AIM in the News

Congratulations to 6th Grader Ellie Pat B. who collected cans of food at AIM over the past month and worked with her soccer teammates in Reading's Canstructure competition on March 16 to benefit the Greater Berks Food Bank. Her team's "fan favorite" Women's World Cup soccer-themed sculpture was mentioned in the Reading Eagle newspaper.

Josh J. '22 knew that this week's four-day National Marbles Tournament in Wildwood, NJ was his last opportunity to be crowned Marble King. After five years of competition and seven years as a mibster (a marble player), next summer Josh, a rising AIM 9th grader, will be too old to compete in the invitational Ringer marbles tournament for youth ages 7-14. On the first day of summer, under overcast skies, Josh took to The Ring again for a best of 15 game match and shot his way to victory for an 8-1 and the royal crown. In addition to his royal marbles title, Josh and the female winner also received $2,000 in scholarship money and were inducted into the National Marbles Hall of Fame.

Good Day Philadelphia reporter Jennaphr Frederick visited AIM Academy on April 4th for a live television interview with 7th grade language arts students and myFace Director of Family Programs Dina Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg, who has a craniofacial difference, was visiting AIM to speak with 6th and 7th graders as part of students' background knowledge activities in preparation to read the book Wonder, about a boy with craniofacial differences, and Out Of My Mind, about a teen with cerebral palsy who cannot speak.

Students shared the lessons they'd learned from reading Wonder and the importance of embracing and accepting everyone's differences. Following the Fox29 interview the entire 6th and 7th grade classes had the opportunity to learn and talk more about craniofacial differences with Zuckerberg and the importance of promoting acceptance and kindness among adolescents.

AIM 6th grader Sammy K., 11, has been busy juggling class and homework with rehearsals in Philadelphia for the past few months as she prepared for her role as the orphan Duffy in the Walnut Street Theatre's holiday production of the musical Annie. Sammy, who also is the understudy for the red-headed lead, began her Walnut Street performances in mid-November and can be seen onstage during weeknight performances through early January.

Congratulations to our FTC Middle School Robotics team on their 4th place overall finish in the Eastern Pennsylvania Regional Qualifying Event at Wissahickon Middle School on Saturday, November 18.

Visitors to Chestnut Hill's popular Harry Potter Festival on October 21st enjoyed a day of all things wizardry and magic including a magnificent performance by AIM 8th grade magician, The Amazing Jackson.

This week, in preparation for the first novel study of the school year, AIM seventh graders developed background knowledge related to Fever 1793 by Lisa Halse Anderson. Students worked together to construct mosquito traps that they placed on window sills and near plants outside on the AIM patio. In the days leading up to the "reveal", students have made predictions about the contents of their traps and plausibility of methods such as these for preventing exposure to yellow fever (the epidemic featured in this book based in Philadelphia in 1793). The traps project is one of the many alternative questioning method Language Arts teachers are using to guide students toward answering questions related to the novel such as: "Was the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 avoidable?" and "What methods of prevention were available to the citizens of 1793 Philadelphia?"