From a successful start of school and an eventful alumni reunion to dorm hikes in Ticino and a boat dance on Lake Lugano, we take a photo-driven look at the past month or so at TASIS.
Welcome to the Team
Our newest faculty members concluded a productive orientation week with a Ticenese aperitivo and dinner in the Headmaster’s Garden on August 16. The talented group of educators adds a great deal of educational experience to the first-rate TASIS Faculty.
Professional Development
The full faculty returned to campus on August 20 to spend more than a week preparing for the start of school. Teachers and administrators met by divisions and departments and gathered as a whole to continue their work on collective efficacy with Dr. Jenni Donohoo, a professional learning facilitator.
Preparing to Lead
Before they helped facilitate move-in day and student orientation, TASIS prefects began their year with a team-building overnight trip to a remote alpine lodge.
Many Hands Make Light Work
On August 22, prefects helped residential life staff prepare the dormitories for the return of boarding students.
Getting Oriented
In the days leading up to the start of school, students and families from all divisions visited campus to attend informational sessions and to meet teachers, advisors, and administrators as part of our orientation program.
First Day Excitement
The 2024–2025 academic year officially began on August 29 with students and teachers returning to campus for the first day of classes.
Meeting Their Advisors
On the first day of school, Middle School students met with their faculty advisors to discuss their summers and to review expectations for the year.
Back to Work
On August 29, a pair of High School students enjoyed some sunshine while working on their chemistry homework.
By the Numbers
TASIS opened the Academic Year with 742 students from 63 nations.
Exploring Lugano
Middle School students explored some of Lugano’s many beautiful outdoor destinations while on class outings on September 2. Grade 6 took a short cruise on Lake Lugano and walked the path that connects downtown to Gandria, grade 7 rode a funicular and hiked Monte San Salvatore, and grade 8 swam and played outdoor games at lidos in Lugano and Paradiso.
One by One
Kindergarten students spent math class on September 4 counting and experimenting with shapes.
Hopes and Dreams
During Italian class on September 4, first-grade students shared their hopes and dreams for the year and sketched what they hoped to achieve.
Lab Time
On September 5, 9th-grade students in Mr. Brett Foster’s Biological and Physical Sciences class tested how different variables affected the flights of paper helicopters.
Dressed to the Nines
High School students dressed up and enjoyed a wonderful boat dance on Lake Lugano on the evening of September 6.
Ticino’s Best
On September 7, boarding students and dorm parents from each dormitory traveled to beautiful destinations throughout Ticino—Albergo San Gottardo, Campra Lodge, Lago Ritom, Capanna Cimetta, Capanna Prödor, Capanna Pairolo, TCS Scruengo, and Centro ProNatura Acqua Calda—for hiking, mountain biking, archery, zip-lining, alpine roller coaster rides, cheese-tasting, a visit to a military bunker, and other team-building activities before spending the night in mountain huts.
55+ Years Later
TASIS alumni from the ’50s and ’60s returned to campus on September 6 to launch a week-long reunion tour. The lively group visited campus and enjoyed an elegant dinner, toured around Lugano and Ticino, and spent four days exploring Tuscany.
Distinguished Poet Visits Campus
TASIS was honored to welcome Stanford University professor and award-winning poet A. Van Jordan back to campus on September 9–11 as the 2024 Linda Buchanan Jacob Poet in Residence, a role he also filled in 2018. Professor Jordan addressed the entire High School at an assembly and generously spent time with eight English Literature classes over the course of his three-day visit.
Creative Roundtable
Ms. Megan Pendleton’s Drawing and Painting class circled up to review and discuss their sketches on September 12 in the Şahenk Fine Arts building.
Airmail
On September 12, grade 7 students in Mr. Ilan Meijer’s Physical Education class played flag football on the outdoor field.
Practice Makes Perfect
Ms. Angela Perini led a one-on-one piano lesson with Alice Friedrich Alencar ’25 on September 13.
The Return of Athletics
High School TASIS athletics teams competed in their first tournaments of the season on September 14. The Varsity Girls Soccer team hosted the ISSL Championship while the Varsity and JV Boys Volleyball teams traveled to Basel, the Varsity and JV Boys Soccer teams and JV Girls Volleyball team traveled to Zurich, and the JV Girls Volleyball and Girls Soccer teams traveled to Zug.
Piano Virtuoso
Jason Shen ’25, who won the gold medal in his category in the prestigious North American Virtuoso International Music Competition, performed Franz Liszt’s challenging “La campanella” during a High School assembly on September 16.
Performing Arts Director Erika Cramp also announced at this assembly that Jason, Callia Koshiba ’26, and Diana Xiao ’26 took the top three spots, respectively, at the Tiziano Rossetti International Music Academy Online Competitions, which are hosted by an academy in Lugano.
Award-Winning Architect Addresses Seniors
Mino Caggiula, a highly decorated architect, addressed the senior class in the Palmer Cultural Center on the evening of September 16 and also spent time with students in Architecture & Design and IB Visual Arts classes. Mr. Caggiula’s visit was the first in the 2024–2025 TASIS Speaker Series.
Planning for the Future
Throughout the academic year, representatives from colleges and universities around the world visit campus to meet with High School students about life after TASIS. On September 19, a representative from Boston University met with a group of students in the College Counseling Office.
Symbols of Peace
On September 20, in recognition of the United Nations’ International Day of Peace, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, TASIS students discussed the significance of the day in classrooms and advisor meetings, created themed works of art to display on campus, wore white shirts as a symbol of peace and unity, and carried out a number of activities designed to promote kindness and highlight the importance of living together peacefully as a global community.
A Morning with Pre-Kindergarten
On September 20, Pre-K students began their day with morning meetings, counting songs, dexterity games, and more.
Preparing for Service
Grade 12 veterans of Opsahl Global Service Program (GSP) trips to Cambodia, Moldova, Nepal, Thailand, and Zambia spoke to grade 11 students in the Palmer Center on September 20 about their service learning experiences last year.
Hands-On Learning
On September 20, High School students in Ms. Elizabeth Rodostianos’s Chemistry class performed chromatography on common food dyes to determine their components.
Choir Retreat
Thirty members of our High School Choir and several music teachers went on a team-building retreat in Vimercate, Italy, over the weekend of September 20–22. The students bonded as a group, learned the majority of their repertoire for the semester, participated in voice-building and breathing workshops, completed an escape room, and enjoyed a student-run talent show. They are also preparing to travel with the High School’s Competition Dance and Concert Dance groups to France in late November to perform at Disneyland Paris.
Off to the Races
TASIS’s Cross Country teams traveled to Zurich on September 21 to compete in the SGIS Championships.
Golden Start
TASIS’s Elementary School Cross Country team, in their first race ever, took gold in the Category E boys race while TASIS teams also took silver in Category A girls and bronze in Category A boys and Category B girls. Sébastien Lill ‘33 and Leone Facchinetti ’32 finished first and second overall in the 2.2-km race, and all six of the TASIS runners placed in the top 15.
Pythagorean Theorem
On September 26, students in Ms. Anne Marie Mac Lean’s grade 8 math class used the Pythagorean theorem to solve geometry problems.
Book Worms
Grade 3 students browsed for books during a visit to the Elementary School Library on September 27.
Terrific Tigers
On September 28, TASIS hosted the SGIS Boys Volleyball Championship in the Palestra. The Tigers battled to a competitive 5th-place finish.
