LETTER FROM THE HEADMASTER

In a year where many schools only opened for in-person learning at the very end of the year, ASM was open all year.

The importance of being in school for children and families has never been clearer. Many students around the world had their learning interrupted or put on hold. The lessons learned were not easy. Anxiety, disconnection, lack of motivation; these symptoms and others made headline news. The true cost of the pandemic in terms of its effect on young people and their learning will only be fully calculated in the years to come. What is sure is that while ASM students and their families dealt with restrictions and frustrations, learning continued. The school day felt normal. This was an achievement that did not seem likely or even possible when we began the year in September of 2020.

If this was all, it would still be an accomplishment to be proud of, but the 2020-21 school year was a year of remarkable achievements in many areas.

Through an interactive and inclusive process, ASM developed a new Mission Statement. The Mission Cornerstones make the statement memorable and powerful. Empower, challenge, care and create, at the heart of all we do. The new mission is both a source of pride and inspiration as we look back on all we have accomplished and as we look ahead at the opportunities and challenges in the coming years.

With great fanfare and excitement, ASM finished and moved into a new Middle School. In the last two months of the school year, rather than coasting to the finish line, the new Middle School Commons provided opportunities for students to showcase and share their learning. From Grade Eight science projects demonstrating Newton’s Laws and Grade Six cell analogies projects to Grade Ten students performing their interpretations of scenes from Romeo and Juliet. A year that began with anxiety and more uncertainty ended with Grade Nine Students putting on a Math Carnival with booths designed to showcase their learning in a probability unit and Lower School students in every grade sharing their portfolios in the Celebration of Learning. What’s more, we began plans for an absolutely incredible space for outdoor play and learning for the Lower School. This project will transform the old staff and bus parking areas into green spaces for play and collaboration.

ASM Faculty participated in professional learning in science, math, reading in the social sciences, leadership, and child protection.

ASM students performed concerts, participated in science fairs, shared projects, wrote, read, and designed.

Members of the Class of 2021 were accepted to and are now attending some of the top universities and colleges in the world. From New York University, Tufts, and the University of Chicago in the US to University of the Arts London and University College London, to Erasmus University in Amsterdam. From Tokyo to Melbourne and from San Diego to Chapel Hill. The Class of 2021 is making its mark in the wider world.

We made it! That is amazing. What is even more amazing is that we did not simply make it through, we grew, we changed, we moved forward in pursuit of learning and learning excellence. As always, our progress and innovation are a product of our partnership. What we achieve, we achieve together.

BEN WEINBERG

WHAT IS SURE IS THAT WHILE ASM STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES DEALT WITH RESTRICTIONS AND FRUSTRATIONS, LEARNING CONTINUED. THE SCHOOL DAY FELT NORMAL.”