Angl ican Internat ional School , Jerusalem Volume LVI, Issue 4

D I R E C T O R ’ S N O T E . . . O F I N T E R E S T

17th December 2015

Upcoming Event Dates

December

• Monday Jan4th

Return to school!

• Wednesday Jan 6th

Secondary PTF

6.30 p.m.

• Friday Jan 8th

Elementary PTA

8.30 a.m.

• Friday Jan 15th

- Friday Jan 22nd

G11/12 Semester

Exams

• Monday Jan 18th

- Thursday Jan 21st

G6-10 Semester

Exams

• Friday Jan 22nd

Pre-School Mums &

Tots 8.30 a.m.

• Monday Jan 25th

Semester Two begins

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Secondary ...to none 2

IB Middle Years 2

IB Diploma 2

Elementary ...my dear 3

Pre-School ...of thought 3

Message from LLS 4

Carols by Candlelight 4

PARENTS ’ NEWS

AISJ students and families

turned out en masse for this

year‟s Christmas Fair.

Secondary students provided

games for our Elementary

students; many of us -

i n c l u d i n g a d u l t s ! -

enjoyed the bouncy castles;

the line for the camel ride

stretched across the school

and Santa came to spread

Christmas cheer. We were

blessed with wonderful

weather and a wonderful

event!

AISJ C H R I S T M A S F A I R

It is really hard to believe that

there is only three weeks until the

school holidays. For the Christian

community this is the build up to

Christmas and all those wonder-

ful and varied traditions which we

share from around the world. By

the time you read this we will

have had our Christmas Fair, our

Pre School and Elementary

productions and of course our

ever popular Carol Service (some

pictures below). I do hope that in

some way we all will be able to

join in with some or all the

planned events.

This season of Advent (the arrival

of Jesus at Bethlehem) is

always one of joy and expecta-

tion. Even in these difficult days

in Jerusalem it is so important

that our school is also a place of

joy, peace and expectation, just as it

has always been. Thank you for the part

you play in making AISJ all that it is and

I hope your holiday season will be happy

and blessed.

Dr Lawrence Hilditch, Director

I B D I P L O M A P R O G R A M While I sincerely hope our students will be enjoying some valuable family time

over the vacation, I am well aware that many may begin studying for exams over

these holidays. Aside from warm holiday wishes, I offer the following seven piec-

es of advice to your children. I know you will support them in their endeavors.

1. Don't wait until the last minute!

2. Organize a study space ...an organized desktop makes an organized brain a

lot easier!

3. Meet to study with classmates...and, you know...study!

4. Take regular breaks… Studies by Gao et al (1990) and Floru and Cail (1987)

concluded that performance starts to deteriorate after 50-60 minutes of contin-

uous work. Best to take short rest breaks every 40 minutes or so.

5. Exercise… Henning et al (1997) concluded that short breaks which include

physical activity are even more effective than rest breaks.

6. Sleep…when it‟s time to sleep!!

7. Do the best you can…and you will have done a great job.

Happy and peaceful holidays!

As the first term draws

to a close, Secondary

students can be proud

of all they have accom-

plished. From the aca-

demic (Grade 12 Ex-

tended Essays and

Grade 10 Personal Pro-

jects) to the extra-

curricular (the Residen-

tial trip, sports match-

es, organizing and man-

ning the Christmas

Fair,) our students have

been busy, busy.

A recent highlight of our

curriculum trips was the

Art trip to the Israel Mu-

seum to view the

„Twilight over Berlin‟

exhibition.

When students return in

January they face the

prospect of Semester

One examinations. Robin

has outlined some tips

for studying below; I

would add to those the

importance of resting

and enjoying the break

as much as possible. I

know I fully intend to do

so! Wishing you and your

families a relaxing and

enjoyable break.

Page 2

I B M YP : P E R S O N A L P R O J E C T S , T H E 8 T H R O U N D

SE C ONDARY . . .T O NO N E

As MYP Coordinator and former Personal Project

Coordinator I am privileged to be intimately in-

volved with the Personal Project. I am amazed at

the range of topics that students choose from chal-

lenges and rewards of disabled children to political

leaders, comparison of fertility rates to composing

film music. As always, I am pleasantly surprised at

how involved our students become with this inde-

pendent piece of work.

I congratulate the 10th graders, their supervisors,

and Helen Lucas as the Personal Project Coordina-

tor. You've completed a milestone.

Volume LVI, Issue 4

Dr Barbara Zinn

MYP Coordinator

Ms Robin Press

IB DP Coordinator

Ms Anna Brunskill

Head of Secondary

Nick Fellows, composer

Parents ’ News

Christmas time is here!

We have enjoyed three

wonderful celebrations

in school. First we had

the Christmas Carol

Service on Tuesday

night and Thursday we

had our two Christmas

Productions. It gives a

wonderful feeling of

being together, hearing

the voices of our chil-

dren and celebrating

the birth of Jesus, the

light of the world.

The productions take

up a lot of time at the

end of term. The Key

Stage 2 production was

based on the book

Jesus’ Christmas Party,

by Allen Nicholas. The

children (with teachers‟

guidance!) turned it into

a script during literacy

hours, learned their

songs during Music and

R.E. lessons and made

props and scenery dur-

ing Art lessons. Even

P.E. lessons were used

to learn some dances.

All these efforts made

the productions into the

wonderful nativity plays

you have seen. On top

of that there is the help

of the maintenance

team, who put together

the staging, the help

from Mr. Carlos for the

sound and a profes-

sional light man operat-

ing all the lights.

To finish it all off there

is the endless support

from the parents. You

have put in numerous

hours listening to the

same songs being prac-

ticed at home. You help

your child make or

choose the outfit for

the production. Thank

you!

It is incredible to realize

all the work that goes

into a production. It is a

gift that we may see

how all the talents and

skills in the end come

together in the one

hour on stage.

And why?

Because we received

the biggest gift from

God on Christmas Day.

Have a Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year!

I would like to share

this thought with you

as a gift for the holi-

day season. Our

youngest and tiniest

student may be very

small, but she is very

big inside and she has

this to say:

How quickly time has

flown by and it‟s hard to

think we are now at the

end of the first term.

Every single child has

learnt so much, from

the youngest to the old-

er ones in Little Jays.

The past few weeks

have been busy with

every child participating

in Christmas events.

We have been entering

into the true meaning

of Christmas by getting

ready for our Noisy Na-

tivity with lots of singing

at school, and I‟m sure

at home too.

Safe travels to those

who are going away. a

Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year.

Page 3

EL EM E NTA RY . . .M Y D E AR

PR E -SC H OO L . . .O F T HO U G HT

Mr Steffen Ferwerda

Head of Elementary

Ms Beverly Sandy

Head of Pre-School

Christmas wrapping

paper by Liam, Josh

and Amos, PY5

Angl ican International School , Jerusalem

This past week AISJ hosted its annual carol service on the school field, with

students, staff and parents all wrapping up warm and taking part. We were

thrilled that the rain held off and the skies were clear for the outdoor event,

where we light the field with candles, listen to a variety of readings and sing

Christmas carols. This year we were also entertained by performances from our

wonderful Secondary Music Club, who sang a range of songs from the traditional

carol O Holy Night to the favourite Christmas song I’m Dreaming of a White

Christmas. The service was followed by the „International Winter Treats‟ event,

with sweet treats, hot chocolate and soup served on the basketball court.

Thanks to all who took part and especially to those who helped organize a

magical evening!

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT DECEMBER 15TH 2015

82 Rehov Haneviim

PO Box 191

Jerusalem 91001

Israel

Phone: +972 (0)2 567 7200

Fax: +972 (0)2 538 4874

E-mail: office@aisj.co.il

where the world goes to school

We’re on the Web!

www.aisj.co.il

AISJ is an internationally accredited pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 (ages 3-18) school, dedicated to prepar-ing students to succeed throughout the world, in schools, universities, future responsibilities and careers, and is founded upon Chris-tian beliefs and values.

Our mission is to:

Lead the way, every day to deliver the best world class education.

Teach within the best meth-odology available and within the highest standards of Christian ethics and values.

Value, care for and encour-age every child to learn to the best of their ability and to prepare them to take their place as a world citizen.

Value and professionally enhance every staff member.

Assist every school family to partner in the learning expe-rience of the child within this unique and special location.

LA N G UA G E & LE A R N I N G SU P P O RT

Mrs Liz Album

LLS Coordinator

The time has come to review

our inclusion policy, which

lays down the guidelines for

how we include and cele-

brate every learner at AISJ.

In reading through the

policy, I came across one

paragraph which remains

unchanged and is one of the

solid anchors of AISJ:

“At AISJ teachers endeavor

to personalize the learning

experience as much as pos-

sible, teaching to the intelli-

gences and interests of our

students and aiming to

inspire and engage every-

one. We pay exceptional

sensitivities to the cultural

and religious values of all

our school community and

our extended local com-

munities and as a result,

we make a unique, safe

and respectful learning

environment in our diverse

city”.

I believe paragraphs like

this are not merely a docu-

ment on a shelf, but the

living embodiment of what

we aim towards at AISJ

and I feel privileged to

work with a staff who ena-

ble this.