Last Day of School: AV Awards and Special Goodbyes

In addition to the above mentioned main awards, we would like to congratulate the following secondary students with their Department awards and Academic Excellence Awards (in no specific order):

Stefan G., An Qi C., Huihan W., Aisha M.. Anna M., Theo R., Paulo B., Yeajin W., Gleb S., Max K., Milana M., Sofiia Y., Nazar S., Edvards O., Mira E., Sonya A., Rafee R., Anfisa G., Maxim K., Alexey K., Malena W.,  Eric T.,  Lev D., Elizaveta N.,  Ekafuri Akito N., Milana M., Gisela D., Filip G., Anastasija K., Olga S., Rabbina U., and Ipek  Y.

Congratulations to all of the award winners, you deserved it :-)

This is Educational Distinction!

Today, a lot of our students are also excited about the new AV times that are awaiting after the holiday. This is particularly the case for Grade 5, who will go on holiday as primary students and return as secondary students. Being ‘one of the old students’ also means a greater responsibility: “I look forward to the freedom because we will be among the old students now… and I actually also look forward to the extra homework, I don’t mind“, one of our Grade 5 students proudly put it after the Transition day earlier this week.

Looking forward to more responsibility and extra homework is what we would define as Educational Distinction. As the Head of School, Jeremy House, shared in his speech today:

“Distinction does not mean perfection, it means doing your best every single day, in every way. Being a great student, being a great person, and being open to growth!“

In addition, Mr House gave a few examples of how Educational Distinction looks like at AMADEUS Vienna:

Educational Distinction is when…

• Your teacher says complete, math questions 1-5 and you have a go at 6 as well.
• Your music teacher says to practice your piece 20 minutes a day, and you do 30.
• Lunch is not to your taste, you say, I’m grateful to have a hot lunch.
• Your teacher is walking up the stairs with a box full of resources, and you say “can I get the door Sir?”.
• You get 60 per cent in an exam, you ask your teacher “how can I get 70?”, or when you get 98 per cent you say “how can I get 100?”.
• You put on your uniform with pride.
• You meet a new member of our community, you stand up straight and introduce yourself, and you say “welcome to AV!”.

That is how we do it at AV! Distinction is simple but it is not easy.

Goodbye for now

One of the sad moments of the day is where we have to say goodbye for now to the amazing teachers who will not return after the summer holiday. One of them is Mrs Karen Ball, The Interim Head of Secondary, who will be completing her Doctorate with a PhD in Education Science at the University of Vienna. With a lot of emotions, Mrs Ball shares with us:

“This year has had many turning points but I am very happy to say that it has ended with success and positivity. I will be very sad to leave AV but I know that Dr Plögger will be a great step forward for AMADEUS. Thank you to every single, student, parent, teacher, and staff member for making my time here so enjoyable. I hope this is not goodbye but a see you later. Best wishes for health and happiness“.

We would also like to say a special thank you to the primary and secondary teachers who are pursuing new adventures. You will be greatly missed.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone in the AV community for keeping up the good work during this exceptional year. We wish you a happy holiday and look forward to seeing you in August.