All School News - American Overseas School of Rome

AOSR News
www.aosr.org
October, 2004
Issue
In this Issue:
Dr. Dougherty’s Message
2
All-School News
3-9
PTO Corner
10, 11
PPAC News
12, 13
News from Local Papers
14
Notes from the Field
15
Pre-K, Elementary News
15, 16
Middle School News
17
High School News
18, 19
News from the Counselor
20
Sports Briefs
22, 23
Bon Appetito
24
Alumni Notes
25
Rome ‘N’ About
26
Nutrition Corner
27
Il Foro
27
October Calendar
29
Welcome to all our new and returning families.
We have had another successful start to the school year, with 603 children, grades
Pre-K thru 12. Our 17 new American teachers have settled in to life in Rome, and they all
say that the small classes and eager students are a delight to teach.
We have enrolled many children from the diplomatic community. Rome hosts
the embassies for Italy, the Vatican, and the UN World Food Program. The UN Food and
Agriculture Organization, International Fund for Agricultural Development and other UN
Organizations, as well as the NATO College, among others, are headquartered here. We
are aware that we have responsibility for the education of future world leaders. The nationalities of our students are about 1/3 American, 1/3 Italian, and 1/3 from 50 different
countries.
Classes are well underway. The After-School program, which is also open to
children enrolled in the other international schools, will begin October 4, with offerings in
sports, music, dance and art. The High School Varsity and Junior Varsity sports have already traveled to Naples and Sicily for volleyball and cross-country tournaments. The
Middle School November trip program will offer trips to Portugal, London, Hungary,
Rome, and Venice. Our ninth graders traveled to Carney Park in Naples for a Retreat
Orientation from September 22-24, where they participated in team-building activities,
health workshops, and lots of outdoor activities. In addition, we hosted an International
Fair and a Senior Parents’ Night also in September.
We have started SAT prep classes, to help the high school students get ready for
the October and November Scholastic Achievement Tests. AOSR is the testing center in
Rome for both the SAT and ACT. These testing programs are coordinated by our new
college counselor, Kate McKenna, who has come to us from private schools in Washington D.C.
Dr. Larry Dougherty, Headmaster
AOSR RUNNERS BEAT ARCH-RIVAL NAPLES
The Naples Wildcats’ six-year unbeaten streak in boys cross country running came
to a resounding end on October 2. In the first home race of the season, the AOSR Falcon
boys scored 29 points to easily win a three-way race, beating Naples who scored 47 and
Marymount who scored 51 points. In cross country, the lowest score wins. Josh Kneeland
won his second straight race. Also scoring points for the Falcons were Ricky Serrao 5th,
Steffen Fischer 6th, Rob Michalski 7th, Sean Apland 10th, and Eric Chartier 11th.
The Falcon girls, led by Christina Mitsialis who place 3rd, finished a close second
to Naples, 24 - 32. Chiara Siravo placed 5th, Stephanie Andreucci 7th, Daryn Goldhammer
9th, Elena Testi 11th, and Nicole Otte 12th.
FALCON VOLLEYBALLERS SWEEP
VICENZA & MARYMOUNT
Playing before a raucous crowd in their first home volleyball games of the season,
the Falcons swept Marymount and Vicenza. The AOSR girls were simply amazing against
Vicenza, digging deep two times to recover from deficits. First the Falcons were down one
set to none, then they fell behind two sets to one. But the Falcons were not to be denied,
taking the thrilling fifth set 15 – 12 in a match that took over two hours.
The Falcon boys remained undefeated, cruising to straight-set wins over Vicenza
and Marymount. The only problem the boys had was trying to keep Seyi Smith from hitting his head on the ceiling of the AOSR gym.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT:
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
Social skills are considered vitally important for young children because they need to develop these skills in order to
learn effectively in schools. Research from a variety of sources—including the Harvard Business Review—suggests that the
adage “All I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten,” is much truer than it appears. One of the things that sets independent schools apart is their commitment to the integration of intellectual growth and social growth.
The Harvard Business Review of July/August 1993 reported on the research conducted at Bell Laboratories on high
performing professionals. Bell Labs was trying to determine what made the difference between the engineers, scientists and
professional managers who performed at the highest levels in the organization and those whose performance was in the lowest quartile, as determined by their assessments and the quality of their research.
What were the qualities and skills that the high performers had that the low performers lacked? Interestingly
enough, it was not academic background, intellectual ability or professional training. All employees in the lab were college
graduates with excellent grades and recommendations. The skills that set them apart sound like our pre-school and kindergarten curricula—show and tell, cooperative skills, the ability to be both a leader and a follower, taking initiative and responsibility and self-management.
Those who rose to the top could do very effective oral presentations—show and tell. They were more effective in
presenting their ideas both in highly structured and planned presentations and in spontaneous responses related to tasks at
hand.
Outstanding performers demonstrated more initiative by proposing new approaches and new research. Pursuing
their goals in a determined and carefully planned way ensured that more of their ideas came to fruition.
Sharing with others in the organization was also a critical skill. The researchers found that the Bell Lab employees
who first offered to help others and who volunteered to pitch in to help their colleagues built a network of support within the
organization. This support network was crucial to them when they needed the help and expertise of others, for those who had
already reached out and helped others were much more likely to receive crucial help from the others in the organization when
they needed it. When a colleague, a top researcher or manager had many competing demands for his or her time, he or she
was much more likely to assist an employee who had already assisted them. Thus, the most effective employees created a
network of professional support through their efforts to reach out and help others.
Working effectively in a team was another skill that separated excellent performers from others. Many corporate
research projects require sophisticated inter-disciplinary teamwork. Those who worked most cooperatively with others—
listening, trying to understand the other person’s point of view and offering help and expertise—emerged as leaders in the
organization. The stereotype of the brilliant, mad scientists working on their own in their white laboratory coats making exceptional discoveries turned out not to be true. In Bell Labs, high performers could both serve as leaders and followers; they
did not have to dominate the group but they were active participants and important contributors even when they were not the
leaders. Successful research projects involved effective team work.
Clearly, while academic achievement is a precursor to professional success, it by no means ensures success. Many
of the skills that we work so hard to develop in our students are equally critical to their success throughout their lives.
Douglas Heath in his book, Schools of Hope, outlines the skills that were most important to the personal and professional
successes of a group of college graduates that he studied for over twenty-five years. The personal qualities of highly successful adults were persistence, resilience to keep going when tasks became difficult, judgment, tolerance of frustration, and the
maturity and self-confidence to persevere.
Many of the tasks and assignments we give students help develop these skills and abilities. Homework not only
helps students learn much more about the subject they are studying, it also teaches them persistence, time management and
perseverance. When students have to present something in class, they gain skills of public presentations that will last them a
lifetime. When children learn to reach out to help others, they are not only learning how to improve the world around them,
they are building a network within that community that will help them when they need it. Our student organizations encourage them to be both leaders and followers.
Academic skills and social skills are merely different sides of the same coin because students must develop skills
and abilities in both areas to truly enjoy success in school and, more importantly, throughout their lives. Clearly one had to
have excellent academic skills to work at Bell Labs. However, a highly developed intellect was not sufficient to guarantee
success.
In our school, we try to develop the skills that help ensure social competence, from pre-kindergarten through high
school. We recognize that social skills enhance and enable academic learning. We also know that when students are challenged academically and succeed, they not only learn to be successful in a demanding academic task, they learn social skills
that will ensure success throughout their lives—perseverance, tolerance of frustration, organization and time management,
and the ability to work effectively with others.
Success in meeting academic challenges ensures the development of self-confidence so that students will approach
the next difficult task with the belief that, through their own hard work and determination, this new challenge will be conquered. Giving our students the tools—intellectual and social—to confront the problems and challenges they will face
throughout their lifetimes is our most important goal.
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All School News
First-Time Voters Register at AOSR!
Laura Proenza and Gina Andreucci
Mrs. Sobral assists Ms. Houseknecht
Giulio Caperchi
Laura Proenza (who turned 18 on January 25), Gina Andreucci (who will turn 18 on October 19) and Giulio Caperchi (18 years old on March 30) are pictured with their completed registration forms at the AOSR Voter Registration events
on September 17 and 20 at the school. These first-time registrants completed a hardcopy Federal Post Card Application AND
chose to register through the still-working www.TellAnAmericanToVote.com website and will vote their first-ever ballot and
send it in by October 11. Congratulations!
AOSR parents Claudia Sobral (pictured registering student teacher, Alyson Houseknecht), Millie Kneeland, Bruce
McFarlane and Lisa Finerty organized this non-partisan registration event to register voters, request absentee ballots, and distribute (contingency) Federal Write-In ballots. Should anyone not yet be registered to vote absentee, contact Mina in Consular
Services at the American Embassy at 06-46741 or Lisa Finerty at the Falcon Flyer email address. Photos by Millie Kneeland.
STUDENT YEARBOOK PHOTOS
OCTOBER 26-28
AOSR OPEN HOUSE -Come one, Come all
School pictures for girlfriends, boyfriends,
parents/grandparents, yearbook and for your next hit
CD cover will be taken on Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday, October 26, 27, 28 at the school. Be prepared! You cannot make a virtual appearance! Makeup photos are difficult to arrange. Students pay for the
photo packages when they arrive back at AOSR sometime at the end of November.
Mark your calendars:
Elementary School (Pre-K – 5th grade)
Thursday, September 30 at 7pm
Middle and High Schools (6th-12th grade)
Thursday, October 7 at 7pm
By Claudia Sobral, Parent
Parents you are invited to a special night at AOSR.
Meet your child’s teacher, visit his/her classroom, and learn
about the exciting things that your child will learn this year.
Enjoy seeing the work that has been created by talented
AOSR students in the first few weeks of school and socialize
with other AOSR Parents.
The programs begins in the Cafeteria. Italian parents with children in Grades 4 and 5 are invited to a meeting
at 6:15 pm in the Italian language classroom before the general meeting. Details of the MS and HS evening will be sent
home with your children. Open Houses are expected to end
no later than 9:30 pm.
Please note that Open House sessions are designed
to introduce you to teachers and learn about the school curriculum, individual conferences will be scheduled at a later
date.
Progress Reports Update
Mid-term, first quarter Progress Reports will be
sent home with Middle School and High School students October 8 . Parents should review reports with
their child, sign, and return them the next day. If there
are any questions, private conferences can be scheduled
with the teacher. Should you want your child to be present for any conference, please make arrangements
with his or her teacher by calling the school or through
email. Please do this beforehand.
Next PTO meeting is October 18, Monday 9:15 a.m.
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All School News
World Food Day October 15:
Students Learn Biodiversity through Art
Admissions and More
The enrollment is currently at 603.. The four countries that make up about seventy-five percent of our student
body are: United States, a little over 30%; Italy, a little under 30%; Israel, about 10% and China, the fastest growing
group, is in 4th place with 24 students or about 4%.
School Bus Items: Parents should know that children may only take their assigned bus to school and back
home. Parents should call the driver in case the student will
not be taking the bus in the morning or in the afternoon for
that matter. Parents are asked not to arrange for their children to take a different bus to go to a friends house at 3:30
or 5:00 or to go to a different stop. There are several reasons
for this regulation. Lack of enough seats on buses, changing
times of arrival to the regular stops, controlling permissions
notes from parents, notifying the bus drivers of the change;
for safety reasons, we will not be able to juggle kids to different buses. Please call me if you have any questions. We
all want to give parents a safe and basic on-time bus service
for their children throughout the year.
After School: Also, only students in organized afterschool activities will be allowed to use the late buses. All
other students are expected to leave campus. The late buses
will try to bring students close to their homes but parents are
reminded that on the long runs, students may no be brought
to their front doors. The drivers have to get back to the
school bus depots, eat dinner and get a good night's sleep
before waking up about 5:30 or 6 to begin their morning
runs from the garages.
The wooden portico around the Villa is now virtually complete. Anyone finding themselves under it during a
heavy rain is urged to observe any drops that may be finding
their way through little flaws in the carpentry, mark the spot
on the ground and come see me in the Admissions office
with the locations.
Wooden Tables: Parents and students seem to be
gravitating to the new sitting areas around campus. The first
Falcon Flyer meeting was in full session on the Octagonal
Booster Bar table as I passed the other day and, later the
same day, teachers with small groups were using it as a
classroom. Out back by the valley, the cafeteria terrace is
becoming the in-spot at midday. Students are casually eating
their pasta or pizza while watching others walking back and
forth from the Senior Bench--reminiscent of the years of the
Dolce Vita. Who would ever think that three big tree trunks
would also be popular sitting spots. Each single-seater
trunk seems to attract a reader with a favorite book. And
wherever one walks these days, the paths are lined with
flowers making the AOSR campus more enjoyable for all.
There will be more sitting areas popping up like mushrooms
around campus but usually not after rainy days.
“Biodiversity for Food Security” is the theme for
World Food Day 2004. Ms. Cosentino’s ES and MS art
classes are putting pen --- and paint and crayons --- to paper
to design posters using this theme for the World Food Day
celebration on October 15 at FAO Headquarters in Rome.
World Food Day celebrates the founding of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in
1945.
Each year, students from the international schools in
Rome are invited to design posters based on the theme for the
year. The UN Women’s Guild will not be the judges of this
event this year. They have located a number of professional
artists from the Rome area who will do the judging, including
teachers and professors from some of the International
schools and universities here in Rome. Beautiful, commemorative medals are awarded to the winners from each school
age group at the annual World Food Day celebration at FAO
Headquarters near Circo Massimo.
This year’s theme highlights the importance of biological diversity – or, the more organisms an ecosystem naturally supports, the better! Sustainable agriculture can help to
protect the forests, oceans, prairies, and other ecosystems that
contain most of the world’s biodiversity. By using appropriate techniques such as organic agriculture and crop rotation,
farmers can help to maintain the fragile balance with surrounding ecosystems, ensuring that people have sustainable
access to food --- one of the world’s most pressing problems.
So, the more biologically diverse we make our gardens and farms, and the fewer toxins we use to maintain
them, the healthier they—and our planet—will be. These
posters should be very interesting!
The posters created by AOSR students will be on
display in the cafeteria during the week before the United
Nations Day concert for elementary school students on Monday morning, October 25.
Until the Next Issue,
Don Levine
This poster, by Anthony Zawasky, Grade 4, will be on display
along with the other children’s work on Biodiversity the week of
October 18 in the cafeteria
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All School News
NO CLASSES OCTOBER 11
On October 11, teachers will come to school to learn
new lessons!
The school begins its 10-year accreditation process,
in a yearlong period ending October, 2005. On October
11, teachers will be in –service at the school as the Middle States Self-Study is launched. Since many processes
at the school must be documented in this yearlong process, this first seminar is a training session.
So, for sake of the in-service --- also known as Christopher Columbus Day! --- the students have the day off!
Dear Parents,
I am pleased to inform you that Jessica Di Cori is the Elementary Resource
Teacher this year. Jessica served in this
capacity two years ago for Kim
Wheeler. Jessica brings a strong academic background and many years of
experience as a special education
teacher to this role. She has extensive
experience with a wide range of diagnostic and achievement tests. She has
written research papers on Early Intervention Assessment, The Co-Existence
of Math Disabilities and Reading Disabilities and ADHD.
Jessica was the Head Teacher for
preschool children with learning problems. At AOSR she has taught kindergarten, fifth grade and special education. She has a BA degree from
Brandeis University and an MA in Special Education from Columbia University and she is certified in NY State in
elementary education and special education.
Jessica’s strong background and
wealth of experience ensures that our
students will get excellent support for
their learning needs.
Sincerely yours,
Larry W. Dougherty
Headmaster
New Language Teacher in MS/HS
Julienne Lambre has joined the AOSR faculty
as a foreign language and ESL teacher in the middle
school and the high school.
Julienne has taught French and Spanish for children from kindergarten through high school. She served
as a department chairperson in foreign languages and she
taught French in a French national school in San Francisco. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from San Jose
State in CA with a BA in French. She earned an MAT
from Trinity College in Washington, DC. Julienne will
be teaching middle school and high school French. Welcome, Julienne!
Federal Write-In Ballots available
Any registered voter who does not have an
absentee ballot for the November 2 U.S. Federal election, should contact Mina at the American Embassy
(06-46741) or Lisa Finerty (06-4782-6192) IMMEDIATELY! There are Federal Write-In Ballots available.
The deadline for overseas absentee voters ballots must
be mailed by October 11, 2004.
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All School News
BEWARE GHOSTS, WITCHES, GOBLINS COMING OCT. 29, TO AOSR…
The PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) is pleased to announce that the annual Halloween parade and party for
the elementary school is scheduled on Friday, October 29th at 1:30pm. The parade festivities will start at the school gym,
followed by entertaining program performed by the children from Pre-K to 5th grade. Trick or treating is being organized by the PTO around the Quad. Afterwards, the children will proceed to their classroom activities.
Start looking through your closets or at the PTO Boutique to find the scariest or funniest costume you have, and
get ready to join the parade! Parents/Grandparents/Caregivers with no costumes are welcomed too!
Finally, those of you who would like to help on the day of the event, please contact Tania Lagomarsino or Claudia Sobral. We can always use helping hands. Look Forward to spooky fun!
UN Concert Monday, Oct. 25, 9:30 AM
Even AOSR Affected by Hurricane Ivan
By Ms. Rebecca Bailey, Choral Director
By Matthew Joseff, Webmaster and Alumnus
(Class of ’88)
The Vocal Music Program is in full swing. Besides
offering piano, voice, guitar and other instruments after
school, we also have a strong Choral program from Elementary to High School.
Elementary Choir meets on Tuesdays after school,
Middle School Choir on Wednesdays after school, and High
School Chorus during the school day twice a week. We are
looking forward to some great concerts for our singers this
year!
Our first big concert is in celebration of UN Day
on Monday, October 25. It will feature grades K-5 and will
be at 9:30 AM for parents. Students will sing, dance, and
play instruments to songs from all over the world in a fun
multi-cultural event.
We will also be having Holiday concerts in December, and Spring concerts in March TBA which will feature
the choirs and the High School Ensemble class. The 3rd
Grade and 5th Grade will each present children's theater
with musicals in their annual tradition in February and
May. This year the MAIS (Mediterranean Association of
International Schools) Middle School Honor Choir will be
hosted by AOSR, Ambrit, and Marymount schools in April
2005. It will include middle school singers from international schools all over the Mediterranean!
And, when we rest our AOSR vocal chords, we will
have visiting choirs and groups coming to perform!
We look forward to you at our performances, supporting the music program at AOSR.
The remnants of hurricane Ivan came through early Friday
morning causing flooding and a power outage at the datacenter location. Due to water damage, we had to physically pull
the server from its location in Fairfield County, Virginia, and
move it to a new location sooner than anticipated.
This failure happened in the middle of a complete server
upgrade, which complicated an already complicated transformation. Fortunately, the current server was up and running
again after a few days and, in the next few days, the upgrade
will be finished - completing a year long process to improve
our website and associated services.
Our current upgrade strategy is to change from a single
server for all AOSR functions, to a server for the website, a
server for the email and a server for various database functions (Events Calendar, Alumni Database, etc. ...). This will
provide more reliable and faster service.
We apologize for any inconvenience that this outage may
have caused.
AOSR 5K Fun Run/ 2K Walk Oct. 23
Mark your calendars and start training now! The
first annual AOSR 5K fun run/ 2K walk will be taking place
on Saturday, Oct. 23! Come cheer on the AOSR crosscountry teams at 9:00 a.m., as they take on Marymount, Sigonella and Livorno at our home course, beautiful Villa Pamphili. Then, at 10:00 a.m., be a part of the 5K run/2K walk,
open to all members of the AOSR community. Students,
staff, and families are all welcome! This is your opportunity
to compete against elite runners, including Dr. Dougherty,
Dr. Pfannl, Coach Phil, Donna Rabin, and Andrea Desideri!
Please pick up a registration form at school or register online.
Entry fee is 8 euros and must be paid in advance. Registration form and money should be returned to Coach Miller or
Coach Rabin. Registration deadline: Friday Oct. 15. Your
registration fee will include a t-shirt commemorating this
exciting event; all proceeds to benefit AOSR athletics. To
receive the registration form online, please contact the AOSR
cross-country coaches: Donna Rabin at [email protected] or
Joe Miller at [email protected]. Also contact us with any
questions.
AOSR Students on TV!
AOSR alumni Ry Finerty (class of 2004)
and Julian Brody (class of 2005) had their Italian TV prime
time debut on September 22 and 23 on RAIUNO. Starring in
the miniseries, “Don Bosco,” the boys were found and cast
by AOSR ballet teacher, Jenny Ussani, who founded an English-speaking talent agency in Rome and can be reached @
06-30361843 for anyone interested.
Ry and Julian portrayed street urchins, a common presence during the period of Italian industrialization during the
mid-19th century. They found their way to productive lives
due to the mentoring of a humble and dedicated priest whose
story is detailed in the film. This film will have international
theatrical distribution in December. Congratulations!
“Plans are nothing; Planning is everything."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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All School News
NHS to Sponsor Double Dutch
Jump Roping at Family Picnic
After School Activities Focus on Fun
By Sara Altshul, Parent
No matter what ASOR students love doing in their
spare time, there’s probably an after-school program that allows them to explore it to their heart’s content. When the 3:20
bell rings, your child can choose from an exciting list of activities including sports, dance, music, computers, art, crafts,
and a variety of special-interest clubs. Among the new offerings this year:
x Basic Crocheting, the newest phenom in the U.S. (for ES
students only)
x Fab Abs, “Core Strength is More Strength” (for MS and
HS students)
x Cine Club, “Watch classics and make your own movies
with Mr. Tupper” (for MS and HS students), and
x Power Yoga, based on the popular demand after last
year’s Wellness Day (for HS only)
Look for the After-School Activities Program brochure, which was sent home with your child, for complete
lists and information. The first session runs from Monday,
October 4, to February 17; the second session starts on February 23 and ends on May 26. The program runs from 3:30 pm
to 4:45 pm. The After School Activities office, run by Ms.
Hogan and Ms Ciufreda, is open everyday from 3:30 to 4:30.
They can be contacted at 06-3343-8320 during those hours.
The AOSR chapter of the National Honor Society
convened its first Tuesday lunchtime meeting on September
14 with sponsor, Ms. Telmon. The students participating in
the NHS this year are Alessia Fiochi, Ben Pfannl, Danai
Giwa, Victor Okonkwo, David Israelachvili, Federico
Soddu, Gabriele Raccah, Gina Andreucci, Marianna
Murmura, Seyi Smith, Shankar Kar, Shikha Prashad,
Simon Yi, Sudeep Bhatia, and Tim Garbinsky. These
students were elected to NHS by teacher nomination in January and February last year after first semester grades were
reported.
NHS represents the ideals of scholarship, willingness
to provide service, leadership and character. At AOSR they
help with many school functions. For example, at the Family
Picnic on October 2 the group will have washable tattooing,
sponsor Double-Dutch jump roping (so popular in the MS
Phys Ed program) and organize a basketball and soccer tournament for ES and MS students.
Through bake sales and Booster bars, the NHS raises
money to contribute to charity. During their Tuesday luncheons, the students listen to speakers from non-profit organizations to get a sense of the needs in the world today. Last
year, the group made donations, of E175 each to: Istituto
Stella Maris (an orphanage in the Castelli area, near Rome),
the “Help Argentina” Program, and UNICEF for Iraq. In
addition, the NHS sustains a multi-year commitment to help
a young girl from Haiti, through a program called “Child
Relief.” Members are anxiously awaiting news of this girl
after the terrible hurricane devastated much of this poor Caribbean island nation in September.
If any AOSR parent is involved in an NGO and would
like to present their mission to this group, please contact Ms.
Telmon by voice or email at [email protected].
5 PM Buses --- History and News
By Sara Altshul, Parent
As AOSR’s After School Program has improved
and expanded over the years, so has our after school bus
service. Once upon a time, just three late buses ferried kids
home; this year, the number has more than quadrupled. Most
children are dropped off very close to home; on some routes,
the stops are located at convenient, central locations. The
After School Activities Brochure lists all routes and is always available in the office.
Routes are: Olgiata, Le Rughe, FAO, Termini, Piazza Della Radio, Montemario, EUR, Mostacciano, Casal
Palocco, Nomentana, and Vescovio.
Late bus access is limited to children in grades 4
and up. Children in grades 1 to 3 may ride late buses with
special permission (See Mr. Levine) if accompanied by an
older sibling. Children in kindergarten may not take late
buses.
To facilitate bus scheduling and to make sure your
child gets placed on a convenient route, please make sure
that he or she signs up for after school activities no later than
Thursday, September 30. Children who sign up later
may have to wait a few days to get a seat assignment or
run the risk of not getting a seat. Got questions? See Mr.
Levine, Bus Topologist extraordinaire.
PARENT SEMINARS START OCT. 7
AOSR is initiating a series of parent discussion
groups organized by Jody Ballard, School Counselor. Dr.
Larry Dougherty, Headmaster, will lead the first
meeting on October 7, which will be a discussion of Dr. Mel
Levine’s book, A Mind at a Time, which was recently published in Italian. Dr. Dougherty and Dr. Levine were colleagues on a research project in Brookline, MA when Dr.
Levine was a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital in Boston
and Dr. Dougherty worked in the Brookline, MA public
schools. The second seminar, Oct. 14, will discuss Mary
Pipher’s book, Reviving Ophelia – Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls in November.
PHOTOS WANTED!
We always hope to include a picture in each edition of the Falcon Flyer from each field trip. If any parent
has a photo from any school trip and can send it to us digitally (through email) or put it on a disk and deliver
it to the Principals’ Office, we would be happy to have it! We will send you a release form to sign. Please label it with trip, class, destination, and date.
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All School News
IB DIPLOMA CANDIDATES
CLASS OF 2005
HS Student Council Elections Results
Mrs. Belinda Fiochi is proud to announce the following students are seeking to obtain an the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) in May, 2005. To
qualify for the diploma all must, in addition to school
work, take externally evaluated tests in six different
subject areas plus completing a Theory of Knowledge
course and 120 hours minimum of community service.
The first order of business for the newly elected
HS STUCO will be to change its name! At its weekly
Wednesday lunch meeting in sponsor Mr. Michael
Branch’s room, HS 18, a public relations campaign was
undertaken to establish a new identity --- and perhaps a
new mission!
Those students elected at a HS assembly on
September 20 were:
GINA ANDREUCCI, Gr. 12, President
SIMON YI, Gr. 12, Vice President
STEFFEN FISCHER, Gr. 11, Treasurer
ROB MICHALSKI, Gr. 11, Secretary
ELISA RUSSO, Gr. 12 Representative
SHIKHA PRASHAD, Gr. 12 Representative
ANDREW KINGSBURY, Gr. 11 Representative
JONATHAN CSAPO, Gr. 11 Liaison
CHRIS HAIGHT, Gr. 10 Representative
TYLER OTTE, Gr. 10 Representative
SYLVIA MAGLIONE, Gr. 9 Representative
Each IB exam course has additional work to be submitted to external moderators and all students must
write a 3,000 to 4,000 word in-depth research paper
(Extended Essay) in a subject of their choice.
Good luck!
SUDEEP BHATIA
ETTORE CANESTRI
DAVID ISRAELACHVILI
SHANKAR KAR
BENEDETTA MARIGLIANO
AGNESE MARINO
MATEO MENCARELLI
LUCA MONTESI
SHIKHA PRASHAD
GABRILLE RACCAH
CHIARA SIRAVO
OLUSEYI SMITH
TJASA VOLK
MANUEL XUEREF
The first event planned by the group is the October 22 Open Mike Night, where students are invited to
perform. Only AOSR students are invited. There are
also events planned for Halloween and Spirit Week
(which coincide with the Varsity Sports championships
this Fall). For the first time, all meetings will be conducted with Robert’s Rule of Order. Anyone ---whether
elected or not --- is invited to join the Wednesday lunch.
Meetings will adhere to a published Agenda with three
topics: “Old Business,” “New Business” and “Walk-In
Business.”
New AOSR Athletic Director
Arrivederci Barbara Faidley, AOSR parent, PTO volunteer extraordinaire and award-winning
teacher during her 30 years in Rome. Barbara and husband LeVern will have fond memories of AOSR and
leave behind an endowment for an annual Sports
Award --- as well as Barbara's trademark clown costume. (Wonder what Dr. Dougherty will be for Halloween???) Good luck, Barbara and LeVern! You
will be missed.
AOSR has a new Athletic Director! Mr.
Kieran Canter, coach of the Falcon girls basketball
team and coach of both the boys and girls tennis teams,
has been appointed Athletic Director for the 2004 - 05
school year. Kieran is also the Director of the AOSR
Summer Camp.
The AD coordinates schedules for high school
sports activities and competitions, and ensures that each team has the proper equipment and uniforms. Kieran will liaise with
the AD's at the other schools in Europe, as
well as with the AOSR coaches. When
AOSR teams travel, he will arrange their
transportation and accommodation. When
visiting teams come to Rome, Kieran will be
sure they have comfortable 5-star sleeping
accommodations. (Yes, the AOSR elementary school classrooms have 5 star carpets!!)
SEYI SMITH WINS
CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Falcon junior Seyi Smith won the long
jump competition at the Canadian National Junior
Championships in June with a leap of 7.32 meters
(24 feet). He hopes to compete in the Junior PanAm Games next summer, and his goal is to make
the Canadian team for the 2008 Olympics. Oh
yeah, Seyi also ran the 100 meters in 10.69, about 34
KM/hour. Great Job!
8
All School News
An interview with AOSR’s “Keeper of the
Gate”
Tedeusz Machowski
By Simona Grimaldi, Grade 11
Prepared for publication by Francisco Rutelli,
Grade 11
Where do you come from? I came from
Poland, and have Polish origins. I came to Rome
to find better opportunities.
How do you keep yourself entertained? I
like playing table tennis and volleyball. I go out
for walks and read a lot too. I sometimes go to the
cinema and to the theatre.
What are your first impressions of AOSR?
It is a beautiful school, very cozy and hospitable.
The staff is fantastic and the students are wonderful. The students are polite. It is great working
here.
What is your favorite movie? I love that
film with Patrick Swasy where he dies and comes
back as a spirit. Didn’t you see? It is wonderful.
I don’t know how it is called in Italian? In Polish
its name is “Tuk” (Ghost). I like it because it talks
about two different worlds: the spiritual world and
the real one.
What is your voting preferences, and why?
I’m not interested in it. This is why I don’t vote.
What is your favorite quote? I like a Polish
one but translated it doesn’t make sense. It is difficult to have an interview when your native language is neither English nor Italian.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
You never know what can happen; everything
could change in so many ways. In life I’ve never
known what would have happened in the future.
Where I was in Poland I would never have imagined being in Rome. It is absurd to think where
one will be in five years.
What is your most embarrassing high
school experience? I don’t remember a specific
embarrassing moment; I think I’ve removed all
my high school years from my
memory.
What advice would you
give to high school students?
Work, study and create your
own family. Be honest, not only
with others but even with yourself. You have to be open to
changes because the world is
continuously changing. It is not
like years ago when, even if you
were a humble worker, you
could achieve a decent standard
of life. Now you have to be
technologically advanced to do well in any thing.
Photo by Simona Grimaldi
Did you know….? Tadeusz is one of the world’s professional apiists (beekeepers). He was awarded a diploma in
apiary agricultural science in Poland. In his studies he
learned that bees produce the world’s only known food
which doesn’t spoil (honey), and everyone can digest it.
Bees are very important to the proper function of an ecosystem and can no longer live without man’s help.
A TASTE OF ..... ISRAEL
By Daniela Di Cagno, Parent
Children at AOSR get a REAL taste of the many
cultures that enrich their environment at school. The following treat was served in ES 4th Grades by some kind
and caring parents, for the New Year's Holiday of Rosh
Hashana on September 15. As Mr Levine said, after I told
him about this celebration in my daughter’s class,, “that's
one culture sampled --and 49 to go!” My daughter loved it!
HONEY CAKE FOR ROSH HASHANA
3 cups flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup honey
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch black pepper
Preheat oven to 180°C. Sift together the flour, the baking
soda, the spices. In a separate bowl beat the eggs, gradually adding the
sugar, until thick and light in color. Beat in the oil, the honey and the
water. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture. If wanted ,add coarsely
chopped walnuts or pecans.
Oil a loaf pan and line the bottom with waxed paper. Oil
again. Fill the pan with batter to within 1 inch from the top. Bake for 40
to 60 minutes. Do not over bake.
9
PTO Corner
PTO Partners Welcome the New Families
The pistol has fired, the gates have opened and
By Grazia Deulus, PTO Partners, Chair
the horses are running! Yes, another school year has
started off at full gallop. Whether you’re new to AOSR
or a returning veteran, the Parent Teacher Organization
is a great place to get involved with the school! This is
a place where donating your time gives you just as
much back --- and more!
As a parent at the school, you are automatically
a member and are welcome to any or all PTO meetings.
The PTO usually meets the second Monday of each
month. Upcoming meetings are scheduled for 9:15 am
in the Boutique for October 18, November 8, and December 6 for 2004. Your PTO officers are: Carol Atwood, President; Susan Berton, VP, Marlene
Khachadourian, Treasurer, and me, Cathy Garbinsky, Secretary.
The PTO organizes numerous events and projects at the school. For example, we sponsor the
Booster Bar, the Boutique, the Falcon Flyer, Logo
Products and much more. Also, the PTO directly contributes funds each year. This past year, for example,
the PTO helped purchase the tables and chairs outside
the cafeteria, the choral risers and spruced up faculty
lounge.
There are many ways you can participate…and
we really need you! And perhaps you might need us
too… because it feels very good to be involved where
your children spend their days.
Meet us at the Family Picnic on the school
Quad on October 2 starting at 11 am, or just come to
our next meeting in the Boutique on October 18 at 9:15!
AOSR, like many international schools, has a
yearly high turnover rate. In fact about one third of the
total student body is new every year, which makes for
wonderful energy in the student body, but is often a
challenge for the new families who are settling themselves in a new country, with a new language --- and
who are trying to adjust quickly.
The PTO has organized a group of volunteers
to help the new AOSR families in transition, and ease
the beginning of their stay in Rome. These
”Newcomers with Experience” have children in various
grades and have learned where to find answers and
what it takes to settle a growing family --- quickly! --in Rome.
PTO Partners know Rome, and its various
neighborhoods and resources, and can help with answers to your questions, concerns and hesitations. They
are able to respond to questions about food products
and sources, activities outside the school, directions,
and many other items. They can also make professional
recommendations. All speak English, and some know
other languages as well, so its likely one of us can even
speak your native language!
If you wish assistance of any kind, please call
Grazia at 06 3630 4287, or send an email to [email protected]. You can also fill in the "Want some
help?" form available at the Main Office and soon after, a partner volunteer will be in touch with you. We
are a very accessible resource and look forward to helping you enjoy life in Bella Roma.
Cathy Garbinsky, PTO Secretary
AOSR BOUTIQUE TO OPEN OCTOBER 5 WITH CHANGES “IN STORE”!
BY SUSAN HAIGHT, PTO BOUTIQUE COORDINATOR
Do you need a winter coat? Have the kids’ outgrown their ski clothes? How about some new mugs or a cappuccino
machine? Do you want an AOSR t-shirt too? Then come, drop off your outgrown togs, and shop every Tuesday at the Boutique in the front room of the school.
The Boutique opened on Tuesday, September 28, for vendors to sign up for their new vendor number and price the winter clothes and other articles they were consigning. Boutique Policy agreement incorporated the change that went into effect last
year. These changes to Policy which were made to promote a smoother operation of the Boutique and to ensure that we will
have the best quality of items for sale.
The following paragraphs have been added to the Policy agreement: “Vendors should price all items to sell and in
increments of Euro 0.50. (ie. 0.50, 1.00, 1.50, 2.00, 2.50 etc.). All priced items must be left on the back table to be reviewed by a staff member. Only a staff member may distribute items to the shelves. All items considered unfit for sale
will be removed from the vendor's list and donated to charity. It is the vendor's responsibility to ensure that staff reviews any items they would not wish to donate prior to their leaving the Boutique.”
The first day of 2004-5 Boutique sales will be Tuesday, October 5 2004. Hours are 9:30 - 2:30. Vendors may also bring
items to consign every Tuesday that the Boutique is open.
10
PTO Corner
PTO COMMITTEE COORDINATORS FOR 2004-2005
POSITION
NAME
EMAIL ADDRESS
PTO President
Carol Atwood
[email protected]
PTO Vice President Sue Berton
[email protected]
PTO Treasurer
MarleneDer-Kachadourian
[email protected]
PTO Secretary
Cathy Garbinsky
[email protected]
Booster Bar
Donna Ferguson
[email protected]
Astrid Van Der Does
[email protected]
Boutique
Susan Haight
[email protected]
Mary Usnick
[email protected]
Falcon Flyyer
Lisa Finerty
[email protected]
ES Liaison(s)
Claudia Sobral
[email protected]
Tania Lagomarsino
[email protected]
MS Liaison(s)
Moshira Zelenka
[email protected]
Monique Smits
[email protected]
HS Liaison(s)
Julie Deptula
[email protected]
Teacher Liaison
YOUR NAME HERE!!
Boarder Liaison
Kelly McGinnis
[email protected]
Mayfair Delegate
Marina Benetti
[email protected]
Publishing Center
Sue Berton
[email protected]
PTO Partners
Grazia Deulus
[email protected]
Family Picnic
Monique Smits
[email protected]
Astrid Van Der Does
[email protected]
Teacher Appreciation Grazia Deulus
[email protected]
Laminating Center
MariaGrazia Testi
Library Liason
YOUR NAME HERE!
Music
YOUR NAME HERE!
AOSR Logo Sales
Dyan Goldhammer
[email protected]
FACULTY NOTES
And the Prize Goes To …
Mr. Geoff Miller, who teaches computer
graphics and manages all technology at AOSR, was an
instructor at the Jefferson Overseas Technological Institute sponsored by the Office of Overseas Schools in
Washington, D.C. Technology teachers and administrators from international schools all over the world
attended the institute. Mr. Miller has been on the JOTI
faculty for three years and he has been invited back
each year because of the outstanding evaluations he has
received from his colleagues there. He also supervised
the completion this summer of the AOSR fiber optic
network which links all buildings on campus to the
computer network.
Ms. Donna Rabin, a graduate of Harvard and
Northwestern Universities, was selected to participate
in a National Endowment for the Humanities summer
seminar in Provence, France.
Ms. Alessandra Telmon, who teaches IB/AP
history, AP psychology and IB Theory of Knowledge,
passed the highest levels of her oral examinations towards a Ph.D. in psychology. She already has advanced degrees in history and philosophy.
Mr. Toby Tebo, the new ES and MS Computer teacher, has the most students of any teacher at
the school. Two hundred forty children (that’s 20
dozen!), from kindergarten to Grade 5, take his computer class once or twice weekly. And in an astonishing display of memory, he’s already learned all 240
names.
Walking across campus with Toby is like being at a garden party. The little ones all race up to
chat, and he not only manages to address them personally, but he remembers details of their personal lives
with split-second timing. According to Mr. Tebo, the
hardest part is remembering who is whom of the five
students he teaches named Pier Luigi.
And, in another remarkable feat, he learned
enough Italian in just four weeks to negotiate for a
new apartment for himself and his bride, Ms. Deborah Tebo, who teaches kindergarten.
When the After School Program begins on
October 4, he will add four new classes: Softball,
Computers for Children, Computers for Adults, and
Computers for Teachers, and as well as a Snowboarding Club. Lots of memory in that processor! Congratulations and thank you, Mr. Tebo!
11
PPAC NEWS
Principal Parent Advisory Committee
PPAC Meeting Minutes—Monday, September 20, 2004
Present: Grazia Deulus, Lisa Finerty, Dyan Goldhammer, Susan Haight, Laurenne Hemily-Figus,, Millie
Kneeland, Claudia Ottolenghi, Sherry Satta, Ann Siravo, Claudia Sobral, Dr. Beth Pfannl, Principal
The first 2004-5 PPAC meeting got underway with a review of the issues addressed last year, and the progress over the summer months.
x Newcomer’s Program: The initiative to welcome new teachers, along with the administration and PTO, was
successfully accomplished before school started.
x Room Parents: This idea was presented to the faculty and will be implemented with recruitment during the
September 30 (ES) and October 7 (MS and HS) Open Houses.
x HS Students: During Study Halls, students may not be on the playing fields. They can only be out their during lunch time. Study Halls are for school work.
x Wellness Day 2005: Continuing the success of last year’s event, a program is being designed for Nov. 18.
x Healthy Food at School: The school cafeteria continues to offer only a Mediterranean diet, and offers abundant seasonal fruits for dessert. The ES students are not permitted to purchase snacks at the bar until after
school.
x Grade 9 Retreat: Wellness topics will also be a significant part of the Grade 9 retreat, scheduled on September 22-24. This team building, fitness retreat is also focused on developing organizational skills and is coordinated with the curriculum. Students were divided into groups of four and had menu planning and cooking
responsibilities. This first-ever event was designed with a focus on safety and security of the students, and
will be lead by counselor/teacher supervisors.
x Student/Parent Handbook: The revision was accomplished over the summer.
x Grade 6 Orientation: This first time program devoted to introductions and social exercises took place on
the Friday before school started. Returning students as well as new 6th graders took part in the program
which was very successful.
x Chinese: This important language instruction will be offered to Chinese ESL students, and there is a plan to
offer it as well for HS students and parents as part of the After-School Activity Program. Russian language
instruction will be researched as an elective to insert in the schedule.
x Athletics: A new Athletic Director as been appointed, Kieran Canter. A parents’ Sport Booster Club will be
offered to help with some of the details of running the HS Sports Program.
x Physical Improvements: HS Library, which will re-open to students and faculty on October 4 after its renovation is complete. A Grand Opening Ceremony will be scheduled for later in the month. The new rainprotecting walkway was completed and will be extended eventually alongside the Pre-School play area. Old
carpets have been removed from some ES classrooms and Astroturf was installed in the pre-school play area
and the ES multi-purpose area in front of the kindergarten classrooms. Each classroom teacher now has a
computer, printer and telephone; each teacher is required to check their AOSR email daily. Each teacher has
their own voice mailbox for any incoming calls during the school day; a list of extensions will be available
soon. A bell system rings on every classroom phone signals the start and end of the day. This improved
phone system was provided for through a grant from the U.S. State Department.
x Technology: The new AOSR website is eagerly awaited. The software program, Grade Quick, will be exclusively used this year for progress reports; they will no longer be handwritten handouts. Grade Quick is also
the attendance module at the school and the Principal’s Office collects teachers' attendance reports by 9:40 in
the morning. Additionally, the new website improvement is being planned with parent access to Report
Cards (using a password) in the near future. Computer teachers Lars Rahm and Toby Tebo offer Thursday
workshops to teachers after school in basic and advanced use software programs.
x Cafeteria: Lines are running smoothly after an initial adjustment while cashiers learned each student’s account number.
x Admission Report: At a new recent high of 603 students. Given the wide choice of international schools in
Rome, this is attributed to the program offered, the HS IB/AP program, and the internal school environment.
The classes were being adjusted during the week of 9/18 so that all ES, MS, and HS classrooms balanced out.
x Lockers: Grade 6 students now all have lockers in the Villa but a new system must be designed for all other
MS students to have lockers in the Villa.
(Continued on page 13)
12
PPAC NEWS
(cont)
(Continued from page 12)
x
x
x
x
x
x
End-of Year Awards Ceremonies: Students must be at AOSR for at least 80% of the school year in order
to qualify for annual awards. Additionally, it was mentioned that these ceremonies take too long. Individual
teachers should limit their comments.
MS Students taking HS Classes: On a case-by-case basis.
Hat Policy: Hats can only be worn outside of the school building. Eventually repeated offenders will be able
to “buy back” their hat from the PTO Boutique.
Yearbook: Ubiquitous compliments on the 2004 Tabularium. The Yearbook staff and teachers reviewed
each word, in each language: kudos!
ES Activities Coordinator: The need for a Coordinator for the 300+ ES student body was reaffirmed.
Prom: It was recommended that the hours of the HS Prom should be extended so that there is little need for
an after-Prom event. The cost of the evening should take into account that many students do not have the opportunity to work to earn extra cash. It is helpful and cost-controlled that students do not need to have a date
in order to attend. If next year’s event was held downtown, should a late bus up the Cassia, be put in place?
PRINCIPAL PARENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE: HOW TO CONTACT
Grazia Deulus
Lisa Finerty
Dyan Goldhammer
Susan Haight
Laurenne Hemily-Figus
Millie Kneeland
Cinzia Neri (MS)
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Claudia Ottolenghi
Dr. Beth Pfannl
Sherry Satta
Anne Siravo
Claudia Sobral
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Understanding Roman Numerals
By Bruce McFarlane, Parent
Ever wonder how to read those Roman numerals? It’s easy. Here’s
M = 1,000
what you need to know. Roman numbers are depicted using seven letters of
D = 500
the alphabet: M,D,C,L,X,V and I.
C = 100
Numbers are formed by stringing together letters that add up to the reL =
50
quired number. For example, 22 is written “XXII”and 56 is written “LVI”.
X =
10
Unfortunately, applying this approach results in certain numbers having
V =
5
long text strings. For example, the year 1999 would be written
I =
1
“MDCCCCLXXXXVIIII”. To shorten the length of the letter string, Romans invented a “subtraction” rule: A smaller value letter to the left of a
larger value letter is subtracted. For example, 4 is written “IV” (5 – 1 = 4).
Similarly, 9 is written “IX” (10 – 1 = 9). Employing the subtraction rule, the year 1999 is shortened to
“MCMXCIX”. Note, however, this rule was not always followed—a carved stone plaque on Castel
Sant’Angelo reads “MCCCCLXXXXV”. For a more detailed explanation of, and a brief history on
the use of Roman numerals, see www.wilkiecollins.demon.co.uk/roman/intro.htm. For help, Microsoft Excel has a function to depict numbers in Roman form (=Roman(n), where n is the number you
want to convert). For a website that provides automatic conversions to or from Roman numerals, visit
ttp://www.guernsey.net/~sgibbs/roman.html
13
News From Local Papers
Romaeuropa Festival:
Rome’s most avant-garde
festival is back until November 28 with events we would
otherwise never get to see. Favorites like Bill T. Jones, the
Societas Raffaello Sanzio and Akram Khan are certain
crowd pleasers. This year’s festival will also host unusual
and daring arts --prose with Ping Chong, dance with Emio
Greco, and the electronic music scene. These multi-media
and cross-cultural events will be staged at various venues
and tickets are subsidized. Book well in advance as the festival is very popular. For information and booking tel.
800795525 or www.romaeuropa.net
Spring Ahead, Fall Behind !
On Sunday,
October 31, we set the clocks an hour behind as Italy and
almost all the countries in Europe go into Standard Time, or
"Ora Solare" mode.
Metro A to close early: Rome's metro line
A will be closing early from October 2004 to October 2007.
The exact date to the start of the project has yet to be announced. The 9 PM closure effects the stations of Termini
(line A), Vittorio Emanuele, Manzoni, S. Giovanni and Re di
Roma. Between 9 PM and 11:30PM, additional buses will be
added to night route 55 through the zones affected by the
shutdown.
Extension of the “Biometric Requirement”
for Foreign Passports Issued by Visa
Waiver Countries: On August 9, 2004, President
Prices frozen: Major supermarket chains in
Italy have announced a price freeze on their branded goods
until the end of 2004. The new development is a reaction to
increased pressure from Italian consumer associations for
price reductions on consumer goods. Supermarket purchases
account for 42.5 per cent of the disposable income of Italians. The new price measures will remain valid only if current inflationary forces, linked to the increase in petroleum
prices, remain stable or decrease. The current consumer price
index shows an overall price increase of 2.3 per cent compared to prices in August 2003.
Bush signed H.R. 4417 to extend the requirement for biometric passport issuance by visa waiver countries for one
year to October 26, 2005. Passports issued before October
26, 2005 do not need to meet this biometric requirement for
travel to the US under the Visa Waiver Program. The requirement is only for those foreign passports issued on October 26, 2005 or later.
However, another requirement for the VWP will still
take effect on October 26, 2004. On and after that date all
foreign passports from the visa waiver countries must be
machine-readable for admittance into the US without a visa.
(From http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2004/35066.htm and
http://unitedstatesvisas.gov/visanews/index.html)
The Fountain Restored: The restoration of
Fontanone, the large marble fountain on the Gianicolo, was
unveiled on 18 September during the night-long festivities of
Notte Bianca. Fontana Paola, as it is officially called, was
built in 1612 using marble from the Roman Forum. The
fountain's water still comes through Trajan's aqueduct from
Lake Bracciano.
Fall Schedule for Sightseers to the Major Government Palaces (“Palazzi”) in
Rome
Quirinale (The President's Palace), Via XX
Settembre and Via 24 Maggio. Open every Sunday
from 8:30AM to noon, except 19 and 26 December
2004. Access is € 5.
Palazzo Madama (Senate), at Corso del Rinascimento and Via Salvatore. Open the first Saturday of the month from 10AM – 5:30PM. Access is
free.
Palazzo Montecitorio (Parliament, called
“Camera dei Deputati”), Via del Corso, through Piazza Colonna) Open the first Sunday of the month
from 10AM – 5:30PM Access is free.
14
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
This Month in Pre-K
9th Great Retreat
By Christian Tejno, Grade 9
As you may know the 9th graders had a retreat last week. This retreat was made for the students so they could get closer together because there
were about 15 new kids. The other grades did not
like this because they believed that it was unfair - but
how is it unfair when freshmen are so special?
For this retreat the 9th graders went to the
Carney Park, a park owned by the US. Navy. This
park is supposedly based in a volcanic crater and it
seemed to be, because there was a chain of mountains around it. At this camp we had so much fun
that we protested we had to go back to school.
The activities we were asked to do were
Volcanic Trek, Wall Climbing, and Team Building.
Volcanic Trek was hard because that it was
just cliffs: If you took one wrong step you would get
seriously injured or die and they even said it would
be our own fault. The wall climbing was fun. It was
hard for beginners like myself, but people that like it
a lot did it several times. The team building was hard
but fun: We had to find a string that was on the
ground and make a five point star with 12 people the major problem was that it was all supposed to be
done blindfolded.
It wasn’t all fun. We had to bring and make
our own food and make tents. The teachers were all
saying stuff that they would get nice big cabins but
later we found out that that our tents were way better.
The first night was a nightmare. The girls
talked and laughed all night and the next morning all
the boys were upset. Well, everybody woke at like 3
to 4 AM and ate breakfast and then one teacher and
some boys had a soccer match at 5 in the morning for
like three hours……Great fun!
“Life in Pre-K”
By Ms. Kimberly Murphy, Pre-K Coordinator
This month, we are spending time getting to
know each other, make new friends and learn about
routines in our classroom!
Working together to build with blocks.
Harvest Time in Umbria
This month begins the harvest of grapes, beans,
olives, and tobacco (!), the renowned produce of
Umbria. Only the connoisseurs know where to find
saffron — the Italians’ secret for life-long youthfulness.
It is harvested in Cascia and Citta della Piave. You can
also finally get your “black celery” from Trevi. On
October 16-24, visit the annual chocolate festival in
Perugia, featuring jewelry, Stephanie Seymour shoes,
and fanciful scultptures made of chocolate. This year,
the roundtable discussion will be” Chocolate and the
Emotions”. For those that don’t want to take notes,
there is ChocoWatch, a beauty show modeled on BayWatch, a popular TV show in the United States, which
takes place next to a lake of chocolate in downtown
Perugia.
Children retelling a story about cooperation, called “The
Turnip.”
Upcoming Events: The week of October 18th is PreK Parent Teacher Conferences. All parents will be
invited to come in and discuss how your child is adjusting to school.
15
Kindergarten & Elementary School News
Claudia Sobral and Tania Lagomarsino, PTO ES Coordinators
Kindergarten News
Partial List of Field Trip Programs
By Ms. Tebo and Ms. Natale, Teachers
Grade 2
Pigorini Museum- Prehistoric section
Experimental Archeology Trip- Blera
Egyptian Museum Vatican
End of year trip
1 or 2 theater trips
We enjoyed meeting parents at Open House and
look forward to a great school year.
The month of September was an exciting month!
We learned about our school community, about safety, “all
about me,” and all about apples, too! Students made special
“me dolls” and cooked applesauce. It was delicious! We
continue to learn school routines --- such as going to special
classes, lunch, and recess. Field trips are still in planning
process… more to come soon!
In October, we will being sending homework and
Scholastic book orders home.
Grade 3
Villa Ada
Centrale Monemartini Museum
Castle Sant’Angelo
Exhibitions in and around Rome
Theater productions
Paestum and Velia
News From the 3RD Grade
Grade 5
Museum of Roman Civilization
San Clemente Church
Hadrian’s Villa and Tivoli
By Ms. Rumsby and Ms. Prideaux, Teachers
Well 3rd graders are off to a great start. One new
student was overheard saying to another, about the big
change from Grade 2 to 3 that “In 3rd grade the teachers even
speak a different kind of English!” (Ms. Prideaux is Australian and Ms. Rumsby British).
We are all busy beginning to get involved in Greek
Mythology and learning to classify in science. We have a
wonderful new student teacher from Boston College, Mollie
Barker, who is doing a great job in organizing the fast-paced
start to our busy year.
We are also really looking forward to our new, big
field trip which will take place from October 20 till 22 to the
National Park of Abruzzo. We’ll be staying in the medieval
borgo of Civitella Alfedena in a hotel which has a tower!!!
We’ll be visiting the wolf and lynx reserves there and also
visiting the WWF hospital and museum in Pescasseroli. The
kids are all hoping to see a Marsican bear, but the teachers
aren’t quite as eager. Watch this spot to find out how it
went.
Fourth Grade Field Trips
x
x
x
x
x
Newbery Medal Winners, 1922 - Present
By Ms. Clem Ricci, ES Librarian
With the next book delivery the entire list of Newbery
Award winning books for children will be complete in the
AOSR ES Library. This award by the American Library Association has been given to the most distinguished American
children’s book published the previous year since 1922. It is
named for the eighteenth-century English bookseller John
Newbery and was designed “to give those librarians, who
make it their life work to serve children's reading interests,
an opportunity to encourage good writing in this field." This
year’s winner is The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of
a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by
Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press). Students AND parents
should check them out (literally and figuratively!).
“The Caldara” (Science) --- a volcanic depression with
unique geological and botanical characteristics
“Time Elevator” (Social Science) --- An exhibit of animated historical travel through Roman history
Circus Maximus and Mouth of Truth Piazza (Social
Studies} –A vist to site pertinent to history lessons about
the establishment of Rome and its early years.
Cerveteri Etruscan Museum and Necropolis –An enrichment to our studies of Etruscans.
Ostia Antica --- Our end-or-the-year trip to the ruins of
Ostia Antica. It’s walls. buildings. ArtitecturaL
“operas” and mosaics are all pertinent to our historical
studies in fourth grade.
My Weekend
By Amina Del Torto, Grade 3
This weekend I was really sad because my baby
sitter is going away. But I don’t want to talk about this because then I start to cry. But let’s talk about what I did. I
went to the go-carts and I was so happy that I forgot about
my baby sitter that is going away. When I finished going on
the go-carts my muscles hurt. I said to my mom that my
muscles hurt. Then I went back home and I went to sleep.
The End.
16
Middle School News
Moshira Zelenka, Monique Smits, PTO MS Coordinators
Bernini, Italian Cinema and so much more --
Middle School Cultural Week
Ms. Cioli’s and Ms. Scrimitore’s
MS Italian Field Trip to
Palazzo Chigi September 30
By Ms. Santangelo, MS Activities Coordinator
During the second week in November every
year, the MS students are given the opportunity to experience the “living laboratories” around them. The
experience begins in September when students are provided with a list of at least five cultures that they may
choose to explore. The faculty organizes trips around
the students’ interests. These destinations usually include an English-speaking country, two Western European countries, an Eastern European country and an
Italian destination. This program is organized on a
three-year cycle so that students are not presented with
the same choice of countries during their three years in
middle school,
The annual trips are organized around the common education theme, “The Development of Culture.”
Before, during, and after the trips, students take part in,
and contribute to an interdisciplinary experience that
focuses on their travels. Once on the road, on-site professional art historians are employed to assist the MS
“Junior Ambassadors” and their teacher chaperones
with their in depth exploration.
The students are required to report observations
in travel journals each day on these Cultural trips and,
upon returning to Rome, they complete their travelogue. Sharing their travel observations and research
with parents happens during this final phase to the Development of Culture project. Parent input is encouraged.
The finished projects then are submitted to
group leaders and to the MS History Department for
evaluation. Journals and projects are displayed to the
AOSR community during the International Fair.
There is no better way to learn about a culture
than a week of total immersion and direct experience
with the country and its people! This challenge to our
students develops maturity, resourcefulness, and information-gathering skills; the goal is to further the development of these ethical global citizens.
The destination for November 2004 are London, Portugal, Hungary, Venice and Rome day trips.
MS Italian classes were off to Palazzo Chigi in
the little borgo of Ariccia on September 30. This palace, owned by one of the richest families in 17th century Rome, was begun by Gianlorenzo Bernini. Bernini was so renown at that time that he had to leave the
job to go to Paris to build the Louvre in 1664. The
Chigi family owned this villa until 1988 when it was
sold to the town of Ariccia. Both teachers are passionate about so many things that even the bus ride was
interesting.
Ms. Cioli knows as much about movies as she
knows about Italy. She studied in Los Angeles, and her
graduate thesis was a study in the differences between
Italian comedy and American comedy. In fact, in
years’ past, AOSR did one-week seminars during Ski
Week where she taught an intense, but very popular
course on Italian cinema.
Ms. Cioli travels a lot with all of her language
classes --- the Italian students go to Italian monuments,
the Latin students go to the Roman sites --- to better
understand visually what the communication contributed to each culture. At Palazzo Chigi, for example,
students saw not only the baroque furnishings and fixtures, but also heard the story of Il Gattopardo by
Giuseppe di Lampedusa. Although the story was set in
Sicily, it was filmed by Luchino Visconti at the Palace.
Students saw “the sets” for one of the most beloved of
Italian stories: maybe they will be inspired to rent the
video --- and maybe even in Italian!
Thanks to the MS Bakers!
By Ms. Santangelo, MS Activities Coordinator
Grade 7 students kicked off our fundraising
projects this year by sponsoring a Bake Sale at the
Community Fair on September 18, with proceeds going
to the MS Cultural Trips planned for next month. Our
bakers (and their families!) donated cookies, brownies,
cupcakes and other goodies. Thanks to the Grade 7
students, Ms. Pestilli, and Ms. Chartier for making
our first event a success!!
Dance the Night Away October 29
By Ms. Santangelo
The MS Halloween Dance is schedule for Friday, October 29, from 7 to 10:30 PM at the school.
The MS witches and goblins will tremble to the music
of our very own DJ, Maurizio Sponsali. Snacks,
drinks and pizza will be served throughout the night.
Permission forms for the dance will be sent home a
week prior to the event. See you there!
Rings and Things
On November, 8 Monday, 9:00—15:00,, a Josten’s representative will visit the school to show their
AOSR logo items, class rings, jackets and senior class
items. This is your chance to buy the 2004-5 AOSR
class ring. Details will be in the Student Bulletin.
17
High School News
Julie Deptula, PTO HS Coordinator
Ms. Rabin Excited About New Additions
to Senior Curriculum
Juniors Begin Preparation for
Declamation Assembly
By Ms. Rabin, HS English Teacher
During October, all Grade 11 students make
their final selection to find just the right piece for the
annual Declamations Assembly to be held in November. An important part of the Grade 11 English curriculum, students select a work “of literary merit”
from poetry, song lyrics, books, and event CD jackets.
This year’s theme is “Fear.”
This annual process requires judgment and performance skills. Students present their five-minute
pieces, by memory, in the classrooms, using no visual
effects. In fact, these presentations are done with the
students holding their hands behind their backs. The
performances are graded by a panel of English teachers
and the five most impressive interpretations are presented to an all-school assembly. See next month’s
Falcon Flyer for details.
Declamations is an AOSR tradition of longstanding which students anticipate and talk about for
months --- and years! --- before and after. Parents are
invited.
I am very excited that the school purchased two
new sets of books for my IB senior A2 classes.. These
books are "modern classics" that I requested because
they are fabulous and I think the kids will love them.
"The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
won the Booker Prize in 1989. The speaker is a British
butler looking back on his life and realizing that his
mentality as a servant has made him a "follower", never
taking a stand or risk ethically, in relationships, etc. It's
amazing the way Ishiguro gets the reader into the mind
of this unforgettable character. (It is a great movie, too,
with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson – but
read the book first!)
"The Things They Carried" by Tim O’Brien
was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and won many
other literary awards. The author is a Vietnam veteran
and, even though the main character is also named Tim
O’Brien, it is fiction. Each chapter can stand as its own
as a vignette about characters in combat, at home, after
their war experiences, etc. When read as a whole, the
chapters are interconnected and the book raises fascinating issues about the subjectivity of what we define
as the truth, and the complicated way that memory
transforms our understanding of our past experiences,
particularly the horrors of war. It is incredible and riveting -- and I think particularly important given world
issues now.
The IB senior A2 class is a high level literature
classes for students who are completing the International Baccalaureate diploma and who have another
primary language. The course explores literature as
well as social issues in English language/cultures.
Grades 11 and 12 Classes Retrace The
Aenead and Marble Faun on Palatine,
Campidolgio, October 13
Art History and Literature students of Ms.
Ceen will follow the literary footsteps of Aenead, the
legendary Greek who escaped the burning of Troy to
sire Romulus and Remus, who in turn founded Rome
in the 9th century BC. This trek will take them over the
same paths that two American characters, Donatello
and Miriam, followed in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The
Marble Faun 27 centuries later. This annual trek is set
for October 14 in the center of Rome on the Palatine
and Campidoglio hills.
HS Library News
By Ms. Molly Bianchini, HS Librarian
The renovation of the High School library is
continuing. We are going to have a new floor surface,
newly finished and painted walls, and a new floor plan
to accommodate the additional computers, shelving and
study areas. It will be a spectacular improvement to the
school, so stay tuned to the date of our grand opening.
Best wishes to Nan Miller, who will begin a
Master’s program in Library and Information Studies
this fall. As the program is through distance learning,
you will see her in the library this year, as before. See
you there!
First “Open Mike“ Night Scheduled for
October 22
The newly elected HS Student
Council will host an Open Mike Night on
October 22 for all AOSR HS students. Admission is E2. All the performing artists
will have a chance under the lights.
18
High School News (cont.)
What I Did on My Summer Vacation
By Marin Finerty, Grade 11
New SAT Tutoring Session After-School
during October and November
Counselor Kate McKenna has organized a SAT
Preparation classes every Monday and Thursday, from
3:40 PM to 5 PM for those Grades 11 and 12 students
who will be taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test in October and November. The book cost is E20. If interested
and qualified, please see Ms. McKenna.
Senior Season Starts with an Open House
for “Graduating Parents”
On September 29, Ms Kate McKenna hosted
an informative evening for parents of 12 Grade students
to describe some of the preparation their children would
be undertaking this year for the college/university application process. It also gave this group a chance to meet
so that there could be wide dissemination of information
in the future --- since sometimes the notices (and Falcon
Flyer!) don’t make it all the way home!
AOSR Cheerleading is Back!
On Wednesday, October 6, come to an
informational meeting and sign-up.
October 15 Booster Bar Benefits MUN
Mr. Haskell’s HS Model United Nations
class continues with its fundraising on Friday, October 15 as students and their parents sponsor a
Booster Bar. Proceeds will help defray costs for
their January trip to the UN Headquarters in The
Hague, Netherlands, where they will participate with
other world high schools in a weeklong simulation
of diplomacy..
The AOSR MUN team expects to learn of
their country assignment immediately before the
event; the final three opportunities are Cyprus,
Domenican Republic, and Singapore. Last year, as
Senegal, the embassy here in Rome used some of the
research the class developed for their own mission.
PSAT Test to be Given at School Oct. 13
Grade 10 and 11 students have all been registered to take the PSAT whch is the qualifying test for
selecting National Merit Scholars. Students should get
lots of rest and have a sufficient breakfast for this fullmorning test.
19
I am writing this article to let everyone
in the AOSR community, and all their friends
know that I am now a driver. I am alerting the
media!
In America I would already have been
driving for about 9 and a half months, so I
thought I should begin this past summer.
The blissful days before July 1, 2004,
are over, when any 14-18 year olds could drive
a 50 cc motorized vehicle without any training.
I was lucky enough to have my “macchinetta”
for 10 days before the dreaded July 1 date, so I
got some practice which helped me a lot when I
was studying for the test. Even though the Polizia Stradale are not so common (these are the
police that enforce the driving rules), if they
had pulled me over before I got my patentino, I
would have a 500 Euro multa.
For the patentino, the first thing you
need to do now is go to an auto school
(autoscuola) near you. I chose one that is near
Chiesa Nuova on Via Vittore Emmanuele II.
There are many on the Cassia near school as
well. You also need to pay 190 euro for the
course. This fee includes the lessons, two books
and the fee for the test. One book is the text and
the other is full of practice tests.
For the patentino you need to do 12
hours in an autoscuola of practice with a
teacher. These will always be in Italian --- so it
is harder than the regular license for adults
which can be taken in English. After you do
your 12 lessons, you take the test. . At least
you are allowed an Italian-English dictionary
(otherwise, how would anyone know that the
accordian part of a double bus is called a “Auto
Snoddato”?!
You are given 30 minutes to answer 30
questions. You are allowed 4 mistakes. Anything over 4 mistakes and the test has to be redone, and you pay 90 more Euro. And you must
use pen, and there is no canceling answers, any
mark outside of the box and its counted as a
mistake. No pressure, right? Well a word from
the wise (yes, that’s me) do as many practice
tests in the book, and do them with the time that
would have be given to you (30 minutes). Then
after you pass, you can drive your giant roller
skate with an engine. New horizons (or should
I say “narrow streets” since you can’t go on any
highways) open up, where no city bus has ever
gone!
GOOD LUCK, I’ll see you on the
road!!!!!
From the Counselor
Kate McKenna
[email protected]
College Representatives Visiting
AOSR
Name of College/University
Date
Webster University
9/14
Princeton University
9/27
Boston University
9/27
University of Pennsylvania/Georgetown University 9/28
Open House at St. Stephen’s School, Rome
Bryant University
10/6
New York University
10/6
University of Richmond (VA)
10/7
University of San Francisco
10/8
Franklin College of Switzerland
10/12
Wheaton College (MA)
10/18
Richmond University (UK)
10/19
American University in Paris
TBA
Vanderbilt University
11/15
Vassar College
11/15
Southern Methodist University
11/15
Barnard College
11/15
Marymount College
11/15
Menlo College
11/29
Time
2PM
2PM
2PM
6PM
11:30AM
2PM
12:30
TBA
2PM
2PM
2PM
TBA
11AM
11AM
11AM
11:45AM
2PM
TBA
* We encourage 11th and 12th grade student to meet with visiting college representatives. Please note
that dates and times are subject to change. Information is updated for students in the Daily School
Bulletin.
TESTING INFORMATION:
AOSR will serve as a Testing Center for the upcoming SAT
I, SAT II, ACT, and PSAT Tests.
All 10th and 11th grade students have been registered to take the
PSAT on Wednesday, October 13th. This is the qualifying test
for the National Merit Scholarship Program and the National
Achievement Scholarship Program. For more information,
please consult www.collegeboard.com.
SAT I and SAT II tests will be administered at AOSR on October 9th,
November 6th, and December 4th for students who have registered online
through The College Board (www.collegeboard.com).
The ACT will be administered on October 23rd and December 11th.
information on ACT registration, please see Ms. McKenna.
20
For
Sports Briefs
By Doug Kneeland, Parent
VOLLEYBALL
CROSS COUNTRY
Flying Falcons Take Two Seconds
Sept. 18 in Naples
Falcons Dominate Naples
Tournament Sept. 17-18
The Falcon cross country team traveled to Carney Park in Naples for the first race of the season. The
AOSR boys and girls teams both placed second behind
Naples and ahead of Marymount and Sigonella. The
Naples team is lead by Charity Williams, the European
girls cross-country champion.
Naples has won both the girls and boys Mediterranean titles for the past five years, but the young
Falcons plan to give them a real run for their money
this season. The AOSR boys only lost to Naples 25 –
31 (lowest score wins in cross country), and most of the
Falcons were running their first-ever competitive high
school race.
Naples comes to Rome for a re-match at the
Falcons home course at Villa Pamphili on October 2.
Watch this space for news about the end of the Wildcat
dynasty and the beginning of the Falcon dynasty. Better yet, go to Villa Pamphili Saturday morning, October
2 before the school picnic, and cheer on the Falcons!
The AOSR boys volleyball team cruised to
easy victories in their first three games, beating Naples,
Sigonella, and Marymount. Naples High School hosted
a 4-team mini-tournament on the first weekend of the
new season. Seniors Olusyi (“Shay”) Smith and Ryan
Panzarella led the Falcons, who dropped only one set in
the three games. The AOSR boys are the defending
Mediterranean District champions.
The young AOSR girls team welcomed new
coach Kristin Crum, beating Marymount but losing to
Naples and Sigonella.
FALCONS FLY IN SICILY
SEPTEMBER 25
The Flying Falcons swept
cross country races against host Sigonella and Marymount in Sicily on September 25. Christina Mitsalis
won the girls race as the Falcon girls won their first
team race of the year. Five Falcon girls finished in
the top ten.
Josh Kneeland took first place to lead the Falcon boys cross country team to their first win of the
season. The Falcon boys took 6 of the first 10 places.
Watch out Naples, here we come!
Some of the most exciting races of the year
will be intra-mural, as the Falcon runners will battle
for spots on the team that goes to Germany for the
European championships on October 30. The big
show-down will be October 23 on the home course at
Villa Pamphili. The top five girls and top five boys
will qualify for Europeans.
These exciting races on Saturday, October 23
will be followed by the first AOSR All-Comers 5 K
Race / 3 K Walk. Parents, teachers, coaches and siblings are all welcome to participate.
VOLLEYBALLERS CRUISE
AT SIGONELLA SEPTEMBER 24-25
The AOSR volleyball team came very close to
its first weekend sweep of the season on September 24
– 25 in Sicily. The Falcon girls easily beat Livorno in
straight sets:25 – 15, 25 – 22, and 25 – 6. The Falcons
lost three tough sets to host Sigonella, 25 – 14; 25 – 17,
and 25 – 15.
The AOSR boys remained undefeated in first
place atop the ASIL standings with a 4 – 0 record, beating Sigonella 25 – 11, 25 – 20, and 25 – 12. This was
followed by a convincing three-set victory over
Livorno, in which the Falcon junior varsity played the
entire game, winning 25 – 16, 25 – 16 and 25 – 21.
The season-ending Mediterranean championships will be played at Naples November 4 – 6.
FALL SPORTS SCHEDULE
October 2 @ HOME
October 9 @ Aviano
October 16 @ Milan
October 23 @ HOME (Cross Country)
October 23 BYE (Volleyball)
October 30 European Championships @ Germany or
England (Cross Country)
October 30 @ HOME (Volleyball)
Nov 4-6 Mediterranean Championships @ Naples (Men’s VB)
Nov 5-6 European Championship
@ either Germany or England (Women’s VB)
21
Sports Briefs cont...
2004 Boys Cross Country
EXCEPTS FROM COACH DONNA RABIN’S
FIRST WEEKLY CROSS-COUNTRY NEWSLETTER (September 20)
Josh Kneeland -11 (co-captains)
Tim Garbinsky -12(co-captains)
Great first effort by everybody! After two weeks
of practice, team members’ hard work paid off. Our
training in the valley, where we have dealt with adventures including sandy roads, flocks of sheep, intense
heat and humidity, helped prepare runners to deal with
the relatively manageable conditions of this course.
The least popular feature of the course was the finish
line, which was difficult to see until just after a long
straightaway, thus making it difficult to know when to
start a final kick.
Special congratulations to runners competing in
their first race for AOSR: Christina, Stephanie,
Elena, Nicole O., Sabrina, Alexa, Erick, Sean,
David, Matt, Ben, Alex, and Garren… and a special
round of applause for most amazing rookie performance to Steffen, for his 4th place finish! Bravo!
We couldn’t have done any of this without the
cheering, record-keeping, timing, and all-around support from our wonderful managers, Tyler Otte and
Andrew Kingsbury.
Special thanks to our fans who braved traffic, flat
tires, storms, etc. to come down to Naples and cheer
us on: the Kneelands, who now may have a “Go Falcons” sign permanently affixed to their car; Jessie
Kingsbury, who launched her career as a film director
by videotaping the finish of the race; and the Grosso
and Haight families.
If you weren’t with us at the base before and after
the race, you missed out on exciting moments, includ-
ing…
x
x
x
x
x
x
Most impressive way to make a reservation for dinner:
as our light practice on Friday evening, our entire team
jogs to TGI Friday’s on the base and asks for a table for
24. We are not to be denied.
Most creative way to distract oneself while running:
Steffen and Sean amuse themselves and teammates on
the Friday evening jog by speaking like British blokes.
Luckily it was just a short jog.
Nutritional willpower: Team members miraculously
manage to avoid all overly spicy, greasy, or cheesy
items on the dinner menu… although some are later
spotted prowling the aisles of the minimart, suspiciously
near the candy/chips areas.
Breakfast adventures: Bread and jam for everyone…
and perhaps a bit too much honey for Garren, who
risks becoming glued to the picnic table.
Best reading material on the bus: A certain coach who
happens to be an English teacher is impressed by
Stephanie’s decision to use bus time to read The Scarlet Letter. However, Josh’s choice is maybe the most
appropriate: he gets psyched for the race by reading
Lance Armstrong’s memoir, It’s Not About the Bike.
He gives it his highest recommendation.
Spending the night in Naples HS – best feature: great
desk chairs. Coach Miller longingly eyes the calculus
books in the math classroom. Worst feature: air conditioning that won’t turn off!
22
Alejandro Smith -9
Matt Smith -9
Zhi Chao (Simon) Yi -11
Garren Der-Kachatourian -9
Eric Chartier -12
Sean Apland -12
Steffen Fischer -11
DavidGrosso -10
Chris Haight -10
Robert Michalski -11
Ben Pfannl -12
Riccardo Serrao -11
Joe Miller (coach)
2004 Girls Cross Country Team
Daryn Goldhammer -11 (captain)
Roisin Agnew -10
Stephanie Andreucci -11
Alexa Goldhammer -9
Christina Mitsialis -11
Bridget Narciso -11
Nicole Otte -11
Chiara Siravo -12
Elena Testi -10
Sabrina Triglia -11
Donna Rabin (coach)
Andrew Kingsbury -11and Tyler Otte -10(managers)
2004 Volleyball Roster - Girls
Agnese Marino 12 (captain)
Gina Andreucci 12
Marin Finerty11
Kim Gallimore 11
Michela Lombardi 10
Maria Anna Murmura 11
Susie Satta 10
Silvia Valente 10
Tjasa Volk 12
Nicole Zawasky 10
Mary Larocco 10
Nuwanthika Senarath 10
Chiara Telmon 10
Kristin Crum (coach)
2004 Volleyball Roster – Boys
Ryan Panzarella – 12 (co-captain)
Oluseyi Smith – 12 (co-captain)
Fred Arnaldi – 12
Ido Bittman – 10
Brian Culley – 11
Alesio Daswani – 9
Javier Elkin – 10
Michelangelo Fano – 10
John Fiano – 10
Almir Kasumovic – 11
Nermin Kasumovic - 10
Edoardo Linari – 11
Ludovico Linari – 9
John Martin – 9
Brennan Panzarella – 10
Alessandro Satta – 12
Eros Shenedjele – 9
Gabriele Zipoli – 10
Andrea Deisderi (coach)
Alessia Fiochi (manager for boys and girls teams)
Anyone Game for Soccer?
By DD McFarlane, Parent
The thunderstorms cleared so we decided to go to the Olympic Stadium to see a soccer game. We rode
the bus and then joined the throngs walking towards the Stadium but were dismayed to see long lines to buy
tickets. One line was for 50 Euro tickets, one for 35 Euro and there were some other unmarked lines. We
picked one of the mystery lines because all lines were equally long and because we hoped the tickets would be
less expensive. We inched forward as we stood in the crush hoping to make it to the ticket window before
kickoff. There were at least a thousand people, mostly men, pressing forward to get tickets. Just as we got
close, the man at the window selling to our line ran out of tickets. The noise was deafening, everyone wanted
their ticket! We stood there wondering, “what now?”
After a few minutes he began selling again. Whew! I said, “due adulti e due bambini” and he told me
the price was all the same, 15 Euro. All the while I was negotiating for these tickets, a thin and very determined grandpa was trying to climb over Bruce from behind us in line. He had already smacked Alea and Ryan
out of the way, but he was too late, there were no more tickets being sold to this line. I got the last ones! We
pushed our way out of the mob to the gate where the polizia searched everyone and confiscated my water bottle
cap. I guess I look like the type who might throw it at a ref! Our seats were no where near a ref because we
were packed high up in the south curve. Bruce wished he had brought his binoculars.
The roar going on from over 50,000 spectators rooting for S.S.Lazio was unbelievable! Most were
men, young and old, and always someone smoking. Even the vendor climbing up and down the stairs with his
warm cokes to sell was smoking. Cheers seemed to erupt as though someone were orchestrating them and it
took me a while to realize that these songs sung in unison were spontaneous. The color to wear is sky blue and
many wore their favorite player’s imitation jersey or had woolen sky blue mufflers tied around their waist or
hung around their necks despite the warm weather. The opposing team had about 2,000 fans packed in a section quarantined by surrounding empty seats. This outnumbered group did hold up their end of the volume! I
couldn’t tell if the men standing at the gates were firemen or riot police.
The actual game flowed with very little whistle blowing. When a player went down, a little cart came
speeding out and a stretcher was made ready. Ryan was surprised that there was plenty of discussion allowed
about who was at fault right in the ref’s face. Everyone is an expert and when a player made a pass that didn’t
quite connect there was a collective groan that that player heard loud and clear. When Lazio scored it felt like
an earthquake in the stands with everyone doing this coordinated jump thing and cheering madly.
Rome has 2 teams and the score was often flashed on the board of the other game in progress. Everyone for Lazio is against Roma, so intermittently there was additional cheering from these Lazio fans because
Roma was behind. Our game ended in a tie at 1-1. When it was over the crowd sighed collectively and we all
got up and filed out stepping on hundreds of cigarette butts strewn everywhere. When we got home our ears
were buzzing like we had been at a rock concert. I have never seen or felt such unparalleled fervor!
My Summer @ Brown
by Federico Soddu, Grade 12
This last summer, I decided to do something different. I was tired of spending the summer with my parents
and wanted to have a taste of college life. So I applied to a summer program at Brown University. I had a great time
there in Providence where I took a course in Political Ethics.
Brown University is famous for being the most liberal among the Ivy-League schools of the United States. It
was not always easy to agree with some of the people in the class, debating on topics such as abortion, capital punishment, and affirmative action and yet it was fun and enlightening.
But my summer at Brown was not only characterized by attending class: because of the freedom given to
every student at the program, I could travel around New England, make many new friends, and basically see what
being in a college really means.
For the Juniors who still have time for such a
pre-college experience I strongly recommend to you all
to spend your summer in a constructive way. I assure
you that you will enjoy the experience of mixed freedom and responsibility. Moreover, if you are still undecided as to where you want to attend college, a precollege program in the US can help you make up your
mind as well as add to your eventual application.
23
Bon Appetito
With Sue Burton
little melted butter over the chicken pieces and arrange them over the onions. Sprinkle the chicken with paprika and salt.
Blend catsup and wine and carefully pour in the baking dish (not
on top of the chicken. Tuck in the whole garlic cloves here and there.
Bake, covered in a 350ºF (180ºC) oven for about 45 minutes.
Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes or until thigh meat near bone is no
longer pink when slashed. Discard garlic and serve chicken with pan juices.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Well, here it is October. The kids are settled in
school and we are going about our busy lives, with the
fun times of summer a mere memory. As our schedules continue to become more hectic, I started to think
about those time saving dishes that also offer hearty,
family-pleasing fare. That made me think of the classic
casserole dishes. Do you remember them from when
some of you were growing up? You would come home
from school and the casserole was in the oven, the table
was set and all your mom had to do was put a veggie or
a salad and some bread on the table. Guaranteed to be
a hit with the family!
Of course, now that the temperature is cooling
it is safe to turn on our ovens once again! Times have
changed, I will give you that. But you should consider
the endearing qualities of the casserole the next time
you are planning your family meal. Most can be prepared ahead of time, the cook is freed up in the kitchen
and they can be served right in their original dish. Another plus: they can serve a lot of people, so don’t hesitate to serve them to company. The easier your entertaining is, the more likely it is that you will want to do
it again!
These recipes come from Sunset Magazine’s
“Casserole Cookbook”. The original copyright is from
1958. They are not only timeless, but were big hits at
the Berton home. This was so easy and quick. I will
definitely be serving this one again.
Sausage-stuffed Pasta and Cheese
2 Italian sausages (3 0z each)
1 egg
1 cup ricotta cheese
6 Tbls. grated Parmesan cheese
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbls. chopped parsley
2 ½ cup tomato-mushroom sauce or your favorite tomato sauce
12 giant pasta shells or 8 unfilled small manicotti
Boiling salted water
Remove casing from sausages. Crumble meat into a wide frying pan
and cook over medium heat until browned. Discard drippings.
Beat egg into ricotta, and then combine the sausage, two tablespoons
of the Parmesan, salt and parsley. Prepare the tomato-mushroom sauce.
Cook pasta shells in boiling salted water, just until al dente. Drain,
rinse with cold water and drain again. Stuff with sausage-cheese mixture.
Spread half the tomato-mushroom sauce in a shallow 1 1/2 quart of 9inch square baking dish. Arrange filled pasta side by side in sauce. Spoon
remaining sauce over top. At this point you may cover and refrigerate until
the next day.
Bake, uncovered, in 350ºF (180ºC) for about 30 minutes (40 minutes
if refrigerated) or until bubbly and heated through. Sprinkle with remaining
Parmesan cheese.
Tomato-mushroom Sauce
In a wide, pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook 6 strips of bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, drain on paper towels and crumble; set
aside. Discard all but 3 tablespoons of the drippings. Add to drippings, ½
pound, sliced mushrooms and 1 clove of minced garlic. Cook until soft.
Pour in 2 large cans of whole tomatoes (break up with spoon) and their liquid. Stir. Add ½ teaspoon dry basil and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook uncovered over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes or until sauce boils and
thickens. Stir in bacon and season with salt to taste. Makes about 2 ½ cup.
Oven-sautéed Garlic Chicken
4Tbls butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
6 – 8 chicken pieces (thighs, legs, breasts)
2 teaspoon paprika
1 Tsp. salt
¼ cup each of catsup and dry white wine
6 garlic cloves
For those of you who are new to AOSR, I am more than
happy to include any recipes that you wish to share with
our AOSR family. Please e-mail recipes to [email protected] or call me at 334-332-6737.
Place butter in a shallow 3-quart casserole or 9x13 baking dish.
Set it in the oven while it preheats to 350ºF (180ºC). Once the butter is
melted, scatter the onion rings over bottom of dish. With a brush, baste a
24
Alumni Notes
It’s always good to hear from our Alumnis!
Alumnus Dan Zacaroli
----- Original Message ----From: Wright, Larry
To: [email protected]
AOSR Alumnus, Dan Zacaroli, is a busy guy!
In addition to working in Ns. Natale’s and Ms. Tebo’s
Kindergarden classroom on Monday, Wednesday and
Fridays, he is a full-time student at John Cabot University here in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood. And
somehow he found time to organize Rome’s first-ever
All-Schools College event!
This All-Schools event --- to air the first Presidential debate on Foreign Policy – takes place on the
JCU campus on October 7 from 6 to 9 PM. Three hundred students (“That’s all the courtyard holds!”) from
the Rome study-abroad programs at Loyola University,
University of California, Rhode Island School of Design, University of Arkansas, Trinity University, Temple University, and Duquesne University --- were invited to hear a tape of the September 30 Presidential
debate. Rome author, Alan Epstein (“As The Romans
Do”), will moderate.
This free, nonpartisan political evening was
designed by Dan to be educational --and social! Sponsored by the JCU Student Council (Dan is its VP), it
will be held in JCU’s Rosegarden Courtyard, with pizza
and soft drinks provided by the Student Council.
“There are so many school programs in Rome -- and so spread out – that it was time we got together
around an issue that is on all of our minds,” said Dan.
“We have all had voter registration days, and have our
emergency absentee ballots, and so this will be just in
time. We want to be informed voters and we all care
about this, which is why we have more students interested than we have chairs!” Schools were informed of
the October 11 deadline that the Department of Defense
set for sending in overseas military absentee ballots.
For this event, Dan had to organize the technology, seating, food, and security. “All the schools have
to send a list to us on the morning of October 7 with the
names of those that are attending.” ID’s will be
checked at the door.
Also helping are the nonpartisan voter registration volunteers: TellAnAmericanToVote (whose online
site they all used to register) and US Votes, its “feet on
the ground” in Rome.
Hi, my name is Larry Wright Jr. I am a former student of
AOSR. I attended the school twice. The latter date was in
1986-87 when I was in the 6th grade. I had a math teacher
by the name of Mr. Levine. I was wondering were you the
same person. Also, my sister and I really enjoyed our time
at AOSR and have so many times talked of how we would
like to get in touch with some of our former friends. If there
is a way you can help me I would greatly appreciate it. I
would like to receive correspondence from you if you have
the time. My email is [email protected]. Thanks for
your time.
From: Mr. Don Levine
Larry, this is your math teacher writing. I am now a
full time Admissions Director and unfortunately I do not
teach math or science any longer. You would be surprised at
the number of alumni returning to see AOSR again; some
bring their wives and children just to show them where they
went to school. Some are fortunate enough to return to
Rome and enroll their kids here. So what does one do
with old AOSR alumni? recycle them of course by enrolling their children at AOSR. You should email Geoff Miller
at [email protected] ; he looks after nostalgic and wandering
alums. Our website has an alumni page and we have reunions every year some where in the US. Alums are also chatting on www.classmates.com. Thanks for remembering me
and getting reattached to this super school. What did you do
after you left us? Ciao, Don Levine, Admissions Director
To: Don Levine
Mr. Levine, I am so glad to hear from you. My
sister and I have always talked about one day making it back
to Rome. Hopefully that will happen soon. I do appreciate
the information you supplied to me. I remember your son,
who was on the basketball team with me. I was younger
than the rest of the team, but was allowed to play. How is
your son and does he still live in Italy? I apologize for going on and on, but this is so exciting to me! I told my wife
about a week ago that one day she would see Rome and the
school I attended and had such a great time.
Well, to be brief about myself. After my father
retired from the Banco Di Roma basketball team we returned to the States to live in Monroe, Louisiana. I finished
school in 1994, graduating from West Monroe High. I received a football scholarship to the University of Notre
Dame, where I stayed a year and transferred closer to home.
I finished my college football career at Louisiana Tech University. After graduating, I went back to school to receive a
MS in Sport Administration also coaching on Grambling
State University’s football staff as a graduate assistant. The
following two years I was the head football coach at Ringgold High School in Ringgold, LA. Now I work for the
Jacksonville Jaguars as a Pro Scout. I am married
(Vincincia) and have one daughter (Victoria). Well that is
me! I hope to hear some of what has gone on since I left in
1987. Glad to hear from You! Larry G. Wright, Jr.
Congratulations, Dan!
25
ROME ‘N ABOUT
Halloween in Rome
by Sara Altshul, Parent
Halloween may not be celebrated here in Rome, but that’s not because our city is a ghost and goblin-free zone. Far from
it—ghosts have been scaring Romans silly ever since the phantom of Julius Caesar terrified his murderer, Brutus, back in 44 BC.
Today, all sorts of poltergeists are said to eternally walk Rome’s dark, twisted streets. So instead of trick or treating, grab a
friend or two this Halloween and check out these supposedly haunted places—if you dare!
The Flaming Coach of Ponte Sisto. A 17th century legend holds that the ghost of Olimpia Panfili rides a flaming black
coach pulled by ebony horses. It crosses Ponte Sisto (off Via Giulia), hurtles down the river bank, and disappears into the Tiber.
Once the coach stops, so the legend goes, Donna Olimpia will have finally entered hell to punish her cruelty to her dying brother-inlaw, Pope Innocent V. (Source: The 25 Scariest Hauntings in the World by Mary Batten Copyright©1996 RGA Publishing Group,
Inc.)
Ponte Sant’Angelo’s Headless Woman. The ghost of Beatrice Cenci is said to walk this magnificent bridge every year on
September 10—with her severed head in her hands. Who knows—maybe this year, she’ll be late! Her story is a famous Renaissance tragedy: During the late 1500’s, Beatrice and her family were tortured and virtually imprisoned by her notoriously brutal father, Francesco. Beatrice plotted with her secret lover to have Francesco murdered, but was soon caught and after a trial, she was
beheaded on the bridge. Source: http://f_pollett.tripod.com/roma-c19.htm
Piazza Navona’s Haunted Palazzo. Near the church St. Agnes in Agony stands the Palazzo De Cupis, on Via dell’Anima.
Here lived Costanza Conti De Cupis, a 17th century beauty known for her exquisite hands—gorgeous enough to inspire a sculptor to
cast a model of them, which he displayed in his studio. Word got to Constanza that someone predicted her hands would lead to her
ruin. And they did. While sewing, she pricked herself with a needle. Her hand became terribly infected, and she died after its amputation. Ever since, when the moon shines just right on the windows of her palazzo, the likeness of a pale hand can be seen from the
square below. Source: http://f_pollett.tripod.com/roma-c19.htm
But if you prefer visible Halloween thrills to the imaginary variety, visit LunEur, Rome’s classic amusement park. Here
you’ll find four scary horror houses, each with its own terrifying theme. A medieval castle echoes with clanking chains and howling
ghosts: Casa Magica recalls the horrors of Psycho’s Bates Motel Horror House features phantoms and dead bodies. Voyage to Terror promises a “dangerous” walk through gruesome sights. Admission to the Park is free; admission to each house is 2E. Call for
information, 06 592-5933 or visit www.luneur.it
The First Steps to Get to Know SAN PIETRO
By Sabine Heider – Neumann, Parent
For many of us it is the first time in Rome and we have the time to visit the most magnificent sights of the world, which, fortunately, are not far away from our school. Let’s take, for example, the Basilica of San Pietro.
I don’t want to be the normal ‘tour guide’ who explains all historical and artistic details about this church. I simply would like to
suggest visiting this place, in a very ‘naïf’ way: just go BEFORE studying its history.
Entering San Pietro Basilica for the first time in your life is a little bit like ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ Before entering the security
check, be aware of the dress code required. Shoulders and legs should be covered since San Pietro is not an amusement park!
Once inside, you realize the size of the Basilica by standing next to the little angels that carry the holy-water font. They are
bigger than a grown up man! We are in a church that is 200 meters long and yet, at the same time, seems to be quite ‘normal’ due to the
exact proportions of the entire structure.
The original church was built at the beginning of the 16th century, under the leadership of
Emperor Constantine. Many monuments from antique Rome were ”recycled” for this construction. In fact, there is not one single stone or
piece of marble that was not taken from antique Roman buildings!
Standing in front of San Pietro, surrounded by the beautiful colonnade, it is hard to comprehend how big this church is in reality. Inside, though, you realize its enormous size while standing under the cupola (dome). Look at one of its columns; the width of this
column is the same size as width of the Church of San Carlino (on Via delle Quattro Fontane)! Under the cupola you find four columns
with four statues on the top. Each statue is holding a pencil in its hands – and each pencil measures 1 1/2 meters!
The cupolas height is 136,5 meter. It is the biggest brick construction in the world.
On the first floor of the dome, while standing on the balcony, you realize the spaciousness. Even the acoustics are astonishing:
WHISPER to someone who is standing on the wall opposite – a distance 43 meters (or half of a soccer field!)-- and you can be perfectly
understood!
The canopy of the altar, a great masterpiece of bronze by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, has the same height as Palazzo Farnese. For its
construction they used the bronze roof of the Pantheon.
Look at all the paintings in this basilica. Well, they are not even paintings at all! In the 18th century, the original oil paintings
were removed and replaced with mosaics because of the humidity in the church. If you step closer, you can see the little pieces of stone.
There is still just one painting on canvas …but which one? Maybe this could be a ‘family competition’; “Find the painting”… “The first
who see it, wins --- an ice cream of modern Rome!” Just so you know, it took me half an hour to find it…!
Another way of realizing the size of San Pietro is to following the little stars in the pavement of the middle aisle of the church.
Each star represents the length of other important churches in the world measured from the front altar. Do you understand that I mean that
the size and space of this Basilica is just as important as a precise study of its history and construction? But we can’t do everything at
once and maybe our children are already tired by having walked this enormous space!
26
Il Foro
Nutrition Corner
Macronutrient of the Month
FOR SALE: 1 loft bed, IKEA (1 year old), single-steel construction, 97 x 208 cm, height 206 cm inclusive mattress in very
good condition, prize : euro 70,-- Contact: Sabine, 063326-6738 or
by email, [email protected]
Animal Protein
By Marta Rahm, AOSR parent and Registered Nutritionist
Animal proteins such as beef, for example,
contain a power pack of nutrients, including zinc, iron,
protein and many B-vitamins—nutrients that work as
hard as you do every day.
Protein helps keep us energized and supports
body functions. It’s the building block for muscles, organs and bones. Also, protein helps regulate body processes, works with the immune system to protect you
from disease and serves as an energy source. Most
foods contain some protein, but the amount and quality
of the protein vary greatly. Meat, fish, poultry, soy (not
animal protein), eggs and dairy products are considered
high-quality protein foods.
Zinc is a nutrient your body needs for many
essential functions such as growth and development,
maintenance of the body’s immune system, wound
healing and appetite control. Recent research also suggests that zinc positively impacts cognitive function
and behavior not only in early development, but
throughout life.
Iron is a mineral that plays a vital role in many
biological functions. It helps carry oxygen to cells and
tissues, assists in making red blood cells, aids in brain
development and supports the immune system—all to
keep us healthy. Iron is needed throughout life, especially early on. Research has shown that iron deficiency
in infants has a negative effect on cognition that may be
irreversible. And, later in life even mild, short-term
iron deficiency may impair your ability to perform your
best. Yet, iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States. The iron found
in animal protein is more easily absorbed than the iron
in plant products.
B-vitamins work to promote growth and maintain health. You need essential B-vitamins to “unleash”
the energy in food. Exciting research indicates that improvement in B vitamin status may have a protective
effect against cognitive decline such as age-related dementia.
Fat is an essential nutrient. It provides for the
absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and the formation of
hormones, and it can be used as an energy source. Select lean cuts of meat and include fish 2-3 times a week
in your eating habits. Select 2% milk (parzialmente
scremato here in Italy) or skim, if you like it.
Begin your school year with good food choices
and keep your energy level high. It can’t hurt to give it
a try!
FOR SALE: 7 passenger silver gray Mercedes van, model
V230. It is 5 years old, runs great on gasoline and gpl, 100,000 kms,
AC and all extras. Telephone GB, AOSR alumnus, at 06 588 0729."
FOR SALE: Thermo Lap blanket for Motor Scooter , 50 Euros. If interested, please call Cindy @ 339-1954-759.
AOSR parents, Dr. Carmela Lorincz MD, DDS, and Dr.
David Karpel, MD, DDS, offer affordable quality dental car for
adults and children on Via Cassia 515. They speak English, Italian,
and Hungarian. Services include cleaning, orthodontics, and oral
surgery among others, as well as emergency car. Many AOSR
families use them. Telephone: 06-335-0522 or by email: [email protected]
Elementary School Tutor available for after school or Saturday help with 2nd language English speakers. Elena is grad student mother tongue English speaker with proficient language skills
in Italian, Chinese and Arabic. Call: 347-715-2030.
A new group has started in Rome for writers who need a
place to meet and discuss their work. Our next meeting will be at
the Economy Book Center on Via Torino 136 on October 20 at
16:30. If you are interested, please phone Anna Lowenstein 069575.713 or email: [email protected]
Newcomers are invited to join the (free) Welcome Neighbor
coffee mornings in their neighborhoods. The coffees are a great way
to get to know others like yourself who have just moved to Rome,
and to know some of the "oldtimers" who can share their knowledge about getting along in this super but chaotic city. Email [email protected] to find out who organizes your neighborhood and when the next morning coffee in your neighborhood is
planned.
AOSR familes and staff members that present their school ID
card at Moonlight Women’s Boutique, will receive a 15% discount. Moonlight features up-coming as well as established Italian
designer clothing and is owned and managed by an AOSR alumnus.There are two locations: Via dei Pompieri 16 is near Campo di
Fiore and the other location on Via Flaminia Vecchia 719 is in
Fleming.
Ballet With Fun: Adult Classes (no age/weight limit) Have you
always wanted to learn ballet? This is your occasion to keep fit and
socialize! Stretching exercises based on classical ballet for adults
Classes starting the middle of September 2004 in a large new school
with a qualified bilingual teacher at La Castelluccia (la Storta) Per
Information, Please Phone: Jenny Ussani ,Ballet Teacher,
06.30361843 or 335.6694762 evening.
Any AOSR community member can advertise products or services in the “Il Foro” column free of charge.
Please send information, including name, phone, and
email address to [email protected]
27
The November Falcon Flyer will be published November 1, Next Deadline October 20, 2004
To make comments, suggestions, submit an article or volunteer to work on the Falcon Flyer, please send an email to
[email protected]. or call editor Lisa Finerty at 06-4782-6192. Please send contributions as an attachment,
with minimal formatting (Please, no tables!), in WORD format. Article submissions may be left also in the Flyer
box located in the Principal’s office.
Letter from the Editor
It is such a pleasure to work in a team! The Falcon Flyer, taking the cue
from the Grade 9 Team-Building Retreat (see Chris Tejno’s story on page 15) had a round table meeting on the Quad in mid-September. New parents Bruce and D’Anne MacFarlane and Kelly
McGinnis and Sara Altshul proved to be too gracious to leave the PTO Coffees earlier this month
without me wresting their phone numbers from them. We have almost figured out a way to do this newsletter on our
own computers, which frees at least one machine for the computer classes.
Bruce, D’Anne, Kelly and Sara join the usual suspects --- Claudia Sobral, Grazia Deulus, Marlene
Khachadourian and Millie Kneeland as well as our wonderful columnists -- in making this project as fun as it has
ever been. As we know well at the Falcon Flyer, we aren’t here for a long time--- we’re here for a good time.
Thanks! Nirella and Daniela…we are saving a place for you at the table.
Seeing the ever-improving process at the school is a tribute to our principal. So many of the observations
shared with Dr. Pfannl at the Principal/Parent Advisory Council (see report on page 12) have been put to good use.
The Newcomers Welcome and the grade-specific programs (like the Grade 6 Orientation, the Grade 9 Retreat, the
Senior Seminar) were well planned and Executed, proving General Eisenhower’s adage: “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” This next month, the first Parent Seminars will be held.
Barring further technical difficulties, the website should be streaming next month (see story on page 6).
Thank you, Mr. Rahm and Michael Gorelick! Soon, with its vast content of school happenings, you may know
more about school than the children at your dinner table!
As for life outside the campus boundaries, please, if you are able, please cast a vote, ideally before October
12, for the November 2 US Federal election. If you have any questions about registration or absentee ballot requests,
please contact me.
The next meeting of the Falcon flyer team is at 10 AM on Wednesday, October 20. Ideas for columns or
stories are always welcome.
Lisa Finerty
School Number: 06-334-381
Fax: 06-3326-2608
Headmaster: Larry Dougherty
06-3343-8331
Domenica Losani
06-3343-8331
Headmaster’s Secretary
Principal: Beth Pfannl
06-3343-8326
Principal’s Secretary: Alessandra Cozzi
06-3343-8326
Admissions: Don Levine
06-3343-8300
Reception/Secretary: Joanne Hoberg
06-3343-8300
Financial Consultant: Elisa Bruno
06-3343-8338
Boarding/Finance: Estelle Dougherty
06-3343-8339
Guidance Counselor: Kate McKenna
06-3343-8327
Nurse: Diane Cullen-Moore
06-3343-8321
After School Activities: (phone from 3:30-4:50 PM)
Christine Hogan, Margaret Ciuffreda
06-3343-8320
MS Activities Coord.: Angela Santangelo
06-3343-8336
Resource Room:
06-3343-8302
All telephone and internet address corrections should be emailed to
[email protected].
Via Cassia 811
00189 Rome, Italy
Internet: www.aosr.org
28
29
27
28
9:30, Cafeteria
x HS Parent Book Discussion,
21
for Dec. 4 Exam
x Registration for SAT I, II
x ES Halloween Parade
29
x 3rd grade Trip to
22
15
Reports distributed
x MS/HS Progress
8
for Nov. 6 Exam
x Registration for SAT I,II
1
Friday
onships @ either
Germany or England
x XC European Champi-
x VB at AOSR
30
x AOSR 5K Run/2K
x XC at AOSR, VB - BYE
x ACT Exam
23
x VB, XC at Milan
16
x VB, XC at Aviano
x SAT l, II Exam
9
@11 AM
x AOSR Family Picnic
2
Saturday
11/18 - MS Play (evening)
11/17 - MS Play (evening)
11/12 - HS Report Cards
11/09 - Declamations Assembly
11/08 - PTO Meeting
Sat I & II Exam
Women’s VB Championship
11/06 - Men’s VB Championship
Women’s VB Championship
11/05 - Men’s VB Championship
11/04 - Men’s VB Championship
11/01 - No School
in November:
ings Time
MS Report Cards
Open from 9:30 2:30
x PTO Boutique
26
Boutique
x PPAC Meeting, 1:15,
20
x Art Hist/AP English 12
9:30, Cafeteria
x MS Parent Book Discussion,
14
x ACT Registration Due
9:30, Cafeteria
x ES Parent Book Discussion,
7
Thursday
x Daylight
9:30 (Parents)
x UN Concert, (K-5th),
25
Open from 9:30 2:30
x PTO Boutique
x PTO meeting, 9:15,
Boutique
19
Grades 10/11
x PSAT /NMSQT Exam,
x PTO Boutique
Open from 9:30 2:30
13
12
Open from 9:30 2:30
18
x NO SCHOOL
11
x Late Buses Begin
Begin
6
Wednesday
Wellness Day
Sav-
5
Tuesday
x After-School Activities x PTO Boutique
4
Monday
Dates to Remember
31
24
17
10
3
Sunday
AOSR October 2004