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Newsletters
From
the Office of the Director - Summer 2010
We hope that our students and families are enjoying a relaxing
summer. Each school year seems to fly by at a rather unbelievable
pace, with the summer months upon us and the rains a distant memory.
Breathe in the gently perfumed Roman air and take this occasion to bask
in some family quality time. We strongly suggest that you unplug your
children and yourselves, as a matter of fact, during the long awaited
holidays. Spend some time together without iPods, cell phones,
blackberries, digital games, Internet et al. Sometimes a walk to
nowhere, an ice cream and a conversation are just what the doctor
ordered - perhaps the best of all therapies.
- Summer Office Hours
The school office will remain open until Thursday, July 29th. Offices
hours are 9.00 am -1.00 pm. We will close for three weeks holiday and
reopen on Monday the 23rd of August.
N.B. E-mails will be collected every other day from ambrit@ambrit-rome.com or director@ambrit-rome.com
Lost and Found
Every year mountains of beautiful clothing are left at school. At
the end of each term we send all unclaimed items to local
charities. We would like to get a better handle on this next year
so we are asking parents to label all sweaters and outer clothing
before the start of school. A label on an item simply makes it so
much easier to locate the owner. You can purchase labels at
www.easy2name.com. Give it a try!
Primary Years Program
Ambrit is continuing to work hard towards PYP authorization. It is
expected that IBO representatives will come to Ambrit in autumn 2010
for a preliminary visit and to give guidance on our next steps towards
authorization.
A number of changes will take place during the 2010/11 school year,
most notably, the introduction of target setting and student-led
conferences. These conferences will take place in October and
May. Information on these changes will be communicated at length at the
beginning of the school year when we will offer some informative
workshops on this and other related PYP topics. We look forward
to seeing you there. In the meantime, you can view our latest
curriculum newsletter at
http://www.ambrit-rome.com/curriculumsitenew/newsletter3.pdf
PYP Planning Days - School Closed for Students
Friday, October 15th, 2010
Monday, January 10th, 2011
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Friday, April 1st, 2011
Friday, May 13th, 2011
EAL Early Intervention
Next year there will be some re-organization in the EAL Department. EAL
support will be extended from the current Grades 1 to 6 to include
Prep. The aim is to provide young language learners with more targeted
opportunities for listening and speaking and to enhance all-round
language support, as the children lay the all-important foundations for
learning to read and write.
Technology upgrade
As we all know, modern technology moves at an incredible pace. Just
five years ago, who would have thought that Interactive Whiteboards
(Smart Boards) would become so commonplace and integral in the
classrooms of today, alongside laptops, iPods and video cameras!
Children are surrounded by a wide range of technological advances
everyday and, at Ambrit, we ensure that students are kept up to date
with the most current uses of technology. The current technology at the
school, mainly consisting of Apple eMac computers, has supported staff
and students reliably and efficiently for the past 4 years. However,
each day new programs, technologies and web-based learning experiences
are becoming available and we need to ensure that students have access
to the latest software and hardware. Therefore Ambrit has decided to
invest in a school-wide upgrade of each classroom computer - over 35
new iMac 21-inch Apple computers are being purchased for classrooms in
2010/2011, providing teachers and students access to a much richer and
more profound technology-based learning. As a result, the
existing computers, Apple eMacs, will be available for students and
teachers as "student" computers to support learning in the class, with
internet access and basic programs available to further implement and
encourage the use of technology during lessons and class time.
Students will have access when they need it to technology that is
current - thus supporting and enhancing their already rich
learning environment and ensuring that Ambrit students are best
prepared to enter the new technological age.
Library News
The library is wrapping up another successful year. Besides
working all year on updating our collection and records to support the
Primary Years Programme objectives, we have been working steadily
toward our goal of creating two fully integrated library spaces at
Ambrit next year, one for the upper grades and one for the lower
grades. A great deal of work goes on behind the scenes for a big
change like this and we appreciate the patience and support of the
Ambrit community while we work on this transition. A special
thank-you goes to our library volunteers.
As always, it has been a delight to watch student’s progress over
the course of the year. To keep those skills sharp during the
summer break, the message from the library is: KEEP
READING! On the website are a few suggestions for books to
read over the summer. Check it out at http://www.ambrit-rome.com/library/Summer_Reading.pdf
A Spectacular Year for our Charities
There has been an unprecedented out-pouring of generosity for our
charities from the Ambrit community this year. We started our fund
raising year on Halloween with a bake sale for the girls home in Port
au Prince, Haiti. After the tragic earthquake in January the home
was seriously damaged and the girls are now living in tents on the
grounds until the building is repaired. Pascale Salomon will go
to Haiti to see what we can to for the orphanage. The giving tree for
Rocca di Papa at the Holiday Bazaar allowed every child in the home to
be given a special gift. We also were able renovate a game room.
By Easter we opened the Ambrit house in Shillong - the heart-warming
ceremony swept me away - I felt awe at what we had accomplished as a
community. The grand total of funds raised is just about
47.000,00€!!!
Hearts for Haiti 16.910
Rocca di Papa 12.040
Shillong 13.910
Student Council 4.000
Our first teacher volunteer, Michelle Falcinelli, will launch our
teacher summer program in Shillong, India. Once we have the
program set up with the assistance of Anita Roy, the Foundation
its@ambrit will send 3 teachers each summer to assist the children in
the orphanage with their studies.
Kids2Kids
Our clothing drive Kids2Kids made 135 complete wardrobes for children
in Rome and we are sending off 15 suitcases to Africa in June! Thanks
to you and the families at Ambrit, Kids2Kids has been a great success
this year. I can't thank you enough for believing in our idea from the
very start. You gave us a chance to start a good thing that is growing
fast and the idea is catching on … I hope that it spreads far
and wide! We will always remember you as our first 'Yes'! Thank
you, Dana Rattazzi
School Policies
May we remind you once again that students are not allowed to bring the following items to school:
- cell phones
- cameras, digital or film
- iPods or mp3 Players
- portable game consoles (GameBoy, PSP etc.)
Should a child need a cell phone in order to contact their parents
after school, the phone must be checked in with the office, where it
will be kept until the end of the school day, then returned to the
student. The office will require a letter from the family, explaining
the student's need for a cell phone.
Class Lists
During the summer, you will receive student class lists; please keep in
mind the following established policies that guide the administration
for student placement and teacher assignments.
Ambrit's Class Placement Policy
Ambrit supports a heterogeneous class environment for its students. A
classroom that is balanced by gender, academic and language abilities
facilitates appreciation of diversity, positive social interchanges,
and co-operative learning. At the end of each academic year, teachers
and specialists meet to decide student class placement for the
following year. Classes will be composed annually to reflect the above
criteria and the philosophy of the school.
Teacher Placement
On April 1st of each scholastic year, the Director assesses the
staffing needs for the next school year. The Director meets with
Department Heads and develops a staffing strategy from a list of
returning faculty and newly hired teachers. The fundamental objective
of the school administration is to create the strongest team in each
sector of the school. In the initial staffing draft, the following
criteria are used as a guideline. A final decision will be made by the
first of June. Parents will be officially informed of September
staffing with the summer mailing.
- Criteria
- Qualifications
- Experience with an age group
- Capability to work in a team
- Teachers work with year group for at least 2 years before a change
- The Director will interview all staff in the spring to review
the current school situation and openly discuss preferences.
Ambrit Mother Tongue Afterschool Programme
After analyzing the results of the Ambrit Language Survey, we see that
some of you have expressed interest in the Mother Tongue Afterschool
Programme. So far we have had requests for the following languages:
Arabic, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Icelandic, Japanese,
Korean, Lithuanian, Mandarin, Norwegian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish, Swedish (already formed) and Turkish.
The school will provide the space, whilst the group may either choose
their own teacher, or ask us to help you to find one. The cost
would be determined by the teacher and interested families.
Please contact the Mother Tongue Coordinator as soon as possible to
express or confirm your interest in forming a group for the coming
school year 2010-2011.
Also, why not check out the results from our language survey http://www.ambrit-rome.com/news/Mother_Tongue_Newsletter.pdf
Jennifer Kightley
EAL and Mother Tongue Coordinator
jennifer.kightley@ambrit-rome.com
Building and Grounds Report
Over the summer, the painters will be freshening up most of the common
areas in the school and some classrooms needing attention. During the
summer we will renovate the art room, reorganizing how the space is
used. The area adjacent to the Language room will be used to enhance
the early childhood programs. The school continues its search for
a more ample facility to accommodate the growing needs of the school.
We have identified an extremely interesting site close to the school;
as negotiations are at a preliminary stage, it is too early to reveal
the exact location. If the project goes forward, it will take several
years before a move, as the property requires extensive renovations.
Faculty List for 2010-2011
The faculty list for the 2010/11school year is included in the summer
mailing you will receive shortly. New teacher bios can be found
on Ambrit's website at http://ambrit-rome.com/staff/staffnews.html
Faculty News
Mr. Gianluca Cristiani and his wife are expecting their first child, while Jen Walters is expecting her second child.
Peter Sheppard and Sandra Ferraro will be retiring. Jennifer Craver and Francis Henkel will be returning to the United States.
Bus Information
Bus information will be available on Friday, the 27th of August. Click
here for general information about buses. All buses are fitted with
seat belts. Please remind your child that they must always buckle up.
Please review bus rules and behaviour standards with your child.
Note from the Bursar
You will receive a form in the summer mailing for the lunch program.
Please return it to the Bursar’s office. The cost is 800,00 euro
for the year and payment is due by Monday, September 6th.
School bus fees are 2.300,00 euro for all areas of Rome. You will be
invoiced directly by the bus company. Please do not make bus
payments to the school account.
Health Records
Each student should have a complete physical/health examination before
entering school, which must be repeated every year. The school doctor
will send the necessary form home with the summer mail. Parents are
asked to return the completed forms promptly. You can also download the
medical form by clicking here.
All new students must provide the school with a copy of a completed
vaccination (including DPT, Hepatitis B and boosters) certificate.
Remember, your child's health forms must be received by the first day
of school. Health forms can be given directly to Gigi Santiago on the
first day of school.
Again, from everyone here at Ambrit, enjoy your summer. See you in September!
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Upcoming events and dates to remember
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| New Student Day |
Tuesday, August 31st 9:00 - 12:00 |
| First day of classes (Kinder - Grade 8) |
Wednesday, September 1st |
| Orientation for Nursey parents |
Friday, September 3rd
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| New Parents' Cocktail Party |
Saturday, September 4th (17:00 - 20:00) |
| Nursery visits |
Monday, September 6th |
| Music Enrichment Meeting |
Monday, September 6th (14:30) |
| First day of classes (Nursery only) |
Wednesday, September 8th (half-day first week) |
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