Admissions Office
Leysin American School   CH - 1854  Leysin  Switzerland
TEL +41-(24)493 3777       FAX +41-(24)494 1585
email : [email protected]       Internet: www.las.ch

My new faculty is like a new family to me here at LAS.  We work together, eat together, travel together, work out together, everyone is just always there for you. I am so impressed with my new community and friends.

Myself, Amy Park (English teacher), Mary Katharine Grady (my roomate), and Tracy Sons (Music Teacher)
at the LAS Welcome Dinner Banquet, Friday September 8, 2000

VERMONT BUDDIES
Ian Cornell (friend from Manchester, VT) and Myself
at the Red Frog (student lounge)
Welcome Banquet, Friday, September 8, 2000

Being busy is not a once in a while occurrence here at LAS, it is a lifestyle.  For those of you that know me better, you know that I create my own business because I thrive in that environment. Here though, I don't need to go looking for new and different things to make myself busy, the schedule does it for me.
Monday through Friday I get up around 7:00 AM to be showered and out my bedroom door by 7:55.  I have a 50 foot walk, uphill to the dormitory where my classroom is. Unfortunately my classroom faces the hill so I don't have the fabulous view but I can walk across the hall for my daily "view breaks."
Throughout the day I teach three sections of Geometry and two sections of IB (International Baccalaureate) Computer Science using C++ language. The classes are 45 minutes long with 10 minute breaks in between.  The reason for the long breaks in between classes is because the other building with classrooms is down the hill from the Savoy (the dormitory where my classroom is), so we need to give students time to walk back and forth, especially when the snow comes. 
The classes begin at 8:00, except on Wednesday when faculty meeting is from 8:00 to 9:00 so the students can sleep in. The school day ends at 3:25, and everyone has twenty minutes to get their things together and change for activities that start at 3:45.  I have had a really hard time not being late with these twenty minutes because I have to sort out my desk, then run back to my apartment, go to the bathroom, change and be out the door again.  I am doing more activities than most teachers because they needed help with aerobics.  Most teachers are required to run two activities a week (and some only have to do one).  I am the girls soccer coach which means that I have practices twice a week but the girls wanted to have an extra practice so we actually meet three days a week (with games on the weekends), but then they needed an aerobics instructor because the one that they hired backed out on them. So I teach aerobics on my fourth day a week.   It is a lot but I am sure it will all balance out in the long run.

Mission Statement

As an international university - preparatory high school committed to excellence, LAS seeks to educate students to be responsible, productive, and ethical citizens with the skills to think creatively, reason critically, communicate effectively, and respect peoples of other cultures.

Community Harmony

LAS provides a stable, caring, and supportive family-like environment, where students receive adult guidance through daily interaction with live-in faculty.  The faculty is committed to providing an in loco parentis role model for students.

Academic Challenge

LAS provides an academic challenge based on realistic goals in preparation for university study. For non-native English speakers, instruction is given in an environment which enhances the mastery of English communications skills.

Balanced Program

LAS offers a balanced program of study and sports, recreation, and cultural travel.

International Understanding

LAS provides a living and learning environment where students can develop into "Citizens of the World."

The daily life at LAS keeps students and faculty busy from 7:15 in the morning until 10:30 at night. 

Everyday begins with a school assembly for twenty minutes. The day follows through 7 -    50 minute classes. At 4:00 a two hour recreation period is scheduled, concluding with dinner. After dinner there is an half an hour devoted to Review Sessions and Club Meetings, then a two and a half hour study hall. The day ends quietly with free time from 9:45 until 10:30. Lights out are at 10:30.

The LAS Campus

Sitting in the middle of the Leysin Mountain Range, panoramic views from every window start and each day beautifully. The campus includes four dormatories with classrooms located on the first floors and residence rooms on the top three floors. Facilities for education include Biology, Chemistry, and Physics labs, computer laboratories, a library multi-media center, dining room, kitchen, health care center, piano instruction classrooms, general music area, bookstore, post office, travel agency, visitor center, a student reception area,and  a gymnasium/auditorium.

Living in the residence halls has students sharing a room with two or three students in a comfortable room. Each student has it's own  loft units which includes a bed, desk, and storage space.  All girls and junior and senior boys have private shower/toilet facilities.  All rooms have telephones and most face the views of the Swiss Alps and Rhone Valley.  The residence halls have free laundry and kitchen facilities and recreational areas.

International Baccalaureate

This is a select high school program that provides accelerated curriculum which meets admission resquirements of universities worldwide. Students who apply to American universities may receive up to one year of advanced standing.
Diploma Requirements
Residence at LAS:minimum 2 years
completion of high school diploma
completion of the following:
6 I.B. certificates: 3 standard, 3 higher in the areas of:
Language A- English, or mother tongue
Language B- French, German, Spanish, or other language
Study of Man - Social Studies
Experimental Science
Mathematics
Restricted Elective
Theory of Knowledge course; Extended Esssay Research project; Creativity, Action, Social Services.

US High School Diploma

This program is a university preparatory curriculum which meets the admission requirements for major colleges adn universities in the United States, Canada, and for some in Europe.
Diploma Requirements
Residence at LAS: minimum 2 semesters
Academic credits:24
English                   4 credits
Mathematics          3 credits
Sciences                 3 credits
Social Studies        3 credits
Languages             3 credits
Creative Arts         2 credits
Senior Humanities  1 credit
Computer Services .5 credit
Physical Ed.           2 credit
Electives                 2.5 credits
US History, Biology, and Algebra 2 are mandatory

International Studies Diploma

This program is for students whose mother language is not English, and prepares them for admission to universities and strengthens their abilities to work with the English language.
The ESL component of the program focuses on writing competency, listening comprehension, conversation/phonetics, and reading.
Diploma Requirements:
Residence at LAS: minimum 2 semesters
English/ESL                7 credits
Mathematics               3 credits
Sciences                     3 credits
Social Studies            3 credits
Creative Arts             2 credits
Senior Humanities      1 credit
Computer Studies      .5 credit
Physical Ed.                2 credit
Electives                     1.5 credit
US History, Algebra 2, Biology are required
Minimum TOEFL  score: 500