Dear ACS Families,
It's hard to believe we've completed our first month of the 2023/24 school year. I hope the year has started well for your children. I know there are some changes across the different divisions that have required adjustments, but things are generally going quite well. Thanks to everyone who has offered constructive feedback along the way.
Last week, I traveled to Dubai for our annual meeting of our athletic conference NESAC, and our first alumni event of the new year. I thank Ziad Ayass (ACS' 2006) for hosting us at his restaurant, Ka'ak Al Manara, in Dubai. Just over 30 ACS alumni attended, and it was so nice to hear them talk about their experiences at ACS. If there was a shared theme beyond simply loving their time at ACS, it was that everyone spoke eloquently about how ACS taught them to think differently from their peers, to be more confident and self-possessed, and to embrace and practice true critical thinking and problem-solving. We frequently state that these are some of the important goals of an ACS education, and it's nice to get this validation from recent graduates.
I was especially pleased to hear alums talk about their favorite ACS teachers and their impact on them, both as learners and as people. They also reminisced about the lasting friendships they had formed and the deep connections they felt toward each other. While many have moved their lives to Dubai, they expressed a strong desire to stay connected with ACS and offered to help and support our school in a variety of different ways. One of our goals is to find proper channels for current high school students to engage with ACS alums about universities, career and education choices, and life tips. It's such a wide-reaching and powerful network to be a part of.
There are other goals as well. As a non-profit school receiving no annual assistance from the U.S. or any other government, we rely on our extensive alumni network to help support capital projects and other initiatives. We hope to expand these connections with ACS alums in the coming years. As we begin to develop a strategic plan for the future, the support of alumni is essential to the implementation of any plan we adopt.
Sincerely,
