From the Head of School

OCTOBER 2009
N E W S F R O M O U R C O M M U N I T Y, F O R O U R C O M M U N I T Y
CALCULATING KUDOS
ASP has been selected to host some of the world’s most mathematically gifted students
in a prestigious international event.
M
ore than 150 students
from 37 schools will
converge on Paris
in February for this
annual competition
organized by the
International Schools Math Teacher
Foundation.
Assistant Head of School (and Math
Teacher) Aaron Hubbard said: “It is a
great privilege for ASP to bring together
some of the finest young mathematical
minds from throughout Europe.
ASP students have had a rich tradition
of success at the competition and
we look forward to more outstanding
results this year.”
Upper School Math Teacher Paul Lukas
said: “This is something special both for
the students and for ASP.
Demand from across Europe and
the Near East always outstrips the
availability of resources, so we will need
all the help from the ASP community that
we can get to make this a
success. ”Teams for this
brain-aching competition
are only three-strong and
so there are only a limited
number of families at
ASP who will be
directly involved.
Housing the mathletes is the logistical
issue being tackled by the organizers at
this early stage and the Upper School
math department hopes to mobilize the
hospitality of all ASP families.
Paul Lukas said: “Watching kids do math
problems? On a weekend? Not everyone’s
idea of fun! But this is a cultural issue.
In many cultures there is nothing more
exciting or prestigious and we need to
adopt that culture at ASP for this to be a
truly international success.”
So, who are these young people who not
just like, but seek out, difficult or unusual
math problems?
Paul Lukas said: “They just learn
mathematics quickly and
relatively easily, it fits comfortably
in their thoughts, and they find
hard questions an interesting
challenge. Often the questions in
their textbooks and even their tests
don’t force them into top gear, and
competition questions do. And they have to
have courage, it takes real guts to be one of
the best students in your own school only to
find that you place number 101 out of 150
when you are in this sort of company!”
ASP families are the key to making this
event work. Paul said: “We teachers can
put all the pieces into place to run the
competition, but we cannot wave a wand
and produce 150 beds. You, dear parent,
must provide the magic for this. Please
help, and thanks for listening.”
Please contact the team to
help with housing or if you are
interested in sponsoring this event:
[email protected] ■
BIENVENUE!
More than 400 parents, faculty and staff joined together to celebrate the
start of the new school year at our annual Bienvenue Cocktail. The new
US Ambassador to France, Charles Rivkin, also an ASP Parent, gave an
enthusiastic speech praising ASP and warmth of the school’s “Bienvenue”!
T h e
A S P e c t
i s
k i n d l y
s p o n s o r e d
b y
S c h l u m b e r g e r
SCHOOL NEWS
From the Head of School...
The 2009-10 school year is
already moving at a frantic pace.
It has been that way even before
classes began. In partnership with
the Parent Faculty Association
(PFA) we held a very successful
orientation for new families. The
school divisions also scheduled
welcome activities throughout the
early days. Open House has already
taken place at each of the three
schools. Take a quick look at the
website calendar. It will give you a
broader picture of all that is taking
place at the American School of
Paris: www.asparis.org/master_
calendar
How can all this happen with
so much success? It takes most
schools weeks to get into full pace
and into a proper rhythm. I have
my theories as to why it is different
at ASP. First, you have longserving administrators, who kept
in close contact with the school
throughout the summer months.
You have experienced teachers. You
have procedures that are known
to everyone. Good and frequent
communication also exists. Give
credit to the very organized and
very active PFA. It certainly all
came together quickly to help set the
tone that 2009-10 will be another
exceptional school year.
H1N1 (Swine Flu) emergency
response preparation still has the
school on edge. The “season” has
yet to arrive. Daily attendance is
being watched closely. A schoolwide action plan is ready to
be implemented. Articles and
information have been posted on
the school website. Teachers have
worked hard, if the school is faced
2 - The Aspect - October 2009
with short-term closure, to hone
their virtual learning skills while
using Poodle. Thank you, parents,
for doing your part in keeping your
child home if they have any of the
H1N1 symptoms!
This is a transition year for
ASP. In fact, it is the second of two
transition years. There certainly
is no lull in school momentum. It
is quite the opposite. Some of that
momentum is being generated with
a 2009-10 School Improvement
Plan; a plan that is an outgrowth of
previous years of strategic planning
and follow-up on CIS and MSA
accreditation recommendations:
www.asparis.org/strategicplan
The Board of Trustees, at their
two-day September Retreat,
heard more about the detailed
action steps for the plan. Mark
Ulfers, the appointed permanent
Head of School (starting July
2010), also attended the Retreat
and contributed actively to the
discussion. Transition is also the
opportunity the governing Board
seeks in forming a seamless entry
into 2010-11 and toward the many
years beyond.
The leaves are turning in Paris.
There is a chill in the morning air.
Energy is on display throughout
the school campus. ASP is a school
already with an established sense of
purpose. It is going to be a very good
year.
With Best Regards,
Daryle D. Russell
Head of School
NOTES ON THE UNEXPECTED
The smooth opening of the 2009-10 school
year was an absolute miracle that could only
have been accomplished by experienced and
dedicated faculty and staff who knew what
they were doing!
Throughout most of 2008-09, preparations
were being made for a sharp downturn in
enrollment. Everyone was concerned about
the global financial crisis and the impact
that crisis would have international schools
similar to ASP. Even the International Herald
Tribune reported the likelihood of at least
a 10% enrollment decline. Tough planning
decisions were being made to weather the
storm and a reinforced marketing strategy was
adopted.
What happened? The anticipated sharp
enrollment decline did not take place.
Instead, quite the opposite took place. As of
September 30, school enrollment stood at 814
students, a peak greater than 794 students
enrolled in March 2009. Division directors
had followed closely surge increments
throughout the summer months. In early
SCHOOL NEWS
From the Board...
On behalf of the Board
of Trustees, welcome to
another exciting year at
ASP. Thank you to all of
you who played such an
integral part of ensuring
that we were ready to
start the year with such
energy and enthusiasm.
A very warm welcome to
2009-10 Head of School,
Dr Daryle Russell and his wife
Dannie. Daryle brings him with a
wealth of experience in international
schools, long term and on interim
assignments. His knowledge, energy
and skills have been in full force
since his arrival on July 1st..
In addition to settling into his new
city and role, his first few months
in Paris saw a record percentage
of family registrations and visits.
The Board joins him in thanking
the admissions team that worked
so hard to ensure that this surge
could be met with the welcoming
and professional spirit that is
representative of
ASP. Thank you to
the ad hoc marketing
group, which devoted
so much to this area
– an effort that will
continue to benefit the
school in the future.
Thank you especially
to the directors for the
efforts that they made
to budget and allocate resources so
flexibly, allowing us to be prepared for
a range of scenarios. And above all,
thank you to the faculty and staff for
your extra efforts to ensure that we
are prepared to meet the needs of all
our students with the highest quality
programs.
The Board is very pleased and
honored to welcome Zarif Badruddin
as a trustee for the term of 20092012. Mr Badruddin has a range
of skills and experience, which will
be invaluable as the school moves
forward on several financial and
planning initiatives.
He and his wife, Nasreen, have three
children at ASP.
The Board spent last weekend
on a retreat together with the
Administration, Daryle, incoming
Head of School in July 2010, Mark
Ulfers, and an outside facilitator
and strategic planner, Dr Howard
Feddema.
Constant throughout all of the
sessions was the emphasis on
collaborative and disciplined
planning which leads to well aligned
and mutually supportive goals for the
coming year.
Weekends such as these are important
investments for ASP. Not only do
they result in solid plans and goals,
but they also remind us that we are
united in a common purpose. It was
a pleasure to be together with such
a committed and talented group of
people.
Lis Seeley
President of the Board of Trustees
ENROLLMENT SURGE
August, student schedules and teacher
assignments had to be quickly adjusted.
Classes began to fill to capacity. Good
professional people rose to the challenge
by making the necessary adjustments and
classes opened on August 27 as planned.
In the weeks since the opening of school,
there has been considerable effort made to
analyze the summer enrollment surge.
It appears that the phenomenon is worldwide.
International schools reporting in from the
European Union, from the Middle East and
from Asia are all saying
that 2009-10 enrollment is greater than what
they had budgeted.
We read about the lingering global financial
crisis. A new ASP budget planning cycle is
about to commence.
Can it be that some sort of delayed response
to the crisis will soon hit enrollment at ASP?
Let’s hope not.
Still, school officials will continue
to keep up their contacts in the community to
pick up any early indicators
that that might be what could happen.
How will ASP accurately forecast 2010-11
enrollment? It has to be more scientific that
just a guessing game or the throw of a dart.
The Admissions and Marketing Team will
continue to provide the Board of Trustees with
enrollment and market trends information
by using a multitude of information sources.
Still, someone might need to bring out the old
crystal ball!
Daryle Russell
Head of School
The Aspect - October 2009 - 3
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SCHOOL NEWS
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at the American School of Paris through further
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experience at this place we all love so dearly.
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SCHOOLWIDE SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT
➜
New labs, field trips, a schoolwide energy
campaign and a new student club are just
a handful of the exciting things happening
at ASP for our young scientists this year.
This summer saw the completion of the
first phase in a one million euro project,
renovating all seven of the Middle and
Upper School science labs over two years.
In Upper School the biology, chemistry
and lab prep rooms have been utterly
transformed. The other chemistry and
physics labs will be renovated in the next
stage. ASP has taken care to invest in the
best materials for this renovation with
state of the art Oreolite surfaces. There is
also a new layout with islands as well as
laptops for data collection and research.
Along with the light microscopes and
probeware purchased last year the Upper
School is enjoying state of the art spaces
to do science.
Also new for 09-10 is the Green Action
Team’s Energy Saving Campaign which is
being launched this Fall focusing on the
campus electricity consumption. Each
4 - The Aspect - October 2009
division will hold special
assemblies or meetings
every month to chart how
much electricity is used and
to monitor the annual goal
with action ideas adopted
school wide. There will be a
full feature in the November
ASPect.
And in Lower School,
Kindergarten kicked off their
science curriculum with a full
day at the Cité des Sciences
getting hands-on with a large variety
of educational exhibits reinforcing
their studies. See www.asparis.org/
LScurriculum for a detailed curriculum
outline by grade and subject.
In addition, the Outdoor Science Lab is in
full use and a new club for keen students
has been established who are appealing
for ASP families to donate bulbs for
planting to ensure a fabulous display of
flowers to attract a wide range of insects
and birds in the Spring.
Contact Jo Jarvis:
[email protected]
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SCHOOL NEWS
YOUR OPINION COUNTS...
YOUR VOICE IS HEARD
As part of our ongoing efforts to continually improve the ASP experience for all our families
we introduced an End of Year Survey in 08-09 in addition to our annual Exit Survey.
B
oth returning and departing
form an important part of the
families were invited to
planning the 09-10 year and longer
take part in this important
term plans.
information gathering
We are proud to share the
process at the end of the
summarized results which are both
year to give the school’s
encouraging and enlightening,
administrative team a personal year review
ensuring that we focus on areas for
from every member of our community.
improvement with the support of
The online form gave opportunity for
our community.
families to rate and
comment on their
Child’s Educational Experience
child’s educational
The results below show the % of people who responded
experience, the
to the question “How happy were you with your child’s
educational experience?” with Very Happy or Happy.
school’s programs and
communication. All
84
Academic Core Subjects
comments and
Co-curricular subjects
a summary of the
88
(PE , music etc)
results were circulated
Student Serivces and Learning Support
76
to the Senior
Extra Curricular
Administrative team.
(experiences beyond the ASP campus)
85
This information was
Experiencing
the
language
studied, analyzed and
70
and culture of France
discussed and will
ASP Welcome and Departure
The results below show the % of people who rated their experience
at ASP as Excellent or Good in each area.
How well prepared
for new school
90
ASP’s welcome program for
the family
92
ASP’s help with child’s entry
90
Admissions Office
94
Communication
The results below show the % of people who responded to the question
“How do you rate communication from the following areas?” with
Excellent or Good
Board
82
Head
82
89
Directors
How did you first find out about ASP?
Relocation Service
Company recommendation
Comments
11%
13%
Personal recommendation
26%
48%
Website
➜ Communication
and Publications:
100 posts
Publications
The results below show the % of people who responded to the
question “How do you rate the usefulness and/or interest of the
school’s publications?” with Excellent or Good.
Poodle
Annual Review
20 posts
➜ Additional comments:
123 posts
67
Development Team
84
Homeroom/Advisor Teachers
83
Services and Offerings
The results below show the % of people who responded to the
question”How do you rate the following areas of ASP?” with
Excellent or Good.
95
Arts Programs
84
Athletics
Afterschool Activities
73
ASPect
87
Division Newsletter
87
PFA Newsletter
➜ Admissions:
91
Website
In addition to the quantifiable
results, there was an
opportunity for parents to
add their comments in the
following areas:
➜ Child’s Educational
Experience:
85 posts
82
Business office
85
74
School Bus
Cafeteria
84
69
The Aspect - October 2009 - 5
SPECIAL REPORT
Dinnertime
My stomach growls hard
I enter the dining room
Great smell fills my lungs
Haiku by Jung Yoon Ha
I
NNER OUTWARD
“I made so many friends.”
“Can we stay another week?”
“It was so awesome.” “We really
learned to work together as a team.”
When you hear these sorts of comments
at the end of a week of Outward Bound,
you know you’ve reached your objective;
it’s the reason why we’ve been going for
over 30 years.
Either in the French Alps or the English
Lake District, our Middle Schoolers
spend a week working with two
Outward Bound teachers assigned to
our Advisory groups of 12-14 students.
The goal is for each group, along with
its ASP advisor, to gel—for the students
to develop a sense of trust, friendship,
cooperation and good spirit.
They go through a series of
challenging outdoor activities,
To prepare students for our Outward Bound experience,
including a gorge walk,
high-ropes course,
we read tales by John Muir, one of the founders of the
tunneling, canoeing,
Sierra Club and The Outward Bound Trust.
rock-climbing and an
We also took a look at William Wordsworth, poet of the
overnight expedition
Lake District, who walked the same paths that we did
in the mountains.
Only by working
at Outward Bound when he wrote his famous “Daffodils”
together can the group
poem. Making every word count, students
succeed, and through
were asked to share their own memories
the de-briefing sessions that
of Outward Bound in these forms.
follow the activities, they grow
to understand each individual’s
strengths and weaknesses.
Importantly, they also learn to respect and
listen to each other.
It’s a lot of time to take out of the
academic schedule, for sure; especially at
Laughter rings within
the beginning of the school year. But the
Messy trays are evidence
teachers would tell you that especially for
Of the kids inside.
students of middle-school age,
the benefit is tremendous. It builds a
Chairs near the tables
foundation for cooperative learning that
Are filled by all of my friends
will carry on throughout the year.
I look for a place.
It creates a pool of shared memories which
Eating plates of food,
are still reference points in June.
After our week at Outward Bound together,
Still we are full of hunger
there are no longer any new students
It’s been a long day
in the Middle School!
By Claire Young
Jim Ferguson
DISTILLED MEMORIES
The Dining Hall
Middle School Director
6 - The Aspect - October 2009
SPECIAL REPORT
JOURNEY
The Trapeze
The trust I have in my rope
and harness, the butterflies in
my stomach,
my team cheers me on.
The wet and wobbly ladder makes
Me skeptical, the thin long pole
Makes me shake,
My team cheers me on.
The strength it takes to climb
To the top, the balance I need
To stand tall,
My team cheers me on.
The fear of falling, don’t look
Down. I jump and with success
grab the trapeze, thanks to
the team that cheered me on.
By Ashley Kaser
I am so Cold
Paddling
All together combined as one,
We laugh a lot and have tons of fun
Never leaving someone behind
Going through everything together
We still have a lot to find
And set our goals even further
Trying hard to get in our clothes
Little ripples dance across the lake
The clear water show me pebbles at
the bottom
I am not in the water, yet
I am so cold.
A dock juts out to the water’s edge
Our instructor urges us to jump in,
I shake my head mutely, no. Not me.
But I do,
I am so cold.
Attaching the canoes together
Finally at our destination
Everyone is jumping in for joy
Shivering on the way back
Drinking hot and delicious juice
By Charlotte Maes
The water freezes me, and my lungs
I cannot breathe, but I move
I slowly aim to get to shore.
I am so cold.
But I make it.
By Bronwyn Roseli
The Aspect - October 2009 - 7
PICTURE SPECIAL
SAVVY SIXTH GRADE!
The sixth grade spent a week in Savoie at the start of school, staying in the mountain village
of Lescheraines. The students, working with instructors from Outward Bound and local
French guides, participated in exciting physical and mental challenges designed to help
advisory groups learn to work as a team. Here is what students had to say about the trip:
“Savoie was a trip that
I could never forget! The camping
and all the other activities were great!”
Luuk Boorsman
"Savoie was very fun.
You get to try new stuff like the
ropes course. You get a chance to go out
of your comfort zone.”
“Savoie was a fun
trip,
especially
when we did
Jiyeon Ryu
the ropes course. It was scary and
very high on the black course!”
“Savoie was a trip
Will Herwig
that changed my life. I got over
tons of my fears and I got thrown
in a river!”
Shauna Brandman
8 - The Aspect - October 2009
SPORTS NEWS
FLYING START
W
e are off to a good start
for the 2009-2010 school
year. We had a high
number of athletes at
the try-outs and we are
looking forward to a
successful season.
The Fall soccer, volleyball and cross
country Varsity and Junior Varsity season
kicked off with a successful Sports Fun Day
with a big turnout from the athletes and
parents. We have also already had our first
home weekend playing London schools
ACS Cobham and Hillingdon, and our first
away weekend in The Hague and Brussels
with mixed results.
So far our Varsity Girls and JV Boys
volleyball are undefeated and both Varsity
Boys soccer and Varsity Boys Volleyballs
teams, after a loss on the first day of the
season, have jumped back with convincing
wins.
On the Cross Country team, for the Varsity
Boys Olivier Torchiana, JV Boys Trevor
Reinhart and Varsity Girls, Jenny Wood and
Karson Pape, have been finishing in top
positions with impressive times.
We will keep results, updated schedules
etc. on the ASP website under Athletics
(under Upper School for now).
The Middle School (with wins over
Marymount in volleyball and girls soccer)
and the Lower School sports programs have
also kicked off early September and by the
time you read this, all programs will be in
full swing!
As most of you know we have a very active
Sports Boosters and the success of the
program relies on the help you parents can
give. Jim Morrison has taken on the role
of Boosters President this year and can be
contacted on [email protected]
You will still receive a lot of information
regarding the athletic program from Cathy
McLaury, my assistant, through mostly
email. However, as mentioned earlier,
most of the information can also be
found on our website:
www.asparis.org/athletics
If you have any questions please don’t
hesitate to contact Cathy McLaury:
[email protected] or me, Han
Hoegen: [email protected]
Hope to see you
supporting the ASP
Rebels at our home and away
fixtures!!
Han Hoegen
Athletic Director
FALL COACHING STAFF
Boys Varsity Soccer
Boys JV Soccer
Girls Varsity Soccer
Girls JV Soccer
Middle School Soccer
Lower School Soccer
Boys Varsity Volleyball
Girls Varsity Volleyball
Boys JV Volleyball
Girls JV Volleyball
Middle School Volleyball
Varsity & JV X-Country
Middle School X-Country
PTC (Physical Training Center)
Chris Ewing
Radek Kosior
Dave Stead
Francois Mays
Andrea Neubauer
and Rose Downie
Charlie Flint, Gunther Oyola
& Barbara Hoegen
Sylvain Hervieux
Virginia Stead
Keith Holman
Charles Beacham
Keith Holman
Craig Vezina,
David Lynn and Han Hoegen
Elli Gildness
Parnell Bataille
The Aspect - October 2009 - 9
WELCOME PROGRAM
EQUIPPING OUR NEW
T
he Welcome Program
at ASP is designed to
orientate and equip our
new families to ensure a
smooth transition into
ASP and Paris life. And the
program’s success is down to the fact
that it is ASP parents who have already
been through the move that design and
execute the outstanding series of events
at the start of the year.
Thanks to the team of parent volunteers,
our new families were warmly
welcomed into the ASP community
and are now better equipped for their
new adventure in Paris. None of our
events could have been staged without
the generous help of volunteers from
ASP and its supporters. More than 50
parents volunteered at the Orientation
Day alone! There was a veritable sea
of red shirts in the gymnasium. These
parents relinquished the final day of
their summer holiday to welcome
our new families. And the generosity
continued! Up until our “Lunch
with New Friends”, which was the
culmination of the welcome season, our
parents donned those red shirts again
and again, put on their biggest smiles
and served up a warm welcome to new
parents.
Special thanks go to our sponsors,
HSBC and Parisettle. We also would be
remiss if we did not mention some of
the specialists who lent their expertise
to our Living Skills seminars. Kudos go
to Janine Springall and her colleagues
from L’Assiette de Paris, Lisa Beech from
the English Medical Center and Deanna
Canonge of Sprint. The
wealth of information that
was shared by these speakers
was simply indispensable to
all in the audience. We would
also like to recognize Betsy
Smith, Nicci Brennickmeijer,
Jeanne Quigley, Sherry
Steiner, Deborah Ludtke and
Maria Almeida, all of whom
took on leading roles in event
organization.
10 - The Aspect - October 2009
Community Connections
US Welcome Picnic
WELCOME PROGRAM
ADVENTURERS!
Orientation
Day
Living skills
The Aspect - October 2009 - 11
SCHOOL NEWS
TICKLING POETRY
A
SP was thrilled to welcome
visiting Poet Ted Scheu to
entertain and workshop with
our Lower School students.
Ted Scheu, also known as
“That Poetry Guy” has been
working with children and writing poetry for
them for many years.
His latest collection called I Tickled My
Teachers was the launching pad for a
funny and creative Lower School Assembly
with students from K1 through Grade 5
collectively writing funny poetry.
Ted Scheu said: “I am often introduced at
schools as “a 3rd or 4th grader in a grownup’s body,” and that’s exactly how I feel,
especially when I’m diving into a poem,
or playing kick-ball. I can almost instantly
travel back to being a kid.”
You can find out more about this energetic
talent at his website:
http://www.poetryguy.com/
BUDDING YOUNG
MUSICIANS
➜
The ASP Band Program starts off in Grade 4 where
students have the opportunity to study the trumpet
or the clarinet in small groups within the school
day. A bumper crop of happy young musicians took
their instruments home for the first
time this month! Look out for their
super performances to come in the
Lower School Winter Concert and other
musical events.
12 - The Aspect - October 2009
ASP’S WITCH
HUNT!
Rehearsals are well underway for the Upper
School Fall production which this year will
be The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
Casting involved an incredible variety of
Upper School students and talents as well as
a handful of older Middle School actresses.
The show which deals with the themes of
social intolerance, hysteria, peer pressure
and the importance of just laws and judiciary
was written during the US McCarthy years
and the work of the House Un-American
Activities Committee. Miller sets his
powerful drama in the Puritan village of
Salem, Massachusetts creating a dramatic
allegory with the witch hunts and executions
of 1692 and the ‘naming’ of communists in
the 1950s.
The production will be an all school affair;
directed by Upper School Drama teacher,
Gillian Cavan Lynch; set design by Lower
School’s Marianne Kennedy and costumes by
Middle School’s Rose Downie .
Parent volunteers with Friend of the Arts are
also involved in all aspects of the production.
SAVE THE DATE: November 19 -21