the ASPect - American School of Paris

American School of Paris
the ASPect
News from our community, for our community N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 0
Champions...
Again!
ASP’s Girl’s Varsity Volleyball
team scored a first in ISST history
by jumping from Second
Division champions last year
to ISST Division One champions
this year!
After three days of fierce competition in
Brussels the Lady Rebels beat Frankfurt International
School in the finals. In addition,
the girls ended up with three All-Tournament
Team players selected: Kara McClain,
Brooke Hodenfield, and Anne Halverstadt.
And on a tough and muddy course in London,
11th Grader Olivier Torchiana peaked
at the perfect time to become the 2010 ISST
Boy’s Varsity Cross Country Champion!
As one of the smallest schools taking part
in the International Schools Sports Tournament,
ASP is especially proud of its crop of
champions!
Han Hoegen said: “It is such a tremendous
result to win Division 1 for the girls this year.
With the pressure building after sharing a
win and our first loss with the for 3-years undefeated
International School of Amsterdam
just the weekend before ISST!
This made the team alert and they did manage
to live up to their role of favorites to
win the 2010 ISST! Congratulations girls,
coaches and thank you parents for all your
support.
“Olivier Torchiana winning the Varsity boys
Cross Country ISST is a result of his focus,
talent and training since he joined the team
as a 7th grader! We are so proud of him and
it so well deserved."
(See pages 20 & 21 for
full results and pictures)
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The ASPect is kindly sponsored by

2/ from the board & head of school
Keeping
Promises
Keeping promises and honesty are central to all we do. Let us explain.
When the ASP strategic planning process
began with convening students, parents,
faculty and staff for the future search
seminars, the school committed to using
the data gained from these meetings to
develop a draft for a long-term school
improvement plan, our strategic plan.
Nearly 250 people were involved in the
ASP future search seminars, creating a rich
body of information and common themes
for continually improving our school.
From Ideas to a Plan
of Action
Our strategic planning group of 37 students,
teachers, staff, parents, board members
and administrators (see names below)
took our ASP community’s aspirations,
embodied within the future search data and
common themes, and after three days of
intense work, brought home a new DRAFT
document detailing ASP’s beliefs, mission,
high priority student learning objectives and
strategies to be implemented.
A Microcosm of Our
Community
Everyone on the strategic planning design
team is a volunteer. We made every
attempt to ensure that the makeup of this
group mirrors the nature of our community.
The planning team represents every
component of the school community. We
have members from our parent community,
students, alumni, faculty and staff, board
of trustees, and school administrators. We
want to emphasize that members of this
team do not represent their constituency
in any political or local sense. We have
certainly tried to ensure that membership
includes many cultural perspectives as well
as community involvement.
From Belief to Strategy
The output from the strategic planning
group was to arrive at a set of beliefs or
fundamental values for our school’s ethical
code as a first step. Essentially, these
beliefs describe the character of our school
as well as defining a target of the quality
of interactions we want in the name of
learning. As an example, one belief is stated
as, “Honesty and integrity are central to all
we do.” We need a public declaration of
our school’s heart and soul.
The belief statements helped us in our
planning session to examine our present
school mission statement and to set in
place a new DRAFT mission that defines
targets for our school’s future. We want our
mission to define the special distinctiveness
that sets us apart from all other schools.
By testifying how we are unique, we also
certainly justify our reason for existence.
Decisions, Decisions
The tough part is that our planning team
needed to identify all the possible options
for school improvement and 21 st century
programming available to us, to deliberate
on these and to agree on how we wish to be
unique now and into the future. Obviously
our strategic planning group looked at the
strengths and weaknesses and critical
issues within the current reality of ASP and
relied heavily on the data from the future
search seminars. Out of this organizational
critique we then looked at factors that
impacted the school beyond our borders.
As an example, we considered the political
and economic future of France and how this
might impact our future enrollment.
The Focus is Student
Learning
From here we looked at student learning.
We defined statements of school
improvement objectives that define our
The Aspect - November 2010

Our Strategic Planning Design Team
Students: Eli Rivkin, Anna Bradley Webb, Guillaume Julian, Anthony Ghosn, Zaahir Badruddin, Michael Carden,
Stefanos Bennink, Berangere Judis
Parents and Alumni: Terry Bachmann, Nasreen Badruddin, Jordan Lewis, Omnia Nour, Anne Schwartz, David Zeiler
Board of Trustees: Lis Seeley, Claire Staniforth, Giovanna Monnas, Betsy Blackwell
Faculty and Staff: Elvi Keulen, Emma Silva, Greg Jacks, Janet Stettner, Agnes Poudou, Gillian Lynch, Joseph Scanlon,
Andrea Neubauer, Tim Trainor, Craig Vezina, Hal Judis, Mario Chioini
‘‘
/3
Thus far, nearly
250 people have been
involved in the future search
seminars, creating a rich body
of information and common
themes for continually
improving our school."
Administration: Margaret Coleman, Kathy Miner, Aaron Hubbard, Larry Love, Laurence Feniou, Michele Calon, Mark Ulfers
school’s commitment to achieve
specific and measurable results toward
improving student learning. We tied these
objectives very closely to our target, the
DRAFT mission statement.
These objectives define what we must
achieve to truly live out our mission and be
true to our school’s beliefs. Another way
to say this is that these student-learning
improvement objectives take the lofty
language of our mission and define action
while seeking specific results. Our objectives
are student centered. After arriving at a
set of student learning objectives we set
strategy and defined a road map for meeting
our objectives. Our strategies define how
we marshal people, facilities, equipment,
and any number of other resources toward
achieving our desired future results.
Three Intense Days
To accomplish the above tasks our strategic
planning group needed three intense days
of debate, discussion and decision-making.
To be clear, our strategic planning group is
advisory in nature. This group completed
(for access to the draft plan, see link
below) a draft of the strategic plan for our
school and has sent this to our board of
trustees. We must also share this draft
with you. Obviously we will be looking for
your feedback, ideas and constructive
comments.
From Words to Action
One final and most important step is that
each of the strategies will be backed up
with very specific action steps to ensure
accountability for implementation of
strategic intent. The action steps are
important because it’s so easy for any
organization to talk and talk and talk or
continually plan when what is needed most
is action. We need to ensure that what we
plan results in very specific and achievable
steps to ensure that aspirations for our
school as discussed and debated by so
many of you and the strategic planning
design team truly come to pass for the
young people of ASP.
If you should have any questions about
where your school is heading, we trust
that you will drop an email, pick up the
phone and call, or schedule a meeting.
Talk to members of our design team too.
We can think of nothing more important at
this stage in the process than for us to be
communicating clearly, for you to feel as
involved as is possible, and for you to have
the confidence that your ideas and thoughts
are welcome.
To view the future search seminar data:
www.asparis.org/futuresearch
To view the DRAFT of the ASP Strategic
Plan Framework: www.asparis.org/draft
All along, our intention has been to swing
the doors wide for you to offer your opinion
on the future direction of our school. We
want this approach to continue. We know
the best schools encourage the debate on
what is best for our young people and ask
all to strive for excellence. Let us know
what your think– after all, keeping promises
and being honest is central to all we do.
We’re a school on the move.
Lis Seeley
President of the Board of Trustees
Mark E. Ulfers
Head of School
The Aspect - November 2010

4/student experience
China
Expedition
2010
From exploring Shanghai markets
to the incredible Terracotta
Warriors; from Tiananmen
Square, to the Great Wall; from
the hometown of Confucius
to the 7000 steps of Taishan
Mountain; from the World Expo to an ancient
tea ceremony, our students took ten
days to explore some of the experiences
this incredible country has to offer.
In addition the highlight of the trip for the
29 students was the cultural exchange
with three Chinese schools, meeting students
who have been their penpals for
months and sharing their classes.
A team of Middle School teachers; Paul
Albright, Fay Hutchinson and Dave Lynn
joined by Lower School Teacher, Linda
Franco and Admin team member
Michele Calon accompanied
the students on this trip of
a lifetime.
The team said: “It has been
such a pleasure working with
such an outstanding group of
students. Some of the most
gratifying moments of the trip
were seeing how our students
went above and beyond in interacting
with their pen-pals and
thousands of other students,
from three different schools,
during their visit to Linyi. It
was clear that there was much
Day 1 - Shanghai
by Natalie and Emily
Our first meal in China was great! We
were seated at round tables with a
large plate that could be rotated in the
more being exchanged than gifts and that
tremendous lessons were being learned.
It is a daunting task to be asked to serve
as an “ambassador” at such a young age,
but these students were more than up to
the challenge. There is a long, long list of
people who deserve special thanks for their
role in the planning of this trip and of course
a very special thank you to Mr Wang Enlai,
the assistant head of Linyi Number One
Middle School who accompanied us for the
entire trip. We can think of no better role-model
for our students to be exposed to
and learn from.”
During the trip our students kept an Expedition
Diary – posted online in full at:
www.asparis.org/china2010
Enjoy these short excerpts!
middle. We were brought, rice,
meats, vegetables, tofu, and other
interesting dishes that we shared
with our table. There were so many
different foods that it was almost
too much to try some of each of
them.
The Aspect - June November 2010 2010

??? ????? /9
Day 2 - Shanghai World Expo
by Harrison, Miguel and Noah
When all of us had finished eating our
breakfast we headed to the smaller World
Expo pavilions on the Puxi side of the
Huangpu River. These exhibits were
about the future of China and the world.
The pavilions we went to talked about the
possibilities of the future utopias and the
impact of the environment on the future.
After lunch we skipped the long queue
at the pavilion of the United States and
were ushered into a room where we
watched a funny video with Americans
attempting (and ultimately succeeding
to say hello in Chinese. In the second
room we watched a video about the
children’s, and teamwork’s impact on the
future. This video included Kobe
Bryant, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, and President Obama.
The next room had a video about a
girl who had a dream of planting a
beautiful garden in her ruined poor
neighborhood. With the help of her
neighbors and local friends she was
able to plat a pretty garden but it was
ruined by a thunderstorm, which led to the
neighbors to re-plant the whole garden.
This was a nice story about accomplishing
your goals, following through with your
dreams and teamwork.
We entered the French pavilion at the VIP
entrance thanks to Lafarge. The French
pavilion was
a rectangular
building around a
central courtyard.
At the beginning
you take an
escalator to the
top and walk
down a spiraling
hallway till we
reached the
bottom floor and
that was the end
of the exhibit. The
pavilion consisted
mainly of little
exhibits about
French culture, art, fashion and food.
After we had visited the US and France
we broke up into small groups to go to any
pavilion of our choice.
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The Aspect - November 2010

6/??? ?????
Day 3 - Qufu and Taishan
By Cory, Baptiste and Bogdan
This long day started with a smooth night
of sleeping on the train from Shanghai and
then a two hour trip to Confucius’s home
town.
He was a simple monk, who came up
with theories about nature, education and
classes of people. He was an extremely
intelligent man, and had a large number of
students he taught extensively. His ideas
ranged from “respect your
elders” to “it’s lovely to
have friends from all over
the world”. As you can
see, these are both still
applied in ASP.
We returned to the bus
for a two hour ride to the
Taishan Mountain!
We all wished ourselves
good luck for the hike...
we were going to need it.
We had seven thousand
steps to climb with
backpacks. It started relatively
easily, climbing five steps at a time
with gaps between these small
flights of stairs. The steps started
getting steeper, and the gaps were
reduced drastically, pushed to the
point of extinction! Just as we thought that
we could go on no more, we were told to
stop for our dinner break: we were half
way there!
The second part of the hike turned out to
be a lot harder than the first part. Luckily,
with full stomachs and a
great deal of teamwork, we
managed, one (or two) steps
at a time. Then, right when we
had fully developed serious
“stepophobia” (I think we had
seen enough steps to last a
life time), we saw the end.
People sprinted, shoved each
other and raced to the top of
the mountain, all in good spirit.
The joy was enormous: we
had accomplished something
huge.
The Aspect - November 2010

student experience /7
Day 4 - Taishan and Linyi Arrival
By Gabe, Misha and Nicholas
To go down the mountain, we had two
options: some people wanted to walk
down the stairs and the rest took the
cable-car and bus. The walk took only
three hours, half the time it took our group
to walk up the previous evening.
When we arrived at Linyi we were warmly
welcomed with a reception hosted by the
heads of the Linyi Number Middle School.
Some of the dishes were shocking like the
chicken dish that had the feet and head in
it, and there were some other crazy mixes.
We were all polite and tried all the dishes.
Day 6 - Linyi
By Clara, Caroline and Alison
We rode the bus to a Riverside
Poetry Garden, where there was
beautiful scenery and fantastic
poems carved onto hundreds of
rocks. Afterwards, we were lucky
enough to go to a Wholesale
Market. After lunch, we met with
Professor Yao Baohua. She talked
about her experience as a child
living in China and during the Cultural
Revolution when she was sent to work on
a farm for eight years.
Then we headed to the Art of War
Museum. The museum contained 2000
year-old bamboo strips with chapters
of a book by SunBin and his grandson,
SunWu. In the afternoon we pulled into the
grounds of the Linyi school, and we were
greeted with an immense crowd of the
students waiting for our arrival. We played
thrilling basketball games and had dinner
with our penpals.
Day 5 - Linyi
By Justin,
Alana and Drew
Today we went to the home of the greatest
Calligrapher Wang Xizhi, who lived over
1500 years ago and was born in Linyi.
Next to his home was a garden and pond
which included a long wall of calligraphy
samples, serving as a “calligraphy hall of
fame.” We also visited a nearby Buddhist
Temple.
Our next stop was a school of art called the
Wang Bin Studio. The artwork there was
exceptionally beautiful.
After lunch we met up with our Pen-pals
at Linyi Number One Middle School. We
had a about twenty minutes to talk with
our pen-pals and then we went into their
classrooms to give presentations. The
class presentations were very exciting
and most of the classes included over
70 students. Many of the students had
questions about our lives, and even
requested some entertainment such as
dancing and singing. They were as pleased
to meet us as we were pleased to meet
them. It was interesting to exchange
thoughts on our cultures. We were then
shown around the school by our pen-pals.
It was an honor to be introduced to the
school the way that they did.
WOW! It’s amazing, how we could have
friends from so far and not even know what
they look like, and then to meet up with
them at a pizza hut! WOWZERS!
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The Aspect - November 2010

8/student experience
Day 7 - Linyi Countryside
By Sabrine and Catherine
This morning we were on our way to Taiping Junior Middle School. First
we looked at an exhibition of students’ artwork; it was amazing to see how
talented they are. Then we joined the students with their daily exercises;
everyone got really into it and it was a lot of fun! Once we were pumped up, our class got
together to plant two friendship trees near the front of the school.
Then we separated into three groups and each group went to a classroom full of smiling
students, which overwhelmed us with gifts. We spent quite a bit of time with them answering
questions, teaching them some French and playing games. Their eyes lit up when we entered
the room. We really appreciate the kindness and are thankful for their way of welcoming us with
such open arms.
After lunch we went to a spa! We had a very fun time. We enjoyed the large swimming pool with
slides, underwater-massage seats and hot tubs.
Once we were all freshened up and we took the bus to Number 23 Middle School where we met
students who were around 16-17 years old. As usual they were extremely kind and excited to
meet us, and quite a few students had the most fun, out of all the schools that we visited here.
We joined them in their afternoon exercises, which were more complex and harder to follow
than they were at the previous school. There were over 3000 students on the field. Then we
distributed ourselves into pairs and spoke to classes of about 55 people, all curious to get to
know us.
Day 8 - Linyi to Xi’an
By Mauro and Trevor
Mr. Lynn referred to this day as our ‘recharging’ day which it indeed was.
Day 9 - Xi’an
By Michael, Rob and Max
Today we visited one of, if not the most significant archaeological findings of the 20th century,
the Terracotta Warriors.
Before stepping into the hanger where the soldiers were kept unearthed, we watched a short
film on the history and walked around an exhibit on the history. Stepping into the hanger, we
closed our eyes and opened them once we were inside. Once our eyes opened we fell upon
the beauty of the Terracotta figures before us, all else was forgotten. All that we could think of
was the beauty of these mute, yet fierce soldiers and how human hands can make things of
such beauty. We learned that every single soldier had different facial features, and that each
soldier was an archer, infantryman, low ranking officer, high ranking officer or a cavalryman.
We then went on to learn the history. We even had a chance to meet the man who discovered
of the first soldier in 1974, a farmer who was digging a well.
After lunch we visited the Xi’an Muslim/​Silk Market, part of the old Silk Road which stretches
from Xi’an to Istanbul, Turkey.
Day 10 – Beijing
By Amelie and Ben
We set off to Tiananmen Square to
visit several impressive historical
sites including Mao’s Mausoleum, the
Forbidden Kingdom, and, of course,
Tiananmen Square itself. Tiananmen
Square is the biggest public square in the
world. As we walked around the square,
we realized how much we were being
watched - one lamp post had 7 cameras!
We waited in the line for Mao’s
Mausoleum for approximately 20
minutes, but the wait was definitely worth
it. Hundreds of flowers lined a cabinet to
commemorate Mao. There seemed to a
mixed feeling of both unspoken fear of
Mao and of pure admiration. We entered
the second room. And there was Mao.
He seemed to be resting so peacefully
that he could wake at any moment. He
was covered in a preserving wax, a bright
light shone on his entire body, and a flag
of a hammer and sickle covered his torso
and legs. He looked simply heavenly. An
uncomfortable silence hung in the air as
people stared in admiration or in shock
at the body of one of the most influential
men of the 20th Century.
After an hour a half visit we boarded
The Aspect - November 2010

Day 11 - Beijing and The Great Wall
By India and Tamara
rickshaws, two by two, and traveled
through an old section of Beijing known
as the Hotongs - narrow allies where
people still live. We stopped off at a
home where we were able to appreciate
a meal that a real chinese family would
traditionally enjoy. It was delicious!
After two hours at the Silk Street Market,
we headed to an impressive acrobatic
show which had many different talents on
display; from acrobatics to breath-taking
juggling acts. Mr. Lynn, who has been to
six acrobatic shows in China, said this
was by far the best he had ever seen.
At 8:00 we got on the bus to see one of the 7 world wonders, The Great Wall of
China.
When we arrived at the Wall we took a small hike to the top. We arrived at the
top to see the breath taking view of The Great Wall stretching both way for
what seemed like an infinite distance. At the end, we begged the teachers to let
us take the slide down the wall and hill to the tourist village 150 meters below.
It was great. After lunch we hopped on our bus and took a drive to Olympic
Stadium were the 2008 opening ceremony took place. We visited the “Birds
nest” and received gold medals from the teachers.
We then took a relaxing trip to a Tea Ceremony. We tasted traditional Chinese
teas and learned in what ways they help with health.
Next to come, our Halloween treat. At the Beijing night market you can find
many interesting things such as decorations and live edible scorpion. Yes these
students did try interesting foods such as scorpions, snakes, spiders, starfish,
seahorses, kidney, cocoons, locus, heart and lizards. It was a cool traditional
experience for most while others found it icky. This last night in China is one of
the most memorable and tasty of all the others.
Although everyone is sad to leave
this beautiful country we will all
be glad to be in our parents arms
again. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
The Aspect - November 2010

10/service special report
From the mouths
Dear ASP,
My name is Darius. I am 10 months old. I now live at the Alfred Rusescu Hospital
because my mommy couldn’t take care of me – she is pregnant again and already
has six other children living in our one bedroom apartment. I can’t hold my head up
straight, or even sit up. We don’t know why.
Most of my friends were born in hospital maternities around Bucharest and brought
here. Everybody has a different story: one of my friend’s mother is 17, some mothers
have problems with drugs or alcohol which causes them to leave their newborn kids at
hospitals. But most of the time we are born and then left at the hospital because our
mothers do not have enough money to take care of us.
Fortunately for us, we have the Fundatia Inocenti Child Life Program, which runs the
playroom we come to during the week. With the program we lead a more normal life:
we have a space to crawl, play and even start walking. We interact with other children,
and the program staff play with us and make us feel special. If we didn’t have this
program we would have to stay in our cribs all day long. We would never learn to crawl
that way.
My friends and I want to thank our new friends who came from ASP for a week to
play with and hold us. You guys really kept us busy. Boy did we need our naps after
playing with you! We hope you can come back next April. Most of us won’t be here
because we will be in foster care, but there will be other children. Who knows though,
the government has already cut back 25% of the money they pay foster families to take
care of us.
Multumesc, (thank you),
Darius
This Toussaint break 8 students from the Romania
Club and 2 chaperones worked in the playroom run
by Fundatia Inocenti at the Alfred Rusescu Hospital in
Bucharest, Romania. Students Dylan Begnaud, Emily
Bendix, Ines Duarte, Flor DeNoij, Brooke Holdenfield,
Oceane Langreney, Michelle Thissen and Misperi
Yigit along with chaperons Cathy McLaury and Jim
Denison helped in the playrooms and organized arts
and crafts activities for older children. The Romania
Club raises money to support the program through
bake sales, pizza sales, dodge ball tournaments, etc.
The club’s goal is to raise 3,200€ this year. With this
money the program buys diapers, baby formulas and
everything else needed for the babies, it also helps
cover the staff’s salary.)
The Aspect - November 2010

service special report/11
of babes...
The Aspect - November 2010

12/service special report
Building Foundations
A
group of twenty 11th and 12th graders volunteered
to spend their fall break building homes for several
poor families in a small Romanian village two hours
from Bucharest.
Upon arriving at the site, ASP’s Habitat team was
met by a spirited construction supervisor, truckloads
of dirt, bags of cement, and herds of cows and chickens.
“It was really funny to see the chickens running around while we
were working,” excitedly remarked 12th grader Kelly Morrison.
Within a week, the dirt and cement had turned into the foundations
for two new homes which would go to two families in need. In fact,
ASP’s group was so diligent and impressive that they were also
able to dig ditches for electrical wires and cut wood for the frames
of the houses, jobs that the Habitat organization did not expect to
see completed until the end of the month.
Wheel-barrow engineer Alex Knowles, dirt-packer extraordinaire
Danielle Azoulay and concrete supervisor Anthony Webster, as did
every team member, had memorable experiences: “It is definitely
something we want to do again,” they said.
Emma Willems and Morgan Claverie added, “It was difficult work,
but we’re tough and we were happy to be part of it.”
Habitat club President Sietse Goffard and Vice President Beatrice
Verez helped to organize the trip and were extremely pleased
with the success and ecstatic about another important moment
in the trip: “Meeting the family of the homeowners was one of
the highlights and made the long-awaited trip well-worth all the
fundraising and planning.”
The club worked throughout the year to raise over 4,000 euros;
7,000 euros in supplies were donated from this group.
The trip would not have been complete, however, without trips to
Dracula’s Castle, the Bucharest Palace, and the social bonding.
Whether it was peanut m & m’s, the guitar hero competitions, or
the melodious music of Henry Ott’s Romanina bagpipe on the
mountain-top, the group laughed from the onset of their journey
and through all of the chicken dinners until their return to Paris.
“The trip was great, but it would not have been as cool without the
mix of kids and Mr Semaan, Mr. Kim, and Ms. Ingols,” beamed
senior Robb Johnston. Linus Bodicoat nodded in agreement.
The Aspect - November 2010

service special report /13
for Families-Literally!
The Aspect - November 2010

14/visiting author
Girl Power at ASP!
by Virginia Larner, US English Department
Poetry is said to be a
“voicing, a calling forth”.
It is in this register that
guest speaker Elline
Lipkin addressed the ASP
community last month. A
research scholar at UCLA’s Center for the
Study of Women, Ms. Lipkin is the author
of the prize-winning 2006 poetry anthology
The Errant Thread, as well as the acclaimed
2009 Girls’ Studies, a “clear and easy-toread
guide to the emergent and diffuse field
of girls’ studies in the United States.”
On these two days Ms. Lipkin ran studentbased
sessions that engaged IB psychology
candidates in the research skills she
used while conducting case studies,
questionnaires, and observation surveys
that fed her insightful work on teenage
girls.
Likewise, drawing from her doctoral thesis
in creative writing, she beautifully read a
number of her own poems to IB and AP
English students, evoking stark memories
of her mother’s childhood in Rwanda, her
father’s strong European roots, and her
own personal narratives of yearning set in
Paris and New York.
One afternoon about ninety people—
students, faculty and staff, and parents—
gathered in the Cube to listen to
Elline’s informative talk on key issues of
empowerment, body image, and media
impact on teenage girls, as discussed in her
recent Girls’ Studies.
The Q and A session that followed was
lively and convivial with comments ranging
from a father’s concern about how to best
encourage his young daughters’ sense of
self to a student’s admission that she felt
good about who she was, thanks to the
efforts of a supportive mother.
Ms. Lipkin has continued to correspond
with members of the ASP community and
express her appreciation for such a warm
and open welcome at our school.
She would like to keep the conversation
going by having you write in comments
about teenage issues (affecting girls and
boys) on her website www.girlsstudies.com
that is now up and running. Let’s respond to
her beckoning invitation.
‘‘I thought Elline Lipkin’s talk
was interesting and thoughtprovoking.
Even though she
has such an accomplished
career, I liked that she was
so friendly and open to our
questions when she talked to
us. My favorite poems that she
read were the ones about Paris
and life abroad.”
Emma WillemS (Grade 12)
‘‘I was incredibly impressed
with the pieces of the poet.
I find that she awakened in
me a pride in the city of Paris
where I live.”
Claire Agius (Grade 12)
The Aspect - November 2010

school news /15
ASP talent tops out
in China
ASP seniors Rob Seeley
and Lukas Papenfusscline
have just returned from
Beijing, China, where they
were among the most
outstanding performers at
the AMIS International Jazz Festival.
Both were selected via very competitive
auditions last spring, Rob for the Big Band
and Lukas for the Vocal Jazz Ensemble.
ASP Band Director Neal Yocom was also
busy at the festival working with the top
jazz combo, which happened to include
Rob Seeley. One memorable moment for
the ASP group came at the Friday night
combo concert where both students were
featured as soloists in a crowd-rocking
version of Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke.”
Rob Seeley writes, “Although I predicted
the week to be an extremely memorable
experience, I underestimated how much
you can learn about someone’s character
through the music they play rather than
what they say.
It was a fantastic opportunity to play with
high class musicians from around the
world and was the perfect excuse to visit
Beijing.”
Lukas Papenfusscline notes, “Being
surrounded by a mélange of culture,
appreciation and togetherness under
the umbrella of jazz performance is an
unforgettable experience. Put it in China
and you’ve got a recipe for a once-in-alifetime
thing. Understanding a different
culture and its relationship with the arts as
well as appreciating the subtle differences
which underscore all peoples truly fed
into the inspirational and invigorating
experience which the music created.”
Supporting Excellence
The Excellence Fund 10-11 was launched this month.
With each invitation to participate in annual giving, parents were given an invitation for
coffee with Head of School, Mark Ulfers and Director of Advancement, Michael McNeill to
ask any questions they might have with regard to school fundraising.
We are looking forward to a successful second year of annual giving at ASP!
Please join in support of:
l Academic Excellence: Innovative Programs that push the limits for student learning
l Tools for Excellence: Ensuring technology for tomorrow
l Teaching Excellence: Investing in teachers you remember for life
Coffee dates at 8.30am in the Advancement Office. RSVP to mmcneill@asparis.fr
l November 18
l December 2
The Aspect - November 2010

16/visiting author
I never saw another
ASP was delighted to welcome Terezin survivor and artist,
Helga Weissova-Hoskova to ASP for a 3-day transformative visit.
The 82-year-old artist, Helga discovered the Power of
Art as a child in the most terrifying of circumstances,
as she fought for her life in a Nazi concentration
camp – Terezin – in the Czech Republic.
To quote from Art, Music and Education as
Strategies for Survival : Theresienstadt 1941-45
«The Theresienstadt ghetto differed from all other ghettos. It was
designed to decieve the outside world and to hide the truth of the
murder of the Jews from public opinion .»
Helga followed a simple and yet painful direction from her father
– Draw what you see – and the result was the stunning exhibition
hosted in the Cube of art that survived because it was preciously
hidden by her and others from the camp. Post-war the artists from
Terezin have become an inspiration worldwide.
Drama Teacher Gillian Lynch explained her long association
with Helga and Terezin : «I was given the opportunity to attend a
workshop at Theresienstadt, shortly after arriving at ASP. I came
away forever altered. The next year , ASP was invited to attend the
International Festival of Tolerance held in Terezin and I returned
with Upper School Art Teacher, Cora Enard and students.
I then began working on an adaptation of the play «I Never Saw
another Butterfly» inspired from the story of Terezin for our
Middle School students to perform. The show incorporated many
of Helga’s drawings from the cycle drawn in Terezin, as projected
images onto the stage. »
To welcome Helga to ASP for three days of intensive workshops
and presentations with students, faculty and parents was an
honor and for many a live changing moment.
Gillian continued : «This was Helga’s first time in Paris. She
wanted to see everything . Many stepped up to ensure that any
free moment was filled with visiting Paris. Parents Corine Ott
and Lisa Barsumian visited the Musee d’Orsay with her. English
Teacher Chris Friendly gave an amazing guided tour of the
masterpieces in the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Pantheon. A
dinner was hosted especially in Helga’s honor by the President of
the Board Lis Seeley as well as a guided tour of Monmartre and
even a ride through Versailles. Following her talk on Thursday
evening Helga attended the US Fall Concert which she enjoyed
immensely. She confided that it also brought her back to softer
memories of when as a mother herself, she went to listen to her
son and later his daughter’s play at their school’s concerts. Both
are now professional musicians . Her visit was mémorable for
everyone in that it gave all the moments to reconnect with that
which makes us truely who we are human beings. »
The Aspect - November 2010

visiting author /17
butterfly
The power of the individual
By Lukas Papenfusscline (Grade 12)
The human spirit and ideas represented by art can never
be destroyed even by the greatest tragedies. Thousands of
plays, songs, operas, drawings and other works of art were
created by Jews during World War II which expressed their
experiences in the midst of atrocities they endured.
Much was lost through destruction and the death of
artists during the Holocaust, yet much survived to inspire
generations. Artist Helga Weissova, now 82, diligently
expressed her experiences and what she witnessed in
concentration camps with drawings and paintings beginning
at the age of 12, and continues to this day to create
haunting, shocking works of her experiences in Terezin in
her native Czechoslovakia and later Auschwitz, Freiberg and
Mauthausen. Her art gives us a glimpse of the horrors of dayto-day
life in the camps, but is also a testament to the power
of the individual and the power of art.
The art created by Jews in World War II was a rebellious blow
against evil. Songs performed for the King of Denmark and
the visiting Red Cross at Terezin boldly expressed inmates’
suffering through the clever use of double entendres and
hidden meanings. Many children also spent their days
Helga with US teacher Chris Friendly during her visit to Le Louvre.
writing poems which were rarely sad but rather focused on
the beauty of life in the midst of suffering and the love they
felt for one another and about their longed-for futures. Even
Helga’s drawings were not always sad. She often drew what
she hoped to do after the war, where she hoped to be and
with whom.
I traveled to Terezin with a group of ASP students when I
was in eighth grade with Gillian Lynch and Cora Enard. I
was shocked by the horrors of the Holocaust that survivors
talked about — of the boxes of ashes of victims thrown in
the river as the allies approached the camp, the dreadful
living conditions, ever-changing laws and grueling work
conditions. But my overwhelming feeling was one of
inspiration and admiration for the strength of people like
Helga who endured so much and lived to bear witness to
an appalling period of history and still keep faith and love
intact. I was struck by the power that art can have in such
a defeatist place. Art raised hopes, helped express love,
hate and frustration, and nurtured a human community that
strengthened support and perseverance.
The Aspect - November 2010

18/visiting author
Momentum
“The quantity of motion affecting an object”
by Elizabeth Lefevre
With MOMENTUM, artist Jonathan Saiz
explores the contrasts and relationships
found between representational painting and
non-representational sculpture by combining
the two mediums; a theme that is consistently
present in his work.
In this ASP site-specific piece he focuses
on the forces of painted ocean surges and
waves that collide and shift directions around
the weighty large-scale cube it is painted on.
It is this mixing of a fixed object with a painted
image that often leads to an unexpected
visual dialogue that is more than the sum of
the two disparate parts.
Jonathan Saiz is a professional artist
who recently moved to Paris from Denver
Colorado. His work is a hybrid of sculpture
and painting and often incorporates imagery
of movement or tension: The forward rush
of an ocean wave or the backwards pull of a
“tug-of-war” player.
He is a 2001 graduate of the International
Baccalaureate Program in Denver Colorado,
and studied painting at Parsons School
of Design in Paris France, Parsons School
of Design in New York and The Maryland
Institute College of Art in Baltimore Maryland.
In 2010 he completed a two year Artist in
Residency Program at Redline
Denver and was featured in “Love Lines” an
international group exhibition curated by
Robischon Gallery of Colorado featuring
Tracey Emin, Jonathan Saiz, Kiki Smith,
Xiong Lijun, Wu Fan, Ann Hamilton,
Roger Shimomura among others.
Please visit his website,
www.jonathansaiz.com,
to see more of his work.
Calligraphy
These
beautiful pieces were created by 9 th and 10 th grade Studio Art
students. The class was introduced to the basic element of design
(line) using brush and ink.
The Chinese calligraphy was introduced to them as an example to
follow. The students then created frames using collage inspired by
the art work of a
contemporary French
artist called Pierre
Alechinsky.
The Aspect - November 2010

Advancing ASP/19
Bollywood Gala
Plans Taking Shape
Plans are moving full steam ahead for ASP’s big Bollywood Gala to be held
on Saturday March 19.
Our team of volunteers is
buzzing to make sure
this celebration of ASP
will be both the party of
the year and make a significant
contribution to
the school’s future success in nurturing and
educating our children.
Here are just a few of the exciting developments
we can share with you.
Location, location, location!
We are thrilled to announce the venue for
a night of fun, glamour, and glitz Bollywood
style: the prestigious Pré Catalan. Ideally
located in the Bois de Boulogne, tucked
between the city streets of Paris and the
banlieue communities where many ASP families
live, the Pré Catalan will provide the
perfect backdrop for this schoolwide happening.
Auction on the Agenda
We’re planning not one but three auctions
as part of this festive event: an online auction
that will run from Tuesday, March 1 to
Friday, March 18; a silent auction to be held
at the Gala and of course, an exciting live
auction on Gala night with a handful of exciting
items you won’t want to miss.
There will be something for everyone and
every budget from classroom creations to
holiday homes, souvenirs of your time in
Paris (jewelry! art! wine!) to trips you will
never forget. Principal for a day, front row
seats for graduation, story time with your
child’s teacher: count on those items and
much, much more.
To make this event super successful, we’re
looking for a wide array of auction items
from the school community. Have a special
talent you can share? Cooking classes and
professional services are always a hit! Have
a vacation home you can spare for a week
or a weekend, or swimming pool that would
make a great venue for a kids birthday party?
Does your company have box seats for
the theater or sporting events? Direct your
ideas or questions to Theresa Schott at jtmmurphy@earthlink.net
or Michael McNeill
at mmcneill@asparis.fr. We are looking for
creative and fun items that will entice and
delight young and old.
Advance Tickets on Sale
at the Holiday Boutique
The first group of tickets for what promises
to be a sell out event will be on sale at
ASP’s Holiday Boutique on Saturday, December
4. Tickets are priced at 175 euros,
a steal when you consider that this includes
a champagne reception, dinner and drinks,
plus dancing and entertainment, all in the
company of your friends from ASP. We expect
tickets to go quickly; don’t get caught
short and left out of the fun!
For those willing to make an extra commitment
to the effort, we’ll also be offering patron
tickets at different levels; a portion of
patron revenues will be used to underwrite
faculty and staff tickets to the Gala.
There’s much, much more to come. Watch
your e-mail and ASP’s new Web site for
Gala news and developments: www.asparis.org/gala2011
The prestigious Pré Catalan takes its name from Louis XVI’s hunting captain, Théophile
Catelan. Catering in the salons is provided by Lenôtre under the direction of Guy
Krenzer, Meilleur Ouvrier de France for cuisine, and wines selected by Olivier Poussier,
Meilleur Sommelier du Monde. Inaugurated as a restaurant during the Belle Epoque,
the historic setting features period rooms and art, all nestled within the verdant setting
of the Bois de Boulogne. Learn more at www.precatelanparis.com
The Aspect - November 2010

20/ sport news
ASP's Athletic
The Aspect - November 2010

sport news /21
Pride!
In addition to the Girl’s historic championship success
and Olivier Torchiana’s triumph (see the front page),
ASP has plenty to celebrate, both on the courts,
courses and pitches with all the teams that took
part in the Fall Season International Schools Sports
Tournament – and off them, with our wonderful ASP
community.
The Boys Varsity Volleyball team went to Brussels and finished in
fifth position. Congratulations to Max Jackson who was selected
to the All-Tournament team.
In London, in addition to 11th Grader Olivier’s champion success,
becoming the 2010 ISST Boy’s Varsity Cross Country Champion,
another 11 th Grader, Jenny Wood, also picked up a medal, finishing
4th in the Girl’s Varsity race.
Varsity Boys, Varsity Girls and JV Boys cross country teams all
finished in 5 th team place; and JV Girls finished 8 th . Overall ASP
finished in 6 th place.
The Girls Varsity Soccer team traveled to sunny Cairo for their
tournament and finished 7 th . Jane Kirkham, one of our youngest
and newest Rebels, was voted to the All-Tournament team.
And congratulations to the Boys Varsity Soccer team who won
the Arvid Paarsonen Fair Play Award for 2010; a huge honor
as this is based solely on the observation of the referees and is
representative of the standards and goals that ASP pursues.
This was an extremely competitive championship in adverse
weather conditions and our boys finished 7 th , just missing out on
the semi-finals after a nail biting penalty shoot out in the quarter
finals. James Mackenzie and Marko Stojkavic were chosen to the
All-Tournament team.
Athletic Director Han Hoegen said: “The ASP community continues
to amaze us. The feedback from the visiting teams about your
warmth and hospitality was again second to none. MERCI!”
And the housing challenge for our Soccer Tournament brought out
the true ASP spirit with Lower and Middle School families stepping
up to help.
One family with Kindergarten and Grade 2 children had this to
say of their experience: “This has been a positive experience for
us and it was a pleasure having these boys over! My daughter’s
subject at school these days is Community - what a great way to
have an example of helping our school community and continue
learning at home. This gave me an opportunity to discuss these
matters with my kids and continue and educate them in the spirit of
accepting the differences, being open minded and being involved
in our school community. The kids actually expected the boys to
stay another week with us and to be at my son’s birthday party this
Saturday!”
A huge thank you to all the families and fans who supported our
Rebels both abroad and at home. A special thank you to our
Boosters, led by Darla Pape, student volunteers and especially our
host families who had lots of muddy uniforms to wash!
And last but by no means least - A special mention to our most
recent ISST host, Juan Carlos Rodriguez, born on Thursday,
November 11 while his family was housing a visiting athlete!
That’s dedication! Congratulations to the Rodriguez family.
The Aspect - November 2010

22/learning outside the classroom
Middle School
by Mary Carley
In October the 6th graders kicked off their unit on the middle ages with a trip to
two fascinating castles.
First stop was Guedelon, a medieval castle construction site where artisans are
constructing a castle using only medieval methods and materials.
Students observed stone cutters, carpenters, rope makers, and many others
working together to build a castle. The castle is expected to be completed
in 2025.
Our second stop was a visit to Ratilly, an authentic medieval castle
located just a few kilometers away. The castle now houses a
pottery studio and functions as a center for the arts. The Sixth
graders who are new to Paris got a chance to practice
their French and discover a new region of France.
Our advanced and Francophone students served
as interpreters for those who needed help,
and in the evening Francophones entertained
and challenged their peers to
improve their French with board
games about Guedelon and
castle building.
The Aspect - November 2010
‘‘I think that Guedelon was a very special
experience that brought the past to preset. The
idea of building a medieval castle like they did
in the Middle Ages is amazing. There were so
many different workshops. The most interesting
part is that they made most of the materials and
they used the same techniques used to build the
castle as the workers did in the Middle Ages. I
would love to try to work as a stone carver for
a day at Guedelon. It would be fun! I hope I can
come back when the castle is finished in 2025.”
Sonia Ben Amar (Grade 6)

learning outside the classroom/23
Time Machine
Guedelon I had a blast. I learned a lot about castles
and the medieval times. This field trip was valuable to me
because we were learning about this in social studies, but we
‘‘“At
only watched movies and looked at maps and text books. We
heard about Guedelon a lot, but to see
it was amazing. We had a tour guide who knew everything
and we learned to much more about castles. Going there was
like seeing the past in the future.
It was a clue to a very important piece of history. Guedelon
will be finished in 2025 and I can’t wait to see what the
scientists and historians will learn.”
Joe Morro (Grade 6)
The Aspect - November 2010

24/student experience
International
Solutions
in Istanbul!
by Bristol Lewis (Grade 7)
Last month, 19 members of
the Middle School Model
United Nations club embarked
on a four day trip
to Istanbul, Turkey. These
students would represent The
United Kingdom and Turkey, at the 5 th
annual JMUN conference at Hisar school
in Istanbul. The theme of the conference
was “Protecting the Right of the Child”.
Altogether, over 400 students from Turkey,
Egypt, Greece, the Netherlands and
France attended the conference.
Despite the rainy weather, the group
spent their first day touring around
Istanbul. They visited the Blue Mosque,
Aya Sofya, and went shopping at the
Grand bazaar! They also took a boat
cruise to Asia, where they visited a local
mosque. As is tradition, they enjoyed
lunch at Burger King (where everyone did
eat like a King), and a delicious dinner at
a local Turkish restaurant. After dinner,
everyone went on a night walk around
the Blue Mosque and the surrounding
historical district.
The next three days were spent in
simulation settings where students tried
to find solutions to keep children away
from harm and injustices. Some topics
that members debated included: children
in war zones, child abuse, children in natural
disasters, child trafficking and more.
Every delegate put effort into coming up
with solutions and debating what their
country believed in. Every student also
made sure to get their views out through
empowering speeches and questions
that were thought through and clever. It
was fun and interesting to work with other
students from different schools all around
the world, to see what their points were
on the issues. We are very proud of what
our school put into this conference and
were very impressed by all the delegates,
but especially the brand new members to
MUN, who caught onto the process very
fast.
After a full day of debating, the school who
hosted the conference put on a dance to
celebrate what every committee had done
to help solve the many hardships that children
have to face around the world today.
Everyone on the plane ride back to Paris
could not believe that our trip was already
done and wished that it went on longer.
We had a great time in Istanbul, but
now we are looking forward to all of the
upcoming conferences, especially the one
we will be hosting in March, so we can all
try our best to solve our world’s problems,
one step at a time.
The Aspect - November 2010

25
The Aspect - November 2010

26/school news
African magic!
by Sietse Goffard (Grade 12)
For two full and
unforgettable days last
month, ASP came alive
with the vibrant sounds
of singing children and
beating drums!
We proudly hosted the African
Children’s Choir, a world-renowned
group of 24 talented young children
from countries including Kenya and
Uganda.
They treated us to a variety
of singing and dancing
workshops during their exciting visit,
which culminated in a spectacular
final concert.
Featuring traditional African dances,
lively chants, and gospel songs, their
performance blew away the massive
audience of students, parents, and
teachers alike.
A huge thanks to Aaron Hubbard,
Chris Chater, Gillian Lynch, the PFA,
FOTA, the housing parents, the
organizing students, and everyone
else who helped make this event
such a shining success!
The African Children’s Choir was founded
25 years ago by Ray Barnett, a humanitarian
worker who spent much of the 70s and
80s working in war torn Uganda.
On one trip, Ray and his companions gave
a small boy a ride from is decimated home
to the safety of another village. During the
journey, the child did what he knew how to
do best – he sang. In the midst of despair,
the boy’s song revealed a glimmer of hope,
a reminder of the beauty and dignity of this
boy and his people.
Ray knew that if only a group of these children
could go to the West, people would be
deeply moved and certainly want to help.
In April 1984, Ray and team of volunteers
went to Uganda to select 31 vulnerable
children who would become the first African
Children’s choir and with funds raised
from their first tour, a children’s home was
established in Kampala.
Today the wider charity, Music For Life,
operates homes, projects and schools for
vulnerable children in Sudan, Rwanda,
South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and
Ghana helping thousands of children forge
a future where they had none.
For more information about the African
Children’s Choir and the work of Music For
Life: www.africanchildrenschoir.com
The Aspect - November 2010

school news/27
The Aspect - November 2010

28/school news
Water is Life!
Every year our Upper School
students in the National Honors
Society choose a humanitarian
cause to support and
leading a school wide fundraising
program.
This year the students have chosen Amman
Imman, an NGO founded and directed by
ASP Alum Ariane Kirtley - which brings water
and life to a drought-ridden and forgotten
corner of Africa.
http://www.ammanimman.org/
ASP was delighted to welcome Ariane on
campus again this month to meet and work
with children from Lower, Middle and Upper
School.
The mission of Amman Imman (which means
“Water is Life” in the local dialect), is to bring
water to the people of the Azawak area in
Niger where every year hundreds of people
die of thirst and disease.
In November last year, she spent a full
day presenting to captive audiences in the
Lower, Middle and Upper School about her
work and how empowered children can be
to help other children.
And she returned to continue to inspire our
students as they launch their own fundraising
efforts in support of Amman Imman.
She said: “What a truly amazing day it was
for me! I felt so invigorated by the connections
I made with ASP’s students and staff.
You all welcomed me so wonderfully - I felt
so special. I need more days like the one
I spent at ASP. It reminds me of one of the
most beautiful reasons that Amman Imman
is so important - spreading the knowledge
and compassion for the kids of the Azawak
by opening the hearts of kids elsewhere in
the world.”
Ariane, graduated from ASP in 1996, attended
Yale University majoring in Medical Anthropology
and went onto receive her Masters
from the Yale School of Public Health.
After graduation she obtained a Fulbright
Scholarship and spent a year traveling
across Niger studying the variations among
different ethnic groups concerning health
behavior, knowledge and resources.
During that time she visited a region called
the Azawak and was astonished by the dire
conditions she witnessed: “I saw children
traveling up to 30 kilometers a day in temperatures
as high as 125F searching for water.
The children would return with cups of mud,
and my visit fell during the rainy season! I
returned a few months later to witness for
myself how such a terrible situation could
worsen. I saw a population of over 500,000
people suffering from a sheer lack of water.”
The rainy season in this area, such as it was
with a few minutes of rainfall each day, has
reduced from five months to just 30 days
over the last 10 years.
But she also brings a message of hope
and empowerment. Since 2005 Ariane has
established Amman Imman and is raising
funds to build bore-hole wells, drilling nearly
1000meters to reach the clean and plentiful
water below the desert.
She explained to children from all divisions:
“Water allows you to grow your own food,
build a home and allows a family to stay
clean and avoid disease. It also means children
can spend their day at school rather
than skimming through muddy marshes and
the presence of water attracts other NGOs
to invest in the region – to build schools and
health centers, set-up food relief programs,
and combat the environmental degradation
of the region.”
The Aspect - November 2010