News&Views, Week of February, 10th, 2022

Posted on by mfahmy

Middle School Principal’s Letter

Thank you for taking the time to read this week’s version of the News and Views. It was another week filled with the celebration of our students.

This week the 2022 Battle of the Books declared a winner! The MS Battle of the Books is a reading initiative where MS students are invited to read 6 books over a period of 3-4 months and participate, in teams, in quiz-style competitions with comprehension questions about the books. Since early November, 20 student teams (and 2 teacher teams) have been working to read all 6 books in order to compete. With over 70 participants, the Battle of the Books has been the most popular single MS activity so far this year!

The six BOB titles were chosen by the MHS librarian with input from MS students and teachers. The titles represent a variety of genres and formats and are all meant to appeal to MS readers.

The titles this year were:

  • Guts (a realistic graphic novel)
  • I am Malala (an autobiography)
  • Flipped (a romance)
  • The Bridge Home (a survival story)
  • Ikenga (a superhero fantasy)
  • The Parker Inheritance (a mix of mystery and historical fiction)

All 22 teams competed in both a practice round of questions and the first Elimination round. The top 10 teams then went on to compete in the second Elimination round with the 4 top teams of that round going on to the finals.

Reading the 6 books in time for the rounds was a feat in its own. However, specific students are worth mentioning for their perseverance and hard work throughout the competition.

  • Many teams had to work through unexpected absences of teammates during the elimination rounds. When all of their teammates were absent during the first elmination round, Josephine (grade 6) and Aliann (grade 8) combined together at the last minute to form a new team and made it through to the next round!
  • Kieran of the Bobbers competed in the finals on his 12th birthday.
  • The CongoParamedics welcomed a newly arrived student into their group right in time for the first elimination round. Michael (grade 6) managed to read all 6 books in a matter of 3 weeks and helped his team to the finals!
  • Our 2nd place team, Who’s Candice, dominated all of the elimination rounds they participated in and in an extremely close competition with the BOBcats, they lost their lead in the last question. Youssef and Prakhar will definitely be a team to be feared next year.
  • The winning team the BOBcats also showed great perseverance as one of their founding members moved away over Winter break. However, they were able to include Elena via Google Meet in Latvia for the finals. This marks Tisya and Elena’s 2nd BOB win in a row.

The winning team for the final round, received a basket of books to share along with a BOB logo waterbottle, bookmarks, BOB stickers and other goodies. All finalists are invited to a Movie, Pizza and Scavenger Hunt night in the library later this month.

Mabrouk to Ms. Ennis for organizing this wonderful event to get students reading! Special thanks to Mr. White for helping out with the launch of BOB. Thank you to Ms. Rezk for her work behind the scenes designing all the posters, and putting the kahoots together and arranging the prizes. The Ossmanns have also been some great cheerleaders and helped with crowd control during the events. They are also going to chaperone the pizza/movie night.

We look forward to having even more students participate in the Battle of the Books next year. One of our books has already been announced – The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Happy reading!

I want to congratulate the other Core Values Award recipients for semester one. It was empowering to hear what their peers and teachers had to say about them.

Aiden’s teachers recognized his innovative ideas as well, his desire to pursue his interests and passions, problem-solving, and persistence until he reached his goal.
Prakhar thrives in Language Arts with his creative ideas and writing abilities. This student truly thinks “outside the box.”
Boshra’s teacher Ms. Torky calls her “a force to be reckoned with and an individual who will have a positive impact on our world.” She is recognized for her ethics and willingness to stand up for what is right.
Josey is recognized as a student guided by her moral compass; Josey’ considerate actions and positive attitude have been recognized by her peers and her teachers. She chooses courage and perseverance over comfort, doing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy.
Nayer, in the words of Mr. Ossman, “if students forget something, Nayer is one of the first to offer an extra pencil, to share his notes, to speak to them about what they missed, or help them understand a concept. He recognizes the idea that by lifting others we all succeed.”
Aliann, Mr. Ossman ​​describes her as demonstrating the values of courage and perseverance multiple times in Social Studies this year. “She always asks clear questions about assignments and does further research on her outside of class time.” A student describes her as being “really nice to everyone and is not afraid to speak out; she respects everyone equally.”
Isabella‘s peers recognized her for her constant willingness to stand up for what she believes in and that she is never scared to speak her mind. She makes people feel safe, accepted, and valued. Mr. White says that this student “puts herself in the shoes of others in an attempt to understand situations from different perspectives.”

We will be communicating with parents and students about the PRIME Trips that have been rescheduled. The week will be the same as the high school March 27 -31. A letter will be sent to grade level parents informing them of what the plans are for the week. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Your continuous support of the middle school is greatly appreciated.

 

In Partnership,
Courtney Bailey
The Middle School Principal

Announcements

From MS Drama
This week in MS Drama the Page to Stage class performed their puppalogues and MS Stagecraft designed a bulletin board to promote the upcoming ES Musical: Moana Jr. It was a fun and active week!

 

Girls Get Strong is Back This Year!
Details of the event are as follows:
Date: March 26, 2022
Location: CAC High School Building, HS Field, and Athletics Facilities
Grade Level: 5th-12th Grade
Time: 9 am – 1:30 pm
If you would like to support this year’s event, please complete the following Google Form.

 

RECORDING & FEEDBACK: NESA Parents as Partners Webinar 3
Thank you for joining us for the NESA Parents as Partners Series Spring Semester: Webinar 3, “Navigating Parental Polarities” with Carolyn McKanders.
The webinar recording and resources from the February 8, 2022 session are now available on the Parents as Partners Info Hub.
If you have not already, we ask that you take a few minutes to share your thoughts on the webinar.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE NEXT SESSION ON FEBRUARY 22.
February 22, 2022 | 4:00-5:00pm (GMT+2) [VIEW LOCAL TIME]
Cathryn Berger Kaye
Why Service Learning Matters to Schools, Your Children, and YOU:
Bringing Learning to Life
Presented by Cathryn Berger Kaye
Author & Education Consultant, CBK Associates

Our schools are charged with preparing young people for an ever-changing and complex world. Educators can harness the innate desire of children and teens to be creators, catalysts, collaborators, and change makers using service learning: a reliable process that involves youth in acquiring knowledge, skills, and transformative attributes. As parents, we can elevate their curiosity and be their biggest cheerleaders. Let’s do this! Discover more about the Five Stages of Service Learning, see examples of what youth do, and find out why service learning is integral to international schools all over the world.

PLEASE NOTE
To join this session, you don’t need to re-register. You may use the same link you used previously. Or, you may register again to receive a new email/link.

RE-REGISTER – ONLY IF YOU NEED A NEW LINK

 

MS Valentine’s Day – Cookies, Flowers, and More 💌
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! The Student Council will be selling cookies, flowers, and Sing-o-Grams for 20 LE each during lunchtime in front of the library. Sales will end on Sunday, Feb 13. Don’t miss the most affordable way to express your heartfelt love and appreciation to your friends, teachers, siblings, and others.
Deliveries will be on Monday, February 14th. ❤

 

From The Booster Club
The Spirit Cafe will be open again every Thursday from 3:05-5pm! Hope to see you there. Please note that the Spirit Store will continue to be closed to shoppers, with purchases made through the window until further notice. – The Booster Club

 

MS/HS Library

Something’s missing from the front gate!
CAC’s Little Free Library is getting a makeover! Stayed tuned for updates on its new look.

 

MS Activities & Sports

MS Soccer continues this week! Practices will run Wednesday and Thursdays – 3:15pm to 4:30pm.

Here are the dates for MS Sports – Semester 2
– MS Soccer – Girls and Boys Teams: January 26th – March 3rd
– MS Basketball – Girls and Boys Teams: March 23rd – April 23rd
– MS Volleyball – Girls and Boys Teams: April 27th – June 2nd

All sports practices will be two days a week (Wednesday and Thursdays) after school.
Check out the MS Athletics and Activities Website for more info. See Ms. Ennis in the library if you have any questions.

 

Three Cheers

Three Cheers to Ms. Ennis, Ms. Rezk, Mr. White, Ms. Ossmann and Mr. Ossmann for their efforts with Battle of the Books.

Three Cheers to the students who decorated the building for Valentine’s Day on Monday.

Three Cheers to all teachers for getting the 2022-23 program of studies updated.

Three Cheers to all our students participating in after school sports.