May 2013

Thessaloniki, Greece

Dear Pinewood Community & Friends,

On behalf of the Pinewood Board of Directors, I am honored to announce the appointment of Dr. Roxanne Giampapa for a second term as Director of Pinewood – The American International School of Thessaloniki, Greece. The Board’s decision, which was unanimous, is an exciting and significant step in securing the dynamic future of our school.

Dr. Giampapa is an accomplished independent school educator with a strong leadership record at Pinewood. In the last three years, she has led our school through a multitude of contemporary transformations in order to establish Pinewood as a vibrant, healthy and growing international school.

Prior to Dr. Giampapa’s first appointment as Director in 2010, she served as a member of the Faculty and Coordinator of Curriculum and Studies at Pinewood for four years; thus, establishing her knowledge and experience in all areas of instruction and management at the school. Prior to her arrival in Greece, she taught for 11 years at Columbus School for Girls, a rigorous private school in the USA.

In addition to her professional experience, Dr. Giampapa brings a solid academic background, earning her B.S. and M.A. in Education, with specializations in Literature and History, from The Ohio State University, continuing her M.A. studies at Yale University in British Literature and completing her Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Leadership from The Ohio State University.

Dr. Giampapa’s appointment comes at a time of great excitement and invention at Pinewood as we begin preparations for our comprehensive 5-year strategic plan next year and for our 10-year re-accreditation with Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 2016. Under the leadership of Dr. Giampapa, both processes are expected to contribute to Pinewood’s progressive ethos for children in our Early Years, Elementary, Secondary and IB Diploma Programs.

The decision to select a Head of school is the most important duty of the Board of Directors. Dr. Giampapa is an educator of vision, warmth and integrity and she understands the culture and sense of community that are at the center of all that Pinewood represents. We are delighted that she will be continuing her work with your children and all of us.

Kind regards,

Nikolaos Margaropoulos

President, Board of Directors

Since the journey on the Nile and study of the Human Body, students in grade 5 have traveled East to study about Ancient China, explore Matter and its Properties, and Forces in Motion.  These experiences took many forms from experiments in the laboratory, classroom, reading, research, videos, sketches, to songs- their favorite being “the Atom Family” and “Pi-nomite”. Their Science fair projects dealt with how to reduce bacteria, growth of mold, earthquakes, and electromagnetism. March 14th, International Pi Day, was devoted entirely to pi.  They read about the history of pi,  calculated the circumference of cookies, tables, and anything they could find, sang the Pi-nomite song and many other activities.  In celebration of Earth Day,  guest speaker, Mr. Jesse Pavlick, an environmental engineer, spoke to the class about sustainable building, life, and, school in a Mozambique village.  After his slide presentation,  he helped the students build solar ovens in which they cooked pizzas.  The class also raised money to plant a garden and trees  around the school with the Seedling Club.  Another favorite hands-on experience involved working first hand with Newton’s laws of motion, with  Pinewood Physics teacher, Jordan Paschalidis, as he demonstrated his rock-climbing gear, pulleys, and harnesses. 

01/10 

   

Monica Varsakopoulos
Grade 5 Teacher

It is situated on the south-west slope of a hill and surrounded by a marsh too deep to be crossed on foot either in summer or winter. The citadel the "Phacus," which is close to the city, stands in the marsh itself, projecting like an island, and is built on a huge substructure which is strong enough to carry a wall and prevent any damage from the infiltration from the water of the lagoon.

 Titus LiviusThe History of Rome, Vol. VI

Pella, the new Macedonian capital, was destined to play a most critical role in the history of Greece and of the entire world in the 4^th century BC. Built by King Archelaos in the late 5^th cent BC, Pella, became the largest city in Macedonia, and the most important political, financial, and cultural center of Greece in the Hellenistic period.

Through extensive excavations, Pella is today one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. Subsequently, the new Archaeological Museum is one of the richest in the country.

Entering the Pella Museum, our Elementary School students were warmly greeted by Pella’s symbol, the beautiful marble head of Alexander the Great. Alexander was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia in July 356 BC. His parents were Philip II of Macedon and Olympias, a powerful princess from Epirus. When his father was assassinated in 336 BC, Alexander reasserted his power within Greece, and then set out to conquer the massive Persian Empire.  In a little more than a decade, he single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world, and western history.

Room by room Pella’s treasures and secrets were presented to us.

We learned about the daily life of its inhabitants, we admired the floor mosaics and the frescoes that decorated their houses, we discovered more about their religion, and finally we were really amazed by their funerary traditions and the beautiful gifts that accompanied their departed friends and relatives.

01/10 

   

Amalia Spiliakou
Host Country Studies Coordinator

This week, our Middle School Students concluded a five-week project on the two specific arts of Hip Hop: Graffiti and Break Dancing.  Pinewood was fortunate enough to enlist the expertise and enthusiasm of two young professionals from the local community to help lead our students through these intense project based seminars.  Each instructor helped their group create a final product that they can be very proud of.

The Graffiti group, led by Periklis Aristidis, consisted of 23 students who began their project in the classroom by learning and experimenting with methods of sketching using perspective and shading.  The remaining sessions were devoted to practicing spray techniques while completing a fantastic piece of wall art located in the school’s basement.  In addition, students pondered the question of whether or not this medium of expression should be considered “graffiti or art” and also explored other examples of street art such as 3D sidewalk art.

The Break Dancing group worked exclusively with their dance teacher Vasilis Zlentidis, aka bboy Saspens, who led these 17 students through intense physical dance workouts followed by a choreographed dance routine.  Their successful routine was presented at the end of the session yesterday and it demonstrated student confidence, style and flair. 

I wish to congratulate every one of the Middle School Students who approached this project with such enthusiasm, determination and positive energy!

1/8 

   

Mrs. Linda Kainz
MS Team Leader