Upcoming Events
30 August: No School
30 Aug: OPEN GYM for 11 year olds and up. (Younger students will not be supervised by QSI staff. Parents are welcome to play.)
10-12pm Basketball
12-2pm Volleyball
SEPTEMBER
4 Sept: After School Activities (ASAs) begin for elementary students, 3-3:45pm daily
6 Sept 6:30-8:30 pm: Back to School Night
8 Sept: Spirit Wear Day!
Secondary Student Council Elections
14 Sept, 8:15 am: PSG Monthly Meeting in the annex
23 Sept: Community Garage Sale (time TBA)
OCTOBER:
2 Oct, 5:30-6:40pm: Parent Forum with our school counselor in the Annex
11 Oct: Parent/Teacher Conferences (times TBA)
11 Oct: PSAT
16-20 Oct: Fall Break (no school!)
25 Oct: No school
28 Oct: Fall Festival (time TBA)
⚽️ ATHLETIC EVENTS 🏋️♂️
9 Sept: U19 Soccer friendly matches @QSI
23 Sept: U14 Soccer friendly matches @QSI
30 Sept: U19 Soccer Tournament @QSI
6-7 Oct: Cross Country Tournament in Bishkek
7 Oct: U14 Soccer Tournament @QSI
U19 Futsal Friendly matches @Haileybury
14 Oct: U14 Futsal Friendly matches @Haileybury
Director's Message
Dear QSI International School of Astana Community,
We are very pleased that the beginning of the school year is here. We had a great start on Thursday and Friday. We have many new families this year. We welcome you and all our returning families. What a terrific community we have!
We recognize what a privilege and responsibility it is to educate your children. It is a sacred trust that we do not take lightly. We look forward to a year of learning, growth, and fun! We hope to provide an environment where they thrive as learners and ethical humans.
As part of getting back into the academic year, we have many activities planned. Please note in this newsletter those events that are coming up. We hope to see you all at our Back-to-School Night and other community events throughout the year.
Joshua Garrett, Ed.D.
Director
Message from the Director of Instruction
Warm greetings to our returning students, families, and those joining our QSI (Quality Schools International) Astana International School for the first time! It is tangibly transforming transitioning from hallowed halls of history- to present wonder, dreams, and anticipation. All eyes focused and energized with contemplation of yet to be explored moments, memories, and opportunities for mastery.
Each new school year brings with it a rhythmic renewal radiating possibilities. It has finally arrived, the 2023-2024 school year! Whether your child has courageously set sail on their maiden kindergarten journey or is disembarking for another tour in their final year of secondary four, they are all Master’s and Commanders of their own bright futures!
As the new Director of Instruction, I am honored to highlight our tested, tried, and true navigational charts and student-centered compass. The idea is simple. In a traditional school, students can pass their courses and miss 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, and even 5% of the course content. In Mastery Learning schools, we care about our students mastering 100% of the course content. We believe that these gaps in learning, if left unchecked, turn into future learning daunting deficits and difficulties. Simply put, we do not take shortcuts with your children’s future!
It is not just our commitment to the highest quality of education that makes us stand alone, it is also our commitment to inclusion and diversity. We can boast an almost perfectly equal ratio of girls to boys, a growing student population that now exceeds 300, and welcoming as our honored guests- over 35 different nationalities. As you can see, we are committed to transparency, flexibility, and student-centered success.
Our commitment does not stop there! Preparation is key to success, and we are also expanding our already strong athletic and student life programs by offering athletic conditioning for our early morning risers as part of our Wolf Training in the Wolf Den. This training is being offered not only to increase our student body wellness, but to also complement our upcoming basketball, volleyball, cross-country, track & field, soccer, futsal, and badminton season[s]. But that is not all! We also have exciting after-school activities (ASA's), the upcoming "Just Dance (Fuse Cup - where we are Eurasian champions and 4th in the world!)", BSA offerings (for both girls and boys), Model United Nations (MUN), National Honor Society (NHS), and Student Council. These offerings do not even include our Back to School Night, Fall Festival, International Day, Winter Festival, Elementary End-of-Year Concert, and Nauryz celebrations!
Thank you for joining us on our quest for knowledge, enlightenment, and a deeper understanding of the world. I promise your child’s journey leads to self-discovery, personal growth, and a deeper understanding of oneself.
Welcome everyone to an amazing school year!
Sincerely,
Christopher Konitz
Director of Instruction
Message from the Athletic Director
Dear QSI Astana,
It’s an honor to be your athletic director as well as your librarian. Not sure that’s a usual combination of roles for one person, but I’m excited to be in both! Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I had the privilege of experiencing and playing many sports in a historic sport city. Seeing an opportunity to improve our athletics, we directors and coaches here at QSI believe firmly that our new WOLF morning training program will take our student athletes to a high competitive level. By adding agility, weight and core training, our students can now grow all year round. This is a big step towards building a strong athletic program.
While two mornings a week may seem like a lot, the physical and mental health benefits are in invaluable reward. By learning Working Out Living Fully (WOLF), our students can begin building a lifelong habit of living well and reaching their potential. Please stay tuned for updates on this in September.
For anyone who may have missed the first day of school and sports sign up, please reach out to me if you’d like to join Soccer/Futbol or Cross Country. Our coaches will send out practice and game schedules Monday. We start this week!
I hope to give our Wolves plenty of opportunities to grow and compete as both athletes and individuals.
Thank you for the read and your support,
Mike Drozdowski
After School Activities (ASAs)
ASA's will begin Monday, September 4th and run from 3-3:45pm every day after school for elementary students. Sign up for activities will open a few days before ASAs begin on SchoolsBuddy. If you don't have an active SchoolsBuddy account, please contact Scott: scott-hutson@astana.qsi.org or Ms. Dasha: darya-razdobreyeva@astana.qsi.org.
If you would like to teach an ASA, please contact Scott. Some examples of ASAs are sports, crafts, musical instruments, drama, gaming, dance, gymnastics, chess, etc. Any and all ideas are welcome!
QSI Astana's
Statement of Purpose
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