Parents and Teachers Day
At the beginning of every October we invite parents to our school to meet the faculty and learn what we have planned for the school year.
The initial thrills of back-to-school have passed, and the time has come to kick off the work in high gear. Traditionally, the parents of the incoming 8th grade are most active at this meeting – naturally, they have the most to explore in the new school.
Here is what we focused on this year: ACS priorities in 2018-2019 in terms of renewing our innovative school status, our diversity and fundraising goals, our initiatives to expand students exchanges and participation in competitions and events, both nationally and abroad. In addition, the College Counselors gave the parents of 12th graders an extensive overview of the application process that will culminate in their recently graduated children being accepted in the university of their choice.
Without further ado, here are the ACS priorities for the school year ahead:
- Financial Aid: We strive to make it possible for every deserving student to attend ACS. We give 1,296,158 leva in tuition fee reduction and have 17 full scholarships each year, but as we know tuition does not cover the full cost of education. So we rely on alumni donors, private philanthropists, and friends of the college to meet the financial needs of our families.
- Student Activities: In addition to the academic curriculum, our students engage in over 100 extracurricular clubs and activities. Those are as important to their overall development as the topics they study in class. So we intend to keep supporting student achievement, exploration, exchanges outside the classroom. The Student Activities Fund, working with donations from alumni and a generous grant from FiBank, is a great opportunity for clubs to get operational funding for their projects this year.
- Faculty Professional Development: Students need the most excellent teachers - and excellence is a process, especially in our rapidly evolving world. Recently, our teachers had the initiative to educate themselves on all things 3D printing. Colleagues from the every department, from Bulgarian Language and Literature to Eight-Grade English, sat on the first of a series of lectures and demonstrations about the 3D printers and their science that we have in SCIFI, a lecture led by Physics and Astronomy teacher Christian Youngs and 12th Grade student Taniel Gulian.
- Campus Improvement. Our campus is not only historic and modern at the same time. It is also beautiful and functional. And big. Big campuses are a lot of work. So whether it is changing the doors and windows of Abbot Hall or paving the asphalt field by the Bubble with all-purpose turf, or doing ad-hoc repairs, maintaining a state-of-the-art learning environment is imperative.
On this Parents and Teachers Day, parents heard a lot from us, but we also took the opportunity to listen to them. Some expressed interest in getting involved in the arts programs, others in the sports activities.
If you have any excellent ideas in regards to life at ACS, please don't hesitate to contact us. We are here for you.