Faculty Members Show Their Artistic Talents at Annual Show By Urmilla Sethuraman, Secondary School Faculty On Friday, October 18, the Secondary School Visual Arts Department hosted another Faculty Art Show. The event started off with a light breakfast and coffee. The artists (most of whom teach other subjects at AIS) presented works of excellence. It was exciting to know that our faculty has such varied talents. We would like to take this opportunity to encourage a greater turnout for next year! Exhibits were presented by: Sharon Belton, Afrah Hamed, Frederique McGirt, Dennis Panzer, Gioconda Secchi, Devin Allen, Eliesha Huitt, Erika Hibbert, Urmilla Sethuraman, Catalina Ghercioiu, Sherry Weeks, and Yanaelle Cornez. Thanks to all who made this occasion such a success.
Come With Nothing, Go Home Rich By Catherine Wooster, Grade 12 During the past two summers, while working at a Thai restaurant for 11 hours a day, 6 days a week as a waitress, I was surrounded by Thai co-workers and Thai culture. In fact, I was the only non-Thai speaking employee. I served as an intermediary between my Thai bosses and American culture by helping with their taxes and communicating with health inspectors, while my coworkers introduced me to Thai movies, food, and humor. I became good friends with a young immigrant girl from southern Thailand, and on our breaks she shared stories of growing up somewhere so different from Atlanta. Ever since, I’ve been fascinated with the culture, food, language and people of Thailand. What intrigued me about the summer program called “Come with Nothing, Go Home Rich” is that you are challenged to pretty much leave ALL of your baggage behind, emotional and physical, on a 25-day service project to three remote, rural Thai villages. While most people would be horrified at the thought of being limited to taking along just five objects and having only two changes of clothing purchased in a local market for a month’s stay in Thailand, I felt confident I would thrive under such challenging conditions and would much rather travel with friends, not things. Moreover, I enjoy camping and roughing it and felt confident the physical hardships would excite me, not wear me down. After all, I am a soccer player and running enthusiast (up to six miles a day) and, not surprisingly, “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer is one of my favorite books. As part of the program, we lived with host families, worked alongside villagers in the rice paddies, and ran various service projects in collaboration with village elders such as building a dam, laying the foundation for a water tower, constructing an irrigation canal bridge, and preparing a community center site. Like our hosts, we did this with only a thin mat to sleep on, cold bucket showers, and limited shelter from the tropical rain. I believe my experiences growing up overseas (in Peru, Egypt, and Indonesia) as well as being an AIS student and MUN participant assisted me with understanding the issues involved and with working collaboratively with villagers. In addition to living and working in rural areas, we also had the opportunity to visit the towns of Mae Hong Son, Pai, and Chiang Mai. This trip of a lifetime was made possible by the AIS 2012 Legacy Award, which allows one rising senior at our school to enhance their studies through global travel, and this experience brought me closer to a culture I have come to love as well as provided an opportunity to learn about needs in developing countries. I don’t usually use the word “spiritual”, but that is what it meant to be part of “Come with Nothing, Go Home Rich”.
2012-2013 Annual Giving Campaign By Betsy Irby, Development Staff and Kathryn Banks, Annual Fund Manager When you see these parents on campus, give them a pat on the back for being dedicated volunteers for the Annual Fund this year: Annual Fund Chairs: Wendi McAfee, Teri Proctor, Constance and George Heery, Alex Curtis Grade Chairs Trace Hawkins, Richard Mackelfresh, Brad Baer, Deslie Quinby, Lucy Soto, Juliane Beiten, Theone Rutledge, Carolin Binder, Kim Nottingham, Mary Beth Drummond, Stephanie Strong-Wren, Lisa Mohr, Roxanne Varzi, Therese Birkbeck. 1984 Club Volunteers Stephanie Brun de Pontet, Linda Bruner, Susie Cogan, Heidi Deringer, Anita Elchahal, Marlo Elchahal, Mary Johnson, Dawn Michel, Susannah Parker, Shefali Patel, Teri Proctor, Eleanor Ratchford, Christina Smedley, Deb Sudbury, Stefan Terwindt, Leslie Thomas. Our goal is $800,000 to support the operating budget and supplement tuition revenue. It is so important for every family to make a donation so we can solicit gifts from other constituencies to support your child’s education. 100% parent participation is the key to approaching other prospects. Make a gift today online at www.aischool.org/donate or contact Kathryn Banks at kbanks@aischool.org for more information.Every gift counts!
Winter 2012/2013
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