• Friday, March 11 - St. Jude Math-a-Thon Booklets Due
• Friday, March 11 from 3:00-6:00pm - PIE Sponsored Miniature Golf Event @ The Fringe
• Friday, March 18 from 1:30-6pm - Monkey Joes FUN-Raiser, NJHS Sponsored event 
• Thursday, March 24 - Scholastic Book Fair launch date
• Saturday, March 26 at 11:00am  - Verizon Fun Walk
• Sat-Sun, Apr. 30 -May 1st - Atlanta Arab Festival, ALIF Institute

Check out all upcoming events on our website calendar.

For many years, Amana's Arabic Department has presented our pioneering program at regional and national conferences.  This past Saturday March 5th, another positive impact has touched the interest and the curiosity of educators who attended the Foreign Language Association Of Georgia's annual FLAG Conference.  Amana's presentation was in the words one attendee "AMAZING".  Our teachers presented what Expeditionary Learning teachers do: they integrated their lessons across subjects - in this case by working with Ms. Brooke Heimerl, Environmental Education Outward Bound Teacher, to reinforce her Environmental Education lessons in Arabic!

Ms. Heimerl and our four Arabic teachers Basma Elashker, Eman Maamoun, Djaouida Bensaadoun, and Hana Arslan presented their lesson plans and results to a packed audience.  Audience members asked lots of questions and could not believe that this connection can be made with such positive results, since more often than not foreign language teachers teach a curriculum disconnected from the students' other subjects.  Educators from as far as Baton Rouge, Louisiana said they wanted to take this best practice back to their schools.  They were also impressed with Amana's commitment to Environmental literacy focus. 

Congratulations to our Arabic and EEOB departments for this incredible honor!

On February 22nd, the world awoke to the the impact of a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit the Christchurch area in New Zealand.   Those in need continue to be helped by organizations like the Salvation Army, International Red Corss, International Red Crescent, and others.  Our Amana first graders are now collecting coins for the earthquake victims, so please encourage your student to bring in their change to school this month to donate to this important cause.  We are truly inspired by these students and encourage all Amana families to support thier efforts.

Although the Math-a-Thon booklets are being collected this Friday, March 11th, the donationas are not due until Friday, March 18th.   Remember, we do not recommend door to door solicitation; rather we suggest students ask relatives and family friends for donations.  Let us remember those less fortunate than ourselves and make a big push this final week to secure as many donations as possible to help fight pediatric cancer!  Thank you all for your support!

Be sure to visit the Amana Academy website on a regular basis for the latest information.

The Amana Academy chapter of the National Junior Honor Society is sponsoring a FUN-RAISER

at Monkey Joe's in Roswell in order to raise funds for their end of year service project.

Students, family members and friends up to age 12 are invited to play at Monkey Joe's on Friday, March 18th anytime between 1:30-6:00 pm.  Socks are required. 

Monkey Joe's will donate 20% of the proceeds back to our NJHS!Monkey Joe's is  located at: 700 Holcomb Bridge Rd., Suite 200, 30075.  We hope to see you there and THANK YOU in advance for your support!

Do you still need to order your child a 2010-2011 Amana Academy yearbook, but you keep forgetting your checkbook?  Now you can order it online with your Visa or MasterCard.  The price is $30 per copy.  Please click here to the secure online ordering page at Entourage Yearbooks, Amana's yearbook vendor.  You must order by March 15th to ensure your child will receive their copy before the last day of school.  All yearbooks will be shipped to the school and then distributed in May.

Exploring the Steamy Rainforest

Last Tuesday, first graders journeyed to the steamy rainforest at the world-famous Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  They noticed moist, warm air and smelled the fragrant and beautiful green plants housed in the Fuqua Conservatory.  Many rainforest animals (ants, quail, turtles, frogs) were spotted.  Later, students were given the opportunity to compare the rainforest habitat to the cold, dry desert environment.  They noticed that the desert plants were spiky in contrast to the smooth and large-leafed rainforest plants.  The informative docents taught our students about epiphytes (air plants) - plants that grow on other plants.  First graders will now use their "real world" observations to construct their very own rainforest walls.

Diversity and Inclusion - What Does This Really Mean?

During the month of March, we pause to reflect on the concept of Diversity and Inclusion and how thisrelates to building the kind of learning community envisioned in the charter...  

One of our founding principles states that we strive to "foster a global mindset with an appreciation for the natural world and the rich diversity of humanity with an emphasis on the interconnectedness of the two".  As such, we value what each individual brings to our learning community.  However, diversity includes, but neither begins nor ends with race.  This is why we look at each student as a whole child with a multitude of characteristics that inform their identity.  In addition to race, these characteristics include considerations of the socio-economic status of our students, their relationships in their families, their gender and cultural heritage.  

As in most Expeditionary Learning schools, diversity also speaks to the varying aptitudes and abilities of every student.  Dr. Howard Gardner's work on multiple intelligences from the 1980's teaches us to look for the many ways that our students display their intelligence, and reminds us to teach in ways that connect with every child's preferred modality.  It means experiences that push all students to think more deeply, identify patterns, and create more complex responses to problems that they face.   Schooling has traditionally taught kids how to complete rules-based tasks and hoped that understanding would follow, but that isn't enough in today's world.  All children need to develop understanding if they are to compete in our knowledge-based economy and this is why we provide students with opportunities to work through creative, problem solving tasks as a regular part of their school experience.   

We continually reaffirm the values which we want to nurture in our students.  As such, we've seen a community emerge that values diversity in all of its many facets; a place of learning that provides an opportunity at a young age for students to develop the "global mindset" that comes through meaningful understanding and sincere respect for others that are different from them; an environment that values individuality and prepares students for leadership in the 21st century.