ACS Hillingdon’s Got Talent

Over 60 students recently performed at the annual ACS Hillingdon’s Got Talent event, performing a wide range of comedy acts, songs and music in front of a packed live audience of friends and family.

ACS Hillingdon dance students performing on stage

Now in its fourth year, the Hillingdon’s Got Talent show was set up by ACS Hillingdon parent Amanda Philipe-Savage, who wanted to organise an event that would bring together the whole school to celebrate the unique talents of students from every year group.

One of the highlights of this year’s show was a performance by ACS Hillingdon student, Graeme Miller, who played two of his original compositions. Inspired by taking part in the Hillingdon’s Got Talent show last year, Graeme auditioned for the 2012 Open Mic UK Competition where he won the regional and area prizes for Best Original Song.  Graeme beat over 2,000 other students across the UK to reach the top 30 and perform at the National Finals at the O2’s Indigo theatre.

“There are many music events at ACS Hillingdon throughout the year, but Hillingdon’s Got Talent is one of the only shows that the whole school takes part in so it always special,” commented Graeme Miller.

“Everyone gets behind all the acts, both the performers backstage and the audience. The show helped me develop my confidence with performing and I would definitely recommend to anyone else who is thinking of taking to the stage to give it a go – you never know what might happen!” he added.

Other standout performances included a student demonstrating his impressive skill at finishing a rubiks cube within 60 seconds, and a powerful rendition of ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by the Lois Mattson Orchestra.

The talent show doesn’t leave one act crowned the winner, but celebrates the talents and achievements of all students who take part.  It isn’t about winning, it is all about participation.

Amanda Philipe-Savage, founder and main organiser of Hillingdon’s Got Talent, commented,

“Every year I love seeing the students grow in excitement as the evening approaches, and get to enjoy performing and showcasing their talents in front of the whole school community. The event was sold out for the fourth year in a row and continues to grow each year thanks to the hard work of all the parents, teachers and students who make the show what it is.”

“Events that bring together students of all ages are always special, and we are looking forward to creating an event that will give students across each of the ACS campus’ at Cobham, Egham and Hillingdon the chance to perform together in the future.”

Money raised on the night through ticket sales will be added to the funds available for the ACS Hillingdon Gifts Programme, which allows parents, students and teachers to choose an item to buy which will enhance the teaching and learning experiences for students at the school. So far the Gifts Programme has been used to purchase a piano, disco ball, microphones, and wigs for the school’s Performing Arts programme.

‘Yeek the Emu’ story by ACS Doha students, Julienne & Ulises.

ACS Doha students recently undertook a self-initiated project that included writing, illustrating and publishing their own books after an interactive class on short story writing. You can read Julienne and Ulises book here as well as their experiences working together below.

“YEEK the EMU”,

By Julienne Monteiro

Illustrations by

UlisesCeballos

Julienne and Ulisesare energetic and active students. Here is their story for their new book, Yeek the Emu…

Julienne

We were working on summaries in Mrs. Debbie’s class and we really enjoyed Edward and Edwina the Emu books. When Mrs. Debbie told us about the book project and explained that we had the opportunity to write a third book about Yeek the Emu, I was very excited. Straight away I accepted the challenge.

First I thought of a story; trust me, this wasn’t easy! Later I added in the rhymes which were my biggest challenge. I wanted to deliver a message to everyone; believe in yourself, names mean nothing, all that matters is who you really are.

It took me about a month to put the story together; Mrs. Debbie’s suggestions and encouragement helped me a lot.

When Ulises was chosen to illustrate the book, we started to work together to plan the book – he really did such a great job!

My friends enjoyed reading the book as well as my family, I’m really happy. I’m already planning my next story…

Ulises

Last year, I was drawing all the time in my French class; my teacher liked it and thought I was a really good artist. When Mrs. Debbie sent an email to all the teachers looking for illustrators, my teacher recommended me for the Yeek project.

I liked the project and Julienne’s story was very interesting, I enjoyed working on the book.

All my teachers encouraged me, but I must admit that my mom was the one who helped me the most.It took me three weeks to finish the book; sometimes I was missing some colors, I was out of ideas and I didn’t know what to do; I really had to be very creative.

I feel relieved and happy now!

I must thank all my friends, teachers and family for supporting me, and specially my mom and my dad who really cared and are very proud of my book!

Julienne and Ulises’ book can be read here: http://bit.ly/11Rntrn

ACS Cobham U18 girls football team win third title

ACS Cobham won the ISFA U18 Girls Cup for the third time when they defeated the reigning champions, Stamford High School, in the Final at Staines Town FC, the home of Chelsea Ladies, which proved a fine venue with an excellent playing surface.

Stamford started positively and might have scored in an early goalmouth scramble.  However, it did not take long for Cobham to settle and they went ahead after 6 minutes when excellent work by Simone Serrano set up Alice D’Aboville to score and they might have made it two when Christine Stuart’s fine run ended with her shot hitting the post.

Serrano hit the crossbar in the opening minutes of the second half and Cobham continued to dominate but they come up against a stubborn Stamford defence with Charlotte Brooks in particularly fine form in goal.  Stamford seldom threatened the Cobham goal but, at just 1-0, there was always tension and the final whistle prompted scenes of delight.

Cobham captain Sophie Montgomery was presented with the Cup by a particularly distinguished guest in Kelly Simmonds, Head of the National Game at The Football Association, accompanied by the Chair of ISFA’s Girls Section, Susannah Abbott.

ACS International Schools welcomes inaugral North American College & University Fair

Over 500 local students are registered to attend the inaugural North American College & University Fair, the only one of its kind being held in Surrey this year.

ACS Cobham International School will host 15 North American representatives from higher education institutions on May 16.

Highly selective institutions, such as Kenyon College, Hamilton College and Reed College, will be on hand to talk to students about studying in the US and Canada as well as the benefits of a liberal arts education.

Students will have the opportunity to meet relevant tutors to develop a deeper understanding of how applications are evaluated as well as what residential and extracurricular opportunities are on offer.

This fair is the first of its kind to be held in Surrey. It is part of an inaugural tour that take these 15 institutions to Institut Le Rosey and Zurich International School in Switzerland, to International School of Brussels, and finally to ACS Cobham International School.

Joan Liu, College Counsellor at ACS Cobham, commented:

‘This fair is a rare opportunity for local students to learn about their higher education options in North America and to understand what qualifications enable them to apply to study in the US and Canada. As a school known for its expertise in North American admissions, we encourage students in the local area to come and learn more.

She added:

‘This is also a great opportunity for students, parents and teachers to attend information sessions on the difference between the US and UK personal statement, financial aid and bursaries, recruited student-athletes, and admissions tests.’

Esme Trahair, part of ACS Cobham’s student College Ambassador team, which has been instrumental in co-organising the college fair tour, added:

‘Working out what the next step will be in a student’s education is exciting, whether it is a liberal arts college or a university.  I’m really looking forward to learning about all the different North American institutions featured at the College Fair.’

To register for the Universities & College European Fair Tour visit the website: www.acs-schools.com.

‘Yeek the Emu’ story by ACS Doha students, Aya & Ryan.

ACS Doha students recently undertook a self-initiated project that included writing, illustrating and publishing their own books after an interactive class on short story writing.

You can read Aya and Ryan’s book here as well as their experiences working together below.

“YEEK the EMU”,

By Aya Imam

Illustrations by Ryan Alghussein

Aya and Ryan are talented and funny students; their journey to finish the book is quite interesting!

The biggest challenge for both of them was working together as a team. They were in the same class last year and found sometimes sharing ideas and working together was a little challenging. This experience helped them understand that even if they are different they can work together and achieve something great!

Aya

When Mrs. Debbie told us about the project I was really excited about the idea, but I was also a little worried about the extra work.

I started writing and found that the rhyming and repetition where my biggest challenges. Mrs. Debbie was very supportive, she helped me a lot and provided me copies of other books for guidance. It took almost 2 weeks to finish writing the whole book. My message for everybody was to always be your-self and not to change for others.

Mrs. Debbie asked us if we wanted to draw it ourselves or if we would like somebody to help us? We all decided we needed someone to help;she sent an email out to all the teachers looking for a student who was good in drawing and wanted to participate on this project; and Ryan was chosen.

The idea of having my book published was a great motivation for me to work and cooperate with Ryan; all my friends and my family will be able to read my story. Ryan is very talented and we managed to cooperate and work together in the end to produce the best book!

The book is great, I’m really happy and my parents are really proud.

Ryan

I was very happy when I was picked; I love drawing and I’m good at it!

It took me almost 2 months to finish the illustrations; I missed the December break working on the book.I appreciate Mr. Ben’s support and guidance, it was very helpful.

Working with Aya was challenging to start with as we both had very different ideas, but when we started to talk and discuss our points of view we discovered that we can understand each other better and we can find a way where both of us are happy.

It turned out to be a great book, my parents are very proud of me and I like the idea of publishing my work.

On a final note, it was good to work with Aya, as you can see we started to agree!

Aya and Ryan’s book can be read here:  http://bit.ly/10FU6R5

‘Yeek the Emu’ story by ACS Doha students, Natalie & Gain.

ACS Doha students recently undertook a self-initiated project that included writing, illustrating and publishing their own books after an interactive class on short story writing.

You can read Natalie and Gain’s book here as well as their experiences working together below.

“YEEK the EMU”,

By Natalie Oyencarte

Illustrations by Gain Nam

Natalie and Gainare are vibrant hardworking students, they did a great job! Here is their story…

Natalie

I really enjoyed reading Edward the Emu Books in Mrs. Debbie’s class and liked the idea of writing the third part. I’ve always knew I could achieve more and I really didn’t mind the extra work.

It took me about a month, on and off, to write the story. I appreciate the support Mrs. Debbie gave me, she provided me with pages from other books that I could use as inspiration. What was challenging for me is how to get the story together, delivering the message that we need to accept who we are, and the rhyming.

I can’t describe how happy I was once I had finished the book; my family is very proud of me and they think I did a very good job.

I didn’t know Gain very well as she is younger than me. She was sometimes a little shy but she did a wonderful job. It was great to have her help on this project, we both love our book!

Gain

I was happy my teacher has chosen me to illustrate Natalie’s book. It was a challenge for me being the youngest student taking part in this project, working with older students can be scary sometimes!

Natalie was great and kind and helped me a lot, I really liked working with her.

It was a lot of work; it took me one month to complete the drawings and the painting. I enjoyed working with Mr. Ben as he was really fun to work with. He was guiding and supporting me, as a matter of fact all my teachers were very supportive. It was more of a big school project than just on my own.

Our book is amazing, make sure not to miss it!

Natalie and Gain’s book can be read here: http://bit.ly/10p6QwF

‘Yeek the Emu’ story by ACS Doha student Ganna Omar

ACS Doha students recently undertook a self-initiated project that included writing, illustrating and publishing their own books after an interactive class on short story writing.

One of the authors, Ganna, is a talented writer and a hard working student and was the inspiration behind the Yeek the Emu project; Ganna and teacher Ben Hren (the illustrator)  take us through their journey below.

You can read Ganna Omar’s book here.

Ganna

I really enjoyed the interactive class with Mrs. Debbie on short story writing; we were working on Edward the Emu books where the main character was very unhappy so decided to go on a series of adventures.  He didn’t find happiness through his adventures, but at the end of the story he discovers something about himself and happiness.

This inspired me to want to write my own story. I talked to Mrs. Debbie and she gave me the task to write the 3rd part to the book, Yeek the Emu. I was very excited for the challenge!

I had a clear message; I wanted everybody to realize that home is the best place to be. The character was bored and went on adventures to find happiness, only to realize that where he started was the best place to be.

Doing this project was a big challenge for me; it took over one month to write the story. Mrs. Debbie was very helpful, she assisted me in coming up with the first draft using a story planner; the hardest part was the rhyming as the first two parts are like poetry.

Once the story was written, Mrs. Debbie started looking for illustrators. Mr. Ben volunteered and I was really happy he was going to help me with my book

Mr. Ben and I started working together; we used a story board technique to look at the story and first broke it down into what we wanted in each page to be and what the illustrations would look like. We then worked through each page until we were happy with the final outcome.

The book is now complete! I was really happy when I saw my story developing into a book. I felt I accomplished something huge, my parents and teachers are all very proud of me. I can’t wait to write my next book!

Ben

I enjoy working with kids and I appreciate Debbie’s initiative to inspire her students to achieve their best. Part of my training is in Art and I love doing art illustrations; this year I’m not in a teaching role and I miss working with students. It was a great opportunity to work with self-motivated children who would work hard outside the school to achieve what they want.

I worked closely with the illustrators to put them on the right track; all of them were amazing, very talented students. I think this initiative was a great opportunity for the students; both writers and illustrators, to let their imagination run and the fact that it will be published encouraged and motivated them.

I’m so proud of our students and cannot wait for more opportunities to work with them.

Ganna’s book is available to read here: http://bit.ly/11i2eyK

Around the world in eighty steps

 

ACS Egham celebrates multi-cultural identity with annual International Fair 

Over 500 parents, teachers and students at ACS Egham International School recently celebrated their international identity by taking part in the schools annual, action-packed International Fair.

Hardworking parents and teachers manning the British stall at the International Food Fair

The Fair, organised by the ACS Egham Parent Teacher Organisation, was the culmination of a week-long programme focused on the schools international and inclusive educational ethos, bringing together the whole school community for a day of fun-fuelled activities.

The Fair began with a student parade around campus, with each student dressed in their national costume or a favourite character from a book. Guests then had the chance to visit the school’s new state-of-the-art Sports Centre to enjoy a wide range of multi-cultural activities, including learning how to write their name in a different alphabet, and compete in traditional games from around the world.

A highlight of the day was an interactive presentation by renowned children’s authors, Paul Geraghty and Alex Scarrow, who gave fascinating insights into life as an author and what inspires them in their writing.

A further highlight was the popular international food fair. In the packed out Dining Hall, guests had the opportunity to sample traditional cuisine from all four corners of the globe, including Polish dumplings, Janssons temptations from Sweden and strawberry pie from Slovakia.

With performances from the school’s African drums band, the School Rock Band and a powerful Wall of Sound Concert, students of all ages had the chance to showcase their musical talents.

Students also had the chance to test out their extreme sports skills on ACS Egham’s brand new adaptive climbing wall, which was introduced at the school for the first time this year.

Kasia Ferrigno, a parent volunteer on the ACS Egham PTO who led the team of organisers, commented on the International Fair:

“The International Fair is one of the biggest events of the year at ACS Egham, a truly international event that allows every parent, student and member of staff to celebrate their national identity and learn something new about other cultures.”

“Thanks to the hard work of all the volunteers, parents running the stalls and teachers who helped the students prepare for the dance and music shows, this year’s fair was a  terrific success, showcasing a truly diverse selection of cultures.”

“With new spaces like the brand new Sports Centre, we had even more room to run multi-cultural activities and we can’t wait to do it all again in 2014.”

 

ACS Hillingdon students celebrate hardwork with Personal Project exhibition

Over fifty students from ACS Hillingdon presented at the Personal Project exhibition, celebrating the final year of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP).

Caleb Gerber, aged 16, showcases his personal project at the annual IB MYP exhibition.

The Personal Project, which marks the end of the MYP, is a unit of study completed by students aged 15/16. It showcases all the skills and learning pupils have developed throughout the programme.  Each project is unique as it is individually designed and inspired by the student’s own passion and interests.

This is the second year that ACS Hillingdon students completed the Personal Project and exhibited to teachers, family and friends.  Increasingly student projects are inspired by technology with many using websites, personal blogs and e-books to present their work.

Students are required to document their Personal Project journey and draw upon all the skills they have learnt through the five years of the MYP in the form of a process journal. In addition, they also write a reflective report detailing what they achieved and what new skills they learnt.  All of the students’ work was displayed at the Personal Project exhibition held at ACS Hillingdon.

Mia LaPine, aged 16, displayed a series of her own artworks which emulated Frida Kahlo for her Personal Project. She explained the inspiration behind her project:

“I have been fascinated with Frida Kahlo’s work ever since I saw ‘La Columna Rota’ and I was able to identify a connection with my own artistic style. When I finished my paintings, it felt euphoric and being able to present my finished collection was really satisfying.”

Caleb Gerber, aged 16, who used JavaScript and HTML to programme a personalised news website for his Personal Project, commented on his experience:

“I’m really interested in a career in technology and decided to use my personal project as an opportunity to expand my programming skills by building a personalised news website. My favourite part of the project was the exhibition as I really enjoyed showing my final product to a captivated audience.”

Catherine Mulvenna, MYP Personal Project co-ordinator, commented on the exhibition:

“The personal project is a huge undertaking by Grade 10 and the work displayed on the exhibition evening was outstanding. Students have worked incredibly hard over the last six months on each of their projects and I am so proud of each of their accomplishments. A huge congratulations to every student.”

 

Five ACS Cobham students awarded Duke of Edinburgh Gold

This year ACS Cobham is celebrating a bumper crop of Duke of Edinburgh awards with over 25 students celebrating bronze, silver and gold achievements.

ACS Cobham students on their group expedition to the Brecon Beacons as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award.

Five students have received their gold award and as part of their challenge, gold recipients completed a group expedition in the Brecon Beacons, Wales.  Spending five days hiking on average twenty kilometres a day, the group faced some hard climbs, in an area often used as a training ground for servicemen and women.

Students aged 15 to19 from ACS Cobham also received awards, many of whom have been working towards their bronze, silver or gold awards for a number of years.

Brittni Milner, an ACS Cobham student, who received her gold award, described her challenge:

“The Duke of Edinburgh award is made up of four challenging components each designed to develop a different ability.  For the skills component, I decided to develop my musicality by playing the piano and concentrated on dance to complete the physical section.”

“I also volunteered with ACS Cobham’s peer supporters, fundraising for charities as well as helping new students settle in at ACS. We also had to complete a five day residential community project in an unfamiliar location, so I spent a week in Namibia teaching lessons and refurbishing classrooms in Kutenhoas Primary school. Although it’s hard work to bring together all the different elements, I really enjoyed taking part in the challenge.”

Luke Welch, Duke of Edinburgh co-ordinator at ACS Cobham, commented on the ceremony:

“I’m always incredibly proud of the hard work put in by all our Duke of Edinburgh participants, who display an unwavering commitment to the programme, often over several years.  The Duke of Edinburgh programme is incredibly important for students as it encourages them to develop a wide variety of skills and opens up a whole host of opportunities, they may not otherwise receive. It is always especially rewarding to see our students receive their awards after witnessing the journey they take through the scheme.”