NEWSLETTER NUMBER 32 9 May, 2012

P.O. BOX 372 MEDINAT AL SULTAN QABOOS POSTAL CODE 115 SULTANATE OF OMAN TEL: 24603646/24605287 FAX: 24603544 EMAIL: admin@abaoman.edu.om WEBSITE: www.abaoman.edu.om

Deadline for submission of completed Board nomination forms: 2pm, Monday 14th May

News from the Board of Directors

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the ABA Association will be held on Monday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the Philippa Leggate Performing Arts Center. The Chairman of the Board of Directors will report to the Association on the work of the Board during the current year. The Treasurer will present a report on the financial status of the Association. This is an occasion when the Association members will have an opportunity to meet the Board, hear about past accomplishments, future plans and ask any questions they may have.
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ELECTIONS FOR THE 2012-2013 BOARD

Nominations for one position on the ABA Board of Directors are now being taken. Information regarding Board duties and responsibilities and nomination forms may be picked up at the reception desk of th the school. The last date for submission of nominations is Monday, May 14 . Any member of the ABA Association, except employees of the school and their spouses and persons holding a diplomatic passport, may stand for the ABA Board of Directors. Nominees commit themselves to serve on the Board for two years, and each nomination must be supported by at least two members of the Association. The elections will be held in accordance with the ABA by-laws under the direction of the ABA Parent-Teacher Association. Following the AGM report from the Board of Directors, there will be a Meet the Candidates forum. This annual forum provides an opportunity for the Association to meet and question those Association members seeking a place on the Board. Immediately following the Meet the Candidates forum, elections nd rd th for the 2012-2013 ABA Board positions will commence. Ballots will also be taken on May 22 , 23 and 26 . On behalf of the Board of Directors, I encourage each Association member to participate in these important events that will help shape the future of ABA. Ivor Braganza Chairman

News from the Superintendent

This weekend, Mr. Synoground (Director of Activities) and I will lead the International Schools Activities Conference (ISAC) meeting at the Shangri La Hotel here in Muscat. We expect Heads of Schools and Athletic Directors from 16 schools in our region to attend, 35 participants in total. Over the past year I served as ISAC President and with Mr. Synogrounds assistance, we tried to streamline some of the practices and policies associated with this conference. We have implemented an ISAC requirement that once a year the Head of School and Athletic Director must attend meetings to discuss any possible changes needed to the schedules and review any concerns that arose during interschool competitions. ABA has thoroughly enjoyed its ISAC membership and if we had stayed with this league, I know that we would have continued to support ISAC with advice, insights, and feedback to strengthen the already strong Association. However, in light of the increasing political uncertainty of our time and rising travel costs, we made the decision to move ABA to the Middle East South Asia Conference (MESAC) for 2012-2013.

We believe that the smaller group of highly competitive schools in the MESAC region, with policies that include participation of students in a maximum of two sports, will benefit more of our student athletes. In addition, the six schools that participate in MESAC are located in Qatar, UAE and India-all easy for ABA students and coaches to travel to and from. We will require the communitys support for housing students and therefore, we hope we can continue to depend on you for that extra bed next school year when it is our turn to host MESAC events. Last Sunday we held our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the school. Approximately 50 people attended this years meeting. Graham Marshall, PTA Chair, presented the year in review and acknowledged the outstanding efforts and contributions of the PTA Executive. The following individuals worked with Graham to celebrate ABAs 25th Anniversary year with style: Jo McDougall Abi Wilson Ann Harman Ingrid Clulow Elaine Prosser Nicola Mentiplay Debbie Oakden Poonam Rishi Jinane Helou Ian Classey Hilary Ironside Vice-Chair Vice-Chair Secretary Treasurer Homeroom Coordinator Secondary Coordinator Middle school Coordinator Elementary Coordinator ECE Coordinator Teacher Representative Teacher Representative

In addition to a review of all that was achieved this year, the PTA elected the Executive Council for the next academic year. I am pleased to report that the following individuals were elected to lead the PTA in 2012-2013: Poonam Rishi Andrea Passmore Becky Smith Medinna Jackson Priya Wilmor Alison Al Maskari Marinda Van der Merwe Jinane Helou Louise Byrne Chair (India) Vice-Chair (Peru) Secretary (England) Treasurer (New Zealand) Homeroom Coordinator (India) Secondary Coordinator (Ireland) Middle school Coordinator (South Africa) Elementary Coordinator (Lebanon) ECE Coordinator (Northern Ireland)

What struck me as special about next years PTA was the international dimension of the Executive Committee. Of the 9 people who were elected to the Executive, 8 nationalities are represented. This is what has, and always will, define ABA as the International School in Oman. I extend my sincere appreciation, on behalf of the ABA stakeholders, to all ABA parents who have provided such loving and caring service to our students and our school this year and a special thank you to Poonam, Andrea, Becky, Medinna, Priya, Alison, Marinda, Jinane (for a second year) and Louise for willing to step forward and continue the impressive PTA legacy that has evolved over the past 25 years on our campus. I am most grateful to Graham, Abi, Jo, Ann, Ingrid, Elaine, Nicola, Debbie, Poonam and Jinane for their support, dedication, and leadership this year. It is through their efforts that my colleagues and I can effectively work towards the development of an environment of intercultural understanding and respect. It has been an honor and privilege to work with this years PTA Executive Committee. Thank you.

Mona Nashman-Smith Superintendent

News from the Elementary Principal

Over the course of the year, we as a staff have continued to review and revamp the curriculum we offer the children. Sometimes it has been a subtle change to a unit of inquiry and other times it has been a major overhaul with new educational inquiries being planned, taught and assessed. While many parents feel very connected to the goings on of their childs mainstream classroom, it remains a challenge for us to get regular, individualised information about our specialists program of Physical Education, Arabic, Music and Information Technology to families. Many of the teachers of these subjects see close to 340 students twice a week and to support, promote and improve the sharing of information about these subjects we have begun to revamp the various web pages of these subject areas. The layout for each has been converted to a Google Docs site format and we aim to make continuous improvements to address this area of communication. Please take a moment to view both our IT and Arabic websites and we hope they provide you with a better sense of whats going on at school. Based on feedback and some constructive criticism from teachers and parents, we were mindful to increase the Oman connection within our curriculum. https://sites.google.com/a/abaoman.org/elemarabic/ https://abapub.abaoman.edu.om/elemsite/

Updates of the Physical Education and Music WebPages will be rolled out in the next few weeks. Whats new/updates K1 parents visit school http://www.abaoman.edu.om/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=455&Itemid=342 On Sunday, three grade 4 boys took it upon themselves to organise a bake sale to support the Arohanui orphanage in Tanzania that our grade 2 teacher, Kerstin Harder runs. With great support from the grade 4 parent body, teachers and children they managed to raise just over 150 OMR; a tremendous effort and a great cause. Congratulations to Laith Al Barwani, Max Schofield and Charlie Spalton in 4S. Lastly, congratulations to two of our budding tennis stars here at ABA. Tim Rutherford (5W) won the Oman tennis Association (OTA) boys under 12 final by 9-8 and Tallulah Nieper was runner up in the girls under 10 final after losing narrowly by 9-7. Both children have a bright future on the courts and I look forward to seeing their names in years to come. Stephen Madden Elementary Principal

News from the Secondary School Principal

This time of year the senior school takes on a very different feel. Grade 10 and 12 students are preparing for their exams. This means fewer students on campus but also in some ways more intensity as when they are here it is either for an extended revision class, to meet individually with a teacher or for an actual exam. This is then contrasted with the very different emotions of when they come out of an examination. Good luck to all currently in examinations and also to students in grades 8, 9 and 11 for their upcoming exams at the end of the month. Sunday 20th May is our grade 5 to grade 6 transition day. The aim of the day is to give students an insight into life in the Secondary school so that they go away over the summer with some knowledge of what they are returning to and hence with less trepidation. In the evening, an information session will take place for parents on the school, the transition and how to help. It will take place in the Performing Arts Centre. Terry Storer Secondary School Principal

News from the School Counselor

Parenting a College Student, Dos and Donts for Making Effective Choices The guidance office has a very useful booklet for parents of university students by Beymer and Nelson. The booklet is available upon request. The following tips are shared and explained in the resource. The ideas and suggestions can be useful as parents and their children enter this new phase of life. Do keep your perspective Do take the view that college is just one more milestone Dont rush in and save the day for our son or daughter Do listen Dont worry overmuch about career consequences of a college program Do express belief that your son or daughter will succeed Do keep the lines of communication open Do focus on the satisfactions a career may bring Dont worry too much about the grades your first year university student will earn Grade 11 Small Group Meetings This week, Grade 11 students completed a questionnaire about intended university plans. This information will be used to create small groups who will meet with me based on intended plans. Many students will change their mind and adjust their plans over the next few months. Students are asked to keep me informed of these changes. Please note that when students return in September, they should have a fairly clear plan. Students usually find the Grade 12 pace very rapid. Anything they can complete over the summer (Extended Essay, CAS, university research, personal statement, TOEFL, IELTS, etc) will help them manage the Grade 12 expectations and responsibilities. Grade 11 Parents View for University Recommendation Parents of the class of 2013 are kindly requested to complete a parent survey on Family Connection. Since parents know their children best, this survey helps the school understand each individual student to a greater depth which greatly assists us as we prepare recommendations and guide the students. To access the survey, login to Family Connection, select your student and click

ABOUT ME. In the left-hand column will be a link to the parent survey. If you need your Family Connection login details, please contact mfrederickson@abaoman.edu.om. .Marcie Frederickson School Counselor/University Advisor

News from the School Counselor (Grade 6-9)

During advisory this week, students in Grades 6, 7, 8 and 9 investigated the topic of Third Culture Kids (TCKs). A third culture kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents culture. The third culture kid builds relationships to all the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of the same background, other TCKs. During the presentations, we discussed the importance of understanding TCKs in relation to who am I?, and how it helps teenagers to understand the differences between themselves and friends/family who remain in their home country. In addition, advantages and challenges of being a TCK were outlined and will be revisited in the future. More information can be found at http://www.tckworld.com/ and recommended reading on this topic for parents includes, Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds, by David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken; Raising Global Nomads: Parenting Abroad in an On-Demand World by Robin Pascoe. Grade 7 students organized a fund-raising event on campus this week in aid of Teens Giving Back. This school based group will use the 82.300 Rials raised to benefit teenagers and children being treated in oncology units in Muscat hospitals. Well done to this group of well-organised and motivated students! Claire Anthony School Counselor (Grade 6-9)

News about School Activities/Viper Sports

AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES/INTRAMURALS/VIPERS SPORTS Next year ABA will be moving into a new league called MESAC which stands for Middle East School Activities Conference. This new league will bring a higher level of competition for the students of ABA but it will also bring more variety to the Vipers program. The new league has volleyball, basketball, football, track and field, swimming and academic games just the same as ISAC but MESAC also offers badminton, x-country, softball, baseball, slow pitch, tennis, junior and senior arts festival and forensics. The Activities/ Vipers Sports website has been updated with information on MESAC, including all the programs being offered with descriptions, new league rules, tournament information etc. If you wish to see what will be coming next year go to the ABA website, go to the ABA Community Section, click on Activities/ Vipers Sports and click on Vipers Program. Vipers Program page will open and down the left side is all the new information that you can click onto to see what is coming. Please use the following Log in: parentinfo@abaoman.org / Password: aba99999 Any questions please contact: Activities Coordinator at krambo@abaoman.edu or Athletic Director at tsynpground@abaoman.edu.om Kelly Rambo Activities Coordinator krambo@abaoman.edu.om

News from the PTA

PTA ELECTIONS Sunday evening saw a fantastic turnout for our PTA AGM. Many many thanks to everyone that came back to school that night to share the PTA years report with us. Thank you also to the PTA members who supplied delicious refreshments. A heart-felt thanks to Our Outgoing Team that have worked so hard and been so dedicated throughout the year. We as Chair and Vice Chairs have really enjoyed this year and working with such an amazing group of people. Congratulations and Thanks to the new Team for stepping forward to continue the PTAs work and Good Luck!!

New Committee for 2012/2013 Chair - Poonam Rishi Vice Chair - Andrea Passmore Secretary - Becky Smith Treasurer- Medinna Jackson Homeroom Parent Coordinator - Priya Wilmor High School (G9-12) Parent Representative - Alison Al-Maskari High School (G6-8) Parent Representative - Marinda van de Merwe Elementary Parent Representative - Jinane Helou ECE Parent Representative Louise Byrne COIN DRIVE May 26th30th We have the CHARITY COIN DRIVE starting on Saturday, 26th May. The coin drive goes on for the whole week. For those of you who are new to the school and wonder what its all about basically the coin drive is a daily collection of COINS from any country in every class in ABA from K1 to Grade 12. At the end of the week the class with the highest value of money (from coins only) will be given a special prize. In addition at the end of each day the class with the highest count of money will have their photo put up on the PTA notice board. This year we will be donating the money raised towards the Sindbad mobile library which will tour the country taking books to children in the interior and many outlying villages to borrow, read and enjoy. If you are available to assist with counting the coins daily throughout that week, please call Evelyn on 95231828. BOARD ELECTIONS We are getting organised for our Board Elections which will take place on 21 st, 22nd, 23rd and 26th May. Please read the information on the PTA notice boards and the emails you have received over the last couple of weeks. FLEA MARKET The next Flea Market will be held on 7th June, 2012 in the MPH. 2-4pm. More details to follow. Graham Marshall, PTA Chair (95396792) Abi Wilson, PTA Co-Vice Chair (92993130) Jo McDougall, PTA Co-Vice Chair (99477396)

News for the Community

Volunteers dont get paid, not because they are

worthless, but because they are PRICELESS

Sherry Anderson

In appreciation of your hard work, we would like to invite all our V.I.P. parents whose help was so important in making this year a success

To a

Parents Appreciation Tea Wednesday, June 6th 2012 8:00am to 10:00am Secondary Cafeteria

We would like to invite you to an Art Exhibition: Art for PETRA Opening by H.H. Dr. Shariffa Khalid Al Said on Monday, 14 May 2012 at 7:30 pm in the lower lobby of Intercontinental Muscat The exhibition is also open on 15, 16, and 17 May from 9 am to 1 pm and 2 to 9 pm Part of proceeds will go to PETRA Oman

Classified Section
** For Sale!!! To buy!!! Exchange or Change!!! Carpool or Babysitting!!!!** Please forward your classified ads to Jo McDougall jo_sale@hotmail.com by no later than the Sunday before you wish it to appear in the Newsletter. Adverts will feature in the newsletter for one week and then, if requested, may feature on the PTA notice board beside the main gate for a further two weeks.

FOR SALE McLaren baby stroller - 20 OR Baby cot with mattress (Home Centre) almost new / light birch colour - 30 OR Please contact: 98 10 45 43 (after 2.30pm)

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40 lb Bag Dog Food Purina/Iams Box Set 12 Dinner Plates, White Box Set 12 Salad Plates, White Box Set 12 Water Goblets Skateboard Box LG Computer Monitor Hockey Sticks Boys boot/cleats US 7 /39 Black 3 shelf TV stand Call Kim 9915 1337

15 OR 10 OR 8 OR 8 OR 15 OR 15 OR 5 OR 5 OR 15 OR

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Electric Ibanez guitar with Marshal amplifier for sale - OR 100 Acoustic Yamaha guitar- OR 40 Please call: 99269704 or e-mail selma.schilter@hotmail.com

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Indian Cooking Classes Have you ever wanted to cook an Indian dish and felt that it is a MYSTICAL art? Well, come along the journey that will unfold the magic of Indian cuisine. Realise your dream of making your own Butter Chicken or roll your own Roti. Impress your friends and family. Please hurry and make your booking as places are getting filled fast and don't leave yourself for disappointment. Upcoming Classes: Starting: 20th May 2012 and Starting: 17th May 2012 (Please book by 14th May) Class: Set of 4 classes every Sunday and Thursday For Bookings and Details: Phone: Simran at 93257584 Email: simrandhanju32@yahoo.com