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AOSR - VIA CASSIA 811 Phone: 06-334-381 Web:WWW.AOSR.ORG February 2006

February: Important dates 1 ES Report Cards 3-MS Valentine’s Dance, Cafeteria 6-HS Art&Drawing stu-dents. The Scuderie Quiri-nale 16– Last Day of After School Activity 17-All students dismissed at 15:20 No After School Activi-ties and no late buses 20-No school. Ski week (Settimana Bianca) 26– Boarders Arrive at residence after 15:00 27– School reconvenes

December 30, 2005

Dr. Larry Dougherty, Headmaster American Overseas School of Rome Dear Dr. Dougherty, I wish to thank you for your letter sharing your mixed feelings concerning your

resignation as Headmaster of AOSR effective 30 June 2006, in order to take up a similar position in the USA. However, your decision to move on comes at a time when AOSR is on an even keel, truly able to carry out its mission of offering an excellent academic pro-gramme and creating a harmonious atmosphere within which an international student body learns to live and work in an American educational system. It is due to your strong and fair-minded leadership, boundless enthusiasm and unwavering commitment to AOSR’s goals and objectives that the school has achieved so much in the eleven years of your ten-ure, as outlined in your letter. On the other hand, your decision shows your strong commit-ment to your family and the willingness to take on new challenges.

I would like to take the opportunity with this letter to inform the school community

of the action taken by the Board of Trustees to ensure continued leadership of AOSR. Let me first start with the circumstances we face. In mid-December we also learned that Dr. Beth Pfannl, AOSR’s Principal, had been offered an attractive position of Head of another school. The fact that both our two top administrators were actively recruited and selected as Heads by other schools is a testament to their leadership qualities. The Board’s aim is to maintain the momentum at AOSR at a critical time, in particular during the completion and follow-up to the re-accreditation process, and the recruitment and settling in of new faculty.

The Board was also concerned that there be a smooth transition at the end of the

school year when another school head will assume the leadership. We plan to have a con-sultative process in selecting a new head, in which faculty and parental input would be so-licited.

Taking these circumstances into consideration, and convinced of Dr. Pfannl’s

strong commitment to AOSR and her leadership ability, the Board has decided to appoint her as Associate Head from 1 January to 30 June 2006, and as Head from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 with extension subject to the positive outcome of the consultative process and an evaluation by the Board against the duties of the position and specified performance crite-ria. As Associate Head over the next six months, Dr. Pfannl will work closely with Dr. Dougherty in a transition and handover process so that she will be in a position to execute the responsibilities of Head from 1 July 2006.

(Continued on page 3)

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December 16, 2005

Dear Mr. Haight, It is with mixed feelings that I announce my resignation from the American Overseas School of Rome effec-tive June 30, 2006. Estelle and I have decided that we would like to return to the United States to be closer to our families. As some of you know, we have six children and four grand children. The long plane rides and the jet lag we have to endure to see them all is increasingly becoming an obstacle for us. I have accepted the position as Headmaster of the Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, CA, in LA. I have been blessed by a supportive Board of Trustees and outstanding Board Chairmen throughout my eleven years here. You are my sixth Board Chair, and I know that you will provide strong support for me over the next few months and for my successor in the years to come. The Parent Teacher Organization has given generously of their time and leadership to improve the school. The Booster Bars, Mayfair and the Boutique are AOSR traditions that were here long before I arrived and will be here long after I leave. These traditions help make the community so welcoming. This marks my eleventh year at AOSR and a part of my heart and soul will always remain here. Our daughter Sarah graduated four years ago and Estelle, Sarah and I all attribute the successes she has attained in college to the wonderful education and teachers she had here. AOSR is a special place and I am proud to have been a part of the renaissance of the school over the past ten years. Our enrollment has increased from under 300 to over 600. Large parts of the campus have been rebuilt and restored. We have expanded the AP and IB pro-grams, initiated a boarding program and upgraded our curriculum. We have two hundred and fifty computers across the school connected by fiber optic cables. Spanish was added to the curriculum and a Spanish National Honor Society was formed. Our Italian students continue to excel in the Italian National Examinations and work hard after school and on Saturdays to keep up with our program while preparing for their examinations. The After School Activities Program serves over 200 students each week and we now run 34 buses all over Rome every day. Our pre-kindergarten program has grown from fourteen students to thirty six children and is housed in totally modernized classrooms. As in any school, the heart of the school is the faculty. AOSR teachers demonstrate their commitment to stu-dents and their passion for teaching every day. Thanks to their excellent teaching, our AP and IB results have improved steadily over the years and more and more of our students are getting into the most competitive col-leges in the world. More importantly, more students are getting into the school that is right for them because of our improved college counseling services. Our elementary teachers work their magic with the mix of stu-dents who enter their classrooms every year. Our Middle School has grown in quality—and the student en-rollment has increased dramatically as a result. The students in this school are incredibly special. I enjoy my interactions with them, from greeting them at the gate to cheering their successes on the playing fields, the stage, or at awards assemblies. I want to thank all the parents who have sent children to AOSR during my tenure here for entrusting their children to us and thank all of the students for their enthusiasm, their curiosity, their sensitivity to other languages and cultures and for just being great kids! I know I have too many people to say good bye to, so I am glad that I have several months to see many of you personally. I will miss this school, this community, la bella città di Roma, l’Italia and tutte le belle cose ital-iane! I have learned so much from this experience and I am glad I was able to give something back to this wonderful school. Arrivederci and grazie, Larry W. Dougherty, Ed.D.

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The AOSR PTO would like to offer hearty congratulations to Dr. Dougherty on his recent appointment as Headmaster of the Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California. We can fully un-derstand his desire to take a position nearer to home, allowing him to be closer to his family. Dr. Dougherty has been tireless in his leadership of AOSR for more than a decade, and the results speak for themselves. He and Estelle have become an integral part of the family that is AOSR, and they will both be greatly missed. We would like to wish them every success in their new endeav-ors, and meanwhile, we look forward to continuing our work together for the time we still have with them. We would also like to compliment the AOSR Board of Trustees for its decisive action in securing Dr. Beth Pfannl as Associate Head of School for the next six months and Head of School for the 2006-2007 school year. The Board realized that for AOSR to lose both of its top adminis-trators at the same time would be detrimental to its program and were able to convince Dr. Pfannl to remain here instead of accepting a Headmaster position at another international school. This obviously provides the optimum opportunity for continuity. It also allows the Board the time it needs to conduct the search for a permanent Head in a thoughtful and carefully considered manner, in consultation with the school community. We feel fortunate to have such a capable, experienced and dedicated school administrator as Head of School for the 2006/2007 school year. Dr. Pfannl already knows the school and the community and is committed to the standard of excellence that AOSR has come to represent. We look forward to her leadership in providing for a smooth transition and the continued success of the school. The PTO greatly appreciates her contributions to the school as its Principal and offers its ongoing support to her as our new Head in the coming school year. Times of transition are always difficult, but they can also be times of tremendous growth and positive new direction. The PTO is committed to cooperating with the rest of the school com-munity to bring about the smoothest transition possible, thereby safeguarding and ensuring the best educational opportunities for our children.

(continued from page 1) As I said at the faculty meeting on 20 December, I hope the entire school community will

join me in viewing these developments as an opportunity to renew the leadership of the school at a critical juncture, while ensuring continuity and involving the community in the final outcome.

Wishing you a joyous holiday season and all the best in the New Year. Yours sincerely, Boyd Haight, Chair

Congratulations from the PTO

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All School News

PPAC Notes The following topics were discussed at the PPAC meeting on Monday, January 23, 2006. • AOSR leadership transition is taking place with the headmaster and the associate headmaster working closely to-gether. Weekly meetings are taking place with the Board of Trustees Chair, Mr. Boyd Haight. • Ms. Sarah Ellyson has been hired to take the place of Ms. Angela Santangelo as Middle School Coordinator during Ms. Santangelo’s leave of absence. • Hiring needs for the 2006-2007 school year were discussed. Approximately 12 positions will be available. • Substitute Teachers: Parents were re-assured that substitutes are qualified individuals with teaching experience and university degrees. When such individuals are not available, every effort would be made to find adults with teaching experience. • Dr. Dougherty discussed the new security barriers installed during the winter break, the new fence project for the summer months, and school security. Spot checks requiring drivers to show their AOSR ID cards will take place at the school gates. • CPR Training: It was reported that 7 more AOSR teachers received their CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) cer-tification at a workshop held at school before the holiday vacation. • Parking lots: Once again, everyone is asked to drive slowly and cautiously in the school parking lots. Parents and visitors are asked not to park directly in front of the steps leading up to the campus.

PPAC members are: Ruth Ben Israel, Mirella Csapo, Eric Dennis, Grazia Deulus, Donna Ferguson, Carolyn Grosso, Laurenne Hemily-Figus, Millie Kneeland, Marilena Leavitt, Leticia Lozano, Deborah McCourt, Jan Miller, Ginny Newberg, Lora Shapiro, Astrid Van Der Does, and Dr. Beth Pfannl, Associate Head. Dr. Larry Dougherty attended the January 23 meeting. AOSR community members who would like issues, comments, and/or concerns added to the agenda for these meetings, are invited to contact one of the committee members or the associate head/principal directly at associatehead@aosr.org or principal@aosr.org.

• Latin/Chinese: A discussion took place about Latin as part of the curriculum.

• Due to limited resources Latin was not offered this year but it remains as part of the school’s curriculum. There was a request that perhaps it could be offered as part of the After-School Activities program. A discussion was also held on the possibility of adding Chinese to the After School Activities Program. This will be discussed with the coordinator of the program.

• Dr. Dougherty discussed proposed Mayfair funds this year which will be used to support the science program. Sev-eral requests have already been received for the physical sciences. Additional requests will be gathered from the MS and elementary faculty. We discussed the possibility of the Buildings and Grounds Committee developing a list of potential projects that could be adopted each year by Mayfair or by external funding.

· The next meeting is Monday, February 27, 2006 at 9:30 am in the PTO Boutique.

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AOSR Website The AOSR web site is available to all. The site was cre-ated by Geoff Miller, the school’s IT Manager, Mr. Lars Rahm, MS and HS computer teacher, and Michael Gorelick, AOSR alumnus. All school computers run the intra-net version (or “beta) of the website. Students, Teachers, and the Administration are able to access infor-mation on a daily basis, download forms necessary for student trips, set-up their own web pages with classroom syllabi and homework assignments. Parents can access the current issue of the Falcon Flyer in its entirety with the click of the mouse. Go to the URL www.aosr.org.

After School Activities The first session will end on March 3rd. This is because the first session was extended by a week as the buses were cancelled before the winter break. The second session will begin on Monday, March 6th.The new booklet will be sent home before the ski week so that parents can sign up their children for the new courses. MS 3on3 Basketball will take place on Saturday morn-ings 9-11am , March 4, 11, 18, 25; April 1, 8. ALL ENTHUSIASTIC BASKETBALL PLAYERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE PART. Further information is available in the ASA office.

All School News continued

The Falcon Flyer is a project of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). Its purpose is to provide AOSR information, news and events. More detailed in-formation will be provided to you from the individual classroom teacher or area coordinator. The hardcopy version of each Falcon Flyer is distributed to the YOUNGEST child in your family. Look for it in the bottom of the littlest one’s backpack. Pull it out! Read it and share the biggest part of your child’s life these next 10 months! The Falcon Flyer is all about YOUR children, YOUR school and YOUR com-munity. If you don’t receive it, please call Joanne Hoberg in the office so we can correct our list. The current copy of the Falcon Flyer can always be accessed on the www.aosr.org webpage. It downloads as a PDF file, so you can send pages, articles, or photos from the web version as an attachment to an email to family and friends.

FALCON FLYER DISTRIBUTION

The next Falcon Flyer will be published by March 7, 2006

Next Deadline is Friday, February 24th, 5:00pm, To make comments, suggestions, or volunteer to help on the Falcon Flyer, please send an email

to ptonewsletter@aosr.org.

On a Falcon Flyer note: This issue of the Falcon Flyer was a collabora-

tion of many hands. Special thanks to: Talia Gazit, Geoff Miller and Claudia Sobral.

Thank you also to Kecia Dilday for offering to help us on the Flyer.

Congratulations to Suzanne Datin

(AOSR mom and Graphic Designer of the Falcon Flyer) on the new addition to her family.

We wish her and her family well.

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All School News continued

MIDDLE STATES TEAM VISITS IN MARCH by Dr. Dougherty, Headmaster The faculty has been working on the self-study for re-accreditation by the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges. The Steering Committee has been meeting weekly to guide the preparation of the report. Each department in the school has prepared an analysis of the strengths of their program and priorities for improve-ment. The faculty has worked on professional development days before and after school. Final editing and revision of the report will take place over the next several weeks before the report is sent off to Middle States. Molly Bianchini, who is the high school librarian and HS English teacher has served as Chair of the Steer-ing Committee and has helped organize the professional work days. The members of the steering committee in-clude Susan Prideaux, Angela Santangelo, Miriam O’Brien, Jessica di Cori, Gabriella Gangi, Susan Haight, Belinda Fiochi, Dr. Beth Pfannl and Dr. Larry Dougherty. From March 19 to March 24, eleven teachers, administrators and staff from MSA will be at AOSR. They will meet with teachers, students, administrators, parents and the Board of Trustees. They will study the school’s mission, philosophy and self study. They will examine the ways the school addresses its mission and the standards established by the Middle States Association. The self-study has been an invaluable exercise in analysis and reflection. Each department has identified important future priorities and the faculty has also agreed on several major priorities that the school will address over the next several years. The accreditation process will ensure that the school will continue to strive for higher levels of excellence.

IL FORO

Balsamic Vinegar & Parmigiano Reggiano tour Friday, February 24th – Saturday, February 25th If you are spending anywhere from a few euros on up to fifteen or so euros a bottle you can count on one thing: what you have purchased is not bal-samic vinegar at all, but instead regular wine vine-gar mixed with caramel coloring and cooked mo-sto (grape juice)! If you are unfamiliar with true balsamic vinegar then this is a tour you will abso-lutely not want to miss! Cost: €185.00 per person. Fee includes: Bus trans-portation, double room hotel accommodation, breakfast, gourmet lunch including wine, visit to the parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar facili-ties. To reserve please call or email: 06 903 6175, info@flavorofitaly.com

“Cakes and Bakes” to order please call

Gerry Alfassy (AOSR`s mom) 3398134130

Dentists Dott.ssa C. Lorincz & Dott. D. D. Karpel

Via Cassia, 515—Pal. B (2° P. int. 4) Tel. 06.3350522

Cell: 335.814077 www.lorincz-karpel.it

E-mail: studiocassia@lorincz-karpel.it

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PTO Corner

The PTO Boutique by Susan Haight

Buy Your Ski Clothes in the Boutique! The Boutique will continue the January sales into February with Yellow Tags going on a Half-Price sale on February 7th and White Tags at just 50 cents. *Vendors with yellow tagged items who would like them back, please take note. Come and find winter bargains for all ages. Many ski clothes, boots and skis available right now to use for your Settimana Bianca ski trip. We will continue to accept winter clothing for the month of February so clean out those outgrown items now. Beginning in March, we will accept Spring and Summer articles only. The Boutique would also appreciate donations of shopping and supermarket bags as our supplies are very low. See you Tuesday from 9:30 - 2:30.

PTO meetings are held in the Boutique at 9:30

and we look forward to your participation. Meetings for 2006 as follows:

January 16 April 10 February 13 May 8 March 13 May 30 – luncheon

If your group wants to sign up for a Booster Bar, a representative can call Susan Haight at 06 30310876,or at b.haight@agora.it or see her at the Boutique on Tuesdays! The Booster Bar is always looking for new vol-

unteers: people who work with Sponsor groups and grill. It’s a fun way to serve our school and meet people. You can sign up by calling Donna Ferguson at: 06 3313652 or Astrid Van Der Does at 06 30361550.

Next PTO MEETING Monday, February 13, 9:30am

in the Boutique

Now that we are back into the swing of things, we're ready to leave the rain and the cold behind. Al-ready, we can feel spring coming! The date for May-fair is May 13 so mark your calendars! The PTO be-gins 2006 with in-depth planning for Mayfair. Mayfair is our biggest spring event and we are looking for vol-unteers to assist with this fun-filled day. There are many other ways you can become involved in the PTO. Perhaps you have been to the Boutique and would enjoy sorting and selling there. The Boutique is the place to be for some of your shop-ping pleasures. Maybe you would like to help at the Booster Bar. If you like grilling or you want to help with inventory or shop, contact the PTO. Also, you could help with the Publishing Center, Falcon Flyer or even bake cakes for the Boarder Birthday Program. As you can see, there are many different areas from which you can choose. We are looking for new parents! Everyone is encouraged to get involved. You may contact Marlene Der-Kachatourian, PTO President, at 06 3036 7976 or email at daronk@libero.it. The next PTO meeting is on February 13 at 9:30 in the Boutique. Please put us on your calendar and join us. We look forward to see-ing you there. Cathy Garbinsky PTO Secretary

Parent Book Club First meeting-February 9th at 9:30am

For more information please contact Ms. Escobar, School Counselor

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Pre-K and Elementary School News

News from the Computer Lab by Mr. Tebo

Even though the weather is cold, the elementary computer lab is heating up. Students in grades 2-5 are working diligently on their typing skills. In the younger grades, students are working on key location. Older students are

refining their typing skills by attempt-ing not to look at their fingers. Kinder-garten is starting to use KidPix to make slideshows. These kindergarten, KidPix slideshows are very basic forms of PowerPoint presentations. More com-

plex PowerPoint shows are being completed by all stu-dents in grades 1 - 5. In fact, grades 4 and 5 are using what they learn in PowerPoint to manufacture their own webpages in FrontPage. All grades are also starting an exploration of the Internet, with lessons on safety, re-search, and fun. As you can see, we're very busy learn-ing!

Student teacher joins Pre-K by Ms. Murphy

Ms. Laura Munice has been student teaching in the Pre-K class since we began in January. She is a sen-ior at The College of New Jersey in the United States. There she is studying Early Childhood Education and So-ciology. Laura comes here with teaching experience in grades Pre-K through 8th grade. She has brought her energy and enthusiasm for teaching to the classroom and we all are benefiting. Not only does it enhance our teaching, but we also learn about new teaching theory and techniques as well. The children receive the benefit of the latest research in early childhood education and of an extra trained teacher in the classroom. Laura is working primarily with the Pre-K4 group as they explore “Fairy Tales” this month. Laura also has daily contact with our Pre-K3 group, both at circle time and during our learning centers time. She is with us until March 3rd.

Kindergarten - Ms. Berton and Ms. Natale Everyone, students and teachers alike, were rejuve-nated and ready to go when we returned to the class-room in January. We started right in with the letter “D” and “dogs!” We read about many different kinds of dogs and we learned all the ways that dogs can help us. We told and wrote stories about dogs. We had a big, surprise visitor to our classroom. When I say big, I mean really big! Ask one of our kindergartners; they can fill you in. We continued to learn our letter sounds as well as learned about how to eat healthy and stay fit. We read all about snowmen and the winter and we wrote about it and did some great art work. We continue to explore math every day with our new math pro-gram and we are really showing progress. We are learning so much and having so much fun doing it! Come by our classrooms anytime to see the interest-ing things we do.

GRADE ONE - Ms. Tebo & Ms. Tausend Welcome back and Happy 2006!!! We are so excited for January! We have been reading stories about win-tertime, penguins, and snowmen. We have made snowman families, penguins, and Arctic/Antarctic books. We loved learning about which animals live at the North and South Pole. Reading groups are learning about fairy tales, sheep, turtles, and the moon. In math we leaned about using the number grid and number line to help us add and subtract. We also learned what frames and arrows are. We enjoy solving their rules! Students can also tell time to the half hour now and know the value of a dime. In writing we wrote de-scriptive writing about penguins and our snowmen families. Next month we will celebrate the 100th day of school and do a special author study!

Ms. Munice stamping art activity with Pre-K student

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Elementary School News - continued GRADE FOUR - Ms. DePaolis & Ms. Piccirilli The fourthgraders are enjoying being “ Book Buddies ” with the children in Pre-K 3 and 4. This reading activity, which consists of the older students reading some of their favorite stories to the younger students, is the highlight of the week. This interaction between students of different ages provides the fourthgraders with an opportunity to act as positive role models for the Pre-K children. Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Sobral are in the final stages of publishing the Fourth Grade books, courtesy of Falcon Press! We are plan-ning to hold a special Publishing Afternoon Tea-party in the Elementary School Library to mark this important occasion. We wish to thank all the PTO mothers who have been involved with the Falcon Press.

GRADE TWO - Mrs.Ciuffreda & Mrs.Prisco The secondgraders completed their Fam-ily Projects for Social Studies last month. This research work entailed making a family tree, writ-ing an autobiography and inserting photographs, and the inclusion of a “Treasure Box”. Some of the items in these treasure boxes were first teeth, baby clothes and newborn ID bracelets. These projects were displayed and pre-sented to the secondgraders of the future i.e. the firstgraders. The second grade parents were invited to this oral presentation on Friday 27th January and were a very appreciative audience.

GRADE FIVE - Ms.Hogan, Mr.Waters & Ms.Wheeler The fifth grade is in phase one of its prepara-tions for this year’s musical extravaganza! Around the fifth grade classrooms you can hear the students humming, tapping, singing, and rehearsing the catchy tunes from this popular musical. Lines are being practiced, characters discussed, auditions held, and parts assigned. Can you guess the name of the fifth grade musical? Here are some clues: The musical is based on a famous novel by Rudyard Kipling. Many of the characters are animals. The musical is set in a place where there are lots of trees and vines. You could even call it a jungle. A young boy is the main character. Have you guessed yet? Yes, that’s right – “The Jungle Book”!! Watch this space for ever more exciting news as we head closer to our performance date.

GRADE THREE - Ms. Rumsby & Ms. Chiaramonte

Castel Sant’Angelo started out as a mausoleum,

it then became a military fortress, a castle, a prison and finally a museum. How many secrets could its stones reveal? Ask a third grader to tell you a few of them.

Check out 3rd grades’ FAMOUS CULINARY EVENT A.K.A. BOOSTER BAR AND BAKE SALE on February 10th.We are all studying measuring, and learning what units things should be measured in. Can you measure a monkey in bananas?

We have learned about electricity and safety. We know why birds who sit on power lines don’t get fried!

We will soon be studying the Water Cycle with Ms. Broeg who has found out many amazing facts for us to study. Third grade and ninth grade will be having a Greek Mythology quiz. We think we know who is going to win, as 3rd grade are hotshots in this topic! We are also starting preparations for our annual musical, there’s a whole lot of shakin’ going on.

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IL CARNEVALE (CARNIVAL) by Sabina Collura and Raffaella Zecca (ES Italian teachers)

Il Carnevale is a traditional Italian celebration right before Lent (Quaresima). The word carnival, said “carnovale” in Tuscany, comes from the Latin carnem levare, an expres-sion used in the Middle Ages which marked the beginning of the Carnevale. After the New Year has passed, before the spring or Easter, Italy celebrates Carnival with an explosion of costumes, feasts, and balls. The festivities begin on February 2, or Candelmas, and last un-til Martedi Grasso, or Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday). Celebrations across Italy during this time in-clude feasting, parades, serenade balls with full orchestras, and fancy parties.

The Venetians especially are known for their elaborate and fabulous masks, which originally served to protect the identities of gamblers and beggars. The types of masks worn today are based on character types drawn from Italian folk-lore, history, and society. The masks depict characters rang-ing from satyrs, demons and lawyers to sailors, bakers and butchers.

In our Elementary School Italian classes we are going to learn about the different masks and their origin. After the children have become familiar with the masks the older kids are going to choose their favor-ite ones and draw them while younger ones are going to cut out pictures of masks and color them. This will be a good opportunity for them to review important places in Italy and the ori-gins of the various masks.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIBRARY- Ms. Lotero, ES Librarian Thanks to a 1000 euro donation from the Parent Teacher Organization, and a 75 euro gift from Lion Book store, we started 2006 off with many new books. I have been show-casing many of these books to the classes, with a lot of student enthusiasm. I am not only grateful to the parent organization and to Lion bookstores, but also to the following parents who have helped me get these books “processed” and ready to check out: Kelly Hendrickson, Rachel Lask, and Kristi Valla. I would also like to publicly thank both Valentina B. and Konstantina P., who spent the entire first semester doing about 5-7 hours community service in the library. These two have helped decorate the library, keep it organized, and have told stories and came up with workable ideas to improve the library. We have several display areas that showcase local and national events. We had books about Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of his birthday, just a few weeks ago. Before that, we highlighted books on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana and Eid and Ramadan, Christmas and Hanukkah. We are talking, this week about Chinese New Year, and have several books on dis-play. If there is a holiday, event or informative news note that you think ought to be shared via the library, please let me know by email at rlotero@aosr.org or in person.

THE GIVING PROJECT - Ms. Prideaux The elementary school students and parents were very generous in response to the GIVING project in November and De-cember. The used baby clothes, equipment and toys, together with the baby food, pastina, pasta, milk and canned food were distributed to Centocelle, an Institute for homeless mothers and children. A big thank you to Ms.Krippl and Ms.Sobral for delivering all these boxes of items. The used sweaters, scarves, hats, gloves and jackets for men, along with many pairs of new socks were kindly col-lected by Mrs.Kneeland who arranged for their distribution. These clothes are helping to keep many less for-tunate men warm on

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MS Valentine's Dance Ms. Santangelo

The annual MS Valentine's Dance has been scheduled for Friday, February 3rd from 7:00 to 10:30. Our very own DJ, Maurizio Sponsali, will be organizing the music and the video clips that our MS dancers love so much!!! Snacks, pizza and beverages will be served. As always, a sincere thanks to Ms. Zelenka and Ms. Figus for their support!! MS Visiting Author Grades 6 and 7 enjoyed a book presentation by author Elizabeth Wahn on Monday, January 23rd. This rollicking fantasy adventure creates a mystery wherein the clues all point to Shakespeare. Students were able to purchase an autographed copy of "Lindsey and the Jedgar" at the end of the presentation.

Middle School News

Ms. Angela Santangelo has been granted a personal leave for the balance of this school year and all of the next school year. She has done an excellent job organizing activi-ties, student and teacher schedules, planning assemblies, the MS trips and improving the over all organization and commu-nications in the Middle School. Her wisdom and experience will be sorely missed. We wish her the very best. I want to thank her personally as Angela and I started together eleven years ago and she provided strong support for AOSR when the school was at low ebb. I am pleased to announce that we have hired someone to serve in Angela's place until she returns. Ms. Sarah Ellyson, who worked at AOSR for four years as a boarding supervisor and MS/HS science teacher began working as Middle School Coordinator last week. After leaving AOSR, Sarah obtained a Master's Degree in Educational Administration. She served an internship at a middle school in Wisconsin. Recently she has been employed as Associate Dean of Students at an independ-ent school in New York. She brings administrative experience, knowledge of AOSR and energy and enthusiasm to this role. Thank you for the support you have given Angela Santangelo throughout the years and for the warm AOSR wel-come you will give to Sarah Ellyson. Larry W. Dougherty Headmaster

It is with tremendous excitement and anticipation that I return for the start of the second semester to AOSR as the Mid-dle School Coordinator! Walking through the Cassia gates is very much like coming home for me, and with that feeling comes a great deal of expectations for the Middle School students. In my first days, as I walked throughout campus and the hallways, I saw faces of students whom I taught in Middle School Science 4, 5 and 6 years ago, and it impressed upon me how crucial the educa-tional and social interactions are during the middle years. It will feel like just tomorrow when our current six, seventh and eighth graders will develop into the high school leaders who will continue to shape the school’s culture in the future. I greatly look forward to support-ing, communicating and interacting with the Middle School students, family and faculty as we nurture, educate and help to develop the students in AOSR’s care. Sarah Ellyson Middle School Coordinator

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News from the Counselor by Ms. Kate McKenna counselor@aosr.org

Here are 7 steps for Grade 11 students to take in preparation for college or university

study: 1. Talk with your parents about their ideas or expectations. Discuss your needs/dreams/ideas with your family. Get a general idea of WHERE you would like to go and WHAT you might like to study. 2. Read your PSAT scores and review the score explanation sheet. It is important that you look back at the test booklet and answer key to see which questions you missed. Try to understand WHY you missed certain questions.

***Please share your PSAT scores with your parents**** 3. Prepare for the SAT. AOSR will be offering “test prep” courses for 11th grade students. These courses will begin February 13th and run for 10 weeks, ending just before the May 6th test. Monday afternoons will focus on reading comprehension/writing while Wednesday afternoons will be devoted to math. All 11th grade students will be given a REGISTRATION sheet on Jan 30th. These forms will be due no later than February 6th. The cost of the course is 240 Euros for both courses; or 140 Euros for either the reading comprehension/writing or the math. 4. REGISTER NOW for the SAT I Reasoning Test given on Saturday, MAY 6th.

This is extremely important. ALL 11th graders should consider taking this test even if you are not sure if you are going to college in the States. Many of the UK, Canadian, and European Universities will expect you to have an SAT score be-cause you have attended an American Overseas High School.

All registration is done ONLINE.

Visit: www.collegeboard.com (AOSR’s CEEB Code is 748480; our TEST CENTER Number is 58380). Testing begins on Saturday morning at 7:30 and ends around 1:30. It is extremely important for 11th grad-ers to take this test in the spring—please do not wait until the fall of next year. 5. Meet Ms. McKenna! All 11th graders will have a chance to meet formally with Ms. McKenna, the HS Counselor. These meetings will start in mid February. Because the Counseling Office will be as-sisting the 12th graders with the application process throughout the winter, please do not request an early meeting—HOWEVER, if you are applying to a summer program with a March application deadline, you should request an earlier meeting. 6. Think about THE SUMMER! What will you do with your time off from school? Did you know that many high schools, colleges, and universities across the world offer summer programs for high school students? Sick of school? Have you considered sailing in the Caribbean? Hiking through the Alps? Going on an archeological dig? Working with an orphanage? Building a house for an underprivileged family? Teaching art classes? Want to play a sport in college? Did you know that college coaches do the majority of their recruiting at summer camps? Have you thought about attending an athletic summer program?

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Want to learn more about what colleges and universities have to offer? Have you thought of touring colleges? Requesting interviews? Meeting admission officers? Talking with students and professors? If you have the interest, there are a variety of cool programs out there designed specifically for high school students who are about to enter the 12th grade.

See Ms. McKenna for ideas TODAY!

**Most summer program applications are due in MARCH or APRIL** 7. Consider taking the SAT II Subject Tests on Saturday, JUNE 3rd. Many colleges require SAT II Sub-ject Tests in addition to the SAT I Reasoning Test. June is an IDEAL time for students to take the Subject Tests. Register online at www.collegeboard.com. THREE SAT II Subject Tests can be taken in one sitting (each test is approximately one hour long).

TESTING INFORMATION: AOSR will serve as a Testing Center for the upcoming SAT I, SAT II and PSATTests.

SAT I and SAT II tests will be administered at AOSR on January 28th for students who have registered online through The College Board (www.collegeboard.com). The test given in January is recommended for 12th

grade students as the LAST testing opportunity (unless schools will accept May/June 2006 tests). If students have NOT yet registered and have missed the deadlines, they can come to the testing center as “walk-ins.” These students should arrive at 7 AM to stand in line for an extra test. “Walk-ins” need to have a credit card number ready. There is no guarantee that a “walk-in” will gain admission; we serve “walk-in” students on a first come, first served basis.

TIPS FOR TESTERS I am taking the SAT on Saturday… What do I need to bring?

TWO # 2 pencils with erasers

Registration Ticket (PRINT from Website).

What time do I need to be here? 7: 45 AM (SHARP!) Where do I go for the test? Form a line outside of the High School Door. Registered students will enter first.

What else can I do? Get a good night’s sleep. Eat something beforehand. Listen carefully. Relax!!!!

Note to Parents: The test will conclude between 12:30 and 1:30 PM.

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Basketball Teams Start Slowly

The Falcon girls and boys high school basketball teams got off to a slow start this year, with no wins to show for their efforts after three weeks of league play. The schedule didn’t help: the first three weekends were against three of the strongest teams in Italy: Vicenza, Aviano and Sigonella. AOSR hopes to get healthy in the next few weeks, with home games against Milan, Marymount and Livorno. League play will end with a tough road trip to perennial powerhouse Naples. The European championships will be played in Germany during “Settimana Bianca,” February 22 – 25. Historically, the Falcons have trouble winning basket-ball games against the big defense department schools. Many of the DoDDS athletes have been playing competitive basketball for years, and they live on campus where they have access to school gyms virtually around the clock. Despite the odds, AOSR has pulled off a few upsets. Three years ago, the Falcons knocked off Aviano in league play, and two years ago AOSR beat Vicenza in the Mediterranean tour-nament. In the European tournament, the Falcons will play in Division III (high schools with less than 250 students) which in-cludes league rivals Vicenza, Sigonella, Marymount, and Milan. Aviano and Naples will compete in Division II, while Livorno (Camp Darby) will compete in Division IV.

Parents of Falcon Athletes Do you have a son or daughter who is competing in high school sports at AOSR, or who is in middle school and would like to compete in sports when they enter high school? Join the Parents of Falcon Athletes and help to support our teams. Contact Carolyn Grosso at - 06-3036-1525

Basketball Home Dates

Mark your calendars for home basket-ball games – let’s raise the roof!

February 3 – 4 at AOSR vs Livorno

Basketball parents: Let’s hit the road to support the team at

Naples, February 10 & 11, and at the European championships,

February 22 – 25 in Germany.

Basketball

Falcon Wrestler Takes First at Vicenza AOSR sophomore Sarah D. won all of her matches in a five-school wrestling tournament at Vicenza, dominating her weight class and putting herself into good position to qualify for the European tournament. Sophomore Davide T. won two matches and lost two close matches in Vicenza. Davide is improving rap-idly, and he also has a good shot at going to Germany for the European championships. Coach: Andrew I., 2 time European Champion brings intense first hand experience to this Olympic disci-pline. Team: Sarah D., David T., Giancarlo G., Edoardo I.

Wrestling

Sports Briefs By Doug Kneeland

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The AOSR High School and Elementary School libraries will lend books to all families as well as students in the community, The HS library has approximately 5,000 refer-ence volumes, and, with the ES library, there are 25,000 books on the lending stacks, in addi-tion to the monthly magazine subscriptions, and with the recent contributions from parents, embassies and donations from the PTO, the library has grown both in volumes and technologi-cally (with internet access and color scanners).

The Elementary School library has age-appropriate literature for the Pre-K to Grade 5 set. These are available for loan --- just bring in your Parent ID card. Parents must register to check out books from the High School library. Registration number is available from the HS librarian. The largest lending library in Rome is at the Santa Susanna Catholic Church on Via XX Settembre. This library has approx 12,000 volumes and, while the books are all in English, the library is open to people of all nationalities and religions. You must obtain a library membership. Books are loaned for a period of 2 weeks. They have a wonderful lit-erature collection, including the entire fiction collection of the British Council . In addition to ten shelves of British lit-erature, the Santa Susanna collection includes six shelves of American literature, two of French, one each of Italian, Rus-sian, Asian and German. It has much non-fiction as well: four shelves of American history, two European, one of World War II, 1 1/2 of Italian history, and one each of Vatican and Roman history, as well as a half shelf each of Latin Ameri-can, Austrian, Asian, Irish, and Middle East history. There is a whole shelf devoted to Vatican mystery series done by Ellis Peters. The hours, terms, and directions can be found on the website: www.santasusanna.org/library. The British Council, at Via Quattro Fontane ("Four Fountains") #20, has a large collection of videos and some DVD's. Videos and DVD's can be rented for one (new releases) or two weeks (classical or older films). They have an extensive Shakespeare collection, including those produced for the BBC. They have rooms of linguistic study material. These resources are mainly for teachers of English rather than the general public. This, too, is a subscription library, and costs E80 for full annual borrowing privileges. Their phone is 06-478141 or email at sac.roma@britishcouncil.it. More info is available at: <http://www.britishcouncil.org/it/italy-english-rome-sac.htm> There are two other libraries with large collections that encourage library use but do not allow borrowing. The American Academy on the Gianicolum Hill (phone 06-58461) has a 130,000 volume collection of classical studies, art and architecture. They do not allow borrowing but do have two beautiful reading rooms, one of which was designed by acclaimed architect and alumnus, Michael Graves. The Centro per Studi Americani (National Center for American Studies) on Via Caetana near Largo Argentina (which is also a beautiful building) doesn't seem to have a working web-site but it is a wonderful tourist destination. Also, the British Council Library and the American Academy often have cultural evenings including "meet the author" usually in English or Bilingual English/Italian. The American Studies Center also hosts seminars and "meet the author" evenings, but they tend to be in Italian. People who join these libraries can get onto mailing lists for invitations. In addition, for little readers, the Bibli Bookstore, at (www.bibli.it, in Italian only) in Trastevere hosts a story hour every Sunday afternoon, sometimes in English. It has a cinema, a live music venue, and a tea room. Lion Bookstore, at Via dei Greci 33 (near the Spanish Steps), is run by AOSR alumni. They have a wonderful collection of new English language titles and a wonderful painting gallery and exhibition space. They can be reached by phone at 06-3265-4007. In addition, Feltrinelli International, on Via V.E. Orlando (at Piazza Republica) and The Almost Corner Book-shop (06-5836-942), (Via dal Moro, Trastevere) have good non-fiction and fiction collections, also in English. Happy reading!

BOOKS & LIBRARY RESOURCES IN ROME

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School Information

Headmaster: Larry Dougherty 06-33438-331 Headmaster’s Secretary : Domenica Losani 06-33438-331 Associate Head: Beth Pfannl 06-33438-326 Secretaries: Cathy Garbinsky & Alessandra Cozzi 06-33438-326 Admissions: Don Levine 06-33438-300 Reception/Secretary: Joanne Hoberg 06-33438-300 Financial Consultant: Elisa Bruno 06-33438-338 Boarding/Finance: Estelle Dougherty 06-33438-339 Guidance Counselor: Kate McKenna 06-33438-327 Nurse: Diane Cullen-Moore 06-33438-321 After School Activities: Christine Hogan, Margaret Ciuffreda 06-33438-320 ES Coordinator: Susan Prideaux 06-33438-350 MS Coordinator: Sarah Ellyson 06-33438-336 Resource Room: Ellen Buckley 06-33438-302 Jessica DiCori 06-33438-390

All telephone and internet address corrections should be emailed to principalsoffice@aosr.org.

AOSR Via Cassia 811

00189 Rome, Italy Internet: www.aosr.org

School Number: 06-334-381 Fax: 06-3326-2608

Helpful Resources: Wanted in Rome—www.WantedInRome.com -- a biweekly print and free web publication which lists news, features, and events of interest to the English-speaking community in Rome. It also sponsors a free classified ser-vice including housing. Roma C'E —www.Romace.it — A great resource for movies playing in and around Rome for those who can handle a little bit of Italian. The "Cinema" reference on the homepage sends you to a screen where you can choose to see where a movie is showing and when, by selecting either title ("titolo"), type ("genere"), director ("regia"), ac-tor ("attori"), or nationality ("nazionalita"). You can also select movies that are in their original language ("versione originale"). English Yellow Pages – www.englishyellowpages.it — A terrific, free print and web directory of all English-speaking businesses in Rome, Florence, Milan and Naples. More than just a phone book, EYP sponsors a free clas-sified service, great reference information (weights and measure conversions, national holidays, basic vocabulary, and maps) as well as a photo gallery of people and events in the English/US community here in Rome, which are able to be downloaded from the website! On-line Public Bus and Train info in Rome—www.atac.roma.it—The Rome's public transportation agency offers an on-line directory, in choice of either Italian or English, giving address-to-address directions, using public bus, metro, and tram lines, AND plotting it out on a map! On-line Train information and reservation service for Italy -- www.trenitalia.it -- Italy's vast national train service is available on-line, in English. Times, train types, trip duration, cost, and purchase is easily accessible. For daily Italian newspaper and radio news in English, see www.AGI.it/english, a special service by Agenzia Giornalistica Italia on behalf of the Italian Prime Minister’s office. The American —www.theamericanmag.com — is a new monthly magazine for Italy’s English-speaking community, including a huge list of restaurants. American citizens may want to register with the US Embassy and ask to be included on the e-Embassy Rome email list to be notified about security alerts and other important information for Americans living in Italy. Call 06-46741 or send an email to USEmbassy@lb.bcentral.com. Rome Airport Information (Fiumicino or Ciampino airports) including flight arrivals and departures can be found at www.adr.it.

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