October 2021
From Founder's Day celebrations and fall festivities to Swiss athletic championships and Ticinese field trips, we take a photo-driven look at the past month at TASIS.
The Dartmouth College Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy and 2019 Templeton Prize Laureate delivered a keynote address to TASIS students and faculty members in the Palmer Center on October 18 and spent two days visiting High School classes.
Learn more and watch Dr. Gleiser's address Twelfth Night
After a long pandemic hiatus, our Alumni Office was back in full swing for an all-class reunion at the St. Francis Yacht Club that featured more than 50 guests from classes ranging from the early 1960s to the 2010s!
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has never been more important, and our first-rate teachers have risen to the challenge of providing their students with the tools to confront the many challenges the world faces. Our science and computer science teachers make use of a world-class facility to deliver a cutting-edge program that emphasizes inquiry- and problem-based learning, make Europe their classroom, and introduce our younger students to coding and robotics while finding opportunities for them to shine on the world stage. And our math teachers draw upon the renowned Singapore Math Program to help our youngest students establish a foundational base that sets them up for success when it's time to take the most demanding IB and AP classes available.
Faculty excellence remains the core of the TASIS experience, and we love to highlight the remarkable work done by our teachers on our Faculty Features page. With help from our outstanding team of student writers, this month we shine a light on 16 of our STEM teachers. Wexler Brodie '24 recently interviewed High School Science Department Chair Alec Ogilvie, who teaches IB Chemistry Higher Level and Standard Level and has seen the Science Program grow tremendously since he started at TASIS in 2008.
Susanna Campbell '23 recently interviewed High School Biology Teacher Gillian Sawyer-Price, who completed a Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow and taught pharmacology and anesthesiology at several European and American universities before coming to TASIS in 2011.
Alex Gabriel '23 recently interviewed AP Calculus and AP Computer Science Teacher Isaac Carey, who has worked hard to grow the School's Computer Science Program since starting at TASIS in 2019.
Mariaurora Rosso '22 recently interviewed Anthony Panontin, who started at TASIS in 2019 and currently teaches IB Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches Higher Level and IB Theory of Knowledge to both juniors and seniors.
In 2020, Joy Mack '21 interviewed High School Math Teacher Daniel Schwartz, who has taught all levels of IB Mathematics over the course of his 12 years at TASIS.
In 2018, Lilian Angelone '19 sat down with Pre-K to 8 Learning Technologies Coordinator and Elementary School Math Coordinator Tim Venchus [now Technology Development Director], who has done much to advance the use of technology in the classroom since he started at TASIS in 2010.
In 2017, Anastasia Kolesnikova '18 interviewed Middle School Science Teacher Brett Merritt, who helped develop an Engineering and Invention unit at TASIS and was the 2014 recipient of the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award.
In 2017, Shu Ye '18 interviewed Architecture & Design Teacher Mark Aeschliman, who was the 2010 recipient of the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award and has inspired countless TASIS students to pursue degrees in Architecture and Art History over the course of a brilliant 44-year career. Elizaveta Semasheva '22 recently interviewed Mr. Shields, who has served as the High School Math Department Chair for more than 20 years and believes that students shouldn't be overly reliant on technology as they build a solid foundation in mathematics.
Jane Wilson '22 recently interviewed Elementary School Science Teacher Laurent Carsana, who cultivates a love for science in his young students by empowering them, encouraging them to slow down and think deeply about what they're doing, and building a learning environment defined by honesty and trust.
Olivia De Souza Carneiro '24 recently interviewed High School Math Teacher Deborah Tompkins, who started at TASIS in 2018 and currently teaches IB Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches Standard Level and Honors Precalculus.
Katerina Smyslova '24 recently interviewed High School Math Teacher Daniel Dudley, who has taught both AP and IB Math since coming to TASIS in 2019.
In 2019, Joy Mack '21 sat down with Middle School Math Coordinator Patrick Alava, who began teaching at TASIS in 2011 and was the 2018 recipient of the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award.
In 2017, Ekaterina Plotnikova '18 sat down with Middle and High School Science Teacher Amy Bloodworth, who has made coding and robotics a key component of the Middle School Science curriculum and was the 2016 recipient of the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award.
In 2017, Anastasia Kolesnikova '18 interviewed High School Science Teacher Pegeen Crockett, who taught for nearly 40 years in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and China before coming to TASIS in 2016 and was the 2021 recipient of the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award.
In 2017, Bryan Soh '18 interviewed High School Math Teacher Kerry Venchus, who helped many students perform extraordinarily well on their exams in her former role as the AP Calculus teacher and was the 2017 recipient of the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award.
Great teachers help students produce great results. Learn about recent TASIS graduates who have reached impressive heights in the STEM subjects.
Our students are so much more than their exam scores—as the stories above attest—but it was wonderful to see that the 2021 IB and AP exam sessions continued an upward trajectory for TASIS students on these challenging college-level assessments. Learn more below.
Eight TASIS students scored 40 or more points on their IB exams, and the average score posted by the 44 students who earned an IB Diploma was 35—2 full points above the world average.
TASIS students scored a 4 or higher on 64 percent of the 196 Advanced Placement exams they took, and 37 students earned AP Scholar Awards.
TASIS Admissions Visits Please click on the links below to schedule a meeting with a member of our Admissions Team in your area or request a video meeting.
Upcoming Alumni Reunions November 19, 2021 The Yale Club, New York City, NY, USA
TASIS THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN SWITZERLAND Via Collina d'Oro, 6926 Montagnola, Switzerland
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