PB eTASIS Spring 2015 1eTASIS Spring 2015

An e-magazine for Alumni & Friends of The American School In Switzerland

TASIS CommencementMay 30, 2015

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In 2010, a fleeting discussion about sharing stories resulted in eTASIS, an e-magazine bringing tales small and big to the

global TASIS community. Over the years, eTASIS has chronicled annual events such as International Week and watched a

one-off event (the Walk for Water) become an annual event on the TASIS service-learning calendar. We’ve introduced our

five new buildings [such as Lanterna] and watched changes to older ones [Coach House]. We’ve highlighted many of the

people who make up our unique global community, from chefs to athletes to philanthropists. We’ve done our best to show

glimpses into the lives of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni, bringing a little bit of the magic of the Collina d’Oro into

your world, wherever you are.

Starting this fall, we’ll be sharing TASIS stories through an interactive monthly newsletter, which will take advantage of our

new responsive website, launching later this summer. This means you’ll be able to easily read and explore these stories on

your smartphone, tablet, or computer.

Thank you for your support and for reading eTASIS.

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Congratulations to the Class of 2015!

04 Campus News

TASISThe American School in Switzerland

14 The Year in Photos

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An Event-full Week

Commencement

End-of-the-year celebrations and events

A look back

Story Highlights

Drones, selfies, the X Factor, and more!22 Loving Poetry

An essay on the importance of poetry

24 Mad About Science Gala

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The Sweet Sixteen

From CDE to the Classroom

A look back on five years of eTASIS

How CDE inspires future teachers

Meet the artist behind the whimsical drawings

Stay connected with TASIS!

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campus news

A Campus Flyover

{ I started with a GoPro Hero 3 because it was a birthday gift from my father. I was hooked and quickly began exploring and experimenting with it.

College Counselors from the Swiss Group

of International Schools (SGIS) meet

annually in the spring to discuss trends in

college admissions as well as changes in

admissions policies and standardized testing.

They also share ideas on how to better

serve their diverse international student

bodies and families. “We face the same

challenges,” says Greg Birk, Director of

College Counseling. “It’s great to sit down

once a year and bounce ideas, problems,

and concerns off each other, and share ideas

about how we can best help our students.”

College Counselors Unite!

By Rron Lluka ’16

My first GoPro was a birthday gift from my father. I was hooked and quickly began

exploring and experimenting with it. The first videos I made were for snowboarding. A year

later I bought the drone and made the first ever drone video of my city, Prishtina, Kosovo.

I keep going because people enjoy

watching my videos and I get a lot of

support! Every corner of TASIS inspires

me to make a new video. This summer I

plan to work on a video to promote the

beauty of the Albanian mountains.

I use a GoPro Hero 4 Black edition,

a GoPro Hero 3 Black edition, and a

Phantom 2 drone. I use FinalCut Pro X

editing software which I learned using

Lynda.com, and I also use GoPro Studio

and Adobe AfterEffect CC 2014.

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TASIS students aren’t the only award-winning

athletes on the Collina d’Oro! 11th Grade

Dean Kevin (KC) McKee spent his spring

weekends playing defense for the Milano

Painkillers Lacrosse Club. The team placed

3rd in the Italian Cup in May by holding

on to a 1-point advantage against the Torino

Tauruses, thanks to KC’s stellar defending in

the final moments — despite two broken ribs!

KC is also one of the TASIS Boys Lacrosse

coaches. His involvement with lacrosse

spans 28 years and includes playing in high

school and college and coaching at some

of the US’s top lacrosse high schools. He is

also one of Switzerland’s certified officials.

In the News TASIS dominated the European Sport

Conference (ESC) championship right

from the start with team captain

Alfred Stauder PG’15 destroying the

competition with his ESC and personal

best in the 110m hurdles (16 seconds).

Immediately after winning that race, Alfred

got himself ready for the grueling 3000m. He

started the race in the lead and never looked

back, winning his second gold medal. He

repeated his gold medal performances three

more times in the 400m, 4x100m relay and

4x400m relay. Alfred’s excellent performances

were topped by him winning the MVP award

for the championships. Congratulations!

campus news

A number of TASIS teachers are IB and AP

exam readers. English Department chair

Todd Matthew was recently in Louisville,

Kentucky for a week of reading AP English

Literature tests. Art Department chair

Martyn Dukes has been busy evaluating IB

art portfolios, and Head of the High School

Dr. Rob Pierce was involved in marking IB

Business Management. By reading exams

and talking with other examiners, teachers

return with a greater idea of what is being

done worldwide in their subject areas.

{Our inspiration is to document the changes in culture and landscape along the route

Congratulations to Marianna Barbieri ’15,

who auditioned for the 2015 season of The X

Factor UK! She’s waiting to hear if she has been

chosen to try out in front of Simon Cowell.

We wish her luck!

Great news! In March, TASIS was noted as

being the top Swiss Group of International

Schools (SGIS) school on Twitter. Don’t miss a

tweet! Follow us!

Videographer and TASIS Global Service

Program assistant Milo Zanecchia ’08 and

photographer Robin Gilli ’08 will soon

embark on an adventure. Their trip, Latitude

45, begins on June 22 and will take them on

an overland journey through a dozen countries

ending in Mongolia in mid-September. “Our

inspiration is to document the changes in

culture and landscape along the route,” Milo

says. “We are looking for what ties people

together in these diverse places.” Keep an eye

on the TASIS Facebook page for the Latitude

45 website link and updates from their travels.

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TASIS Elementary School opened its doors

as the first English-language elementary

school in Ticino in the fall of 2005. TASIS

is a Core Knowledge school and includes an

Italian Section for Ticino residents. Since its

inception, the Elementary School has grown

to over 200 children with an international

mix of over 20 nationalities and 21 different

languages, exposing our young students to a

global community. Watch the new Elementary

School video here.

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campus news

To give some perspective: this year, a

completely rookie squad of students created

a 250-page book, containing 19,776

words and 2,448 photos - an enormous

accomplishment, similar to winning a league

championship without ever having played the

sport before. This dedicated group gave up

their free time on nights and weekends to edit

photos, build pages, and study on lynda.com,

and in the process they learned valuable skills

in photography and graphic design.

A lot of work goes unnoticed at TASIS.

The yearbook staff are just a few of the

unsung heroes in the TASIS community.

Congratulations!

Proud parents of a brand new bouncing yearbook! All Roads Lead to TASIS

Affectionately known as ‘TASIS Roads’, this

microblog was started by students and has

continued for two years. With over 150 posts

featuring 315 students, faculty, and alumni,

TASIS roads tells stories of the community.

Recent posts include:

Mrs. Aeschliman, do you often take selfies?

This is the very first selfie I have ever had taken!

You four are this year’s TASIS post grads, aren’t you? Has it been a good year?

Yes! It has been fantastic. We all have traveled, been involved with sports teams, music, and of course classes. It has been a great way to spend the year before heading off to college. We all feel better prepared, and the experiences and friends we have made will last a lifetime.

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campus news

photos

Password required.Contact the ES office.

Everybody Wants to be a Cat...

Over a weekend in May, the Palmer Center

stage was home to dancing, singing, and lots of

purring! Thirty-five energetic Elementary School

students performed The Aristocats, an entertaining

production of the Disney classic. The show

features alley cats, aristocratic cats, and even an

odd horse and pig. The children gave sparkling

performances and can be proud of their efforts!

The Aristocats was Elementary and Middle

School Drama Director Gillian Eames’s final

performance after seven years with TASIS.

She and her husband are moving back to New

York. We appreciate Gillian’s commitment to

TASIS and her endless energy and dedication

to her students and the performing arts. The

success of her performances are testament

to her professionalism even when working

with very young actors. We will miss her!

Enjoy a gallery of images from many of Gillian’s Elementary and Middle School Productions over the years.

The Aristocats

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campus news

Khan-Page Master Teacher Award 2015 - Mario d’Azzo

{ As regards my own philosophy of education, I consider myself an open and flexible person, conscious that patience and enthusiasm beside solid preparation can be a guarantee of high results.

As legions of students, and faculty members, will attest, Mario’s

love of teaching and the Italian language is manifest in all

he does, and it serves to both inspire and motivate them in

their studies. He is a Renaissance man whose musical talents,

athletic interests, and commitment to family and TASIS flow

together in a life well led.

- taken from the Headmaster’s citation

Former Khan-Page Master Teacher Award winners

2009 Carolyn Heard - English-as-a-Additional Language

2010 Mark Aeschliman - Art History/Architecture and Design

2011 Cynthia Whisenant - English

2012 Brigitte Cazebonne - French

2013 Giorgio Volpi - Physical Education

2014 Dr. Brett Merritt - Science

The Khan-Page TASIS Master Teacher Award is named after two outstanding teachers who taught for many years in both TASIS schools: the late Akbar Khan (in Mathematics) and Max P. Page (in English). The award recognizes an outstanding teacher who represents a high standard of professional pedagogy, subject-area knowledge, a capacity to convey the joy and importance of learning to students, and fundamental sympathy with the aims and goals of TASIS as expressed in the Paideia.

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campus news

Nojus Marcinkevicius ’16 and Rron Lluka ’16

Armed with the vision to increase school

spirit on campus,

Rron and Nojus have

designed and built

new TASIS logo

products. Using some

of their classmates’

talents in art and

design, our two

entrepreneurs initially

created a jacket for their dorm. Lucky Hadsall

residents proudly wear them on campus. Nojus

and Rron have since received requests from

other dorms to have their own apparel items.

However, as School-wide merchandise, they

are focusing on a line of stationery products.

Building a business from scratch is not a

small undertaking. Yet, without any business

classes on their transcript, they tackled

supply chain, marketing strategies, cost of

sales and net income by themselves, and

had the instinct to seek appropriate help in

and out of our community when needed.

They contacted potential suppliers in Turkey,

Lithuania and Kosovo requesting estimates and

sample products. They worked on shipping

expenses, pricing, and tax implications.

They negotiated terms and contracts

with suppliers, with the TASIS Parent

Association, and the TASIS administration.

We look forward to the official launch of

their new TASIS logo product line next year.

TASIS Leadership Academy Capstone Projects

Jillian Streit ’15

Jillian loves and is committed to ecology and

service to others, and her leadership project

consisted in adding a new dimension to

the work of TASIS in Kenya with WISER.

During her trip there last spring, she realized

the amount of waste from used plastic bags.

She also noticed that locals work with ropes

in all kinds of chores. Her creativity led her

to recycle those plastic bags by using them

to make ropes, which can hold weight up to

70kg. Her initiative is not only allowing the

school in Kenya to help the environment by

reducing waste, but also distributes working

tools to the community. She is training the

WISER Global Service group at TASIS to

implement her project on future trips.

Edoardo Italia ’16

As part of his dream of becoming an engineer,

Edoardo has created a Science Competition

at TASIS to share his love for the sciences.

Since last fall, he tirelessly worked with

science teachers, alumni, and administration,

both in the middle and high schools, as well

as with students, to organize and launch the

event during the Inaugural Convocation of

our new Campo Science building in April.

Over twenty participants responded to

the challenge and participated in the Quiz

Bowl. Congratulations to Team Tesla for

winning the first TASIS Science Competition!

Edoardo would like to make the Science

Competition an annual event at TASIS.

Defne Şahenk ’16

Defne’s passion for healthy nutrition has

led her to introduce smoothies on campus.

After investigating the eating habits and

needs of the boarding community and the

TASIS kitchen, she worked hard to convince

the Snack Bar on campus to offer smoothies

for students and staff. She created a healthy

smoothie menu using fresh, seasonal fruits,

as well as trained the

staff. The needs of those

with special diets such

as lactose or gluten

intolerance, or those who

want to stay away from

refined sugar, have also been addressed. With

such delicious, healthy, and refreshing snack

alternatives, who wants a plain fruit juice?

{ The Science Competition was a great success, and I think that the teachers and parents present would have loved to have been on a team!

This year our inaugural TASIS Leadership Academy (TLA) students are completing their Capstone Projects, putting two years of learning about leadership and entrepreneurship to practical use. Congratulations to our TLA students on completing this special program!

Teacher Dan Schiff

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Looking backImages tell the stories of the 2014-15 academic year

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Click to view more photographs or videos!u

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You must exercise your curiosity. Maintain a sense of adventure, set up challenges. There is no excuse for being bored in a world with so many wonderful places, populated by such fabulous people. - M. Crist Fleming{

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The TASIS SmugMug site houses

hundreds of photographs available

to view and purchase.

The ES galleries are

password-protected;

please contact the

ES office for the password.

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photos

The buzz of the final week before graduation is

exhilarating! It begins with the stress of examinations

as our seniors who are not taking IB and AP courses

complete their final classes of high school. Then

students must pack up their dorm rooms, often an

exhausting and emotional experience as many of our

seniors have attended TASIS for four or more years,

and the School truly feels like home. Families begin to

arrive mid-week and students often move in to local

hotels for their final days at TASIS.

Wednesday night features a boat ride on Lake

Lugano with dancing and dinner – which featured a

delicious sushi buffet this year. The evening serves as

a welcoming into the TASIS alumni community, and

an introduction to the new class agents.

An Event-full WeekSenior Boat outing, Prom, and the Senior Banquet

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Thursday night is the annual Senior Prom.

One of the traditions is the pre-prom photo

extravaganza, where students gather on the lawn

outside Casa Fleming to admire one another’s

attire and take photographs before boarding the

buses for the prom venue.

Friday is the Senior Banquet, celebrating the

students’ final night together as a class.

This year’s Senior Banquet filled the Palestra with

a record 500 guests to enjoy the food and hear the

speeches celebrating the senior class. Speakers this

year included: Mindy Chen, Marianna Barbieri,

Pavel Artemov, Nathaniel Brener, and Master of

Ceremonies Tomson Carroll.

Senior Boat outing, Prom, and the Senior Banquet

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’

Moving On, Moving UpFrom 5th grade to Middle School, from Middle School to High School, and starting college...

You can’t wait for it to happen, and when it does, reality begins to

sink in: I’m in middle school! I’m finally in high school! Then, My TASIS

life is over…what awaits me? Each division at TASIS celebrates this

shift with a ceremony to recognize and honor the students and the

families who support them through their education. View images

from these ceremonies on the following pages.

The Class of 2015 was graced with a beautiful Saturday for their

emotional Graduation ceremony. TASIS had been home to many of

our seniors for as many as nine years, and although all graduates felt ready

to face their next steps, the day was bittersweet. The TASIS community

is unlike any they will be a part of ever again; an institution with the

purpose of preparing students for higher education, yet which introduces

them to so much more.

Read the thoughts of 2012 graduates about their time at TASIS here. View a

list of the colleges and universities where the Class of 2015 is attending.

{ The time spent at TASIS will be a memory that we will hold to dearly until the end of our days.

- Noe Manuli ’15

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photos video

Commencement 2015

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Our Middle School end-of-year celebrations included the annual Farewell

Assembly, which gives all MS students the chance to thank departing teachers

and view a slide show of their time together. The following day’s Moving Up

Ceremony in the Palmer Center featured a beautiful rendition of “The Water is

Wide” by members of the MS Choir as well as student speeches that celebrated

this special class.

Middle School

{I know that the friendships I have developed this year will last forever. Given the international background of everybody here, who knows where each of us will be on this planet in 10 or 20 years? - Iñaki Alvarez Arocha ’19

photosMS

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photosES

The Elementary School Moving Up Ceremony

was a joyous celebration of moving to the Middle

School. Preparations of our 5th graders began with

a Shadow Day, when each student ‘shadowed’ a

Middle Schooler for a day, and also included a

special dinner with their future school-mates. The

Moving Up Ceremony featured a slide show of ‘guess

the quote’ featuring every 5th grader and delightful

musical performances of “We Are the World” and

“Together”. Special thanks to Joan Lutton, Interim

ES Head, who helped guide this group of students

through their final year!

Elementary School

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I started memorizing poetry before I knew what I was doing. I think it started

when my grandma and mom would sing to me. Every morning I’d wake to

the sound of “London Bridge” or one of Shel Silverstein’s ditties. Nursery

rhymes. Gospel hymns. Old Civil War songs. Cowboy poems, too. I liked

anything that sounded musical. Alliterative, bouncy sound bites clung to my

memory like alphabetic Saran wrap. Perhaps it is no accident that I grew up to

become an English teacher. I mean, my love affair with words began about as

soon as I could utter them. Then again, maybe my love of poetry has nothing

to do with my profession. I’m a big believer in the somewhat unpopular idea

that poetry is for everyone. Poetry can be found in a rap artist’s lyrics or in a

dancer’s somatic aria. What I like most about poetry, though, in all its forms, is

its rhythm.

I couldn’t have known it when I was a kid, but later at university I heard a

theory from a beloved professor regarding why I loved the songs and poems

that I loved. It turns out

that my favorite poems and

songs follow a “rhythm

of three,” or an anapestic

meter. (An anapest is a

three-syllable poetic foot with two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed

syllable, like “T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house…”)

Like most of the songs my family sang in the car on cross-country road trips,

Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark” had a rhythm that I could move

to, which meant that I could remember it without having to think too hard.

It was one of my favorite poems as a kid. A British professor once told me that

I probably liked the “rhythm of three” poems because I was American—and

what’s more, I was Texan. What does geography have to do with my poetry

preferences? I thought. The gallop of the horse has influenced and shaped

the American imagination for hundreds of years, he claimed, and that’s

why American poets—like Edgar Allan Poe and T.S. Eliot, for example—

sometimes use rhythms of three rather than the more-British rhythms of two

(such as iambic pentameter, which we associate so closely with Shakespeare).

Whether or not the galloping horse has had any influence on my poetic

preferences, I may never know. But I like the idea, being fond of horses and all.

If you think about your favorite musical artists, your favorite songs on the

radio, or your favorite sport, they probably all follow a rhythm that is pleasing

to you. That’s why I know that poetry is still relevant to our lives today, though

the rhythms have taken on other forms that move us beyond the written

word. Today, pop music has so thoroughly replaced poetry in our lives that we

often forget its origin, which was in the song. Poetry was an oral tradition that

gradually became lost as it was written down, its rhythms two-dimensionalized

and flattened into a board—I mean bored—format.

Now, I face the dilemma of making Shakespeare relevant to students who

know the stories well but who maybe never saw a live performance or heard

the lines spoken out loud. That’s why I ask students to memorize a sonnet’s

worth (14 lines) of poetry as part of their test on Shakespeare’s Romeo and

Juliet. At first, it feels like a pointless exercise in retro-rote education, but I

know from experience that in this age of external hard drives and Google-

search impulses, it is nice to have something in your brain that can be recalled

at any time. We do it for math: we learn our multiplication tables. Poetry is

the easiest and most pleasant bit of information to keep in mind, and once

memorized, a poem is like a family heirloom that cannot be taken away from

you. It can seldom be lost, even to Alzheimer’s. These days, we spend too

much time and energy consuming and not enough producing. Where is the

satisfaction in gobbling up

pop songs and movies and

not contributing anything

in return? Memorizing

poetry is building a

foundation for future creative output.

I joke with my students that they should memorize a poem just so they have

something to think about in an extremely unfortunate situation. What if

you end up in jail for hours, days, weeks? What will you do to fill your time?

What if you find yourself stuck in an elevator and start to go insane under

the pressure? Or strapped in an MRI machine for 45 minutes? How will

you cope? Poetry gives us focus—a sense of individuality and community.

It is both personal and shared. For these reasons, memorizing poetry is

useful to everyone, even today. Start with a couplet (two end-rhymed lines).

Memorize two lines each day. Slow and easy does it. (and the rhyme helps with

memorization) Professional athletes know that there is such a thing as muscle

memory—a deeper kind of knowing that happens when our bodies think for

us. When a poem is repeated to the point of memorization, it becomes second

nature to say it aloud. Then, when a poem is yours, no one can take it away

from you. Not confined spaces, not an estranged friend, not war, not old age.

It is yours always.

A Case For Memorizing PoetryBy Andra Yount - TASIS EAL Faculty

Andra Yount, TASIS EAL and IB teacher, has always loved poetry, and wrote this essay about what it means to her as a person and teacher. Along with her teaching, Andra is completing her doctorate in Humanities with an emphasis in aesthetic studies.

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The last day of April is “Poem in your Pocket” day, a part of the National Poetry Month initiative started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets.

TASIS students and faculty were encouraged to carry poems in their pockets and share them with each other. Our 3rd graders gave high school students

poems to carry, and our entire community found boxes of poems throughout campus to take and share.

photos

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It was a weekend of learned discussions and a wonderful night of food and dining! The weekend commemorating the opening of Science Campo had something for everyone. Guest lecturer Dr. Benjiman Schumacher discussed and challenged Middle School and High School students alike. He was challenging the middle school students with a problem he and his colleagues had come across in their reseach of ______ . The students quickly tried to figure out what the answer might be, but it was Prash

Eduardo Italia ‘16 coordinated and worked with physics teacher Matt Walker a science competition for students right after Dr. Schumacher’s opening address. The questions were tough, the teams were made up of both MS/HS students, and it was all Eduardo could do to keep the parents from joining in. Seniors Pavel Artemov and Anton Allyakin were determined to take home first place. They argued a few points, and Mr. Walker grudgingly agreed the boys were right.

David Mayernik also spoke about the ‘spaces in between’ to architecture and other interested students on Friday morning.

Mad About Science GalaThis year’s fabulous TASIS Parent Association Gala raised CHF

120,000 to pay for a lab in Campo Science. Delicious food and an

exciting auction were highlights, as were the delightful drawings

adorning the table names and invitations to the event. We spoke

with TASIS parent and artist Simona Garelli Zampa about her

drawings.

How long have you been an artist?

I have probably always been an artist as I am self-taught. I have

loved drawing and coloring since I was a child. I started writing and

illustrating books professionally in 2008, after a decade working in

finance.

How did you get involved with the TASIS gala?

TPA President Muriel Aciman asked me to make some drawings for

the gala and I loved the idea.

Where else can we see your work?

You can see my work in a few illustrated books. I wrote and

illustrated the series of books about the fictional Krapiz family

published by Francesco Brioschi Editore. I also illustrated books

written by Don Antonio Mazzi for Edizioni San Paolo. In addition

to the books, I love to draw cards, calendars, and invitations.

Why do you enjoy doing these sort of projects?

I love children and I love science. I am happy that TASIS is growing

and I believe the new science building will be extremely stimulating

for the students. Also my passion is portraiture and I adore drawing

interesting people!

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Learning aboutButterflies

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photos

One of the best parts of the Core Knowledge science

curriculum is the hands-on projects that let children

see science in action. Recently, our Kindergarten

students learned about the life cycle of butterflies.

They watched as the animals morphed from egg

to caterpillar to chrysalis and, finally, to butterfly.

The students made shadow boxes with windows

so they could observe the cycles, culminating in a

special afternoon when they set the butterflies free.

“We learned that caterpillars eat mallow,” one

child said, “and we gave the butterflies sugar

water for nectar.” Another was delighted when

“a butterfly landed on my shoulder! We put it

on the flowers, and then it flew down and up.

I named my butterflies Rick and Stevie.”

This experiment covers a few

Core Knowledge units, giving

children a chance to connect

the science knowledge they’ve

learned throughout the year.

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spotlight on service

Spring Break ServiceThis April TASIS sent students and faculty to India, Nepal, and Zambia as part of the Global Service Program

India - Gram Vikas

Click on the image above to view a video of the Gram Vikas trip.

By Taina Barrau ’16

This spring break a group of thirteen students journeyed to Orissa, a region

of India, to help the organization Gram Vikas. We worked with the founder

of the organization, Joe Madiath, and his team to see how and what Gram

Vikas does for the people in the region of Orissa. By visiting several villages

we saw the adaptation of the program based on the needs of the people. In

these villages we interacted with communities composed of ‘untouchables’

and others composed of all five castes. In a village that had people from

all five castes we saw how Gram Vikas uses water and sanitation to unite

these rural communities. Gram Vikas has extended its impact beyond

water and sanitation to develop the educational opportunities for the tribal

children and other children in these rural villages. Read more >>>

...I remember looking around me to see laughter and happiness caused by little more than running and throwing a ball around. It really changes one’s perspective on the things that should make you happy in your daily life, things that you might not even notice usually. {

In mid-March, TASIS was fortunate to welcome Joe Madiath, founder of Gram Vikas, our newest Global Service Program group. Mr. Madiath spoke to the student body about his India-based organization, which promotes sustainable, socially-inclusive and gender-equitable processes to help the poor achieve a better quality of life. His TED talk on sanitation has been viewed by nearly a million people.

Global Service Update• 48 students and faculty took part in Global Service Program trips

during their spring break to work with a variety of organizations on two

continents.

• On June 10, two summer service trips left to work with Nuovo Fiore in

Ethiopia and Caring for Cambodia in Siam Reap, Cambodia.

• Learn more about our Global Service trips on the TASIS website or

read the Service Learning Blog which has posts about service learning in

all divisions.

Gram Vikas - India

Click on the u in a photograph to view photographs taken on that specific service trip.

See the Global Service YouTube playlist to view videos of various trips.

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{

{

The culture is loving, welcoming, and kind. Going on this trip may not transform you into a perfect person, but I promise that it will lend you a new pair of eyes.

I learned to love the simplistic nature that the people in Tibet live in and grew to appreciate everything so much more. I will miss the food. I will miss the sparse lifestyle, the way the communities got along, both in the Tserok Camp in Mustang as well as the Tashiling Camp where we stayed with our Tibetan homestay hosts.

Nepal

Serving Southern Africa

Serving Southern Africa is perhaps TASIS’s longest-running service group.

Started by Howard Stickley over a decade ago, the group has spent between

two and three weeks annually in Zambia and Botswana.

The trip begins in Livingstone, Zambia. The group stays at a hotel which helps

subsidize an orphanage, where TASIS students organize an art workshop for

the children. The group takes a cycle tour of Livingstone which supports a

local pre-school, where TASIS students hold workshops, supply food, and

entertain the children with games and songs. They also attend a dinner made

by a local woman who is saving to put her daughter through college.

The next stop is Mwandi, a rural village two hours from Livingstone, where

the group builds mudhuts for homeless elderly people who look after

orphaned children. Read more >>>

By Isabella Piconi ’16

Nepal was the most memorable trip I have been on and I will miss everything

about it. During my two years in the Nepal group, I have been researching

the country and learned a lot from others who attended last year’s trip.

Learning about something in a classroom or hearing the stories of others is

one thing, but going out and experiencing Nepal for yourself is another.

We landed in Nepal from Delhi and got our first taste of what city life was

like in Kathmandu on the way to the hotel. The dirt roads were filled with

the sound of horns coming from every direction, people putting their lives at

risk crossing the dirt roads without traffic lights and encountering occasional

cows paying no attention to the chaos happening all around. Read more >>>

u

u

30 eTASIS Spring 2015 31

30 eTASIS Spring 2015 31

Spring Arts Festival 2015One of the things we’ve loved featuring in eTASIS is the annual

Arts Festival, a celebration of the extraordinary talent we have on

campus. This year’s four-day event featured over 3000 drawings,

paintings, sculptures, and photographs on display in the Palestra as

well as vocal concerts, instrumental recitals, drama performances,

artisan workshops, and an all-school closing concert.

A particularly special event was a conducting workshop for 5th graders

where every student was given a chance to conduct the Camerata dei

Castelli Chamber Orchestra. Three students were chosen from the

general workshop to conduct the orchestra during their Friday afternoon

performance of Vivaldi, Mozart, Grieg, and BartÓk in the Palestra.

The Arts Festival also coincides with the Middle School’s annual musical.

This year, the students performed My Son Pinocchio Jr., a delightful retelling

of the classic children’s fairy tale. For those lucky enough to get tickets, the

musical showcased an amazingly talented group of Middle School students!

Conducting workshopMS Musical

Arts Festival

32 eTASIS Spring 2015 33

Laura Fox began teaching with CDE in 2011. She recently graduated

with an MAT in Elementary Education. This summer she is serving as

Drama Coordinator in CDE’s new literature-based drama program. She is

then moving to Jeju Island, South Korea to teach in the elementary school at

Branksome Hall Asia.

I was an English major in college,

so I knew there were a lot of doors

open to me, but I still had NO

idea what I wanted to do when

I graduated in 2010. I thought

teaching might be a possibility, so

Matthew Lilly started working with CDE in 2011 and has taught French,

English, and Italian. He has just finished working as a language teaching

assistant in Nice, France, teaching 13 classes of children ages 6 to 11.

My time at CDE has really made me feel comfortable being in front of

groups of children. When you’re getting soaked during a water balloon

fight or having to dress up in flippers for a skit, you can’t really take

yourself too seriously. That’s a unique benefit of CDE that I was able

to take with me into the academic year. I’ve also really enjoyed finding

new ways to make language-learning fun. At this age we’re really just

establishing the foundation to make students want to continue with

the language. My favorite thing about CDE is watching children form

friendships with others who come from such different cultures. It’s what

I hope they take home from TASIS more than anything else.

Every summer, CDE hires young people ages 18 and over to work as counselors for our youngest Summer Program children. Some of these counselors find such joy in this job that it inspires them to become teachers! We spoke to a few CDE

veterans and current staff members about how CDE influenced their decision to teach.

Counselor to the Classroom

Taylor Sayward ’09 has worked at CDE since 2010. His first session was

with CDE and subsequent sessions have been with the Minnows, the youngest

CDE students ages 4 to 6. Last year he worked as a teaching assistant in

grades 4 and 5 at Nagoya International School, and in July 2015 he is

moving to Myanmar to teach Pre-Kindergarten.

I think all CDE staff members want to become teachers so their summers

are free to work in Lugano! Working at CDE made me see what a

challenge it is to

teach children.

It’s nice that the

kids push you to

work hard, and

it’s rewarding to

see your work pay

off for somebody

besides just

yourself. Betsy

[Newell] always

says the more you

France

Japan

I moved to a small town in France to teach English. Although it was a

great experience, I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue education until I

got to TASIS that summer. Walking onto campus you just feel this energy

all around you, from the teachers, the kids, and the beauty that surrounds

the School. Everyone at TASIS is excited about learning, and you can

feel it! You can see the kids’ progress and emotional growth happening

before your eyes. As a teacher, that’s always the goal. You want to see

your students bloom, and it’s incredible to see that happen at CDE every

summer. I applied for grad school education programs when I got home

from my first summer at TASIS. Adults refer to the language “barrier,” as

if language gets in the way. But kids don’t know anything about language

barriers. To them, language is just one form of communicating, and not

even the most important. You don’t need language to play football or

make friendship bracelets. They leave full of self-confidence and new

international friendships that often last a lifetime. How great is that?

32 eTASIS Spring 2015 33

Johannes Nelson ’07 was at CDE from 2007 to 2011. After working as

a teaching assistant in Venezuela and San Francisco, he is now teaching

4th grade at the International College in Beirut, Lebanon.

Plain and simple: CDE made working with kids fun. The structure

of summer school is such that unassessed, kind of ‘do-what-you-feel-

like fun’ is front and center, in and out of the classroom. You can see

this on the faces of the kids and on those of the adults shepherding

them around. The element of fun created room for me to develop a

relationship with the students that I taught at CDE as well as with

my colleagues that simply isn’t possible at during the academic year.

When my 27 4th graders here in Beirut are having 27 different,

irreconcilable problems and making a racket about each and every

one of them, I breathe deeply and remember some wise old adage-

Chris Nelson ’09 started

working as a Junior

Counselor at CDE the

summer after graduation.

From 2010-2012 he

worked with the Minnows

program. He teaches

5th grade English and

Social Studies at the

International School of

Manila, where he also coaches middle school basketball and varsity golf.

After spending the summers working with kids I already knew that

teaching was the way I wanted to go. But what CDE showed me and what

really helped was the dynamic between the staff members. The way that

they treated each other and interacted with the kids immediately bolstered

my desire to teach and be around more people like them.

Programs like CDE are great because the kids are really able to interact

and learn with other children from all over the world. This is a cultural

eye-opener for everyone at CDE — counselors and kids included —

because there are so many relationships and connections between borders

and continents that don’t really happen anywhere else. Often times great

connections are made between kids that don’t speak a common language

at all at the start of the summer. They teach and learn from each other

and find a way to communicate. Many of the kids arrive a little nervous

and might shed a few tears saying goodbye to Mom and Dad, but by the

end the tears are for the friends they don’t want to leave.

Philippines

Lebanon

put into it, the more you get out of it, which is the definitely the case

when you work with children.

I think the most important thing that CDE, TASIS, and really any

international school does for kids is to expose them to as much diversity

as possible — diversity in people, places, and experiences. The common

denominator is always international-mindedness or global citizenship;

when those kids grow up playing and working with people from all

around the world, compassion and acceptance of different cultures has a

way of developing very organically.

sounding thing that Betsy probably said, remember the sound of hundreds

of kids laughing at something, remember the two-teacher to five-student

classroom ratio…I remember all that and in so doing, remember that I

got into it for the fun, and I smile at all 27 of my students now, imagining

them in red shirts, telling myself, man I really ought to get back to Lugano

this summer for another dose of whatever it is that surrounds it. More

things should be fun.

34 eTASIS Spring 2015 35

The Sweet Sixteen

Click on any cover to reread the issue!

34 eTASIS Spring 2015 35

Tali Sandel: At the moment I am sitting with Bella Clark in Mallorca,

we are on a cruise after visiting Natasha Watson in Paris!

How did the independent travel you did together help shape who you

are now? For example, do you face new

situations more confidently, or are you

more flexible than others?

TS: Traveling together definitely made me

more independent and confident, traits

which have followed me and helped me

throughout my university career. It was

especially obvious my freshman year at

Boston University when many students

hadn’t even left the country. Traveling not

only helped me personally, but also academically and even professionally.

Professors and employers are extremely impressed to hear where I have

traveled and in awe when I tell them I did so with my friends and put

together such successful trips at such a young age. 

Lauren Stephenson: I think all of us learned so much from the joys of

travel. It forced us to adapt quickly and efficiently to different situations.

We definitely take more initiative in trying to discover beautiful and

fun places and feel confident when we travel, because we know how to

communicate with others and know how to stick up for ourselves.

Bella Clark: The travel we did together made me more independent

and adaptable. It allowed us to grow and mature faster than some of

our peers, and gave us a sense of confidence that we brought with us to

university. Independent travel posed challenges for us that we overcame

together and allowed us to form a unique bond that we will cherish

forever.

Where have your travels taken you since

graduation?

TS: As for travels, the most significant

for me was spending summer 2013 in

Shanghai studying for three months. It

was definitely a culture shock as we lived

in a suburb of the city, and I wouldn’t

have made the decision to go without my

love of travel and confidence. Besides that,

I’ve taken a couple of trips to Paris to visit

Natasha, went to London and back to Lugano this past Thanksgiving

with Bella, and frequently visit New York to see Mel and Lauren. It’s

amazing how even after three years of living apart these girls are still my

best friends. 

LS: I didn’t get to see Istanbul on academic travel like the other girls, so

I visited two years ago and loved it! Also, I traveled to Santorini, Greece

and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. 

This story, chronicling the adventures of five young women from the

Class of 2012 who took full advantage of weekend travel, resonated

with readers of all ages. We caught up with the girls we call ‘the easyJet

Set’ to ask if they are still filled with wanderlust. (eTASIS June 2012)

The easyJet Set: Where Are They Now?

eTASIS has covered a lot of things in five years. Many of the graduates from our inaugural

year have finished college and started their careers. We’ve said goodbye to beloved faculty

and staff and welcomed many new people to our community. The face of campus has

grown to include new buildings and spaces for our students to study, learn, and live. We

checked in with the subjects of some of our favorite stories to see where life has taken them.

36 eTASIS Spring 2015 37

BC: Since graduating from TASIS, I have continued to travel as much

as possible. I’ve been to Geneva, Ibiza, Palma Majorca, Marrakesh, Paris,

Istanbul, Izmir, Valletta, Sicily, Como, London, Hamburg, Munich, San

Salvador, Puerto Rico, Miami, LA, and NYC.

Thinking back, which of your trips were your favorites and why?

TS: It’s so hard to decide my favorite, we had such an amazing time

everywhere! For me, Mykonos was one of the stops after we graduated.

We had so much fun riding ATVs around the island and planning trips

to visit each other in the near future made it feel less like the end, which

it clearly wasn’t. 

LS: I think we all have a soft spot for Dubai, because that was one of the

first trips we took at TASIS independently, and we had such a great time.

All of us girls shared a bed and a blow-up mattress and were basically

living on top of each other, but I’ve never giggled so much in my life.

We really were just so excited to be together and in such a beautiful place

with so many things to do. 

BC: All of our trips were amazing and different, but one of my favorite

trips I guess was Mykonos or Dubai. I guess it would just be because of

the location. We were all in such a good state of mind and having the

times of our lives. We loved the food and culture in both places.

Where are you now?

TS: I am going into my senior year at Boston University, getting my BS

in marketing and informational systems planning on graduating may

2016. This summer I am interning for NBC in LA! 

LS: NYC!  

BC: I go to university in Washington, DC. Seeing as Tali, Lauren, and

Melissa all go to school on the East coast as well, I see the girls as much as

possible.

The easyJet Set are planning a trip to Dubai for New Year’s Eve 2016.

36 eTASIS Spring 2015 37

From TASIS to Beyond: UpdateOur ninth issue featured eight TASIS college freshmen sharing

their future plans with us. We caught up with a few of them

and asked them to reflect on their years since TASIS.

Lauren Stephenson ’12

I’m still at NYU and am at the Gallatin

School of Individualized Study, and

my concentration is Music Business

Management and Production. I absolutely

loved London [where she attended her

first year]! It was the best decision to study

abroad for as long as possible and I met

wonderful, international people who are

still close friends today! NYC is basically

home and it’s the best city in the world. 

In NYC, I love going to concerts and shows with my friends, but I just

started interning for Late Night with Seth Meyers [a NBC talk show],

so that’s pretty occupying at the moment! Although my major is Music

Business, I really see myself working in film/TV production. I loved

studying theater at TASIS and it’s kept with me ever since. Working at

Late Night with Seth Meyers has been such a blast so far, so hopefully I’ll

be working at NBC when I graduate! 

I think TASIS made me a more well-rounded person and really forced me

to adapt to certain situations and environments that are unfamiliar. Also,

TASIS made me so much more communicative and open to different

people and I believe these traits are so important in life and make you a

more genuine, loving human being.

Vittoria Vitali ’12I am studying fashion styling at Maragoni and have found my course

interesting and motivating. I’m graduating in June. I have no idea what’s

next, but I’ll start applying for jobs and I want to travel a bit to find

more and more inspiration.

When I’m not studying, I like to go out. Maragoni is in the center of

Milan and when I finish my classes I always walk around a bit. Milan is

so beautiful and there is always something interesting to see and discover

and places to find inspiration.

TASIS really helped me for two things; first is the language, since my course

is in English. The other is photography. I really liked my photography classes

at TASIS. They helped cultivate my creative thinking and my photography

and PhotoShop skills, which I use every day on my course.

Tara Das ’12I am at Bates and absolutely loving it. I cannot count how many

wonderful experiences and people I have encountered through my time

studying at Bates! I am a double-major in Politics and French. I am

currently applying to various post-graduate fellowships including the

Fulbright Fellowship and Koch Fellowship with the intention of gaining

work experience in the International Relations or the NGO sector before

pursuing a graduate degree in International Development and/or Non-

Profit administration — fingers crossed!

In my free time I perform in modern dance pieces produced by the Bates

Dance Department, teach English, do translation work for refugees in

my town, and organize events for the International Club.

Through Academic

Travel, International

Week, the Senior

Humanities Program,

and the day-to-day

conversations I had with

my peers at TASIS, I

was constantly broadening my outlook on the world and developing my

cultural literacy. Since graduating from TASIS, I have continued to seek

opportunities that test and mature my passion and skills for expanding

and connecting the international community around me. Whether it is

organizing the annual Bates International Dinner for my college (heavily

inspired by TASIS’s International Dinner, my favorite event of the year)

or studying abroad in Dakar, Senegal, I often find myself calling upon

my knowledge and experience of navigating across cultures with which

TASIS has provided me.

38 eTASIS Spring 2015 39

Alexis de Bruin ’12I am at Bentley University, entering my final year of what has been a

memorable three years. I am majoring in Economics and Finance with

a minor in Global Studies; three topics that shape today’s world. I’ve

been enjoying the competitive environment stemming from attending

an all-business university and the challenges that come with it. Thus far,

it has been very pleasant. I’m heading to New York City this summer for

an internship with an asset management firm, where I’ll be working with

junk bonds. If that goes well, I plan on continuing to work in the same

field for a few years before enrolling at a business school to get an MBA. 

When I’m not studying, I spend time visiting different parts of Boston

or travel around to see TASIS friends. At school, I read and do research

on monetary economics for papers I’m collaborating on with other

students or professors, or for the

Fed Challenge, a competition last

December where I placed third

nationally. 

TASIS was excellent in prepping

me for college life. Not only was

I able to skip a few general classes

because of credits I received from

getting high AP grades, I also had

the experience of dealing with roommates and community life, while

other students struggled in adapting to their new living arrangements.

Skipping a few classes allowed me to get ahead of other students and take

harder classes, as well as graduate earlier.

Class of 1985 – 30-Year ReunionWashington, DC, September 18-21, 2015Contact Trish Munoz Kish: trish.kish@smartneighborhood.net for info

Class of 1990 – 25-Year ReunionLas Vegas, October 10-12, 2015Contact Ken Tobe: ken.tobe@nihonshokuhin.co.jp for info

All-Class Reunion in Washington, DCNovember 20, 20156:30 - 9:30 pmThe Hay-Adams Hotel

PG’65 – 50-Year ReunionWashington, DC, November 19-21, 2015Contact Rick Bell: rickbell@delawareinc.com for info

All-Class Reunion in Los AngelesApril 30, 20166:30 pm till Late“Casa Roubik”, Glendale

Class of 1975 – 40-Year ReunionLos Angeles area, April 29-May 1, 2016Contact Linda Jaekel Avery: linda.avery60@gmail.com for info

All-Class Reunion in Lugano Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of TASIS August 19-20, 2016More info to come: email alumni@tasis.ch for info

PG’66 – 50-Year ReunionLugano, August 19-21, 2016Contact Cindy Crabtree: ambassadorcindy@gmail.com for info

Take a road trip! Don’t miss connecting with your TASIS friends.

Upcoming AlumniReunions

38 eTASIS Spring 2015 39

All-Class Reunion in Los AngelesApril 30, 20166:30 pm till Late“Casa Roubik”, Glendale

Class of 1975 – 40-Year ReunionLos Angeles area, April 29-May 1, 2016Contact Linda Jaekel Avery: linda.avery60@gmail.com for info

All-Class Reunion in Lugano Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of TASIS August 19-20, 2016More info to come: email alumni@tasis.ch for info

PG’66 – 50-Year ReunionLugano, August 19-21, 2016Contact Cindy Crabtree: ambassadorcindy@gmail.com for info

Alumni Artists

Station Beirut Saturday, June 13 - 5:00pm, Beirut. Lebanon Gianna Dispenza ’08 http://giannadispenza.com

TBD Independent Projects Art Gallery June 16 - 21 Basel, Switzerland

Luca Marziale ’08 www.lucamarziale.com

Photo London May 21-25 London, EnglandFiona Struengmann ’05 www.ifeverthennow.com.

Lincoln Park Zoo May 15–October 31, 2015, Chicago, Illinois Mary Seyfarth PG’66 http://www.gardenpied-a-terre.com/

TASIS would love to share every art opening

and show by TASIS alumni with our community.

Please send the Alumni office information about

gallery openings so we can get the word out. We

hope to expand our TASIS Visual Arts website soon

to include more alumni artists bios and news.

40 eTASIS Spring 2015 PB

TASIS The American School In SwitzerlandCH-6926 Montagnola, Collina d’Oro, Switzerland

Tel: +41 91 960 5151 - www.tasis.ch