According to UNICEF, cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms and mobile phones. It is repeated behaviour, aimed at scaring, angering or shaming those who are targeted. Face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying can often happen alongside each other. But cyberbullying leaves a digital footprint – a record that can prove useful and provide evidence to help stop the abuse.

Students of the ACS Athens Middle School are being actively engaged by educating themselves on these abusive behaviors, by embracing each other and are encouraged to trust their peers and community in order to express their fears and insecurities. Adolescents are particularly prone to be victims or perpetrators of bullying, as they start their teenage years, exploring their personalities and forming groups of peers that reinforce - or shutter - their view of the world drawn by their families.

A remarkable group of middle schoolers participate every year in the Honor Code Club, taking initiatives to explore, support and facilitate the dialogue on the issues that matter to their peers. Issues that include cyberbullying.

Today with us is a group of such students, who are willing to talk about this sensitive issue and how they affect us. Brave testimonies of bullying as they experience it, bring this issue closer to home. Ms. Venie Gaki, English language instructor to students of other languages, is the Advisor of the Middle School Honor Code Club.

Early Childhood is a particularly significant period in the development of a child, when it grows to become an emotionally and physically healthy individual. It's admittedly the gateway to the Elementary School and its more formalised educational programs. It benefits children in unique ways, as it provides development of skills, cognitive stimulation and social integration. ACS Athens has invested heavily during the past several years on developing robust and meaningful program for children 3-5 years old, with the latest being the re-design and re-construction of an ideal environment for unstructured play, the new Early Childhood playground.

We have with us today the Principal of the Elementary School, Sophia Moros, who has been the driving force behind the transformation of the Elementary School of the past few years. In September her role changes, which she explains herself in our conversation.

With Sophia Moros, today we discuss:

The Sights and sounds of an Early Childhood classroom

The critical elements for children 3-7 years of age

Identifying the critical skills needed by the students at different grade levels

Transitioning from a state-side public school district to an international school abroad.

Teaching with the potential in mind, not aptitude for a test

The value of Reading - on a graduate level degree

Leading the growing development of the Early Childhood program as it opens the gate to the Elementary School

Innovation, adaptability and agility, - the effects of COVID in the Elementary school

Celebrating the opening of the Early Childhood Playground. Sparking the imagination in the unstructured play time

If you want to find out what the future holds, you have to visit a school. And if you want to understand this future, you have to talk to a student. Our podcast today tries to find the answers that explain the future with Artificial Intelligence. The kind of intelligence needed to explain artificial intelligence is not unique, but it definitely requires vision and an open mind, ready to perpetually ask questions that challenge common logic, questions that push the limit of knowledge and therefore attempt to sketch the future.

To most of us, artificial intelligence is expressed through a robot-like object, that is programmed to perform certain tasks. To Adrianos Botsios, a 9th grader who in his spare time he designs humanoids and ponders on AI ethics, artificial intelligence is the future, but with a strict asterisk: it has to serve the common good and that can only happen if it is programmed ethically by us, humans.

With Adrianos Botsios today we discuss:

Music is the universal language that inspires and evokes emotions; it is spiritual and it is the ultimate spark for the imagination.

Today's episode of the Owlcast is all about Music. Anna Mancl, Middle School and Academy Music Teacher, came to ACS Athens a year and a half ago, with her suitcases and her cello. A classically trained musician, she talks to us about her journey in life and through music.

With Ms. Mancl, today we discuss:

In the classrooms and corridors of K-12 schools, the voices of the children and the guiding presence of the teachers are the protagonists. Children belong to this environment as it is meant to be. The activity in a classroom, an auditorium, or the athletic facility seems most of the time that it’s meant to happen on its own. But there’s so much happening behind the scenes. There’s so much planning and discussion is taking place, in the offices of the faculty and the administration, so much debate about this teaching practice, that evaluation process, and the other methodology. Especially in international schools, where ideas and concepts come from all kinds of sources, from local intellectual discussions and from international academic conferences, there is so much to share and get inspiration from. Faculty and specialists arrive from around the world to share their best practices and move to the next level of their academic careers. The goal is quite common but also very unique for each school. It’s the advancement and continuous reform of teaching and learning, as young minds are shaped to hopefully make this world a better place.

Today with us is Dr. Maria Avgerinou, e-Learning consultant and one of the Managing Editors of the International Schools Journal, a publication of ACS Athens. With an academic career in online teaching and learning and a passion for Visual Literacy, Dr. Avgerinou has been a keystone in the long path of the school towards e-learning innovation.

With Dr. Avgerinou, today we discuss:  

Online Teaching and Learning as necessary skills for someone starting a career in academia

The practical and pedagogical reasons of the shift to online learning in K-12 education

Being prepared to face online learning in higher education - the challenges and skills needed

The trailblazers, the movers, and the settlers of the path to online learning

The false assumption that blended learning has to do mostly with technology than pedagogy

Students reacting to online teaching

Being an online native user vs. an online learner

The importance of time management in online learning

Bridging K-12 with Higher Education - The i²Flex blended learning reference books

How action research transforms the teaching and learning culture of a school

Publishing the International Schools Journal

A passion for visual literacy ... and architecture

ACS Athens continuously invests time and resources to foster this development of its community of educators. Our guest today is Dr. Julie Crain, who under her present capacity as the Professional Development Coordinator is part of a team that develops the means for meaningful and effective professional development of staff, faculty, and administrators.  She’s also a member of a team of internal coordinators for Accreditation and has held several positions over the years, including Principal of Middle School and, previously Principal of the Academy.

With Dr. Crain, today we discuss:

The demanding journey of a student through primary and secondary education in the 21st century bears very few similarities with that of previous generations, where the major objectives involved little more than literacy and quantitative skills. Critical thinking, art and media literacy, integration of computing and Artificial Intelligence along with cultural and social engagement were topics far from the norm in most schools. International education by nature has evolved into a much more holistic provider of life skills that global citizens must attain to have a better than a good chance to make it in the 21st century. When the discussion also involves the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, then we know for sure that students go beyond the traditional school framework, and have started thinking of the big picture.

In order for a school to provide such a non-traditional, outside-the-beaten path education experience, it needs to introduce new mentalities, especially at the Elementary school level. Teachers must be open to new mindsets and skill sets that are required to engage and inspire children that mature faster and faster.

With us today is Pinelopi Dimitroula, a 5th-grade teacher, who engages in the discussion of what this experience is currently in the ACS Athens Elementary. With an MBA degree from Pace University and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education and Students with Disabilities from Touro University, New York, Ms. Dimitroula has a wide perspective on what Education should be about.

With Ms. Dimitroula, today we discuss:

The International Baccalaureate has been a staple academic program of the international schools. ACS Athens introduced IB as an academic option in the mid-'70s, long before it became the international standard for admission in universities around the world. Throughout the years, in combination with the Advanced Placement courses, the IB courses enhanced the academic offerings of the school that students could choose from as they aspired to develop a more rounded approach to their academic portfolio.

This year, Mark McGowan joined ACS Athens as its new IB/AP Programs director. This is not his first time in Athens - he has served at another Athenian school before, but as most international educators, he has traveled around the world in the international school circuit, building expertise and global academic perspectives. He has held various leadership positions, including ToK Coordinator and Head of English at the International School of Brussels, and BTEC Coordinator at the JESS school in Dubai. In 2019, he obtained a Certificate of International School Leadership from the Principal’s Training Center in London. An avid reader, sports fan, and supporter of the arts, Mr. McGowan also enjoys traveling, swimming, cycling, and spending time with his family.

With Mark McGowan, we discuss:

The community of ACS Athens has always been one with strong connections between the student and alumni communities. Every so often graduates of the school cross the gates of the campus to reminisce and go back in time. Frequently, however, distinguished and renowned alums come to witness the work and projects of the students, to inspire and mentor them and address the all too relevant concerns of adolescents as they explore their life's possibilities.

Late last year, Dr. Photini Pazartzis, honored the community with her presence in order to speak to Middle School and Academy students about the United Nations and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Dr. Pazartzis is a Professor of International Law at the University of Athens and the Chair of the UN Human Rights Committee. She spoke about the foundation treaty of the UN, the three pillars, and specifically the Human Rights Committee in which she has been unanimously elected as Chair. Students were able to understand how the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) are linked to the three pillars.

“How long have you worked in the UN?” “What made you want to work in the UN?”, “How can one begin to work in the UN?” were some of the questions that middle school students had the opportunity to ask Dr. Pazartzis, who told students that "ACS Athens is a small United Nations.”

“You are very lucky to be in this school," she said, "you have people from all over the world that are your friends and will remain your friends.”

With Dr. Photini Pazartzis today we discuss:

Welcome to today's episode of the Owlcast. We have with us Helen Seretis and Michael Januzzi who are in charge of the Writing Studio in the Learning Commons of ACS Athens. The Writing Studio is just one of the services available for students, along with the Math, Research and Media Studios in the Learning Commons, which sole purpose is to enhance the learning experience of the students, by providing support, guidance and necessary resources as the school community takes learning to the next level. Today with Ms. Seretis and Mr. Januzzi we discuss: