Administration Speaks

Issue # 5 new growth. Although

Editorial it is often the nation’s
public schools that feel
the impact of federally
Special Points of By Dr. Yeprem Mehranian mandated policy,
Interest: occasionally private
Dear Parents and in US politics, subdued institutions of learning
Readers, as this promise is by are also affected,
• The Achievement Gap: news and predications albeit indirectly. We
High School graduation On behalf of the KZV of a prolonged period hope that the future
rates in the U.S. are 70%. administration and the
A sampling of other of economic hardship course of events in our
KZV Times Editorial for many citizens of
countries: Denmark— society will result in
Board I would like to this land.
96%, Japan—93%, abetting the
congratulate you on
Poland—92% and Italy— educational and
79% the arrival of the year With the news of cultural solvency of our
2009. With this anticipated changes to school and help
• Winter Wonderland: newness, and with the various facets of buttress it against the
For this year’s event we President Obama in life within American perils of an imploding
brought in over 1600 office, also comes the society, education too economy.
pounds of snow. promise of a new era is bound to begin a
Cont. on page 2

Trends in Education
place our students at a
The Achievement Gap II distinct disadvantage
Editorial Board vis-à-vis students in
other countries, as well
Adina Haun, Editor and
By Adina Haun as putting our
Trends in Education democracy and global
The December relevant to the global ecosystems in peril.
Yeprem Mehranian, newsletter article issues facing future The following facts
Administration Speaks delineated the generations of communicate the U.S.
achievement gap students. According to educational
Tutu Heinonen, News
Around the School occurring between Tony Wagner (Global deficiencies, adding
boys and girls, offering Achievement Gap), our urgency to the
Garine Panossian, suggestions on how to current educational formulation of reforms
Armenian Corner bridge the gap in order system is obsolete in to redirect our
for boys to reach their that antiquated energies in a more
Hasmik Mehranian,
Layout/Publisher
highest academic expectations and productive and useful
potential. This methods are standard direction.
month’s newsletter fare for nearly all our
article addresses students. These
another gap that is outdated approaches Cont. on page 8

KZV Armenian School, SF, CA © 2008

 January Page 2 of 9

News from Around the School: Middle School students at KZV

attend a lecture by
Dr. Der Kuireghian

Ms. Lala Demirdjian

In December 2008 Armenians all around

the world commemorated the 20th anniversary of
the devastating Spitak Earthquake that hit
Armenia in 1988. On the 5th of December,
Professor Armen Der Kuireghian, from the
University of California/ Berkeley, was invited to
give a lecture to the Middle School students at
KZV. The lecture was planned as part of the
Armenian Identity Education course.
Cont. on page 3

3. To devote more space

Administration Speaks:
Speaks continued
As you all know, in less than two
months KZV will receive its long-
awaited WASC reaccreditation
visit. Until then, our school
community will need to bring
together its concerted efforts to
bear positively on the WASC
process. In the February issue of
KZV Times an article by Ms.
Nahabedian, the KZV WASC
Coordinator, will update you on
the work that has been done to
prepare the school for the
impending visit by the WASC
Visiting Committee. Beyond
WASC, we plan to turn our focus
to the work of upgrading many
other educational features of our
school, the KZV library and web
site, to the stubborn challenge of
increasing enrollment, to the
critical test of improving home-
school relations, and finally, to
the ultimate challenge of
enriching the quality of our
students’ social and educational
experiences in this school.
For us, the members of KZV
Times Editorial Board, the
process of conceiving, planning,
writing, editing and publishing
the five issues we have been
able to produce has truly been
an intellectually and socially
invigorating and gratifying
experience. We feel positively
about what we have done, and
we look forward with anticipation
and excitement to what still
remains to be done.
Let me sign off by listing several
interrelated goals we wish to
accomplish during what is left of
the current academic year.
1. To diversify the topics we
feature, as we recruit a
larger number of persons
to write about them.
2. To dedicate a new section
in the newsletter to KZV
alumni.
to articles written about
and by KZV students,
as well as to issues of
interest and import to
their families.
4. To solicit a stronger
participatory stance on
your part as readers by
actively seeking your
response to the choices
of topic and content we
offer you with each
issue of the Times, and
by asking for your
feedback on the
directions you would
like this newsletter to
pursue.
We appreciate your readership
and we look forward to
cooperating with all of you on
the idea of building a
community of readers and
writers at our school.
Be well and stay well.
 Page 3 of 9 January

News from Around the School:

School: continued
Lecture by Dr. Der Kuireghian
During the lecture, Dr. Der Kuireghian showed a
video through which students were able to visualize the
massive destruction of the cities and obtain an idea
about the international aid that was sent to Armenia
following the aftermath. Scientific explanations about
the causes, effects, and preventive methods of an
earthquake were given to the students. The professor
lectured from the viewpoint of a first hand eyewitness.

Being an expert in earthquake engineering, Dr.

Kuireghian was one of the first people who went to
Armenia just a few weeks after the Earthquake and The lecture ended on an optimistic
since, he has followed up on the reconstruction process. note about the prosperity and development
of our nation and its people. We would like
to thank Dr. Der Kuireghian for sharing his
As one of the leading figures of the American thoughts and knowledge with our students.
University of Armenia, Dr. Der Kuireghian emphasized
the significance of the opening of the University as a
major step towards development during a very difficult
time for Armenia and the Armenians.

Spelling Bee
Gertmenian, Adina Haun, and Mannik
Kostanian. This year's finalists were from
On Friday, January 23 KZV held the annual spelling
fourth grade: Aida Geojayan, Evan Ugarte,
bee in the Saroyan Hall. The monitor of the bee was
and Ani Chouldjian; Fifth grade: Lisabelle
Siran Nahabedian and the judges were Emily
Panossian, Shant Kilijian, and Anthony
Avanessian; Sixth grade: Nicole Lazarev,
Lori Zadoorian, and Raffi Samurkashian;
Seventh grade: Tamar Deirmendjian, Julie
Avetisyan, and Mikhael Alayan, Eight grade:
Serouge Panossian, Armen Samurkashian,
and David Avetisyan. Good job everyone!

This years winners: Lori Zadoorian first place,

Serouge Panossian second place, and Aida Geojayan
third place. Congratulations!
 January Page 4 of 9

News from Around the School:

School: continued
Golden Thread Performance
By Tutu Heinonen

On Tuesday December 9 at 4 pm
our Golden Thread after school program
students performed in front of their parents
and peers. The performance was a taste of
what the students had been working on in
the past 12 sessions. The audience got a
glimpse of some of the groups’ warm-up
routines such as “Peel Banana” and the
ever popular improvisation routine “What
Are You Doing?” The performance ended
with an Armenian Heritage vignette written
and performed by Tamar Deirmendjian,
Izek Avanessian, and Garin Derounian.

Interview with the new KZV teacher

By the 6th grade students
2. Do you like teaching better
than working as an engineer
(Diana)?
I like my engineering profession
and also I like teaching. That is 4. What is your favorite
Interview with Ms.
why I am working on my PhD in thing about KZV
Mehranian:
Industrial Engineering and (Marina)?
Operations Research, so I can KZV is a fun place to be: to
combine my passion for both by study and to work. It is small
1. Where were you born
teaching engineering. and friendly and a very busy
(Marsel)?
place. There is always
I was born in Vanadzor,
3. What advice would you give something going on: the spelling
Armenia. At the time it was
to a person who wants to bee, the science fare, screening
the second biggest industrial
become an engineer of inauguration ceremony, trip
city in Armenia. My parents
(Diana)? to the Washington D.C. and
moved there to take part in
Engineering profession requires a Yosemite, writing contest in the
the establishment of new
set of skills that is best to develop library to list just a few. Also, I
Industrial Robots and
as early as possible. It requires a like the fact that in KZV we have
Robotic Automation Systems
great deal of discipline, self youth from diverse Armenian
research and production
confidence, and an innovative families.
complex.
mind. You can build these skills by
doing about anything, just keep
focused on your goal. Cont. on page 9
 Page 5 of 9 January

News from Around the School:

School: continued
Pre-K News
Knarik Shahijanian, Pre-K Director
Welcome back, parents!
After a long Christmas break,
we’re back and ready for action!
We started 2009 with 3
new students and we couldn’t be
happier! We welcomed Sophie
Bezdjian and Aram Tendoukjian
to Yellow Group and Arda Tazian
is joining us in Red Group. We’re
so glad to have you here,
Sophie, Aram, and Arda! We
also had a visit from one of our
former students. Satineh
Kassarjian came to visit us all
the way from Armenia and we all
had so much fun during her visit.
This month, we have
been learning how to tell time
using our own classroom clock.
We know the hours now and it’s
exciting for us to announce our
lunch hour or recess. We practice
every day and we are getting
very good at it! We are also
learning to announce the
weather. This way, we feel
prepared for the day!
We are also learning to
write our names in Armenian.
It’s hard work but with
practice, we are really getting
the hang of it! We practice our
numbers and shapes all the
time.
Next month is a very
special month and one of the
most fun events of the year –
our Pajama Party! We are
allowed to come to school in
our pajamas and bring our very
favorite stuffed animal with us!
We can’t wait!
Until next time…we wish
you happy and safe January!

Winter Wonderland
Annie Bavoukian
This year marked the third year
of Winter Wonderland!
The idea of Winter Wonderland
came easily for me. Growing up
in NJ, I was used to a constant
blanket of snow during the
winter months. Moving to this year’s event we brought
California was a big change for in over 1600 pounds of
me, especially at Christmas snow. What a sight that was!
time. The weather was chilly that
night and the snow lasted for
I wanted to bring some of my quite a long time.
childhood winter festivities to
KZV! Children kept busy crafting
keepsake ornaments and
The first thing I did was fill our writing letters to Santa.
courtyard with real snow! For
The highlight of the evening
was a visit from Santa
himself. The kids got to sit
with Santa and get their
pictures taken too!

Overall, this year’s Winter

Wonderland was great fun
and I hope to continue this
“new” KZV tradition for many
years to come!
 Page 6 of 9

Armenian Corner: continued

Page 7 of 9 January

Armenian Corner: continued


Trends in Education: continued
•
Back Page Story Headline
High School graduation students need to apply the
rates in the U.S. are 70%.
A sampling of other
countries: Denmark—
96%, Japan—93%,
Poland—92% and Italy—
79%
• 40% of all students who
enter college must take
remedial courses.
• High school tests—
primarily multi-choice
assessments—do not
prepare students for the
rigors of college or for
jobs in the global
economy.
• 85% of jobs require a
post-secondary education.
Our students will not be
able to compete with
skilled workers around the
world. We are in a global
“knowledge economy” in
which all students will
need new skills. If these
skills are not developed,
our students will be at a
competitive disadvantage.
What are the new skills
that are currently not widely
taught in American schools?
Due to the challenges in the
workplace, as well as looming
global environmental
disasters, students must be
able to reason, analyze,
weigh evidence, problem-
solve, think creatively, and
communicate effectively. All
students must develop these
skills, not merely a handful of
“gifted and talented”
students. Our current
textbooks and tests are not
designed for reasoning and
analysis. The intellectually
unchallenging nature of most
curricula fosters boredom in
many students, contributing a
high drop-out rate. Our
Page 8 of 9
which is clear, concise,
energetic, and
passionate is an
essential requirement
scientific method in Science, not
in today’s world. (Mike
merely regurgitate facts.
Summers)
Students of history need to be
• Accessing and
taught to examine facts in the
Analyzing Information:
context of larger historical
the ability to process
significance, not as a litany of
huge amounts of
names and dates to memorize.
information, sift out
Our schools cannot wait until the
important details, and
students are in high school to
form game plans will
shift their focus; rather
be all-important.
elementary and middle-school
• Finally, Curiosity and
students are capable of
Imagination: creative
developing these skills.
solutions to problems,
new designs, and
Here, in brief outline, are the
services require
seven survival skills deemed
inquisitive and
most relevant to our students’
engaged students of
future success:
the “Net Generation.”
• Critical Thinking and Problem-
solving: teams attempt to
Insofar as the
find solutions that are not
educational establishment
prescribed. Kids need to be
shifts from test-taking and
encouraged to be much more
regurgitating correct answers
curious, rather than learning
to this new paradigm, our
to pass tests. They “need to
students will be prepared for
learn the inquiry process.”
a bright, globally- oriented
• Teamwork: our students need
future. This shift will require
to work across diverse
a new type of teacher
cultures and religions in a
training, including an on-
spirit of mutual respect.
going support system. New
• Agility and adaptability: our
assessments will need to be
students will need to be able
developed for the skills that
to make constant
really matter, not
readjustments as job
standardized multiple-choice
requirements change; these
tests. Progress is being made
skills will be more important
as more educators and
than technical skills. (Clay
parents are alert to the
Parker of BO Edwards)
danger of sticking with a
• Initiative and
system that was designed for
Entrepreneurialism: the
a different reality than what
ability to seek new
our current students will face.
opportunities and strategies
Not only will the new
for improvement will be
educational paradigm allow
highly prized. Teamwork,
our students to move
again, will factor in as
confidently into adulthood,
students solve problems and
but their student years will be
come up with better
more interesting and
solutions.
engaging, hopefully stemming
• Effective oral and Written
the disenchantment many
Communication: expression
students feel today.
 Page 9 of 9 January

News from Around the School:

KZV Armenian School
825 Brotherhood Way
San Francisco, CA 94132
PHONE: (415) 586-8686
FAX: (415) 586-8686
E-MAIL: office@kzv.org
School: continued
5. What is your favorite
food (Raffi)?
I like good food and I am happy
to try something new every
time I have a chance. I grew up
with Armenian and western
European cuisine. Later I
learned Persian cooking. While
in graduate school, I had friends
form India, South Africa, Spain,
Colombia, Mexico and Germany.
I asked every one of them to
teach me their favorite “home”
dish. And now our KZV
community gives me the
opportunity to learn about
Lebanese and Syrian dishes and
add more entries to my favorite
foods list.
7. If you were a flower,
which one would you be
and why (Lori)?
I would like to just be me, the
Hasmik (Jasmine). As far back
as I can remember I liked my
name. Jasmine is a type of
shrubs with evergreen leaves
and sweetly-scented small
white flowers. It grows almost
everywhere and makes a great
tea! The online dictionary of
meaning of flowers lists
friendliness and cheerfulness
as well as wealth, grace and
elegance represented by White
Jasmine. That is about
everything I can wish for!

6. Where in the world

would you like to visit
(Lori)?
I am curious about the all the
countries and cultures in the
world. I would like to visit at
We’re on the Web! least one country on each
See us at: continent: Canada, Argentina,
www.kzv.org South Africa, India, Australia,
Russia and more. I would like to
learn about the everyday lives
of the people living there; learn
about their history, culture and
art through the eyes of my
friends who live there.

Dear Reader,

A vital and informative newsletter is compromised unless its writers and readers truly interact. We encourage you
to not only read the KZV Times, but also respond to what we choose to include in each of its issues. Help us raise
the quality of our final product by sending in your letters. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

KZV Times Editorial Board