A Good Year Draws to a Close
An eventful year is drawing rapidly to a close and, looking back over the past months, I realize that we have experienced many significant events in a relatively short amount of time.
Under the guidance of Alan Colberg and David Hawley, we have drawn up a new five-year strategic plan that will take Atlanta International School from strength to strength through 2010. We have completed a feasibility study to decide that the IB Middle Years Programme will be rolled out in the Secondary School over the next four years, commencing with Grades 6 and 7 in August 2006. Once the Middle Years Programme is fully integrated and authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), AIS will stand out in Georgia as the only school to offer the full IB Programme from Grades 4K through 12, and one of only four schools in the United States.
Our main goal this year was to focus on defining our dynamic, articulated, and thoughtful K-12 academic curriculum, and a pastoral program that reinforces respect and values. I would like to think that we have achieved significant success in this goal, so that in subsequent years we can more clearly define our mission and values.
We have appreciated another wonderful graduation ceremony for the Class of 2006 and are once again reminded of our graduating students' exceptional talents and successes. It was a most rewarding and spirited day; an affirmation of who the members of our community are and what we aspire to become. I wish to give a heartfelt "thank you" to our faculty and staff for their hard work and dedication this year, and to all our parents whose continued support and dedication is so vital if we are to strive for an education that will allow our students to contribute to a better world.
As we venture into the summer months, a reminder that families will receive two mailings from AIS this summer –- one in late June and one in late July; both will be filled with information for the 2006-07 academic year. Parents, please encourage your students to read (or be read to) over the summer. You can find the Summer Reading List online at www.aischool.org/summerreading06.
I wish you a very happy, refreshing summer holiday.