ACS Athens Ethos, Spring 2014

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ACS Athens American Community Schools

Empowering Individuals to Transform the World as Architects of their Own Learning Our Mission: ACS Athens is a student-centered international school, embracing American educational philosophy, principles and values. Through excellence in teaching and diverse educational experiences, ACS Athens challenges all students to realize their unique potential: academically, intellectually, socially and ethically - to thrive as responsible global citizens.

Reception Desk: Ext. 206, 233 Office of the President: Ext. 201 Office of Enrollment Management, Communications & Technology: Ext. 263 Admissions Office: Ext. 263, 251 Finance: Ext.202, 207 Office of Alumni Affairs/ Procurement: Ext. 207 Human Resources Office: Ext. 204 Cashier: Ext. 208 Bookstore: Ext. 214 Transportation Office: Ext. 239 Health Office: Ext. 217 Cafeteria: Ext. 236 Academy Office: Ext. 222 Academy Discipline: Ext. 404 Middle School Office: Ext. 261 Middle School Discipline: Ext. 267 Elementary School Office: Ext. 229 Office of Student Services: Ext. 226 IB/AP Programs: Ext. 247, 248 Academy/MS Library: Ext. 219, 220 ES Library: Ext. 293 Athletic Office: Ext. 327, 401 Institute for Innovation and Creativity: Ext. 402 Stavros Niarchos Learning Ctr: Ext. 237, 265 Theater Office: Ext. 331, 302 Security: Ext. 240 Night Entrance Security: 210 6393555

Ethos is a bi-annual publication of ACS Athens showcasing the life and activity of the Institution.

Publisher: ACS Athens Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director: Leda Tsoukia Co-Editors: Peggy Pelonis John Papadakis Production team: Frances Tottas Marianna Savvas Copy editing /Text Proofing: Amalia Melis Contributors: ACS Athens Faculty Staff, Students, Parents and Alumni Layout concept & design: Leda Tsoukia Copyright©2014.

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine (text or images) may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher

ACS Athens (American Community Schools) 129 Ag.Paraskevis Street, GR 15234 Halandri Athens, Greece Αγ.Παρασκευής 129, 15234 Χαλάνδρι, Αθήνα, Ελλάδα E: acs@acs.gr W: acsathens.gr T: +30 210 6393200-3, +30 210 6016152

F: +30 210 6390051

ETHOS SPRING 2014

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ETHOS SPRING 2014

Semiotics: The visual issue from the editor

by Leda Tsoukia, Editor in Chief and Creative Director

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CS Athens has reached a milestone!

Our school is the first International School to be considered for top level Accreditation Protocol “Sustaining Excellence”.

Reaching a point where all efforts and sacrifices pay off is not an overnight achievement. A lot of work goes into everything we do and every single member of the faculty and staff, along with parents and students, must always strive to top their previous performance and excel at everything we do.

In this issue of Ethos magazine we will try to give you a taste of all this. You will read about activities, projects, events and accomplishments that demonstrate how ACS Athens has managed to reach such an advanced and innovative level of education.

This issue is a little different from the previous ones, because, for the first time, we will attempt to communicate with you through a different language.

That is why we call it the “visual issue”.

On the right page, you will see a map. Sustaining excellence has been attained for many reasons. The backbone of this effort has a name: Global Morfosis.

The map will help you understand what is Global Morfosis, which are its main components and how it all connects to each other. The visual icons/symbols will help you connect theory and practice.

This theoretical map is being applied to our every day operation through certain manifestations. You will read about these manifestations in the articles written by our dedicated educators.

Every article is noted with the corresponding icon. Every icon is a symbol that depicts a certain component of the Global Morfosis map.

Consequently, you will easily understand how each event or activity follows the theoretical structure of Global Morfosis, it strengthens it and makes it even more effective for our students.

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Educational Paradigm

Delivery Methodology

Institutional Leadership Personal Leadership

Holistic

Meaningful

Harmonious

Ethos

i2Flex Delivery Methodology

Collective Leadership

Administrators as leaders

Administrators as leaders

Faculty as leaders in learning

Faculty as leaders in learning

Students as architects of their own learning

Students as architects of their own learning

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From the editor: Semiotics: The visual issue

The ACS Athens Student-Faculty Show

by Leda Tsoukia 4

by Valerie Alexopoulos 52

Q&A with the President

IB Visual Arts

by Dr. Stefanos Gialamas, Ph.D.

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Why does accreditation matter?

American Author Deborah Reed visits ACS Athens

by MaryAnn Augoustatos, Steve Medeiros and Peggy Pelonis

by Julia Tokatlidou 54

by Amalia Melis 56

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Innovation Zone

Wisdom begins in wonder: Reporting on our i²Flex

by Chris Perakis 58

journey

Learning Enhancement After School Program

by Maria D. Avgerinou, Dean Bradshaw, Angelos Dimi-

by Chris Perakis 60

tropoulos, Tonia Firigou, & Stefanos Gialamas

Celebrating Innovation and Creativity: LD

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Elementary adventures, The Turtle Club: Leading

Conference

Service-Learning

by Steve Medeiros 62

by Irini Rovoli and Jane Mantarakis

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Cognitive Jazz 67

Reading, Rhyming and Writing: Second Grade’s Expe-

What Does Sustaining Excellence Look Like Through the

rience with Poetry

Eyes of Students in the Humanities Program?

by Sophia Moros & Aryn Merrill

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by Kathleen Jasonides and Janet Karvouniaris,

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Third Grade Students Bring History to Life with the

Future Educational Trends

Living Wax Museum

by Peggy Pelonis 75

by Stuart Maloff 22

S.T.A.M.P O.U.T!!

Fourth Grade South American exhibition

by Ellen Vriniotis 76

by Victoria Vagras 23

YOLO! Social Action Projects

Archeologists for a day!

by Dean Bradshaw and Ellen Vriniotis

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by Venie Gaki 24

NOT ONE! VIDEO PROJECT

Ninth Grade Trial for Napoleon

by Ellen Vriniotis 81

by Caitlin Phillips 26

PERSIST AND WORK HARD

Model United Nations at ACS Athens

by Margarita Gournaris and Evelyn Pittas

by David Nelson 29

Come Together, Right Now

ACS Athens Debate Society

by Ginger Carlson 85

by Am. Zavakopoulou and L. Anderson

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Choosing Your Future

S.T.E.M. @ ACS Athens: The Hour of Code

by Zacharo Diamanto Gialamas

by Helen Sarantes 35

Wellness Month

The Science Fair Project at ACS Athens

by Office of Student Affairs

by Christina Bakoyannis and Labrini Rontogiannis 36

Collaborative Learning Communities at ACS Athens

The Carbon Busters Eco Friendly Club

by David Nelson 94

by Chris Perakis 38

ACS Athens at the annual ECIS

Pi–Day Celebration at ACS Athens

by Chris Perakis 96

by Dora Andrikopoulos 42

Athletics

eduTECH 43

by Annie Constantinides 98

Memories & Dreams: from ACS Athens to California

Alumni 100

by Chris Perakis 50

Greek Independence Day

Beyond Room 10 and the Drama Class

by Anastasia Papageorgiou, Natasha Stratoglou and Irini

by Mary Petroutsa 51

Rovoli 102 The 2014 Junior Senior Prom

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Opportunities & Challenges in a Time of Crisis

by Valerie Alexopoulos 104

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Why does accreditation matter?

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Elementary Adventures

29 Model United Nations

52 Student Faculty Show

62 LD Conference

89 Wellness Month

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Sustaining excellence Q&A with the President, Dr. Gialamas

by Leda Tsoukia, Editor in Chief and Creative Director

: ACS Athens is not a school that follows a national curriculum. There is no particular government organization that is responsible for the quality of this curriculum. How is this validated and by whom? What is Middle States Association (MSA) accreditation and why is it important?

A: Since the turn of the 20th century, accreditation has had a major impact on American education, with Middle States Association being among the pioneers in the field. Today it is a concept that few people understand and yet one from which many could benefit. At its inception, accreditation responded to the public demand for improved quality and greater accountability for schools serving society’s needs. The U.S. De-

partment of Education – describes approved accrediting organizations such as Middle States as a “reliable authority as to the quality of education.”

Accreditation is an external, objective validation of school quality and student achievement that fosters continuous school improvement.

Profile of Middle States – Accredited Institution: ◉◉ Adheres to the Middle States Standards for Accreditation; ◉◉ Uses its mission, beliefs, and goals as the basis for easy decision-making; ◉◉ Operates in the public interest and in accordance with ethical practice; ◉◉ Accepts responsibility for the level of performance of its students; ◉◉ Remains committed to continuous

improvement in student learning and to its capacity to produce the levels of learning desired and expected by its community; ◉◉ Operates in a collegial and collaborative way with all of its stakeholders; ◉◉ Sustains its focus on implementing recommendations, addressing monitoring issues and correcting stipulations that may be part of its notification of accreditations and ◉◉ Fulfills its maintenance requirements to the Commission.

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Q: What are the benefits for a school which is accredited by the MSA? A: Involvement in an on-going accreditation protocol recognizes achievement and fosters and facilitates on-going school improvement.

Accreditation provides a means for public accountability by: ◉◉ Validating the integrity of a school’s program and student transcripts. ◉◉ Assuring that the school’s purposes are appropriate and accomplished through a viable educational program. ◉◉ Justifying the faith and resources others place in the school.

Accreditation: ◉◉ Provides a systematic process that requires a school to justify its existence, establish a vision of its future, and determine specific objectives to realize that vision. ◉◉ Reveals information that serves as a sound basis for

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school or district improvement, strategic planning, restructuring, and staff development.

Takes a holistic approach, examining the entire school philosophy and goals, its community, programs and services, facilities and financial stability.

Provides the means to manage change through regular assessment, planning, implementation, and reassessment.

Helps schools/districts establish priorities for improvement by using comprehensive, research-based needs assessments, rather than faddish approaches to improvement.

Requires the establishment and implementation of a multiyear improvement plan based upon the school’s vision of the future.

Provides an excellent growth experience for staff, who participate on volunteer visiting teams to evaluate other schools.

Accreditation builds positive community and stakeholder relations by: ◉◉ Providing opportunities to emphasize the positive and demonstrate the strength and effectiveness of the school. ◉◉ Broadening the staff view of community expectations and fostering closer school and community collaboration. ◉◉ Articulating and communicating opportunities between school levels and among stakeholder groups.

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Q: What is the “sustaining excellence” protocol?

A: Sustaining Excellence is a protocol that uses strategic planning and action research as vehicles for growth and improvement in student performance and in the school’s capacity to effect that growth. The protocol, developed by the Middle States Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS) of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, links various planning and school growth and improvement efforts to effect even higher levels of student performance.

The Sustaining Excellence Protocol provides an accreditation protocol option for schools that can demonstrate 1) their efficacy, over time, in producing the levels of student performance that are desired and expected by their community of stakeholders and 2) are recognized as what Doug Reeves calls “leading schools.” Leading schools are those schools that are achieving high levels of student performance, have an excellent understanding of the necessary antecedents for those results, and are likely to continue achieving those high results over time.

Q: What are the Criteria for Accreditation Using the Sustaining Excellence Protocol?

A: Schools that desire to use the Sustaining Excellence Protocol for reaccreditation by the Middle States Association must demonstrate that they meet the following criteria:

The school: ◉◉ Has strong evidence that it is and has been effective growing, improving, and/ or sustaining student performance, especially in academics, over time. (Note: the Sustaining Excellence Protocol will be made available to any school that can demonstrate its effectiveness—students are learning and growing over time—not just schools that are “high performing” in terms of state assessments, national/ state rankings, etc.); ◉◉ Has a demonstrated history of continuous accreditation by the Middle States Association or another recognized accrediting agency; and, ◉◉ Will likely be able to provide evidence that it meets the requirements of the 12 Middle States Standards for Accreditation as demonstrated during previous accreditation visits ◉◉ Has a history of excellent accreditation results free from monitoring issues and/or stipulations.

Q: What is the Action Research Project of the Sustaining Excellence Protocol for Self-Assessment and Accreditation, as it was defined by the MSA? Rather than using the school’s limited time, energy, and resources to complete a traditional self-study for accreditation that might not provide the kind of value to the school desired by the school and the Commissions, the Commissions offer The Sustaining Excellence Protocol as

an option that permits “leading schools” to earn reaccreditation by focusing their time, energy, and resources and that of their community of stakeholders on: ◉◉ Identifying an aspect of the school’s educational program, services, and/or learning environment the school and its community of stakeholders desire to grow and/or improve in order to produce even higher levels of student performance or creative ways to measure student performance; ◉◉ Discovering how current research informs efforts to grow and improve the aspect of the school’s educational program, services, and/or learning environment on which the school wishes to focus; ◉◉ Developing a proposal for an action research project to demonstrate application of that research in the living laboratory of the school;

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◉◉ Implementing the research project and documenting the results of implementation; and, ◉◉ Sharing what was learned from the implementation with the broader education community in the form of a colloquium.

The Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools define the term “student performance” in the broadest possible terms. Although academics are at the heart of every school, our society has broader expectations for the knowledge, competencies, and characteristics it expects schools to produce in its students. Therefore, the term “student performance” encompasses all of those expectations.

Following are examples, other than academic knowledge and competencies, that might be considered as the focus of an action research project: ◉◉ Oral and written communication skills ◉◉ Use of technology for learning ◉◉ School and community citizenship ◉◉ Understanding and respect for cultural and other differences ◉◉ Ability to think critically ◉◉ Ability to solve problems ◉◉ Working cooperatively and on a team ◉◉ Career planning skills and a career plan ◉◉ Healthy life choices, in one or more areas of physical fitness, drug and alcohol use, or other health factor ◉◉ Demonstration of academic integrity ◉◉ Learning for the love

of learning.

In the Sustaining Excellence Protocol, the school also makes a commitment to continuous growth and improvement. The school and its stakeholders should demonstrate that they are never satisfied with the status quo in terms of how their students perform but are striving constantly to improve and/or grow the levels of performance. The setting of and striving to achieve a vision based upon a perceived need should become a dynamic process in which the school develops the flexibility to revise and modify its plans to achieve its objective(s) based on the results received from implementing those plans.

As part of the accreditation process, the school must review the results of its efforts periodically and open its processes and results willingly to review by its peers in the Middle States Association.

Action research, a major component of the Sustaining Excellence Protocol, is a practice typically associated with improving schools’

Accreditation is an external, objective validation of school quality and student achievement

performance. Action research is not a process used to simply learn more about a topic but rather a problem-solving process and a quest for knowledge on how to improve. It is not about

finding available information about how to solve a problem. Action research is about people with a common interest working together to investigate best practices in a quest to adapt skills, techniques and strategies to address identified areas in need of growth and/or improvement.

The Sustaining Excellence Protocol also requires the school to commit to empowering participants in a collaborative fashion for the purpose of acquiring knowledge to promote a positive change in the academic and/or social culture of the school.

Successful efforts with this protocol will identify a need that will benefit all students and facilitate the development of plans to achieve and measure intended results toward the school’s preferred future. As a result of its efforts, the school commits to ensuring broad based knowledge and understanding of and support for the school’s Action Research Project and the plans to achieve results defined by the Project.

Most effective is a planning ethic that provides significant roles for all of a school’s stakeholders and also has the effect of realizing a strong sense of shared responsibility for the success of a plan to grow and/or improve student performance. If implemented faithfully, the Sustaining Excellence Protocol can provide the school with a vehicle to build sustainability into its planning for growth and improvement, because ownership of and responsibility for the success of the planning process and the Action Research Project

no longer rest with one person (the head of the school) or the school’s staff, but rather takes the form of distributive leadership in which all of the school’s stakeholders assume some degree of responsibility.

Q: What was ACS Athens’ proposal for the Action Research Project which aimed to prove the school’s commitment to continuous growth and improvement?

A: The ACS Athens’ Action Research proposal that was submitted for reaccreditation to the Middle States Association through the Sustaining Excellence Protocol: GIVEN: 1. Our current study body 2. Our current faculty (US trained, local, short-term/long term) 3. Our curriculum with options (US diploma, IB Diploma, AP, support services, advisory program).

THEN: How can we ensure that 95% of our graduates gain access to a best fit institution of higher education, as we remain true to the American educational principles that shape our work?

In a sense the question is existential. It addresses central issues related to our identity, defined in our mission: ACS Athens is a student-centered international school, embracing American educational philosophy, principles and values. Through excellence in teaching and diverse educational experiences, ACS Athens challenges all students to realize their unique potential: academically, intellectually, socially and ethically — to thrive as responsible global citizens.

ETHOS SPRING 2014

In effect, we are asking how, as our continued growth and success depends upon maintaining our core identity in a context of changing demographics and a rapidly and constantly changing educational environment, do we maintain the very principles and values that have led to our success? And how do we do so guided by the imperatives embodied in our institutional vision: Empowering individuals to transform the world as architects of their own learning?

Below is the letter of approval of the Action Research Proposal by the MSA: “…pleased to report to you that the MSA staff approved overwhelmingly ACS Athens’ action research proposal and was impressed by the comprehensiveness and the quality of the work presented in the proposal. We find your work to be a fine exemplar of what is expected of action research in the Sustaining Excellence protocol. Furthermore, you have truly targeted “sustaining excellence” in the identification of the problem and the associated research questions …” “…Congratulations, to the ACS Athens staff, for having accomplished an excellent first step in Sustaining Excellence…”

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Why does accreditation matter?

by MaryAnn Augoustatos, Steve Medeiros, Peggy Pelonis

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s reported in the last issue of Ethos, ACS Athens is currently in the midst of a three year re-accreditation process, implementing a protocol entitled “Sustaining Excellence” developed by the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges to recognize high performing schools. Why is the process of accreditation so important?

Educational Accreditation is a process of validation in which K-12 schools, colleges and universities are externally evaluated to assure quality. Quality is measured against clear standards of excellence developed by a peer review board comprised of educators and based on current practices in educational programs and organizations. Schools that meet the standards of quality are awarded the distinction of accred-

ited institutions.

In most countries in the world, the function of educational accreditation is conducted by a government organization, such as a ministry of education. In the United States, however, a quality assurance process exists that is independent of government and performed by private non-profit organizations. Schools, universities and colleges are accredited by one of six regional agencies of accreditation, namely: Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, New England Association of Schools and Colleges, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Northwest Commission of Schools and Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The Accred-

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prestigious achievement among traditional and nontraditional schools, colleges and universities throughout the world.

The U.S. Department of Education recognizes accrediting or state approval agencies, including Middle States Association, as a “reliable authority as to the quality of education.”

In recent years, accrediting agencies, including MSA, have revised their protocols and practices to reflect the latest research on school effectiveness, employ established world-class standards, and use volunteers trained in critical peer review. This approach provides an external validation of an educational institution’s performance, whether it is serving preschoolers, high school students planning for college, adult community college students, doctoral candidates - or anyone in between. ACS Athens is currently the only international school chosen to pilot the new MSA protocol, “Sustaining Excellence” which envisions a school’s professional community as a community of researchers.

itation process is a protocol designed to lead continuous school improvement.

The U.S. accreditation process was developed in the late 19th century and early 20th century after educational insti-

tutions perceived a need for improved coordination and articulation between secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, along with standardization of requirements between the two levels. Accreditation is a valuable and

Accreditation is an impartial, third-party validation that an educational institution meets challenging, but achievable standards of quality, and provides a mechanism for continuous school improvement.

It is a dynamic process which requires the commitment and involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. It engages the community and ultimately assures the public of an organization’s integrity.

Although attaining high levels of student per-

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formance is every educational institution’s primary goal, understanding the process by which those results are achieved - or not achieved - is equally important. During the past several decades, we have come to understand that schools, colleges and universities need to provide a top-notch education so students can succeed in the workforce and in life. The puzzling part is: if we know what schools need for improvement, why haven’t more schools improved and attained a high level of performance? Accreditation will provide the answers.

Middle States Accreditation is transparent, executed in public and completed with the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders.

It provides accountability by comparing the institution to widely held and recognized standards of quality. MSA accreditation also raises awareness of the positive aspects of education and, in turn, builds pride among the entire school community.

School reform takes time, often more time than the tenure of the school’s leadership.

Schools that develop comprehensive plans for improvement through the process of accreditation have a road map for long-term improvement that withstands the test of time, including changes in board guidance and administrative leadership. Improvement has to come from within each school, from committed individuals, including board members and administrators, who are closest to the problems and best equipped

to solve them.

An important factor in realizing a successful career is choosing a reputable college. JK-12 schools that have been through the accreditation process successfully provide their students with a High School diploma recognized by universities and colleges.

Colleges that have been through the accreditation process are more likely to offer degrees that employers and recruiters recognize. Companies want to know that you have a quality education and that you will have something to bring to the table when you join their team. For this purpose, accreditation enables companies to filter those individuals who have obtained a degree from an accredited institution from those who have not. The accreditation process also offers students a better chance of having their credits transferred to other reputable institutions should they decide to obtain a graduate or doctoral level education.

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i Flex 2

Wisdom begins in wonder: Reporting on our i²Flex journey

by Maria D. Avgerinou, Dean Bradshaw, Angelos Dimitropoulos, Tonia Firigou, & Stefanos Gialamas

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s the school year approaches its end, the i²Flex community of ACS Athens is also about to complete the fascinating learning journey of its pilot phase. Technology-facilitated experimentation, creativity and innovation have taken place at many different levels and degrees of complexity but this has always been founded on careful pedagogical and research design, supported by professional development and opportunities for reflection and feedback, and occurring under the umbrella of Morfosis, with the students’ best learning experience in mind.

i²Flex: Facts and Figures The pilot year of the i²Flex initiative has involved: ◉◉ 23 faculty & staff 8 middle school faculty 14 high school faculty 1 student services ◉◉ 20 courses 3 online 17 i²Flex ◉◉ MANY Design & Development hours in, and out of school, face-to-face and online ◉◉ over 100 hours of professional development one-on-one and group sessions ◉◉ 1 book chapter (by invitation) ◉◉ 3 conference presentations

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i²Flex Pilot Phase Teachers’ Testimonials: Dean Bradshaw (English) Creating an i²Flex (hybrid) course for an honors level senior course has been at times frustrating and challenging but always rewarding.

By dedicating my time toward developing the on-line component of our course, our work has become more efficient and organized. The course’s calendar has become clearer to the students and to me. With this clarity, more responsibility has fallen onto the students. No longer can misunderstanding or ignorance be an excuse. My assignments have also been forced to be more detailed. Students need to work independently outside of school; and therefore, the learning activities must be completed without my verbal clarification. The new sense of organization needed in both schedule and assignment creation has made our class function at a higher-level as less time is devoted to questions of understanding and more time is given to

ness classes (for grades 11 & 12) in which students are exploring potential ways that electronic devices and the power of mobile technology may improve their understanding of human activity while also improving one’s knowledge of how to work out. In my Fitness class students have been introduced to the new material and way of learning in the second semester, and there is a clear move from traditional teacher-led physical education to teacher-guided independent

lenge our students to best use their own potential by becoming the architects of their own learning. Introducing i²Flex in my French IB year 1 and 2 Standard/Higher level class, with 4 different levels, learning has changed from reception of knowledge and interaction to active engagement in the process of learning.

practice “owned” and performed by students.

Students are asked to work independently in class as well as outside the school premises, in order to gain the necessary knowledge to design a custom exercise and fitness program.

way of teaching and provides my students with high quality student -centered, individual teaching. Incorporating this new technological method in my classroom, my teaching approach changed and my teaching strategies have been updated in order to plan and deliver knowledge differently.

The introduction of i²Flex gives me the opportunity to offer a more efficient, better organized and much more motivating

questions of analysis.

Allowing more creative learning activities to occur outside of class has had two key benefits to this course. One, the materials I can use are infinitely more varied. I can link to a video or an article without worrying about how to present it during the class period.

Two, the depth of our face-to-face discussions has increased.

Freed from having to dedicate precious instructional minutes to things more easily viewed or read at home, our class time has become a dynamic place of shared ideas, deep insights, intellectual debates, and meta-cognitive thought exercises.

Students can practice skills with me guiding them rather than practicing them at home and only receiving my feedback. Students can read, write, speak, listen, and research with me at their side as adviser and coach. In short, students can work independently but we can learn together.

Angelos Dimitropoulos (PE) I use the i²Flex in 3 fit-

Tonia Firigou, Ph.D. (French IB) When I started i²Flex I could not imagine how excited this would make me feel and how it would change my teaching philosophy!

According our school’s mission, we always chal-

i²Flex helps me to solve problems that often appear in multi-level classes. First of all, multi-level students have become more engaged and the blended course provides innovative ways of learn-

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ing at home by increasing new educational opportunities for students, especially those who do not feel comfortable with the language.

It also gives the flexibility to students to work at different times and complete their work at any hour of the day seven days per week. Teaching has become more complex and much more demanding and full professional commitment is required since the learning environment is not only the classroom but the real world! The virtual office hours arranged by appointment through ACS gmail offers my students more learning flexibility, an innovative way of communication and engages them to take responsibility. As an educator, I strongly believe that i²Flex is an effective integration of technology which stimulates students to attempt more complex tasks and material. i²Flex students are moving away from passive reception of information to build their own learning. Teaching has also moved from textbooks to multiple representations and expressions. There is also a very challenging shift, from teaching in a classroom to having students and teacher engaged in a new creative and demanding way of learning no matter the day or the time. The real world comes closer and teaching becomes a non-stop learning process which for me- as I lifelong learner- is a source of inspiration!

Finally, new social software - such as Voicethread- are used in order to make teaching more attractive, direct and friendly to students and in this way, teaching now

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better meets the individual educational requirements that our students need for their future!

Concluding Remarks According to Dr. Gialamas (2012), due to the complexity of contemporary societal changes, and also to globalization occurring in many diverse and multiple dimensions, there is a pressing demand for a different type of learner.

Nowadays young people need to live, work, develop, and seek happiness under a new set of conditions and expectations. As a result, many previously well-established educational principles and values have already been under question, re-examination and possible challenge.

How should we prepare young people for such a demanding life? What kind of educational experiences should they receive, and what are the appropriate universal principles and values that must guide their actions personally and professionally? These are the types of questions that we are committed to answering at ACS Athens and the innovative i2Flex approach has been implemented in order to assist us in achieving our goal!

References Gialamas, S. (2012, November).

Educational institutions: Preparing young people to serve humanity. International Schools Journal, XXX II(1).

Voicethread (2014). Retrieved April 30, 2014 via voicethread.com ■■

Allowing more creative learning activities to occur outside of class has had two key benefits to this course.

I can link to a video or an article without worrying about how to present it during the class period.

The depth of our face-to-face discussions has increased.

Previous page from top to bottom: Mr. Bradshaw presenting on Digital Portfolios Dr. Firigou’s Voicethreads Mr. Dimitropoulos’ Fitness class: i2flex and mobile learning combined

Current page: Dr. Firigou’s class VoiceThreading away!

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S

Elementary adventures The Turtle Club: Leading Service-Learning

by Irini Rovoli, ACS Athens Turtle Club Advisor /Greek Language Faculty and Jane Mantarakis, ARCHELON Rescue Centre Volunteer/Educational Collaborator

ervice-learning, as defined by the National Service Learning Partnership, is: “...a teaching method that engages young people in solving problems within their schools and communities as part of their academic studies or other types of intentional learning activity. Service-learning helps students master important curriculum content by making meaningful connections. Service-learning also helps young people develop a range of service skills, from acts of kindness and caring, to community stewardship, to civic action.”

Other definitions of service-learning exist, and although these vary as to parameters of time and student voice, they all tie service to the curriculum and ask students to reflect on their learning. It is the curriculum link and reflection that set service-learning apart from school-based service.

Practitioners note that service-learning consists of six interrelated comp o n e n t s — i nve s t i g a t ing community needs, preparation, action or service, reflection, eval-

uation of learning and impacts, and celebration (National Youth Leadership Council [NYLC], 2008) Often projects and activities called service-learning do not meet the definition or standards set for “service-learning” and the term is often used indiscriminately. Τhe ACS Athens Elementary Turtle Club in its third year now, strives to embrace the following six “R’s” which illustrate the principles and goals of service-learning.

R elevant and meaningful service activities that relate to curriculum standards/goals, R eflection activities that prompt deep thinking about oneself and one’s relationship to the community, R espect for different points of view and diverse backgrounds, R esponsible decision-making and leadership, providing students with a strong voice in planning, implementing and evaluating service-learning activities, R ecognition of the impact community partners have in collaborative initiatives to meet

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community needs, R eview and recording of progress and accomplishments regarding the aims of the student group

opted a hatchling or an injured adult turtle.

encouraging others to join the efforts to help protect sea turtles and their habitats. ACS Turtle Club students have demonstrated strong leadership skills as they collaborated on projects, presentations, activities and volunteer service in their community.

Turtle Club Members: Ready for Action!

Researching/Raising Public Awareness a. Classroom Presentations: Our 5th grade Initiated by students of club members created grade 5 and in keeping posters and power point with basic core curric- presentations that were ulum standards, Turtle shown in the elementary Club participants get classrooms. The presentogether in an atmo- tations were made by sphere of friendliness the students in order to and cooperation in or- inform their classmates ■■ der to learn more about and other students in an endangered species grades Jk-4 of the bioloof the Mediterranean— gy, habitats and dangers the loggerhead “Caretta- threatening CarettaCaretta” sea turtle. ACS Caretta. Moreover, two Turtle Club and ARCHE- Turtle Club members LON Sea Turtle Protec- agreed to represent the tion Society have estab- club and its aims at an lished a collaborative after school meeting of partnership which offers Carbon Busters Club, club members a program who subsequently addof simulated experiences ed “raising public awareand hands-on learning as ness” and “rescue sea young volunteers for the turtles” to their list of imSea Turtle Rescue Center portant “R’s” (recycle, rein Glyfada, Athens. The use, reduce, refuse). An Turtle Club is an inclusive additional highlight of club that meets during this presentation was the school day once a the narration of a sea The ACS Turtle week. Students share turtle story written by in leading the meetings Marilina Bitsikas. Club has been and with adult guidance b. ACS Spring Fair: Stua successful have identified needs re- dents have generated means for garding the conservation a variety of ways to instudents to take of sea turtles and have form people about how action in the jointly planned, imple- they can help protect environment mented and evaluated sea turtles. As a fun way the following aims for of spreading the word at the current year: the ACS Spring Fair, Turtle Club members enResources /Rescue Cen- thusiastically designed ...learned tre Partnership: and planned to manage about a. Donations -Students a booth of fun and educonservation collected monetary do- cational games that will to raising nations with the aim of attract visitors and inpurchasing a heater(s) form them of the Caretawareness in the needed for turtle hold- taCaretta. community... ing tanks at the rescue The ACS Turtle Club has center and also collected been a successful means items for the care and re- for students to take achabilitation of hospital- tion in the environment ized sea turtles (i.e.used and to provide leadership bath towels and tooth- in the projects they have Previous page: brushes, bandages and undertaken.

Through- Τurtle Club members ready medical supplies) out the school year, stu- for action: (Clockwise from b. Young Volunteers in dents of the Turtle Club top:) Dani Zorzos, Nina Kalliamvakos, Jackson Action -Students par- applied what they have Bradshaw, Greg Gregoriou, ticipated in training and learned about conser- Caroline Vlachakou, hands-on work at the vation to raising aware- Michaela Gregoriou, Rescue Centre; and ad- ness in the community, Persephone Maragelis, Alex

with strong leadership skills as they collaborated on projects, presentations, activities and volunteer service in the community

Sougioultzoglou, Mario Srouji, Marilina Bitsikas, Felicia Kumeti, Raneem Ghoneim

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Reading, Rhyming and Writing: Second Grade’s Experience with Poetry

by Sophia Moros & Aryn Merrill

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eaching children how to write is a tricky process that requires endless modeling, repetition, and a plethora of books that intrigue curiosity and interest. Teaching children how to write poetry is just as thorny of a task and involves everything from real life experiences to simply made-up silly stories; which all kids love to share.

In my 15 years of teaching, I have found that a child’s experience with poetry - no matter if they read, listened to, or even attempt to write it - becomes an irresistible attraction.

They

are instantly fascinated by they way words play with one another and always seem to want more. The predictability of rhyme leaves students feeling successful as they can foresee what is coming next. This gives them courage to participate and share their speculations, all while building self-confidence in all types of learners.

Children are easily drawn in by the uniqueness of this kind of writing and while some poems send a message that is direct and easy to understand, others leave children pondering in thought for a deeper meaning.

In the last few years, sec-

ond graders at ACS have been experimenting with poetry and reading poems from major influences like Dr. Seuss & Shel Silverstien. After ample exposure to these great authors, along with others, students are asked to adapt, model and recreate poetry from one of our preferred authors, Dr. Seuss. He has become our selected poetic role model because his stories have lasted over 50 years and his biography tells a true story of one man’s endless determination, imagination, and originality; which are the three key factors we look forward to instilling in our students when they are asked to write and create poems that mimic his style.

In addition to inspiring students, Dr. Seuss’ work is recognized worldwide with some of his titles making box office hits in Hollywood. This only brings his work to life for children and shows the essentials of making a good story, by including parts of a story, characters, setting, plot, a problem and solution and merging it to poetry elements of rhyme, alliteration, rhythm, personification, onomonopia and more. His work is easy to access, fun to listen to and watch, found in unlimited resources, and straightforward enough for kids to make connections to his multifaceted themes. Dr. Seuss’ stories teach complicated life lessons in a rudimentary approach where children, even under the age of nine, can be exposed to topics about prejudice as in the story “The Sneetches,” or environmental concerns and the ecosystem in “The Lorax,” or even learn

to identify to their own feelings in the story “My Many Colored Days.”

In culminating our 2nd grade poetry unit, students are given the opportunity to select a project from a given list of choices in which they feel they can independently complete. After selecting an activity students present their final project (including work like: adapted book, an award that recognizes Dr. Seuss’ work, making a timeline of his book titles, selecting 10 preferred quotes and explaining each one) to their class and parents. Finally, projects are put on display for others to view.

In presenting students with such unlimited possibilities to write, we have found that poetry lends opportunities to all students, but especially for English as Second Language students (ESL) and English Language Learners (ELL) as it does not grammatically restrict their thoughts.

Rather, it grants freedom to their existing vocabulary and encourages them to experiment with their existing language in order to express ideas without the captivity of grammar structures.

This kind of story telling creates individual styles where students really have FUN being creative and unique and even discovering new words by applying what they know about word families. Not only has poetry influenced our students; it has inspired the teachers into thinking more creatively too.

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Below, find a poem writ ten by Ms. Aryn Merrill that describes our poetic journey in an artistic and imaginative way.

2nd grade Poetry Museum highlights students’ creativity

By Aryn Merrill There is no better way, you see To have a grand old time Than to read a book by Dr. Seuss Why, every word’s a rhyme!

Second graders gobbled up His best and brightest books We read so many rhymes that we were Absolutely hooked!

Then we worked for many days And our parents helped us, too We created letters, books and games To show what we now knew.

Presenting them to friends and families That was oh so great!

We thought we should display our work To show off and celebrate.

And so our Dr. Seuss time Came to its conclusion With our Poetry Museum A lovely work of fusion Of our projects, books and drawings Put up for all to see In the Theater Atrium We’re as proud as we can be!

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Opposite page top and bottom: Students enjoy touring the 2nd Grade Poetry Museum to see their peer work Opposite page middle: Entrance to 2nd Grade Poetry Museum

Current page top: Parents enjoy student Dr. Seuss presentations Current page bottom: Students enjoy touring the 2nd Grade Poetry Museum to see their peer work

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Third Grade Students Bring History to Life with the Living Wax Museum

by Stuart Maloff, 3rd Grade Faculty

he Third Grade took part in a biography project that took many weeks of preparation and diligence. The first step for each child was to select a biography on an influential person that has made a difference in the world and helped society in some way. The students learned techniques on note taking and organized the information gathered into sections including their early life, adult life, and impact on society. Once the biographies were completed, each class took additional notes from other sources such as online encyclopedias and websites specializing in history. Then, each pupil had to decide the most pertinent information to include in their report.

All of the notes needed to be revised and put into their own words in their rough drafts and edited final copies. All of this work was completed in school without parental assistance.

After the reports were completed and shared, each class started to take the most pertinent information from their re-

ports to create their individual oral presentations to be performed live at the wax museum. Students needed to change the wording pretending that they were writing about themselves as that famous person. All Third Graders practiced their speech in class and at home, and most of them memorized the content, which is a difficult task at any age. During this process, every child became an expert on the person they were studying while learning about many other influential people in history from their peers.

While students were practicing their speeches, the next step in our wax museum was to create a background poster using water color. This display showed a setting their important person could be associated with.

The students exhibited their creativity in this visual component. These colorful banners were added to the already festive atmosphere of our wax museum. In addition, students used their imaginations to create an activation button for themselves. These buttons needed to be

Current and opposite page: Students manifest the characters they study by becoming wax museum figures and coming alive to tell audiences about who they are.

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pushed by wax museum visitors in order for the presentations to begin.

Finally, after weeks of hard work, the Wax Museum arrived. On Friday, February 28, students rose to the occasion by performing with eloquence and charisma.

Dressed up as the people they were portraying, the Third Graders worked tirelessly and enthusiastically! Everyone who listened to the students present, learned new information about these historical figures. It truly was a special day for all involved and something students will look back at years from now and remember fondly.

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Fourth Grade South American exhibition of learning

by Victoria Vagras, 4th Grade Faculty

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ast semester, our 4th grade students studied the geography and culture of South America. Each student focused on researching a South American country and applying various presentation skills during the exhibition. Students portrayed their work in many creative forms, including art projects, music & dance, sports, display posters, and Power Point slides. Each group collaborated with their team members and had the opportunity to present their studies to the Elementary School community and the 4th grade parents. Students took great pride in their work and everyone enjoyed the exhibition.

Students also had the

opportunity to develop their reading and writing skills by critically analyzing non-fiction text, constructing an outline and applying it as a guide to write and present a thorough research report.

They learned about essay organization and writing a bibliography as well. Finally, students wrote their own clever folk tales after reading authentic South American folk tales for inspiration.

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Academic W Replications Archeologists for a day!

Learning history through a real life situation

by Venie Gaki, Greek Language Faculty

Current page top: Discovering and sifting the evidence under the instructions of Ms. Gaki

Current page bottom: 7th graders working hard on the archaeological dig

e live in a material world. We are the population of a fast-paced era. Once, we knew that only light travels fast; now, everything is moving fast; information can be acquired in no time through the web, communication can be much more effective through skype than through the old fashioned, calligraphic correspondence that people exchanged with their beloved ones.

What could be more boring than learning about ancient civilizations in such a world? Isn’t it something that most adolescents would despise, as they are more into i-pads, i-phones, gadgets and electronics or finances and marketing and business administration?

Doesn’t all this sound fancier than digging in the ground to find fossils or shards of pottery or parts of statues buried for centuries?

Well, not for our 7th graders (Theodore Alexopoulos, Yiannis Hatzis, Nikitas Kefaloyiannis, Fotini Koroniou, Philippos Kostopoulos, Anastasia Koutouga, Athina Koutouga, Zoe Krempounis, Anastasis Kyriakopoulos, Theodore Liolios, Ioanna Meco, Myra Pyrgioti) who were thrilled to participate in the fulfillment of a secret ambition I had when I was a 7th grader myself; to become an archeologist! Those who admired Harrison Ford as “Indiana Jones”, know exactly what I am talking

about.

All students seemed to share the same enthusiasm and interest! The Cycladic civilization had amazed them with the early figurines of men and women sculpted on white marble 3,000 years BC; the Minoan civilization triggered them while studying the mural paintings on the walls of the Palace of Knossos; the Mycenaean civilization impressed them with the Cyclopean walls and the Parthenon of the 5th century BC made us proud of the fact that democracy was born in Greece! They were fascinated with Schliemann and Evans who were conducting excavations in the late 19th and early 20th century and discovered the civilizations which Greece has become known to the whole world about.

Of course, we could not travel to our beautiful islands so, we decided to bring the islands to Athens and carry out an archeological dig on the ACS site!

It was late February and truly a beautiful, sunny day. It was neither cold nor hot; it was actually warm, a day every archaeologist would dream of! Can you imagine what it is like to dig under the scorching hot sun on the gorgeous - but rather bare, one would say- Cycladic islands or on the rocks of Mycenae?

We had everything; we had all the tools we needed for an archeological dig; spades, hand

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brooms, trowels, cameras, measuring tape, glue and sifts we borrowed from other teachers like Ms. Stauffer, Ms. Klimou and Ms. Bakoyiannis or the maintenance who were very fast at setting up the site : they made a wooden frame, divided it in 4 parts for the 4 teams and filled it with sand. Monastiraki was a great place to get replicas of pottery and Ms. Exintavelonis was generous enough to lend us the replica of the bronze figurine of the goddess with the snakes and some Cycladic figurines her 7th graders had made of white clay.

They were broken into pieces and with the help of Ms. Antoniadou, we hid the fragments in the sand. The students came ready, displaying responsibility and consistency; each team had their cameras, they took their tools and everyone was carrying out the tasks they were assigned with precision and care; some of them had to measure and describe the exact location that the fragment was found; others had to take pictures of the shards or dust them; others wrote about their findings in the archeological log. They shared, they waited for their turn, they displayed mutual respect. After they had found everything, they put the pieces together and glued them!

They were amazingly focused and engaged in the task. Then, each team

wrote a report of their findings and presented it in class as if they were true archeologists presenting their discoveries to the administrator of a Museum!

And then it dawned on me; I didn’t do any digging, I didn’t do any dusting, my childhood dream to be an archeologist even for one day was not fulfilled; however, what was fulfilled was the goal all teachers in ACS set : students should have fun if we want the process of learning to be effective and they should implement the knowledge they acquire in real life situations to consolidate it! Teaching holistically means to incorporate other subject areas in a unit so that students’ learning is meaningful.

Through this “dig” students did have lots of fun! They incorporated information they had acquired on orientation from the Social Studies class; they used math, physics and chemistry as they had to measure distances, to describe substances, to come to the conclusion that ordinary glue is not suitable for clay! Most importantly they consolidated their knowledge on ancient Greek art and, who knows, maybe one of them will become the next Schliemann or Evans or Dakaris who will discover the tomb of Alexander the Great!

Here are some comments from the students who participated in the

“dig” : “I really loved the excavation! I want to do it again” “It was fun! I had a great time!”

“The thing I liked the most about the excavation was that I got the feeling of being an archeologist.”

“It was really fun and personally I had never done this before!”

“Great experience! Let’s do it again” “It was interesting, but did we really have to write the report afterwards?”

“I liked the dig because it was fun having such experience and I liked taking photos. Also, it was nice working with other people.”

“It was an experience everybody loved!”

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Current page from left to right: Finding missing parts Measuring distances among fragments Reporting the findings to one another

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Ninth Grade’s Trial of Napoleon

by Caitlin Phillips, English Language Faculty

rder! Order in the court!”

Judge Jessee Kolodkin bangs his gavel loudly, and Goya darts fire from his eyes. The tension in the room is high, and Napoleon shifts in his chair.

But the tension quickly dissipates to smiles. This isn’t a real courtroom, after all. It’s a classroom, and we are watching the culmination of two weeks’ worth of work.

The 9th Grade History and Literature Honors Combination class is pulling this off in smashing style. Napoleon is on trial for war crimes and for crimes against humanity. The witnesses for both sides are arrayed in various costumes befitting the characters they represent. The defense and the prosecution have worked tirelessly on their arguments, and the judge is certainly enjoying instructing the courtroom on appropriate behavior.

The 9th grade combo class is not a normal course. History is coming alive, and students are enjoying the experience. Mrs. Gournaris and myself sit in the back of

the room, taking notes on performances, but we are not running the courtroom. The judge and the bailiff are taking care of that.

The history and literature combination create a unique experience for our freshmen honors students. Mrs. Gounaris is a social studies teacher and I am an English teacher. This is the first year that 9th grade combo is being offered, and it has been a delight to watch the two disciplines come together.

While students were preparing for the trial of Napoleon, we were also reading To Kill a Mockingbird, a book about another type of trial—a trial where justice was not served.

The combination of history and literature has made learning more harmonious. Students see the overlap between world events and human nature itself. When we studied the French revolution, for example, we also studied Antigone, a Greek tragedy that focuses on the rebellion of the individual and the failure of a king to listen to his subjects. Students

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are seeing connections across the centuries— and they are grappling with what it means to be human.

The Napoleon Trial provided a unique opportunity for students to learn in a non-traditional setting. Each student took a role in the trial. Some were witnesses and had to research the lives of an individual and then impersonate this individual on stage. Taking part in role playing caused students to look at their assigned character not just as a name in a history textbook, but as a unique individual, somehow affected by the actions of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon himself, played

by Malcolm Mehrabian-Terlexis, was full of indignation at the trial. In fact, at one point, he was almost removed from the courtroom for being disruptive. But dramat-

ics aside, the chance to see these figures as real, breathing human beings is part of the central goal of the course. We want students to not only understand history and literature in an abstract sense, but to better understand themselves—to be capable not only of knowledge, but of insight. In the end, the jury weighed the evidence, and Napoleon was acquitted on all counts.

The process of weighing evidence and developing wisdom is one of the core values of ACS Athens. As Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” While the Napoleon Trial may be over, life still requires judgment.

Students are learning to examine life, even after the last school bell rings.

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Previous page from left to right: A view of the courtroom Loukas Ananiadis, Sophia Kotsianu, Christos Sougioultzoglou, Angelos Makras, Philippos Tsamantanis, and Jesse Kolodkin Loukas Ananiadis, dressed as Duke Wellington, stands in court

Current page top: Defense lawyer Philippos Tsamantanis listens to an objection from prosecuting lawyer Artemis Fostinos Bottom: Tom Kipp responds to questions from Lydia Lampiri while Jesse Kolodkin looks on

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Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.

Model United Nations at ACS Athens Immeasurable Experiences!

“Bring the world closer to our students.”

by David Nelson, Evelyn Pittas and Margarita Gournaris, ACS Athens MUN Advisors

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hat is MUN? The concept of Model United Nations (MUN), which was introduced by the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), began soon after the U.N. was formed in 1945.

Model United Nations is an academic replication of the real United Nations. Its purpose is to educate our student “delegates” about peace-

ful leadership and world issues through effective communication, international cooperation and multifaceted diplomacy. Our Student “Delegates” represent Ambassadors of the United Nations countries at the THIMUN, QMUN, and/or AMUN conferences. The organizational structure of each conference follows the authentic UN structure, made up of six main bodies: the General

History of MUN at ACS Athens: The American Community School of Athens has a decades long tradition in participating in what has become the largest student simulation in the world: The Hague Model United Nations (THIMUN). This year marked the 46th Annual THIMUN Conference, and ACS Athens has been involved in well over 2/3 of those events.

Additionally, ACS Athens was among the original schools, which were founding participants in the Georgetown Qatar MUN in 2006. We pride ourselves in providing the highest quality experiences for our students, many of whom strive to study politics, law, or international relations, among others In 1995, ACS Athens, in collaboration with the United Nations Information Center, and the United States Embassy hosted the first Model United Nations conference in Greece.

Ambassador George D. Papoulias, Ambassador M. James Wilkinson, and Dr. Thomas J. Miller (later U.S. Ambassador) addressed students from Athens College, Byron College, Campion School, Deutsche Schule Athens, and Ziridis School in a very successful three day conference. Former ACS teacher, Kelly Miliciano, and Monique Y. Wong of the United States Embassy co-chaired. ACS hosted two more conferences in 1996 and in 1997, which were organized

and co- chaired by Jan Karvouniaris and Margarita Gournaris. Today, there are several conferences in Greece.

In preparation for each conference, our student “Delegates” research current topics, using the Official Records and the masthead documents of the United Nations, to prepare opening speeches, draft resolutions, realistic strategies, non-violent negotiations, all while following the United Nations Protocols and Procedures. They learn about global economic, social, cultural and humanitarian challenges and how the United Nations acts on them to resolve conflict.

Qatar MUN 2014: Participating in QMUN was tumultuous and exciting. Our delegates did not shy away from the challenge! Their hope in world peace proves to be at the very root of their motivation to do an exceptional job. They practiced compromise, debate skills, and companionship with a competitive drive! We hope they foster their passion throughout their lives.

The QMUN 2014 Conference Theme was: Shifting Power Dynamics in a Globalized World.

It has been more than a pleasure advising such polite and respectful Delegates! The one thing we hope they take with them is to “always question the truth with a critical mind, but listen with a kind heart!”

Below is the list of our 9th grade MUN Delegates and their achievements: Angelos Makras served on the Advisory Panel as Khalid Mashal of Hamas, Palestine. He

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was a co-submitter to the resolution for “Sectarian Violence in Iraq.” His first resolution passed and his second resolution passed with 24 votes for it and 2 votes against it. In the spirit of fun, he was awarded the “Best Dressed Delegate Award”!

Andreas Louskos served on the Advisory Panel as Hassan Rouhani of Iran.

His resolution on “Sectarian Violence in Iraq” passed. Andreas passed an amendment to the resolution on “Sectarian Violence in Burma.” His second resolution also passed with 24 votes for it and 2 votes against it.

Tommy Lynch served on the SPECial POLitical and Decolonization Committee representing the Delegate of IRAN. Tommy was the main submitter to the resolution for “The Situation of Western Sahara and Morocco.” He participated in a crisis: “kidnapping of the Moroccan delegate,” and proved the failing resolution of “Shia movements in the Middle East” Jesse Kolodkin served on the ECOnomic and SOCial Council representing the Delegate of ICELAND. Jesse was co-submitter to the resolution for “Global Migration” and also passed his resolution. In addition, Jesse passed an amendment on the resolution for “The Situation for Syrian Refugees” and was co-submitter of his resolution. He participated in the crisis: “Syrians being expelled from Lebanon crisis.”

Lydia Lampiri served on the Human Rights Committee representing the Delegate of IRAN. She was co-submitter to the resolution for “LGBT Rights.” She successfully

participated in two crises: “Iran accused of killing a homosexual man” and “Because of a devastating earthquake in Mexico, which left thousands dead or injured, what humanitarian aid would she send?”

Danae Vassiliadis served on the SOCial and HUManitarian Committee as the Delegate of IRAN. She participated in two crises- “Germany worker kidnapped by African tribes” and “Saudi men claiming for no woman in politics, kidnapping female delegate of Israel and arresting Saudi women for fighting for women’s rights.”

THE HAGUE MUN (THIMUN) 2014: This year’s conference brought together over 3500 students and advisors in one of the most dynamic MUN conferences in the world. THIMUN challenges our students to extend their reach of leadership, persuasion and initiative, to become extremely active advocates and delegates.

The THIMUN 2014 Conference Theme was: Africa- Transformations and the Challenges Ahead.

The ACS Athens Delegation flew the Peruvian flag this year and was led by our Ambassador Jimena Navarrete, who drew from four years of experience to spearhead fellow Seniors, Veerle Versteeg, Madeline Gerbracht and George Stavropoulos.

This impressive group of upperclassmen were highly responsible, independent, and focused, to not only stand out within their committees but also to guide their younger classmates.

The honor of receiving an appointment as an Assis-

tant to the President of the General Assembly, went to Junior Ioanna Schuppert, who served on the Human Rights Commission this year.

Such appointments are extremely competitive and represent the dedication and interest that

Ioanna brings to our organization. Impressively, Ioanna also served as the Secretary General at this year’s Athens Model United Nations Conference.

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We want to congratulate all of this year’s THIMUN participants who gained tremendous insights about issues facing Latin America, Africa and the rest of the world: Lasse Lueke, Lilena Marinou, Susanna McGrew, Filippos Minaretzis, Tom

Sagiv, Stamatis Stamatiou, Diane Yalouris and Rim Versteeg.

Athens Model United Nations (AMUN) 2014: The Athens Model United Nations brings together students from public and private schools in Greece

and a few international schools from abroad.

Our younger students drew from the opportunity to hone their skills in a smaller conference, and play a much more active role. This year the student delegates represented The United

States of America and the best of American diplomatic skills and values.

Ambassador Jochem Rinsma and Ambassador Madji Samad led the delegation of Loukas Ananiadis, Dione Cavadias, Vicky Grant, Malcolm Mehrabian

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and Danae Paidoussis.

Prior to the AMUN Conference, our MUN organization welcomed Ms. Maria Stavropoulou who shared her experiences and insights with our students from her vast experience with the UN organizations. Our students were truly honored to welcome such an experienced lawyer, activist and diplomat who has served as Senior Regional Protection Officer, Regional Representation for Southern Europe at UNHCR; Political Affairs Officer at United Nations; Special Adviser on Genocide Prevention; Lawyer at UNHCR; Lawyer at OHCHR; and Lawyer at Greek Council for refugees.

We are extremely proud of our student delegates!

They were truly outstanding representatives of our school and many will no doubt stand out as future diplomatic leaders!

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ACS Athens Debate Society: Arguing our way to the top

by Amalia Zavacopoulou, Writing Center / Forensics Coordinator and Leigh Anderson, Library Coordinator

hat do Oprah Winfrey, Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Malcolm X, Plato and Bill Clinton have in common? Apart from being leaders and exceptional in their respective fields, they are all former debaters. We are not saying that debate is responsible for their success, but it is indicative of the useful skills and attributes students can develop through this activity: confidence, effective communication, independent research, critical thinking and teamwork, to name but a few.

ACS Athens Middle School students were introduced to the exciting and challenging world of debate – dressed to impress, the ACS Athens team competed against teams from more than five other Athens-based schools. We were excited to have so many Middle School students express an interest in debate and test their mettle against older, more experienced debaters.

The ACS Debate Society is an after-school activity that aims to prepare students for a variety of local and national tournaments throughout the school year. We are also extending debate to the Middle School as well; for the second consecutive year, ACS Athens students participated in the Athens Round of the ICYD (International Competition for Young Debaters), a British parliamentary debate competition geared towards students under 15. This year, twelve

“I’d love to go again, it was fantastic. I made new friends and discovered new abilities. It was scary, but I liked it”.

“The debate was amazing! I met a bunch of really cool and nice people. I loved the experience and even though we didn’t win, I really enjoyed the time I had. I only have positive feedback about the day”.

“It was really challenging but I had so much fun. I met some awesome people and I can’t wait to do it again”.

The students who participated were also happy with the experience, as we can see from some of their comments:

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We are looking forward to further encouraging Middle School and High School students to embrace debate, since it has always been a highly-regarded activity at ACS Athens. It is promising to see this tradition being upheld, through hard work and commitment, with new achievements building on past accomplishments; in November, an ACS team (Thyagarajan Ramachandran, 12th grade, and Thomas Desombre, 10th grade) won the Deree Invitational Debate Tournament. In addition, last month ACS won the debating event at the prestigious Panhellenic Forensics Association Tournament (Thyagarajan Ramachandran and Alexia Tragakes, 12th grade, and Thomas Desombre, 10th grade).

Up against tough competition and seasoned debaters, the ACS team won all five preliminary debates, the quarter-final and semi-final before also winning at the final.

Our success at this year’s Forensics did not end there; in fact, debate is but one of six speech and public speaking/ performance events offered as part of Forensics at ACS Athens, an activity that culminates in an annual national tournament that focuses on developing student’s essential life skills and values. ACS students were also given Honorable Mentions for their performances in Group Discussion (Myrsina Manticas, 11th grade) and Impromptu Speaking (Maria Louisa Pelidis, 11th grade), as well as distinctions for Best Speakers in Debate (Thyagarajan Ramachandran, 12th grade, and Thomas Desombre, 10th grade).

But we do not rest on

our laurels. These recognitions are a product of collective and individual commitment, effort and hard work; like all good things, they are built over time, not overnight.

By teaching our students skills that will serve them well not only in school, but in the workplace, in politics and in society as a whole, ACS Forensics and the ACS Debate Society are looking to the future – sustaining high standards, maintaining excellence and building on our achievements.

Join us!

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confidence, effective communication, independent research, critical thinking and teamwork I’d love to go again, it was fantastic. I made new friends and discovered new abilities. It was scary, but I liked it These recognitions are a product of collective and individual commitment, effort and hard work

Previous page: The ACS Athens Forensics Team 2014

Current page from top to bottom: Thyagarajan Ramachandran, Alexia Tragakes, and Thomas Desombre with the Forensics debate trophy Beaming with pride, Middle Schoolers relax after a debate Dressed to impress, the Middle School debate team takes a photo break

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STEM @ ACS Athens The Hour of Code

by Helen Sarantes, Elementary Technology Faculty

he week of December 9 - 15, 2013, Code.org launched the Hour of Code as part of Computer Science Education Week.

The Hour of Code was a self-guided activity that every student could do.

The activity included hour-long tutorials to try out the basics of computer science. Today we’re surrounded by technology but few students are learning how computers actually work. Simple computer science activities can help nurture creativity and problem solving skills. More than 18 million students in 34,000 classrooms across 167 countries participated in this event!

ACS students beginning in 2nd grade also took part in the Hour of Code.

2nd graders used “Light Bot” for beginning programming logic to identify patterns, use procedures, and utilize loops.

3rd, 4th and 5th graders worked on “Code” where they learned about repeat-loops, conditionals, and basic algorithms.

Middle and high school students used Code, JavaScript, Python, Tynker and MIT App Inventor!

Alpha Bank. A consistent point of reference in the Greek banking system.

The most important outcome of this event was that some students who tried the Hour of Code have gone beyond the introduction and have continued on their own learning the intricacies of programming with Code!!

Over 617,573,615 Lines of Code Written

by Students!

18,584,638 Have Learned an Hour of Code!

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The Science Fair Project at ACS Athens

by Christina Bakoyannis and Labrini Rontogiannis Middle School Science Faculty

O

n March 28th, 2014, the 6th and 7th grade students presented their science fair projects to the ACS community.

The projects presented were student-generated and covered the science categories of biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, environmental science and invention technology.

In the physics category, topics included energy in balls, materials that block sound, radiation emitted by cell phones, electromagnetic motors, wing design and effect on flight, pendulum, lip gloss and blockage of light, Ferro fluids, ramps, solar cookers, electro-

static, light intensity of different light bulbs, boat design and load.

In the chemistry category, electrolysis, solvents that remove mascara, carbon dioxide levels in the classroom, absorption and thickness of moisturizers, solvent removal of stains, melting of chocolate, chromatography, physical changes such as melting and evaporation were just some of the projects presented.

In the biology category, some topics were worms and effect on pH, effect of hand sanitizers on the number of bacteria, ecosystems, bacterial growth, digestion and effect of drinks on teeth,

Current page from top to bottom: 6th grade students presenting speed of dye to color a flower to an 8th grader 7th graders presenting their physics project on the effect of the speed of horse on its jump

6th graders presenting their invention technology experiment with a flashlight glove that they created 6th graders presenting their experiment on the effect of gum on teeth bacteria growth to a teacher judge 7th graders and their physics project on electromagnetic motors

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test effect on heart rate, speed of dye in plants and the effect of HCl acid and pepsin on proteins.

In the environmental science category, wind energy, solar energy insulation, air pollution in and out of classrooms, ecosystems, flooring materials and their effect on temperature, how lake location affects water sources and carbon dioxide levels in the classroom were some of the projects.

In the Invention technology, a student created a flashlight glove.

Students had to present their project in written form, in a visual display and communicate this to the community. Simultaneously, 7th grade students had to communicate with an e-mentor and work on their wiki online using the Moodle platform.

background knowledge of their individual project through thorough research, note-taking and reading. The writing center was a valuable resource throughout this whole process.

Gaining new skills In order to be able to attain success in the multiple facets of this project, students needed to seek ways to work with others. Students commented that working with others, sharing ideas, listening and collaborating were valuable experiences they gained.

Furthermore, using the lab equipment and sensors, setting up the equipment, collecting and analyzing data were also mentioned. Above all, students refined their presentation skills, exhibited patience and persevered throughout the process.

Building a successful science fair project The science fair project allowed students to work with others in an interesting science experiment. Students felt they were successful through the teamwork effort and enjoyed the process.

Figuring out how to use the new equipment, performing their own generated experiments, having accurate results and making data tables and graphs were some of the areas which allowed students to feel success.

The challenges Students needed to work through drafts of their reports and working on these drafts was one of their challenges so as to organize it properly and write in all the information required. Students had to build projects and make them work; in some cases that meant re-starting the experiment. They had to take exact measurements, find the necessary materials and fix the design.

Throughout this entire process, 7th grade students had to simultaneously collaborate; not just with their peers, but with e-mentors from all over the world.

Gaining new knowledge Students commented on the new knowledge they gained from their individual projects. This science fair project required that they build their

Working as scientists Starting a science fair project brings forth a lot of questions. Students need to seek the question for their own project and continue with

Student reflections on the process:

researching and thinking about how they will approach their experiment. The science fair project serves as a model that showcases how scientists work in the real world. â– â–

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T

hey are all part of The Carbon Busters Club, a new eco-science adventure club that piloted at ACS Athens this year. Club founder and ACS Athens Mom, Laurel Colless, joined Chris Perakis, director of the Learning Enhancement Program and Science teacher, Christina Bakoyannis, to create a 9-week adventure, using storytelling to spring board 7-10 year olds into action around science and nature.

The Carbon Busters Eco Friendly Club: What do Science and Storytelling have to do with saving the world?

by Chris Perakis, Director, Learning Enhancement Programs, Christina Bakoyannis, Middle School Science Faculty and Laurel Coless, ACS Athens parent

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

THE NATURAL WORLD

Spirit of Adventure HUMAN HEART Opposite page from top to bottom: Science experiments to show carbon busting Studying a tree Making an Earth medallion

While most Nature Clubs are NOT science based and most Science Clubs are NOT nature based, the Carbon Busters Club hinges strongly on BOTH, with science as the doorway to the natural world.

Storytelling at the Carbon Busters Club While the Carbon Busters Eco-adventure stories are about peer friendship, leadership, and adventure, each story becomes an archetypal quest to bring nature, intelligence and high technology into balance, and at one with the human heart – or love.

The stories, created by Laurel Colless, follow the adventures of Peter Blue at Ecodemia, an awayschool for the world’s most gifted eco-children.

Peter and his friends, Riva, Wanda and Chu, become the school’s top earth-saving mission team, taking on non-sustainable behavior threatening the natural world.

The genre of stories is magical realism; magic because nature itself is magical and children love and need magic in their lives; and realism because words like carbon and climate change, must become part of the

lexicon and thinking of our children if they are to rise and become the enlightened leaders and decision-makers of our uncertain global future.

Local partnering at the Carbon Busters Club In local partnership with the Attica Zoo Education Center, The ACS Athens pilot club members had a chance to experience animals in the context of climate change, in particular, the problem of loss of animal habitat in an overcrowded planet.

Attica Zoo educator, Dr. Georgina Spyres engaged club members in ‘Zoo to Club’ encounters with a hedgehog, a ferret and a family of rabbits, as well as two highly anticipated ‘Club to Zoo’ visits, which began with a trip to the Dolphin Research Center, where the Carbon Busters enjoyed direct contact with dolphins.

There were also opportunities for hands-on science introducing specific dolphin behavior such as echolocation through sonar. A follow up ‘Club to Zoo’ visit took the form of an animal insulation quest looking at how animals regulate their own temperatures using characteristics such as fur, feathers and blubber.

Back at the club, children applied this learning to their own ability to insulate through clothing.

They also discovered the link to insulating their homes and schools, understanding that energy efficiency in buildings means more than just being too hot or too cold, it is a big carbon busting opportunity in terms of bringing down carbon intensive energy use.

In a country where culture and monuments form an important part

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of our daily experience, the Carbon Busters Club has teamed up with Inherity, an initiative led

by The University of Kent, which is actively educating Greek school children on the effects of climate change on world heritage. Educators from Inherity, led by Dr Evangelos Kyriakidis, visited the club and led indoor and outdoor game playing while raising awareness on how rising sea levels, acid rain, changing earth conditions related to a warming planet threaten cultural landmarks of importance to civilization.

Why NOW? In 2013, the world reached a Climate Tipping Point, with the concentration of CO2 topping 400 ppm for the first time in human history. This 400 ppm threshold is widely recognized as a dangerous level that could drastically worsen the effects of global warming, including acute water shortages, the disappearance of 30% of the world’s plant and animal species, a dramatic decline in crop yields, a rapid rise in sea levels and high-devastation super storms and forest fires.

Develop opinions and increasing knowledge on questions and issues with real-world relevance.

Learn service while positively impacting local and global communities.

EXPANDING ON THE EXISTING 3 R’s of the environment: REFUSE the use of plastics REDUCE the amount of garbage produced REUSE materials, use a reusable grocery bag, use the back and front side of paper RECYCLE materials that can be recycled

Target benefits of the Carbon Busters club?

RAISE AWARENESS of environmental issues

Connect real nature with science study including the reality of what is happening to the natural world because of climate change.

RESCUE the living world and its natural environment

Acquire cross-curricula education skills, while working to understand and solve real problems with local and planet-wide ramifications.

Current page: Visit to Attica zoo and studying the dolphins

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SCIENCE AT THE CARBON BUSTERS CLUB

By Christina Bakoyannis, Middle School Science Faculty and Science Coordinator

Getting to know carbon What is carbon and why would we want to bust this? How does carbon affect our lives? Can science help us understand the impact of this small atom on our lives? Carbon is a naturally occurring element found in various allotropes such as in your pencils as graphite and in diamonds. Life on Earth depends on carbon, as it is one of the basic elements of all living things. How can you lead elementary school-aged students in grades 2 through 4 to understand the impact of this element on our lives? Furthermore, how can this knowledge help them shape their actions as responsible global citizens?

Our young eco-adventurers and scientists inquired about the living world around them and the effect of carbon on their lives by involving them in various activities. Students began by visualizing a model of a carbon atom and how carbon links to two oxygen atoms to form carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas present in our atmosphere and is also a heat-trapping greenhouse gas.

Students in the presence of Doris the dog observed an interactive animation showing the balance between the intake of oxygen and carbon dioxide production by animals and the intake of carbon dioxide and the production of oxygen by plants. A natural cycle in our lives,

but what happens when this balance is disrupted?

What causes this disruption? Students visualized the effect of burning fossil fuels and how the production of carbon dioxide was increased. Students were able to experiment with the carbon dioxide they produce when they exhale using the Vernier carbon dioxide probes.

Each of them had the opportunity to exhale the carbon dioxide from their breath on the sensor and see the amount of carbon dioxide rise.

Appreciating the natural environment Students had the opportunity to appreciate the natural environment as they ventured around observing the trees of the ACS Athens campus.

The focus of this activity was to sensitize students to the benefits of trees and help them form a special bond with them.

Specifically, they looked for leaves, insects, birds, the tree’s bark, the branches of the tree and the soil around the tree.

They also measured their height, their shadow and the shadow of their tree to figure out the height of the tree. Students also ventured into the science laboratory to further observe organisms under the microscope and appreciate their fine and delicate structure.

Instilling environmental awareness and taking action One important aspect of an environmental club is to instill an essence of appreciation of the natural environment, foster the understanding of the environmental issues and develop in students a sense of environmental action. One way to help students understand

how they can reduce the amount of garbage formed and re-use materials was asking students to bring in their food and water in reusable containers. This was one important moment since it showed the students that they can limit the use of plastics and reduce the amount of garbage produced with a simple action. Plastics were a theme throughout these sessions as plastics also contain carbon as they are produced from oils. In order for students to understand the impact of plastics on the environment, a model of earth, freshwater and saltwater was created in a jar. Students were able to see how plastics remain intact in these environments.

One other way students were able to take action was by creating their notebooks out of reusable materials. Students were also addressed by the ACS Turtle Club to see how they can raise awareness on the impact of people and their garbage on the marine world and specifically on the Caretta-Caretta turtles. Students were given an example of volunteerism and service learning and were asked to rescue and raise awareness.

It is our hope that these students become the environmental leaders of our school and further help to raise awareness on our school campus and beyond.

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π–Day Celebration at ACS Athens

by Dora Andrikopoulos, Mathematics Coordinator

P

i is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

Pi Day was first officially celebrated in 1988 in San Francisco. Since then, Pi Day has been celebrated by millions of students and math-lovers. The event is celebrated on March 14th, since 3, 1, and 4 are the three most significant digits in the decimal form of Pi. We celebrate Pi Day at ACS in many different and interesting ways every year.

Some of our creative ideas are: ◉◉ Eating different Pi foods: lemon pies, lime pies, pumpkin pies, apple pies, pizzas, donuts, cakes

◉◉ Putting the Pi symbol on a variety of cookies, pies, and cupcakes ◉◉ Making cookies, cakes, loaves of bread, or pancakes that are shaped like Pi ◉◉ Students design and create interesting Pi posters with drawings of pineapples, pizzas, pirates and numerous others ◉◉ Students research about facts and people who discovered digits of Pi, before and after calculators and computers were created ◉◉ Students listen and sing along to Pi songs all day long ◉◉ The environment around the school is reminiscent of Pi

◉◉ Some students wear Pi accessories like Pi jewelry, T-shirts with Pi written on it and other Pi paraphernalia ◉◉ Some students write poetry a Pi-ku (haiku) or a regular Pi-em (poem) ◉◉ Others write a Pithemed song, or a short Pi-themed play and act it out ◉◉ Students make chains of different colored rings that represent the different digits of Pi and decorate their classrooms ◉◉ Every grade level has a Pi memorization Pi digit contest ◉◉ Students gather into groups and have competitions answering questions related to Pi and Pi word contests for points ◉◉ Students measure the circumferences of many different sized objects and divide this with their diameter to prove the value of Pi. They average their values to get a better estimate of Pi Pi Day is truly an event that students love. They are always excited and passionately involved in all the different activities.

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eduTech

Trends and ideas shaping Education through Technology in the 21 st century

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“Technology is a driving force for how people live”, Dr. Joan Gallos*

By Peggy Pelonis, Dean, Office of Student Affairs, ACS Athens

I

n the heart of Boston’s Fenway district sits Wheelock; a small college whose impact on the lives of students as well those in the community goes far beyond its size. A promising partnership has begun between ACS Athens and Wheelock involving the development of a new course in international education, internships to be completed at ACS Athens by Wheelock students and ACS faculty going to Wheelock as visiting scholars. Dr. Joan Gallos, Vice president of Academic Affairs and member of the ACS Advisory Council, who is also known as the “leadership professor”, welcomes me in her office overlooking the main campus on the Riverway. I am immediately embraced by her warmth, and yet I am aware that she must have a million things to do and that I should be brief.

She is eager to show me that one shelf on her bookcase includes our Ethos magazine and other ACS Athens material. ‘That is my ACS shelf’ she says, and thus begins a most interesting conversation about education and future trends.

There is no doubt that technology is driving education to a large degree and will continue to do so, but Gallos emphasizes that it’s not technology for the sake of technology, it’s a driving force for how people live. It’s an expanded ability to share information, to have access to a large amount of knowledge. Information is instantly available: to enhance conversations at the dinner table we can simply look things up on the phone. Technology is also about discipline; think about how the mind is trained to think about what is absolutely essential and important when writing an sms message with the limited number of characters a phone will accept. Technology is also about empowerment, because it leads students to take responsibility for seeking information, coming into the classroom prepared to ask questions and to look at different perspectives.

Education then, is about making sense of the use of information. Gallos states ‘I believe we must educate the whole person, not only to obtain information but to help people gain the capacity to use it responsibly. I want education to be transformational. I don’t know how to do it without relationships, discussions, moving out of your comfort zone to taking courses you would not have unless someone pushed you.” The human link, says Gallos, is vital because it defines how we come together to learn, knowing it will be a shared responsibility: learning from others, having the benefits of different perspectives, engagement, relationships, navigating the world. She refers to the American dream as being able to provide a child with opportunities and experiences so that they can have information and knowledge, while crucially developing the capacity for critical thinking in making best choices. “When on line, does anyone tell you ‘speak louder’ or ‘stand up straight?’ such interactions lead to developing skills beyond technology. Currently, one challenge in delivering education through technology is the gap between students who are technology natives and the older generation faculty who may be fearful about losing something within student-faculty relationship if they move further into technology. Yet, starting with a common goal in mind - the idea that everything we do is driven by learning, creates mutual interest and common ground. Otherwise, grappling with different perspectives without the interchange can lead to troubling relationships, driven by seeking for power rather than learning. Thus, there should be less advocacy for facts, figures, and answers and more for problem solving, integrating, consolidating, trusting the process that will get them there. “Imagine”, Gallos wonders ”what would happen in advisory sessions in college if students have looked at careers, options, course selections and then go to their advisor with more possibilities and choices. It’s about knowing how to do the process for the rest of their lives; to sort and make choices. Even further, imagine if children in remote areas of the world can have laptops and access libraries, how this would bridge the large education gap.” Gallos emphasizes the importance of understanding global issues, knowledge of other languages, understanding and having international experiences. One cannot be an educated person if there is not a comfort with internationalism. “The ACS Athens model, which includes learning about self and society, understanding and having international experiences, the math whiz child working with older students, third graders reading to Captain Chip (the adopted three legged class dog), or incorporating science in everyday life and the responsibility that

ETHOS SPRING 2014

comes with that is a model for all to strive toward”.

I wondered what Joan Gallos sees as the most critical element within the teaching-learning relationship. She needed no time to think and responded confidently, “The first word that comes to mind is ‘love’. Gotta love the students (you don’t have to like them), but you must get deep pleasure from the time spent together. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Don’t think you have to know it all. Ask others. Love means also working with someone you don’t like. To have a feeling of compassion, to walk in their shoes… then I’ve broken the barrier… in one moment of compassion--- we have it then. To have the commitment to get people to a different place… only through love; recognition that in this relationship I am myself and I allow others to be who they are. But give clear messages; be clear with others about the behavior”.

Dr. Joan Gallos has been appointed University of Missouri Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor, the highest faculty rank awarded by the University and the only Curators’ appointment in the history of the Bloch School. She was appointed OBTS Fellow: Sage of the Society by the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society for lifetime contributions fostering excellence in management teaching and learning and has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society. She was named Ingram Magazine’s Icon of Education 2011 for her academic leadership and outstanding career contributions to education in Missouri and Kansas. She is the author of numerous books on leadership including: Organization Development, Reframing Academic Leadership, Business Leadership and Teaching Diversity. *Dr. Joan Gallos is the Vice President of Academic Affairs in Wheelock College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is a member of ACS Athens USA Advisory Council (New England group).

“Keen curiosity for exploration, Dr. Yanni Loukissas*

A

n ACS Athens alumnus Dr. Yanni Loukissas studied architecture at Cornell University and design and computation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Moving to New York to practice architecture sadly led him away from a conceptual model to the nitty gritty of talking about where the lights and carpeting should go and kindled a desire for further intellectual experimentation. By then the Web was taking over so back to MIT it was for Loukissas to learn programming. Instead he met people in the social sciences and humanities; people who thought about technology from the human perspective. His interest in the digital culture sparked a craving to see how technology changes us as people and how it redefines architecture. This internal quest led him to become the author of the book Co-designers (2012), to complete a post doctoral degree at MIT with a historian and to explore human-machine relationships in extreme environments such as in surgery, aviation and space. As Loukissas described it he was looking at interactions; for example, what happens in the cockpit of a plane where decisions are made; when does the plane decide and when does the pilot intervene?

Loukissas believes that those in the Humanities traditionally ask questions such as “what makes us human”. As we become more and more connected to machines, we need to continue asking these questions in different ways.

Harvard, for example, has a tremendous collection of books and an arboretum with thousands of trees: how do we interact with these collections? Data has a new life in the computer; data can talk to other data. Therefore more than anything we need experimentation and reflection to understand where education is influenced by technology and if this is good or bad.

The graduate architecture school at Harvard is set up so that all students have their own office where they build things. Students have the ability to interact with one another and exchange ideas or collaborate and professors move from student to student within each office co-creating theories and building on these. Dialogue and spontaneous relationships are vital within these walls and according to Loukissas, we must not fall into the illusion that knowledge

ETHOS SPRING 2014

is just transferable. Knowledge is co-constructed and very contingent on one’s experience and perceptions. We can’t just put knowledge on line and transfer it. Coaching and interpretation are important, and technology is a conduit through which students construct most effectively when they have to construct something. The more actively engaged they are, the better they understand; yet students need to put in the work.

According to Turkle, one of Loukissa’s mentors at MIT and author of ALONE TOGETHER; why we expect more from technology and less from each other (2011), technology will continue to evolve, but it’s at an early stage, as are the values and assumptions associated with it. We must not assume that because it exists we cannot shield children from it. But we also need to educate them to approach it with skepticism; to question credibility and sources. Loukissas emphasizes that digital citizenship is important and that we must demand more from technology, rather than take it at face value. Students must be critical; otherwise we remain at an infantile phase with technology. Children need coaches and teachers in their lives because they are not just dealing with technology; they have other concerns to cope with. Furthermore, there is a broader question to consider regarding technology and education as a large part of the world does not have access to technology leading to further dramatic disparities in the world. “Inequality is growing, and it is a question of values, market, labor, economy. Do certain premises make sense with capitalism?

Perhaps a question schools like ACS Athens could be asking is: how do we prepare students to contribute from the outside? Loukissas recalls his experience at ACS Athens, “I came from ACS with a keen curiosity for exploration fostered

by Humanities class where we talked and argued. At first that got me into some trouble here, but in the long run that training to ask big questions and answer them was incredible. Great training with some friction, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The project-based interactions were also significant. For example, a project I did on fractals that opened my mind or the project where we invented a country – its economy, trade etc. It was fantastic. They prepared me to think creatively. I sometimes wish there was more of this in science and math – less lecture based teaching, so that these subjects become a discovery.”

Loukissas recalls that his sister, also an ACS Athens graduate, was not a math or science advocate in high school but later found her calling and now works for the National Cancer Institute helping scientists communicate their research findings. He emphasizes the importance of starting where kids are interested and teaching them techniques. “When kids set the goals, it’s a different kind of learning, testing is such an imposed top down situation to see if learning happened but kids don’t need tests to learn. At the end of the day what are we preparing kids to do? It’s to figure out how to solve a problem that they don’t have the answer to. Teaching them responsibility and how to be good citizens is what is important; teaching them how to have meaningful relationships with others.”

As our conversation came to a close and I had to rush off to another appointment I was touched by his last comment, “I have always thought about doing something to give back to Greece and ACS Athens, I just never knew how.

Perhaps being on the ACS Athens Advisory Council is one way to get the ball rolling.”

Dr. Yanni Loukissas is a lecturer at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Principal at metaLAB, a research project of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University that explores digital futures for scholarship in the arts and humanities. He is a member of ACS Athens USA Advisory Council (New England group).

“The personal connection in teching and learning, Dr. Yannis Miaoulis* The Boston Science Museum buzzed with excitement as children eagerly ex-

plored the activities and learning centers in fun and creative ways. In a modest office overlooking the Charles River, Dr. Yannis Miaoulis, an energetic Greek-American dedicated to making education exhilarating and interesting

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to young people, reveals his passion for education.

Yannis Miaoulis committed himself to changing the climate and curriculum of science education in schools years ago, when he realized that students, particularly girls, had little opportunity to learn about the human-made world as well as the natural world (Gary Hodges for NISE Network). Miaoulis’ passion for education and engineering was sparked by a series of events in high school.

He recalls that in high school his interests were limited to skiing, hanging out with friends and girlfriends, and had very little to do with taught subjects.

His report card reflected the little interest he was showing in school work at the time, as he failed four main subjects, including math and physics. A keen negotiator even in high school, Miaoulis convinced the principal that if given another chance he would improve in all areas. True to his word, by the end of the year he turned his grades around, discovered his love for physics and went on to design the solar heating system for the school’s swimming pool. He proceeded to study engineering and economics in the United States (Tufts University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and after a lengthy career in education including serving as Dean of the school of Engineering at Tufts University, he joined the Museum of Science.

Throughout his career, Miaoulis has questioned the process by which students were taught math and science. “Kids lose interest during their teens in math and science as they are more self absorbed. Similarly, math and science are disconnected from problems in the real world. So, I asked myself, what about the kids who don’t have a passion for engineering? I didn’t have it, I loved literature. I realized however that engineering deals with solving problems using math and science, making it relevant early is very important”. At Tufts Miaoulis proceeded toward developing a curriculum to introduce engineering to freshmen in creative, fun ways by using his two favorite hobbies: cooking and fishing. The results were striking with more students at Tufts transferring to the School of Engineering from liberal arts than into any other school to become involved in his courses.

As a member of the ACS Athens Advisory Council, Miaoulis discusses trends in education and how students can best be prepared for the expectations beyond high school. ‘Technology is no doubt shaping education as information is available instantly to anyone interested. While these trends seem to be making teachers irrelevant, Miaoulis indicates that the personal connection is above all the most important connection in teaching and learning. “It’s what makes the difference. The role of the teacher is to guide and coach students to make sense of the information. With technology this relationship could expand by allowing more time with the teacher. Kids are natives anyway and to connect is human nature. People want to connect with people. Teachers, however, must adapt to the new ways of learning by having the right attitude.

Age has nothing to do with it.”

Under Miaoulis’ leadership the Boston Museum launched the National Center for Technological Literacy in 2004 to enhance knowledge of engineering and technology to people of all ages and to inspire future scientists and engineers.

The Engineering Curriculum (http://mos.org) has won awards as, through storytelling and hands-on activities, it integrates engineering and technology with science, language arts, social studies, and math. Engineering the Future is a high school textbook launched in 39 states in the United States and Building Math a middle school course, created by Tufts University, has reached over 5,800 teachers, almost 290,000 students in 47 states and won the Association of Educational Publishiers’ 2008 Distinguished Curriculum Award. Miaoulis’ dream is scientific and technological literacy for everyone. No doubt he is well on his way to making this dream a reality. *Dr. Yannis Miaoulis is the President and Director of the Museum of Science, Boston, Massachussetts, USA. He is a member of ACS Athens USA Advisory Council (New England group).

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Being Expressive Memories & Dreams: from ACS Athens to California

by Chris Perakis, Director, Learning Enhancement Programs

I

n 2002, Greek-American Krystal White graduated from ACS Athens ready to embark on a journey that would take her out into the world in search of her dreams. In 2013, she finds herself in Los Angeles, California – making those dreams a reality.

I remember Krystal back when she was in my 8th grade Earth Science class. Among the many qualities she had, I remember that she was a dedicated student – her favorite classes involved reading, writing and the visual arts. At lunchtime, one would often find her up in the theater attic playing the piano before she had even learned the names of musical notes.

In her spare time, she watched the stars through her telescope at home and drew the constellations or she was buried in books about the animal kingdom.

Krystal was hungry to learn more in order to absorb knowledge, to develop skills, to apply herself. From a young age Krystal appreciated the richness of knowledge and was passionately studying a new subject or practicing a new art. Learn and create. Two actions that continue to drive Krystal forward today.

Krystal knew, even as a teenager that she ultimately wanted to end up working in the film world where so much of what she learned and where her love for art and creativity could be used constructively. While studying in University in England, she was shadowing

theater productions. When she graduated with her BA in English Literature and History of Art and Design, she focused on studying filmmaking on her own. She wrote letters to heads of productions until she was offered opportunities to come learn and work on the sets of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Mamma Mia! (the film version starring Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep). Being on those sets locked her determination to work in film. She saw that making movies is indeed making magic. So she went to Los Angeles and first started working in script development until she joined acting classes.

All throughout, she was constantly learning and absorbing different aspects of filmmaking until finally, Krystal’s first film, Persephone, was born. It is a heartwarming 9 minute love story in which Krystal is the lead, producer, and costume designer. The film also stars singing and acting legend Lainie Kazan and is directed by Louis Mandylor (both alumni from My Big Fat Greek Wedding). The film premiered in Los Angeles in April and has already received a distribution deal from a short film television channel that has 11 million subscribers. It took two nights to shoot the film, but a whole year to complete post production. There were many hurdles to overcome to reach this final 9 minute film, and Krystal used all her persistence and creativity to get the film and all its elements completed at levels and in ways that surpassed what anyone had imagined when the film was just an idea in 2012.

Krystal is very proud of Persephone, and hopes to bring it soon to Greece. I have been in touch with her all along and can’t wait for the moment she showcases her work in the school where she began her journey. She is a true example of the ACS Athens vision; being her own architect and designing her own steps along the way. Her advice to current students of ACS is to work hard. “Create your own platform from which you can rise. Absorb as much as you can, create as often as you can. There is no progress without risk.

Every success began as an idea that had no guarantees. ACS is an amazing place from which to launch yourself. It offers an environment to students that is magically diverse, unique and that is a safe and inspiring place to grow. I feel very, very lucky that ACS was the home for all my high school and middle school learning. There aren’t many other schools like it.”

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Beyond Room 10 and the Drama Class: Improvisation Across the Curriculum

ing, through structured play (Plato) and experiential learning (Dewey), rather than by lectures in readymade formulas. Improvisation is a wonderful means toward reinforcing what has been studied, as well as preparing for any final test or project. As studies have shown, students are able to take more ownership of their learning when they are an integral part of what is being taught. In addition, it is well known that physical movement in class is very important since better blood circulation helps retention and focus. Through physical movement, students are more engaged; feel in charge of their own learning which typically results in better learning experiences.

As an actor and educator, I firmly believe that teaching is strongly connected to acting as a high-energy, performance profession that requires a person to act as a role model (Schwartz, 2014). So, not only students, but also teachers can benefit from improvisation and other acting skills and techniques- a major trend in education now. This is precisely why, here at ACS Athens, we have attempted to raise awareness about the benefits of these techniques inside and outside our school, through in-house conferences, such as the 9th Conference on Learning Differences and Innovation Summit in Athens and international events such as the NESA Educators Conference in Bangkok.

References Dewey, J. (1938) Experience and Education,New York: Collier Books. 1963 Schwartz, K. (2014). Why Teachers Should Be Trained Like Actors. From Mind Shift/how we will learn accessed May 2nd, 2014 fromhttp://blogs.kqed.org/ mindshift/2013/07/teaching-as-acting-a-performance-profession/ ■■

by Mary Petroutsa, MLA, Drama Class Faculty

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n my Drama class, one of the techniques that I use is improvisation, a technique that can also be adopted and adapted across the curriculum, aligned to various standards and benchmarks, to make instruction come alive. I have combined my acting and teaching experience to leverage the power of play, to enhance children’s self-esteem and self-confidence, improve communication and teamwork skills, stimulate and expand spontaneity and creativity. Students learn by do-

Current page: Ms. Petroutsa’s Drama class, 2013-14

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The ACS Athens Student-Faculty Show

by Valerie Alexopoulos, Coordinator, Special Projects & Public Affairs

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n March 14, 2014, all of the 525 seats of the Theater at ACS Athens were filled with people who turned out to celebrate our community and to support our Halandri neighbors in a time of need.

The ACS Athens Faculty-Student Show brought to the stage a night of song, dance and laughter as the cast of 50 ACS Athens teachers, staff, administrators, alumni and students entertained all with an old-fashioned variety show.

What made the show really unique though was that in lieu of a monetary cost of entrance, the entrance “fee� was instead a bag of groceries which was then donated to the Halandri Community Market, operated by the Halandri Office of Social Services.

The Halandri Community Market provides basic groceries at no charge to fellow citizens in need. Its staff was very excited to receive such a large amount of donations; in fact, they said it was the largest shipment they received from a single event!

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ACS Athens IB VISUAL ARTS

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and the sequel “Fortune’s Deadly Descent” under my pen name, Audrey Braun. Timing is important; when to shell out information, when to hold back to build suspense. Reading is our real apprenticeship. The brain takes in nuances of narrative flow. The more you read the more you understand how to write,” said Ms. Reed.

“I was offered a scholarship to study Anthropology and I thought I would eventually work in social work for women’s health care. I was close to 30 and I panicked – my husband was supportive when I turned it down to make that leap: become a writer. The one thing that stopped me from writing was fear of the unknown and fear of failure. I understood then the moment I was offered the scholarship that my fear of never becoming a writer became greater than the fear of writing. Once you let yourself go and start to write the characters take over.”

American Author Deborah Reed visits ACS Athens

by Amalia Melis, writer, ACS parent

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Ms. Reed said the process of becoming a writer requires a long term commitment “many say it takes either ten years of consistently working at “it” or 10,000 hours to master something and my first novel took me 14 years to get it right and get it published. I did do other things while working on that one book, I wrote and published thrillers, I published other novels. The two thrillers (genre writing) I have published were quick paced, focused on plot; someone is in danger, you throw your characters into ridiculous situations and watch them escape, make mistakes with lots of action toward the resolution- but literary fiction is an artistry, those novels move slower and are more about balance in the stories. I allow myself to get lost in the murkiness of creative fiction; I have a sense of characters and a sense of problems they face.”

CS Athens PTO invited American author Deborah Reed, who was in Greece teaching a college Creative Writing class, to visit ACS Athens. She came to speak with Academy students this past April about the creative process to an audience of over 160 students (including Honors English, IB, Leadership, Literature, Ethics, Honors Humanities).

Reading is the key to vocabulary and revision is the key to everything regarding writing, Ms. Reed pointed out. “It takes many rewrites to polish a novel and it was very important to me to get the complexities right for this family of women in my first novel “ Things We Set On Fire.” I published several books before the first novel I wrote was published. “

When Ms. Reed was growing up in Detroit writing was not in her reality. Finding the writing path was “a fluke.” In 10th Grade she wrote a short story for class and she got an “A” but what she kept from that experience was the note scrawled in the margin by a teacher she doesn’t really remember; it said: “You could become a writer.” She did not know any writers in her immediate world and she convinced herself that writing as a profession was not for her.

Students in the audience asked many questions among them what is the author’s working day like “On a good day I wear PJs stay home and write, on a bad day I worry about how the story will be received, the pressure of deadlines.” How does she start a story, how does she shape the world in her works? “Characters shape it for me. I run behind them when I am inspired. Sometimes it comes to me as a feeling that I trust. You have to be tenacious and go with it. You close out the world because your purpose is to write the best book you can write. You don’t write for the money or the glory, you write because you have to write.”

More audience questions: Have you ever wanted to change something after it is published? “There comes a point where you have to let your story go. A good book has no ending.” Favorite authors? “Cormac McCarthy because of his spare way of writing-he leaves in only what is necessary. Raymond Carver poet, short story writer – his writing was beautiful; Kate Atkin-

But she was influenced by the oral tradition of storytelling in her family, settled in the Appalachian Mountains. She listened to her Uncle telling stories and the way he described a relative’s approach in to the town, she could almost hear him coming over the bridge.

“The rhythms he used – he was so animated in his story telling. That’s what I’m after in my writing, it is what trained me. I read a lot when I was a child. All my Nancy Drew books from elementary school came back to me when I tried writing thrillers “ A Small Fortune”

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son and Ian McKuen, among others.” Ms. Reed pointed out that the work has to be the driving force, “it is about the work in front of me.” Advice to those who expressed an interest in becoming writers: “Write the thing that drives you. You have to be tenacious to accomplish something.”

Another audience question: Is there something else you would like to accomplish? “I make a living from my writing. I travel. Overall it’s a great life, satisfying and fulfilling. Career-wise I would love to do what I do until I die.”

Brief Author Bio: Deborah Reed Deborah Reed is the author of the recently released novel, Things We Set On Fire. Author Tim O’ Brien, winner of the National Book Award, had this to say about her work: “What a finely made, complex, and wholly engrossing novel this is. The people who inhabit Things We Set on Fire seem to be squeezed into some catastrophic critical mass, like the Big Bang in reverse, and yet the prose is completely under control, precise and lucid, sometimes electric with nuance, sometimes strangely musical, and always convincing. The moral pressures on these characters become almost unbearable, yet the radiance of grace and pardon and understanding shines on. Reed has given us a beautiful book. Deborah is also the author of Carry Yourself Back to Me, a Best Book of 2011 Amazon Editors’ Pick. She wrote the bestselling thriller, A Small Fortune and its sequel, Fortune’s Deadly Descent, under her pen name, Audrey Braun. All of her novels have been translated or are forthcoming in German. Deborah holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing (fiction) and teaches at UCLA’s Extension Writing Program, the Black Forest Writing Seminar at the University of Freiburg, Germany, as well as workshops and conferences around the United States and in Europe. She lives in Los Angeles, California. : http://reedbraun.com/ ■■

Author Deborah Reed speaks to ACS Athens Academy students

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Institute for Innovation and

Creativity

Innovation Zone: Students Becoming Architects of their own Learning

By Chris Perakis and Innovation Zone observers: Angelik Grigoratos, Jenny Grigoropoulos, Michael Eptaemeros, Natalie Maravegias

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ow can the individual potential aid and achieve the whole? How can we proceed to our next level of achievement dragging all prior knowledge in order to excel without feelings of egoism and selfishness but only the need to reach higher levels of personal growth? Each one of us, once we try our best with selflessness, for our students, for our school, the result is one that will only bring high levels of achievement and excellent results for all. Each individual student has a potential that he/she can reach and we, as educators, must be open-minded and open-hearted to acknowledge it. It only takes the sensitivity to address it and bring it to the attention of the right people in order to take it to the next level.

The innovation zone is one of the many departments and divisions of the school that is there to recognize, achieve and lead the students. Our goal is to identify the talent, the individuality, and the diversity that each student has and guide students through their

search to find their way through it. The innovation zone gives the ability for students to explore alternative ways of learning, by being given the opportunity to apply their knowledge and creativity in coordination with another student outside a classroom setting. Through the collaborative work of an elementary school student with a high school or middle school student, they manage to create innovative projects, but above all they create meaningful methods of communication which allows them to problem solve and innovate together.

The students have gone beyond perceiving this experience as an academic project; additionally, they also give great emphasis on how important and beneficial the bond they have formed with their innovation zone partner truly is. “I have gained a wonderful and smart friend, and a chance to live again my younger years, thank you”, Iliana. The Innovation Zone has offered students a holistic experience of how to learn beyond a regular classroom setting about topics such as math, art, construction, music, current and social issues etc. in combination with the significant friendships which they have all formed with one another.

“Themis and I have started working on a project to raise awareness about the hunger crises in West Africa. This project has allowed me to explore new projects that interest both me and my partner”: George.

The Innovation Zone program is designed to search and find different ways and approaches to learning for high performing students from elementary, middle and high school grades. Motivation is a crucial factor for learning and in the Innovation Zone we try to see what other motivational factors can exist between an elementary high performing student and a middle/high school high performing student. At the same time, other factors are being observed such as creativity, cooperation, team work and psycho emotional interactions between the students. As a result, a holistic approach to learning is applied which leads to a diverse perspective of the learning process. “I like the Innovation Zone for the nice things it has offered me, like my kind partner”: Amaryllis. At last, we could not have said it better than our student “The Innovation Zone aims to connect children of several ages and make them communicate productively. I believe that since people are made to be together and all work for a better tomorrow, the school is doing an exceptional job with this innovative project and everyone should be proud of it. I hope this will become an ACS Athens tradition and will expand to schools all over the world”: Reggina.

Opposite page from top to bottom: Space for innovative learning Anna and Maria Themis and George Panagiotis and Iliana Hasib and Andreas Dimitris and Zeena

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school assignments, projects and are also guided through preparation and studying for upcoming exams, tests or quizzes. They are encouraged to always be on track with schoolwork and learn how to successfully prioritize tasks. The use of effective study skills is also strongly modeled. A balance between academic support and a variety of structured, engaging and enjoyable activities supports the overall improvement of the students’ educational and personal development and establishes evidence of sustaining excellence in education.

Learning Enhancement After School Program: Why do students choose to be in this program?

By Chris Perakis, Director, Learning Enhancement Programs

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t ACS Athens, it is a strongly held belief that academic development is accomplished by looking at students holistically. Providing them with education in the classroom is only one facet of the educational spectrum and how a child develops into a “responsible global citizen,” as stated in the school’s mission statement is based on this philosophy. ACS Athens constantly seeks to include new programs and expand on existing ones in view of providing students with diverse learning experiences. One such service is the After School Support Program, which is part of the Learning Enhancement Programs “branched” under the Institute of Innovation and Creativity.

The After School Program focuses on providing assistance, guidance, and support to students during after school hours. Students in this program are assisted in the successful completion and comprehension of

The mission of the ACS Athens After School Program has always been to create and maintain an environment that promotes academic excellence, encourages social development, fosters emotional well-being, and instills a passion for life-long learning. To achieve these goals, the program combines a safe and nurturing atmosphere with the steady and gradual establishment of structure and academic independence which is intended to help students become more engaged, involved and responsible for their personal educational progress. More specifically, it offers them a pathway to become empowered “as architects of their own learning.” Through this program students can apply their skills and knowledge in a context beyond the school setting and use the time to reinforce concepts and skills learned in the classroom.

Dedicated instructors help students with this process by utilizing their knowledge and expertise to assist students in their daily assignments. What instructors do most of all, however, is CARE. The commitment, perseverance, compassion and dedication offered to students in this program are manifest to all stakeholders and in all occasions! In fact, these qualities are what is believed to be the key ingredient and cornerstone for the program’s success. Together, as a unified, collaborative team, students and instructors work towards obtaining the highest standards and achievements, contributing in their own way in sustaining the excellence that ACS Athens community has proudly attained.

Over time, the After School Program has developed into a program renowned for the assistance and care it provides to students. The growing number of students that register portrays the parents’ deep trust in the program and its instructors with the education of their children; one of the most precious assets they will ever possess. More importantly is the students’ voluntary return to the program, which signifies its success as do their academic achievements.

Students who have “graduated” from the After School Program are doing a wonderful job keeping up with work and attaining the new knowledge and skills necessary from each of their classes. Many more are on their way to achieving this and that is our pride; that is our most precious “compensation!”

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Current page: One-to-one and small group instruction

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Celebrating Innovation and Creativity in the Teaching and Learning Enterprise

By Steve Medeiros, Dean, Institute for Innovation and Creativity

The 9th Annual Conference on Learning Differences and Innovation Summit: Teaching for Transformation – Empowering All Learners, brought 195 educators from 14 countries on three continents to the ACS Athens campus on May 8-10, 2014, for three days of intensive learning and sharing of best practices and innovative strategies for educating all children. Building on the successful model developed in eight previous conferences, the program, organized by the Institute for Innovation and Creativity at ACS Athens, offered a variety of learning experiences, presented in an array of different formats.

On Thursday and Friday, participants seeking an intensive, in-depth learning experience could participate in any one of four two-day Institutes. Dr. Eirini Gouleta, of George Mason University, led an institute devoted to Transformative Approaches to Teaching Second Language Learners with Learning Differences: Reading for All and Across the Curriculum. Psycholo-

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gists/educators Ari Tuchman and Chris Dendy-Ziegler engaged a large and enthusiastic audience in experiencing Transformative Approaches to Working with Learners with ADD/ADHD. Sharing strategies developed through their work designing and leading teacher enrichment programs at the Boston Museum of Science, Lesley Kennedy and Sharon Horrigan led a group of 17 K-12 teachers in a session devoted to Empowering Creative and Confident Thinkers and Learners in Mathematics and Science. Dr. Halford Haskell, a member of the Classics Department at Southwestern University (USA), challenged the participants in his institute to rethink curriculum design and instructional collaboration as a means of Unleashing Creativity and Deep Thinking through Cross-disciplinary Learning and Teaching.

On Thursday afternoon, Dr. Ioannis Maioulis, President and Director of the Boston Museum of Science and former Dean of the Tufts University School of Engineering (and member of the ACS Athens International Advisory Board), made a lively and challenging case for incorporating engineering and the design process as essential skills and ways of understanding in the 21st century curriculum. His keynote address, Transforming STEM Education: Introducing Engineering for All Students, K-12, called on all present to consider the importance of the study of the human-made, designed world as essential for nurturing and promoting innovation and ensuring economic prosperity.

The major innovation of the conference schedule

came on Saturday morning, with the program of seven “innovation talks” in a program conference organizers branded the Innovation Summit. The morning was organized as a series of 20-minute TED-style talks celebrating, promoting, championing, and predicting meaningful innovations in our schools and lives. The presentations touched on topics wide and varied: from a presentation on what ACS Athens’ i²Flex paradigm looks like in practice, to a consideration of what the experience of looking at art is like for the non-sighted, to a saxophone performance illustrating the concept of “jazz democracy” as a paradigm for learning. And these are the subjects of only three of the seven talks. The Innovation Summit took conference participants on a wide-ranging intellectual journey, designed, not to illustrate “how to,” but to get audience members thinking about “what if,” and to consider the implications of the innovations on display for their own teaching practice.

The rest of Saturday’s program was structured as a more typical workshop day, with participants free to choose from among the 16 individual sessions or three mini-institutes. Participants’ comments and conference evaluation forms certified the 9th Annual Conference on Learning Differences and Innovation Summit a ringing success and a rich and productive learning experience. Practitioners from around the world shared best practice and current research, celebrated innovation and creativity as wellsprings of best teaching practice and acknowledged that differences in the way we learn are a source of richness in

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the classroom (and in our lives) -- and that instruction must address these differences, so that all students can succeed.

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Current and opposite page top from left to right: Participants in Ginger Carlson’s ‘Wondershop’ workshop explore strategies for building creative thinkers Ari Tuchman and his Institute group Current page bottom from left to right: Previous page from left to right: Dr. Ioannis Maioulis’ keynote address Ari Tuchman leads his Institute group in exploring Transformative Approaches to Working with Learners with ADD/ ADHD

Dr. Hal Haskell and a group of educators consider the power of interdisciplinary models of teaching and learning Empowering Creative and Confident Learners in Science and Mathematics: Lesley Kennedy of the Boston Museum of Science

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The over-pressured environment Traditionally, it has been the job of educators to help students master subjects and move from one academic phase to another in order to be successful in their future career endeavors. It has been the job of parents to raise healthy, resilient kids, capable of coping and making good choices. Yet as the world changes rapidly, the challenges kids face are – and will continue to be – countless and on multiple levels. The competition among students to get to the ‘best’ higher education institution also continues to grow and students must find that edge that will put them ahead of the game. Clinical Psychologist David Gleason, now a member of the ACS Athens advisory council, discusses some of the issues facing today’s young generation as they race, against odds, focused on the finish line of getting accepted to a particular college, cheered by adults on the sidelines. They may indeed reach their goals…but at what cost?

Kids, Gleason indicates, come into this dazzling academic environment of higher education incredibly competitive. They see getting into schools like Harvard, for example, as a passport to a better life. That is the appeal. Gleason believes that kids are overscheduled; overachievers who seemingly learn to navigate the world of academic competition quite successfully. Further, kids are masters at convincing us that they are adults; sixteen year olds can come across as very sophisticated. As parents and teachers, however, we frequently make the mistake of treating kids as if they were adults, and according to Gleason, this is a grave developmental error, because we expect them to be like adults before they have the skills.

Every psychologist understands the importance of developmental stages but Gleason believes that everyone will benefit from taking time to understand the developmental stages of childhood and adolescence (Piaget, Erickson) because, in addition to historical theories, we now have keen neuro-imaging techniques; we can see inside the living brain, and confirm, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that teens are teens, not adults. In fact, years of neurological research has shown that the brain doesn’t fully develop until the mid-20’s, and that it continues to change and grow throughout one’s life span. Gleason asserts that by over scheduling and over-pressuring kids to succeed, we may be putting too much pressure on the adolescent brain, and kids may be unable to tolerate it. Research has also shown that environment shapes the brain. Therefore, in any environment, when neuropath ways get activated over and over again, they are reinforced, while those not activated are pruned away. In an over-pressured environment, kids may feel set up and unable to cope effective-

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and the adolescent brain

by Peggy Pelonis, Dean of Student Affairs

ly. Many react with anxiety and depression as they struggle to succeed and to stay at the top.

Prolonged struggles often lead them to find ways to soothe themselves, and sometimes, this can mean substance abuse, cutting or other hurtful behaviors, including suicide.

Executive functions-- such as planning, prioritizing, organizing, inhibiting and decision making-- are associated primarily with the brain’s frontal lobe – the last area of the brain to develop. Therefore, when we ask kids to manage more demands for which they are not fully prepared, we overwhelm their developmental capabilities, making it difficult for them to develop critical thinking skills appropriately. Gleason contends that since people grow at different rates, there is normal variation within every stage of development. However, the rapid changes around us, especially because of technology, are undeniably taxing the already challenging development of kids and adolescents. ‘We must be mindful as parents and educators, because development needs time; if we overwhelm kids, we hurt them. Kids must be allowed, in fact encouraged, to be kids; immature, fun-loving kids”. Schools, according to Gleason, must be committed to educating kids in developmentally healthy and balanced ways. “We must honor and respect the development of our students, but in competitive secondary schools, this often reflects a challenging shift in mindset.”

Gleason’s forthcoming book, Trouble in Paradise, looks as students in high powered secondary schools and amplifies their voices in order to raise awareness across the educational spectrum of the true meaning of trying to educate kids in balanced, healthy holistic ways.

Stay tuned! *David Gleason is a Clinical Psychologist. He is a member of ACS Athens USA Advisory Council (New England group).

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Humanities What Does Sustaining Excellence Look Like Through the Eyes of Students in the Humanities Program?

by Kathleen Jasonides and Janet Karvouniaris, Academy Faculty

A Paris scene reflected in the glasses of Olga Kaloudi (Grade 11) idea that creates new knowledge.

We have chosen some visual and written student reflections from this year’s field study trip to France in March to show what sustaining excellence looks like in the Humanities Program at ACS Athens. Photos used here are by Sophia Lascaris (Grade 12 Honors Humanities student) unless otherwise indicated.

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ustaining excellence might look like students working in a blended Humanities course to gain context for field study or students in the Faceto-Face (F2F) Humanities class having an animated discussion about the meaning of revolution. It might be i2Flex time where students do guided independent research about an author before reading a work of literature, or perhaps students from ACS interacting with Chapin School students in a seminar setting after a long day of field study in Paris.

The coursework (F2F and online) and the field studies provide rich opportunities for students to take an individual approach to the course and make their own meaning. This is the essence of transformative learning. It is often surprising and always compelling when students capture in writing or in photos a meaningful

Current and opposite page: “Blind man experiencing The Age of Bronze by Rodin-a moving scene” (Notation in field study notebook, Sophie Lascaris)

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Artemis Fotinos (Grade 9):

“Although we didn’t study Dali, we visited [the Dali Museum]… and I am grateful, because I learned about the artist finally, since I was only familiar with the name up until now, and I got the opportunity to observe a very different style of art (surrealistic) and try to think outside the box again for the meaning of the art, like I did in Pompidou. But I learned how to view the world for a little bit through a surrealist’s eyes.”

The coursework (F2F and online) and the field studies provide rich opportunities for students...

Halid Elagan (Grade 11): “My … favorite museum was the Dali Museum. I see Dali as one of the greatest artists of all time.

With his amazing art skills he created… beautiful sculptures, paintings and drawings. You gave us plenty of time there [so after a walk through the museum]…I chose one of his sculptures and drew it exactly as I saw it. Because…of the amount of time that you gave us in the museum, I could [make] that time as productive as possible and create a nice sketch.”

Current page from left to right: Dali Museum Pompidou Center

...to take an individual approach to the course and make their own meaning

I could [make] that time as productive as possible and create a nice sketch

Opposite page from top to bottom: Chartres Cathedral The Orangerie, Monet’s Water Lilies

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Artemis Fotinos:

“One of the highlights of the trip for me was our visit to [Chartres]. The whole city seemed to match with the architecture, mood and essence of the Cathedral, which I very much admired. The exterior of the Cathedral was simply amazing,

Artemis Fotinos:

“Our … visit to L’Orangerie was the best way to close our field study. The Water Lilies [by Monet] were amazing and very different from what I had expected, since they were a continuous painting when I thought they would be a [series] of normal paintings. What I learned that intrigued me was how the artist captured so delicately and beautifully the same water lilies at different times of the day, of the year. His use of color and

so complicated though somehow still simple, and I was amazed by the fact that [Notre Dame of Chartres] was the first cathedral to use flying buttresses. Inside, the stained glass windows that date back to the 12th and 13th centuries left me speechless.”

shadow was very evident, and easy to observe, helping me further understand the importance of art elements such as lighting, shadows, lines, color, etc. In conclusion, the Water Lilies in L’Orangerie surprised me … because of the form it was in, long [murals in two oval rooms]. “

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Our itinerary included a wide variety of historical and cultural sites in Paris, Chartres and Versailles but the learning extended beyond the context of the course content as Halid Elagan expresses here: Halid Elagan (grade 11) on collaboration: “What I actually liked the most on this trip was that we were all together as a team and a unique group…

On this trip we didn’t have only a better taste for the arts but also a better idea of how … we can all work together, and the abilities that we all have, not only when we work alone but also when we work … in small or big groups. You, the teachers, made us realize how great teamwork can be if we, the students, want to have a productive learning [experience].”

Sustaining excellence in the Humanities Program at ACS Athens is evident in the student- centered, interdisciplinary, authentic innovations that have extended the unique field study component of the Honors Humanities courses to a wider audience. Students who do not have access to the i2Flex Honors Humanities Program may enroll in one or more of the three blended courses: Classicism and Romanticism in French Art and Thought, Classical Humanism in the Italian Renaissance, and Reason and Faith: Classical Humanism and Byzantine Spirituality.

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Emmanuel De Stoutz (grade 10): “…On the Paris field trip, our visit to Barbizon, and our tour of Millet’s house were … highlights of the trip for me. It got me interested in how different art movements emerged from each other or as a reaction to one another. This is [reflected in] …the section of my field study notebook on Jean-Francois Millet …”

Emmanuel De Stoutz’s general speculations about the lives of artists: “… the experience of visiting art exhibitions in museums, cultural centers, gardens, and other places made me wonder about the life of an artist and what artists thought of during their own time period. What impresses me is the liberty that an artist can have, and that all artists should have, when it comes to the style, technique and the subject matter of the artwork.”

Current page: Barbizon: Millet’s House/ Studio interior

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Future Educational Trends: Liberal Arts Education is a holistic Educations

by Peggy Pelonis, Dean of Student Affairs

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espite the heavy rain and the traffic due to the Boston Marathon Panatha Nychis-Ott took the train from Providence to meet me in Boston. As Director of Admissions at Brown University, she has travelled to Greece and has visited ACS Athens numerous times. As a member of the ACS Advisory Council she sees an opportunity to contribute to the school as well as to the homeland.

The discussion begins with a popular topic: testing. It seems that testing students (standardized tests) is on the rise, at least in the New England area, and while there seems to be some concern about this trend, Nychis-Ott acknowledges that a common frame of reference is needed to determine if students know certain things. She also goes on to say that there is an increased interest in the Humanities in many higher education institutions. For many years STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects were emphasized and while there is much necessity for these, it’s most important to recognize the significance of a holistic education; to move away from linear thinking toward critical thinking, which is why the humanities are important.

Nychis-Ott herself studied the classics. In fact she reads in ancient Greek and her favorite work is Plato’s Republic. The philosopher sometimes makes me mad,

but I realize that he is right about the values and the message”. She also enjoys Herodotus, whose happy style makes everything interesting. I dared ask why studying the classics or humanities was so important to her? “It makes my head a more interesting place to be,” she replied and went on to elaborate on how she learned to think differently, and how through this thought process she was better able to understand how the liberal arts work. Nychis Ott believes that the idea of a liberal arts education is misunderstood by many, and it’s important to help people understand that a liberal arts education is a holistic education; harking back to the idea of morphosis; educating the whole person. What does one do with studying Ancient Greek, one might ask? Well according to Nychis-Ott, one can be a lawyer, a teacher, manager or even a doctor, because the mindset is what matters.

The skills learned are applicable in any field. Medical students have to ask questions about the human body and figure out the answer. As the world becomes globalized it’s important to have an international experience. That means other languages, understanding other cultures. “We need the byproducts of these subjects. We can always learn the finances. Businesses like Google understand this well. Therefore, when we think about liberal arts schools, it’s important to remember that we have good STEM programs also.

We cultivate the interaction between the Humanities and STEM at Brown but there are also departments to be discovered: archeology, art history, and philosophy. Of course technology is leading the way but we haven’t yet learned to use it as a tool where we manipulate it not the other way around. In a globalized world technology it is necessary, and while there is a gap between generations, kids are more conservative than we think about technology. Students at Brown for example, want to learn from one another, there is an underlying culture of kindness, excitement for learning, a willingness to take intellectual risks and taking care of each other. We select people who show that excitement and people who can negotiate their ways and their work with others.” ’. Once students come to Brown there are continuous discussions, all students work with one another and show an intellectual passion.

To the question, “How then can we at ACS Athens better prepare students for higher education?” Nychis-Ott replied, “You are doing a great job. ACS Athens teaches unique skills, tolerance, working with others, cultural literacy, so students are better prepared for the world out there. Every generation is different, of course, and we have to adjust to each but in the end it’s the rounded education they come out with that matters.” As for teachers, Nychis Ott believes that kids want to please teachers particularly in the younger grades therefore a good teacher ignites the fire within and puts a student in a situation where he or she will grow. “Best fit can bring out the best in a student; challenged enough to grow but not so much that they are overwhelmed.” Naturally any good educational institution must have its share of community service projects, but according to Nychis Ott, one can serve a place in many ways, not necessarily by being out in the field, particularly if one is an introvert. Play-

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ing in an orchestra or doing an experiment are also ways to contribute. “Everyone should try community service, but not everyone will be good at it.”

The conversation naturally gravitated towards Brown again and the importance of a liberal arts education.

“At Brown I am the architect,” Nychis Ott emphasized.

We stayed silent for a few moments, and as we prepared to go out into the rain, she said “Liberal Arts is a highly esoteric, seemingly irrelevant and highly refined process, but math and science are equally significant. Math has an order and a beauty. Plato saw this and knew the power of it. Meter is math, music is math. You bring peace to your soul through the reflection of both literature and mathematics. My fear is that in order to have a democracy, we need to have a liberal arts education and sometimes this type of holistic education is taken for granted. What if it was taken away?” *Panatha Nychis-Ott is an Associate Director of Admission & Director of International Admission, Brown University. She is a member of ACS Athens USA Advisory Council (New England group).

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Social awareness S.T.A.M.P. OUT!!

by Ellen Vriniotis, Academy Faculty & IB Psychology I Students

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or the second year in a row, IB Psychology students created a service learning project for Wellness Month that combined the latest research from their course curriculum on bullying, violence and aggression to promote awareness to students in grades 6-9 on the importance of raising our consciousness and STAMPING OUT behaviors that make us look SMALL and boost behaviors that make kids TALL! Students explored why teens use aggression or other negative behaviors to stand apart from the crowd, to put others down, to bully, to exclude or ridicule, taunt or tease. Exercises in empathy made students “walk a mile” in each other’s moccasins and question which is worse, coming to school being labeled every day or knowing you are the one causing sadness or distress to those you label. Next they discovered the power of a positive word to transform the heart of any child, including their own! Middle school students then developed the dialogue that can help to transform a Bystander into a Defender. Student responses will result in a leaflet or brochure that can help students know how to respond to diffuse a bully incident. The last component of the workshop touched upon how character traits and virtues can elevate each and every one of us to a higher level of dignity. Students were surprised to learn that even animals have a code of honor; mammals share four “pillars of morality” with humans: compassion, cooperation, fairness and reciprocity. IB Psychology students are already developing their next workshop on

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Current page from top to bottom: 3487 Turning “Bystanders” into “Defenders” Learning how to ST.A.M.P. OUT Bullying!

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“Working on the STAMP OUT workshop was definitely a great experience. At first the 9th graders were reserved, but eventually they loosened up and I believe they gained what they needed. The feeling of knowing we made a difference is something great that we will carry for a while.”

Alia, Gr. 11 “Wow! I can relate to this kid. I used to feel self conscious in Middle school too. Kids shouldn’t take things too seriously.”

Ian, Gr. 11 “Imagine if you had to leave a place that students called you names and then you went home and the name calling continued. Then you wouldn’t have a safe place to go.”

Leonor, Gr. 11

character traits with the First Grade and Capt. Chip! If animals can do it, so can we!

Building a school culture of ethos, respect and dignity begins from the students themselves who define who they are, who they want to be and what kind of environment they want to go to school to every day. Following that is the responsibility of caring, aware, and engaged adults to support their dream by role modeling the behaviors they need to thrive.

Here’s how M.S. students responded to the following questions: How would you show “COMPASSION” when one of your classmates is being picked on?

“Compliment them on what others bully them about.”

“Be kind and supportive. Speak Up!” How would you show “COOPERATION” when you have to work with someone that you don’t like?

“YOLO! Listen to them and try to find common ground.” ”Try to get better acquainted with them.”

How would you show “FAIRNESS” when you hate to lose?

“Use sportsmanship. Congratulate those who win.”

“Accept the fact that you may lose and know that there is always another chance.”

“I believe the bully workshop was quite successful.

After all of our work, I believe that I was able to spot the potential bullies, targets and not so innocent bystanders.”

Maria, Gr. 11 “It was interesting to watch my classmates present the workshop to younger students. They seemed so intellectually mature. The presentations were eye-opening and raised awareness about a real threat. Bravo!”

Achilleas, Gr. 11 “This was such a wonderful experience for me. I actually discovered a talent that I didn’t know I had—I have good communication with children!

Konstantinos, Gr.11 ■■

...Building a school culture of ethos, respect and dignity begins from the students themselves who define who

they are, who they want to be and what kind of environment they want to go to school to every day...

How would you show “RECIPROCITY” when someone has sacrificed for you?

“Be there when they need you.”

“Show gratitude.”

This is what Presenters reflected on: “The 6th graders were really nice to work with.

They wanted to show their best self ’.”

Sofia, Gr. 11

Opposite page: Ioanna preparing for 50 meals Current page: M.S. students ponder upon RECIPROCITY

Madeline & Sophia filling portions Group kitchen shot

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YOLO! Social Action Projects

by Dean Bradshaw and Ellen Vriniotis, Advisors, Academy Faculty

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OLO! Youth Optimizing Leadership Opportunities is a new grassroots school club that gave students wings to explore the world from a closer angle. The objective was to encourage young people to shape their world by entering into a journey of personal inquiry and QUESTIONING “ I wonder what the world would look like if.......?”; INVESTIGATING the local or global issues they are passionate about changing, ENGAGING in meaningful community service to understand those they serve, INTERVIEWING community leaders about the challenges & solutions, CREATING a video social awareness campaign, SHARING their passion for positive change on social media with youth across the globe, INITIATING the change they want to see in the world, EMPOWERING themselves and others with a voice, a vision and leadership skills for life.

The World Literature, Leadership & Ethics class— members by default--examined what factors dissolve communities and what rebuilds them. Each student took a specific angle with regard to economic policies, political instability, immigration, employment/ unemployment, educational failure, social inequality, corruption/crime, family stressors, health and mental health and researched the problem and potential solutions. They also interviewed community leaders to gain a professional view of the challenges and op-

portunities crisis brings. They walked the streets of Athens searching for evidence of leadership and then visited the Klimaka Homeless shelter and distributed food bags to homeless people that they had made from home. Their interview with Mr. Leo, a well –educated man assisting in the daily running of the shelter, was priceless, because his words of wisdom came from his experience as a former CEO who has been homeless for a number of years now.

The social worker, Ms.Eleni, shared stories about the increasingly growing number of families searching for homeless shelters due to the financial crisis in Greece.

Three other student projects emerged with a focus on food and hunger: Madeline Gerbracht began the “Food For a Friend Project”. Leadership & YOLO club students made Christmas ornaments and sold them at the Christmas Bazaar to raise money for food that was purchased to cook in the ACS cafeteria during the winter break. Students between grades 10-12 cooked 50 meals for families in Menidi that had been identified by social services as in need for a daily meal.

Meals were delivered by Sisters from a local church in Aghia Paraskevi who invited us to deliver the meals and meet the families during our next cooking event in May. Thank you to Ms. Ioanna in the cafeteria who developed young Master Chefs at a moment’s notice to serve a higher cause—one of humanity and compassion for doing good in the world just because they can! Madeline presented her project along with Alexandra Machaira at a conference on student volunteerism at the Hellenic American University in April.

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(PARTICIPATED: Katayoon Koshragam, Sophia Gerbracht, Dionysis Arvanitis, Alexander Manolides, Vicki Grant, Ioanna Spiliot, Mathew Vidalis, George Quick).

“No child should ever go hungry; that was my motivation to initiate the “Food for a Friend” campaign.

No child should ever have to go to bed with an empty stomach and know that tomorrow morning there will be nothing for breakfast. This campaign aims to alleviate some of this burden from parents who are unable to provide for their children due to their economic situation. By working hand in hand with a welfare service organization, we, the YOLO club, have been able to raise awareness and feed more than 50 families. Having lived in both rural and urban settings, I understand as an observer the destabilizing effect that hunger and poverty can have on a family and a community. Upon arriving in Greece and seeing the excessive need for aid, I felt it was my duty as a human to give as much as possible to suffering individuals. Athens has a unique situation in comparison to the other places I have lived, but this doesn’t change the fact that children are hungry and that it’s our job as global citizens and human beings to assist in the alleviation of this suffering. “ -Madeline Gerbracht A second project that emerged was in support of the Halandri Soup Kitchen. Achilleas Vriniotis spends each Sunday at the municipality kitchen where he packages cooked meals and distributes them to 138 registered families in Halandri that are on welfare. The Street Beat Project, inspired by Abi Amis, brought ACS Yolo Juniors to the street of Athens distributing more than 100 sandwiches to homeless people on Saturday afternoons.

The You 4 Kenya book drive collected hundreds of children’s books from the ACS community during Wellness Month that will be shipped to Kenya to serve more than 200 abandoned or orphaned children due to AIDS that are being raised and schooled at the Makarios Orphanage in Nyeri. Many thanks were

received from the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kenya in the Hellenic Republic Mrs. Vicky Pantazopoulou and the Sophia Foundation who will facilitate the delivery of the books to Nyeri.

ACS students and soccer players held a weekend soccer tournament amongst foreign schools in support of the FARE Project—Football Against Racism in Europe—raising awareness for racism and other forms of discrimination. Thank you to Ms. Annie Constantinidis and Valia Efstathiou for graciously agreeing to organize this event on behalf of this European effort that involved schools throughout Europe and even the Super League!

Other YOLO Social Awareness Projects in Progress: Bubbles: Recycling unused soaps from hotels to reshape/sell and support Homeless Shelters (Stamati Stamatiou& Hannah) Paws: Support for stray cats (Isabelle Gerbracht) The Cost of Beauty: Being a slave to your body? Investigating the benefits/harm of well- known organic vs commercial cosmetics bands (Sophia Masgana) The Urban Jungle: Do people with special needs have accessibility to their city like you do? (Aris Adam) Dopamine Addictions: Support of youth rehabs (Kyriakos Petrakos, Myrto Manticas, Achilleas Vriniotis, Constantinos Kretsis, Marios Zervoudis) Looking forward to more YOLO Projects next year!

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Current page: ACS Athens VARSITY playing for football against racism in Europe

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NOT ONE! VIDEO PROJECT “THE SCIENCE OF CHARACTER�: Films for Global Change

by Ellen Vriniotis, Academy Faculty

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very day that passes, the world becomes more sophisticated on one level and uncivilized on another. All of the collective knowledge, effort and intention have not established a healthy correlation between technological and material achievements and prosperity and well-being on a humanistic and spiritual level. In fact, even in the best environments, cognitive neuroscientists raise questions about how our brain is being rewired by our over consumption of the internet and electronic devices. The teenage brain is even more vulnerable to rapid neural development in the pruning stage. Researchers examine the degree to which we may be altering our personality because of the type of activities we engage in online. In other words, we are what we do! On a neurobiological level, we know that we are hard wired to be both aggressive and empathetic. On a cognitive or social level, however, the question is how much time do we actually spend developing the empathic side that nurtures positive relationships? These are some of the questions raised by the film, The Science of Character that premiered world-wide on March 20th and sparked

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the motivation for a video project by Leadership & Ethics and IB Psychology students, titled, “Not One!” The field of positive psychology, character development and the latest research on the role of non-cognitive “soft skills” on student achievement and development show that building character traits is a strong predictor of educational, but also life success (Pekel, 2014). Character can be defined as “the complex mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group or nation (Merriam Dictionary, 2013). In less complex terms, character defines us and certain characteristics are conducive to overcoming challenges, achievement and psycho-social well-being. Research on the “character hypothesis” reveals that having non-cognitive skills, like grit, curiosity, persistence, conscientiousness, self-control and self-confidence, are more vital than intelligence in achieving success (Tough, 2012). Interestingly, these skills were often found to be lacking in children in both the higher and lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum. Affluence can overprotect children from the adversity and poverty doesn’t provide enough support to help children see through their long-term goals, like finishing school (Tough, 2012).

Similar findings from Search Institute on their latest survey on parents, teachers and students identified important character traits that help young people to cope with challenges of reaching long-term goals: self-efficacy (knowing you have the knowledge and resources to achieve your goals), a growth mindset (understanding that intelligence and ability is fluid and not static—the more you work the better you get), perseverance and passion (persisting despite challenges, setbacks and delaying gratification) (Ducksworth, Petersen, Matthew, Ketty, 2007), empathy (caring about what happens to others) and self –regulation (managing negative thoughts, feelings, actions to achieve goals) (Ducksworth, Tsukayama, May, 2010). These character traits also enhance developmental relationships with adults who can support the efforts of young people to thrive (Pekel, 2014)and help kids to connect their present self to their future self.

The “science of character” sparked our interest to further explore our school’s philosophy of “Ethos” and question: “I wonder what the world would look like if everyone had the character trait, ethos?” What we got was a student video with the title, “NOT ONE!” The aim of the NOT ONE! Video was to raise awareness about our need as a humanity to develop a world in which NOT ONE more victim of war, hunger, violence, abuse, disease, ignorance exists because we can rely on our character to evolve the higher morals and ethics necessary to protects us… without the need to protect us from each other.

Congratulations to all the students and special thanks to our creative director and editor, 11th grader, Boguslawa Gojdi! The video will be shared with Films- For Global Change where students also will have the opportunity to translate the organization’s video, “The Science of Character” in as many languages as we have in our school! Look for the video on the ACS Athens Website.

REFERENCES Ducksworth, A. Petersen, C., Mathews, M., Kelly, D., (2007).

Grit: Perseverance and Passion for LongTerm Goals. Personality Processes and Individual Differences.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 92, No. 6, 1087–1101.

Duckworth , A. L. , Tsukayama , E. , & May , H. ( 2010 ). Establishing causality using longitudinal hierarchical linear modeling: An illustration predicting achievement from self-control. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1 , 311 – 317.

Pekel, K. & Scales, P. (2014).Measuring and Strengthening Perseverance. Webinar. Search Institute.

Tough, Paul (2013). How Children Succeed. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

■■ Previous page: Georgia Siorokos presents her favorite character trait: Taking Pride in Being Humble!

Achilleas Vriniotis expresses “Kindness” as an important character trait that builds integrity in our personal relationships

Previous page bottom: Markos Manolidakis creates the letters that spell “NOT ONE” from photos of war and human suffering.

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with no work at all, but the fact of the matter is that life is generally not like that. We do not succeed just by wishing that we could. If we are prepared to put in the hard work, however, it is amazing how often success will follow.

Musings PERSIST AND WORK HARD; RATHER THAN COMPLAIN!

by Margarita Gournaris, M.A. and Evelyn Pittas, M.A., Academy Faculty

Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States, said: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Unfortunately, researchers have found that people of this generation are more dissatisfied about their lives than earlier generations, and more people are complaining more than ever before. In fact, so much complaining is going on, that we have what business leaders are calling a “culture of complaint.” The danger of all this complaining is that, quite often, we are so dissatisfied that we focus on society, or other people, as the cause of our problems. Whatever is going wrong, our attitude is that everything is “someone else’s fault.” The problem with this is that it traps us into thinking that there is nothing we can do to improve the situation. We say to ourselves, “someone should do something about this,” rather than asking, “what can I do about this?”

Multi-billionaire, Bill Gates, is quoted as suggesting the following eleven rules for life:

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Rule 1: Life is not fair-get used to it.

If you want to be excellent at something, you need to work very hard. You might need to spend your entire life practicing ... or ten years practicing ... or at least six months! Whatever the activity, it is certain that you will not master it without persistence and hard work. Success at school is exactly the same. Your reading and writing will not improve if you do not work at it - every day - just as you work on your athletic skills or your new solo. Your Math will not improve if you do not practice some problems over and over until you understand what you are doing.

It would be great if we could be experts at everything

Rule 3: You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a Vice President with a car phone until you earn both.

woman approached the great violinist Fritz Kreisler after one of his concerts... She said, “Mr Kreisler, I would give my life to play as you play!”

He turned to her, smiled and said, “I DID!”

Opposite page top: IB Psychology students select magazine pictures of human tragedy and wonder, “Why are they so many in abundance in comparison to articles and photos of hope and peace?”

Rule 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping--they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parent’s fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rainforest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

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Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you the test as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

You may not agree with everything Bill Gates says, but it is hard to argue with a man who has been so obviously successful, and who now spends billions each year to help people less fortunate than himself.

So, what we want to say to you is, maybe the next time you see a problem you should not complain, but do something about it. Experiencing failure is not the problem; it is how we handle it that is. We can choose to complain and blame the world; or we can handle adversity with confidence. Look at all your problems as challenges to be solved, instead of opportunities to complain. Work towards solutions, instead of depending on others to “fix it.” The important problems of life will not necessarily be solved on the first try; they may not be solved at all, but one thing we are absolutely sure about is that sustaining your academic excellence is vitally important because striving for excellence is desirable in itself. That is, striving for excellence is personally and emotionally rewarding, even if there is no financial reward. Doing excellent work increases your confidence and self-esteem, as well as giving you recognition and praise.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, sums up very neatly why excellence in all that you do is important by saying, “Whatever you are, be a good one,” and we would add, that the first step in being good at what you do is recognizing the importance of, and striving for, academic excellence.

So, as we approach the end of the year, remember the importance of never giving up. Hard work and persistence will pay off, if only you are prepared to try. It is up to you!

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Come Together, Right Now: Sustaining a Community and Culture That Cares for Children (and Who They Will Grow to Become)

by Ginger Carlson, Elementary Assistant Principal

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ever doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.

Indeed. It is the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead We live in a unique time in history. It is one rich with strife and angst, but also opportunity, joy, and creativity. It is what we choose to focus on and nurture that will carry our children through their lives. It is in the act of building and nurturing a community, or “common unity” as it were, that children (and adults) will learn and internalize that people are not isolated from one another, but rather that we are all interconnected. And that, in essence, is the mission of our school.

It begs the question, how can we sustain it, build on it, and take it further? The answer seems to be a par-

adigm of equal parts institutional leadership, innovative method, and citizenship. It is summed up simply and succinctly in our Global Morfosis, yet still no easy task ahead. It starts with our children, continues to grow with our families and communities even outside of school, and eventually touches the world.

Stop at Every Lemonade Stand There is a motto I like to live by and it is this: Stop at every lemonade stand. Simply put, it reminds us to put concerted effort into supporting children of all ages as they work towards their unique independence and goals. Sometimes that means we are literally stopping at lemonade stands to purchase a rewarding treat, but it certainly always means recognizing a child’s efforts on stage or a risk they took with their learning, taking interest in what our children are reading in their free moments, and recognizing the little ways in which they are being responsible for their own learning. Here at ACS Athens, we have clearly created a culture and community that cares for our children. This year, I have been witness to several initiatives where students organized clothing or book drives, poured their hearts out on paper to address a need in the world, and countless faculty going “the extra mile” to nurture and appreciate these efforts. If we are going to sustain this culture, the work has to continue with the experience and perspective of the child at the driver’s wheel. And we have to show them that we understand their needs and support their inCurrent page top: Coming together at UN Day to learn about and celebrate all the cultures represented in our school

Current page bottom: The ACS Athens Elementary 3R’s... we are committed to being respectful, responsible and ready!

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terests and choices.

Join together As Gandhi suggested, we must “be the change we wish to see in the world”. As a school community seeking to offer our kids a model of community building and active engagement with our community, we must then find ways in which to come together. If the first step to create community starts with our own community in our homes, then as families we can do simple things, such as garden together, dine together, read together, and share what we learn each day.

From there, we can take our community out of the home. Greet and talk to your other community members each day. See who you can meet anew. Offer a smile. Find other ways to connect with the people you come in some contact with (but may not often spend time with or know well). This year at ACS Athens, I have been witness to this kind of joining across the spectrum: from students and PTO leaders planting rosemary and lavender in honor of their teachers,

to faculty making videos representing responsible citizenship for their students, and faculty and departments across the schools and grade levels coming together to re-envision spaces that can further encourage the important work of the children as they play and learn in a community. With these examples in mind, it is clear that the possibilities for connecting further in our community are endless.

Connect with All the Faces of Your Community More and more these days, we are hearing about people wanting to connect with “like-minded” people, and attempting to create community that way. But it seems that in many ways, the opposite can happen, and that when we are only connecting with people we consider to be like ourselves, we are causing separation and division from the others in our community.

Herein lies the real challenge: to connect with all the faces of our community, to learn to understand each other and our multi-faceted perspectives, and appreciate each of our unique journeys so that we may

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effort into supporting children of all ages as they work towards their unique independence and goals

taking interest in what our children are reading in their free moments

as families we can do simple things, such as garden together, dine together, read together, share what we learn each day when we are only connecting with people we consider to be like ourselves, we are causing separation and division travel the road together for the greater good of humanity. Here at ACS Athens we are fortunate that we have such a rich and diverse student population. This has been honored in many ways this year, including UN Day and various other celebrations. Still, as in any community, there are conflicts that together we can address. It is embracing these opportunities for community growth that lead to real and true sustained excellence.

I feel especially fortunate to be living in this time and to be a member of the ACS Athens community right here, right now: one that is rich with wonder, learning, and opportunity for connection in a myriad of ways. From our home communities reaching outward, it is with conscious and deliberate effort that we can create a world that is more commonly united. And nothing feels like it could be more important. â– â–

Current and opposite page: Students and parents working together to plant lavendar and rosemary in honor of the teachers

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Choosing Your Future

me the ability to make such a difficult decision. Don’t be afraid to make a list of pros and cons, that is what I did, just ask my father. You can also try to find students at the universities you have applied to because every school usually has a Facebook page. Don’t be afraid to talk to them, it is a small risk for a big advantage. Talking to advisors and representatives of universities will be helpful but remember, they want students for keeping face, so they may not have your best interest at heart nor will they have the perspective of a student at your university. Everything happens for a reason and that is why I believe trusting your heart will get you to where you belong. If a year down the road, you realize you did not make the right decision; there is always the possibility of transferring. There is always a solution to a problem, no matter how difficult. Nonetheless, wherever you choose to go, it will be an unforgettable experience. You will gain perspective and learn to trust your instincts. You will also learn that failing is a part of life and that it happens to everyone. And you will gain the ability to pick yourself up without the normal support you get at home.

It will be a combination of excitement, joy, confusion, frustration and fun. And most importantly, you will learn in and outside the classroom. You will create an incredible foundation for venturing out into the real world.

by Zacharo Diamanto Gialamas, Student at George Washington University, ACS Athens alumna

Choosing where you want to be for the next four years is overwhelming. I guess, the best advice I can give to anyone is go with what you feel. Choose what you feel will be good for you. I am a firm believer in the fact that university ratings should not be your deciding factor. No matter how much you want to do well in university, not liking your environment will get in the way of what you are trying to accomplish. Listen to advice from your parents, teachers, and friends, but at the end of the day, it is your choice. Choosing between University of California, Berkeley (UCB) and George Washington University, (GWU), DC was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I got caught up in the name of Berkeley and what it represented rather than my name and what I represented. Many did not understand my decision of choosing GWU but I wasn’t in high school anymore, I had to decide for myself and that’s what I did and as a rising senior, I do not regret it. I saw the life GWU had in the middle of DC. Knowing if you want an urban or rural campus is important. Knowing if you want a small, medium, or large school (in terms of number of students) is also important. Honestly, the weather is also an important factor. Bad weather can really affect you. Feeling lost and homesick is very common so you should know what kind of environment you want. Although, nothing will ever be as amazing as Greece, you must venture out and grasp your opportunities. You are privileged to have options and the ability to choose a great university, remember that. ACS Athens gave

Current page: In DC, on a rainy day, in front of the monument

Opposite page top: Barbara Coloroso working with students on identifying bullying behavior

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Wellness month Wellness month 2014

by Office of Student Affairs

by Stelios Kalogridakis, Academy Counselor Raising Ethical Kids

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icking off this year’s Wellness Month activities and lectures we had the honor to welcome key note speaker, Mrs. Barbara Coloroso. Ms. Coloroso worked with students, faculty and parents on ‘raising ethical kids’ and discussed issues such as ‘bullying.’ Her presentations were a resounding success among all audiences. Faculty and administrators benefited from both the lectures and the discussions.

Similarly, she mesmerized high school students and parents alike, with her public speaking skills and ability to engage the audience on such a relevant and important issue gripping schools worldwide. While she confirmed that there is no need for concern regarding bullying issues at ACS Athens, her “preventive” philosophy on raising ethical kids is the antidote to any kind of violence. Barbara Coloroso is an international bestselling author, and for the past 38 years she has been an internationally recognized speaker and consultant on parenting, teaching, school discipline, positive school climate, bullying, grieving, nonviolent conflict resolution and restorative justice.

Current page bottom: Eating healthy and celebrating wellbeing

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Current page from top to bottom: Academy students performing for Wellness Celebration Yoga stops traffic (anti human trafficking) The NO project- anti human trafficking awareness

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by Markella Kaplani, OLP Specialist Eat This, Not That Nutrition and healthy eating was one of the topics covered during the annual Wellness Month hosted at ACS Athens in April 2014. More specifically, the presentation was called “Eat This, Not That!” and centered around the roles of essential nutrients in our diet. The presentation as carried out by Dr. Eleni Tourlouki, a nutritionist who completed her doctoral studies at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens in 2012. Dr. Tourlouki discussed the myths around nutrition, introduced what healthy eating habits are and demonstrated how unhealthy certain popular junk foods can be on our physical well-being. The demonstration cleverly displayed the amount of sugar a person might be consuming by simply having a soft drink, some chips and a chocolate bar, providing a simple visualization of what we may be ingesting without being fully aware.

The presentation focused on strategies that would help improve dietary behaviors and students had several questions, showing their interest on the topic.

Given scheduling limitations, time was not sufficient to allow for comprehensive analysis of topics, interaction with the speaker or Q&A, therefore that may be something to consider for next year’s presentation.

Overall, students’ response to the topic was positive and their engagement portrayed the significance of bringing up such topics on a regular basis. Though everyone may have a general idea of what healthy nutrition looks like, inviting an expert in the field to speak about the particular topic makes a different impact on our notions and hopefully daily habits!

by Alessandra Sax Lane, Counseling Psychologist/ Wellness Center Coordinator Oral Hygiene Dr. Christina Zervou: Dr. Christina Zervou is a pediatric dentist, from Tufts University who lives and works in Athens. She was a special guest to children in grades 2-5, and informed them on good oral hygiene habits and making healthy food and drink choices for their teeth. Children were involved in fun group activities as well as getting a chance to practice brushing skills with Max, the monkey (a puppet with a fabulous smile).

Sex education Dr. Niovi Michalopoulou: Dr. Niovi Michalopoulou is a clinical psychologist, from Widner University who lives and works in Athens. She was a special guest to students in the 7th and 8th grades, and informed them on sexual development of both genders during adolescence and young adulthood. Students were able to ask confidential questions that they wrote down and put in a box. Students’ questions were answered in group discussions.

Along with the presenter, students were able to view both a PowerPoint presentation and video on human sexual development.

by Cynthia Ouajian, Assistant to the Wellness Center Eating Disorders and Self-Harm Dr. Margarita Schina is a clinical psychologist working in a private practice as a psychotherapist in Greece, and she has assumed the role of Scientific Director of KEADD-Center for Education and Treatment of Eating Disorders in 2010. During Wellness Month Dr. Schina presented to the Middle School and Academy School students about the importance of being healthy physically, emotionally, and socially. She introduced key concepts regarding how to maintain a healthy diet, and briefly went over the various types of eating disorders and possible causes of them. She emphasized how the media distorts images of actors and models using computer software, therefore creating a false sense of reality and unreasonable expectations when it comes to body image in consumers.

Dr. Schina also talked about what self-harm is, ways people self-harm, and reasons individuals may engage in self-harm. She ended her presentation by discussing in detail how individuals can support friends who have eating disorders or self-harm. Students seemed receptive and interested in the presentation, often participating and asking questions.

by Mandy Dragatakis, Academy Counselor Future Career Trends Every year the need for Wellness in all the different areas that affect a student are becoming bigger and greater. Therefore, every year it is our goal to approach these needs of the students in an effort to prepare them, equip them with the necessary tools to cope with our constantly changing world. In light of the ever-present question in students’ minds regarding their future plans, the Wellness team decided to incorporate within the events a presentation by professionals from EduJob, an organization dedicated in helping students learn about themselves and making decisions. Dr. Hara Tsekou, Ms. Niki Mpiggou and Ms. Yiota Delieza presented to parents and students different topics concerning the kinds of jobs, careers and professions estimated to be in demand in the following decades, the new competencies needed in the incoming developments. Especially in times when the financial climate is unfavorable, the competencies valued by the employers may make the difference in the struggle for employment and eventual professional success. During the presentation we discussed the cognitive and personality characteristics that the human resources departments value, and how these are assessed. The essential soft skills for the workplace: The terms time and problem management is essentially not applicable, as we cannot actually control neither the passing of time neither the emergence of problems. However, we are able to enhance our skills so as to cope more efficiently with the demands of everyday life and keep our stress levels to a minimum.

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by Stelios Kalogridakis, Academy Counselor Yoga for wellness In the course of this year’s Wellness Month activities, we had the honor to welcome once again Dr. Kostas Chrysikakis. This is the second year that Dr. Chrysikakis gave us the honor to present to our students. A renowned sports psychologist, nutritionist, personal growth coach, and certified yoga instructor, Dr. Chrysikakis met this year with not only all of our student athletes, but as well as two Physical Education classes, 10th and 11th grade advisory classes, and Mrs. Kassem’s 10th grade Chemistry class. Similar to last year, students were gathered at the gym and were able to do some yoga exercises w/ breathing; the lecture was titled, “Body, mind & spirit: The elements of success,” followed by a relaxation technique at the end. It was a resounding success, with over 75 student-athletes and students attending the event. Students were presented with some theory on healthy choices and the strengths of healthy living, followed by a group yoga instruction for all to participate in. Footage of this event will be available soon for all to see.

by Zaharo Hilentzaris, Elementary School Counselor Healthy choices Ms. Zaharo Hilentzaris, the Elementary School Counselor, spoke to JK-5th grade classes about safety in regards to strangers, medicine, healthy eating, drinking, exercising, physical and oral hygiene. In addition all grades learned the importance of taking care and expressing their minds, thoughts and feelings. Respecting differences, tolerance and conflict resolutions were hot topics this year as great importance was placed on how we can care and be kind to our peers. Dr. Alessandra Sax, JK-12 Counseling Psychologist also joined Ms. Hilentzaris in teaching the 4th and 5th grade about healthy hygiene. The 5th graders also learned about sexual development with the help of Dr. Sax, Ms. Cathy Makropoulos, the Elementary School Principal, Ms. Hilentzaris and Ms. Cynthia Ouaijan, JK-12 Counseling Assistant.

by Anna Makris, Academy Advisory Counselor Yoga Stops Traffic On Friday, April 4th, students grabbed their mats for a day of Yoga with Mrs. Sharka Furda, a certified Yin Yoga and Vinyasa flow style teacher. She led high school students, Faculty, Staff and parents in over 100 sun-salutations in order to raise awareness for the Indian anti-trafficking charity Odanadi. Each year, thousands of yoga practitioners from around the world come together for one day in order to raise awareness and financial support for this common cause. Throughout the school day, ACS students were delighted to participate in a day of Yoga, connect with each other and exercise their mind, body and soul. Faculty, Staff and parents joined Mrs. Furda after school for a relaxing, yet challenging, experience, where they were able to release their stress and worries from a long day.

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The NO project The anti-trafficking theme was continued with Mrs. Judy Boyle and the NO Project. The NO Project team (including one of our very own ACS Athens parents) met with 11th and 12th grade students to discuss the dangers of trafficking and to motivate them to take a stand through creative means, such as dance and art.

Students were captivated by the performance, realizing that the effects of trafficking are evident even in Greece. The presentation even influenced the members of the National Honor Society to take action and organize the first ACS Academy-wide Ping Pong Tournament, donating the proceeds to the NO Project.

The event was a huge success overall.

Girl UP A group of 11th and 12th grade girls in the GirlUp Club @ ACS Athens created a presentation specifically aimed for Middle School girls. The Academy girls led a group discussion aimed at raising self-esteem and awareness about the challenges of puberty and the stressors of academic life. It was apparent that the Middle School girls were able to connect with their older peers and benefited greatly from the support that was provided. The Academy girls took initiative in discussing their own experiences in Middle School and planning wonderful activities to promote self-esteem and wellness.

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Professional

Development Collaborative Learning Communities at ACS Athens: Developing a model for Professional Development that Sustains and Expands Excellence!

by David Nelson, Academy Faculty, Development and Growth Program Coordinator

E Previous page from top to bottom: Elementary students Wellness Celebration event Students, faculty and administration leading the Wellness Celebration

ducation is a dynamic profession and necessitates that none of us faculty work in isolation as we seek to serve the needs of our students.

Each faculty member brings to our school a vast array of unique experiences, strengths and skills, which when shared among colleagues help to elevate the quality of educational experiences that we provide as an institution. The goal of the Collaborative Learning Community (CLC) model is to provide a framework for faculty to share their specialized skills and insights to ultimately make us more effective teachers and above all, to improve our students’ learning.

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This year’s CLC Core is made up of fifteen faculty members from each of the three schools, impressively representing a highly diverse group of professionals from K-12 and a variety of subject area specialties.

Coming together as an interdependent group, we as the CLC Core depend upon mutual respect and trust in order to go more deeply into our practice. As facilitators, Penny Kynigou and I seek ways to connect the CLC Core members in order to solve professional dilemmas, hone teaching strategies, promote the use of technology via i2Flex, investigate student work, analyze data, and stimulate innovative teaching practices.

The foundational beliefs of the Collaborative Learning Communities at ACS Athens are that diversity breeds innovation and that true collaboration occurs when group members draw from the insights, experiences and specialization of its members to address highly focused needs.

In the CLC, when we are exposed to new ideas and perspectives within a community of mutual trust, we rethink our own practice and learn from the insights of our colleagues. Ultimately it is our goal to enhance our own tools for addressing the needs of our students, and most importantly to improve their learning. We like to think of the CLC as an educational “think tank”, propelled by the reality that the specialists and innovators whom we seek are often among us and we need only the structure and time to access them.

Our CLC model draws from methods developed within the Critical Friends Model (CFG), which was initiated out of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform in the 1990s and has continued further development with the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF) Indiana, ever since. In 2012 the Director of NSRF, Michele Mattoon, trained twelve of our ACS Faculty as facilitators/coaches. This June, together with the ACS Institute for Innovation and Creativity, NSRF will train another ten faculty members, with the goal of expanding the CLC model at ACS Athens.

As a base for our group’s work, we have synthesized practices from the CFG model and from other similar Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). We encourage faculty to bring work to the group that focuses on their own professional development goals, the ACS educational goals and mission, as well as their action research connected to the Sustaining Excellence Protocol for re-accreditation. Each meeting of the CLC draws from the focused needs of the faculty members in their aim to improve student learning.

To more effectively surface how the CLC can provide professional development for our faculty, we have generated what we call, the “Wondering Continuum”.

The continuum encourages us to generate questions about our professional goals and practice that range in levels of risk and time frame. The continuum begins with helping us to expand our thoughts of what is possible in our classrooms and to couch those aspirations in a future setting of “I wonder”, in which group

members pose questions that promote innovation, applied technology, and action research. Essentially, questions of “I wonder” allow teachers to step into the “sandbox” and collaboratively shape something new to propel student learning.

The next level of the “Wondering Continuum” encourages members to look more closely at “Felt Difficulties”, or parts of their practice or observations of student performance, that can be improved. This level of the continuum often focuses on present practice or present student performance.

Finally, the continuum challenges faculty to lean into “Educational Dilemmas” of student performance or professional practice that can be reevaluated, unpacked, and solved.

The Collaborative Learning Community’s primary goal is to support its members as they work through the “Wondering Continuum” to improve student learning. In further realization of this goal, The Institute for Innovation and Creativity at ACS Athens, together will NSRF, will host a Critical Friends Training for new coaches/facilitators. Welcoming colleagues from around the world, as well as from all three of our schools, we will put the practices of CLC to work to provide innovative professional development for our faculty.

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We like to think of the CLC as an educational “think tank”, propelled by the reality that

the specialists and innovators whom we seek are often among us and we need only the structure and time to access them.

Essentially, questions of “I wonder” allow teachers to step into the “sandbox” and collaboratively

shape something new to propel student learning

CLC Facilitator/Coordinator - David Nelson*, CLC CoCoordinator- Penny Kynigou 2014 CLC Members: Christina Birbil*, Christina Rocha*, Chrysoula Ploutou, Dean Bradshaw, Diane Kohl, Ellen Vriniotis*, Irini Rovoli, Karla Stauffer, Labrini Rontogiannis, Maria Falidas*, Rannelle McCoy*, Raphael Raphael, Tracy Theodoropoulou, and Vasilike Koutsioukis. *Trained CFG Coaches David Nelson is a Social Studies Teacher in the Academy of ACS Athens and is also an International Facilitator/Trainer for the National School Reform Faculty and conducts workshops for CFG Groups at schools around the world.

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ACS Athens at the annual ECIS Conference November 2013

by Chris Perakis, Director, Learning Enhancement Programs

T

he European Conference for International Schools; Strike the Balance, focused on the following four themes: enhanced pedagogy, cultural agility, innovation and showcasing best practice. ACS Athens had much to say in three workshops covering most of these topics.

Alessandra Sax-Lane, Counseling Psychologist, presented a workshop centered on her personally developed model of assisting students’ adjustment in international schools. The peer buddy program developed for ages 3-18 as part of her doctoral dissertation has been implemented successfully at ACS Athens and Dr. Sax-Lane was eager to share this program with interested participants from around the world. The workshop provided a theoretical background on adjustment issues faced by students and families in the international arena and gave a hands-on approach for tackling such issues and making adjustment as smooth and seamless as possible for each student in a new school environment. Within this model, transitions were explored within the context of culture, language as well as social/emotional development.

Cathy Makropoulos, Elementary Principal , Peggy Pelonis, Dean of Student Affairs and Chris Perakis,

Director of the Learning Enhancement Programs of the Institute for Innovation and Creativity presented two workshops entitled: Students Guiding Students Towards a Balanced Approach to Life. The presentation focused on the creative ways that ACS Athens gets students involved with other students. Specific examples of programs were provided such as the Student to Student program, the Student to Student Mentors, the Honor Code Group (grades 3-12) and the Student Leadership Group (grades 3-12). What happens when you put students in charge of teaching and guiding other students? They learn from each other, enhance each others’ self esteem and find a place of belonging from which they can explore and take risks towards being creative and innovative. It was clear to participants, judging from their curiosity and questions regarding our programs, that educators can, in fact, must work outside of the box in order to provide the forum and guidance which will facilitate a process where a different kind of learning takes place: learning that is true to our commitment of Holistic, Meaningful, Harmonious education.

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Opposite page: Cathy Makropoulos, Chris Perakis and Alessandra Sax-Lane at the ECIS Annual Educators Conference in Amsterdam

Current page: Peggy Pelonis, Chris Perakis and Cathy Makropoulos at the ECIS Annual Educators Conference in Amsterdam

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fast pace change in technology by which communication is now multifaceted and easy, the personal “face to face” contact not only adds credibility for our institution but also develops an element of trust among all parties: Athletic Directors and coaches (from various sports) from the United States and the Athletic Director and coaches of ACS Athens.

Athletics Reaching out… For the benefit and wellbeing of our student athletes

by Annie Constantinides, Director of Athletics, Summer Camp and Recreational Programs

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EACHING OUT Synonyms: to contact, to inform, to publicize, to tell, to make known

REACHING OUT is an essential element of the conscious effort the Athletic Department is making to think and act “outside the box” in order to expose ACS Athens and the potential of its student athletes.

It was determined that in order to be able to tackle the existing challenges created by the geographical distance between our school and universities in the United States (in regards to athletic talent exposure), aggressive outreach would have to be initiated by ACS Athens. This outreach has been done via a number of avenues and has been beneficial for our students:

UNIVERSITY VISITS A few years back, in the fall of 2011, our school’s athletic program and the potential of our student athletes were introduced to a number of institutions in the Northeast region of the United States; this was done by a “door-to-door” approach and a total of eight universities were visited over a period of nine days. It was a fruitful journey since shortly after, athletic scholarship opportunities arose for our students. Despite the

A year later, the original outreach continued and more effort has been placed in not only keeping the original relationships, but also in expanding the network in order to be able to assist our student athletes. Seven more universities in the Northeast region of the United States were visited thus increasing the potential opportunities that could be available to our student athletes.

However, after reflecting on the original two itineraries, it was decided that it was time to expand the geographical region of our network by visiting universities in the Missouri / Illinois area and at the same time visit new institutions in the Northeast. A cumbersome endeavor it was! A total of 13 new university visits were made and I had the opportunity to meet with 52 professionals (Athletic Directors, Assistant Athletic Directors, Coaches of soccer, track, swimming, tennis, cross country, basketball, volleyball) and present to them information on our school- the academic and athletic profiles of our students. Their feedback was encouraging and positive.

REACHING OUT Synonyms: to connect, to advertise, to interact, to network, to disseminate, to pass on REACHING OUT has to do with creating a network so that more and more people know about you and vice versa; in our case, the ACS Athens Athletic Department is reaching out so that more and more decision makers in Athletics in the United States learn about our talented athletes, but also for us to connect with more and more of those decision makers so we can have options for our students. It is not always easy to reach out to those individuals and visit institutions all over the United States; it is time consuming and financially a great challenge. However, there are situations where one can find a number of them in one location, thus being able to communicate efficiently and effectively.

Opposite page top: NCAA Women’s Basketball Coaches Convention Program Opposite page bottom left: Coaching Clinic speakers with ACS Athens Coaching Staff Opposite page bottom right: Coach Richard Barron (University of Maine)

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Appearance / Presentation in Athletic Convention On April 5th, I had the opportunity to speak during the NCAA Basketball Coaches Convention that took place during the Women’s Basketball Final Four in Nashville, Tennessee. I led a Round Table Discussion on Basketball Globalization, its benefits and challenges.

During this presentation, ACS Athens was introduced, leaflets were passed out and again I had a great forum to make a strong case about what we are all about.

Coaches had the opportunity to ask questions and inquired about many aspects of our institution. There was a lot of interaction among coaches and discussion among those that had some experience with recruiting international athletes and those that had no experience whatsoever. Over 25 institutions from all over the United States were represented in the ACS Athens presentation/discussion; coaches expressed genuine interest and found it useful and beneficial to attend the session. Furthermore, a number of them stated that they would be passing on this information to coaches of other sports in their institutions.

This convention was an eye opener – CONNECTING AND NETWORKING at its best and in a short period of time!

Creation of events – ACS Athens Coaching Clinic In seeking athletic scholarship opportunities, some sports are much “simpler” than others; in sports where the performance is timed (swimming, cross country, track) there is no need for an athlete to send anything other than official times and initiate communication with the university coach. In sports such as volleyball, soccer, tennis and basketball where the quality of performance is multifaceted, the procedure becomes more cumbersome. Nevertheless, technology nowadays has made it easier for student athletes to “show off” their talent; the You Tube video links, highlights

and full games that are uploaded online are great tools that are helpful for athletes to have a chance at scholarship opportunities. However, the majority of coaches of these sports still want to see the potential scholarship “recipients” in real action. For this reason, in 2009, the first International Basketball Coaches clinic was organized at ACS Athens with the purpose of inviting NCAA coaches to present various sport specific topics over a period of two and a half days.

This way, the coaches would visit our school and find out information about all aspects of our institution; they would have the opportunity to see and speak with our students and lastly would connect with our coaching staff. On April 25-27th, the 5th International Coaches clinic took place and once again it was a great opportunity to “advertise” our school and to connect. The feedback from the coaches was positive and supports the rationale of this endeavor.

Coach Richard Barron (University of Maine): “My wife and I have been associated with some of the best private schools and colleges in the USA and we found ACS Athens to be an impressive school with high academic achievement and incredible success with college placement and scholarship awards. It was obvious that ACS Athens has a commitment to the complete student as evidenced by their support of the arts and athletics. The clinic was just another way that ACS Athens works to improve the experiences of student athletes locally in Greece, and throughout neighboring countries.”

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Coach Lisa Stone (St. Louis University): “The opportunity to be a clinician was an honor and I really enjoyed my interactions with international coaches. I have made great contacts and future recruiting options have arisen.”

Alumni Dear ACS Athens Alumni,

Welcome to the Alumni section of the ACS Athens Ethos. To submit your articles for the next issue, please email us at alumni@acs.gr.

To register for the ACS Athens Alumni Directory on www.acs.gr, please follow the steps below:

Since the beginning of this project, we have had NCAA coaches from 13 Universities presenting IN OUR GYMNASIUM. REACHING OUT Synonyms: to touch base, to be in touch, to keep in touch At ACS Athens we believe in keeping in touch with our students; caring about our students beyond their ACS tenure; we want to know how they are doing in their new educational paths. This is the case with our student athletes as well!

During my recent university visits, I had the opportunity to meet with a number of our alumni student athletes. I had the chance to talk to them and learn about their experiences – their challenges and their triumphs. It was clear to me that all of them were comforted by the fact that a familiar person spent some time to listen to them – not patronizing, but simply listening. I believe they felt that the ACS Athens support was still there for them. For me personally, it was rewarding and exhilarating to see them grow through their experiences as university student athletes. Equally rewarding was the communication I had with their coaches and athletic directors. They not only spoke highly about their work ethics in athletics, but also about their academic success. I was proud of ACS Athens and what we stand for.

1. ‘Profile’ on the Navigation Bar 2. Scroll down to ‘Alumni’ Click 3. Scroll down to the ‘Profile Management’ 4. Click on the ‘Initial Registration’ 5. Complete the form and await approval link that will be sent by email 6. Upon receipt, click link to direct you to the Alumni Directory Form 7. Login with your ‘Username’ and ‘Password’ 8. Complete the Alumni Directory Form 9. Be sure to note the request to ‘check’ or ‘not check’ the visibility of your social networks and personal information to other alumni 10. Bookmark Alumni Directory Form page for future reference.

For further information, please contact alumni@acs.gr The ACS Athens Alumni Association Board Demetrios Kiritsis (’84) President Raymond Srouji (’83) Vice-President Maria Kardamenis (’87) Secretary Thelxi Trochalis (’86) Treasurer Eleni Aravanis (’84) Board Member John Exarchos (’86) Board Member Christina Mefalopoulos (’85) Board Member Chris Moukas (’72) Board Member

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Current page top: Coach Lisa Stone (St. Louis University) Current page thumbnails: Annie Constantinides with Nick Efstratudakis, Natasa Koniali, Philip Tripodakis, Jessica Ogunnorin and Melina Kolia (ACS Athens student athlete alumni)

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Working as a team on turn-taking and coordinating movement on stage Singing traditional songs, Reciting poems, Narrating But what does this celebration really offer to our students?

Celebrations ACS Athens Elementary honors Greek Independence Day

by Anastasia Papageorgiou, Natasha Stratoglou and Irini Rovoli, Elementary School Greek Language Faculty

Greek native speakers of the Greek classes JK-5th do not just rehearse for the stage performance. The Greek Independence Day is part of the Greek Language curriculum; depending on their level, a month prior to the celebration, students are given the opportunity to “travel in time” through various texts, poems, research projects and songs. They have the chance to connect with their past and “meet” their ancestors as they learn about the history of that time-period. Students are also invited to ask questions, reflect and express their opinion: “What was life like during those 400 years of occupation?”, “What took the Greeks so long to revolt?”, “My favorite heroes are Kolokotronis and Bouboulina!”, “Greeks fought with their heart and not only with their weapons!” and they learn about the importance of today’s freedom and peace. For the upper grades, the performance itself is also a wonderful incentive for writing an essay reflecting on their participation and feelings for the celebration.

Students learning Greek as a foreign language are impressed to learn that such a small country fought against the Ottoman Turks and finally regained their freedom and independence. Our students learn about Greek History and engage in discussions on the events of this time period and come up with thoughtful questions and observations. Above all, it is truly rewarding for them to show what they know on stage and to also sing and recite in Greek.

Children from many different countries work as a team towards a common goal, the Greek Independence Day performance. Αs their teachers, we take pride in all of our elementary students’ hard work, discipline and dedication in bringing out their best.

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This year the ACS Elementary school honored Greek Independence Day at the Theater at ACS. Parents had the chance to proudly watch all students, JK – 5th, perform on stage. The 193rd commemoration of the declaration of Greek Independence took place on March 21st and was divided in two parts. JK-2nd grade students performed in the first part and 3rd -5th graders in the second. Students were dressed in blue and white (the Greek flag colors) or in colorful Greek ethnic costumes.

March 25th 1821 is the day that the Greeks swore they would sacrifice their lives to regain their freedom. “Eleftheria e thanatos” – “Freedom or death” they declared after almost 400 years of slavery to the Ottoman Turks.

The Greek ethnic celebration of March 25th is a unique way of celebrating Greece as host country and homeland in an international setting with 100% student participation. Students participate in:

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The 2014 JuniorSenior Prom at Saint George Lycabettus hotel

Opposite page from top to bottom: 1st grade students performing for Greek Independence celebration Elementary School Independence Day

Current page top: JK and 2nd grade students singing for Greek Independence day Current page bottom: Left and right: Prom night

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and change.” A reception followed the presentations, therefore, allowing the opportunity to meet and network with the panelists and attendees.

Eight young entrepreneurs in areas including business, volunteerism, marketing, retail, IT, fashion, services, Non-Profits and NGO’s, shared their stories and experiences with the audience. Five of the panel members of extraordinary young entrepreneurs are ACS Athens alumni. George Kalogeropoulos, ACS Athens Class of ’03 and Yale graduate, spoke about how he co-created HealthSherpa.com and he did so in three days for a few hundred dollars; something the US federal government had not been able to do over two years for tens of millions of dollars.

BIZnetworking Opportunities & Challenges in a Time of Crisis Promoting Positive Dialogue

by Valerie Alexopoulos, Coordinator, Special Projects & Public Affairs

The Educating for Change panel included leadership from the very best private educational institutions in Greece. Dr. Thimios Zaharopoulos, Provost at DEREE-The American College of Greece, stressed “if we want change through education, we have to change the educational system”. Ms. Sybil Hofmann, President of Alpine Center Switzerland focused her presentation on technology in the learning environment as well as her expertise in hospitality management.

The Re-Think Athens project, organized and sponsored by the Onassis Foundation, aims to transform the center of Athens by 2016. Panayiotis Tournikiotis, Professor of Architectural Theory at the National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture and Scientific Consultant to Rethink Athens, presented the fantastic project and reinvention of the city center in metropolitan Athens. Extending from Amalias Avenue and Syntagma Square to Omonoia Square and the Archaeological Museum, he showed how the city will evolve into a unique place for Athenian citizens.

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The Institute for Innovation and Creativity at ACS Athens completed its series “Opportunities & Challenges in a Time of Crisis - Promoting Positive Dialogue” for this academic year.

The latest events from the series, which were open to the public and free of charge, took place at the Theater at ACS Athens: December 4, 2013 - Young Entrepreneurs Forum January 15, 2014 - Educating for Change March 5, 2014 - Re-think Athens Steve Medeiros, Founding Dean of The Institute for Innovation and Creativity explains the reasoning behind organizing such events: “The goal is to have the panelists share their stories/wisdom/experiences/advice with an audience of students, community members and interested Athenians. We see these events as an act of responsible citizenship, promoting positive public dialogue around the themes of leadership

Current page: Young Entrepreneurs Forum, December 2014