From THE HEAd oF scHooL: THE BEginning oF our JournEy

The Beginning of our Journey

ear Members of the Léman Manhattan Community,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you back to Léman Manhattan and the 2015-16 school year! Whether you are a new community member or a returning one, the start of school always promises a welcomed routine and the excitement of a new beginning.

The faculty and staff have been working collaboratively and diligently throughout the summer to prepare for the weeks and months ahead. Our new faculty is an extremely talented and enthusiastic group and is joining an equally impressive returning staff. With such an excellent student body, supportive families, and talented professionals, this year promises to be an outstanding one. We are all fortunate to be partners in the Léman Manhattan community.

An important part of preparation includes reflection on the past school year. With feedback from a variety of community members and instruments, including the Parent Engagement Survey, the following goals have been set and will be realized in the new school year: • Continue growth in the name recognition of our school. Great things are happening at Léman Manhattan and we need to continue to strategically share the good news with all of New York. Much energy and effort is being put in to the areas of marketing, communications and admissions while we fully understand that parents, faculty and students are the most effective and important ambassadors of our school. • Ensure that all curricular programs are rigorous and best prepare students for subsequent years of learning. An international school demands a robust and flexible curriculum designed to meet the needs of each student in preparing him or her for global citizenship. This year marks the second year of implementation of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program with Year Two of all IB courses being added as content areas offerings. In addition, the new math program, Everyday Math, and the world languages offerings will take priority in the LMPS Curriculum Renewal Cycle. • Educate members of the Léman community on the new LMPS Bullying and Harassment Prevention Policy making sure that our school provides a “learning environment where all students feel safe and secure, and where a culture

Dof understanding and respect for the innate differences among human beings is established.” • Increase enrollment thoughtfully in both divisions. With a larger and more diverse student body, the opportunity to provide breadth and depth of programs to an ever increasing international population is realized and supports the mission of preparing informed students to be critical thinkers and engaged global citizens. • Take advantage of our new Nord Anglia Education affiliation. As a Nord Anglia affiliate school, our network of forty-two international schools serving more than 23,000 children across the globe provides Léman students with exceptional educational opportunities and delivers outstanding professional growth possibilities to our faculty. While a variety of surveys are a key part of our feedback process, please do not wait to offer feedback on the survey alone. Our doors are always open to you throughout the year. Education is a true partnership and frequent, substantive communication among all community members makes it even stronger. In the next few weeks, please take advantage of all the activities heralding this new year, including the Open House on September 8, LCA Welcome Back Carnival on October 3, all the Curriculum Nights and the Personal Learning Plan (PLP) Conferences which will take place in October. The start of the year is the prime time to establish positive relationships with the adults in your child’s life and initiate a yearlong communication link. As we begin our journey, this Back to School edition of the Bullhorn is designed to provide important information about the year ahead and to serve as a convenient reference for the new school year. It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome you home to Léman Manhattan Preparatory School and SY 201516. I look forward to growing with you via the Léman Manhattan experience and seeing you at school events. You are always welcome at Léman Manhattan. In partnership, Drew Alexander, Head of School

1From THE HEAd oF scHooL: THE BEginning oF our JournEy

4From THE LémAn cHAirmAn: nord AngLiA EducATion uPdATE

6scrAPBooK: PicTurE PErFEcT A snapshot of life at Léman Manhattan.

in THE nEWs

8LémAn Honors THird grAduATing cLAss Forty-nine seniors walked the stage on June 6.

10 Bringing mATHEmATics To LiFE 8th grader Matthew Riedman takes 12th grade calculus to new levels.

Cover photo: Léman students proudly display flags from several of the more than 50 nations represented in our community.

11 HomE imProvEmEnT Léman’s boarding residences at 37 Wall Street undergo extensive redesign.

12 monKEys And doLPHins And Frogs – oH my Camp Léman attracts record enrollment.

13 gLoBAL AdvEnTurEs Léman faculty and staff share highlights from summer break.

FEATurEs

16 BAcK To scHooL: THE uLTimATE sTudEnT’s guidE What you need to know.

24 FAcuLTy: cELEBrATing ExcELLEncE First grade Head Teacher Lenae Madonna awarded Meritas Teacher of the Year.

26 communiTy sErvicE: BEyond THE cLAssroom Upper School students make service trips to Haiti and Costa Rica.

dEPArTmEnTs

30 FinE ArTs: ALL ABouT THE ArTs

32 ATHLETics: go BuLLs!

34 TEcHnoLogy: mAKing connEcTions

36 LcA: WELcomE BAcK From THE LémAn communiTy AssociATion

38 From THE cAFé: cHEF JoAnnA & cHEF JEnny sHArE THis sEAson’s FAvoriTEs

40 FAcuLTy Q&A: cHris dAmurJiAn middLE yEArs sciEncE sPEciALisT