January and February bring many athletics and activities into final weeks and our students start enjoying their travel to tournaments and events at schools throughout the region. This coming weekend is particularly robust with trips to Sofia, Moscow, Baku, Krakow, Vienna, Athens, Basel, and Wroclaw. It’s a mix of things that includes MS Choir, MS Band, HS Speech & Debate, MS MathCounts, HS Knowledge Bowl, a HS Swim Meet, a MS Swim Meet, JV Boys/Girls Basketball, and MS Boys/Girls Basketball. Including our hosting of SCIS HS Girls Basketball last weekend and the SCIS HS Boys in Vienna, we have a strong presence in the region, a testament to the wide range of capabilities that our students possess.
We are always managing many things out of our Athletics and Activities office. For all trips a full risk management review is completed and we are in constant contact with our information sources right up to departure to assure safety of the destination. We work in partnership with receiving host schools to collaborate on safety and security documents and practices, sometimes overseen by CEESA standards, but always vetted against ASW requirements for health and well-being of students.
These experiences are profound in an international student’s life, often the foundation of some of their most significant memories. These tournaments whether hosted at home or afar are unique opportunities for building friendships across borders and we often observe students reconnecting with old friends in each successive year of participation. The spring season is fast approaching and there will be yet another round of opportunities. In the meantime, and particularly this weekend, we wish all of our students well in their endeavors and will be keeping them in our thoughts until they return home in due course.
We should all take a moment to thank our coaches, advisors, and the staff in the Athletics and Activities office for all that they do to provide these wonderful and enriching experiences for our students!