It has been a busy few weeks and I’m happy to report that we’re just about tying up the remainder of the Fall season of activities despite the fact we have now plunged into November.
First, United Nations Day was spectacular!! 
We can’t help by thank everyone involved for this wonderful and truly inspiring event that included all ages, the bulk of our community, and one destination after another throughout the school mastered by wonderful parents dedicating their time and talents to a truly powerful day. Diversity stands at the center of our mission and vision for a school that captures and values cross-cultural experiences that promote a global village pathway to peace and harmony. Parents modeled for students the power of our diversity and what our varied cultural heritage brings to an already robust conversation in our classrooms and programs. PTO and all of our parent volunteers should be thanked for their diligence in presenting us with one of our best UN Days on record. Our thanks also to those that organized the wonderful assemblies that allowed students to showcase their diversity in the performance setting. The Grade 2 and Grade 4 spotlights shown brightly as these grade levels mastered assemblies with dialog that wove friends and tolerance into powerful presentations. I can honestly admit to a small tear that was shed when the candles were lit, and I giggled with the rest of you when we heard the hoots and hollers as Ireland, and all of our countries, were announced to the cheers of those in attendance! 😉
After a wonderful vacation with a couple of extended days, we headed right into two very powerful events on the weekend.
The International Schools Theater Association (ISTA) was on campus for their regional conference for Middle School students, and the performance today was a powerful reminder of the talent and capability of our young thespians. Their final production on Sunday morning was a powerful reflection on the modern age, set again with some of the same themes we saw on United Nations Day, but with a more modern and theatrical presentation. They brought their ideas to life on stage in unique and interactive ways, capitalizing on their newfound friendships that found no boundary or barrier, despite the long distances traveled to join together in common enterprise. Mr. Stein achieved a long held dream to bring ISTA to our campus after attending many ISTA events at other schools. With Mr. Sidaway’s help, and the entire ASW support team, the dream became reality and we believe this sets a standard for regular repeat of events of similar nature in the future.
The Central and Eastern European Schools Association (CEESA) was also on campus the very same weekend for the Middle School Boys Soccer tournament. Like ISTA, boys from the middle years grades of schools throughout the region gathered to embrace the competitive spirit while making lifelong friends across borders and boundaries of distance and culture. While our own Warsaw boys felt a narrow defeat in the final game in tie breaking penalty kicks, the real special moment was at the awards ceremony when a representative of the Warsaw team handed a sportsmanship button to the winning Prague team to thank them for their graceful win and support given to their opponents, even in victory. It was a special moment capped a special weekend, where all can be proud of spirited play, and a mature demeanor that reached beyond their years. Our thanks to Mr. Matter, along with Mr. Sidaway and the Athletics and Activities Office for their diligence in making sure these two events were both successful despite their simultaneous timing on a single weekend.
For both of these events, a shout out to all of our host families. This was truly a feat worth remembering as the largest number of host families on a single weekend. We surpassed all previous records in the number of homes being utilized. I know we enjoyed having our two boys from Moscow and catching up with them during their stay. And, I know that all of you equally enjoyed your extra family members during this amazing weekend. Our sincere thanks to you all!!
New Website!
Finally, for this post, I’m happy to announce that we have successfully launched our new website this weekend with tightened coordination of content and information. Best that you watch the video below to get oriented and enjoy the content that serves both the purpose of keeping our current community informed, and the associated purpose of introducing the American School of Warsaw to potential new students around the world. Please go take a look and let us know what you think! We are all very proud of this accomplishment, which will be followed by other improvements in communication and messaging. Thanks to Ms. Swietliczko and the team in Communications for their work on this wonderful achievement!
I would be remiss if I didn’t also add that we wish our teams well on the coming CEESA High School weekend with the following on the road:
- Boys Soccer in Bucharest
- Girls Soccer in Kiev
- JV Boys Soccer in Moscow
- MS/HS Cross Country in Tbilisi
- Boys/Girls Volleyball in Prague
- JV Girls Volleyball in Basel (SCIS)
And, of course, as we all know, Poland’s Independence Day results in a Friday holiday this week. Enjoy!