Newsletter June 14 - the Franconian International School

Vol 15 No. 36
Marie-Curie-Str. 2
91052 Erlangen
Tel (09131) 94039-0
Fax (09131) 94039-302
www.the-fis.de
The Franconian International School
Arts Week – Performing Arts – Monday, Wednesday & Thursday
Group Improvisation Workshop
Learn how to spontaneously create music in a largegroup
setting next Monday, 17 June at 16:15 in Room
3108! We will be working with Conduction, a signlanguage
developed by jazz musician Butch Morris.
The workshop is open to students in grades 6-12 and
teachers. Please RSVP to Dr. Andrea La Rose:
andrea.larose@the-fis.de.
Music Recital
An IB World School
A delightful music recital will be held next Wednesday,
19 June at 19.00 in the Theatre. It will feature dynamic
and beautiful performances from students of all ages,
playing piano, flute, recorder, violin, drums and the
wonderful FIS Singers. Come and enjoy the great
music.
Drama Showcase & Reception
Email: info@the-fis.de
Bus queries : bus@the-fis.de
Bus Hotline : 0179/ 68 46 822
Lunch : lunch@the-fis.de
Drama students in Grades 5, 7 and 8 will present an
exciting Drama Showcase next Thursday, 20 June at
19:00 in the Theatre. Wonderful warm-ups, nice
nursery rhymes, interesting improvisations, sensational scenes, marvelous mimes, terrific tongue
twisters and more will be presented. This event is FULLY BOOKED, but we invite all families to the
reception (drinks & food) and awesome art work from 18:00 in the Aula.
Message from the FIS Library Crew
Accredited by CIS & NEASC
14 June, 2013
Please return all library books to the FIS libraries by Wednesday, 19 June or notify the librarians if
you believe your child’s library book has been lost. Next week we will be launching our Summer
Reading Challenge and any student wishing to check out books over the summer must have returned
all their library books by the 19 th June. Students from Grades 1-8 will be able to check out up to 10
books to read over the summer holidays. Information about the Summer Reading Challenge will be in
next week’s newsletter and on posters in reception and on the library noticeboards.”

Battle of the Books Winners 2013
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1 st place:
The Shooting Stars
Max Clements
Kianna Joseph
Anaya Jhaveri
Helene Jaspers
2 nd place:
Brainiacs
Thomas Clements
Misa Juno
Zane Nolte
Akhil Nambiar
Franziska Roth
3 rd place:
The Black Staches
Xing Zhe Li
Jacob Forbes
Zoe Rötzer-Reil
Annebelle Basson
The Battle of the Books for grades four and five is now history. Judging from the excitement at the
final battle last Friday, enthusiasm for the program remained strong until the very end. The main goal
of BOB was to expose our students to new authors and genres outside of the English curriculum and
to promote their love for recreational reading. The program ran from January to June 2013,
culminating in the final battle in the Aula, 7 June. Two teams represented each of the 4/5 classes in
the Grand Finale and a special wild card invitation was extended to one very deserving team in grade
four as well.
Battle of the Books participants read approximately 630 books of the ten titles provided. Hundreds of
questions, based on literary elements like plot, setting, and characters, were written by students to
enable the librarians to stage the battles. Battle times were provided at lunch and during library
periods.
Although circulation statistics don’t tell the whole story, the library crew could not be more pleased with
the huge increase in circulation statistics below. These numbers represent the BOB books checked
out in addition to regular student checkouts.
630 books checked out
5 th graders read 291 BOB books
4 th graders read 219 BOB books
Combined 4 th and 5 th grades:
57 students read 5+ BOB books
13 students read all 10 BOB books
BOB

Favorite Titles
Grade 5
1 st place: Among the Hidden
2 nd place: Rapunzel’s Revenge
3 rd place: Storm Runners
Grade 4
1 st place: My Life in Dog Years
2 nd place: The White Giraffe
3 rd place Tie: Storm Runners; Among the Hidden; and Ghost Dog Secrets
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As supportive as these circulation statistics are, we would be remiss if we didn’t look at all the
anecdotal evidence of our kids’ excitement over a five month period:
Kids lined up every morning at both MS and ES libraries, waiting to get the next book
Non-stop discussion of the books in the hallways, the libraries, classrooms, and many, many
reports from parents that the excitement went home as well
Parents and teachers who reported to us that although their kids had never been very
interested in reading, BOB changed that for a lot of kids
At every library period, all the kids wanted to do was battle
With very little encouragement, students wrote hundreds of questions about the books. Some
of this was done outside library and classroom time.
Teachers, support staff, and principals, eagerly participated in a kickoff assembly to show how
battles were to be staged and how much fun BOB was going to be.
From the School Administration
We would like to remind you that, according to our school policy, all invoices (e.g. Lunch,
GISST, Library) have to be paid before the end of the school year 12-13. Report cards will only
be distributed on Friday, June 28th if there are no open invoices.
Payment of the School Fees 2013/2014
Starting with the school year 2013/2014, the FIS will take part in the new SEPA method (Single Euro
Payments Area) for single payments in Europe.
For all parents, who want to pay school fees in installments, the form for the direct debit will be
changed. Attached you can see a sample of the new SEPA Direct Debit mandate. Instead of
sort code and account number, you now need to indicate your IBAN and BIC. The original
documents will be attached to the accounts for the new school year which will be sent out by
the end of June. The return is only necessary, if you want to pay the school fees in monthly
installments. In this case we ask you to return it no later than 12 July, 2013.
Parents who wish to pay the school fees in one lump sum must use our IBAN and BIC Sparkasse
Erlangen for the bank transfer, as indicated on the invoice.
Lunch Contracts for School Year 2013-14 – Please Renew!
If you wish to renew or join our lunch program for next school year 2013-14 please fill out the
attached contract and return it to the office or send it to lunch@the-fis.de at the latest by 28 June
2013. Old contracts will not be extended to the following school year. A new signed contract is
necessary every school year.

Material lists School Year 2013-14
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The new material lists for next school year will be available on our website in “School
sections” as from 14 June. Materials can be purchased in any store. We have however a special
arrangement with the company Haas in Erlangen which will give you a 10 % discount when
purchasing the items from their shop at Friedrichstraße 9, 91054 Erlangen. Other specific materials
(which are not listed on the supply lists) will be supplied by the school.
Sports @ FIS
The 1 st annual game of the FIS Dad’s versus the FIS Varsity Boys’ Soccer team took place last
Sunday. The FIS Soccer Field under threatening skies was the setting for the game that pitted the
wily, experienced team comprised of seventeen FIS Dads against the youthful, energetic team of the
FIS Boys’ Varsity squad. As the game got underway, the confidence quickly jumped for the varsity
boys when they scored the first goal against the dads on a splendid kick by Cameron Caldwell. But
the veteran patron squad did not panic, instead they answered with two goals of their own by Mr. Alex
De Jong and Mr. Matt Watson. The varsity boys showed no quit after being down by a goal. They
pressed on and were rewarded with another goal headed in by newcomer George Andrews. But alas,
it proved to be the FIS Dads’ day in the end. With less than three minutes left in regulation, and the
younger team looking forward to the advantage of fitness when the game went into extra time, Mr.
Matt Simons scored a glorious right footed goal to put the FIS Dads’ team up for good. A great time
was had by both teams and everyone is looking forward to the next meeting of the perennial soccer
powers.
Jobs @ FIS
The FIS is searching for Teachers’ Assistants for the coming school year. We have open positions in
the Early Years and in Elementary School. Mini-Job Basis (up to 450 €/month), 15 hours/week. For
further details, please view the full advertisement on our website under employment.
We are also looking for a Teachers’ Assistant for our Student Support Department. Conditions are the
same as above. Please view the requirements on the separate advertisement on our website.
Please send your application, together with your updated CV by 21 June, 2013 to: jobs@the-fis.de

Babysitter Needed
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The Lindblad family, both teachers at the FIS is looking for someone who would be available to watch
their 17 month old son, Jonathan, on a part time basis for the next school year. Child care would only
be needed from 8:00 to 12:30 on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. If you are interested, or if you
know of someone who would be available, please contact Beth or Allen Lindblad at beth.lindblad@thefis.de
or allen.lindblad@the-fis.de.
Lunch Survey – Thank You!
Thank you to everybody who participated in our lunch survey; we are very grateful for the feedback we
received and it will influence our preparations for next year. As promised we will try our very best to
accommodate the three most wished for meals regularly from next School Year on.
They were:
1. Pasta
2. Pizza
3. Chicken
Guten Appetit!
Knitting Wool Needed..........
The Chicks with Sticks are busy planning a knitting graffiti
event that should be launched at the beginning of the next
school year. More to come on that later but please,
please have a look through your craft box or knitting
box….do you have spare knitting/crochet wool that we
could use?
We love to recycle and if you have some odds and ends,
please drop off your wool donations in the supplied box
and the FIS entrance marked CHICKS WITH STICKS.
Can you knit? Would you like to work on the Chicks with Sticks team to help teach the craft? Please
contact Moira.Drexler@online.de
Staff Appreciation Brunch
Many thanks to those who have already responded. Please keep those mouth-watering dishes
coming in.
Carolina for Cold Savoury Dishes: carolina_villar@hotmail.com
Roohee for Hot Savoury Dishes: rooheeheyl@gmail.com
Fiona for Sweet & Cake Dishes: jamiesonfiona@hotmail.com
Remember, bring them to the Conference Room next Tuesday, 18 June, from 11:00.

Middle School Sports Day Friday, 21 June - Fruit & Water Station
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The watermelon is always very popular - and a lot are partial to the odd cherry tomato! Please support
our Middle School students on their annual Sports Day by providing some fruit or vegetables (PTO will
provide the water) next Friday, 21 June. You don't even need to cut them up (but we don't mind if you
do) - just drop them off at the Reception Desk at the beginning of the school day and we'll see to it that
they are ready when the students are!
If you'd like to stand with us in the shade or take a break from cheering on our sports stars, come and
join us at the Fruit & Water Station on Friday 21st June. Follow the following
link (http://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/wlobi) to sign up for a time-slot or tell us what fruit or vegetable
you can provide.
PTO Board Meeting 20 June - on the agenda will be discussion of a draft new set of by-laws for the
PTO. Input still most welcome. If you can't come, contact us at PTO@the-fis.de.
The term of the current PTO Board expires this year. Please watch this space for more details on what
this means for you. Contact one of the current Board members, or come along and talk with us at our
next Board Meeting on 20 June from 13:00, or send us an email to pto@the-fis.de to schedule a time
that suits you. Watch this space!
Music, Drama and fine Art as part of Arts Week, Staff Appreciation Brunch, annual Sports Days -
there's a lot on @FIS next week, and that's after the High School prom on Saturday!
The PTO Board
Next Week @ FIS
Monday 17 th June ARTS WEEK
15:45 – 16:45 Tennis ASA only
16:15 Music workshop by Dr. Andrea La Rose (Room
3.1.08)
16:15 Art Workshop by Mrs. Slawa Wrzesniewska
(Room 3.2.07)
Tuesday 18 th June ARTS WEEK
Staff Appreciation Brunch
G10 Field Trip to Erfahrungsfeld der Sinne
11:45 – 12:10 Samba Batteria
16:00 – 17:00 Volleyball Varsity Girls
Wednesday 19 th June ARTS WEEK
Deadline to return all library books
15:45 – 16:45 Dodgeball ASA only – Last session
15:45 – 16: 45 Bookbridge & World Challenge
16:00 – 18:00 Family Art Evening organized by Mrs.
Jennifer Johnson (Aula)
19:00 Music Recital organized by Ms. Connie Panagakis
and Dr. Andrea La Rose (Theatre)
16:00 – 17:00 FIS Singers
Thursday 20 th June ARTS WEEK
8:40 “The Laramie Project” G9 students & parents

Friday 21st June
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(Theatre)
18:30 Reception for Drama Showcase (Aula)
19:00 Drama Showcase (Theatre)
ARTS WEEK
MS Sports Day
17:30 – 20:00 G3,G4 &G5 “The Never Ending Summer
Disco”
Coming up: June 24 1A High Tea
June 26 1T High Tea
June 26 EY & G1 Field Trip to Playmobil
June 26 G10 Field Trip to Altstadt Nürnberg
June 27 G2,3 & 4 Field Trip to Geiselwind
June 27 World Challenge Group – Departure to Romania
June 28 Deadline for Lunch contracts renewal for SY 2013-14
June 28 ES Final Assembly
June 28 Half day – Last day of classes before Summer Break
The FIS School Newsletter and other information concerning the FIS community are published on a weekly basis on our school website.
The newsletter contains items of information relating to school operations and PTO News. Contributions to the newsletter can be emailed to
the school at info@the-fis.de. Deadline is always on Wednesday. The editor reserves the right to edit.