Newbery Award Winners, Classics, Non-fiction, Mixed Genres, Caldecot Award Winner Picture Books and New Arrivals to AISR.

The library was decorated in white table clothes and an array of roses. It was a truly atmospheric and meaningful way to celebrate reading. Many students came to celebrate this event dressed up as their favorite book character. PreK-2 students were read to by our fantastic 5th graders!

Ms. Graham is very proud of her students. “The First Grade students have been busy bees this quarter. Our little botanists have dissected flowers and learned the importance of insects and how they help the flowers grow through pollination. Their bean plants, sunflowers and grass continue to grow as they observe and record their changes while using the growth of their plants to create and solve story problems in Math class.

Our little readers continue to build on their comprehension skills as we read more and more nonfiction books about various insects and flowers. Their knowledge gained through these books will be used for their report writing and to put a fun spin on our IPC unit we will go on an insect hunt in the local woods, take a trip to the Omniversum to watch ‘Flight of the Butterflies’ and finally, we will take a tour of Tomato World to see how insects and flowers depend on one another”.

Continued...

Ms. Willen and Ms. Kinds have this to say about their class.“In Kindergarten we have started a new IPC unit called “Hooray… let’s go on holiday!”

So far we have already been on two school trips. At the end of the month will be going on another one. We are definitely experiencing the excitement and adventure of going on holiday.

On Friday 3rd of May we went via Kindergarten Airport and by Kindergarten Airlines to India where we had a short holiday on a remote Island Beach Resort. In the days leading up to this trip the students had done extensive research during our Writers Workshops creating informational books about various countries. This helped us to

decide as a class where to go and what to pack. At the airport we checked in with our passports, received a boarding card, weighed our luggage, waited in the waiting room and passed the security before we could board our airplane. Even though we experienced some turbulence along the way we arrived safely at the airport in India.

Once there we received the necessary visa stamps to enter the country and were welcomed by some lovey Indian ladies who gave us a Tikka Thali (red dot on forehead). We enjoyed the beach and the sea, and even tried some Indian snacks and ice creams. We also had our pictures taken wearing Indian garlands and attempted some Bollywood dancing. Needless to say, our trip was fun-filled and unfortunately very short. So, after all these activities, we had to fly back to AISR where we arrived just in time to go home.

The following Tuesday we went to Utrecht where we visited the Spoorweg Museum (train museum). We received the VIP treatment by our guide who helped us learn more about the different trains that were used in the past. A highlight was when we drove some trains ourselves! We all had a lovely day”. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the Creative Arts evening on Thursday, May 30. The evening will start at 6:30 – there will be an art exhibition, musical performances and of course, readings from the 2012-2013 Young Author’s Book. Once again, donations from the book will go to the Ronald MacDonald House for needy children.

There will be an All School Assembly on Monday May 27, starting at 2:30. This Assembly will recognize students from all grade levels, who have demonstrated consistently the COR Golden Rules during the 2012 - 2013 school year.

Have a lovely long weekend.Sincerely,

Anne-Marie Blitzanne-marie.blitz@aisr.nl

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Secondary Principal’s Message

“.... we are mid-way through our final quarter of the year..”

Dear Parents,

Overall progress comments are now available on PowerSchool since we are mid-way through our final quarter of the year. IB exams are under way and our High School exam period runs from June 3-10. The schedule has been shared with students and will be posted throughout the school for your reference. If you would like the MAP results for your child/children, please contact Phil Krumrei, our MAP Coordinator (phil.krumrei@aisr.nl) from May 27th.

I look forward to seeing many of you on Wednesday, May 22nd at 6:00pm for the Secondary School Information Evening and we wish our athletes the best of luck at the upcoming NECIS tournament!

From the ClassroomHere are some highlights from some of Mrs. Akerboom's language classes:

IB DutchIn Dutch IB class, students read the graphic novel referencing fascism, ‘Maus’, by Art Spiegelman. They rewrote a page in prose, which helped them to understand the special characteristics of this particular genre.

MAUSHet was zomer, weet ik nog. Ik was tien of elf… Een van die andere jongens zei “Wie het laatst bij school is, is een eitje!”Ik was aan het rolschaatsen met Howie en Steve...en mijn rolschaats raakte los,Artie schreeuwde “AAA!, He! Wacht nou even!”Die andere bleven door gaan en zeiden “Eitje! Ha ha!”Artie zei “w- wacht nou!”Artie kwam huilend bij zijn vaderMijn vader was iets aan ’t repareren voor ’t huis…Artie’s vader “Artie! Hou dit ‘NS vast als ik zaag.”Artie’s vader “Waarom huil je, Artie? Hou aan dat hout beter vast.Artie “I- Ik viel, en mijn vrienden schaatsten zomaar weg.”Hij hield op met zagenArtie’s vader “Vrienden? Je vrienden?...”Artie’s vader “Als je een week hun samen in een kamer zou opsluiten met geen eten…”Artie’s vader “…Dan kon je zien wat dat is, vrienden!...”

Stijn van der Zee

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Continued...

MS FrenchIn French MS we had some superb cooking classes. Charlotte's version of the famous French 'mousse au chocolat' was extremely successful.

Upcoming Events

• Board Meeting: Tuesday, May 21st, 7:00-9:00pm• Secondary Parent Information Night: Wednesday, May 22nd, 6:00-7:00pm• Spring Sports Evening: Tuesday, May 28th, 6:00-8:30pm

• Bag-to-School: June 3-14

“The mighty, mighty 6th grade came to the rescue this week by volunteering to help with the last packing task and delivery of the "Read to Grow" books downstairs to the lobby. You can see them here, situated all around the large cart from the cafeteria, ready to take the packed boxes downstairs in the elevator. The 11th grade team who usually does it were busy with IB lessons at that time, and were not available, even though they had done a lot of packing beforehand. I was proud to see the great number of boxes coming from our school as they were loaded into the van. Thank you to all those who contributed to this worthy cause. The next collection should be in October, but if you are leaving the country before then and are desperate to get rid of some books before you leave, please contact Mrs. Boot. or the front office at school, to arrange for us to get them to Read to Grow sooner. Who knows, AISR might even win the prize for collecting the most amount of books all over Europe for a third time!”

From Lynda BootIB CAS Coordinator and Heritage Officer

Best regards,Alison Lipp

Secondary Principal and Curriculum Directoralison.lipp@aisr.nl

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Ingredients: Mousse au chocolat ‘du Révolutionnaire’150 gr de chocolat noir4 oeufs 80 gr de sucre30 gr de beurreSirop:200 ml d’eau100 gr de sucre1 orange presséeBiscuit: 1 paquet de biscuits à la cuillèreLe matériel de cuisine1 cuillère3 bols1 casserole1 batteur électrique1 presse-fruits1 couteau1 rouleau de film alimentaire

une balance

Préparation:Faites fondre le sucre avec l’eau dans une casserole.Faites fondre le chocolat avec un peu de lait dans le micro-ondes avec le beurre.Montez les blancs en neige.Battez les jaunes avec le sucre.Mélangez les jaunes avec le chocolat fondu.Incorporez les blancs en neige au reste du mélange.Mettez le jus de l’orange dans le sirop.Trempez les biscuits dans le sirop.Tapissez les bords du moule avec les biscuits imbibés.Versez la mousse au chocolat au centre.Laissez reposer dans le frigo.