My American colleagues have been explaining their ‘Thanksgiving’ holiday traditions to me. I think everyone can agree that taking a pause to reflect and be thankful for all the good things in our lives is a healthy practice. With this in mind, I have spent the last day or two asking our Secondary School students…
Practice Patience With Your Children
I’ve come to realize, I spent a large portion of my childhood waiting. Waiting seemed to be ingrained in every activity in the 80’s and early 90’s. Watching movies is a great example. If we missed a movie, we had to wait months for it to come out on video cassette. Then we’d have to…
Choosing the Right Words Matters
“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.” –Dr. Paul Farmer, Global Health Pioneer You likely know there was a presidential election in the U.S. last week. And if you spent even a little time reading or watching the news about the election, you…
A Parent’s Reflection on Data Privacy
The other day, I watched my kids discuss building an underground Minecraft bunker, debating the merits of obsidian versus bedrock. As I listened, my mind drifted back to Mr. Loney’s typing class circa 1988. I vividly remember sitting in Grade 9, learning to use an electronic typewriter—keys covered with masking tape to enforce proper form—and…
Creating Special Moments
“I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.” – Wednesday Addams, the “Addams Family” In case you missed it, yesterday was Halloween. As a child and teen and young adult, Halloween was not one of my favorite holidays. It became a favorite once I had my own kids, but before that I…
Adopt The Platinum Rule
As you know, my family and I are new to AAS and Bulgaria. We are just now finally starting to feel more settled in our home and routines. The last couple of months have really been focused on meeting people and understanding how things work in our new world. We know we are far from…
The Wisdom of ‘AND’
“So…is that your new mantra?” my son asked a few weeks back. “What do you mean?” “Well,” he responded, “you’ve said ‘AND’ like four times in our conversation. So, is that your new mantra?” Poor kid. He’d been surviving my sayings for a couple decades. He had just got past me overusing the word “YET.” …
Memories Are Made Of This
Our intrepid AAS Secondary School students explored beautiful Bulgaria this week on their Cultural Trips. A number of students asked their teacher-chaperones if there was any way their adventures away could be extended! Perhaps you saw them? Were they in front of you in the queue to taste chocolate at the Plovdiv chocolate museum? (Grade…
Ralitsa Vladimirova: You can Overcome Anything If You Have the Right Tools
This past week was ‘Angelia’ week at AAS – the AAS community fundraised money for the ‘Angelia’ foundation that helps children battling cancer. The activities culminated in the ‘Angelia’ Run earlier today, where everyone joined in running or walking around the campus to show their support for the cause. However, the most inspiring event was…
Class of 2017 Kalina Batkova: Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone
Introduce yourself using three words only. Singer, songwriter, creative. Briefly describe your experience at AAS. How many years did you spend at the school? I spent five years at AAS – from eighth to twelfth grade. I graduated in 2017. What was the most important lesson AAS taught you? The most important lesson AAS taught…
ES Principal Julie Villers: Be Honest With Children If You Want Their Respect
Julie Villers has been working in education since 1999, first as an Early Years educator, teaching students from Preschool to Kindergarten, then as an Elementary School leader. Originally from France, she moved abroad in 2000 to work at a French school in California, USA, where she met her husband James, a California native, who was…
Welcome to the 2024-2025 School Year
“I’ve always loved the first day of school better than the last day of school. Firsts are best because they are beginnings” – Jenny Han Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year at AAS-Sofia! I hope that you had a pleasant summer with family and friends. The start of a new school year is a…
