Month: March 2013

Even grade 3 does the Harlem Shake!

St. John's International School

Every Monday morning my class and I discuss world news and current dance/music trends. Last week, we discussed how The Harlem Shake had become a bit of a craze and many different groups were trying to beat the record on the most people who had participated. This lead to my students asking me if we could do one in class. I am always up for a challenge and I hate saying no to student-initiated ideas so this is our version: By Gaelle Briggs, grade 3 teacher Continue reading Even grade 3 does the Harlem Shake!

Mind the Gap – Linking Education Programs to Labor Market Needs”

St. John's International School

Three speakers from St. John’s International School, including IB Business & Economics teacher Victoire D’Agostino, alumnus Metodi Lazarov and current 12th student Naomi Crombie, will share their views on the ways in which the current education system does, or does not, prepare students with the skills and expertise demanded by the labor market. Each offering his or her own unique perspective regarding not only the inconsistencies between what is taught by teachers and what is sought by employers, but also the approach St. John’s takes to overcome the skills gap by focusing on social and career development in addition to academics. Below is the program for the … Continue reading Mind the Gap – Linking Education Programs to Labor Market Needs”

Middle School honors student achievements on World Maths Day

St. John's International School

The Middle School assembly this week recognized student achievements on World Maths Day. In total, 43 Middle School  students completed the challenge and played 50 games. Here are the top scoring boy and girl per grade: Top 6th graders: Hyojin 1653 and Wenji 1410 Top 7th graders: Matthieu 2262 and Grace G. 1514 Top 8th graders: Young Ju 1882 and Marina  1617 Some staggering statistics from World Maths Day: Total Live Maths questions: 103,013 Total Users: 5,031,039 Total Maths questions answered: 282,295,184 In total 171 different countries took part, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe! Congratulations to all students who participated. Continue reading Middle School honors student achievements on World Maths Day

What happens in an Internet minute?

St. John's International School

Guess what happens in an Internet minute? A new study, by chipmaker Intel, found that every minute: more than 204 million e-mails are sent;  47,000 apps are downloaded; retail giant Amazon rings up around £55,000 in sales; around 20 million photos and 6 million Facebook pages are viewed; we watch 1.3 million video clips on YouTube; around 20 people have their identities stolen. The study also predicts that by 2015 the number of networked devices on the Earth will be double the number of people. Continue reading What happens in an Internet minute?

What makes the ultimate expat location?

St. John's International School

So, what makes the ultimate expat location? What features should it have to be the best place for an expat to be posted to? Is it more important to have little crime or does the climate play a role? These were the top 3 answers in the recent poll we conducted among expats: great schools (66.7%) comfortable lifestyle (64.8%) little or no crime (46.3%) Rounding out the top 5 were a warm climate and a stable political system. It seems that the presence of oceans/big lakes or mountains are not an important element to be considered a great expat location. … Continue reading What makes the ultimate expat location?

Fun with friends while raising money for charity

St. John's International School

Last Saturday, the gyms were full of action, fun and sportsmanship all day in support of a great cause. The Tom O’Donnell tournament brings students, parents, teachers and alumni together for a day of indoor soccer, in memory of a former student, while raising well over 1200 Euro for two cancer charities. The first Tom O’Donnell indoor football tournament took place at St. John’s in 1998 in memory of Tom O’Donnell, a student from our school who lost his battle with cancer. While Tom was ill, it was brought to the attention of his family and friends that there were … Continue reading Fun with friends while raising money for charity

St. John’s staff honors former colleague at St. Patrick’s Day event

St. John's International School

Teachers and staff at St. John’s honored their friend and former colleague Mary McGowan today at a St. Patrick’s Day event. Mary passed away in January 2012. Irish staff members tended the bar and provided everyone with delicious Irish coffee. Besides current staff, the event was also attended by many former teachers and staff members  who enjoyed catching up. Guests of honor were Mary’s husband Dennis and children Lisa and David. As much as we all wish Mary could have been there with us today, we take comfort in the thought that she was likely enjoying the view and smiling … Continue reading St. John’s staff honors former colleague at St. Patrick’s Day event

Watch the AMIS International Honor Choir Concert live!

St. John's International School

Tomorrow, Saturday March 16, the AMIS International Honor Choir, Women’s Choir and Band Festival Concert will take place at the American School Of Dubai.  About 250 Students from International Schools around the world will be performing. We are very proud to have four students in the International Women’s Honor Choir: Mathilda, Philippa, Katherine and Patricia. This link   http://www.ustream.tv/channel/asdchannel1  will take you to the festival concert at 15:00 Belgian time. This link will be available later if you miss the concert: http://www.youtube.com/user/ASDubaiFalcons This will be another amazing experience for our students! By Cathy Swanson, Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Continue reading Watch the AMIS International Honor Choir Concert live!

Are you a grasshopper or an inchworm?

St. John's International School

Based upon the conference “The trouble with math” by Steve Chinn, Middle School Math teacher Catherine Cooke helps the students understand whether they are “inchworms” or “grass hoppers” when it comes to Math. As the students begin to understand their learning style it becomes easier for them to overcome difficulties in class and not be overwhelmed by other students who do not think alike.  They realize that when they “don’t get it” it’s not because they are not good at math – they just need it explained in a different way. Try these examples: 223 + 98 223 – 98 2 … Continue reading Are you a grasshopper or an inchworm?

The Model NATO High School lunch time activity

St. John's International School

The High School Model NATO group works every Tuesday lunch from February until the end of March. At the end of March ( Subject to serious international incidents) we are invited along with four others schools to meet in NATO Headquarters in Brussels for a NATO led student simulation day. This year the countries we represent are Germany, Spain, Denmark and Norway and the topics registered for presentation and  discussion by the student (Ministers) so far are; Cyber Security, Disarmament , The Ocean Shield, Artic Circle request from Norway, Protecting Access to Space and the 2014 Afghanistan withdrawal.  This leaves … Continue reading The Model NATO High School lunch time activity

St. John’s 11th grader invited to perform at Orchestra Festival in Shanghai

St. John's International School

St. John’s 11th grade student Ryan M. was chosen to go to Shanghai to perform with other talented students from around the world at the  AMIS International High School Honor Orchestra Festival in February 2013. Their Host was the Shanghai American School Puxi Campus. Here is a youtube clip of the last movement of the Dvorak, performed by the Orchestra in Shanghai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtvtcaFL2e0 Congratulations to all musicians for a fantastic performance! Continue reading St. John’s 11th grader invited to perform at Orchestra Festival in Shanghai

Recap of ISSTs: our teams show team spirit and character in challenging tournaments

St. John's International School

ISST’s bring out the best in our students. Once again, it was amazing to see how much our student athletes care about their school and their teammates, truly embodying the values of our school. Both basketball teams recovered from a difficult first day and closed out the tournament in an impressive manner. The girls simply refused to be relegated to division 2 and willed their way to two wins – playing through badly sprained ankles and broken fingers. Similarly, the boys played three very good games to finish the tournament. And, our swimmers bonded as a team and demonstrated impressive … Continue reading Recap of ISSTs: our teams show team spirit and character in challenging tournaments

Today is International Women’s Day!

St. John's International School

To celebrate International Women’s Day, our Elementary School welcomes Mrs. Diana Perez-Buck who presents at a special Assembly this morning. Mrs. Diana Perez-Buck is Founder and President of Mothers at Risk, a Brussels-based non-profit organization devoted to reducing the vulnerability of girls and women living in poverty, so they may have safer pregnancies and deliveries and reach motherhood healthier and better educated. You probably did not know that one of world’s most admired women, Audrey Hepburn, was actually born in Belgium – Ixelles to be exact! Audrey spent her early childhood between Belgium, England and the Netherlands and was multilingual with … Continue reading Today is International Women’s Day!

High School ceramics class refines creativity skills of students

St. John's International School

Taking Ceramics/Sculpture class was a great opportunity for the students in my group. It helped us refine our creativity skills, physically and mentally. It is a great experience for us, because it allows us to interact with other students. We have finished many projects including pots, mythical animals (zoomorphic shapes), and abstract and decorative projects as well. We also worked on group projects which thought us leadership and teamwork. The teacher gives the students an encouraging atmosphere, where everyone is enjoying themselves. We are pushed to work at the best of our abilities without feeling pressured to do well. We … Continue reading High School ceramics class refines creativity skills of students

First graders imagine what it would be like to be 100 years old

St. John's International School

For the 100th day of school, our grade 1 students dressed up imagining they were 100 years old.  The event fit nicely within their social studies unit on “Where we are in place and time.”  They were asked to imagine how they might look in 100 years, how they might dress, walk. See some of their creations below: By Karen Vandamme, grade 1 teacher Continue reading First graders imagine what it would be like to be 100 years old

Grade 10 modern history study what Hitler and Stalin had in common

St. John's International School

The Grade 10 Modern History students are currently studying the rise to power of Hitler. We have just studied how Stalin came to power and ruled Russia. Indeed, today is the 60th anniversary of Stalin’s death. The students are able to see what both Hitler and Stalin had in common – both being outsiders for example. We are using a Television docu/drama called “Hitler – The Rise of Evil” to visualize events and characters. After completing the program, students will write a paper reflecting on the value of television programs to learning about History. By Ewan Macdonald – High School … Continue reading Grade 10 modern history study what Hitler and Stalin had in common

St. John’s into the final round at ECB Generation €uro Students’ Award competition

St. John's International School

The second Generation €uro Students’ Award – a competition for secondary school students resident in the euro area – was launched in November 2012 as a joint initiative by the European Central Bank (ECB) and 11 national central banks of the euro area. This competition isopen to all secondary school students who enjoy learning about economics and would like to know more about monetary policy issues. St. John’s was just announced as one of the teams that was selected for the final round. The finalists are asked to give a presentation (in English) to a jury of experts at the European Central Bank (ECB) … Continue reading St. John’s into the final round at ECB Generation €uro Students’ Award competition

Three personality traits every expat should have to be successful

St. John's International School

Being an expat is not for everyone. The particular expat lifestyle and continued moving around requires certain personality traits in order to be successful. We asked respondents: “Which 3 personality traits should every expat have, in order to be successful?” Being adventurous came out as the most important personality trait with 55.3%, followed by independent (52.6%) and optimistic (52.6%). Next on the list were flexible (36.8%) and confident (34.2%), while traits such as assertiveness, a sense of  humor, fearless, humble and trusting were deemed less important traits for making expat postings a success. Continue reading Three personality traits every expat should have to be successful

Today is “Dress up as a teacher” day in Elementary School

St. John's International School

It is a fun Friday in Elementary School: students dress up as a teacher today! We have seen many kids dressed up as Mrs. Bambridge or Ms. Jo and many teachers have dressed up as students! We have also seen several versions of coach  Marc, Dr. Hawkins and the security guard Riccardo. It was certainly a fun way end to a great week. Continue reading Today is “Dress up as a teacher” day in Elementary School