MIS NEWSLETTER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Meet the Head Teach-

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I S S U E

S E P T E M B E R

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Meet the 3 New Secondary Teachers Meet the 4 New Secondary Teachers Meet the 5 New Reception Teachers Welcome Back Staff! Information

Welcome Back to School MIS!

The Metropolitan International School team hopes that everyone had an enjoyable summer and are ready to begin school! Be sure that you welcome our many new students to the MIS family. On Tuesday, we invite parents to come meet their childrens teachers at the Parents Evening in the Blue Hall, followed by a meeting in the students classrooms. We look forward to meeting new families and greeting returning ones. We have a caring staff that enjoys collaborating with one another to help our children reach their fullest potential.

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MIS

Important upcoming events...

September 18 September 29 October 3 October 22-Nov. 2 November 9 November 16 November 19 Parents Evening at 7pm, begins in the blue hall Back to School Party @ TOSCA 2pm to 6pm Tag der Einheit: Federal Holiday Fall break St. Martins Event Progress Alerts Parent-Teacher

November 22, 23 November 29 December 7 December 15 December 21

Thanksgiving Holiday Phot Day @ MIS Movie Night Winter Bazaar Winterwonderland and last day of school before the winter break

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Secondary Head Teacher

Dear Parents, I would like to welcome you all to the new school year at MIS. I am very excited to be taking on the new role of Gymnasium Head Teacher this year. This will be my fourth year at MIS and I have seen many developments and improvements throughout this time. I am looking forward to working with the dedicated highly motivated staff here at MIS. And I am sure new parents will get to know all of the friendly faces on our teaching staff. Strong committed parents have played a crucial role in the development of our school and I look forward to continuing this relationship. At MIS we have a parents association called MISPA new parents will learn more about joining this group at the upcoming Parents Evening. I look forward to meeting you all throughout the coming weeks. David Henderson Head Teacher Gymnasium

Primary Head Teacher

Dear Parents, Over the past years I have visited many schools and after I while you know what you want to see in a school. When I first visited MIS I was very impressed by the warm, caring atmosphere and the happy, involved students. This I thought is a school I would be pleased to join. Working closely with all the teachers during our preparation week, my initial feelings were confirmed. All members of the school wish to give your children a unique educational experience and work hard to achieve this. This is a young and growing school in the process of becoming an established centre for learning. I am pleased to accompany it as it develops, sharing my experience as Head of Primary in an International School in France. The success of a school depends also on the quality of the partnership between parents and teachers. We are all working together in the best interests of the students, your children. I look forward to meeting you all in the coming months. Sincerely, John Tyson Head of Primary

Reception Head Teacher

Reception 1 and 2 (MIS' preschool and kindergarten) have two new teachers, new schedules and new plans for the school year. The Reception 1 classroom is more user-friendly, having been redesigned to allow for work, craft, snack and play areas, as well as a reading center where students can work on developing their literacy skills. Reception teachers and aides are very dedicated to giving MIS' youngest students a superb early education, setting a solid foundation for future learning and excellence. As Reception Coordinator and Reception 1 teacher, I am so pleased to be working in the international environment that is MIS, where our students are exposed to the diverse cultures and languages of classmates, schoolmates, parents, teachers, and administration. We are creating global citizens, starting with the youngest of some of the world's brightest children. Kristina Stellhorn Reception Head Teacher

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New Teachers in the Secondary School

Ms. Kathryn Verboom, English and Sport I was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and have been living and working in Germany for the last two years. I came to Germany originally to play basketball in the 2. Bundesliga and during the last two years have also taught English and sport as a supply teacher at a Gymnasium in Speyer. I am really looking forward to teaching at MIS this year and cannot wait to see what this year has in store for all of us.

Miss Yvonne von Oven, Mathematics Ich wurde in Uruguay geboren, bin in Deutschland aufgewachsen und habe in England Mathematikdidaktik Studiert, weshalb ich flieend Deutsch, Englisch und Spanisch spreche. Ich freue mich sehr, Mathematik an der MIS unterrichten zu knnen und meine Begeisterung dafr weiterzureichen. I was born in Uruguay, grew up in Germany and studied Mathematics Education in England, which allowed me to be proficient in German, English and Spanish. I am enthusiastic about teaching mathematics at MIS and making learning enjoyable.

Miss Sina Krger, German and Social Studies Ich wurde in Russland geboren und lebe bereits seit 20 Jahren in Deutschland. Das Lehramtsstudium absolvierte ich in Frankfurt am Main und arbeitete anschlieend am Starkenburg Gymnasium in Heppenheim.

Miss Apolonia Kukla, French and Biology Originally from Canada but also a Polish citizen, studied in the U.S. and Canada before coming here. I am a huge soccer fan and player, so this is one of my favorite hobbies, I also enjoy listening to music and being creative. Being a teacher is a great responsibility as we spend a lot of time providing mentorship and guidance, therefore I would like to create an open-minded environment where the students can feel safe to voice their opinions, and develop a global perspective in and out of the classroom. I would like to provide them with a solid foundation for critical thinking while always encouraging imagination and creativity. This is one of the reasons I am really excited to be at MIS because they have given me the opportunity to do just that.

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New Characters in the Primary School

Mr. John Tyson, Primary Head Teacher and Homeroom Grade 4
After teaching for 5 years in the UK, I moved to France, where I taught in a French International Primary School with French, English and German language sections. I am pleased now to join MIS, where I feel my values in education can be developed. I strongly believe that children learn best when they feel secure emotionally, when they are actively involved in their learning and when they are in a rich and structured learning environment. In the holidays I like to travel. This summer we drove from New Orleans to Chicago via Florida, Charleston, the Blue Ridge Mountains, New York, Ithaca and Lakes Ontario and Michigan. Other trips have taken us to India, Senegal, Istanbul, Montenegro, Sri Lanka and, of course, England!

Frau Dana Edinger, German Grade 1 & 4

Seit Juni 2012 bin ich an der MIS ttig und unterrichte hier alle deutschsprachigen Fcher in der vierten Klasse. Im kommenden Schuljahr werde ich zustzlich eine der ersten Klasse bernehmen. Nach meinem Studium der Betriebswirtschaft an der BA Mannheim entschied ich mich fr das Lehramtsstudium an der PH Heidelberg mit den Fchern Biologie, Englisch und Deutsch. Seit vier Jahren bin ich als Lehrerin ttig. An der MIS reizt mich vor allem die Mglichkeit, an einer der wenigen bilingualen und internationalen Schulen in Deutschland arbeiten und damit die Vielfalt der Kulturen hautnah erfahren zu knnen.

Frau Doren Lorscheid, German Grade 1

Ms. Elizabeth Duncan, Homeroom Grade 2

Howdy! I am excited to be working at MIS for the 2012-2013 school year. I am American and have lived in Spain, Japan, and New Zealand. I received a BS in Education and have recently completed graduate school in England. I am really excited about working with the grade 2 children this school year!

Miss Brittany Brunell, Homeroom Grade 1

My name is Brittany Burnell and I am from Chicago, Illinois, USA. I just moved to Germany to be with my boyfriend of two years who is working towards completing his Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering. This is my second year teaching, and I am very excited to be working at MIS this year in first grade! I am a very creative, hardworking, and motivated teacher who loves the outdoors. My teaching goals for the year are to ensure that each child is pushed to their learning potential in a positive, interactive, learning environment. I look forward to the year's adventures!

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The New Faces in the Reception School

Miss Kristina Stellhorn, Reception Head Teacher I come from Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Since I was a child -- having grown up with a dad who spoke German to us as children -- I have always wanted to live and work in Germany. Before I came to MIS, I was working on my master's and studying speech pathology. I love the fact that MIS is so international, and students hail from so many places worldwide. I couldn't have asked for a more ideal international teaching atmosphere.

Miss Ashley Price, Reception 2 I was born in Heilbronn to American military parents. I grew up in Texas and attended Texas A&M University where I studied Special Education. My hobbies include traveling and scuba diving.

Melek Bayindirli-Wenchel, Reception Spanish

Important People to Know

Julia Bentgens, Proprietress Managing Director

Bernhard Bentgens, Proprietor Music Teacher Grade 1 to 12

Dagmar Schulz Administration

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The Returning Faculty & Staff

David Henderson Gymnasium Head Teacher, Art & Sport Melissa Paterson Grade 1 Homeroom

Stephan Kay Gymnasium, English, IGCSE History

Nicole Dardano Grade 2 & 3 German

Stefan Heckman Gymnasium, German, Social Studies

Traci Hogrefe Grade 3 Homeroom

Elva Torres Gymnasium, Science

Kriztsina Lakics Reception 2

Meghan Martin Spanish

Julian Gibbons Reception 1

Bernard Steinkamp German Reception

Andrei Boureanu Maintenence

Georginan Hamu Kitchen Manager

Jennifer Quilty Music Teacher

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Daily Physical Activity

Daily Physical Activity (DPA) is based on the belief that healthy, active students are better able to learn. It is a physical activity program that encourages student movement, teamwork and cooperation using simple, organized activities that can be performed within the classroom setting. MIS will be incorporating DPA into the daily routines of Gymnasium and Grundschule students in an effort to help develop the positive habits needed for a healthy, active lifestyle.

Metropolitan International School Parent Association

Dear parents, Especially families that are new to MIS this year, I wanted to briefly introduce our parentteacher association, MISPA. We work side by side with the MIS teachers to support the school, organise events, and discuss issues pertaining to MIS. Any MIS parent or family member is welcome to join MISPA. We appreciate new ideas, event volunteers, and enthusiasm! It is a lot of fun getting together and getting to know each other as well! Should you be interested please contact me, Krisztina Lakics, or Mr. David Henderson. Kristina Lakics krisztina.lakics@gmail.com David Henderson david.henderson@metropolitaninternational-school.com

Reception and Primary Blogs

Both the Primary School and the Reception School have blogs to keep family and friends updated on special events as they arise. Pictures, stories, and students work will be posted at varies times throughout the school year. Make sure that you check out the blog and share this site with your family and friends. Some teachers may post important news about your childs class or informaiton on upcoming events. Many teachers in the upper grades are using the educational social network, edmodo to communicate information to students and their families throughout the school year. Students should already know which classes are using edmodo and be signed up to use it. The current blog sites are: Reception: http://misreception1.blogspot.de/ Primary School: http://primarymis.blogspot.de/

Our Mission is to empower our students to become lifelong learners and successful participants in a global community by providing a well-rounded education. At the Metropolitan International School, our Vision is to

MIS Newsletter

Metropolitan International School Walter-Gropius-Allee-3 D-68519 Viernheim Phone: +49(0) 6204/708 7796 Website: http://www.metroschools.de/ E-mail: info@metroschools.de

provide an international, bilingual environment where students can learn safely, comfortably, and with enjoyment. We strive to encourage lifelong learning by using a variety of teaching methods, resources, and meaningful experiences. We provide a challenging, personalized education that supports the development of each individual student. Students leave MIS as confident citizens with international competence, ready to participate successfully in a global community. We believe that quality education combined with a range of extra curricular activities can shape a childs intellect while also improving their self-confidence and self-assurance.