Lynx MS News
AIS West - March 2021
Dear students and parents,
Happy Spring! We were thrilled to welcome back some students to campus last week. We know that this has been a tumultuous time for everyone. We appreciate your flexibility and continued support.
As Dr. Randy mentioned in his email, the Middle School plans to continue in a hybrid model for the duration of the school year. We have made an adjustment to our schedule to better support students when their cohort is learning from home. Please take a look at the schedule and video explanation linked below.
All Middle School Cohort A students will take Arabic Ministry Exams on campus this Thursday, March 4. Middle School Cohort B students will take exams on Monday, March 8. If a student is quarantined or sick, they will be able to take a make up exam upon their return to school.
We hope to connect with all parents at our monthly parent workshop on March 4. Ms. Angela will be discussing how to cultivate a growth mindset at home and school. We will also leave plenty of time for questions with Ms. Chelsea at the end of the session.
Finally, take a moment to meet our new Middle School Assistant Principal, Mr. Mathias. Mathias has created a welcome video linked below.
As always, don't hesitate to reach out to us at any time. Our doors are always open.
Your partners in education,
Mark Tennant
Secondary School Principal
Chelsea Armstrong
Middle School Assistant Principal
Reham Sherif
Middle School Administrative Assistant
Meet our New Assistant Principal Mathias Sanders
Important Dates
Grade 6 Cohort B, Grade 7 and Grade 8 At Home Learning
March 4 - All Cohort A On Campus - Arabic Ministry Exams
March 4 - Parent Workshop - Cultivating a Growth Mindset at Home and School
March 7 - March 11 - Cohort B On Campus (all grades)
Cohort A At Home Learning (all grades)
March 8 - Cohort B Arabic Ministry Exams
March 14 - March 18 - Cohort A On Campus (all grades)
Cohort B At Home Learning (all grades)
MARCH 18 - END OF TERM 3
March 21 - March 25 - Cohort B On Campus (all grades)
Cohort A At Home Learning (all grades)
March 28 - April 1 Cohort A On Campus (all grades)
Cohort B At Home Learning (all grades)
April 4 - April 8 - SPRING BREAK
Student of the Month - Yousef Galal Eldin
Teacher of the Month - Ahmed Khattab
OWLYPIA INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGE WINNERS: Hana, Laila and Lela
Career Day was a Success - - - - - Huge Thanks to our Guest Speakers!
Digital Marketer
Engineer by Day + Carpenter by Night
Counseling Grad Student
Counselor's Corner
Secondary School Library News!
Overcoming Test Anxiety - A Message from Dr. Les Potter
Test anxiety is very common among many students. It is normal to feel some level of anxiety or stress regarding an exam. Anxiety can be a motivator. However, at very high levels, anxiety can interfere with your learning and test performance.
What causes test anxiety?
* prior negative test-taking experiences
* fear of failure
* lack of preparation
* poor time management
* poor study habits
* lack of organization
* cramping for a test instead of long term studying
* unclear of what will be asked on the exam
* lack of confidence
* negative thought process
* perfectionism and feelings of unworthiness leading to unreasonable goals
* focusing on negative consequences of failure rather than preparing to succeed
Tips for reducing test anxiety
* preparation
* develop good study habits
* don't cram but study over several days
* ask for help when needed
* get adequate rest
* attend class regularly and on time
* complete all tasks on time
* make and take practice tests
* develop reasonable expectations
* encourage yourself
* keep your mind focused on the present
* do one thing at a time
* practice, practice, practice
* study, study, study
* time management
* eat healthy-be healthy
What's Happening in Grade 6?
English 6 - Michaela Lucey - mlucey@aiswest.com - Gail Heard - gheard@aiswest.com
Geography 6 - John Lawrence - jlawrence@aiswest.com - Abdelkader Chabi - achabi@aiswest.com
Math 6 - Vince Yung - vyung@aiswest.com - Michael Heard - mheard@aiswest.com
Science 6 - Amanda Bailey - abailey@aiswest.com - Andrea Clark - aclark@aiswest.com
Arabic 6 - Ahmed Khattab - akhattab@aiswest.com - Ali Mansour - amansour@aiswest.com
AFL 6 - Mohamed Hassan - mhassan@aiswest.com
Arabic SS 6 - Asmaa Mahmoud- amahmoud@aiswest.com
French 6 - Edwina Nordquist - enordquist@aiswest.com
Spanish 6 - Dolores Rodriguez - drodriguez@aiswest.com
Drama 6 - Ilonka Meier - imeier@aiswest.com
Technology 6 - Alejandro Corredor - acorredor@aiswest.com
Physical Education 6 - Marty Perry, Katrina Wards, and Ron Thomson mperry@aiswest.com kwards@aiswest.com, and rthomson@aiswest.com
Art 6 - Hannah Wilson - hwilson@aiswest.com
Band 6 - Patricia Granter - pgranter@aiswest.com
What's Happening in Grade 7?
English 7 - Gail heard and Amira Nabhan - gheard@aiswest.com, anabhan@aiswest.com
Math 7 - Michael Heard and Amira Elsherif mheard@aiswest.com, aelsherif@aiswest.com
Science 7 - Andrea Clark & Yara Elshorafa aclark@aiswest.com, yelshorafa@aiswest.com
History 7 - Abdelkader Chabi and Daniel McCarville - achabi@aiswest.com, dmccarville@aiswest.com
Arabic 7 - Sahar Mahmoud - smahmoud@aiswest.com
Drama 7 - Ilonka Meier - imeier@aiswest.com
French 7 -Edwina Nordquist- enordquist@aiswest.com
Spanish 7 - Dolores Rodriguez - drodriguez@aiswest.com
AFL 7 - Mohamed Hassan - mhassan@aiswest.com
Technology 7 - Alejandro Corredor - acorredor@aiswest.com
Art 7 - Hannah Wilson - hwilson@aiswest.com
Band - Patricia Granter - pgranter@aiswest.com
Intermediate Band: Band members are working hard to learn new music. Progress is slower now due to the different instruments involved and the time lag of sound during class on-line. For the beginner groups we are currently learning new music, our first band piece, on p.13. For the middle school band we have been working on Beauty and the Beast. We are all hoping to be able to perform these pieces for a concert when we return later this semester.
Dance 7 - Lina Rodriguez - lrodriguez@aiswest.com
Arabic Social Studies 7 - Mohamed Ahmed - mahmed@aiswest.com
Physical Education 7 - Anders Nordquist - anordquist@aiswest.com
What's Happening in Grade 8?
English 8 - Hadear Hassan & Amira Nabhan - hhassan@aiswest.com, anabhan@aiswest.com
Math 8 - Amira Elsherif & Laila Elfakharany -aelsherif@aiswest.com, lelfakharany@aiswest.com
In March, students will learn about the Cartesian plane and the connection between the Cartesian coordinate system and math. Graphing on the coordinate plane will be introduced, in the four quadrants, using (x, y) coordinates. Later, students will learn how to graph equations on the coordinate plane.
History 8 - Daniel MacCarville - dmaccarville@aiswest.com - Hadear Hassan - hhassan@aiswest.com
After concluding a unit on the Renaissance, the students will turn their attention to the Reformation that took place in Europe in the 1500s. Part of the learning process will be undertaking a project where the students will research Martin Luther and his 95 Theses and design a poster.
Science 8 - Yara Elshorafa & Dina Sonbol - yelshorafa@aiswest.com, dsonbol@aiswest.com
Spanish 8 - Dolores Rodriguez - drodriguez@aiswest.com
French 8 - Edwina Nordquist - enordquist@aiswest.com
Technology 8 - Alejandro Corredor - acorredor@aiswest.com
AFL 8 - Mohamed Hassan - mhassan@aiswest.com
Arabic 8 - Salah Moaty & Aly Mansour - smoaty@aiswest.com, amansour@aiswest.com
Arabic Social Studies 8 - Mahmoud Sharkawy- msharkawy@aiswest.com
Art 8 - Hannah Wilson - hwilson@aiswest.com
Dance 8 - Lina Rodriguez - lrodriguez@aiswest.com
Drama 8 - Ilonka Meier - imeier@aiswest.com
Physical Education 8 - Marty Perry, Katrina Wards, and Anders Nordquist mperry@aiswest.com, kwards@aiswest.com, and anordquist@aiswest.com
Band - Patricia Granter - pgranter@aiswest.com
Intermediate Band: Band members are working hard to learn new music. Progress is slower now due to the different instruments involved and the time lag of sound during class on-line. For the beginner groups we are currently learning new music, our first band piece, on p.13. For the middle school band we have been working on Beauty and the Beast. We are all hoping to be able to perform these pieces for a concert when we return later this semester.
AIS West Middle School
Email: carmstrong@aiswest.com
Website: aiswest.com
Location: Al Shabab Road, Al Sheikh Zayed, Giza Governorate, Egypt