From the Desk of John Enkiri, Principal

Welcome Back! I hope you had a restful and enjoyable spring

vacation. We are rested and ready for the last few months of

school! We have a very busy last couple months of school, so

please make sure that you’re checking your child’s folder and

school website, so that you can keep informed of the upcom-

ing school events.

The end of school year is approaching! We are all eager to

finish this year strong. We still have many standards that our

students need to master by June, so please take time to en-

courage your children to stay focused and put their best ef-

forts. We continue to hold high academic and behavioral ex-

pectations for our future diplomats!

Thank you for taking your child’s attendance seriously, as the

number of tardies has decreased over the past month. I will

continue to monitor student attendance, and I greatly appreci-

ate your support and cooperation, as attendance is directly

linked to student success and achievement at school. We are

dedicated to providing the best education for your child(ren)!

Thank you again for your continued support! As always, if

you have any questions or input, please do not hesitate to call

or e-mail me. I can be reached at jfenkiri@bcps.k12.md.us or

(410) 426-3650. Have a wonderful Spring!

Thank you,

John Enkiri

DATES TO REMEMBER

May 20th — International Night 6:00 p.m.

May 22nd —-Spring Concert—Kindergarten & 1st Grades—6:30 p.m.

May 27th —-Spring Concert—2nd—8th Grades—6:30 p.m.

May 30th —-Spring Dance—ALL Grades—6:00—9:00 p.m.

IB FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL

BIA has submitted an application to the International Bac-

calaureate Organization for candidacy in the IB Middle

Years Programme (MYP). This will give our middle school

students a great advantage by developing skills that will

help them through the rigors of high school and college.

The MYP is designed for students aged 11 to 16. It pro-

vides a framework of learning that encourages students to

become creative, critical and reflective thinkers. The MYP

emphasizes intellectual challenge, encouraging students to

make connections between their studies in traditional sub-

jects and the real world. It fosters the development of skills

for communication, intercultural understanding and global

engagement - essential qualities for young people who are

becoming global leaders.

The MYP empowers students to participate in service

within the community and helps them to

prepare for higher education and the

workplace.

We sincerely hope we are awarded MYP

candidacy.

Issue – 3 Page 1 Académie Internationale de Baltimore

巴尔的摩国际学校

Балтиморская Интернациональная Академия Academia Internacional de Baltimore

Baltimore International Academy

4410 Frankford Avenue, Baltimore MD 21206 Phone: (410) 426-3650

April 2014

FRENCH IMMERSION STUDENTS VISIT MORGAN

STATE UNIVERSITY

Morgan State University invited the French Immersion stu-

dents at BIA to visit the campus. Students viewed a movie

from Senegal that used the French language. Students also

had the opportunity to tour some of the Morgan State Univer-

sity campus. Students were very excited about their experi-

ences when they returned to BIA. Many stated that, “Wow! I

want to go to Morgan when I graduate from High School! It’s

a beautiful campus. It must be a great place to learn!” We are

glad our students had this opportunity and thank Elizabeth

Gunn, from Morgan State, for in-

viting BIA and making all the ar-

rangements.

BIA WINS TROPHY AT MESA COMPETITION

The MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achieve-

ment) club of BIA attended the District MESA Day event at

Morgan State University on Friday, April 11th. Students

entered the competitions for the Bridge, ALICE, and Pros-

thetic Arm. The club, existing for just two years, was able

to

win the 3rd prize for ALICE this

year. The student who carried out

the manipulation on behalf of the

club, Jaylyn Smith, can be seen

hugging the Assistant Principal of

BIA on arrival from the competi-

tion.

THIS CLUB HAS ROCKed for

BIA. We would like to thank all

the club members especially those of ALICE and the club

coordinators, Mr. Arif Abdul Kareem and Mr. Nchinda

Fuanghene

CHINESE IMMERSION STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN

COMPETITION

2014 Chinese Bridge College level Language and performance

Competition was held in Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center,

University of Maryland, on April 12, 2014. The competition’s

objective is to provide contestants with an opportunity to develop

communication skills vital to students studying Chinese as a for-

eign language. It sponsored by the Chinese Embassy and hosted

by Confucius Institute at University of Maryland. Our Chinese

Immersion students were invited to perform for the opening cere-

mony. There were 11 students from 3rd, 4th and 5th grade Chinese

Immersion class and their parents attended on the 12th. Our stu-

dents recited famous scientist, Zou Taixuan’s poem, <Indian

Ocean> and performed dance&song <Zhong Guo Fan er >. In

this song, our Chinese Kongfu, Beijing Opera, Chinese folk

dance (fan dance

and chopsticks

dance ) were

combined to-

gether in this 5

minutes. Our sa-

piential and crea-

tive teachers, Ms

Shi, Ms Yang and

Ms Chen had

been practicing

with our students

every day after

lunch last week.

After the per-

formance, when teachers saw all the audiences were truly im-

pressed by our students wonderful performance, they smiled.

Two weeks later, on May 3rd, the Chinese Bridge Competition for

Elementary, Middle and High school students will take place on

the UM campus. Three teams from BIA will participate in the

Chinese Bridge

PTO HOSTS FIRST MIDDLE SCHOOL DANCE

On April 4th, Middle School students attended BIA’s 1st dance

that was just for them. Students had a great time; the dance had a

live DJ, Buffet style sit-down dinner, games and a dance contest.

The room was beautifully decorated, too. The food was delicious

and students had their individual photos taken by a photographer.

Everything was well done. Students had fun and behaved very,

very well. They were dressed in their best (or coolest-looking)

clothes. There was a lot of laughter and hugs.

A big Thank You to the PTO for planning and hosting this

event. It was not a fundraiser because there was no profit. This

was a very nice gift and BIA’s students appreciated it.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT UPDATES

3rd

/4th

GRADE RECORDERS:

If your child is in 3rd grade or 4th grade they are ex-

pected to bring a recorder to class as a part of their

materials/participation grade. There are recorders at

the school available at the purchased teacher dis-

counted price of five dollars or you may purchase a

recorder for about 9-10 dollars at a music store. If this

does not sound feasible or your child has already

bought a recorder and the recorder has been lost or

broken, feel free to write an excuse note and your

child will be given a communal classroom recorder to

use. These recorders are washed before and after use.

BALTIMORE GAMER SYMPHONY ORCHES-

TRA

As some of you may know, I am the conductor of the

Baltimore Gamer Symphony Orchestra. This is a

community orchestra of amateur and professional mu-

sicians who perform orchestral arrangements of video

game music. As of October, we have partnered with

the Baltimore International Academy in order to help

improve the music program through the sharing of

resources (such as percussion instruments.) As the

founder, I would like to extend my appreciation to

BIA by holding a private performance for BIA stu-

dents on May 12th. We will be performing not only

classics (aka Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, etc) but

also we intend to perform video game music in each

of the languages represented at BIA (French, Spanish,

Russian, and Chinese.) We hope you can join us for

this premier performance in the multipurpose room of

the Baltimore International Academy. More info to

follow.

MUSIC DEPARTMNET FUNDRAISER

On May 28th the entire school and friends of the

school are invited to go to Red Zone Adventures—a

laser tag arena 1928 Greenspring Drive, Timonium

MD 21093. Half of the ticket (20 for admission) goes

towards the music department funds. Instead of pay-

ing $20 for 2-3 games, you get unlimited laser tag for

the entire duration. There are also a glow in the dark

room, arcade games, a laser tag maze, and food

(certain items you may have to pay for separately). It

will take place from 4:30-8:30. We need at least fifty

people (including children) to attend to make this

event successful. Also, I challenge your child to try to

out-beat my score!! pretty good. ;)

DATES TO REMEMBER!

Baltimore Gamer Symphony Orchestra Concert:

Monday May, 12th.

K-1st grade concert: Thursday, May 22nd

2nd-8th grade concert: Tuesday, May 27th.

Red Zone Adventures Fundraiser: May 28th

Call time for the concerts is 6:30 so that the students

can get back stage and ready for the concert. The

theme for the concert is “A Night of Music,” and we

are hoping to feature songs that represent the school

mascot (the Owl) as well as other night time themes.