April Letter to Parents

April 12th, 2010. Posted in School Update

Dear LAS Parents:

We had a wonderful ski season with generally good snow conditions. Fortunately we made it through the season without any serious accidents: students were safe and still enjoyed the winter term! Other recent fun events were the Dorm Olympics where students of the residence halls competed against each other in various sports events. Our traditional Cow Bell games were very successful and this year even some adventurous faculty members participated in the games. The Art & Music Department’s Evening with the Stars, musical performances with a wonderful dinner was also a memorable event. The last event of the term was the Cool Piano at the Belle Époque Campus, which included one piece with the tap-dancing twins, Igor and Dennys Bastov! For more information, visit our blog at http://www.las.ch/news/student-life-news/.

The end of the school year is rapidly approaching with less than 8 weeks of school left and, yet, there are many exciting events still planned! Prom will take place at the beautiful Aigle Castle on Friday, April 16. International Week is planned the following week, which will culminate with International Day, an event open to the public. The Theater Department will be putting on the Little Shop of Horrors at the end of April. Late May, after the IB exams and LAS finals, students will go off on Spring Cultural Trips. Underclassmen, students in grades 8 to 11, then depart on June 1 and 2, while graduates will stay for the Class ’10 Commencement on Friday, June 4.

Following here is additional information from our Academic, Admissions, Accounting and Development Offices.

Academics: SAT, IELTS & TOEFL ibt Preparation Course in August

All students planning to apply to U.S. universities must take the SAT (Standardized Aptitude Test). LAS offers an optional special 10-day course before the school year begins to students entering 11^th and 12^th grade. The purpose of the course is to prepare students for the SAT. They will learn to take the test; in other words, students will learn test methodology, vocabulary, required mathematics, and writing skills to maximize their scores. The importance of the SAT tests for students seeking admissions to universities in the United States cannot be overstated – the higher the SAT scores the greater the choice of universities the student has. Studyworks, an organization based out of the United States, provides trained professionals to teach this course at LAS. For more information on Studyworks, visit http://www.studyworks.com/.

The IELTS exam and the TOEFL ibt measure non-native speakers’ use and understanding of academic English. A score in one of these exams is necessary for entry into a university or college where instruction is in English. A higher score will give a student a greater choice of universities or colleges. Seniors enrolled in the English-as-a-Second Language program at LAS require an IELTS or TOEFL score to graduate. This intensive 75-hour course helps students gain experience of the IELTS and the TOEFL ibt exams. Extensive practice leads to higher test results. ESL teachers with experience at high school and university level will teach this course. It focuses on the skills required to perform well on both these standardized exams: reading and listening comprehension, speaking, academic vocabulary and essay writing. Students will learn test-taking skills and sit for several complete IELTS exams and one TOEFL ibt. Prerequisite for enrollment in this course is an intermediate level of English-language mastery and 11^th or 12^th grade standing.

Registration is necessary for both of the above courses and sign-up forms are available to download from our website at http://www.las.ch/parents/orientation.html or upon request from the Admissions Office.

Accounting & Admissions

The LAS Accounting Office is currently in the process of sending by email the 2010/11 school year invoices for students planning on returning to LAS in the fall. If for any reason your child(ren) will not be returning to LAS next year please inform our Admissions Office in writing before May 1, 2010. If cancellation occurs after this date, the security deposit is forfeited except under extenuating circumstances.

Re-enrollment forms and other information relevant to the 2010/11 school year will be mailed in June 2010. All forms should be returned to LAS no later than August 1, 2010. If for some reason the package does not arrive, please note that you can download them from the LAS website http://www.las.ch/admissions/applying.html.

For 11^th and 12^th graders wishing to participate in this year’s SAT Prep Course, arrival day is scheduled for August 13, 2010. Arrival day for returning students is Wednesday, August 25, 2010.

Development

I would like to extend sincere thanks to those families who have contributed so far to the Annual Fund. Thanks to the generous contributions already, we are able to proceed with a major refurbishment of the Belle Époque Campus Student Center, The Cave, one of the special projects for this year. Your contributions to help with the various projects are very much appreciated and make a real difference to what we can offer our students. For those who would like to contribute, please refer to the website, http://www.las.ch/alumni/support-the-foundation.html or contact Mr. Ian Mclean at imclean@las.ch.

Thank you for your continued trust and support. Planning for next school year is well underway, which will be particularly exciting with the 50^th anniversary of LAS coming up next school year! While enrollments for the academic year 2010/11 look very promising, please continue to refer LAS academic year and Summer in Switzerland program (SIS – http://www.las.ch/summer/) to family and friends.

As always, please contact us with your concerns and questions. I look forward to meeting many of you in June.

Warmest regards,

Dr. Marc-Frédéric Ott

Head of School