THEN & NOW

Another event that returned to the LAS calendar this year was Family Winter Week in February. This was a great occasion for families to connect with LAS and with each other. The middle of winter term is the ideal time of year to experience the spectacular winter wonderland Leysin offers our students. During this week together, families enjoyed a student art exhibition, an evening concert, met the faculty during parentteacher conferences, learned more about university advising, participated in family activities, and spent time socializing at parent events. We’re already looking forward to next year’s Family Winter Week!

LAS families have created a wonderful community with so much to offer. We would love to let our Global Family know that they are very welcome to be actively engaged in the community in various ways. All families can connect with the school and take on an active role in whichever way they are most comfortable. Please join us in supporting the school to build a lively Global Family community and make the school better for our kids and the future of LAS. A community is only as strong as its members, and the school gets better when more people become involved—we hope you’ll join us!

It’s Never Too Late to Come Home

By Kira Johnson ’89

Remember walking down the hill from Esplanade to Savoy with friends on a snowy morning, slipping and sliding but rarely falling? Remember the weight room in the bomb shelter of the gym (who needs natural light)? The balconies, wide open and the perfect way to move from room to room?

A lot has changed on campus over the years. Buildings have been added to accommodate growth. Balconies are largely a thing of the past, except for those enjoyed by the seniors at the stunning Belle Époque campus. Since my time there as a student in the 80’s, additions include Vermont, Eden, Beau Site, Mont Riant, Beau Réveil, and of course the new Magic Mountain Athletic Center (MMAC), where students and staff can lift weights, run, rock climb, play basketball, do yoga, and more…with actual Swiss sunlight!

All of us have different memories of the LAS campus and how special it was (and still is) to us. Even though the campus has grown, the magical feeling is the same as it has been since the school opened in 1961. Through all of the changes and additions to the campus, the feeling of family is still strong.

I’ve been lucky to return to Leysin each summer for the past seven years as a teacher for the LAS Summer in Switzerland program. The campus seems to simultaneously be a bustling town and its own international village, all while preserving a close-knit family feel. Thinking back to a time when the only buildings were the Esplanade, Savoy, Clairière, and the old gym, I marvel at the fact that this place has retained this essential characteristic while continuing to expand. When most places grow they lose the thing that made them unique. Somehow, though, LAS has not only held onto but has cultivated the very trait that originally made it special for me. This isn’t surprising when I think of how this magical place always makes people feel. It’s comforting to know that what made the school special to all of us hasn’t been lost.

Don’t be afraid to return to campus. LAS is unlike any other place or memory; it will draw you right back in and you’ll feel like you never left. It is the Magic Mountain, after all.