CAMPUS NEWS
AWTY'S CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
The Chinese program organized a Chinese New Year celebration for the Middle and Upper School assemblies on February 6 to welcome the Year of the Rooster. Approximately 170 Awty students who study Chinese at Awty including 23 students in the Awty Plus after-school program from Preschool and Lower School sang and danced to two Chinese songs, “Love” and “Butterfly”, to open the show.
The main activity of this year’s celebration was the riddle contest, which is a tradition in China for the New Year. All secondary students participated in the contest, and received prizes donated generously by our Chinese parents. The celebration ended with “A Chinese American Overture” performed by the Awty band.
SOPHOMORE ENGLISH CLASS VISITS HOUSTON AD AGENCY
On February 10, the Intermediate I English 10th grade class visited the Award-winning creative agency Adhere Creative to deepen their understanding of persuasion techniques and how perception can be influenced. The Adhere team welcomed the class with delicious Crispy Cream doughnuts before starting a presentation on advertising.
After examining various aspects of ads ranging from the colors used to the length of commercials, the students were able to experience a hands-on project, creating their own ad. The team divided the students into two groups tasked with brainstorming a positive and a negative ad on the same product. Each student contributed his/her ideas, and then worked as a group to finalize the project. The sketched advertisements were then created on the spot by talented members of the Adhere team, Jon Feagain and Matt Lee. The students furthered their understanding of the lesson thanks to the mentorship of Adhere Creative!
GO TEXAN DAY AT AWTY
Yee Haw!! Cowboy boots and hats for days! From line dancing to pony racing to trick roping, our students had fun celebrating Awty’s Go Texan Day.
GIRLS WHO CODE
Members of Awty Girls Who Code including Lara Roy, Sophia Hashmi, Jean Buehler, Nicole Sax, and Aranza Rodriguez attended the DigiGirlz App Dreambuilder Workshop at Microsoft Houston on March 10. During their visit, they designed and built a mobile app using the Appy Pie platform, attended a DigiGirlz Future Disruptivators Envisioning Workshop, and attended a Future of Girls Technology DigiTalk speakers and luncheon.
STUDENTS IN THE SPANISH PROGRAM VISIT FINCA TRES ROBLES
Sophomores taking Spanish in the French program took a field trip to Finca Tres Robles, an urban farm that produces vegetables without any kind of fertilizers or pesticides. While learning how good nutritious food is produced, the students dug in and got their hands dirty, planting crops, harvesting vegetables, preparing the soil, pulling weeds, and washing pots to plant seeds. Overall, it was an enriching hands-on experience for the students.
DUTCH AUTHOR VISITS AWTY
How sincere are professor Sax’s intentions? Is he really going to steal Picasso’s painting “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon) and what has the mysterious African mask got to do with it?
Mrs. Iris Jongejan’s Dutch students in the Lower School discovered the answer as they read the book The Mystery of Picasso in preparation for a visit from Ms. Manon Berns, a famous Dutch children’s book author. The students were super excited to meet Ms. Berns and had tons of fantastic questions to ask.
Ms. Berns also gave an interesting workshop about ‘how to write a (children’s) book’ to Ms. Miranda de Vries’ and Ms. Erna Forbes’ Dutch students in Middle School and Upper School. They were extremely eager to learn about the different stages of writing a book from research to negotiations with publishers.
We hope Ms. Berns’ visit to Awty has encouraged and inspired new young writers amongst our student body!
Ms. Berns always combines art and an exciting story in her books. Her goal is to teach children that art is fascinating, funny, sometimes strange, but never dull. To read more about Ms. Berns, click here.
BOOK FAIR 2017
A large variety of books (more than 4,000 titles!) in English, French, Spanish, and Dutch were on display and for sale during Awty’s annual Book Fair on March 1-3, 2017. Students of all ages, as well as several employees and parents, attended this year's book fair.
Many thanks to the Awty librarians and all the volunteers who helped to make this event a success—both as a generator of reading for pleasure and as a profit-making enterprise. All of the help from Awty faculty, staff, students, and parent volunteers was truly appreciated. Thank you to everyone who purchased a book (or many books!) at the fair. Your purchases added to the Book Fair’s success and will help the library to pay for books, author visits, and reading incentive programs. Over $10,400 in both books and profit was raised from the book fair.
TEACHER APPRECIATION BREAKFAST
The Awty Parents and Personnel Association (APPA) celebrated Awty's MVPs by hosting the annual Teacher Appreciation Breakfast on March 2. Members of Awty's faculty and staff enjoyed a delicious breakfast including quiche, smoked salmon, fresh fruit, waffles made to order, a coffee bar, and much more. Each MVP also received a 60th Anniversary cookie and a gift card. They also had the chance to sign-up for a massage during the day. It was a great way to honor and celebrate the remarkable contributions of Awty's staff and faculty.
FRANCOPHONIE 2017
Bonjour!! For Awty students, a day visiting multiple French-speaking countries was only a walk away. During the school’s Francophonie celebration, students frolicked the streets of France, Morocco, Belgium, Lebanon, Romania, and many more by jumping from one interactive booth to the next, where they were able to taste, see, hear, and experience the diversity of the French language and culture.
Students and faculty also delighted the crowd by acting, dancing, and singing French songs, plays, and skits. Our very own drama teacher Martha Bawara performed the background song in the following video. Check out the highlights from the day…
AWTY STUDENTS HELP TO HONOR WORLD WAR II VETERANS
Awty students Joseph Abounohra, Théophile Burtz, Eloïse Cowan, Mateo Hayek, Julia Magaud, and Camille Olinger were the guests of The Honorable Sujiro Seam, Consul General of France, at the Texas Flying Legends Museum on April 6, where Mr. Seam presented the medal of Knight in the French Order of the Legion of Honor to seven American World War II veterans who participated in the liberation of France from Nazi Germany in 1944.
The students, all members of Mr. Nick Conrad’s history class, presented the biographies of the American veterans who were honored at the event. The veterans included Brona Bottoms, Albert Haley, Stanley Simon, Ben Townes, Joseph Westmoreland, Julio Zaccagni, and Aron Wooten. Awty’s Proviseure Christine Chourré and Mr. Conrad also attended the event. Awty is deeply honored to have been invited to be a part of this important event, which furthers the vital and highly treasured close relationship between the United States of America and France.
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2017
Organized by the Awty Parents and Personnel Association (APPA), this year’s International Festival came alive with the sights and sounds of Pakistan, the country of honor, on April 20-21. Event Chairs Letty Dion and Ibela Penichet returned for their second year coordinating this two-day event for Awty students and families.
On Thursday morning, the festival opened with the traditional parade of flags, which were carried by the Class of 2017. Those in attendance learned about Pakistan's history, traditions, and culture. After the ceremony, Middle School and Upper School students took turns during the day visiting the booths and learning about the culture and customs of each country represented.
On Friday, students and staff/faculty alike celebrated their heritage by wearing their national dress. During the day, Preschool and Lower School students spent the day visiting the booths. They collected stamps, accumulated souvenirs, and tasted delicious foods from around the world. The festival concluded with a Parade of Nations, live entertainment, and a savory family dinner catered to the Awty community.
The festival was made possible thanks to the dedication, time, and energy of our parent volunteers, and for this we thank you!
