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This Week at Amana / May 7, 2012 |
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Dear Amana Family Members,
The weeks between CRCT testing and Expedition Showcase at Amana always seem to have an atmosphere of "all hands on deck". As you will read below, our students staged a week's worth of environmental advocacy and learning following Earth Day, and they competed in world language and math competitions all the while imersing themselves in answering the guiding questions posed in their learning expeditions. These weeks also offer us a chance to exchange ideas with and benchmark other schools' innovative programs. The Arabic department hosted professors from the University of Alexandria, Egypt who were interested in our instructional model. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district in North Carolina is sending representatives the week of May 21st to benchmark our Arabic language program. On the flip side, I have visited the Center of Advanced Academics, a City of Marietta 3-5 elementary magnet school focused on STEM Education. We also plan on visiting the Wesley International Academy, a City of Atlanta k-8 charter school that offers Chinese instruction in a single-gender classroom teaching environment. These weeks are also when students shift into high-gear working on their learning expeditions and completing their final products, which they will
share during Expedition Showcase May 15-17. On a recent "shadow day", which allowed next year's incoming students to experience a day in the life of an Amana student, our elementary students were amazed to hear from their new friend that she "didn't get to do expeditions at her school". I guess we have all taken for granted how wonderful and rich our learning model is. Remember to invite your extened family and friends to attend showcase nights, so we share in our students accomplishments.
Ehab Jaleel
Executive Director
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Key Dates | |
5/10 - Cafe Conversation
5/11 - Arabic Community Circle
5/15-17 - Showcase Nights
5/18 - Arabic Community Circle
5/22 - 8th Grade Graduation
5/23 - Last Day of School and Whole-School Community Circle
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Connect
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| Amana Students Excel in World Language Competition
This year, ten of Amana's elementary students participated in the wonderful annual Foreign Language Elementary School FLES Language contest which was held last Saturday in Loganville, GA.Our brave girls and boys participated in different categories which included numbers recognition, counting, reciting poems, presenting Arabic skits, singing, vocabulary recognition of different theme, and interviewing with the judges. For pictures of the event, click here.
Tension and happiness were in the air; however, the will that those students had--and the pride to have been selected from among their friends--made them strong and determined to achieve success.
Our students represented Amana in the best way they could, and they all came out smiling and with a ranking of "Superior" on their certificates (pictured).
The Arabic Department is very proud of these students who clearly met our expectations and who and push us as Arabic teachers to raise the bar higher for them each year.
Finally, we would like to thank all the parents who drove their children to the competition and for believing in world language learning by making it clear that languages are a vital part of a student's total growth and development. - |
Amana Hosts Language Professors from America and Egypt
by Eman Mamoon
 Two weeks ago, Amana had the honor of hosting three language professors: Mr. John Wilson from the Language Programs at North Georgia College and State University with Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education (CASIE), Dr. Lana Habib, the head of "Center for Teaching Arabic As a Foreign Language" from Alexandria University, and professor Heba Sharobeem from Alexandria, Egypt. In addition to touring Amana, the professors attended classes in session and asked questions related to the Arabic curriculum, focusing specifically on the challenges we face when developing our program. Students welcomed our guests with a song and shared with them sentences in Arabic related to their unit. The professors were very impressed by the level of proficiency of our students. The Arabic Department is very proud of Amana students who became a visiting site for all interested candidates in the teaching of the Arabic Language.
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Celebrating Student Fitness and Achievement: Julian Ostertag
 Amana Academy is proud to have many students who participate in athletics not only at school, but in their free time as well. Julian Ostertag, one of Ms. McNeil's second grade students, is one such student. Julian has been participating in the South Korean sport of Soo Bahk Do since January of 2011. Julian's mother Angie says that Julian likes everything about the sport--especially the movements, kicks, and breaking wooden boards.
Julian trains at Lifetime Fitness in Alpharetta and is often involved in competitions. When he participated in a local competition among several karate and Soo Bahk Do schools this past March, Julian won the prestigious Moo Do Jaseh award. The trophy is given to only one student who stands out among his belt color group for calmness, focus, and stillness of body during the two-hour competition. Julian was chosen from among all the orange belts. As a next step, Julian will test for the blue strip to be added to his orange belt and looks forward to testing for his green belt later on this year.
In addition to training in Soo Bahk Do, Julian is also a runner. On April 21, he placed third among the 8-year-old boys in a 1K run at Hembree Springs Elementary School. |
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Zaira Rashid: State Winner in Georgia's Math Kangaroo Competition
Zaira Rashid from Ms. Svetlana's first grade class placed third in the Math Kangaroo competition for Georgia and was invited to the state award ceremony to recognize the students with highest results. We're proud of all our participants and congratulations to Zaria!  
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Book Fair Sets a New Record!
 Our annual book fair was a huge success with sales of $8,468.40!!! Because we exceeded our goal, our school's library will benefit from $5,139.31 of the proceeds. Congratulations to Mrs. Kristina Leidner-Eisenhardt for organizing the fair, and to all our parent volunteers listed below. Thank you parents, teachers, and students for supporting this effort!
 
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Carolyn Leak
Dee Dee Thomas
Nathalie Chaudhry
Cynthia Khan
Julie Waugh
Kristen Person-Ramey
Salema Hamid
Angelika Otte
Shaheen Bharde
Dominique Booker
Malaka Grant
Abdelaziz Dhrif
Crytstal Canaday
Khadeejah Farooq
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Angie Ostertag
Mufeda Haggag
Carrie Doulfikhar
Allison Cupertino
Nada Diab
Stephanie Jones
Michelle Bard
Sadia Tauha
Monique Russell-Messavussu
Hala Al-Bahloul
Colleen Jaafar
Amena Iberohme |
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Earth Week
If you didn't visit Amana during this year's Earth Week, you really missed out! One of our mission elements includes responsibility for the environment and we're thrilled with how excited our students are about being active in conserving our natural resources, reducing our footprints, and protecting our wildlife. During Earth Week, The hallways and classrooms were buzzing with activity each day as our students showcased their research, conducted experiments, and displayed their projects. We loved seeing our students in their "Earth Week Spirit Wear" and we had a great time at our whole-school picnic.
Many thanks to Ms. H for organizing Earth Week and coaching our seventh grade students in their preparations for leading the event. We're proud of all their hard work, positive attitudes, and boundless energy! This year, our newly-formed Amana News Team has documented the entire week on video. They're hard at work creating a documentary which will be ready by the end of the school year. Until the, enjoy some of our pictures by clicking here.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS / REMINDERS |
8th Grade Bake Sale
 Don't forget to support the 8th grade bake sale going on during dismissal this Friday! Watching your sugar intake? They'll gladly accept your cash or check donations. All proceeds go to support the 8th grade end-of-year activities. |
Thank You!
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's teacher  directly, or any one of our Administrative team members. If your question was not addressed, then feel free to contact our Governing Board. Amana's main number is (678) 624-0989 and you may also find email contact information for all of our staff by visiting the Amana Staff Directory. On behalf of the Governing Board, the Amana faculty and staff, and the school Administration, thank you for entrusting your child's education to us. With your continued support, we will continue to mold the very best and brightest global leaders within our community! |
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