AAS News

In December, the Student Council sponsored a Jar War charity drive, the winning MS wolfpack won a pizza party.

As part of their Social Studies unit, Grade 1 took a field trip to downtown Sofia.

The food was delivered to a soup kitchen in Druzhba.

Last week several of our Class of 2021 Alumni visited the AAS Campus.

More information about ski-resorts from our Bulgarian Culture team.

Our IB Psychology students have been studying health, focusing on stress and addictions.

Every month the HS Maths team poses a cunning problem for the students to solve.

Students explored Christmas traditions as part of their Social Studies unit. 

This Wednesday, students form grades 9 & 10 had their musical performance 'Studio Jam' on the Rila stage.

The Hour of Code aims to show that anybody can learn to code. 

On Wednesday, we celebrated the end of the Fall Season of Athletics and Activities.

Read Miss D.'s account about the virtual CEESA tournament held last Friday.

Last Friday we were happy to welcome Grade 12 and their family members for the IB Silver Tray Ceremony.

In this issue you will find information about some of the most remarkable monasteries around Bulgaria.

The students walked nearly 4 kilometers!

The students discussed what they are thankful for.

Inspired by Fibonacci, our students from grades 9 & 10 took part in Art competition

Last week our students took part in the virtual CEESA Speech & Debate and MUN conferences.

Grade 11 students had to solve a variety of puzzles as part of their History class.

This week we were able to enjoy students performing in the Rila Theatre.

Students learned about vibrations and sound.

Students used various recycled materials to create sculptures. 

The last collection of books about Bulgaria, features some of the many places worth visiting.

Math Circles class is working on 3D geometry and its applications in the real world.

This Get to Know Bulgaria weekly bulletin focuses on books about Bulgaria's beliefs, myths and tales.

Throughout the month of October, students from grade 9-12 took part in a number of discussions during Wolfpack Time.

Check out some pictures from the Kindergarten Halloween celebrations.

The day is devoted to educators, writers, and fighters for national liberation who preserved the spiritual values of the nation over the centuries.

Students put on PJs and Halloween costumes or dressed like teachers. 

To honor National Enlighteners Day, this week's book collection is dedicated to Bulgaria's notable people

Students in grades 11 & 12 met with a Glas Foundation representative.

The young explorers collected colorful leaves around campus.

Students explored how different factors influence cell division.

Read their observations on how people interact with nature.

This week we focus on books about Bulgaria's history, traditions, culture, and holidays.

The students learned how the food we eat is influenced by where we live as well as our culture. 

See some student artwork by grade 5 students.

This week's book list from the Get to Know Bulgaria collection focuses on Thracian heritage.

Last Friday and Saturday 15 of our MS and HS students took part in the Expand Your Impact Conference.

Fall is a magical season and Bulgaria has a lot to offer to fill you with awe during your October break

Who says math can't be fun?

The Grade 12 Physics students did an experiment where they were modelling the radioactive decay of nuclei.

The field trip was part of the Social Studies unit.

See new books for Bulgaria and Sofia available in the AAS Library

Playing a game helped them understand life in the Middle Ages better.

Grade 4 students went on a fieldtrip as part of their Science class.

Geography class is fun at AAS.

Roza K. won a Silver Medal in the Polish Junior Show Jumping Championships.

Bulgarian Culture Corner is back with information about Bulgaria’s holidays, traditions, landmarks and natural wonders. 

Students wrote down their hopes of how their class will look like.

See how the first days went for our youngest students.

The trees, planted 14 years ago are growing fast.

Students are back on campus for the new school year.

IB Students Vasila and Shon trained younger students in speaking up their minds.

Check out the grade 2 student creations.

The students finished the school year with a lovely trip.

Senior Luyba G. chose tennis as one of her CAS projects.

On June 17 we hosted our first astronomy night at the school.

Alexey F, a senior, decided his CAS project to be in the field of music.

The Fourth Annual HS Benefit Gig was a great success!

Students did not check out books this week but they had fun with a range of activities during Library time.

Senior Mason R. created a soundtrack as his CAS project.

Two new Bulgarian scholarship students will be joining AAS next year.

Senior Salma F. chose to learn to dance salsa as a CAS project.

Fourth grader Emma shares some of her wonderful creations. 

In his 12 years at AAS Shon G. made a significant positive impact on the community. 

Senior Kristofer R. decided to improve his photography skills as a CAS Project.

The students made scientific observations while having fun. 

1B noticed that in the windy weather, a lot of snack time garbage had escaped to the playground!

See what Bulgarians celebrate in June.

Nikola K. decided to organize ''Christmas Jumper Day'' to raise money for children in need.

Check out what they came up with 

Presian N. used his website development skills to spread awareness about wildlife preservation.

In February 2020 seniors Keith, Mason, and Kris collaborated to design unique Valentine's Day Cards.

See some photos of the alphabet celebration activities.

Grade 8 students presented their innovative products to fellow students and teachers at AAS.

Jeongbyn S found out that one of his peers was interested in learning Korean and started tutoring him.

The students measured themselves against various objects.

The IB1 Physics students had great fun making bows and arrows of recycled materials.

Special guest D.O. Gibson shared his success story.

Some memories from the Bulgarian culture celebrations. 

The students in 2-A enjoyed celebrating Star Wars Day with various learning activities.

See the IB Visual Art students work.

See what Bulgarians celebrate in May. 

Three of our IB students have created an AAS Astronomy Club. 

Watch a short video with the students' creations. 

The students participated in various activities to raise environmental awareness.

Graduates presented their Extended Essays in front of a small audience of parents.

Roza K. turned her love for horses into a CAS project.

Seeing the art, created by high schoolers, the students decided to create their own.

Some captured moments from the week of in-person learning.

Students learned to extract DNA from fruit.

Nora and Kate helped MS Girls team become better players.

The Grade 9 Musicianship class perform a virtual concert.

The students organized a winter clothing drive.

Students interpret the famous 'Starry Night'.

See what Bulgarians celebrate in April.

The team aims at educating the community about pollution.

Six students presented their artwork at the Rila Centre.

Last week on the eve of St. Patrick's Day, Grade 2A students made leprechaun traps.

AAS seniors created an Instagram account dedicated to sharing useful information about the Coronavirus.

Our literary magazine got the REALM First Class rank in the US.

Lola W.'s project brought HS students together during distance learning. 

Recently the AAS librarian Ms. Ardea Smith published a children's picture book 'Baba Marta'.

The students performed live music and theatre in front of their classmates.

IB student Anna R. talks about her passion for hiking.

Recently AAS earned LEED Gold Certification for the Rila Renaissance Centre (RRC).

Today 1A and 1B went to The Bells Monument near the AAS campus.

Students hold a hybrid Performance Technology meeting.

The 11-th grader plans to donate the shields to the Bulgarian Red Cross.

After a long time Grade 10 students did some hands-on experiments in class.

March is a time when we honor Baba Marta in hopes for good weather.

A few weeks ago during recess, KGA students decided they wanted to put on a rock show for AAS.

As a part of their CAS project, seniors Vanda D. and Ori P. have created a Mental health website.

It is a tradition at AAS to mark the occasion with showing various collections. 

It was great to enjoy a dance/movement class and have fun without screens!

'Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.' Pablo Picasso is often quoted saying. 

Kincaid & Kate share about coaching the AAS middle school basketball teams.

The month of February is also known in Bulgaria as Malak Sechko (Little Sechko - from сека - cut, chop - because of the cold 

Last week Grade 3 had a very interesting guest - Mr. Sam Edwards, who talked to them about Antarctica.

Yoana Y., who won the first prize in the competition, talking about her experience. 

Have you ever wondered why the word FRIEND has a letter 'i' in the spelling?

Blagovesta M. was recognized for her academic and personal excellence among over 30 candidates in Bulgaria.

Among all other academic responsibilities and assignments, our Student Council (StuCo) have found the time to start publishing a monthly newsletter.

We are happy to share our new sustainability resource site 'Go Green Wolves'. 

Recently our HS English Teacher Nellie Bridge participated in an International Poetry Festival.

Take a look at Grade 4's artworks experimenting with Edgar Degas's style. 

Elementary Students are excited to be on campus after distance learning through December.

Noa and Brayden, who have been on the AAS Basketball team for several years, have created, as part of their CAS project, a series of basketball workout videos.

The January issue of the Bulgarian Culture Corner which features the Dirty Days in Bulgarian beliefs and the water rituals happening in January.

During distance learning with Grade 2 we made Holiday cards and crafts with recycled materials and we want to share some for you to give you ideas for your own activities at home!

As part of their IB CAS project, seniors Rebecca and Floria put together a website with yoga, strengthening, and flexibility videos for the community. 

With Christmas and New Years Celebrations approaching, we decided to ask some teachers about their favorite holiday recipe. Here is Ms. Lindsey's  'St.Lucia Buns' Recipe.

We are launching a new rubric dedicated to the Bulgarian Culture. Our Bulgarian Culture Corner will come out once a month and will highlight the holidays and celebrations for the month. Stay tuned for interesting facts, yummy recipes, music and more! 

The Elementary Art department has a visiting  artist -  Astrid Vlasman!
Last week she met in person with Grade 4A and this week and the next she will meet online with students from Grades 2-5. 

Last week Boryana Dzhambazova, a Bulgarian freelance journalist who's worked for Politico, The Economist, and The New York Times, spoke with 9th and 10th grade students.

It was a rather low-key affair, but performance returned to the Rila on Wednesday (Nov 25th) for the first time since... gosh... can anyone remember? 

In the past months mask are a necessity, but can they also be cool? 

Apparently - they can, according to 5-th Grade students Sophia S. and Vicky I.

This week Grade 2 students had a lot of fun in Music class with Ms. Zlati. She showed them how to hold the mallets properly and play the xylophone.

This time last year, the children from the 2-A class decided that they would like to raise money for charity by creating Holiday cards.

Three of our Grade 11 students are organizing this year's AAS Movember Campaign, encouraging everyone to spread awareness for men's health issues throughout the month

The G10 science class started on the Electricity unit while online. They learned that an insulator (materials made of e.g. plastic or rubber) can be charged by friction.

As COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Bulgaria, we wanted to share with you some recommendations on how to help combat the stigma surrounding COVID.

This week was Spirit Week in Elementary School.
Students and teachers had a lot of fun dressing up to support favorite sports teams on Monday...

This week, during the IB Business Management (BM) seniors participated as a focus group for a variety of chocolate products made by an AAS sole proprietor.

During the summer holidays, Matteo worked on several experiments with two physicists at the Georgi Nadjakov Institute of Solid State Physics.

Taking advantage of the great October weather, yesterday Grade 4 went on a little forest hike in the woods behind school.

Our senior IB Theatre students reached a significant milestone this week with the completion of their externally assessed Research Presentations. 
 

Over the summer, a IB year 2 student of the Business Management (BM) here at AAS, undertook an internship at (BHP), the company responsible for the coordination of most of our campus’ development.

Our  Transitions Counselor Ms. Giosh-Markov spoke to Grade 1 students about welcoming newcomers in the community.

See what students did in Elementary Art class.

Last week Grade 4 students had fun walking in the woods around school

This week’s MS Advisory Challenge each group tried identifying 50 country flags without the aid of the internet!

The Design & Tech Classes promise to be a lot of fun this year, offering a variety of hands-on challenges to the students.

This week saw the first round of the all new Advisory Challenge Cup.  Advisory groups in grades 6-10 had to solve a puzzle in 10 minutes and submit their answer.  

AAS Art Teacher Ms. Anastassova invites you to her exhibition in a livestream event on September 10, starting at 5:30 pm

Thank you for the commitment in following the rules and keeping yours smiles even under masks.

ES Art teacher Ms. Mariangela found a creative way to teach Art while practicing social distancing.

The Scholarship committee is happy to announce that two new Scholarship students were selected in June and they will both join grade 8.

The AAS HS Student Council played a key role in founding a new CEESA Schools organization.

From the School Director, who considers life’s milestones and in particular that of high school graduation as AAS celebrates its Class of 2020 today.

Extrovert or introvert? There is nothing better about being one or the other. Each simply exhibits different preferences. Read our Director's thoughts on the balance between these two personality types

Some ideas on how to make moving to another country and school smoother for your family.

A simple family activity to put you in a more positive mindset during the times of uncertainty.

Some ideas on how to show our appreciation to teachers, who are working hard during these challenging times. 

AAS offers a number of after-school activities to Elementary students off-campus.

See some artwork created by Elementary school students from home.

Our Director of Learning and Curriculum Fanny Passeport summarizes the most important factors to support learning during this distance learning time

Grade 12 student, Adam L. was awarded a Gold Medal in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

In honor of April 22, Earth Day, we have prepared some activities to celebrate Earth Week.

Sitting in my office, I can hear birds chirping and I have music playing, but I miss the noise of school. Director Dr. Fries shares his thoughts on what he misses about being on the AAS Campus

Our Director of Learning and Curriculum Fanny Passeport talks about reducing stress around children.

Part 2 of the Mental Health Wellness tips by New York psychologist Eileen Feliciano.

Some ideas on how to stay mentally stable during these difficult times from New York psychologist Eileen Feliciano.

Some tips on how to spend valuable time with children at home more efficiently.

Some tips on how to make your time with children at home more efficient.

Since we are not able to be together in our building, we thought it would be fun to do a Virtual Spirit Week.

Some ideas how to be independent learners in Middle and High School.

Read about our Director's hobbies and his general thoughts on spending more time at home.

As we are all going to have to learn, work and live together with our families at home, we need to adapt to the new dynamics of the situation.

Some tips suggested by our counselors on how to build your own resilience and help your children cope with a crisis.

A 3D printing project, executed in the AAS ‘Design & Technology’ class was featured as a case study at the PrintLab website.

In the week, leading to the Bulgarian Liberation Day - March 3rd, we celebrate Bulgarian Culture. The teachers from the Bulgarian Language department have worked hard to make the week exciting for everyone.

Grades 7 and 8 students created some electrical circuits during Design and Technology class. 

AAS celebrated Black History Month through a variety of readings, discussions, and raising the awareness of movements such as #BlackLivesMatter.

Last week the Elementary School Student Council organized ‘Spirit Week’.

We already introduced our Transition Counselor & ES Counselor, now it is time present you the Middle and High School Counselors.

Once again, AAS writers have received recognition in the international section of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, receiving 9 awards between them for their poetry, personal memoirs and short stories.

This week we are celebrating International Counseling Week by presenting you our counselors team. Meet Transition Counselor & Bulgarian Family Liaison and Elementary School Counselor.

On 5th February we held the first Open House in our history for families interested to see the school in action and learn more about education at AAS.

The AAS Literary magazine LUX has received the highest honour of a REALM First Class Award from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

This week we hosted Canadian author and illustrator Elly MacKay. 

For the past two years, AAS and ACS students have participated in the DeLux Poetry competition, an opportunity for students to demonstrate their creative writing abilities.

This week at High School Assembly the newly elected leaders of the HS Student Council were announced. 

With continuing reminders of violence and disasters in the media, I often get asked how to address these difficult topics with children. 

Just before the winter break we were visited by some of our recent graduates - from Class of 2015 and 2019.

Parents who encourage reading and make books available can help improve their children's literacy.

How to make holiday travel with kids safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

The HS Students paid their traditional visit to their elderly friends.

Key things to know about celebrating Christmas and New Year's eve the Bulgarian way.

AAS' newly launched website received a Gold Distinction at the 2019 MarCom Awards.

Last week, our IB Theatre students performed in front of the High School Audience some short pieces in the ‘Duck Variations’.

The Rila Renaissance Centre was awarded the Special Audience Award in the educational buildings category.

Last week our graduating Class of 2020 submitted their Extended Essays in a special ceremony in the Rila Theatre.

Grade 10 students went on a trip to downtown Sofia to explore Bulgaria's Communist past.

BHP partner Mr. Barnard and his associate, Ms. Mateeva, visited the IB Business Management (BM) class.

Julia met with students, teachers and parents and discussed various topics of interest.

Both HS Speech & Debate and MUN teams represented AAS successfully at the respective CEESA tournaments in Baku and Berlin.

Parents danced together with their children  in pre-school today.

Grade 2A have created Christmas cards to help fund-raise money for sports equipment.

This week our Middle Schools students had their first MS Arts showcase for the year in the Rila Renaissance Centre.

Last week AAS hosted the CEESA MS Boys and MS Girls football tournaments.

During the weekend AAS welcomed Security managers of schools across the CEESA region.

This year the AAS Library focuses on paper folding and illustration. As a part of this students recreated the portraits of famous artists in origami.

On November 1 Bulgarians celebrate Enlighteners Day - to honor the memory of everyone who brought knowledge and enlightenement to the nation.

Students, teachers and parents joined the run last Friday to support "Angelia" foundation. 

Halloween is always so much fun at AAS - with pumpkin-carving, scary costumes and "Trunk or Treating".

This October AAS is launching its Scholarship campaign for the 14th time. The first information evening will be held on October 24 and 6 PM in the American Corner of Sofia Library.

While October break was a time to relax for the majority of students and AAS staff, there were some people who were busy with organizing an international conference on campus. 

When the first soil was turned over at the Breaking Ground Ceremony for what is now the Rila Renaissance Centre in October 2017, our special guests were invited to sign a granite foundation stone.

This week AAS hosted a College Fair for the 8th consecutive year.
However it was the first time that the event was held in the spacious Rila theatre in the new Rila Renaissance Centre. 

This week AAS hosted what has become a regular annual event, the "No 4th Wall" theatre festival. This is three days of workshops with international guests to create an original piece of theatre based on a theme, which this year was "The Little Things". 

Every year, the International Baccalaureate holds a global conference in each of its three regions. This year, the Africa Europe Middle East (AEM) region's conference is hosted in the Arab world for the first time.

"Over the summer, I had my privilege to have an internship at the United Bulgarian Bank (UBB) bank for 2 weeks. I worked in the sector of European Projects & Financial Institutions Directorate where they provide funds for businesses that might need financial support."

AAS hosted the CEESA Healthy Assessment Summit this week (Oct 3-5) in our brand new Rila Renaissance Building.

Last  week was Cultural Trips week for Middle and High School Students. They went around the country to learn more about Bulgaria and its culture and history. 

“What was the Roman Forum in Plovdiv used for?” 
“ Where was the Roman library situated?”
“What was the Roman name of the city?”

Fanny Passeport is the new Director of Learning and Curriculum at AAS. She spent the last eight years in India working in international schools as a French Foreign Language Teacher and Digital Literacy Coach. 

Our Grade 12 students had a busy day today - they had to work in teams on a science project, assigned by their teachers (IB Group 4 project).

The students may be getting a day off as Bulgaria marks the Declaration of Independence Day, but all the staff at AAS are hard at work!

September was a busy month for the Bulgarian Mother Tongue students in Middle and High School.

Today our Parent - teacher Organization (PTO) held their first PTO chat for the school year.
It was well attended by the PTO and school leadership, as well as by many parents.

At AAS we have always encouraged reading for pleasure. So, it was only logical to start the second full week of school with a “DEAR” day.
Wondering what does “DEAR” stand for? 

After a busy Back to school week everyone needed to unwind a bit and the Welcome Back BBQ organized by the PTO was a good chance to do so. 

We had a short, but rather busy first week of school!
A special surprise was awaiting Middle School students - teachers had prepared some fun activities for them to ensure a smooth start of the year.

Today was the First Day of School of AAS for the 2019-2020 School Year.
It was great to see so many familiar faces and say "Hello" to new ones.

With less than 2 weeks until the beginning of the school year, AAS is getting ready to welcome students and their families.
All teams are working hard to prepare the school for your arrival on August 21 - maintenance making last repairs on the building, the gardeners tending to our vast green spaces with special care.

On Wednesday the school held a special, all school assembly to formally say thank you, goodbye and send all our good wishes to our outgoing School Director Jim Urquhart and his wife Andie who has served both as the Athletics and Activities Director and as a Middle School counsellor. After eight years at AAS, the Urquharts are leaving this summer and the school marked the occasion with a school-wide celebration. 

The third annual AAS High School Career Fair took place this Tuesday and featured a variety of careers that have not been presented in the past. We are grateful for the support of our AAS patrons who represented 10 of the 11 careers that were showcased in the fields of Business Consulting, Public Policy, Social Entrepreneurship, IT, Healthcare, Social Inclusion, Commerce, Architecture, Catering, Acting and Finance.

Last week was a pretty busy one for the AAS Athletics department - we hosted not one, but two CEESA tournaments back to back - HS Girls & Boys volleyball (May 16 - 19) and HS Boys Softball (May 19 - 21).

During Bulgarian Culture Week, we hosted the contemporary Bulgarian writer Alexander Shpatov, winner of the National Best Fiction Debut and the Sofia Award for Literature in 2005 and 2015, respectively.

After Mr. Shpatov’s presentation, it was time for the audience to ask him some questions. It was then that Mr. Reynolds, the AAS HS history and business teacher, stood and asked Mr. Shpatov:

The DeLux Short Story Competition, begun in 2013, seeks to encourage budding writers from AAS and the American College of Sofia in their creative endeavours, providing an opportunity to recognize their talent beyond the classroom.
On Monday, five AAS students from Grades 10 and 11 travelled to ACS to attend the prize-giving ceremony.

Our ES Instructional coach, Mrs Haske has recently published her second book - "Worry moves on".Her first book ""When Worry Takes Hold" was published in November 2017 and captured the hearts of readers of all ages

Last Sunday a group of 10 IB students gathered to clean the cross-country track around the AAS campus. They did a great job, collecting 6 big bags of garbage and making the area more pleasant for the community.

Just before Spring Break the whole school got together in the Balkan Gym to share some Bulgarian Easter traditions.

A recent art exhibition by a budding AAS artist has raised over 1,500lv for a local children's cancer charity

Our 8th High School Musical production of 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' featured over 38 students on stage!

In the past 4 months our High School students Adi S. and Elena D. organized the collection of plastic bottle caps at school. 

In the past 4 months our High School students Adi S. and Elena D. organized the collection of plastic bottle caps at school. 

On the symbolic 19 February (the date when the Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski died), AAS held a "Capping" ceremony for the new Art Centre.

For this Alumni reunion on February 16th in London, we decided to ditch the standard restaurant setting and go for something more adventurous and floatacious -->  a boat!

AAS' Literary Magazine wins a worldwide competition award for the 7th year in a row!

Оne of our 11th grade students, Atanas K. received an "Honorable Mention" award from the New York Times for their editorial cartoon contest.

This week we had the opening of the "Shrub's Soul" art exhibition at the "San Stefano" Gallery. The grade 4 & 5 students were very happy and proud to share their work with their families. 

On Monday, November 5th students, teachers and parents ran and walked to collect funds for the Angelia Foundation, which AAS has continuously supported through the years.