Carrie Shaw's Grade 1 class has been busy studying frogs. Earlier this month, the class visited Hampstead Heath's Secret Garden, where students participated in a variety of learning activities from acting out life cycles to exploring different habitats. Students were excited to discover toads, frogs, millipedes and leeches!

Miss Shaw said, "The purpose of our field trip was to connect our learning to our new life science project. The focus in the spring is on life cycles and the inquiry process, specifically in our class with frogs, so the students are quickly becoming herpetologists!"

With the help of LS science teacher Ania Driscoll-Lind, the students are observing tadpoles in three different types of water and investigating which habitat is best.

View photos from the field trip to Hampstead Heath.

The ASL PCA Join Together Auction, which took place in March, was a resounding success! The two-day celebration saw the PCA raise £532,605 to fund their operating budget for the next two years as well as to make a generous donation of £382,605 for Endowment and the Community Spaces projects in the Commons and the LS playground at ASL.

The Join Together 2013 Auction team extends its heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all for the generous gifts of time and talent in making Join Together a spectacular weekend.

View a selection of photos from the Join Together Auction.

As you may have read in previous news posts, Ms. Forrester's high school architecture students have been working with Patrick Lee and Lynn Sacks' K1 class on a host of collaborative projects. Rhea ’14 took these super pictures to chronicle how both the older and the younger students had much to learn from each other.

The high schoolers helped the kindergartners hone their interview skills, while the lower schoolers assisted the older students to present their public space projects.

Ms. Forrester says, "It has been a lovely collaboration between our classes and we wanted to share the pictures with the greater community."

More than 50 alumni, parents, former faculty and current members of the ASL community joined HS Performing Arts Director Buck Herron (ASL 1998-present) for a reception to celebrate the success of the HS performance of The Picture of Dorian Gray on Friday evening, 26 April. Michael Benz ’00, Adam Bond ’99 and Andrew Bentley ’83 were among the alumni guests raising glasses and sampling the dessert tray. Other attendees include John Wilson (ASL 1971-2009), Suzanne Brooks (ASL 1972-99) and Christine Rudolph ’85 (ASL 1989-present). Former faculty member Hazel Simpson (ASL 1969-2006) was elated to visit with Andrew Bentley, a third grade student of hers who she hadn’t seen in years. A special reunion at a special celebration! Thank you to all who attended. If you missed the show, you can still watch the performance of Dorian Gray online: http://www.asl.org/media

Friday, 3 May, saw the Commons packed with students, faculty and staff, parents and guests, for ASL's annual Middle East Night, brilliantly organized by the HS Middle East Club. For the evening, the student space became a delectable and entertaining Middle East café, with the entertainment program including plentiful helpings of traditional Middle Eastern dishes, a performance from a dazzling belly dancer and a discussion on post-Arab spring developments led by Roger Cohen (ASL P ’12 ’15). In addition, talented ASL alumna Sara Elhadj ’09 sang a solo to raise awareness about the conflict in Syria.

Proceeds from the event benefited the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Associate Director of Advancement for Capital Giving Sandy Mateus was among the many guests who partook in Middle East Night. “It was a wonderful gathering of the ASL community and students,” said Sandy. “They all came together to discuss ways to be involved with the IRC as well as to share their Middle Eastern culture and traditions of hospitality, song and dance, and delicious food.” Alumni Relations Coordinator Libby Jones agreed. “I had a ball!” she remarked. A special thanks to club presidents Tarek ’13 and Mohammad ’13 and to faculty advisor Peggy Elhadj for organizing this special night of Middle Eastern merriment.

The Student Voice Council from neighboring school Quintin Kynaston and ASL's Student Council have been meeting regularly to plan events to strengthen bonds between the two schools. Last week, the students held their second annual student council BBQ. More than 50 students gathered on the Waverley Place playground not only for the great food and a fun basketball game, but also for frisbee, soccer, and simply meeting new friends and neighbors.

ASL Student Council President Issy ’14 said, "We consider an event a success if people walk away with new friends. If that happens, just between two people, it's an achievement. The BBQ went really well! At the end, the students didn't want to leave!"

The event was 100 percent organized by students from QK and ASL—from initial planning meetings to collaboration through their joint Facebook group to catering and clean-up. The BBQ is just one event in a long list of ideas on which the schools' student councils want to join forces.

"The BBQ is a tradition we'd like to continue but we're looking at new events, too," said Issy. "If there is an opportunity to involve QK students, we should take it."

In addition to student council events, QK & ASL students work together on a range of activities: the ASL & QK Cooking Club; robotics; ASL Community Service Day; ASL's MS ASP at QK; the program that saw QK student ambassadors teach cricket to ASL Grade 2 students; and the dance team collaboration with Ms. Coulston.

In April, Head of School Coreen Hester and members of the ASL advancement office ventured across the pond to host receptions on the East Coast for alumni, parents of alumni and former faculty members. The first stop on the tour was New Canaan, Connecticut, on Sunday, 28 April, where more than 70 guests gathered in Waveny Park to fly kites, toss Frisbees and savor lunch at an ASL family picnic. The weather was glorious—as was the company! Among the attendees were Lois and Jeff Meyer (P ’07 ’10 ’12 ’16); Kate Flaherty Stimpson ’89, her husband, John Stimpson ’90, and their kids; Diane Discenza (P ’09 ’12); and Marissa Greve Lowthert ’92 and her family. The afternoon was a grand affair for the ASL community in Connecticut.

The following night on Monday, 29 April, ASLers enjoyed a special soiree at New York City’s Union League Club. Former faculty and staff, including Jan Mikrut (ASL 1974-98), Katherine Precht (ASL 1993-2009; P ’08 ’15) and Katherine Snedeker (ASL 2007-09) caught up over nibbles and wine. Alumni families, including Michael and Carmela Molinaro (P ’05 ’09) and Sara Molinaro ’05; and Cynthia Princi (P ’05 ’08 ’13) and her daughter, Alexa ’05, visited with old friends. Among the alumni swapping stories and sharing memories were Marc Watkins ’89, Kimeran Daley ’94 and Jeremy Dworken ’02. Thank you to all who turned out for these regional events; we look forward to future receptions!

At this morning's LS assembly, Grade 4 teacher Matt Kish introduced a very special visitor, Elumalai Raj, head of the nursery and primary section at ASL's community partnership organization, the Nirvana School in Pondicherry, India. Mr. Kish explained that LS teachers and students have visited the Nirvana School in Pondicherry, India, for the past nine years.

Mr. Kish told the students, "It's always such an amazing trip for us, but there's just one thing missing. We always wanted someone from the Nirvana School to come to ASL."

The students welcomed Elumalai by saying hello in Tamil, the language the students speak at the Nirvana School. Elumalai showed photos of his school, ranging from students during morning assembly (the "heart of the school") to annual tree planting to sports day. Of course, ASL students were eager to ask him a whole host of questions!

When asked what the differences were between ASL and the Nirvana School, Elumalai cited how classrooms are equipped—the supplies and the technology. He told the students about how the Nirvana School experiences regular power cuts and reminded the LS students how lucky ASL is to have electricity and ready access to water. He was delighted to see that every LS classroom has a tap!

Elumalai finished his presentation with photos of Nirvana students in their new gym uniforms, which were bought with funds ASL students raised in January by doing extra chores around their homes.

Elumalai will be visiting classrooms in the Lower School for the next week. Be sure to say hello! Or "Vanakkam!"

HS social studies teacher Michelle Gerken writes, "On 23 March, 13 ASL students and three teachers set off on a global expedition to the Dominican Republic and Haiti organized by Global Programs Director Nina DeSimone and non-profit activist organization Global Exchange. The program began with a drive down the DR’s scenic, southern coast to the town of Pedernales just short of the Haitian border. Pedernales served as a lovely base to explore Haiti and the DR.

"Students crossed the border and explored the Haitian town of Anse-a-Pitre, where they toured a local health facility and a sustainable environmental community, Sadhana Forest. At the health facility, the only hospital for a town of 30,000 people, we were warmly welcomed by the medical director, who took us on a tour of the very simple hospital. The commitment of the medical staff was inspiring. This visit gave us much food for thought. Also inspiring was the Sadhana Forest sustainable development project, run by volunteers, which works with the local community to produce indigenous food and soil, and to educate the people on permaculture techniques.

"On the Dominican side, students visited the beautiful Oviedo lagoon and learned from community activists in the town of Oviedo, who volunteer to preserve their lagoon and coastal wildlife. The group then rode back toward Santo Domingo and then north high into the mountains of Altagracia, where they learned from families who grow organic, fair trade coffee on a large farm project established by author Julia Alvarez. There, they connected utilizing their Spanish/French with local families over meals, played with the children, and explored the workings of the farms from community representatives and a local Peace Corps worker. 

"Throughout the trip, the group had some time to enjoy some of the lovely beaches as well. During the months leading up to the trip, the students studied the history, economy and literature of the two neighboring countries in order to draw connections between the past and the present DR and Haiti."

This trip was one of three Global Partnerships trips that ran over Spring Break. The other two saw students travel to China and South Africa.

The MS Student Council has organized a "Read with Lower Schoolers" service opportunity for middle school students. Eleven older student volunteers traveled to the Lower School every day for two weeks to read with the younger students. After a quick early lunch, the middle school students headed down to the Lower School Library where they met up with their buddy class to read books with their partners. After sharing their love of reading, the older students returned to their classrooms at 12:15 pm.

To finish, she read one of her Budgie the Little Helicopter books and Tea for Ruby. The Duchess left a gift for every student and was thrilled to pose for class photographs. Eager to visit the Lower School Library, the Duchess donated all 17 of her children's books to the School, which she happily autographed to ASL. After signing the visitors book with a flourish, the Duchess was on her way.

Over Spring Break, 10 HS students and four teachers departed for Beijing for the first ASL Global Partnerships Program in China. This particular program had been discussed over the past few years but didn't come to fruition until last summer when Head of World Languages and Cultures Lanting Xu, and HS Assistant Principal Annie Leonard visited China to plan out a course that would focus on the following:

• Chinese language immersion
• Expanding global perspective and developing cross-cultural competencies
• Engaging in community-based learning with our partner, INCLUDED, a non-profit organization that provides morning and afternoon social and educational programs for migrant children.
  

The program, headed by Lanting Xu, enjoyed a successful first run.

"The China trip was an amazing experience," said Billy ’13. "I enjoyed every moment I was there. Being able to witness the true density of Chinese culture through my studies of Mandarin was a great opportunity. I think the trip also marks a big step forward for ASL in expanding global partnerships to Asia for the first time."

Omar ’14 added, “The trip was the perfect opportunity for Chinese students to use their Chinese in a non-classroom setting, it combined new comfort zones with safety and adventure. Overall it was a pure success. This trip is the embodiment of our mission statement and more.”                

The focus of the first week in Beijing was language immersion. ASL students attended mini classes at the Jingshan School and were also encouraged to use their Chinese in a variety of authentic settings like purchasing subway tickets, asking for directions and ordering food. After a week of learning about and exploring Beijing, the group headed to Xi’an for two days and ended the program in Shanghai.

View photos from the trip.