Dear Parents,

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

• I encourage you to come to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the AISJ Association that will be held on Wednesday, March 24 starting at 6:00 PM in the FAC.  Come and meet the candidates for the School Board election. You can also meet them at the regular School Board meeting on Monday, March 22.  Don’t forget to vote for your candidates! The election packets are being sent home today. If you wish to take an AISJ bus to either meeting, please note bus schedule below:

• Please join the community at the PTO sponsored Family Fun Day on Saturday, March 27
  from 11:00-4:00. It will be a great day for all!

I am pleased to announce that AISJ received the excellent news that our mid-term accreditation application has been approved without any stipulations by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA).  MSA is the US based professional licensing organization that certifies (accredits) US and international schools only if they meet a set of rigorous educational and operational standards.  It is essential to maintain our accreditation in order for our students to be accepted at leading universities around the world.  The accreditation process also ensures that we stay committed to continuous improvement as a school in all areas of instruction and operations.  Thank you Core Planning Accreditation Team (CPT) for your efforts in keeping AISJ on the path of continuous improvement.  The team is comprised of teachers, principals, parents, school board, support staff and students. A special thank you to Ben Weinberg (Principal of the Pretoria campus), and to Liz Hargreaves (k-12 Curriculum Coordinator) for leading the CPT and assembling the mid-term accreditation report. 

Finally, last week we experienced a serious computer hardware problem that has affected our ability to send or receive emails.  We are working hard to correct this problem as soon as possible.  Thank you for your understanding and patience in this regard.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

I hope you have a pleasant Spring Break with your family (we are closed from March 13, opening again on March 22).

Sincerely,

Dr. Rob Beck

Director

Dear Parents, 

I would like to draw your attention to the upcoming the Annual General Meeting (AGM). This is the time of year when all parents have an opportunity to participate in the election of new Board Members and to attend the meeting during which announcement of successful candidates is made. The purpose of the AGM is to give an overall picture of the health and direction of AISJ in terms of stated mission and values and to present actions, events and challenges of the current academic year as well as plans for the future. It includes reports by the Board Chair; Finance, including auditors, Price Waterhouse Coopers; the Head of School; and student council representatives from high school, middle and elementary school. Also on the agenda is a question/answer session to allow for dialogue with the Board.

The mandate that the Board has is to focus on strategic issues and the long-term well-being of the school. This includes adopting a clear statement of the schools mission, vision and strategic goals and establishing consistent policies and plans. The primary work of the Board is long range and strategic;

we work closely with the Head of School to maintain oversight of the schools’ programs and operations, and the Head of School is responsible for day to day operations. 
I encourage all members of the community to participate in voting for your School Board candidates by reading the background information on candidates included in this packet, meeting candidates in person when possible, and voting. There are several ways to cast your vote, including submitting a sealed ballot prior to the AGM and submitting your ballot at the AGM. Candidates will be present at the Board meeting on Monday March 22nd to introduce themselves, and again at the coffee prior to the AGM from 6-6:30 pm. Ballot boxes will be sealed and votes counted at 6:30 pm by our auditors. This year there are four Board seats being contested and we have ten candidates, the highest numbers anyone at the school can remember.   This is a very important time for the school and we are reaching out to encourage you to please vote.

Sincerely,
Irene C. Felsman
Chairman, AISJ School Board

Bussing will be available at the following times and locations
Please note the busses will be leaving promptly at the times below.

AGENDA

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF JOHANNESBURG
WILL BE HELD ON SCHOOL CAMPUS
ON
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24th, 2010 AT 6.00 P.M.

6.00- 6:30– Coffee, meet candidates and voting in Art Room
6:30 - Closing of ballots
6.30 – 7.30 AGM in the Fine Arts Center

 

• Welcome and opening  - Irene Felsman, Board Chair                                                             
• Approval of previous AGM Minutes                                                         
• PTO Report – Nermine Bochra, PTO President                                                                                                                                          
• Student Council Reports                                                                        
• Student Council Presidents Middle School & High School                                                                            
• Chair Report
• Overview of Board activities for 2009-2010 school year                                                          
• Year End Financial Results  (Can be viewed on the website, http://www.aisj-jhb.com/Board%20of%20Directors.html   Note: the file is fairly large an might take a while to download)
• Introduction – Fred Glick - Board Treasurer
• Audited Annual Financial Statements 2008/2009 – PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Statement of Revenue and Expenditure for the period ended February 2010    
• Director’s Report  - Dr. Robert Beck         
• Presentation of results of the Board elections –
• Overview from Auditors - Crickmore-Thompson & Associates
• Presentation of new Board members - Sarah Stuart- Nagle – Nomination Committee                 
• Questions and Answers 
• Adjournment

                                                                                                        Total: 60 min

The Cub Scout Camping Trip was a resounding success this year.  All campers came home exhausted and ready to go fishing yet again.  After hiking, biking, playing, swimming, fishing, fishing and fishing, these budding outdoorsmen – and their dads - were ready for a good nap in their own beds!!  Aside from those activities, the scouts learned valuable skills and earned many parts of their required badges.

 

 

None of this would have been possible without the help of a few instrumental people.  First and foremost is Phillip van Niekerk, scout dad, who selected the site, organized the food and activities for the time there, as well as ordered and brought all the fishing rods and tackle boxes for the boys. Oh did I mention he taught the boys the nuts and bolts of fishing (including the requisite tangled lines of 24 children), and all with the patience of Job. Hats off to Phillip!  This was a marvelous job for our boys and a shining example of volunteerism for the scouting community.

Leanne Smith and Evi Singleton also get a  BIG THANK YOU for their support of the trip. Without both of their stellar organizational skills, fishing rods and tent distribution would never have happened! This type of event for such a large group can be a nightmare to organize, but with these two wonderful, talented and dedicated women on board, it was made a very manageable task. 

We had a lot of help on the ground at camp and that came from our volunteer Eagle Scout Nathaniel Andrews and a handful of dads who took on the various outings or organization of them. Nathaniel jumped right in and helped through and through. Best of all, with his wealth of scouting experience, he was able to lead the boys in teaching the skills they needed at camp.  Great thanks goes to Hermann Zunker, Chris Whitfield, Jim Burton and David Wilson for taking charge of the activities the boys did while there. The kids loved the chance to do so many different things and you all made it happen for them.

So after such a great excursion, it’s hard to imagine what we could possibly do next year to follow this up!

NEXT MEETING MARCH 22:
Our first meeting for the last session is March 22.  We are doing the Scorpion Trail clean-up, a den activity, so if parents can attend we can always use a bit of extra supervision. 

ONLY FIVE MEETINGS LEFT!!
This session is the shortest for us with only five meetings. That means you need to look through your son’s book and find out what he needs to do to complete his badge requirements.  Our advancement ceremony is in early May so you really only have the next few weeks to finish up the year’s program.  Please contact your leader if you feel your son will have trouble completing his badge in time.

LAST OUTING- CARGO JET VISIT:
The tentative date is Saturday, April 10th.  All logistical and bureaucratic steps are in place and we are awaiting the final go ahead from the fleet director.  Once we have it, we are good to go.  This is an activity with limited spaces so if you have not contacted Tiffany and your son is interested in going, please do so soon.  This is for scouts only (no adults, sorry).

On Friday, March 5th the 1st and 5th grade students hosted the first annual AISJ CAN/SA Sprayathon.  The Cancer Association of South Africa (CAN/SA) is dedicated to fighting cancer and operates prevention programs and patient care services to reduce the impact of cancer by promoting health in all South African communities through advocacy and the sustainable facilitation of research, prevention and early detection of cancer.  The annual CAN/SA Shavathon/Sprayathon is one of South Africa’s best loved events in support of a worthy cause.  People shave or spray their hair to raise funds for the fight against cancer.  We are very proud to announce that in our inaugural event we raised R16,500! 

To all of you who supported the event by spraying your hair or volunteering your time, thank you from your AISJ CAN/SA team, 
Ms. Tammy Keizer (Grade 1), Ms. Karen Vicente (Grade 5), and Ms. Carolynn Pettit

 

September 29 – October 02, 2010
Mr. Hunt
MUN Director

The success of a Model United Nations Conference begins with a dedicated Student Officer Corp. The JOMUN VIII Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General have now been appointed.  The role and responsibility of the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General Student Officers is both demanding and rewarding.  These student leaders not only have to become knowledgeable on the compelling conference theme and committees topics, they also need to be thoroughly versed and practiced in the Rules and Procedures of Parliamentary Debate as they conduct conference debate with up to 300 diverse delegates. These two student officers will soon be devoting much time and energy in preparing for their responsibilities for leading the Eighth Annual Johannesburg Model United Nations Conference. The JOMUN experience simulates the United Nations in action and will prove to be an authentic learning activity as it provides a unique opportunity to promote global awareness and cross-cultural exchange, while building citizenship and constructing ambassadorial and leadership characteristics. 
           
The JOMUN VIII theme for September 2010 will be TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA. JOMUN aims to include both local South African schools as well as various International Schools. The intention of JOMUN is to prepare potential delegates and student officers for nomination to three additional international Model United Nations conferences that AISJ student/delegates will participate in next year.  These conferences are located in Cairo, The Hague, and Beijing.  In the past, AISJ has had student leaders selected to the Student Officer positions in these international conferences.  These positions are very demanding and difficult to attain as student leaders from around the world seek these Student Officer positions. Lastly, and of much importance, the Secretary General and Deputy will have an additional critical role this year to ensure that JOMUN retains and builds upon its THIMUN Affiliation. The very visible role of a Student Officer will make for a successful MUN Conference.  This year’s JOMUN VIII Student Officers are listed below.   Congratulations are due these appointees.
                                 
STUDENT OFFICIERS for JOMUN VIII

SECRETARY GENERAL
Andrew Macaulay

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
Julia Pimentel

Important Dates:
March 15 – 19        School Holiday – No School
March 22                                School Resumes
March 22                                School Board Meeting, 6:30 at the MS/HS Library
March 24                                PTO Meeting, 8:00 am
Annual General Meeting, 6:30 at the FAC
March 29 – April 1 International Arts Fest Week, Information Coming

Las noticias

March 8-12

This past week the 3-5th grade students began taking about el cuerpo, or the body.     The students learned the basic vocabulary this week, including words like: la cabeza, (head) la mano, (hand), los ojos , (eyes), la rodilla, (knee), and los hombres,( shoulders).  They enjoyed singing songs in Spanish to reinforce the vocabulary as well as playing interactive games and drawing pictures and doing an activity using magazines to help build and reinforce the vocabulary.

I hope everyone has a safe and restful break.

Saludos,
Señora Scibal

Happy March break everyone!  Safe travels.

MS Parent-Counselor Workshop on Adolescent Issues

Tuesday, March 23 -   8-9 AM - Middle School Conference Room
This workshop will focus on the developmental characteristics of Middle school students – physical, social, emotional and intellectual.  This is a unique age group and parents are invited to join in the discussion of the joys and challenges presented by this group as they move on into adolescence.
Workshop Presenters/Resources:
Dr. Anna Beck, MS Counselor, Ms. Kim de Tombe, Health Teacher, Mr. Jeff Ravine, Grade 7 Social Studies Teacher/Team Leader

Please RSVP to MS Office

Congratulations to Soccer & Swim teams & Indaba!

• AISJ middle school hosted our 8th annual under 14 soccer tournament.  Approximately 320 students from the Gauteng area participated.  AISJ had its biggest (4 boys teams and 2 girls teams participated) and best showing yet.  Our AISJ girls 2 team made it to the final game against Eldorado Park.
  
• Indaba completed another successful spirit week from March 1-5 which culminated in MS Social Pool Party on March 5.

• Our swimming season ended on March 3 with many MS students participating in two or more galas. 

Hip Hop is Coming!

We are adding hip hop dance lessons to our sports & activities program.  This is an addition and does not appear in the sports/activities calendar.  It starts on March 25 and will be held on Thursdays after school with an additional two hour class on Friday April 9.  It ends on May 20 for a total of 9 sessions. Students who are interested just need to show up for the first session on March 25 in the FAC!  Contact Mr. Mendes if you have additional questions at dmendes@aisj-jhb.com

Blackboard is up and running (finally!)

After dealing with inconsistent Internet availability here on campus for the last several weeks it appears that things are finally back to normal.  Thank you for your patience.  Teachers will be back on blackboard regularly starting on March 8 (as long as our Internet service remains stable.)  If you have any technical questions about Blackboard contact our tech specialist Mr. Mendes at dmendes@aisj-jhb.com

MS Music Café is coming!

Save the date – March 29 from 3:00 to 4:45 p.m.  – more details will be sent out after the holiday.

Parent Teacher Conferences are coming!

(Another) Save the date – April 8 – same format as in November – more details will be sent out after the holiday.

Dear High School Parents:

Although we still have three months left in this school, we are embarking on the process of developing schedules for next year.  On Monday, Ms. Sheaffer and Ms. Guedes met with 10th graders and their parents to explain the IB program and go over the course options for grade 11.  On Tuesday, Ms. Sheaffer met with the current 9th graders and 8th graders to explain the course selection process for next year, and Wednesday she covered the process with the current 11th graders.  We added several new elective options for next year, including Speech and Debate, Introduction to World Religions and Introduction to Economics.  Overall, we will offer 13 different elective options next year, although two (South African Film Studies and School Publications/Yearbook) are only open to grades 11 and 12.  Each student was given a course selection form with the course options and a list of electives.  The selection form, with parent signature, must be returned to the high school office by Wednesday, March 24.  Please sit down with your student to help him/her complete this important form.  Once we get all the course requests and teacher recommendations, we will begin building our master schedule and creating student schedules for next year.  Tentative schedules will be distributed to students in May to catch any errors, then the revised schedules will be passed out when the new school year starts.  If you have any questions regarding the course selection process, please contact Ms. Sheaffer.

Progress reports were sent home via Edline on March 3.  I sincerely apologize if the recent technology problems we have been experiencing resulted in any delays.  Some of our teachers encountered technical glitches and will re-send their reports by the end of this week.   If you still have not been able to access the progress reports, please contact Ms Barltrop in the high school office.    As always, we reviewed all the progress reports and created a “students of concern” list for students who earned a C- or below in any class.  On the “good news” side, we continue to see reductions in the number of students on the list for grade 9, and there were overall improvements in grades for students who were on the list after semester one.  On the “concern” side, we saw an increase in the number of 11th grade students on the list.   We are in the process now of talking with 11th grade students and teachers to determine how we can improve this situation before the semester grades are issued in June. 

Finally, I continue to get requests—or just hear second-hand from teachers—for students to leave school early and/or return late from the March vacation.  I want to reiterate that absences are considered “unexcused” unless these are excused in advance by the principal.  In order to be qualify as an “excused,” absences must involve medical appointments, family emergencies, religious holidays, exceptional educational opportunities or other viable reasons.  Requests must be made in writing five days prior to departure.  For “unexcused” absences, students are allowed to make up missed assignments, but only for 75% credit.  (Parent-Student Handbook, page 6, “Attendance Requirements”)

Sincerely,

Jon Walker
High School Principal

Message from the IB Coordinator:

Upcoming HS Sex Ed!!!!!

There was much positive response by the HS students to the World AIDS Day event we had in December; however, many questions have come up concerning sex.  We feel that we need to address these questions so that we have students who are knowledgeable about human sexuality.  This knowledge will allow them to make better decisions in their lives. 

We realize that this is a highly sensitive subject.  The plan is to have separate sessions with the boys and girls.  John Amosa will be meeting with the boys and I will be meeting with the girls.  This will take place during mission blocks in the 3rd week of March.  We will stress abstinence as the best choice, but will address questions concerning STD’s and birth control. 

Should you not want your child to participate in these sessions, please let me know.

We thank you for your support with this and encourage you to use this as an opportunity to initiate some discussions at home.

Please email or call should you have any questions or concerns.  Thanks!

Dates to Remember
Mondays                                After-School Soccer 3:00 – 4:30
March 15 - 19                         School Holiday !!!
Tuesday 23 March                Sport Relief            Grades 3 – 6          WEAR RED and WHITE!
Friday 26 March                    Swim Gala 10:00 – 11:50  PK – Grade 2 & 12:35 – 14:00 Grades 3 - 6
29 March – 1 April                 Arts Fest (no After School Activities during Arts Fest week)

FAMILY FUN DAY
Saturday, March 27th, 2010 -  11:00-4:00
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ADVANCE TICKET SALES
Tickets for Family fun day will be on sale

THURSDAY MARCH 11TH AND FRIDAY 12TH
AND from
Monday March 22nd  to Friday 26th
Mon – Thur’s   2:40 – 3:20
Friday’s   1:20 – 1:45

In the upper parking area at the AISJ campus
Tickets will also be available for sale on March 27th

Ride Wristbands
R80 (Some Rides) & R100 each (all rides)
R5  and R10 Each Food Tickets

(not all food items are R5 and R10- some may require multiple tickets)
(wristbands provide entry and some rides;
parents do not need to purchase wristbands)

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RAFFLE TICKETS
Available with Advance Tickets sales!

Try and win one of many great prizes…
Two night stay for Two at Mmabatha Palms, Peermont Resorts. Custom made Leather Floor Cushion, Jenna Clifford products, LaPerla, McDonalds kids Birthday party (fourways) and more….
Ask a PTO member, with the advance Ticket sales, and Eagle Shop during regular hours

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RIDES & GAMES
The kids are going to have so much fun!
RIDES: Fufi Slide, Mechanical Bull, Seated Gyroscope, Giant wave Slide, Parachute Simulator, Mechanical Water Ski, Slip and Slide, bouncy castles…
GAMES/Activites: Build a bear, Build a box game, AISJ environmental Club, sand art etc..

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AMAZING AUCTION ITEMS!!
A 0.64 Carat Brilliant Cut Diamond.
Setting included (up to r5000).
Value: R 20000

2 economy return tickets to Europe
from Lufthansa
Value:  R20000
2 night B&B at the 5 star Cape Grace Hotel
on the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Value: R10900

Senior Graduation Dress 
From Debutante’s Ball Gown
Value:  R7000

Nokia X6 Phone with Music edition
Value:  R6500

Hot Air Balloon Safari for 2 Over
the Beautiful Magalies River valley,
includes a  Champagne Breakfast
Value:  R 5540

2 Nights B&B at 4 star Peermont
Mondazure – San Lemeer, KZN.
Value:  R3500

Beautiful Oriental Rug
(from Gail Katz Interiors)
(includes Certificate )
Value: 3500

 

Payment options:
If you are planning to bid on any of the amazing Auction items or baskets please you must have cash on the day or Pay EFT later.

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Auction of International Baskets
We have over 24 Baskets from different countries to bid on!  This is one of the most popular items at FFD.
NEW Annual Country Competition:   the basket/country that earns the most money for FFD, their country will be engraved on a plaque for future FFD events!

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HS Challenge
R1500 for each member of the winning team.  Four per team.
If you are interested in competing, Team forms are available at the HS Office!
It will be lots of FUN!

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Build-a-Bear
Really amazing this year let the kids build-a-bear
From R160-R400
Choose a South African animal, Zakumi the FIFA World cup mascot, or one of 7 different Soccer Teddy Bears..and more
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FOOD
We have over 10 different stalls of food! From Designer cakes and coffee to Pizza and Sushi!
(No alcoholic beverages allowed on school property)
Entertainment
We have lots of great items of entertainment:  The MS Choir and band, Ronald McDonald is back for the kids…and some surprises
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CARICATURIST
This will make a fun keepsake for your children and friends!
R50 for single and R80 for double person
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If you have any questions about Family Fun Day
please ask one of the PTO members or contact 
Debbie Papas - Family Fun Day Coordinator 
debpapas@iafrica.com