MS&HS Newsletter - April 2019

│I SSUE 7 │Date: April 19th, 2019.

ROBOTICS & STEM CLUB BY KASSAPANTONIOU CHRISTINA, GRADE 8 Every Wednesday at ISA the classes are cut 15 minutes shorter so that roughly 2 periods at the end of the day are spent on activities, such as sports, board games, etc.

In the beginning of the 2018-2019 ISA school year a new club was introduced. This new club is called STEM, which takes place in the computer lab, and stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. STEM club members attend this club all academic year.

Asking students about the club they said they enjoyed it.

During STEM they produce a variety of robots using Lego Mindstorms, which is an area in the Lego community that has different robot building videos and ideas. After they create the robots, they program them on the computers to carry out different tasks and activities.

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MUN BY PANOSSIAN LORY, GRADE 11 Model United Nations is a 3 day long conference in which students from all over the country debate on global issues whilst representing a country in a specific committee.

Participating in MUN involves a considerable amount of researching and debating, and requires a lot of critical thinking, teamwork and leadership skills. Students also learn to support the point of view of the country they represent using solid evidence and proper arguments.

I was lucky enough to partake in the CGSMUN 2018 alongside 10 other diligent students from ISA, representing the countries of Georgia and Libya. The topic of this year's conference was “Global Health Inequalities.� Several MUN staff made presentations regarding this topic and informed us about the different ways that we, as students, can help resolve this issue. I can safely say that this was an experience I'll never forget. Since it was my first time at an MUN conference, naturally, I was a bit nervous.

As the conference went on I felt myself speaking up more and participating more in the heated debates in our committee.

It was so fascinating debating solutions for world issues with other students of the same age. MUN isn't just about debating and public speaking, though, it's also about meeting new people and having a good time together. One minor drawback was that the food wasn't the best, but it was easy to overlook that small problem. Overall, CGSMUN was a very enjoyable experience.

Alongside CGSMUN, ISA students also participated in the Anatolia College MUN in Thessaloniki. I asked one of the students that attended this conference, Ingrid Raisis, a couple of questions about her experience there.

Q: How did you prepare for Anatolia College MUN? A: Well, we had to prepare resolutions beforehand so that's what I did.

Also I did a lot of research on my topic. We were also given study guides on the ACMUN website which made researching our topics easier. So you should definitely use the study guides to prepare for any MUN conference.

Q: What do you think was the most difficult part about the ACMUN? A: The most difficult part was probably debating the resolutions in our committees Q: What would you say to students that would like to participate in MUN next year?

A: I would say that MUN is fun, but it's also hard work.

If you're interested in world issues and debating, then you should definitely participate in MUN next year.

Q: What do you think was the best part about ACMUN ?

A: The gossip box that we had in each committee was definitely the best part.

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TSIKNOPEMPTI CELEBRATION BY KARKOUR JENNA, GRADE 9 On the 28th of February, a Thursday, family, friends and fellow loved ones gather around to eat delicious meals of meat like skewers of chicken, beef and pork and more... On that day, kids from all grades (including elementary, middle and highschoolers) joined together to eat delicious skewers of chicken or pork; it’s also known as souvlaki.

Tsiknopempti takes place during carnival week and “marks the beginning of the last weekend that observant Greek orthodox church members are allowed to eat meat before they begin their Lenten fast” according to the x.pat Athens website.

The seniors of our school, ISA, decided to host a bake sale during which they grilled the meat skewers (pork and chicken) that they ordered from a butcher store and made delicious, well done chicken and pork skewers for the students of ISA. Additionally, they offered pita bread and tzatziki, which is a dip or sauce that is made of salted strained yogurt or diluted yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil and sometimes vinegar or lemon juice.

With the money that they collected from the meals sold, the seniors of ISA raised a portion of the money needed to pay for their senior annual prom that will take place after their graduation.

VALENTINE’S DAY MOOD IN ISA BY TORO LABARCA AGATA, GRADE 11 Every February 14, the day of love is celebrated: people greeting their loved ones and exchanging presents with their “special valentines” everywhere around the world; and “Which of these options represent your mood today?”

ISA was not the exception. While a playful exchange of roses was happening across the building and everyone was celebrating the date in their own way, we wanted to know which mood was more present among students in this Valentine’s Day. We made a questionnaire based on the possible moods that teenagers of the school may have on this day and asked 51 of them to answer it. The question was “Which of these options represent your mood today?” and there were four alternatives: the first one was “Love! “, the second one “Ugh, this day is pointless”, the third one “Missing him/her” and the fourth one “I Feel so lonely” or “I need someone”.

Teenagers’ moods are intense and unexpected and even more on days like this. “I want to die” was the fifth option of the questionnaire, added after several students from different grades asked for it, as an intense and exaggerated description of their mood!

As we can see in these results, even if moods associated with this romantic holiday were varied, the majority of the students asked considered the day pointless.

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INTERNATIONAL FOOD DAY BY ATTARI MONYA, GRADE 9 As an International school hosting many students from different backgrounds, ISA enjoys embracing the unique diversity of this school and uses it in a highly beneficial way. On Friday February 15th, international food from all over the world was shared and enjoyed by the students and teachers of the MYP classes during our long 45-minute lunch break.

Students were invited to cook and bring in a traditional dish (sweet or salty) that could well represent their home country. This evidences the constant support that ISA shows regarding their international students and families. We brought in dishes and foods originating from European countries like, Spain and Germany. There was a variety of different home- made burritos, quesadillas, tacos as well as German schnitzels, hotdogs and even apfelkuchen (apple pie). We enjoyed a glimpse of traditional Arabic food by sharing freshly made za’atar and chees pies, minced meat in trays with delicious Palestinian spices as well as hummus along with some Arabic white bread.

Lastly for our sweet tooth, students volunteered to make delicious on–the-spot French crepes with Nutella and biscuits for the entire Middle School. The combination of free international sweet and salty foods along with the foreign language students’ and teachers’ help and attitude, created a wonderful atmosphere.

However, what brought about this event? For the second year in a row, ISA has been supporting “Deipno Agapis”, a non-profit organization founded by Marianna Peppa which was later joined by many of her friends. The organization sends food to the homeless in downtown Athens twice a week. Since our school loves to help people in need and organizations supporting worthy causes, the foreign language department contributed to this organization by donating packed food. Most food made by the foreign language students was separated into portions and was put out for the students and another divided part was packed into boxes and picked up by the organization’s van. Our foreign language teachers also further assisted by cooking generous amounts of their own dishes and sending them as well.

Overall, this day highlighted ISA’s involvement in helping the homeless, further expressed ISA’s openness to having people from all over the world as well as gave the students a great time enjoying the food with one another. Hopefully next year, the Primary School as well as the High School will get to join in.

BOOK REVIEW BY PANOSSIAN LORY &TORO LABARCA AGATA, GRADE 11 Siddhartha: An Indian Tale by Hermann Hesse Written in 1922, this Nobel Prize winning book will open your eyes to a whole new realm of ideas.

From the hands of Hermann Hesse, this “Indian Tale” follows the story of Siddhartha, a Brahmin’s son for whom life turns into a search for plenitude. We can appreciate his spiritual travel from the Hindu social and spiritual cusp, passing through being a pilgrim, learning from Gotama the Buddha, becoming a business man, a friend, a lover, a dad and even a boatman, until the end of his life and search. While showing the Indian Culture, the book challenges our occidental ideals, giving us a different perspective of life and metaphysical goals. Every letter, phrase and idea is full of meaning progression and challenge in a peaceful way; giving to readers inexplicit lessons.

An amazing piece of literature, genuine experience and pristine thoughts. We urge you to submerge yourself into this masterpiece and spiritual travel.

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HAPPINESS DAY BY KASSAPANTONIOU CHRISTINA, GRADE 8 World happiness day is on the 20th of March each year , it is a day where we get together and enjoy each other’s company and what we have in common instead of what divides us. At ISA we celebrated Happiness day on the 19th of March with an assembly during the 5th period of the school day, for all classes. There were different presentations made by many students. Students read poems in their native languages about happiness. Seventh Grade along with Dr. Kounadi rehearsed and performed 2 songs, “Happy” by Pharrell William and “Don’t worry be happy” by Bobby McFerrin.

The World Happiness Day event was organized by Ms.Kefallinou.

The 10th grade student George Mageiras recorded different people’s answers to the question “What is happiness to you?” Another 10 th grade student, Alexandra Curry, edited the clips that were taken into a lovely video which they presented during the Assembly.

The two students also went to a JF Kennedy Human Rights event to present the video.

MOVIE REVIEW BY JENNA KARKOUR & ATTARI MONYA , GRADE 9 Bohemian Rhapsody Have you ever heard of the band Queen? If you haven’t heard of them you must be living under a rock. Once upon a time not long ago we didn’t know queen either.

We were living under a rock too, but after we learned of their existence, we were bemused by their jaw-dropping songs, such as Bohemian Rhapsody. The band Queen was one the most popular rock bands of the 80’s and is still famous today. Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie directed

by Bryan Singer, gives us a glimpse into the passionate, gifted and unique lead singer’s life, Freddie Mercury. Rami Malek, who portrayed Freddie Mercury in the Oscar winning film, revealed Freddie’s career with Queen. From the moment he watched the original band, joining it, creating music together, and so on until his unfortunate death due to AIDS, it is all there.

This movie is truly magnificent as it includes some of the many top-ranked songs of Queen. Hence, Bohemian Rhapsody becoming the title of this 2018 drama/biography. If you want to enjoy listening to Queen’s greatest hits along with exciting acting, this movie is for you. As the story of Freddie mercury’s life unfolds, it brought us tears of happiness and sadness till the end. If you haven’t watched this movie, regardless of whether you like Queen or not, you’re missing out big time.

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BENEFITS OF JOINING A SCHOOL SPORTS TEAM BY ATTARI MONYA, GRADE 9 As a school with many different talented young athletes, ISA provides many sports our students can participate in throughout the week. Every Wednesday students get to enjoy around 1 and a half hour of their favorite sport or even activity, just before the School dismissal bell rings. Students sign up for clubs like karate, volleyball, basketball, football, softball and non- sport activities like drama, movie, book, music, board-games, math and the newspaper club.

If you are looking to take your fitness life one step higher, feel free to join our after-school team sports.

Many of our students bond over playing basketball, football and volleyball after school together.

Any suggestions for other after school activities are welcome and will be taken into serious consideration by our coaches at the PE department.

There are many significant benefits from joining many of these school sports activities. By joining any team, students experience the benefit of community representation as they feel honor and pride along with fun while working as a team to represent the school. What If you are new or even want to start new friendships?

Participating in sports often forms new tight bonds with others on the team as they share similar passions.

Playing soccer, basketball or any other sport will obviously improve your fitness levels. A 2006 study proved that when female students are given the chance to join a school sport their weight and body mass improve.

If you are struggling with your academic grades or seek to improve your grades as much as possible, being active in a sport will most definitely improve your performance by at least 10% in subjects like math, science. Although, we understand that with participating in an after -school sport may mean less time for school work, I believe that this isn’t a problem as joining a school sports team will automatically teach you how to manage and divide your time correctly. Many teachers in ISA are aware of your tournament dates and try to cooperate with you to agree on any due dates for work that you have missed.

Joining a school team also means being able to travel on sports trips the school provides to compete in tournaments with other schools. Every December the PE department asks students if they would like to participate in tournaments in the Anatolia College in Thessaloniki along with other schools. You may even have the chance to be picked to attend the Middle School Festival every April to play football, volleyball and basketball with other English- speaking schools in Greece.

Here are some opinions from different students who are part of our school girls soccer team, regarding what they like about being in a team together.

Christina “I enjoy being able to work together with my teammates and share the joys that each tournament brings.”

Valentini: “Very nice because you learn how to communicate and collaborate with people you might not like.”

Nikol: “I really like it because I get better and better every time, also I learn how to communicate with my team better.”

Eleni: “I learn how to communicate with others and I get to do it with people that have the same feeling about sports.”

Maya: “Being in a sports team means a lot to me, I develop new skills like communication and teamwork.

It means the world to me to be able to participate in tournaments and actually come first. I believe that being in a team provides safety to the players and teaches them to work together.”

Ismene: “I just think it's cool and fun and I enjoy it and it is nice when we get medals and that we miss school and that we like get closer cause of the tournaments “ 6

DIATROFI—PROLIPSIS PROGRAMME BY PANOSSIAN LORY, GRADE 11 According to the BBC, “our daily diet is a bigger killer than smoking and is now involved in one in five deaths around the world”. That is why now more than ever, people have started to realize the impact the food they consume has on their life. Unfortunately, not everyone has the means to pursue a healthy diet.

Here is where the Nutrition and Healthy Eating Program, DIATROFI, comes in. DIATROFI, which was implemented by the Prolepsis Institute, contributes to the relief of thousands of families facing nutritional deficits across Greece. This program has donated over 14,800,000 free meals to more than 102,000 students in need. ISA held a number of activities this year to raise money for this important cause.

A handful of bake sales took place to raise money for this program, such as the International Food Day, in collaboration with the Intercultural School of Athens, where students contributed by bringing homemade food from their countries. On March 14, in honor of Pi day, the 11th grade students organized a bake sale to raise money for DIATROFI. The 11th graders contributed to the bake sale by bringing an assortment of circular food (because of the occasion) such as pizza, different types of pies, cookies, etc.

The 11th grade CAS students have done a lot on their part in raising money for this cause. Several students prepared a presentation on the importance of healthy eating habits and how to lead a healthier lifestyle. The 11th grade Spanish, French and German students surveyed students from different ethnic groups to see how eating habits vary across different cultures.

They prepared posters in Spanish, French and German to show their findings, and they also included advice to raise awareness about the importance of healthy eating habits. A number of 11th graders also hosted volleyball and football intermurals during lunchtime to raise money for this important cause. Mrs. Christina Kastorini from the DIATROFI organization came to ISA to present the program to students from 3 rd to 6th grade and to discuss the importance of healthy eating habits. ISA students from 7 th and 8th grade had the opportunity to meet with students from our brother school, the Intercultural Junior High School of Athens during their visit to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation on the 2 nd of April. This was a great opportunity for students from both schools to get to know one another by visiting the national library of Greece and by playing a variety of sports together.

In addition to all these activities, ISA took part in the “Share Lunch” program which was implemented by the Prolepsis institute. On April 8, students who participated in this event received a healthy meal which was recommended by nutritionists from the Prolepsis Institute. The cost of taking part in this event was 4 euros (2 euros for the student’s lunch and 2 euros for the students from the Intercultural junior School of Athens). All the money collected from this activity was donated to the brother school, where the students ate the same lunch at the same time as ISA students.

Through all these activities that took place, ISA managed to raise about 1040 euros that were all donated to the DIATROFI program. The Prolepsis Institute thanked the school for all their efforts to support this important cause.

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DRAMA DEPT. THEATRE OUTING BY TORO LABARCA AGATA, GRADE 11 Sponsored by the Fine Arts Department, ISA students had the pleasure to watch different British National Theatre Lives during this school year. These plays are projected live from the UK, in the Megaro Mousikis theatre. The dates are usually announced in the bulletin, as well as the ticket prices. As a theatre student, I had gone to these productions, every one of them being an amazing opportunity to learn.

It was September and the school year was just starting when we went to watch "Julie", a contemporary version of August Strindberg’s play Miss Julie; written by Polly Stenham. The plot was about a rich girl who was throwing a late night party. Under this celebration, Kristina and Jean -her workers- were cleaning up. Crossing the threshold, the 'party girl', who's name was Julie, started a "power game" with Jean, which developed during the plot. Even if this play was originally written in 1888, the topics that it treated are to some extent still present in our time, making the dialogues attractive and the experience interesting.

A month later, we went to watch a play that by many is considered to be the greatest tragedy ever written: Shakespeare's classic "King Lear".

Similar to Julie, it was set up in a contemporary way, but keeping all the intensity that characterized the work. The story of this King of Ancient Britain was violent, moving and shocking; for the brave viewer! (especially because it is four hours long).

Time after, in February, we watched "I'm not running", a political play ambient of current England. Written by the academy-award nominated writer David Hare, the story was different and interesting: a Junior Doctor, who became the face of a campaign to save a local hospital, ends up with all the social pressure to run for the leadership of the Labour Party. Giving us this insight into politics, the production of the play had a very original setting as well as plot development. A great experience!

Finally, this April we watched the live broadcast of "All about Eve", an unexpected inside view of the entertainment business. The play tells the story of Margo Channing, a famous and talented actress who's not as young as she wants to be. While she is becoming accomplished, Eve -her beautiful and enthusiastic biggest fan- comes into her life. All during the play we can see the development of both characters, with unexpected plot twists and an innovative setting. It was a very interesting production.

Unlike what some people may think, it is not only theatre students that are invited to watch the plays, everyone is!

As an international student as well as a theatre student, I'm glad to have the opportunity to witness British theatre works. In this ĂŠpoque full of on demand entertainment platforms and media, watching a Live Theater play is a different and unforgettable experience. I invite you to try something different and live it!

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STUDING TIPS BY JENNA KARKOUR Through personal experience, I can say that studying isn’t one of the many things I love doing. To help me study easier, I use some tips on studying to finish all my studies without any distractions. Here are some tips on how to study easier, faster and better: Tip #1: Study when sleepy It turns out that when you’re tired, you’re more likely to remember the last thing you did before sleeping. During sleep, your brain strengthens new memories leaving you to remember the latest memories you’ve had. Personally, I tend to remember the last thing I’ve studied before sleeping clearly.

Tip #2: Review Yes it’s actually true when your teacher says “Reviewing small chunks of everything before the exam makes it easier to study when the exam comes.” By reviewing small chunks of your studies before the exam, you’ll be prepared for only revising for the exam when it comes.

Tip #3: Story time To make it more interesting you can be creative and create a story out of the materials you’re learning.

Remember when Hannah Montana wrote a song to help her study for her science test, well it worked and it still does (Hannah Montana: Get Down Study-udy-udy/season 2, episode 4).

Tip #4: Change your space Personally, when I change my space to study, I focus and study more. Research suggests studying the same stuff in a different place makes it less likely to forget .

Tip #5: Switch it up One thing I do that helps me be interested in studying is constantly changing the subject of the homework.

Instead of sticking to one topic, changing it helps you remember more what you studied and keep you interested.

Tip #6: Test yourself By testing yourself, you can see whether or not you actually remember the material you’ve studied. After studying, I usually test myself to assure that I know the study material I should know. The harder it is to remember the piece of information while the more likely you are to remember it in the future.

Tip #7: Write it down Research suggests that we are more capable of remembering the study material after writing it down.

When you’re writing it down, it’s like you’re testing yourself (Tip #6) on the material you should know.

Personally, I write down the most important notes to memorize the study material and in the end, I always manage to remember it.

Tip #8: Recite it If you can’t write it down, then say it out loud. By reciting the information, you can also memorize the study material you need to know.

Tip #9: Take a break If you’ve studied a lot for over an hour and you haven’t taken a break then you should. Taking breaks helps you boost your productivity and improve your ability to focus on a single task.

Tip #10: Sleep This is one of the many tips that I guarantee 100% works. Sometimes when I’m exhausted afterschool, I take a quick 45 minute nap and that always boosts my energy and focus levels. Sleeping gives you more energy to focus more on studying and other leisure activities as well.

With these tips, I hope that they’ll help you in studying faster, easier and better.

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