Taipei American School THE WINDOW | Fall 2020

The Gratitude Report

In this fall edition of The Window, we combine our regular coverage with the school’s Annual Report, where we give thanks for all that our students were able to achieve thanks to the generosity of our donors.

iGEM 2020 Team Creates Rapid COVID-19 Test

This year’s scientific engineering team creates a quick and accurate home test for several viruses including the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.

Thank you to all community members and friends of TAS who participated in last year’s Annual Giving Program. Your gifts make a difference to our students, our program, our professionals, our campus, in ways that are tangible and long-lasting.

Who We Are

OUR MISSION OUR VISION OUR VALUES

Taipei American School is an innovative 21st century learning community. Our mission is to inspire each student to be a confident, creative, caring, and moral individual prepared to adapt and succeed anywhere in a rapidly changing world. We provide an American-based education with a global perspective that results in a love of learning, academic excellence, a balanced life, and service to others.

Taipei American School offers opportunities for students to reach their full potential to become caring, competent, knowledgeable young people who are dedicated to making a positive difference anywhere in the world.

BY DR. NATHAN SMITH, DEAN OF FACULTY

BY BRENDA PERKINS, LOWER SCHOOL COUNSELOR

Editor-in-Chief & Artistic Director

Lindsey Kundel, Director of Communication

Contributing Editors

Dr. Kathryn Limmer, Assistant Head of School for Advancement

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Jayson Limmer, Communications Officer

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

BY SABRINA C. (‘21), THE BLUE & GOLD STUDENT NEWSPAPER

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL,

BY EMING S. (‘21),

AND DEBATE

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Connie Ma, Alumni and Community Outreach Officer

Katherine Wang, Development Officer

Photography Contributors

Becca Budde

Mike Corsini

Chase Williams

The Blue & Gold TAS Advancement Team TAS Human Resources

Translation Services Sophie Tsai, Communications Officer

Head of School

LETTER FROM THE INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear TAS Community, I am delighted to introduce myself to you in this Fall 2000 issue of the Window, a combined issue also featuring the Annual Report for Taipei American School.

I am honored to serve as Taipei American School’s Interim Head of School through June, 2022. I am filled with optimism for the future of the School and the impact our students and graduates will have on the world. I am also humbled to be following the footsteps of Dr. Sharon Hennessy, the longest serving Head of School this school has ever had. I started at TAS first as a college counselor and Director of College Counseling, and later served on her administrative team as Deputy Head of School. I look forward to continuing to support the Faculty and Administration’s ongoing work as we partner with current and past families to advance the mission of TAS:

Taipei American School is an innovative 21st century learning community. Our mission is to inspire each student to be a confident, creative, caring, and moral individual prepared to adapt and succeed anywhere in a rapidly changing world. We provide an American-based education with a global perspective that results in a love of learning, academic excellence, a balanced life, and service to others.

This mission is my mission. It is every administrator’s mission. It is every teacher’s mission. It is our collective mission, one that we can’t lose sight of. Everything we do and say we want to do has to come back to these two sentences. We aspire to be innovative. We aspire to learn as a community. We aspire to adapt, to take on a global world view, to love learning

for learning’s own sake while pursuing excellence, balance, and service. What an incredible shared goal, and what an incredible community we have as a result. Our school mission is not just another task to check off. We will constantly be pursuing this on both an individual student level and on a wholecommunity level. There is something very beautiful about the fact that our work and partnership will never truly be over.

My goal is to spend time with you and your children, throughout the school year, so that I can listen to and learn from your perspectives and stories.Your reasons for choosing Taipei American School for your children remains paramount, and I want to make certain that every level of the school continues to value the joys of what you all have experienced and your dreams for Taipei American School and its students. It is my strong belief that the way forward will be found through the willingness of all participants in these discussions to connect with others. This is a uniquely human capability, but also a uniquely human need. May it guide us all in the future.

This community continues to demonstrate why the TAS mission and core values earn respect and admiration from schools and educators across the globe. My educational philosophy and beliefs provide the lens through which I will steward the TAS mission, values, and community. First, I believe students must be known –as they grow and evolve, we have an opportunity to build a relationship, understand who they are, and ensure they feel a sense of belonging in the community. Second, I believe students must receive challenges – providing students an opportunity for growth

and improvement equips them with the tools and inspiration to think about things differently, to innovate, to create, and to lead. Finally, I believe students must be supported – they should take educational risks but any challenge they face should not feel burdensome but achievable because of the wonderful support they receive from their teachers and the rest of the community.

May this academic year continue the traditions of the school, advance its mission, and keep each one of our students at the center of every new day, as we prepare them for when they leave TAS to enter a global world.

I hope you enjoy reading highlights from the past year and get a detailed look at the School’s fiscal health through this issue. We have been able to invest in the core programs and activities of the School that will position TAS for excellence in the near and long-term. And I am ever mindful that all of our efforts, past and future, are made possible by our incredible faculty, staff, parents, and alumni. For that support, I am deeply grateful.

Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge Interim Head of School

學校的未來我充滿了樂觀。同樣 地，對於我們現任的學生以及校友 們在這個世界裡所能帶來的影響我 也充滿了盼望。我也感到無比的謙 卑能夠追隨我們有史以來任職時 間最長的總校長韓雪倫博士（Dr. Sharon Hennessy）的腳步，從她的 手中接下代理總校長的職務。在這 個學校裡我原先擔任的是高中部升 學輔導員，接下來成為高中部升學 輔導主任，後來我在她的行政團隊 中擔任了副總校長。無論您是在學 中的學生家庭或是已畢業的校友家 庭，我都希望和你們攜手支持我們 的教職員工和行政團隊正在努力的 任務和工作來推進我們的辦學宗 旨。 宗旨宣言(Mission Statement) 台北美國學校是一個不斷創新 的21世紀學習社群。我們的宗旨是 激發每個學生成為有信心、有創 意、有愛心、有道德的個人, 並為 適應和成功立足於瞬息萬變的世界 做好準備。我們所提供的美式教育 課程旨在培育出具有學習熱誠、學 術卓越、生活均衡、服務他人並具 全球觀的世界公民。 達成這個宗旨就是我的使命。 這也是每個行政主管和每個教職 員的共同使命。更是一個我們必須

旨。我們不僅要致力培育出學術卓 越、生活均衡、服務他人的學子, 我們也要成為一個追求創新, 熱愛 學習, 具有世界觀和高度機動性的 學習社群。要達成這麼一個宏觀的 目標需要的是家長和學校的共同努 力。當我們一起朝著這個目標邁進 的同時, 我們也造就了一個具有卓 越價值的社群。我們的辦校宗旨是 一項使命, 是一個願景, 它並不是一 個接著一個的待辦事項。這不僅是 一個培育學生所需技能和素養的使 命，我們會不斷地努力,希望也能 夠把這個宗旨和願景推廣到所有的 社群成員。許多美好的價值就鑲嵌 在我們共同努力維繫的長久夥伴關

係中。

我希望能夠陪伴你們走過這個 學年，並隨時有機會從中聆聽和學 習你們的觀點。無論您選擇這所學 校的理由為何，您的考量就是我 的首要職務。無論是對於這個學 校的嚮往、對於我們培育學生的 期許或者是對於在這裡有過的喜悅 和驕傲，我的職責就是確保校內的 每個單位和每一位同仁都能齊力合 作達成您交付給予我們的任務。我 深信，堆砌這個學校繼續向前邁 進的道路靠著的是我們的社群成員 願意彼此溝通了解,建立出良好的 關係。關係的建立是人類特有的本 能,也是基本的需求。而關係的連 結也將會在未來的道路上引領著我 們。

我們社群成員對於我們的宗旨 和價值觀的體現再再地為我們贏得 了來自世界各地的掌聲和敬重。 當我帶領著這個社群繼續朝著我 們的宗旨和價值觀邁進時,　我的 教育理念和信念將會持續地引導 著我,也賦予了我看待事物的視角

和借鏡。首先，我相信我們必須清 楚地認識每一個學生- 隨著他們在 不同階段的成長和發展，我們必須 和他們建立起良好的關係，了解他 們，並確保他們在社區群裡有歸屬 感。其次，我認為學生們必須接受 挑戰 - 面對挑戰能夠為學生提供成 長和進步的機會，並且啟發他們能 夠用不同的方式來多元思考，創 新，創造和領導。最後，我相信學 生必須要能獲得適時的支持和鼓勵 - 我們鼓勵他們不應該畫地自限,而 要勇敢地去面對在技能上或學術上 可能碰到的挑戰。當面臨任何挑戰 時,他們知道學校這個大家庭的師 長和其他成員們都會在需要時給予 他們支持，幫助他們達成所追求的 目標。

在這一年，讓我們學校的傳統 得以延續，讓我們的宗旨得以推 展。也讓每一個學生每天都置處於 教學的核心，為他們揮別TAS校園 進入大千世界前做好萬全的準備。

我希望您會喜歡我們從過去一 年中所整理出來的亮點選文，我也 希望透過本期的這些文章讓您詳細 了解到我們健全的財政狀況。健全 的財務讓我們有足夠的資源來發展 我們的核心課程和相關的活動，這 包括了提供一流的教師專業發展計 劃還有課程的創新。不管在遠程和 近期，我們相信這些進展和創新都 將使TAS繼續處於卓越的定位。無 論是過去的努力或者將來的成就都 得歸功於我們孜孜不倦的教職員， 父母和校友。 對於您的支持，我 深表感謝也會銘記在心。

Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge BA; MS; MBA; CPA; ED.D.

• Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge is the former Director of Admission at Wellesley College.

• Prior to joining Wellesley in 2015, she was an Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard, having first joined the Harvard Admissions Office in 2002.

• From 2009-2012, she took a professional leave from Harvard and spent three years here at Taipei American School as a college counselor and Director of College Counseling.

• Grace returned to the TAS College Counseling office in 2018 before assuming the position of Deputy Head of School in 2019-20.

Board of Directors

RESPONSIBILITIES AND FOCUS FOR THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

BY THE TAS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Independent school leaders must be prepared now more than ever to adjust to forces which may impact the future of the school.The Board of Directors at TAS is one such group of leaders, entrusted with the immense responsibility of thinking of the future of the school.

At TAS, the Board of Directors has three main responsibilities:

• To establish a clear mission and vision, and strategic goals consistent with these.

• To ensure the financial health, stability, and future of the school.

• To select, support, and evaluate the TAS Head of School.

The Board is not involved in operational issues such as change in curriculum, disciplinary actions and hiring of faculty and employees with the exception of the Head of School.

The TAS Board is a hybrid board consisting of nine elected Board members and four appointed Board members. Elected Board members are current TAS parents and serve for threeyear terms. Appointed Board members are not current TAS parents and serve for four-year terms. The Elected Board members appoint the Appointed Board members by a vote within the Board. All Board members are volunteers and serve without compensation. The Board generally meets monthly and has two Association General Meetings a year.

The hybrid board membership along with three sub-committees (Audit, Management & Resources, and Governance) ensures continued focus on strategic requirements of the school. Mandatory annual training by industry experts such as John Littleford, Ralph Davison, and Pat Bassett (to name a few who have trained the TAS Board in the past,) ensures newly elected and seasoned board members understand

their responsibilities to the school as laid out by NAIS Principles of Good Practice for School Governance. And finally, strong partnership between the Board and its one direct employee the Head of School is always prioritized.

This year, the Board has two significant activities for the 2020-2021 school year: the development of the 2021-2026 Strategic Plan and the selection of the new Head of School to be in place by the 2022-2023 school year.

As announced previously, the Search Committee will be led by Co-Chairs Alex Hsu and Elizabeth Wang and include fellow board member Charlotte Ackert, Joseph Hei, Tina Koo, and Vera Wu. There will be opportunities for community members to get involved with the Search Committee as the work plan is developed. More will be shared about the search process in the coming months.

The other important task for the Board is the creation of our next FiveYear Strategic Plan, which is developed and owned by the Board. In independent schools, this plan is a critical document that helps to set the overall direction for the school and helps us to prioritize initiatives and funding for the relevant operating years. It is an inclusive and consultative process which touches every aspect of the School and provides a guidepost against which we measure our achievements. The Board monitors progress against the strategic plan during every board meeting to ensure the school stays true to the plan.The development of the Strategic Plan is typically a year-long process involving input from students, parents, alumni, faculty, and industry experts in future trends in independent school.To create our next plan, the Board members will be conducting focus groups with cross sections of the TAS community over the coming months. We greatly

appreciate your participation and candor in these sessions!

True to our mission, during this difficult year, we have maintained students at the center of our planning, specifically on their health and safety because without those needs met, our educators cannot do the important work of challenging them to reach their full potential. Thanks to the hard work of our administrators, talented faculty and staff, and an immensely supportive community, we were able to make tremendous strides in delivering on our promises of safety and excellence. We are truly grateful for our entire community’s support during this pandemic.

The last fifteen years of our school under the guidance of Dr. Sharon D. Hennessy witnessed some of the largest and most lasting changes that our community has seen. Thanks to her leadership, and to the support of the Board, we are truly a school at the forefront of educational leadership in Taiwan and the larger independent school community.

We look forward to a strong and stable future with Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge’s leadership through our transitional period. Dr. Dodge has been a Tiger for many years already, serving first as a college counselor for our upper school students, later as the Director of College Counseling, and most recently as our Deputy Head of School under Dr. Hennessy. She knows and loves our community, is dedicated to our school’s mission, and excited to continue to support and enhance the foundational elements that make TAS such an extraordinary place. The Board feels confident that our school is in good hands during this critical leadership transition period as we work to find a perfect fit for our next Head of School.

THE TAS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

和過往相比,如今獨立學校的領 導階層都必須有更萬全的準 備來應變任何可能影響學校未來的 阻力。TAS的董事會就是這樣的一 個領導群，我們肩負著的巨大責任 是思慮學校的未來發展。 台北美國學校董事會的三項重 點責任是: • 制定明確的辦學宗旨和願景以 及與之呼應一致的策略目標。

• 確保健全穩定的財務和學校的 未來發展。

• 遴選、評鑑還有支持總校長。

• 董事會不參與運營問題，例如

實踐原則》中董事會對學校責任的 釐定。最後，我們的優先任務是建 立起董事會和總校長之間穩固的合 作關係。

今年, 2020-2021年,董事會有兩項 重要的任務：制定2021-2026 的五 年策略計劃和遴選將於2022-2023學 年就任的新任總校長。

總校長遴選委員會的兩位主委 分別是Alex Hsu和Elizabeth Wang 這 兩位董事。遴選委員也包括了以 下的這幾名董事: Charlotte Ackert, Joseph He, Tina Koo 和 Vera Wu。 在 接下來的幾個月中，我們會陸續向 各位報告遴選過程的相關進展。

董事會的另一項重要任務是開 始起草我們的下一個五年策略計 劃，該計劃由董事會制定並隸屬於 董事會職責。在所有的獨立學校 中，該計劃是一個幫助學校確定總 體發展方向至關重要的文件，並幫 助我們釐定相關年度營運的計劃和 資金優先排序。在這個過程裡, 我 們會邀集社群的每個團體來就學校 各個方面提供意見和看法。這些看 法也引導我們來評評估衡量我們的 成果。在每次董事會會議期間，我 們都會監督策略計劃的進展以確保 我們遵循著計劃的方向策略。計劃 的制定通常需要一年的時間，期間 我們會邀集學生，家長，校友，教 職員工和對於獨立學校未來發展趨 勢有精闢見解的專家。董事會成員 將會在接下來的幾個月中與TAS社 群的各個團體進行焦點小組(focus groups) 的討論。 再此我們感謝您 熱心的參與以及坦誠的意見。 就如同我們的辦學宗旨所述,在 充滿逆境的這一年中，我們的學

生,特別是他們的健康和安全一直 是我們決策計劃的中心任務。如果 無法安然保護學生的健康和安全， 我們的教育工作就無法徹底地開 展, 也就無法有機會讓他們接受挑 戰，發揮出他們最大的潛能。

我要特別感謝我們春風化雨的 行政主管和教職員工辛勤的努力, 還有全體社群成員的大力支持，讓 我們得以在維護安全和與追求卓越 的承諾上取得了長足的進展。 在 面對疫情的這段期間，我們衷心感 謝整個社群的支持。

過去的十五年裡, 在韓雪倫 （Sharon D. Hennessy）博士的帶領 下，我們見證了這個學校社群所見 過的一些最大，最持久的改變。由 於她的領導和董事會的支持，不管 在台灣或者其他的獨立學校裡, 我 們確實是一所位居領導地位的教育 學府。

我們相信代理總校長程上博士 在這段過渡的期間裡將會帶領著我 們穩定地向前邁進。在這個學校裡

PHOTO: LINDSEY KUNDEL

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: EMBRACING A GENTLE APPROACH TO THE COLLEGE COUNSELING PROCESS

BY MELANIE HAMRE, DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING

College.The word looms heavily and large amongst our TAS community, and no one feels greater pressure to help our students succeed through this process than College Counselors. Except for maybe the students themselves. And the parents. And the teachers who have been supporting the very education that will serve as both foundation and measurement of a student’s potential and future academic success. But what “success” looks like in April and May of a student’s senior year can also mean very different things to each of these populations. We also see it as the role of the College Counseling team to help identify, define, and establish what success beyond TAS really should be: embodying our values of honesty, respect, responsibility, kindness, and courage as they become members of a new campus community and the wider world. This is more important than ever before.

Gentle. After arriving at TAS just one year ago and jumping right into the application process for the Class of 2020, this was the intentional word I chose to guide our planning for the Class of 2021 and beyond. Pre-COVID, I could already see how important it would be for us to recognize the immense amount of stress our students were feeling as they began to engage with College Counseling, in all of its uncertainty. We worked hard to use our College Counseling class time effectively, identifying deliberate and relevant exercises that ease them into writing about and reflecting on themselves. We thought about the competing pressures of senior fall, and found ways

to “give back” precious school hours to our students to focus on other things while still giving careful guidance and deadlines to keep them on track. It is our philosophy to keep the student at the center of the college process.While the parent voice should be present, we encourage practices and policies that require the student to assert ownership and accountability over the process. Coming from an admissions, financial aid, and residential life background, I know firsthand the critical importance of students’ ability to be self-aware, to self-advocate, and manage their time as they prepare to leave TAS and the many supports surrounding them. One of the hallmarks of the TAS College Counseling curriculum builds those skills while encouraging students to understand and practice meaningful reflection and become independent thinkers. We genuinely want them to enjoy the process of applying to college (not every minute of it, of course), and for them to ultimately understand and see the value of being thoughtful and deliberate as they articulate their choices for their future.

To be honest, much of what College Counselors do is manage anxiety as well as expectations, for students and parents alike. This year is certainly no different, and we want to continue to provide a safe space to ask questions, and a consistent, reassuring presence as we monitor changes worldwide through professional organizations, news reports and publications, and through direct communications with admissions colleagues at colleges and universities. It may be an

understatement to say COVID-19 has changed college admissions not just for the Classes of 2020 and 2021 but for many years to come. One of the most impactful trends is the continued move away from standardized testing.This has been a general trend for at least the past decade, with increasing numbers of highly selective schools adopting test-optional and test-blind policies to focus on holistic admissions practices. This accelerated due to the pandemic and it is important for our community to accept that test scores really do not matter: character, curriculum, consistent and strong classroom engagement do, and time spent in test prep is wasted, when students could be exploring their interests or getting to know themselves and their college counselors, who tirelessly advocate on their behalf throughout the application and admissions process. We are absolutely invested in ensuring that our students shine, and that they apply to schools where they will thrive socially, emotionally, and intellectually.This takes time and genuine engagement with the world around them, beginning with their family, friends, community, and the world, which is a very different place than just one year ago; as it continues to evolve, we hope we have given them the skills to do the same.

This year is certainly no different, and we want to continue to provide a safe space to ask questions, and a consistent, reassuring presence...

BY THE TAS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

“大學”

中就像是一座又一座的大 山壓在每個學生還有父母身上, 當 然還有他們的老師。這些老師.們 的共同使命是為每個孩子打下日後 高等教育穩固的基礎並確保每個學 生都發揮出他們最大的潛能。不過 感受最深的可能就是我們這一群升 學輔導員，因為我們的終極任務是 幫助每個學生都能成功地進入他 們心目中理想的大學。每年4月到5 月的期間是許多美國大學公佈招生 結果的時候。對於畢業班的學生來 說，“成功地” 申請到一所大學的 定義其實是非常不同的。在TAS， 每個孩子從一進入學校開始，我 們所教導給他們的核心價值就是誠 實，尊重，責任，仁慈和勇氣。對 於這些即將展翅高飛成為大學和社 會的新鮮人來說，我們升學輔導小 組的另一項任務是幫助他們了解到 這些價值觀代表的是什麼，還有在 每天的待人處事中他們應該如何以

Guiding students through the college process, college counselors at TAS serve as another layer of support for our upper school students, working in partnership with families and advocating on behalf of each student directly with colleges and universities. Last spring, the college counseling office hosted its annual “Cupcake Day’’ in celebration of the seniors.

PHOTO: BECCA BUDDE

生的競爭壓力，所以找出了一些方 法把一些對他們來説是分秒必爭的 寶貴時間“還給了”他們，讓他們 有多出來的時間來專注於其他的事 情。 不過我們仍舊確保隨時都能夠 提供給他們認真有效的指導，並且 在指定的截止日期前完成所有的申 請程序。在大學申請的過程中，當 然我們必須考慮到家長的想法, 不 過我們的輔導是以學生為中心的原 則導向。我們提倡的政策和實務都 鼓勵在申請過程中維護學生的主體 性，並要求學生對他們的想法負起 責任。 根據我自己以往一些關於大 學招生, 助學金申請, 和學校住宿的 第一手經驗, 我深深地了解到當我 們的學生們離開這個處處以他們為 主,為他們設想的環境時,要能夠讓 他們做好時間管理、自我認知、還 有維護自身的權益是多麼的重要。 TAS升學諮詢課的特色之一就是幫 助我們的學生建立起這些技能，同 時也鼓勵他們理解和練習對他們有 幫助、意義深遠的反思，並且能夠 獨立思考不受他人的影響。我們真 誠地希望他們享受申請大學的這個 過程（當然不可能是每一分鐘）， 並且讓他們在對未來的發展作出抉 擇的同時，也終究能夠體驗到深思 熟慮和計劃周密的重要性與價值。

事實上，升學輔導員所做的工 作大部分是在於引導學生和家長如 何管理他們的期望與焦慮。今年我 們的工作當然也和以往沒有什麼不 同。我們希望繼續提供一個安全的 空間來交換問題做討論。一如以往, 我們也會繼續收集專業機構、新聞 媒體和相關刊物的報導以及與大學 招生人員保持密切的聯繫來掌握全 球的變化。如果有人說COVID-19不 僅改變了2020年和2021畢業班級的 大學申請和招生，而且對未來還會 有持續深遠的影響。這種說法一點

都不誇大。其中具影響力的趨勢之 一就是越來越多的大學認為只看考 試成績太狹隘了，因此降低了標準 化測試成績對錄取決定的影響。至 少在過去十年中，這個改變已經成 為了一個趨勢，越來越多的名校採 用Test-optional和Test-blind的政策來 確保他們能夠聚焦在一個學生整體 全面性的發展與整體評估錄取的實 踐。(所謂Test-optional政策，就是學 校不強制性要求一些考試成績，學 生可以自行決定要不要將成績發送 給學校。所謂 Test-blind 就是即使遞 交了考試成績，也不會被考慮。) 由於疫情的擴大，這個趨勢也越來 越明顯。對於我們的社群來說，重 要的是我們應該接受這個趨勢。那 就是一個孩子的品格、學習的課 程、還有在課堂裡的表現遠比考試 的成績還更為重要。一個孩子花在 找出自己的興趣志向，進一步地去 認識自己的時間比花在準備考試 的時間還重要。好好地去認識升學 輔導員也一樣的重要, 因為在申請 大學的過程中他們不但需要充分地 了解你，認識你, 也扮演著”為你 喉舌”至關重要的角色。我們所投 入的每一分時間和精力都是為了幫 助我們的每一位學生申請到最適合 他們志向的學校。同時也確保這些 學校都可以讓他們不管在社交上、 情感上和學識上都能有長足的發 展。這些方面的發展除了需要時間 以外，更需要的是他們和周圍人群 真誠的互動, 包括他們的家人、朋 友、社群、還有我們的這個世界。 不過，在短短的一年之間我們的世 界就發生了這麼多的變化，而且這 些變化也還在持續著。我們誠摯地 希望這些莘莘學子們在TAS所培育 出的這些態度和能力能夠幫助他們 適應以及成功地立足於這個瞬息萬 變的世界。

Wellness in Action

A WORD ON THE PURSUIT OF WELLNESS

BY DR. NATHAN SMITH, DEAN OF FACULTY: DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION AND LEARNING

As the beginning of this school year approached, I could feel the energy and potential of another school year. Summer construction projects were wrapping up. More and more parents and children were on campus, registering, getting ID’s made, and meeting with counselors and teachers. Classroom teachers were unpacking and decorating their rooms so as to offer a warm welcome to this year’s classes. It is one of my favorite parts of the year: the potential is seemingly limitless, and I’m constantly in awe of the work TAS teachers do to make their classrooms a space of learning and joy. And yet, this year, something felt different.

I began working in schools and universities in 1997. This is my 23rd beginning of a school year, and though each year has of course been unique, I have never met one quite like this one. Though I am easily swept up in the enthusiasm and anticipation of another year of learning, though it remains one of my favorite points in the cycle of any school year—this fall it has proven difficult to shake a deep and biding sense of worry.

Much of that worry is for the world. Between the pandemic, systemic racism, social unrest, rising international tensions, and looming climate crises—there is plenty to keep one up at night. I’ve heard it described as the habit of ‘doomscrolling’: listlessly swiping through a media feed of one horrific news or editorial piece after another, firing up one’s angst and anger, in every spare moment from waking till bedtime. Such a habit is easy to

fall into in times like these, and like all unhealthy habits, it can deeply disturb our rest, our focus, our ability to deal with what is truly in our immediate sphere of influence. That habit has slipped into my life on occasion, much as try to fight it. And this fall I’ve had to make a deliberate push to tend to my own health and well-being. In that I suspect I am not alone.

Though at TAS we have put a great deal of energy toward our wellness initiatives, it is hard during times like these to devote real attention to it on a personal level. How can I be ‘well’ in a world that seems decidedly not so? There are of course ready answers to that question. For one, I must remember I can’t really control things like global pandemics and international political turmoil. My field of influence is more limited, my range restricted to my reach. For another, my efforts to improve this world are more effective when I live by example. My students will be healthier with another adult in their lives who lives healthier. I owe it to my children, if not myself, to be attentive to my mental and physical health. So, what can I do?

In the end, I’ve boiled my own approach down to two statements which help me. I hope they might be of use to you, if you struggle with these same stressors. My motto has become: Do the little things you

can, and the big things you must.

The little things are not necessarily easy, but there are some little changes I’ve made that have helped me. Indeed, these little things, well within my locus of control, have made an enormous impact.

Perhaps the most significant has been my commitment to avoid driving. When I can walk or bike, I do. This especially includes my commute to work and back. At least while my body is able, I find the transit to be more meditative, and certainly more healthful, than driving or riding the bus. This is doubly so now that I have recently moved up Yangmingshan mountain. I bike in and home most days of the week. The ride to TAS is a wonderful downhill coast, faster than driving. The ride back is slower, and at least as rigorous as any trip to the gym. As a result, I get much more exercise in the week, without having to carve out much time for working out.

People balk when I say I ride my bike up the mountain, and yet, amusingly, they are often more shocked at my second, far less physically demanding strategy. I have removed all social media from my phone. I have also set my phone not to synchronize automatically and never to signal an alert. The effect this has had on my ability to concentrate and think clearly is beyond estimation. My phone never diverts my attention, unless someone makes a voice call— which is quite rare and indicative of genuine urgency. So I am not ‘cut off’ from important concerns. I’ve simply taken control of the device,

Do the little things you can, and the big things you must.

instead of it controlling me. Now, when I look at social media, I sit down at my desk and commit to the task—like deciding to watch a movie. Instead of reading my emails as they arrive, I choose when to sit down, focus, and spend a solid thirty minutes catching up. And as a reward, now I can better sustain focus and concentration. Now I can walk down the street and actually pay attention to my surroundings.

This for many is harder to imagine than riding one’s bike up the hill. It is important to remember that much of social media is drivel, admittedly enjoyable drivel, but largely devoid of significance. I like to remind myself that many emails carry important information, but an hour’s wait will not significantly effect anyone. My work is important, but I will do it better when I can focus. When I create conditions for concentration, I am better able to respectfully give my full attention to the situation I am actually in, to the people directly in front of me, who deserve my full presence. This especially includes my own family, when I get home from work, when I put all my devices behind a closed office door, far from my reach.

For a while I noticed I had the nervous habit of reaching for my phone to check for updates. Now I carry a novel—I specifically pick books that are close in size to a phone, so I can pull one out and keep reading whenever I would once have pulled out my phone. In line for coffee, riding on the bus, waiting outside an office for an appointment—I treat myself to one of those edifying joys I had been failing to make time for. Reading may not be your thing—but the point is, I have replaced the phone, which makes demands of me, with something I get to control. And thus I have more control over the pace of my own life, and more control over where my attention is drawn. No more doomscrolling. I still follow the news of the world, but in small, deliberate doses, at a set time when I know it will no longer disturb my sleep. I still get my work done, still

keep up with world events—but now I am exercising and reading books, without need of extra hours in the day.

Little things, in this way, can be big things. But as I said, sometimes we need to do the big things.

For me there comes a time when I have to do the big things. These are moments when, rather than finding ways to make my current patterns better, I have to disrupt those patterns altogether. These are the moments when I have to take a personal leave day and dedicate it to something stress relieving. For me that is a very big move—I always dread missing even one day. Likewise, I sometimes must put aside work and reach out to a friend for a heart to heart conversation, or a Skype with distant family whose absence weighs upon me. Sometimes I have to make that appointment at the Center and speak to my therapist, to process the weight of my troubles, and the

world’s. I must accept the moment when enough is enough, because I want to be well, and I want to live a long life. It is clear to me that if I do not occasionally break with these patterns that organize my life, the endless march could break me down completely. After all, I will do right by family, my community, and my responsibilities if I live a long and healthy life.

Certainly I do not hold myself up as the template for all. But I do believe each of us in our own way must be deliberate and creative in attending to our personal wellness. We should find a way to break the little unhealthy habits and create space for fulfilling pursuits, even within the constraints of a fastpaced life. And when we find we are really struggling, we must give ourselves permission to do the big things that grant us health and longevity. We owe it to ourselves, and to one another.

Dr. Smith recommends making time for solitary healthy pursuits such as biking or hiking. PHOTO: LINDSEY KUNDEL

BY DR. NATHAN SMITH, DEAN OF FACULTY: DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION AND LEARNING

隨 著開學的腳步慢慢地接近， 我可以感受到新學年帶來 無限的活力還有潛力。暑假的工 程也都快要施工完成了。每天有 越來越多的新家長帶著他們孩子 到學校來註冊，製作識別證還有 跟他們的輔導員跟老師們見面。 老師們也開始忙著整理佈置 教 室的裡裡外外迎接新學年課程的 到來。這是一年中我最享受的時 光：校園裡到處充滿著無窮無盡 的潛力。一直以來我對TAS的老師 都敬佩有加，因為他們總是能夠 把一間平凡無奇的教室轉化為一 個充滿歡樂的學習空間。 然而， 今年開學的氛圍讓人覺得不太一 樣。

我從1997年開始在學校和大 學機構裡工作。這是我第23個年 頭的開始，每個學年都是獨一無 二的，而準備開學前的這一段期 間是一整個學年中我最享受的時 光，但我從未遇到過像今年這樣 的情況。事實已經證明了伴隨著 今年秋天而來的是一個深植人心 的隱憂。

我們擔憂的是我們所處的這 個世界。從病毒疫情到種族主 義，從社會的動盪到日益緊張的 國際局勢，還有迫在眉睫的氣候 危機，每分每秒都有這麼多的事 件讓我們憂心忡忡甚至無法入 眠。有人稱這個習慣為陰暗刷屏 （doomscrolling）也就是不斷地 刷著社交媒體，看著一屏又一屏 愁雲慘淡的消息。在指尖滑動的 是一則又一則令人震驚憤怒不安 的新聞。在這段災難爭端不斷的 期間裡，人們似乎很容易就陷入 這樣一個有害身心健康的惡性循 環。這個慣性不僅會在很大的程 度上打亂我們的作息和專注力， 並且也會影響　我們判斷和處理 事物的能力。今年秋天的時候， 我覺察到我必須要比以往更加倍 努力來刻意維護我自己的身心健 康。 而且我知道這個時候很多 人跟都跟我一樣在做著同樣的努 力。 儘管在TAS，我們已經為身心 健康計劃投入了大量精力，但在 這樣的一個時期裡，實在很難在 個人層面上不受大環境的影響而

真正地去關注自己的身心健康。 如今我們面對的是一個令人焦慮 噩耗頻傳的世界，我該如何“維 護健康”呢？ 這個問題當然有現 成的答案。 對我來說，首先，我 必須記住的是控制全球的疫情和 國際政治動蕩之類的事情並非我 的能力所及。 做為一個學生輔導 員，限於我的能力，我的影響範 圍就更加有限。 然而，如果我能 夠以身作則，樹立維持身心健康 的典範，那麼或許我就能影響在 我周圍的這個世界，我的學生們 也可能會變得更加健康。為了這 些學生，也為了我自己，我必須 要保持身體和心理上的健康。那 麼我應該做什麼呢？

最後，我將自己的方法簡化為 兩個重點，也就是我的座右銘： 一步一腳印地去做一些能力所及 的小事，還有去完成那些你一定 必須做的大事。 當你和我一樣面 對類似的壓力時，我希望我的座 右銘對你有所幫助。

完成小事並不一定就是很容易 的，但是我所做的一些小改變對 我真的有所幫助。 確實，在我的 能力範圍之內完成的這些小事對 我的身心健康已經產生了巨大的 影響。

對我來說影響最大的或許就是 盡量少開車。特別是在上下班的 時候，只要是在我能夠騎車或者 走路就可以到達的情況下我就一 定不開車。和開車或坐車相比， 我發現騎車或者走路的時候我的 精神更集中，更放鬆，當然也更 健康。我最近搬到了陽明山上， 在上下山的時候這種類似冥想放 鬆的感覺也更為明顯。 一周裡我 大部分時間都騎自行車回家。從 山上騎 到TAS的下坡路程比開車 要快得很多，而且一路上的景色 真的令人心曠神怡。 回家上坡的 時候我騎得比較慢，達到的體能 訓練效果就跟上健身房一樣。 這 樣下來，在一個星期裡面，我不 但做了更多的鍛鍊，而且也不必

的小事，對他們來說卻是難上加 難。 那就是在我的手機裡我刪除 了所有的社交媒體，取消了其他 電子設備自動同步的功能，並且 也關閉了所有訊息通知的鈴聲。 這對幫助我專心思考的影響是 完全超乎我能想像的。除非有人 有急事打電話找我，不過這種情 況非常少見，我的手機絕對不會 分散我的注意力。手機的功能讓 我還是能夠即時地處理緊急重要 的事項。不過，不同於其他人的 是，我知道如何善用這個工具而 不是讓這個工具來控制著我。現 在，當我決定瀏覽社交網頁時， 我會坐在辦公桌前，就像決定看 一場電影一樣專心地看完。當 我收到電子郵件，我不會馬上打 開，我會選擇繼續專注在當下的

個讓我可以心無旁鶩專心工作的環 境，我就會有更好的表現。 面對 那些來到我面前的每一個人我都應 該給予他們最大的關注。 對於我 的家人更是如此，當下班回家後我 會把手機和電腦等這些電子設備放 在一個我看不到的地方。

有一陣子，我注意到我有一個 令人緊張的習慣，那就是不斷地 想拿起手機來看看是不是有新的訊 息。 現在，我特地挑選了一些和 手機大小相近的小說放在我的身 邊，這樣一來，我拿起來的就是小 說，而不是手機。我熱愛閱讀，但 不一定都能夠抽得出時間來。現在 當我在排隊等咖啡，坐在公車上， 或者坐在辦公室外面等人的這些 時候都變成了讓我享受閱讀樂趣的 時刻。 對許多人來說滑手機的這 個舉動似乎填滿了我們的時間。你 可能不喜歡閱讀，但是我想建議的 是，你應該嘗試著不要讓手機控制 著你的作息。而是由你自己決定 你的生活步調還有掌握你的專注 能力。 不要再漫無目的地滑手機 了！在不影響我睡眠的情況下，我 仍然關注著世界新聞。不過是在我 已經設定好的時間以內有目的、經 過篩選、少量專注的閱讀。 在一 天24小時內，現在的我不但能夠做 好我的工作，繼續關心著時事，我 也有了固定的運動習慣以及更多的 閱讀時間。 以這種方式所完成的小事也可 能聚沙成塔而成就一件大事，並對 你的生活產生重大的影響。就像我 之前所說的，有的時候我們必須成 就大事。

對我來說，生命中總有必須完 成一件大事的時候。在這段時間 裡我必須徹頭徹尾地做出改變而 不是只在日常習慣中做些微的修 正。就算只有請假一天不去上班 對我來說是很難的，不過有時候 我必須請假一天來幫助我紓解已 經積累了一段時間的壓力。有時 候我必須放下手邊的工作找一個 朋友敞開心胸好好地聊一聊，有 時候我必須打電話給一個遠在他 鄉太久沒聯絡讓我牽掛的親人， 有時候我必須要到社區服務中心 （Center ）找一位心理諮商師來談 談我的焦慮。如果我想要長久下 來保持著一個健康的身體，那麼 在必要的時候我就必須提醒自己 我不能再等下去了，面對問題我 一定要馬上做出一些改變。 我知 道如果我不偶爾適時地停下腳步

Lower School

...IN SCHOOL

BY BRENDA PERKINS, LOWER SCHOOL COUNSELOR

Perhaps you’ve heard about mindful practices or mindfulness on social media, have read articles about it, or even have personal experience with mindfulness. A quick Google search returns over 2.4 million hits! With mindfulness becoming a mainstream word now, it may be time to shed some light on what we mean by ‘mindfulness’?

Mindfulness — What is it?

Perhaps you’ve had the experience of a past teacher or parent telling you - maybe even yelling at you - to “pay attention!!”. We often say this to students, but then never help them develop the skills to pay attention!

Mindfulness is often defined as the ability to pay attention in the present moment without judgement.

There are three attentional skills working together:

•Concentration:The ability to focus on what you want, when you want.

•Awareness: Increased knowledge of thoughts, emotions, senses, and behaviors as they are happening in our personal experience

•Equanimity: The ability to let sensory and emotional experience come and go with an attitude of kind acceptance

Research into the science of mindfulness is very encouraging, and we know that many students report it being helpful to reduce stress and anxiety, improves awareness and resilience, and can make better choices when they are emotionally activated.

What do students say about Mindfulness?

Researchers aren’t the only ones finding benefits in these areas! Students also are noticing how mindful practices are impacting their lives in positive ways. Many of these benefits are evident in their personal reflections on mindfulness practiced in the classroom.

Attention

“I think that Mindfulness is good because it teaches you how to focus better. I thought that I have been focusing a little better than seventh grade because I have been trying to notice when I have been drifting off in classes. It’s taught me a way to deal with myself being unfocused all the time. Learning mindfulness is now one of the more useful tools in my arsenal.”

Emotional Regulation

“Mindfulness makes me feel less stressed than before. Each time we have mindfulness I get better and better at it than before. It allows me to think positive thoughts and helps me panic less.”

Adaptability

“Mindfulness is really unlike anything in my daily routine. My day is usually filled with screens and social media and drama and gossip, and mindfulness just resets my mind and perspective. I really like mindfulness, and I think helps me focus and think about my life. I think I will continue to do mindfulness to help me study and focus.”

Calming

“I think that the most significant thing I’ve learned in Wellness class

is mindfulness. Mindfulness has significantly affected my well-being because I feel more calm in all my other classes and it makes me feel more relaxed in general. I have learned that mindfulness comes in many different forms.”

Resilience

“Mindfulness also helped me to step back from my thoughts and made me think one more time before I took action. For example, when I made mistakes during sports practice, I would think to myself, ‘I am really bad at this, I will never be good at this drill’, but the practice of mindfulness helped me “note” that it is just a thought and I could keep going. Even though I only did mindfulness during class, it helped me notice when I was outside of class.”

Compassion

“Mindfulness has also kind of made me think in a different way than before. After doing mindfulness I tend to think more empathetic and aware. For example, I began thinking of the daily things I did to other people and how I acted toward other people. I have started acting more kind and have become aware of my actions as I remembered what we had discussed during mindfulness.”

Upcoming Events for Parents

As these student reflections reveal, mindful practices can make a positive difference in the lives of our student’s health and well-being—and our own as well!

Please look out for the “Mindfulness 101 for Parents” session with Brenda Perkins later this semester!

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

BRENDA PERKINS, LOWER SCHOOL COUNSELOR

力不像以前那麼大了。 每次上正 念課的時候我都覺得我處理壓力 的能力一次比一次更好了。它幫 助我做出正面的思考而且在碰到 問題的時候也不會那麼緊張了。”

適應力

訴你-甚至對你大喊大叫　“ 專心 一點！” 我們也經常對著學生說 這句話，但是這對他們專注力的 發展其實一點幫助也沒有！ 正念 (mindfulness)是一個人有意 識地把注意力專注在當前的體驗 上，並對其不做任何評價的一種 自我調節的方法, 也就是我們常說 的“ 活在當下”。一個人如果要 達到　“ 活在當下”　的這個心 境, 必須能夠同時具備這三種能力 : • 專注力：能夠在當下全神專注 於你想要完成的事物。 • 覺察力：能夠從我們的個人經 歷中越來越了解我們的思想、 情感、感覺和行為 • 沈著力: 能夠冷靜從容地面對 和接受感覺和情感上的起伏

“我的日常生活裡通常不外乎 就是盯著電腦螢幕, 瀏覽著社交媒 體還有聊著八卦。正念幫助我歸 零, 重新設定我的思路和觀點。 我 真的很喜歡正念，我覺得這個能 力幫助我有了更好的專注力和去 思考自己的生活。 我想我會繼續 保持正念的練習來幫助我的學習 和專注力。”

保持平靜 “ 我覺得在 Wellness 健康課 裡 對我最影響最大的就是正念。正 念讓我在其他的課程裡面都覺得 平靜了很多，現在我也知道正念 有許多不同的形式。”

順應復原力

“當我思緒煩亂的時候正念會 引導釐清我的思路，幫助我三思 而後行而不是斷然地做下決定。 例如，當我在運動練習中犯錯 時，我會告訴自己：“ 我真的很 糟糕，我永遠也學不會做不好” ，但是正念幫助我“ 注意到”這 僅僅是一個想法，我應該把這個 想法先擱置一旁並繼續練習來精 進我的技能。 雖然我只是有時候 才會上正念課, 但是這種思考的能 力已經在我的生活中達到潛移默 化的效果了。” 同理心 “正念也讓我用不同於以往 的方式來做思考。上了正念課以

LINDSEY KUNDEL AND JAYSON LIMMER

Middle School

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

C

According to Middle School P.E. teacher Michelle Lawgun, the Middle School Physical Education team was starting the track and field unit and knew that we had many faulty javelins.

“We had already ordered new parts,” she said, “but they were not arriving until the new school year.”

And so the Middle School P.E. department looked to its own expert “makers” for advice. “Becky Maguire and Brian Tobey had been chatting

ollaboration isn’t just an educational buzzword at Taipei American School; it’s a way of life for both students and faculty. Last school year, despite the many difficulties presented by the year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the two middle school departments—Physical Education and STEAM—decided to collaborate on a project to benefit students through the curriculum and program offerings.about other STEAM-related ideas and the notion of the 3D javelin tips was born,” said Lawgun. “Becky and Brian took a visit over to the Solomon Wong Tech Cube.”

The Middle School STEAM teachers were very excited about the possibility of making something practical to benefit students and the P.E. program. Middle School Tech Cube Assistant Wen Chien produced the first prototype in less than 24 hours. The second prototype was released a few days later after Brian and Wen met to discuss some improvements with the design. In particular, they were looking to improve the attachment of the tip to the javelin shaft.

The end result? The middle school students were excited that we were able to use many more of the javelins in P.E. rather than getting the broken ones.

Michelle Lawgun says that the collaboration was ultimately a success. “We love that the replacement tips could be produced on campus and at such an efficient rate,” she said. “If we can utilize this process more often then there will be many pieces of equipment that could be repaired back to perfect working order.”

Although there are no future collaborations planned, the Middle School STEAM and P.E. departments remain open to new initiatives. In fact, in early September, Lawgun and fellow MS P.E. teacher Judy Fung met with two Grade 7 girls from Maguire’s Design the Difference class to assist them in designing water bottle racks to stop bottles from falling off the bleachers.

“We shared and swapped ideas and have plans to meet them again when they come up with some more solid ideas.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STEAM AND P.E.

Upper School

TAS iGEM TEAM CREATES FAST AND ACCURATE COVID-19 TEST FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION (AND HOME USE)

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

The Taipei American School Director of Scientific Research, Mr. Jude Clapper, is an animated speaker, even on the worst of days. As he sits in front of me along with his colleagues, Dr. Jonathan Hsu and Dr. Nicholas Ward, his excitement is palpable.

“The kids are unbelievably motivated this year because they’re genuinely interested in the science,” he says. “We don’t have to push them at all.”

The “kids” in question? Taipei American School’s 2020 International Genetically Engineered Machines team.

Each year’s iGEM team is composed of students in Grades 11 and 12 who enroll in the course Honors Research in synthetic biology, which is co-taught by Clapper, Hsu and Ward across two different class periods.This year’s iGEM team hopes to continue its record of success at the annual iGEM Giant Jamboree, which is usually hosted in Boston each fall but which will be hosted virtually this year due to the world health crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

This year’s team is led by Wilson H. (‘21), a quiet and quick-witted young man, whose independent research was recently published in the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology Meeting Library, the world’s largest oncology conference. Wilson was voted as the project head “unanimously” by his peers, who hold great respect for his skills in graduate-level research and in leading the team’s multi-step research

process.

Both Clapper and Hsu agree: “Wilson? He’s on another level. He thinks on a different level, almost like a graduate student. He wanted a very serious project for this year’s team, something that could cure cancer or the like. He is very application based.”

Originally, Wilson and the 2020 iGEM team discussed a few alternative research ideas, but many of the first ideas had to be discarded because they were more appropriate for multiyear research projects that were “not particularly feasible for the time frame of an iGEM project,” according to Clapper. Other discarded ideas included “how to heal a broken heart,” how to get more out of your sleep cycle, reducing plastic waste, a solution for coral bleaching, and researching the enzyme in pineapples that produces a “tingling feeling” for some in order to use it to help with menstrual cramps.

Eventually, the team narrowed down their project to two potential topics: one group was interested in attempting to create a form of internal “body armor” made from the materials within lobster shells. According to Wilson, the material—chiten—could, theoretically be used to grow an additional endoskeleton within humans that would provide additional strength and support for the body. The second faction within the team was interested in what would eventually become this year’s project: a home test for influenza

A, influenza B, and COVID-19.

However, including a test for COVID-19 was not originally part of the scope of this year’s project.

In February, right after Chinese New Year, as the novel coronavirus influenza began to become more prevalent in Asia, the team realized that there was another research opportunity to be had. “As soon as China realized it was becoming an outbreak, they released the sequence of the virus genome, which made it publicly accessible for us during our first distance learning session,” said Clapper. “Wilson, without any sort of teacher assisting him literally went out on his own, found the sequence of the two strains of influenza and COVID-19 and did several forms of bioinformatic analysis of the genomes.”

In March, when the United States began to feel the strain of the virus and the lack of test kits became a concern globally, the TAS iGEM team quickly realized that this project’s potential impact was greater than they had anticipated. “This is a real problem right now and we are designing a kit that will be very useful, not just for the United States but for the entire world,” said Hsu.

The idea of “impact” is a large component of the iGEM competition philosophy. Every team needs to show that their research project has a component that they call “human practice.” The idea behind this concept is that each project needs to be relevant

and helpful to humanity.

The students have been working in earnest on this project since January, despite a total of four weeks spent away from campus as the school enacted two sessions of distance learning.

Both the teachers and students agree that they are actually ahead of schedule for their project this year, even with those weeks spent apart from one another.

The iGEM Giant Jamboree occurs every year in the fall, and so the TAS team work throughout the spring, summer, and early fall to complete their project, which is, essentially, an at-home test kit for influenza A, B, and COVID-19.

“Currently this type of test is a gold standard for most virus or coronavirus tests. Basically it identifies a piece of the DNA where the genetic sequence of the virus is. If you’re infected, you carry that virus in your own body. The test uses a sample out of that person, like saliva or another viral particle carrier. The test can detect if there is DNA in your sample and the color changes based on the presence of that DNA.”

Hsu and Clapper describe it as essentially a “ph” test for those who are less familiar with this type of test, known as a PCR-based test. “When you measure the pH of your pool or your water, you put in a stick of paper and it changes color based on the equipment. That’s the whole principle behind our work. If it’s a little bit more acidic, then it changes color.This is what is happening in our test because if you have the DNA of one of these viruses, the test makes a lot more copies of it every time, which then changes the color of the liquid,” explained Clapper and Hsu.

Their current results show a minimum detection time of around 30 minutes for each of the 3 viruses. Additionally, their test can detect extremely small amounts of the virus targets. Other existing detection methods (lateral flow rapid tests, real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, blood serology, and viral cell cultures) each have their own shortcomings: common false negatives, expensive instruments, and timeconsuming processes. In short, their

test works by a simple color change over time—the reaction starts out pink but gradually becomes yellow in the presence of a virus.

The team’s second part of their research is trying to make sure that these tests could be used by people in their own homes, without much margin of error for people to self-identify color changes. The team is collecting results with time-lapse videos and writing an analysis software program that can automatically analyze the color changes in the videos using a cell phone. This allows the user to measure the color change with a simple phone camera and will eventually be easily adaptable to personal home-use.

Project head, Wilson H., knows that it’s possible that many other schools are also trying to produce similar tests to this project. He thinks that ultimately the TAS project has two advantages: it’s fast and it’s accurate. “It’s sensitive and specific,” he said, “which are the two parts of accuracy. It also operates at room temperature, which means that you don’t have to work in a special lab in order to process the results.”

Wilson and his other team members feel grateful for the synthetic biology program at TAS. “It has really opened up a lot of opportunities,” he said. “When I started upper school, I was actually focusing more on the engineering side of learning, like in robotics competitions. But I eventually realized that my true passion is biology and chemistry. It’s something where

I can truly expand my knowledge and what I want to do in the future.”

The TAS iGEM team worked throughout the spring and summer to finish up their project in order to present their work at the iGEM 2020 Virtual Giant Jamboree held on November 14-22.

According to Clapper, the summer was a critical time for the project’s success. “We have validated the sensitivity of our initial test results,” said Clapper. “Additionally we are developing a prototype in order to show a proof of concept of how a saliva-based virus detection kit would work.”

The TAS iGEM students did not stop there, however. The team reached out to other local schools to provide education about synthetic biology and general information about COVID - 19.

After a busy summer of research and teaching, the iGEM team was happy to get back to school in August. One reason was that the campus had been renovated while they were gone. The scientific research classes moved into a renovated, state-of-the-art Sandy R Puckett Memorial Research Laboratory, which is on the first floor of the Dr. Sharon D. Hennessy Building affectionately known as H-Block.

“They have set up shop quickly and are working constantly to give the final results that will be presented in poster, oral and webpage format during the virtual iGEM jamboree in November 2020,” Clapper said.

iGEM RESULTS

Updated November 22, 2020

The TAS iGEM team dominated the field of 66 high school teams at the 2020 iGEM World Jamboree held in November, taking hom the Grand Prize Award for best high school project. This is the third time a TAS team has taken home the “BioBrick” traveling trophy (in 2015, 2017, and 2020).

Additionally, TAS was awarded eight individual prizes and nominated for a total of 13 prizes, which is a record.

Awards won: Best Presentation, Best Poster, Best Education, Best Measurement, Best Software, Best Basic DNA Part, Best Composite DNA Part, and Best DNA Parts Collection.

Nominations received: Best Hardware, Best Integrated Human Practices, Best Model, Best Supporting Entrepreneurship, Best Wiki.

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

項。該競賽通常於每年的秋季在波 士頓舉辦。但由於新型冠狀病毒 COVID-19引發的疫情, 今年的競賽 改為線上的形式。

今年團隊的隊長是 Wilson H. (‘21)。在師生的眼裡他是一位機 智穎異沉穩的青年。2020美國臨床 腫瘤學會的大會 (American Society of Clinical Oncology Meeting Library) 最近發表了他的獨立研究報告。此 大會是世界上規模最大的腫瘤學會 議。 因為他的研究範疇已經達到 了研究生的層次, 並也有足夠的能 力在這個複雜的多階段研究過程中 來帶領其他成員, 所以他的同儕們 投票表決「一致通過」推選他為隊 長來表達他們對Wilson的敬意。 Clapper和Hsu異口同聲地說 　“Wilson 的研究層次是高過於同 年齡階段其他學生們的。他的思維 方式幾乎就像是一位研究生。他想 帶領今年的團隊做出一個對人類具 有實際影響的研究，例如治癒癌症 或其他類似的疾病。他的研究項目 一直以來都著重於實際的應用。” Clapper 老師說最初 Wilson和他 的2020 iGEM團隊討論了一些其他 可能的研究項目，不過因為 iGEM 的時限性, 其中一些時間較長需要 跨年度的研究項目在目前並不可行

於是不得不放棄。比如 “如何修 補一顆破碎的心、如何從你的睡眠 週期中獲得更好的健康，如何減少 塑料的浪費，如何解決珊瑚白化的 問題、以及如何利用鳳梨中使人產 生“刺痛感＂的酵素蛋白酶來降低 經期的疼痛 等。” 後來, 團隊將研究項目的範圍縮 小到兩個主題：一個小組想要嘗試 用龍蝦殼中的甲殼素來做成身體內 部的一種“防彈衣。” Wilson 認 為在理論上甲殼素 這種材料可以 用於人體內長出額外的內骨骼，從 而為人體提供額外的力量和支撐。 團隊中的第二個小組想要研究檢測 A型流感，B型流感和COVID-19 新 型冠狀病毒的家庭家檢測試劑盒。 最後, 檢測試劑盒成為今年的研究 項目。

不過，對COVID-19新型冠狀病 毒的檢測最初並不包括在今年的項 目範圍。

在二月份農曆新年過後新型冠 狀病毒開始在亞洲傳播開來，當時 我們的研究小組意識到這是另一個 研究的契機。 Clapper說“當中國意 識到新型冠狀病毒已經成為一個“ 全球大流行“的疫情，他們就發布 了該病毒基因組的序列，這使得我 們在第一階段線上課程的學習期間 中就可以公開地獲得這項序列。” 　“當時Wilson在沒有任何老師協 助的情況下就已經從病毒基因組 的序列裡找出了兩種流感病毒和 COVID-19菌株的序列，並對基因 組進行了幾種不同形式的生物資訊 學分析。” 在三月份，當美國開始面對該 病毒所帶來的問題和壓力，全球 也都面臨著測試套件大量短缺的挑 戰。TAS iGEM團隊很快就意識到

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAS iGEM AND MR. JUDE CLAPPER

學生們都同意今年的研究進度實際上 比往年提前了一些。

iGEM Giant Jamboree將於2020年秋 季舉辦，因此TAS團隊在整個春季， 暑假和初秋必須完成他們的研究, 也 就是A, B型流感和COVID-19 的家用 檢測試劑盒 。

“目前，這類型的測試是檢測大 多數病毒或冠狀病毒測試的最高標 準。基本上，它可以識別出該病毒的 遺傳序列所在的DNA片段。如果你 被感染，你的體內就會攜帶該病毒。 測試的方法是使用該人身上的樣本， 例如唾液或其他攜帶病毒的載體例如 飛沫等。該測試可以檢測你的樣本中 是否存在DNA，並且顏色會根據該 DNA的存在而變化。” Clapper和Hsu解釋了這項病毒檢測 研究的基本原理。對於那些不太熟悉 這類測試的人來說,本質上這其實就 是一個ph酸鹼值”的檢測。也就是基 於PCR的測試。他們舉了一個例子 -

例如 “當你在測量游泳池或家中 用水的pH值時，您會使用試紙或檢測 器，然後這些檢測設備會依據酸鹼值 的差異而改變顏色。這也就是這項病 毒檢測研究的原理。如果酸度較高， 顏色就會產生變化。

常緩慢的動作拍攝出一系列的影像畫 面，然後連續放映，高速呈現該動作 的發生過程）也在編寫一個分析顏色 結果的軟件程序，這項軟件程序讓用 戶在家裡使用基本的手機攝影照相功 能就能很容易地分析出顏色的變化和 看出結果。 這個項目的負責人Wilson H.知道， 其他許多學校也可能正在嘗試類似研 究的測試。 他認為，TAS的項目最終 具有兩個優勢：“這個檢測既快速又 精確。 ”“也就是構成準確性的兩個 部分:高度的靈敏度 和 精準的專一性 。還有，這個檢測在常溫下就可以進 行，也就是說你不必在專業的實驗室 中就可以處理研究的結果。 ”

Wilson和他的其他團隊成員對TAS 的合成生物學的這門課程都有滿心的 感激。 他說“它確實開啟了很多機會 的大門 ”，“當我開始上高中時，我 其實比較專注於工程學方面的學習， 例如機器人競賽。但是最終我意識到 我真正的熱愛是生物學和化學。在這 裡我可以確確實實地拓展自己的知識 層面和發展未來的志向。”

TAS iGEM團隊在整個春季和暑假 時都埋首於完成他們的研究工作 為 了能夠在11月14日至22日所舉行的 iGEM 2020線上 Giant Jamboree競賽中 展示他們的成果。

Clapper 說暑假期間的研究是該項 目成功與否的關鍵時期。 “我們已經 驗證成功初始測試結果的靈敏度”， “此外，我們也正在開發一個原型來 證明使用唾液試劑盒來檢測病毒是可 行的。 ”

在完成了研究之後TAS iGEM學生 還有其他後續的任務。 我們的團隊利 用暑假的時間和台灣當地的一些學校 進行了交流, 教導他們有關合成生物 學和COVID-19新型冠狀病毒的信息。 經過一整個暑假繁忙的研究和教 學分享後，iGEM團隊很高興在八月 份回到學校。 原因之一是在暑假的 時候學校進行了翻修的工程。他們 的科學研究教室現在搬到了位於H 棟 Sharon D. Hennessy博士大樓一樓的 Sandy R Puckett 紀念研究實驗室裡。

TEAM MEMBERS

Project Head: Wilson H.

Team Members: Andrew C. Claire W. Derek C. Hannah H. Jimmy S. Joyce T. Justin Y. Kelly Y. Matthew F. Renee C. Tiffany H. Tsuyoshi M. Tyler C. Vera C. Ting-Yu Y. Advisors:

Dr. Jonathan Hsu

Mr. Jude Clapper

Dr. Nicholas Ward

Athletics

BY MIKE CORSINI, ASSOCIATE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR

TAS student-athletes persevered through trying circumstances to produce a number of memorable performances to highlight a unique and rewarding Season 1.

The season opened with our student-athletes having access to significantly improved facilities, including a new track surface and Upper Field turf, safety improvements to the edge of the Lower Field and track, new lighting in Joie Gymnasium, and adjustable-height basketball hoops in the Derryl Franz Middle School Gymnasium.

With COVID-19 protocols remaining in place, our MS and US student-athletes were fortunate to be able to continue to learn valuable life lessons through sports via practices and intrasquad scrimmages. Around midseason our teams were cleared to compete interscholastically once again as COVID-19 cases in Taiwan remained low.

Each of our varsity teams made their mark on the season despite the challenging environment. The varsity boys and girls volleyball teams hung tough with high-level competition in the Anshan x Haishan 2020 Volleyball Carnival in Banqiao Oct. 3 and 4.

The varsity boys and girls cross country teams both participated in several virtual meets with schools across the globe, culminating in the International School Bangkok Virtual Cross Country Meet, which featured 17 girls teams and 27 boys teams. The boys finished second while the girls emerged victorious with three runners in the top 15 and an additional eight in the top 50.

The varsity boys soccer team capped its season with its best performance coming in its final match, an unlucky loss to Qingshui Senior High. Coach Carl Lochrin commended the team for its attitude and approach to a difficult season. The varsity girls soccer team posted three consecutive draws after an opening loss in the TAS Girls Soccer Invitational featuring a team of TAS alumni as well as tournament champion Taipei Soccer Club.

Season 1 athletics participation saw an uptick from the previous academic year with 178 rostered studentathletes on US teams and 338 on MS teams (up from 168 and 308, respectively).

A remarkable 40 of our US student-athletes hold presidency positions in TAS clubs, and we’re proud that they exemplify a balanced life and service to others in addition to being great competitors.

GO TIGERS!

PHOTOS: MIKE CORSINI

“CREATE WITH MY HANDS AND DREAM WITHOUT BOUNDS”: The Dream Behind TAS’s FRC Robotics Team “Raid Zero”’s Lasting Legacy

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

FRC Team Captain Emily H. (‘20) speaks passionately and eloquently about robotics as she sits in my office during her lunch period. Although she never thought she would end up as a “STEAM” student — she was, after all, the Class of 2020’s senior president and an award-winning debater in addition to her work on “bots” as she lovingly calls them — she says she has little doubt about where she is headed after graduation: the robotics lab of any educational campus she walks onto. The difference between robotics and the humanities? To Emily, while she admits that both robotics and the arts require creativity and thinking outside the box, she says that she loves

robotics because of the time spent fixing problems within a team. “You never face a challenge on your own,” says Emily.

The FRC robotics team at TAS, led by Director of the Solomon Wong Tech Cube, Mr. Matt Fagen, was actually the first FRC team in Southeast Asia. Always one to make history, the TAS Team 4253, “Raid Zero,” has achieved many firsts: they have qualified for the world championships, 6 years in a row. They have brought home countless awards and medals for placement in the robotics events themselves, for mentorship, and for creativity. Recently, “Raid Zero” achieved another milestone; they received the

Taiwan, hosting regional scrimmages, and helping to make possible the first Taiwan FRC regional in history. In 8 years, the TAS FRC team has gone from being the only FRC team in Taiwan to one of 28, their part in which is honored by this award.

The FRC team leadership described their goals as twofold: first, the TAS FRC program wanted to inspire other local Taiwan learning communities to invest in STEAM education. Secondly, they wanted to help build a long-term and sustainable ecosystem on the island for FRC robotics to “thrive.”

Chairman’s Award for outstanding service in robotics after painstakingly mentoring and training nearly 30 teams in

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAS UPPER SCHOOL COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ROBOTICS DEPARTMENT

An important embedded goal within these larger goals is, notably, that gender equality—from leadership all the way to robotics “rookies”—is an essential part of their definition of “sustainab[ility.]” Their team has, for years, had a 50-50 gender split in all areas of the team: “We break gender norms of STEAM as a traditionally maledominated field,” and this philosophy is part of what they hope to pass on to other teams they mentor in Taiwan.

Emily feels strongly that the TAS robotics program’s success is due, in no small part, to the leadership of Mr. Fagen, who has worked as a computer science and robotics teacher, then department chair, for nine years now. According to Emily, Mr. Fagen teaches the students directly at first, but he then fosters a very robust mentorship system, where the upperclassmen help run and teach the class. “The knowledge is passed down generation after generation, from student to student, not necessarily from teacher to students.” In this way, the robotics program becomes more sustainable and collegial, since students rely on themselves and their peers for present (and future) successes. “It’s collaborative, and you never make a decision on your own,” said Emily.

Emily says that the current FRC’s success, including this prestigious Chairman’s Award, could never have been accomplished without the efforts of previous teams and leaders. “Each generation of robotics students had their contribution to the Chairman’s Award...it’s a cumulative effort across many years.” While she, and her team, accepted the honor in a digital awards ceremony on April 27, the true recipients of the award include the “legacy of alumni,” which are listed here. Each year, she says, students try to honor the legacy of the previous years and “scale up,” to both honor their work and to build upon it.

With the opening of the Solomon Wong Tech Cube, Emily says the team’s ability to “scale up” their efforts has increased tremendously. Instead of relying on the Taiwan government to conduct large-scale training efforts, the TAS FRC team can now host training for new and returning groups here on our campus. They can also host other

larger events and scrimmages between teams to help better prepare them for the real robotics competitions. This year, the school hosted full FRC scrimmages for interested teams in Taiwan to help prepare them for the first annual Taiwan regional. This regional, which should have taken place this past March, was postponed due to the threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus, but the additional training and scrimmages this year have helped them prepare for the regional, which will hopefully take place next spring.

Another added benefit to hosting events on campus is that the TAS FRC teams can build lasting relationships with other Taiwan teams, especially those in the Taipei City area. “I’ve become good friends with people from Taipei First Girls’ High School...it’s really neat to see their perspective on robotics because, when coming from a local school in Taiwan, we realize that they have less funding and less support for their program,” said Emily. “So many times they have to make do with what they have, which is inspiring for our own team because they are still extremely competitive on the regional levels, even with the limited resources they have.”

Emily thinks that every student regardless of school location and resources should be able to try robotics at least once. Here at TAS, she thinks this is doubly true because of the amazing opportunities, machines, tools, and materials available for students to learn and work with. “Many alumni come back all the time and tell us that what we have here is better than most college facilities, even in engineering schools,” said Emily.

Emily feels grateful for the FRC program at TAS because there are life lessons to be taken from robotics that she doesn’t think she could have found anywhere else.

“Robotics has allowed me to create with my hands and dream without bounds,” said Emily. “It engages other aspects of your learning because you get to escape the classroom of papers and textbooks and enter a different universe. You’re not working with words or numbers but with real physical things. It’s awesome.”

FRC ROBOTICS 2019-2020

TEAM MEMBERS

Team Captain: Emily H. ‘20

Outreach Leads: Erica C. ‘20, Daniel L. ‘21, and Selina L. ‘22

Presenter: Jason L. ‘21

Team Roster: Alexander T. ‘20

Kyle H. ‘20 Aaron L. ‘20 James D. ‘20 Jimmy S. ‘21 Louis A. ‘21 Eric K. ‘21 Richie M. ‘21 Wilson H. ‘21 Teddy H. ‘21 Matthew F. ‘21 Mathew H. ‘22 Jeffrey L. ‘22 Eli K. ‘22 Ethan Y. ‘22 James C. ‘22 Jesse H. ‘22 Tommy S. ‘23 Ashley Y. ‘20 Olivia H. ‘20 Dorothy C. ‘21 Joyce C. ‘21 Julia S. ‘22 Vanessa K. ‘22 Charlotte L. ‘21 Vivian W. ‘22 Tiffany C. ‘22 Raji R. ‘22 Emily L. ‘22 Karen L. ‘22 Katie C. ‘23 Ryan L. ‘23 Darren C. ‘22 Peter Z. ‘23 Rex L. ‘23 Glenn L. ‘21 William H. ‘22 Tsang-Lu W. ‘22 Vivian H. ‘21

Contributing Alumni: Angel H. ‘17, Sharon K. ‘19, Jonathan H. ‘19, and Mike K. ‘19

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

(FRC比賽是由美國非營利性組織 FIRST主辦，由各個國家的高中生參 與的一項工業級機器人競賽。賽事遍 及20幾個國家及3,000多支來自世界各 地的隊伍參加，通過各地區域賽晉級 的隊伍才能至美國參加世界決賽。)

Emily H.是今年的應屆畢業生也 是TAS FRC工業級機器人競賽 團隊的隊長。在今天的午餐時間她 坐在我辦公室裡侃侃而談地說著機 器人技術的種種。除了是今年應屆

者風潮, 分享了他們的經驗以幫助 培育國內智慧機器人專業人才的貢 獻 。 TAS FRC的團隊領導人闡述了他 們的雙重目標：第一個目標是希望

不管是領導者的角色或者是剛開 始起步摸索機器人技術的"新人菜 鳥” 在我們的團隊裡您可以很清 楚地看到我們對實現這個目標的 努力。多年來，我們隊伍的各領 域區塊都進行了50-50％的性別劃 分：“我們打破了STEAM一直以 來的性別規範，因為以往的傳統都 是以男性為主"。 當他們在指導其 他台灣的團隊時, 他們也希望把這 個理念推廣延續下去。 Emily 深信TAS機器人技術計 劃的成功在很大程度上要歸功於 Fagen先生的領導。他曾擔任過電 腦科學老師和機器人老師，然後晉 升為部門主任。今年是他在TAS的 第9年。 Fagen 先生通常會先把所 需的內容和技能傳授班級裡的學 生，隨後他採取的是一個非常健全 的輔導制，讓高年級生幫助指導經 驗較淺的低年級學生們。在這門課 程裡 “知識是代代相承的；由學 長和學姐們傳承給學弟妹，由一個

好更充分的準備。今年在台灣舉辦 了首度的台灣地區FRC大賽。 在 比賽之前，我們在學校裡舉辦了正 式的練習賽 來幫助這些有志參賽 的隊伍做好賽前的準備。不過由 於COVID-19新冠狀病毒疫情的影 響，原定於今年3月舉辦的首度台 灣地區FRC 大賽被迫延期至明年的 春季。今年這些額外的培訓機會和 練習賽的經驗幫助我們的學生為明 年春季的比賽做了更充分的準備。 Emily 說“在學校裡舉辦活動的 另一個好處是TAS 的FRC團隊可以 跟台灣的其他團隊建立起長久的互 動關係，尤其那些是在台北地區的 隊伍。台北第一女子中學的一些學 生們現在已經是我的好朋友了…　 我們了解到台灣當地學校在發展機 器人技術時所能運用的財力和物力 的資源相對上是比我們少很多。能 夠從他們的角度來看機器人的技術 實在是太奇妙了。有很多時候他們 必須在資源相當有限的情況下來展 現他們的極限, 而且在我們的區域 隊伍裡和我們的實力不相上下，做

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TAS UPPER SCHOOL COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ROBOTICS DEPARTMENT

RENOWNED MAESTRO AND FORMER TAS PARENT RETURNS TO CONDUCT SCHUBERT’S MASS NO.2 IN G MAJOR

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

2019-2020 Joanna Nichols Memorial Performing Artist in Residence: Maestro Shou-Ling Wu, Associate Conductor of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra; Founder of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra Chorus

TAS welcomed Maestro Shou-Ling Wu as the 2019-2020 Joanna Nichols Memorial Performing Artist in Residence. In April 2020, she spent three weeks with the Grade 8 chorus, the upper school choirs, and the upper school orchestra. This work culminated in a week-long Arts Festival celebration, with a finale concert on April 25 as they performed Franz Schubert’s Mass No. 2 in G Major. This is Wu’s third visit to Taipei American School as a guest conductor, after previous residencies in 2008 and 2014 to work with the middle school string orchestra.

Wu is a trained cellist in addition to her career as a professional conductor. She served for over two decades as Assistant Conductor of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, collaborating closely for many of those years with Maestro Felix Chen during his tenure as Music Director. During her tenure at the Taipei Symphony Orchestra from 1990 to 2018, Wu appeared frequently with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra and Taipei Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

In 1994, Wu’s career took another turn, when she was asked to start the Taipei Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Although her master’s degree was in orchestral conducting, “sometimes, someone just hands you something and tells you to do it,” she said. leading

that chorus in numerous operatic and concert appearances in consecutive seasons together with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, including fully staged opera performances.

All conductors, like Wu, are given the professional title “maestro,” a word borrowed from Italian, that in English refers to a male “teacher.” Wu, a selfdescribed short Taiwanese woman uses the term “maestro,” not “maestra,” in the same way that many actors choose to use the male-gendered term, regardless of their gender. Gender politics are, understandably, a huge part of the conversation for many female conductors because, with around 95% of the world’s professional conductors identifying as male, Wu, an Asian woman, is part of a very small minority amongst professional conductors. However, Wu says that she now embraces her role as a proud female conductor.

When she was studying in the United States—at the University of Michigan for her undergraduate degree and at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music for her master’s degree—she only came across two other females in her conducting coursework. She says that no one overtly discriminated against her in her time at those two schools, but she says that the discrimination came in more “subtle ways.” “If a big shot conductor was coming to host a seminar for a master class, they would never choose a student to lead the demonstrating orchestra,” said Wu.

Wu says that she didn’t let this discrimination against women give her an “excuse not to become a good conductor.” In contrast, she believes

that every time she faced difficulty because of her gender (or her short stature) it made her less afraid of leading any orchestra. “You really have to fail so many times to learn that,” said Wu. “If you can be strong enough mentally to overcome any discouragement, if you can survive that, then you can probably become a pretty good, strong professional conductor.”

The word “maestro” might directly translate to teacher in Italian, but Wu thinks that the role of a conductor goes beyond that of a classroom teacher and that it is more nuanced than the title may initially indicate. She sees a stark difference between how she relates to her orchestral musicians versus how she relates to her choral musicians. The Taipei Symphony Orchestra Chorus always uses the Chinese term “老師” as a professional courtesy to her, a term which also directly translates to “teacher” in English. However, while “maestro” and “老師” might seem equivalent to a mono-lingual English speaker, the first term has a history of musical respect imbued into it, while the other is just a convenient term for what she is to them: a teacher of music. Wu teaches each note of music to each chorus member.

The same cannot be said of the orchestra, who do not “ever” call her “老師.” Wu says that the professional musicians in the orchestra do not see a conductor as their teacher; rather, a good conductor, in an orchestral setting, is there as a conduit and source of inspiration, not merely to impart content or teach notes: “I am there to inspire them to do what they already know and to lure it out,” she says. “A

really good conductor knows how to extract good musicianship from their musicians, like a vampire extracting your blood.They know how to get the best out of you without you actually being told to or being forced to do it.”

Wu says that there is a “very delicate difference” between a traditional teacher and a conductor, although she admits that TAS probably has many of both, even across the various disciplines. She says that, in the end, a good conductor—regardless of age or discipline—has an idea in their head that they want to see accomplished, and they inspire those that they lead to complete that musical picture. The difference, to her, is that her musicians already have the skills they need to achieve that picture, but she is the one with the larger organizational mission.

Wu was animated as she used her arms to mime playing a violin or sang various notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony to explain the difference. Being able to communicate, quickly and with as few words as possible, she says is an important skill for conductors to master, one that she was able to emulate in her interview with the TAS communications office.

Wu is no stranger to Taipei American School. As a proud mother of two TAS alumni Wu looked forward to returning to guest conduct here— this time, without the added pressure of conducting her own children. Wu was last on campus in 2014 to guest conduct for the arts festival. She also vividly remembers visiting to conduct in 2008 because she remembers how “embarrassed” her son was to have his mother out there conducting the middle school string orchestra. “Of course, he did enjoy it, in private, but in front of the other kids, he would pretend not to care,” she laughed as she remembered. “How very middle school!”

“I’m always impressed by how high the participant percentage is for students in music at Taipei American School,” Wu said. “And I’m always impressed with the quality of the music concerts that the school puts on.” Although she admits that TAS students are not as technically advanced as the professional musicians she usually

works with at the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, she says that even with the (understandable) deficiency of technique, the students here are able to feel and communicate the music, an important first step for serious musicians.

Wu’s hope is that music education will continue to be embedded in the curriculum, at TAS and in other schools because she thinks that music can be a lifelong companion for all who learn to appreciate it. When you’re extremely happy, music can help you express that feeling. When you are discouraged or feeling low, music can help to relieve whatever is painful in your heart. She says that she hopes that all kids are given a musical “environment” in which they learn it “like a language,” something that is used “daily like a hug so that it is taken as a natural part of life.”

Both of her children have pursued careers in non-musical occupations, but both continue to play and appreciate music on a daily basis. She says that her son is a good example of learning music as a daily language. “He’s proof,” she says. “Right now, he’s required to stay at home in San Francisco [for quarantine due to COVID-19]. He’s a computer engineer and sits at home all day; but after he’s done working, he starts playing violin—and so, through music, he will never find home quarantine boring.”

She credits the TAS music department and TAS parents with cultivating a love of music that permeates the school’s culture and

BUDDE

leads to lifelong musical appreciation. “It’s hard to get someone to love classical music, but if you start them when they are young, that’s another story,” said Wu. Music, to Wu, is a “refined art,” an art that helps convey a deeper shared human belief behind the melody. At TAS, she thinks that the faculty challenges the students to play true classical music like Schubert and Mozart, without caving to more popular forms of music education. The school isn’t “intimidated” by kids being uninterested in the classical repertoire and this courage, she says, is the mark of a good music education.

Wu feels thankful toTaipei American School for the opportunity to return to teach here. “I love TAS,” said Wu. “After my children graduated, I felt like I was forced to leave this amazing community, but I love that through this program I can stay in touch. It is a great honor to come here to work with the kids and all the teachers and try to inspire them the way I was inspired by my own teachers.”

The feeling is very mutual. Middle school choir director, Betty Chang, says that TAS is “fortunate” to be able to have access to conductors like Wu: “Her patience, kindness, and expertise took the Grade 8 singers to a whole new level of classical music.”

The Joanna Nichols Memorial Performing Artist in Residence program is made possible through a generous contribution to Taipei American School’s Annual Giving program, and the generous support of Kenny Cheng.

PHOTO: BECCA

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF

PHOTO: BECCA BUDDE

班(master class) 的研討會，他們絕

對不會選擇一位女學生來指揮示 範的樂團。

這個在音樂界裡存在著的性別

歧視並沒有讓她怯步。相反地，

那些由於性別(或者她嬌小的身 材）而遇到的困難，都讓她一次 又一次地克服恐懼相信自己有實

力能夠帶領任何的樂團。“你真

的必須在經歷多次的失敗後才能

領悟出這個道理”, “如果你有 足夠的毅力和勇氣來克服任何的 挫折，如果你沒有被困難和挑 戰擊倒，那麼你就很有可能會成 為一個非常優秀出色的專業指揮 家。”

義大利語的”maestro”　這 個詞可能會直接被翻譯成　“老 師teacher”。但她認為一位指揮 家的專業領域絕對超越了“老 師”一詞的範疇，而且在字義上 是有差別的。台北市立交響樂團 附設合唱團的團員們一直尊稱她 為“老師”以作為對她專業的敬 仰，“老師”的英語直接翻譯就 是“teacher”。 雖然對於一位 只說英語的人來說”maestro” 和“老師”的詞意非常的接近。 不過在源遠流長的音樂歷史 裡，”maestro” 是表示對大師 和 傑出音樂家們的景仰和推崇。而 另一個詞“老師”體現的是她和 合唱團團員之間的關係；一位能 夠在音樂領域裡傳道授業解惑的 老師。 然而在一個交響樂團裡，團 員們從來沒有稱呼過她為“老 師”。因為在樂團裡這些的專業 音樂家並不認為指揮是他們的老 師。在管弦樂團中，一個好的指 揮家能引導激發出每個團員們的 極致，而不僅僅是傳授內容或講

們所希望看到的成果，而他們的 角色就是激勵那些他們所帶領的 樂團團員達到這個願景。對她而 言，不同之處在於她所帶領那些 音樂家們都已經具備了實現那幅 願景所需的技能，而她則是承擔 著整體使命的那個人。

她說一個指揮必須掌握的重要 技能之一就是能夠用最快速最精 簡的方式來和你的團員溝通。她 在採訪現場就給了一個栩栩如生 的示範：以哼唱出或者用拉小提 琴的動作示範貝多芬第五交響曲 一小段落不同的表現方法。

在台北美國學校的大家庭裡 吳指揮並非是個陌生人。她的兩 個孩子都是從TAS畢業的校友。 上一次她來校擔任藝術節的客座 指揮是在2014年間。她特別記得 在2008年時客座指揮中學弦樂團 的經驗，因為她的兒子就在樂 團裡面，他的母親在那裡指揮有 時讓他覺得是很“尷尬”的。“ 私底下我想他確實是喜歡這個 經驗的，但是在其他孩子面前他 會假裝他完全不在乎」她笑著回 憶道。“他真的是一個不折不扣 的中學生！”這次回來，因為她 的兩個孩子都畢業了，她再也不 必擔心可能會造成他們尷尬的困 擾。

“我向來都對台北美國學校學 生參與音樂活動有如此高的比例 感到印象深刻，”“學校舉辦的 音樂會演出水準總是讓我留下非 常深刻的印象。”雖然TAS學生 在演奏技巧上還比不上那些在台 北市立交響樂團和她一起共事的 專業音樂家，但是這裡的學生已 經有了對音樂的感動而且也能透 過音樂來表達他們的情感，如果 你是一位對音樂有更高期許的學 生，這是一個非常重要的基礎。

不論是TAS或者其他的學校， 她希望每個學校都能繼續提供音 樂教育課程。只要學生愛上了音 樂，就像是找到了一位可以終生 陪伴左右的摯友。當你快樂時， 音樂可以傳達你的喜悅，當你灰 心喪氣情緒低落時音樂可以緩解 你內心的苦悶。她希望所有孩子 都能有一個音樂“環境」，在這 個環境裡學習音樂就像是學習一 門語言。音樂語言不但能讓我們 表達出我們的喜怒哀樂，音樂也 可以像是一雙溫暖的手在我們生 活裡給我們擁抱和溫暖。 她的兩個孩子從事的工作都和

音樂無關，但兩個人每天都還是 繼續彈奏樂器和享受著音樂帶給 他們的喜悅。她說她的兒子每天 用音樂來溝通釋放他的感覺就是 一個很好的例子。“他真的就是 一個活生生的證明”，“目前由 於COVID-19新冠狀病毒疫情的 關係，他必須待在舊金山的家中 做居家隔離。他是一名電腦工程 師，整天的工作就是坐在家裡的 螢幕前盯著電腦。但是在他完成 工作後，他就會開始拉小提琴。 因為有了小提琴這個一直陪伴在 他身旁的夥伴，隔離的這段期間 他一點也不覺得無聊。”

吳指揮認為TAS大環境裡所培 養出的音樂氣息與熱情必須歸功 於音樂部門的師長和TAS的家長們 的用心灌溉，此份對音樂的熱愛 和承諾早已是學校文化和學生生 命中的一部分了。“喜歡古典音 樂的人不是太多，但是如果你在 他們年紀小的時候就開始施予古 典音樂的教育，那麼情況可能就 不一樣了。”古典音樂是一種“ 精緻的藝術”，有助於在旋律背 後傳達更深層的人類信仰。在 TAS，老師鼓勵學生演奏古典音樂 例如舒伯特和莫扎特，而不是屈 服於流行的音樂教育形式。學校 並沒有因為學生對古典曲目缺乏 興趣而就裹足不前。 她說，這種 不隨波逐流的勇氣就是優質音樂 教育的表徵。

吳指揮非常感謝能夠有這個 機會回到台北美國學校和師生 們一起工作。 她說：“我愛 TAS。”“我的孩子畢業後，我感 到被迫離開這個很棒的大家庭， 因此我非常高興藉由這個計劃可 以繼續和學校保持著聯繫。在我 的音樂生涯裡，這一路上因為一 些師長們的啟發而開啟了我對音 樂的熱愛和執著。在這裡，能夠 與孩子們一起努力並激發他們對 音樂的熱忱真的是我的榮幸。 中學部合唱團主任Betty Chang 表示，TAS能夠有幸邀請到吳指揮 這樣一位傑出的指揮家來校指導 我們真的是太幸運了。“我們誠 心誠意地感謝她的耐心、愛心和 專業的指導讓我們八年級的合唱 團員在古典音樂的領域裡又達到 了另一高峰。” 由於Kenny Chang的慷慨捐贈以 及大力支持讓我們的學生們能受 益於Joanna Nichols紀念藝術家駐校 表演計劃

TAS SPEECH AND DEBATE: “WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED”

BY EMING S. (‘21), PRESIDENT OF TAS SPEECH AND DEBATE

This summer was historic for our speech and debate program. TAS became the first international school to be recognized as a Debate School of Excellence (Top 20 Debate Schools in the U.S.) by the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) in their 95-year history. Just two years ago, TAS had no organized speech and debate program, but instead disjointed teams that would gather for individual local or regional tournaments and then disband again at the end of the tournament. Just two years ago, my freshman self struggled to survive in a divided speech and debate community.

So how did we go from that division to where we are now?

It started with the first tournament of my sophomore year—the first of our new program. On that trip, there were only three people: our new debate coach and current 6-12 program director, Chase Williams, who had never been to Asia in his

life before coming to TAS, my debate partner Henri, and me. Henri and I had never competed in public forum debate before—in fact, I’m not even sure at first we understood the names of the different speeches.

Thankfully, our lack of knowledge about public forum debate didn’t scare Mr. Williams away. Though he has coached national champions in multiple events, at that first practice, he started with the most basic lesson about “claim-warrant-impact”. Over the next few weeks, Mr. Williams answered every one of my questions— no matter how frustrating they might be - and inspired us to believe in our ability to succeed at the tournament. It was not easy. During that month of preparation, we were some of the last people to leave campus every evening. But the hard work paid off: Henri and I made it to the final round against one of the top teams in the United States.

Like with any journey, we faced

new challenges as our program grew and we traveled to the U.S. for more advanced national speech and debate tournaments. The tournament in Hawaii featured only 12 teams, and now we were competing at the Stanford Invitational against over 200 teams. Beyond the fact that the competition was much harder, we faced discrimination and sterotypes. People didn’t know anything about Taiwan; they simply assumed that we were from a “third-world country”, and they asked why we were at this tournament in the first place.You see, international schools don’t do what TAS is doing—they don’t compete regularly at U.S. speech and debate tournaments. In so many ways, we are the trailblazers.

But through all of the adversity, we had each other and we had our dreams. Over the next two years, nothing could extinguish our passion —not 13-hour plane rides from TPE to SFO, nor 12-hour time

differences from Taipei Standard Time to Eastern Standard Time as we compete in virtual tournaments due to COVID-19. We cheered each other’s successes, big and small, and supported each other at times of disappointment. We gave everything we had to uplift “international speech and debate” as more than just an anomaly at tournaments. At first, we were small and easy to ignore, but with the investment of our time, the fostering of our talent, and the development of our tenacious spirits, we gradually began to make noise. We achieved our first break into elimination rounds in speech and debate events, we obtained our first tournament of champion bids in multiple events, and we made history as the first international school to be a Top 20 Debate School in the U.S.

Our growth was not limited to tournaments in the U.S. Over the past two years, TAS Speech and Debate developed just as quickly on our

Tianmu campus. We grew from three members at that first tournament, to over 80 active upper school members and 60 active middle school members today. In our TAS Speech and Debate family, senior or freshmen, history nerds or robotics captains—we practice and perform with each other. When we lose a round or have a rough tournament, we support and cheer each other on. When we win, even when it is an individual victory, it is a team celebration—because our family sticks together and improves together. For us, TAS Speech and Debate isn’t just an after-school activity; it’s a family, a place that we can call home. As Mr. Williams said on Day 1, “It’s a Family Thing,” and that is the motto that drives everything we do.

2020 has been a crazy year. Amidst a COVID-19 pandemic, a longoverdue movement against systemic racism and oppression, inspiring democratic protests in Hong Kong

in the face of Chinese aggression, a life-threatening climate crisis, and a world full of anguish and suffering, now more than ever, we need young voices to stand up and speak out for justice and progress. TAS Speech and Debate gives all students a platform where our voices can truly be heard—because our voices matter. Our season is already underway— we are hosting open practices across all events, encouraging members to address the issues that they truly care about, and empowering the the leaders in our community to use their voices for change. We are so lucky to be in Taiwan in 2020, but that does not mean that we can turn a blind eye to the critical issues facing the rest of the world — the stakes are too high for us to be bystanders. Speaking up used to just be our passion, but now, it is our mission.

And we’re just getting started.

PHOTO: LINDSEY KUNDEL

老師很有耐心

積極參與的隊員規模。不管你是一 個剛進入高中的九年級生，或者是 即將畢業的12年級生，不論你是一 個熱愛專研歷史的書呆子或者是機 器人技術團隊的隊長 – 在我們的 TAS演講和辯論的大家庭中，我們 做的就是不斷的練習和辯論。當我 們輸掉一局或參加一場艱難的比賽 時，我們會互相支持打氣。 當我 們獲勝時，即使只是一項個人的勝 利，我們也一起慶祝— 因為在這 個大家庭裡的每個成員們都團結在

PHOTOS: CHASE WILLIAMS

Graduation 2020

A GRADUATION TO REMEMBER

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Taipei American School hosted its annual graduation ceremony for the class of 2020 on Saturday, May 23. This ceremony, which happens annually in May to honor the graduating class, featured many differences this year as the school was forced to reimagine its location and format due to social distancing guidelines enforced by the Taiwan government in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Taipei American School was the first school in Taiwan to host a physical graduation ceremony on its campus this year, although some other schools were in the midst of planning ceremonies for later in the spring and summer.

Taipei American School worked tirelessly to follow the Taiwan’s

Ministry of Education guidelines set forth for schools. In particular, the school administration worked closely with our compliance officer, Ms. Rachel Lin, to ensure we held a safe and fun last gathering for the Class of 2020. Although some limits on gathering sizes were lifted immediately prior to the ceremony, social distancing measures remained in place; this meant that we had to limit the ceremony to only students, two guests, and a select group of volunteers. As the event planning continued it became clear that it would not be appropriate to have the entire faculty attend the event when we were unable to invite all parents and families.

“We are one of very few learning

communities fortunate enough to hold a graduation ceremony with students physically present for our resilient and amazing Class of 2020,” Head of School Dr. Sharon D. Hennessy said. “Together, the school worked to put student safety and health above all else. We had to be cautious, perhaps more cautious than some wish and less so than others desire, but we remained confident that this was the right decision for our community to mark this special occasion in a year overly marked by tragedy.”

The commencement and graduation ceremony was held outdoors with all attendees wearing face masks, despite a small rainstorm passing through the area due to a nearby typhoon. It began at 9:00 am, both in person and via livestream. Because the school wanted to keep the ceremony shorter due to the weather and health concerns, the traditional speeches and music were cut short in person but later added to the footage of the ceremony to create a full graduation ceremony at a later date.

“I am saddened that we cannot have our traditional graduation in the middle school gym, but I am so thrilled that we can have a ceremony at all,” said Upper School principal Andrew Lowman. “I appreciated all of your flexibility and support as we wrap up a truly historic school year.”

Although students and guests were required to wear masks for the duration of their time on campus for graduation, and were not allowed to take photos during the event, the families of graduates were allowed to schedule times on both Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24 for taking professional photographs on campus to mark the occasion.

PHOTO: LINDSEY KUNDEL

程中,我們了解到當校方已經無法 邀請畢業生的父母和家人時, 如果 讓老師們來參加這個典禮也是行不 通的。 總校長韓雪倫女士（Dr. Sharon D. Hennessy） 指出 “當全世界大 大小小的學校都面對著冠狀病毒所 帶來的挑戰時, 我們真的是少之又 少能夠實地舉行畢業典禮的學校之 一。” 當各地都傳出疫情傷亡的 慘劇時, 學生們的安全與健康就是 我們最優先的考量。我們也了解到 社群成員對這個考量可能有不同的 詮釋和期望。但是我們深信在這個 時候舉辦一個有限度地開放並且符 合政府法規的實地畢業典禮是一個 正確的決定。” 不同於以往的是今年的畢業典 禮是在戶外舉行。所有與會者都戴 著口罩。 由於颱風外圍的影響, 當 天的典禮是在雨勢中舉行的。典禮 從上午9 點開始, 並且也進行同步 直播 。出於天候和健康方面的考 量, 學校希望縮短典禮的時間。因

LINDSEY KUNDEL

REMARKS FROM THE CLASS PRESIDENTS

BY YAN YING M. (‘20) AND EMILY H. (‘20), CLASS OF 2020 CLASS PRESIDENTS

these times, we hope you cherish the anxiety-inducing firsts, and the heartwarming lasts. Remember the first time you walked into D Block, slightly terrified by the huge upper schoolers and the last time you roamed the hallways as the oldest students of the school.

Good morning. Friends, family, and faculty.We all know that teenagers are prone to making bad decisions. You may have stayed up binge watching Netflix on a school day. You may have played Minecraft during your online classes. You may have taken the AP instead of IB.

Turns out the entire world makes bad decisions as well. Starting with one person contracting the disease, to many people travelling around the world, to governments too slow in responding to local outbreaks, a series of bad decisions has produced a global pandemic.

Class of 2020, needless to say, our last year together has been riddled with misfortune. It’s hard to express the amount of uncertainty that the world is facing right now. Too many times has it crossed our minds that this world we live in has neither reason nor care. To put it simply, it’s unfair. No matter how good of a person you are, how hard you try, you can’t escape the tragedies that exist.

As we are forced to accept these changes as a part of our “new normal”, it seems that the glass bubble of our

LINDSEY KUNDEL

coexistence has shattered. We yearn for the privileges that we took for granted before. But as we reconcile with these changes, instead of trying to revert to the past, we invite you to envision what you want the world to be in the future.

Kintsugi is a method of pottery repair, where broken ceramic pieces are joined together by filling the cracks with melted gold. Instead of hiding the breakage, the scars are celebrated as a part of the ceramic’s history and beauty. Likewise, the challenges we’ve faced and the mistakes we’ve made should be embraced as a part of us.

High school has been a microcosm of real life. We’ve experienced just about every human emotion. We’ve tried. We’ve failed but got up and tried again. We’ve won and lost. We’ve fought for what we believed in. We’ve fallen in love. We’ve been hurt. We’ve been tested. Oh, so many tests...

We’ve gone through the ups and downs of the rollercoaster that is life. Yet, we shouldn’t glorify the highs and discard the lows, and instead, piece them all together to form our identity as a class. As we reflect on

Treasure the good memories you made behind these red-bricks...no matter how small like celebrating birthdays at school, or how big like dominating a high school film festival. From the friendly banter with your teachers to recreating spirit week in the courtyard, from ClassGov vlogs with hilarious voice overs to your many victories on stage, in the lab, and on the court. We hope that you never forget these snapshots of high school life. Alongside those, remember the challenging times and how you persevered despite the odds. As much as things were taken away from us, we still have so much to give.

Many of you may know the “butterfly effect,” the theory that the flap of a butterfly’s wing could cause a tornado on the other side of the world. If a microscopic virus can shut down the entire world, why doesn’t the counterfactual exist? Must destruction in the form of a tornado or a global pandemic always be the outcome?

The answer to this question is right in front of you. And sitting beside you and behind you. It takes each and every one of us to care a little more, love a little deeper, and try a little harder. Over the past few years as a class, we have seen that you are capable of this and so much more.

You dreamt big. You pursued your passions relentlessly.You have and will continue to make your mark on this world. As you step out beyond these brick walls, your small actions will add up to create overwhelmingly large effects. Class of 2020, you will be the gold that binds together a new world for the better.

PHOTO:

BY YAN YING M. (‘20) AND EMILY H. (‘20), CLASS OF 2020 CLASS PRESIDENTS

朋友們, 家人們,和老師們, 大家 早! 我們都知道青少年往往很容易 就會做出錯誤的決定。比如你可 能在應該做功課的時候熬夜看了 Netflix，在線上課堂的時候偷偷地 玩著Minecraft。也可能原本應該選 修 IB 的課程 結果上了AP。 事實證明，不光只是我們，全世 界的人也都會做出錯誤的決定。從 感染新冠狀病毒的一個人開始，到 在世界各地旅行遊走的人們，再到 對疫情處理得太慢的政府。 這一系 列錯誤的決定造成了這個全球性疫 情的大流行。 毋庸置疑的，我們在一起的最後 這一年裡席捲全世界的是一連串的 不幸與悲劇。人類現在所面臨的不 確定性是數不清也數不完的。接踵 而來的這些悲劇讓人覺得我們所在 的這個世界既沒有道理可循也少了

碎片連接在一起。這個作法的用意 不是在掩蓋破損，而是將歷史和碎 片融合成一件新的藝術品。就像金 繕 一樣，我們所面臨的種種挑戰還 有曾經犯過的錯誤都造就了今日的 我們。我們應該感謝這些挑戰和錯 誤在我們的成長過程中給我們留下 的印記和啟示。 高中生活一直是大千現實世界的 縮影。不管是喜怒 或者是哀樂 我們 都已經體會過了。我們一起贏過, 也 一起輸過. 贏的時候我們滿心歡喜 但不自傲。面對失敗的時候 我們傷 心難過但不放棄為自己的信念而奮 鬥。這些年來,有人談戀愛了, 有人 失戀了, 心碎了. 生活的種種一次又 一 次地考驗著我們。 啊，這麼多的考驗... 就像坐雲霄飛車一樣，我們經歷 過了高低起伏的人生。但是我們不 該只是美化高潮，捨棄低潮而是將 它們拼湊在一起。因為這些高低起 伏造就了今日我們這個畢業班的群

台上，實驗室裡,球場上大大小小的 勝利。我們希望你永遠不會忘記高 中生活的這些點點滴滴。也不要忘 記現在我們活在一個充滿挑戰的時 代。在這個時代裡你更加需要堅持 到最後的關頭。儘管我們失去了一 些，但我們還有很多事情等著我們 去成就, 去給予。 有些人可能聽說過“蝴蝶效應” 。也就是蝴蝶翅膀的襟翼可能在世 界另一端造成龍捲風的一個理論。 這指的是在一個動力系統中，初始 條件下微小的變化能引起整個系統 長期而巨大的連鎖反應。如果一個 只有在顯微鏡下才看得見的病毒就 可以鋪天蓋地讓整個世界停止運 作，我們也有可能成為一片片蝴蝶 翅膀的襟翼來捲起一股正向的龍捲 風讓我們的世界變得更安全更美好, 不是嗎？

PHOTO: LINDSEY KUNDEL

COLLEGE MATRICULATION

BY REGION

UNITED STATES

Arizona State University

Babson College

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Berklee College of Music Boston College

Boston Conservatory Boston University

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Brigham Young University Brigham Young University, Idaho Brown University

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Bucknell University California Lutheran University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California State University, Northridge

California State UniversityLong Beach Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University

Chapman University Claremont McKenna College Colgate University College of William & Mary Colorado College Columbia University Cornell University

Curry College Dartmouth College De Anza College

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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach Emory University Endicott College

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles Fashion Institute of Technology

Fordham University Georgetown University Georgia Institute of Technology

Grinnell College

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Haverford College

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ASIA

Beijing Film Academy

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Marist College Maryland Institute college of art

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Pepperdine University

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Seattle University Simmons University Stanford University Stevens Institute of Technology Stony Brook University Syracuse University

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University of the Pacific University of Virginia University of Washington Utah State University

Vanderbilt University Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Tech

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EUROPE

Durham University

Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne

Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands)

Goldsmiths, University of London Imperial College London

Jacobs University

King’s College London

Polimoda International Institute of Design and Marketing

The London School of Economics and Political Science

The University of Edinburgh The University of Warwick Universiteit van Amsterdam University College London University of Bristol University of Cambridge (UK) University of Glasgow University of Manchester University of Oxford University of Sheffield

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Bond University Massey University

The University of Melbourne University of Canterbury University of New South Wales University of Sydney UNSW Australia

CANADA

Humber College

Queen’s University University of British Columbia University of Lethbridge University of Ontario Institute of Technology University of Toronto University of Waterloo

Singapore Management University

Sophia University

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The University of Hong Kong

University of Tokyo Waseda University

Yale-NUS College

Yonsei University

Institutions where TAS graduates from the Classes of 2018, 2019, and 2020 enrolled. Boldfaced print indicates institutions attended by graduates from the Class of 2020.

Professional Excellence

BY SHARON L. (‘22), THE BLUE & GOLD

Ms. Michelle Kao, Upper School Art Department Chair, recently opened an exhibition at Lili Art and Kitchen named “Tea in Atlantis” with Mr. Edmund McGowan, former art substitute teacher. The exhibition combines two art mediums, paintings by Ms. Kao and woodfired ceramics by Mr. McGowan. The exhibition was open from July 18 to Aug. 31, where the artworks were displayed on the second floor gallery of the restaurant.

The name “Tea in Atlantis” signifies the combination of painting and ceramics. The tea suggests the use of ceramicware, while Atlantis is the name of the biggest painting in the exhibition.The name Atlantis also refers to the mysterious underwater city in Greek mythology that people have always searched for but have never found.

“Tea in Atlantis is almost like this impossible thing, right? But it could be possible only if you imagine it,” Ms. Kao said. Many of the pieces displayed have dreamlike qualities and abstract textures, which allows the audience to make their own interpretations. Ms. Kao and Mr.

McGowan seek to move people with their art by channeling the audience’s imagination, allowing them to see and experience sensations as if going to an alternate reality.

Despite having fantastical themes in many of her pieces, Ms. Kao often finds inspiration for her paintings from the world around her. The painting “Atlantis” was inspired by a small oxidized metal knob in her shower, about the size of a 10 NT coin.

“The way that it was oxidizing, it’s almost like nature doing its magic...I was very moved by it,” Ms. Kao said.

Although most people would easily disregard a small piece of tarnished metal and not even spare a second glance, Ms. Kao saw beauty in the ways the colors and textures came together, and decided to channel it through her artwork.

She ended up taking a photo and magnifying it more than 500 times the size, using that as inspiration for her largest painting “Atlantis.”

“I’m trying to share things that visually move me. And if I magnify it large enough, you can’t miss it.”

Another set of artworks, “When

Your World Is Turned Upside Down”, “And You Can’t Stop the Tears From Flowing Up” and “Unicorn Frappuccino,” are symbolic of Ms. Kao’s personal journey in embracing her creative spirit.

Around two years ago, Ms. Kao was struggling with balancing teaching, art and family, which are all equally important to her. She felt very unbalanced and overworked, because she wasn’t taking time for herself. “I realized that although I am a creative, I wasn’t feeding my creative spirit,” she said. After realizing this, Ms. Kao began visiting the school during summer and winter breaks to paint in the studio.

At first, she didn’t intend to showcase these paintings, but as she painted more and more works, she felt that they were cohesive enough to become a show. So when she was offered an opportunity by Lili Art and Kitchen, she decided to go through with it and polished up 12 of her paintings for the exhibition.

When the exhibition opened in July, many of Ms. Kao’s students went to listen to her artist talk. Jane L. (‘22) and Yu T. (‘22), two of her yearbook

PHOTO: LINDSEY KUNDEL

students, were very moved by her paintings.

“I could really see the emotions she put into the artwork. Especially since I heard the explanations for her pieces, I was able to feel the emotions behind them more deeply,” Yu said.

Many students also loved Ms. Kao’s artistic style, and felt inspired by her. “I really like her paintings. Her art style is really young and trendy, and it’s really aesthetic. I feel like her personality really shows through her style, because she’s really open to young people and their ideas,” Jane said.

Ms. Kao sees her own paintings as reflections of her soul, portals through which she can deliver messages to her audience. By sharing these paintings, she provides opportunities for “soulmates,” people who can connect through her paintings, to meet.

Beyond just displaying her artworks, Ms. Kao has also placed her paintings up for purchase, and will be donating 10 percent of the profits.

Although saying goodbye to her pieces is a hard thing to do, Ms. Kao still wishes that all of her paintings can go to good homes. “I personally think that each artwork has its own energy to offer, and for people who buy my work, they see the piece and they’re moved by it. So if they get to have that and see that all the time, it’s giving them good energy. So if I think about it that way, I’m very happy for them to go.”

Starting this month, Ms. Kao will be moving on to her next creative project. As someone who creates in multiple mediums, including writing music, acting and baking, she has decided to participate in a year-long acting class focusing on the Meisner technique, where actors learn to behave instinctively by putting themselves into imaginary situations. “I’ll probably just paint for fun when I feel like it for a while. So I don’t know when my next art show might be and I’m not worried about that anymore,” Ms. Kao said.

高中美術部主任

Michelle Kao 老

師與前美術代課老師McGowan 先生最近在Lili Art and Kitchen二樓的 畫廊舉辦了名為“Tea in Atlanti”的 展覽。 這個展出結合了兩種藝術媒 介：高老師的畫作和McGowan先生 的木燒陶瓷。 展覽期間從7月18日至

8月31日。

“Tea in Atlantis”這個名稱意味著 繪畫和陶瓷的結合。 之所以用Tea 這 個字眼是因為使用了

陶瓷器皿作為媒介，而Atlantis 則 是展覽中最大一幅畫作的名稱。 亞 特蘭蒂斯（Atlantis）這個名字也指希 臘神話中神秘的水下城市，人們一 直在尋找但從未發現過。

“Tea in Atlantis 幾乎就像尋找亞特 蘭蒂斯這樣不可能的事情，對嗎？ 但在你的想像中，它是有可能實現 的。”高老師說。 展出的許多作 品都具有夢幻般的質感和抽象的組 成質地，讓觀眾可以做出自己的詮 釋。 高老師和McGowa先生試圖通過 引導觀眾的想像力，讓他們對這些 藝術創作有所感動，使他們看到並 體驗到彷彿進入另一現實的感覺。 儘管她的作品中都有許多奇幻的 主題，但高老師大部分的時候還是 從她周圍的世界中汲取靈感。 畫作 《亞特蘭蒂斯》的靈感則來自淋浴 間一個受到氧化、尺寸約為台幣10 元大小的金屬小旋鈕。

高老師說：“它的氧化方式，就 像自然界正在發揮魔力一樣……我 深深地被這個現象感動了。”

儘管大多數人很容易就會輕忽一 小塊鏽跡斑斑的金屬，甚至看都不 看，但高老師看到了顏色和紋理融 合在一起的美麗，並決定以藝術品 表達出來 。她拍攝了一張照片，並 將其放大了500倍，這個圖像就是她 這次展出最大的一幅畫《亞特蘭蒂 斯》的靈感來源。 “我想跟大家分享這些在視覺上 讓我感動的事物。只要我把它放大 得夠大，就絕對不會錯過。” 其他 的展覽作品如，“When Your World Is Turned Upside Down”, “And You Can’t Stop the Tears From Flowing Up” 以及 “Unicorn Frappuccino”，都是她 與創作靈魂共處的心路歷程。 教學，藝術和家庭生活對高老師 來說都是同等的重要，她也一直努 力希望找出一個平衡點。 大約兩 年前因為她沒有足夠的時間照顧自 己，她感到極度地勞累還有嚴重失 去了生活的平衡，而且。 她說：“ 我意識到，儘管我是一個藝術創作 者，但我沒有為自己添加任何創作

靈感的養分。” 意識到這一點後， 高老師開始利用寒暑假的時間到學 校裡的畫室畫畫。

起初，她不打算展示這些畫作， 但隨著她畫出越來越多的作品，她 覺得它們具有足夠的凝聚力，可以 成為一場展覽。 因此，當Lili Art and Kitchen 提供給她這個機會時，她決 定好好地把握，並為展覽整理出了 十二幅畫作。

當展覽在七月開幕時，高老師的 許多學生去聽了她的藝術家講堂。 其中她的兩位學校年鑑 ( yearbook) 的 學生Jane L.（’22）和Yu T.（’22） ，對她的畫特別深受感動。“我真 的可以看到她對這些藝術作品的情 感。 尤其在聽到了她對畫作的詮釋 後，我就能更加深刻地感受到這些 作品背後的情感張力。”

許多學生也喜歡高老師的藝術風 格，並從中受到啟發。 “我真的很 喜歡她的作品。 她的畫風很青春， 很新潮，而且也很幽美。 因為她真 的很接近年輕人而且也非常接受他 們的想法，所以我覺得她的個性確 實通過她的藝術風格表現出來”簡 說。

高女士認為她的畫作是就像是她 靈魂的一面鏡子，透過這些作品她 可以把她的想法傳遞給那些來看她 畫作的人。 通過這些畫作的分享， 她為那些“靈魂伴侶”們（可以通 過畫作建立聯繫的人們）提供了見 面的機會。

除了展示她的作品外，高老師也 將出售畫作所得的10%捐出作為公益 用途。

每一件作品對我來說都有深厚的 含義。儘管和這些作品道別很難， “不過我認為每件藝術品都有自己 獨特的能量，對於購買我的作品的 人來說，如果我的作品能夠不時地 給他們帶來感動以及正面的能量, 那 麼, 這件作品就是找到了一個好的 家。當我這麼想的時候我就不會捨 不得了。”

從這個學期開始，高老師將繼 續進行她的下一個創意項目。 她打 算嘗試使用多種媒介來創作，包括 音樂寫作，戲劇演出和烘焙。她已 經決定參加為期一年的表演課程， 學習的重點是梅斯納技巧(Meisner Technique)，也就是一個演員 “透過 置身在被設定的想像情境中，進而 讓自己本能地、自然而然地展演出 來”。”高老師說。 “我可能會有 一陣子是隨性創作的狀態。 至於我 的下一場藝術展會在何時舉行我不 知道我也不會擔心。”

Parent Teacher Association

INNOVATIONS IN JAZZ 爵士樂的創新

BY MAE O’MALLEY, PTA COMMUNICATIONS

Jazz combined with the ancient art form of Japanese Taiko drumming. That’s what Ray Heberer, TAS music teacher and Jazz Ensemble Director, was envisioning when he applied for a PTA Grant in Spring 2019 for the 2019-2020 school year. Despite logistical challenges and delays caused by COVID-19, Heberer was able to commission sought-after jazz composer Jonathan Katz to write the piece “Basement Boogie,” and then professionally record the TAS Jazz Ensemble performing the piece this past summer.

Heberer first came up with the idea of combining jazz with Taiko many years ago, back in 2013 when he was in Chicago attending the The Midwest Clinic International Band, Orchestra and Music Conference on a TAS professional development grant. His son was a student at University of Notre Dame at the time, so after the conference they went to a Taiko performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. It was there that Heberer saw a contemporary Taiko ensemble and was hooked. He returned home and enthusiastically Googled “jazz with Taiko.” His search, unsurprisingly, revealed that no such thing had been done. Heberer continued to be fascinated with the idea, but it was a meeting with Katz six years later that set the wheels in motion.

Heberer first met Katz in 2019 when Katz was guest artist at the Taipei Jazz Orchestra’s (“TJO”) 10year anniversary concert. Heberer is lead trombone in the TJO. He discovered that Katz, who has been living in Japan since 1991 and is fluent

in Japanese, was deeply immersed in Japanese culture. Heberer realized this was his opportunity to achieve his dream of creating a jazz piece with Taiko. With the support of the PTA Grant, he commissioned Katz to write “Basement Boogie,” asking that it be crafted for the TAS Jazz Ensemble at the time, which included 3 strong drummers and 3 senior trombonists. Although very familiar with Japanese culture, Katz still had to do substantial research on the intricacies of Taiko drums, including the many sizes and sounds of the drums.

In addition to writing the piece, Katz worked closely with the TAS students in learning the piece. Originally scheduled to be at TAS in person in February 2020, he instead worked with the students via Zoom sessions, including large and small group lessons with musicians. Katz is a uniquely qualified musician to write the piece and work with the TAS Jazz Ensemble. His works have been performed by high school and university jazz bands all around the world. He is founding director and currently writes for and leads the 17-piece jazz ensemble Tokyo Big Band, which features top Tokyo jazz musicians. He is also an accomplished French Hornist, having studied the instrument at Yale University.

Beyond having a dream of Taiko and jazz, Heberer knew the piece would also provide a valuable teaching opportunity for his students. Heberer used the piece to teach his students advanced scales and chords, as well as jazz theory.

The original plan was to perform “Basement Boogie” live at TAS in

April 2020 as well as at the Taipei Big Band Madness Festival, both of which were cancelled. At that point the students agreed with Heberer’s suggestion that they record the piece instead. Recording the piece was also a learning experience for Heberer and the students, and a true feat given Heberer’s attention to detail and the logistical challenges created by COVID-19. TAS does not have a full recording studio so Heberer brought in a recording engineer with equipment to record the rhythm section at TAS. All the horn players (saxes, trumpets, and trombones) had to record individually from home as horns could not be played at school due to mask requirements. Heberer made four trips downtown to a recording studio to make a “backing track” (for students to listen to as they recorded their parts), as well as separate trips to accompany the bassist and pianist so they could re-record their parts on better instruments. Heberer took an additional trip to the studio with the Taiko drum master (or “sensei”) who recorded all three taiko parts himself.

The recording experience helped Heberer understand what he needs to focus on in teaching TAS students moving forward. He realized that a return to basics including articulation, intonation, and rhythms will be essential, especially since the students were not able to perform together second semester of last school year given COVID-19 restrictions.

Heberer is hopeful that all becomes safe again such that the TAS Jazz Ensemble can perform “Boogie Basement” live at TAS this school year.

結合日本古老藝術太鼓的爵 士樂。這就是TAS音樂老師 兼爵士樂團總監Ray Heberer在2019 年春季申請2019-2020PTA補助金 時的設想。儘管COVID-19 疫情的 影響造成了作業方面的挑戰和延 誤，Heberer 老師還是能夠委託廣 受歡迎的爵士作曲家Jonathan Katz 來創作完成“ Basement Boogie”的 作品，接著在暑假的時候專業錄製 了TAS爵士樂團演出的這首作品。 早在2013年當 Heberer老師在芝 加哥參加TAS資助的美國中西部國 際樂團，管弦樂隊和音樂發展研討 會時,就有了將爵士樂與日本太鼓 結合演出的想法。當時他的兒子 正在聖母Notre Dame大學就讀，因 此會議結束之後，他們去芝加哥的 當代藝術博物館看了太鼓的演出。 在那裡他所看到的現代太鼓樂團的 演出讓他為之著迷深深地被吸引住 了。回到台北以後, 他滿懷熱情地 在Google上搜尋著“太鼓爵士樂” 。他的搜索結果顯示結合太鼓和爵 士樂的演出 到目前為止還沒有人 做過。不過對於這樣的搜尋結果他 一點都不感到意外。從那之後, 對 於結合太鼓和爵士樂的這個想法始 終縈繞在他的心裡。但是一直到六 年後當他見到了Katz, 這個想法才 化為行動。 Heberer首次見到Katz 的時間是 在2019年。當時 Katz是台北爵士樂

是特別為當時TAS爵士樂團所製作 的，其中包括3名頂尖的鼓手和3名 12 年級經驗非常豐富的長號手。 儘管Katz非常了解日本文化，但他 仍然必須對太鼓錯綜複雜的細節進 行大量的研究，包括各種各樣不同 的尺寸和鼓聲。

來一個極為寶貴的學習機會。

用這首作品來教導他的學生高級音 階，和弦以及爵士理論。 原先預定在2020年4月會在TAS 以及台北爵士大樂團嘉年華(Taipei

師對細節的要求下所完成的一個成 果。因為TAS沒有完備的錄音室設 施，Heberer 找到了一名錄音師把 配備帶來了TAS先錄製完成節奏的 部分。由於配戴口罩的規定, 所有 的號角演奏者（薩克斯，小號和長 號）都無法在學校演奏因此必須在 家中單獨錄製。 Heberer 則前後去了位於台北市 區的錄音室四趟做出“背景音樂” 的錄音以供學生在錄製自己的聲部 時可以聆聽。他分別在不同的時間

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PTA COMMUNICATIONS

The PTA, made up entirely of parent volunteers, organizes numerous events throughout the year to promote wellness, build bridges of friendship between the School and our local community, and advocate a sense of pride and school spirit.

The results of PTA fundraising efforts provide additional resources, which enhance the learning environment at TAS, and make the teaching and learning experience for our faculty and students even more dynamic and wellrounded. The two key programs are Special Grants and Visiting Authors.

In 2019-2020, the PTA awarded 5 special grants for projects across the three school divisions.

• Guest Artist, Alvaro Marquez: Mr. Marquez, worked with US students on relief print-making and ran a workshop for parents (Michelle Kao, US Art, Department Chair).

• Guest author and TAS alumni, Shawn Wong: Mr. Wong spoke with students and parents about his experience as a founding Asian-American novelist (Richard Arnold, US History Teacher).

• Guest Musician, Jonathan Katz: Mr. Katz wrote a jazz composition for the music department and supported students via Zoom events (Ray Heberer III, KA-12 Music).

• New Books: Grade 6 students benefited from new books (Carrie Tenebrini, Grade 6 English).

• New Bleacher Fans: New fans installed in the bleachers provided relief from the heat for spectators (Andrea Boyd & Nicole Hudson, TAS Parents).

BLEEDING BLUE & GOLD: FROM ALL-SEASON ATHLETE TO HEAD COACH

BY LAURA H. (‘22), THE BLUE & GOLD

practically bleed blue and gold.” boys varsity volleyball and girls varsity badminton head coach Mr. Joey Chen said. Although most people know Coach Chen as a varsity head coach, most do not realize that he is actually a Taipei American School alumnus. Coach Chen attended TAS since he was in prekindergarten (KA) all the way up to his senior year of high school.

Interestingly enough, the decision to become a coach at TAS was not exactly what Coach Chen had in mind after returning to Taiwan. It was only after reconnecting with Mr. Brian Tobey, an Upper School Physical Education and Health teacher, that Coach Chen decided to return back to campus.

In a conversation with Mr. Tobey, Coach Chen mentioned how he had coached for the women’s college team. This encounter prompted Coach Chen to learn more about what volleyball is currently like in TAS, and he eventually became the Junior Varsity (JV) Boys Volleyball coach at TAS in 2018.

“I find that in a JV team, they really want to learn the fundamentals. They want to improve their game,” he said. “I think it is important for a coach to have expertise and also passion for the sport itself.”

After coaching for the JV volleyball team, Coach Chen was informed that there was a badminton opening for coaches. “I couldn’t take it at first, because I was just too busy. And then a couple years later, it reopened and I became the head coach for the badminton team,” he said.

As an alumnus himself, Coach Chen has experienced what it was like to be a student-athlete in TAS. He found that, since he had gone through the same experience as the athletes he coached, it has positively affected his job as a coach.

“I think my past experiences as a TAS athlete helped me relate to them a bit more. I always feel like TAS students are quite experienced in balancing both academics and extracurriculars, which is a learning experience. So I don’t mind if my players do other stuff, but they have to know how to be responsible for their time,” he said.

“我是一個在TAS長大的孩 子, 我身上流的是台北美 國學校的血”. 男生排球主隊一軍 (Varsity)和女生羽球主隊的頭號教 練 Joey Chen 這麼形容他自己。很 多人不知道其實他是一位校友, 他 從TAS的中班一直讀到高中畢業。 有意思的是, 當他回到台灣時其 實他並沒有想到過想要成為TAS的 球隊教練。之所以決定要回來學校

任教是因為有一天和高中部教體育 和健康教育的老師 Brian Tobey 聊 天時談到了他曾經當過大學女生球 隊的教練。這席話輾轉引發了他的 興趣去進一步了解美國學校當時 排球隊的狀況。因緣際會之下, 在 2018年的時候他就成為了TAS男生 排球主隊的教練。

我覺得在副隊 (JV Junior Varsity) 的這些隊員們都很努力地想把扎實 的基礎打好, 讓他們在球場上能夠 打得越來越好。一個好的教練除了 必須要知道所有的技能之外, 也必 須對這項運動有十足的熱忱才能帶 領好一支球隊。 在他指導了排球副隊一段時間 以後, 當時有了一個可以成為羽毛 球教練的機會。”剛開始因為我太 忙了我覺得我不可能擔任兩個球隊 的教練。但是兩年以後又有了這個 機會所以我也就開始帶領了羽球 隊。” 因為在TAS的時候他也是一位運 動員所以對於球員們的感受還有所 需的技能和訓練, 他總是能夠感同 身受。他 說”這些第一手的經驗 對於我應該如何有效地指導球隊有 很大的幫助。一直以來我覺得我們

“I

UNPACKING A CAR WILL HAPPEN AT SOME POINT

BY NATALIE S. (‘21), THE BLUE & GOLD

When students graduate from TAS, most had this expectation: that they would soon be unpacking a car on their chosen college campus. It is often hard for people to set aside powerful visions, such as this, that they have for themselves, especially time-honored traditions like this one. However, with the pandemic, the Class of 2020 was forced to do so.

Director of College Counseling Mrs. Melanie Hamre, sent out a survey in August, which 58 students from the Class of 2020 completed. From that small sample size, only five reported they were currently doing something different from what they indicated before they graduates on May: two are taking a gap year, two are attending universities in Japan or Singapore (systems which admit and enroll on a later cycle, so this is expected each year), and one got off the waitlist and chose to attend that school instead. 29% of respondents indicated that they have been taking online courses amidst the pandemic; 36% indicated that their school is adopting a hybrid model (online for now, in person later this year, hopefully), and 16% traveled to their college campuses this fall.

For many students and families, the outbreak of COVID-19 has posed many challenges. Students have had to decide whether to go to college in-

person, to attend virtually, or to defer. “The Class of 2020 is experiencing the worst part of all of this—the uncertainty,” Mrs. Hamre said.

However, despite the pandemic, Genevieve Chan (‘20) is on the campus of Emory University, Georgia as a double major in Dance and Biology. After researching the state of the pandemic in Atlanta and Emory’s campus regulations, Genevieve fought to go to college in person and engaged in a heated debate with her parents.

“I am majoring in dance, and you really can’t do dance over zoom. You have to physically be there,” she said. Although there were a plethora of concerns surrounding her decision, her family eventually relented.

On her way over to Atlanta, GA, Genevieve wore a hazmat suit and an N-95 mask. “Everyone else seemed chill wearing a cotton mask, so I felt out of place,” she said.

Upon arriving in Atlanta, Genevieve was instructed to get tested before she could enter campus and move into her single-room dorm. All students were told to go by car, get tested, and wait in the car to receive a phone call. “The process was extremely smooth and convenient,” she said.

At Emory University, Genevieve experienced a multitude of other restrictions. For example, in the dining

hall, there are indicators on the floor to create physical space between the students. However, Genevieve was able to meet some of her friends she met online. “I was walking into a cafe and I saw someone that I’ve talked to online before and we just recognized each other even with our masks on and started talking,” she said.

So far, Genevieve has not had a lot of interaction with other students on campus, so seeing familiar faces from social media always brightens up her days.

“I think I would’ve missed out on a lot of things if I had stayed in Taiwan,” Genevieve said, “Just being here and being more independent and learning by yourselves feels very different from just Zoom-ing in Taiwan and still being in your comfort zone.

It goes without saying that higher education and traditional college experience is going to be forever changed. The Class of 2020 was faced with unknowns, uncertain of what to do and when to do it.

However, with the uncertainty of college life, “the most important thing is to acknowledge it will be different and be reminded that at some point there will be that moment of unpacking a car, meeting a new roommate, et cetera” Mrs. Hamre said.

BY NATALIE S. (‘21), THE BLUE & GOLD

很多學生從TAS畢業時常常會

懷抱著一個期望；那就是 很快地能夠在他們的大學校園裡 把行李卸下開始人生的另一段旅 程。這個景象背後所代表的是一 個傳統的大學生活，一個獨立的 成人。當一個人的腦海中已經有 了這樣的一幅願景而卻被迫不能 馬上實現時，失望的心情是　可 想而知的。這也就是今年2020畢業 班的心情寫照。 高中部升學輔導主任Mrs. Melanie Hamre 在8月份進行了一項 調查，其中2020年畢業班的58名學 生完成了調查。從這個不是太大 的樣本量來看，只有5個學生說他 們目前做的事情與5月畢業之前所 表明的有所不同：2 位學生決定先 有一年的間隔年，2個會去日本或 新加坡的大學（這兩個國家的公 布錄取時間和開學時間都較晚） ，其中1人本來是在候補名單上， 現在已經被錄取也選擇上了那所 學校。 29％的受訪者表示因為疫 情的關係這段期間都還一直在上 線上課程； 36％的人表示他們的學校目前 採用的是混合模式（目前上線上 課程，希望今年晚些時候可以在 教室裡上課），還有16％的人八九 月的時候已經到了他們的大學校 區裡。 Mrs. Melanie Hamre說＂對許 多學生和家庭來說新冠狀病毒疫 情給我們帶來了許多的挑戰。學 生們必須要決定是不是千里迢迢 到校園裡面去上課，還是留在台 灣上線上課程，或者就延遲一 年。2020的畢業班所面對的挑戰就 是高度的不確定性。＂ 儘管美國喬治亞州依舊受

人親自到了那裡才可以。”雖然他 的父母對疫情所可能帶來的種種非 常的擔心，不過最後他們還是尊重 了她所做的決定。

在飛前往亞特蘭大的途 中，Genevieve一路上都穿戴著防 護衣和N-95口罩。她說：“其他人 都好像若無其事一樣只戴著一般 口罩，這讓我感到非常地格格不 入。”到達亞特蘭大後，Genevieve 被指示先接受檢測，然後才能進入 校園並進入單人房間的宿舍。學校 告訴所有學生 他們必須坐車或開 車去，在車裡先進行測試，然後在 汽車裡等候電話通知結果。她說“ 這個過程非常的順利也沒有任何的 不便。”

雖然我們都還帶著口罩,我們 還是認出了彼此, 然後天南地北地 聊了個不停。”能夠在現實生活裡 見到那些在社交媒體上結交的朋友

ALUMNI EVENTS

The TAS Alumni Office helps alumni stay connected to each other and the school. Each year, we organize and coordinate events and programs for alumni in Taipei and around the world. Reach out to us at alumni@tas.tw!

1. Aug. 2019: Alumni vs.Varsity Volleyball Boys Game — Taipei

2. Aug. 2019: Class of 1989 30-Year Reunion — Taipei

3. Sept. 2019: TAS 70th Birthday After Party - Taipei

4. Oct. 2019: East Coast Tour — Boston

5. Oct. 2019: East Coast Tour — New York City

6. Oct. 2019: TAS Alumni San Francisco Event — San Francisco

7. Nov. 2019: Alumni Prospective Parent Seminar — Taipei

8. Nov. 2019: Alumni Thanksgiving Dinner — Taipei

10. Nov. 2019: Class of 2019 Thanksgiving Reunion — New York City

9. Nov. 2019: Shanghai Alumni Thanksgiving Dinner — Shanghai

3. Sept. 2019: TAS 70th Birthday After Party — Taipei

The three divisional principals and the Head of School select two teachers from each division annually as the Joanna Nichols Memorial Excellence in Teaching and Professional Development award winners. As recipients of this professional development award, these teachers demonstrate a commitment to excellence in their classrooms and have exceptional student performance data and feedback surveys from parents and students.The 2020 recipients are Katarina Safradin, Louise Perdana, Joe Peotto, Michelle Lawgun, Jason Kiang, and Jude Clapper.

KATARINA SAFRADIN Lower School LOUISE PERDANA Lower School

What is your current role?

I am now in my eighth year of teaching with the school. For almost the entirety of that period I taught the second grade, and was also a team leader at that level for two years. This is my first year of teaching kindergarten at TAS.

Why have you decided to stay?

I feel that the TAS community offers a sense of security and a commitment to strong social values. In the current international climate, there is no better place in the world to raise my son and no better school for him to attend. My colleagues have always showed a tremendous amount of support and encouragement for what I do, and I feel as though my efforts have always been met with warmth and appreciation by parents.

What is your favorite part of teaching at TAS?

By far the greatest joy has been watching my students learn and grow and, as they get older, watch them come back to visit me as fine young citizens of their community. It’s been very inspiring to have so much support from parents who are clearly so deeply invested in their children’s development and want to do everything they can to help foster that. I’ve always had an excellent rapport with my parents and I really cherish that. Just being part of this community has been an absolute joy.

What is your current role?

This is my sixth year at TAS. I have been a Grade 3 homeroom teacher that entire time, with one year as Team Leader.

Why have you decided to stay?

From the get-go it was an easy transition from my last school to TAS. The curriculum is very similar and where there are differences, they are positive. I have also been blessed with landing on the amazing grade 3 team, who are a friendly, collaborative, and supportive group of professionals. On a personal level, my husband’s and my love of Taipei continues to grow and there’s no place we would rather be right now. I especially value how well-organized TAS is considering its size. Support systems from administrators, counselors, and coaches make expectations very clear — I know what to teach, and how and when to teach it.

What is your favorite part of teaching at TAS?

That’s a tough question as there’s so much to love about TAS. One thing really stands out though: The entire TAS community is so genuinely friendly. From the warm welcome at the gate each morning, through numerous interactions with various people across the day, to the personalized goodbye from the guards when I leave. It gives me such a tremendously strong sense of belonging.

JOE PEOTTO Middle School

What is your current role?

This is my sixth school year at TAS. I am a Grade 7 History teacher, and also one of the Grade 7 team leaders and the rugby program coordinator (& varsity coach). I’ve also been involved with the Malaysia Model UN travel team, however that’s been put on hold for a bit.

Why have you decided to stay?

The short answer is, the people. The students are kind, inquisitive and respectful so my classes and coaching are always really rewarding. It’s great to see the genuine enthusiasm my students have for learning and that pushes me to keep improving our lessons and resources to best serve them. Also when I came here, I was really impressed with how good everyone is at their jobs — my coworkers, admin & support staff all take great pride in doing a good job so everything in the school flows really well. I never have problems getting help from someone and I’ve learned a lot from just watching people do their thing.

What is your favorite part of teaching at TAS?

In the classroom, I really like the freedom and encouragement I have to keep changing my curriculum. It’s also great to see my former students around the school doing all sorts of things, like sports, mentoring younger students at Model UN, or even just in the gym after school.

MICHELLE LAWGUN Middle School JASON KIANG Upper School

What is your current role?

This is my thirteenth year teaching at TAS, 18th year living in Taiwan. This involves three contracts at TAS that span a 22-year period. I first started teaching at TAS in 1999! My current roles are MS PE & Health Department chair (starting my seventh year), Grade 6 Homeroom teacher and Grade 6 Camp coordinator. I also am the Girls Touch program leader (Varsity and MS girls’ coach), which I have been involved in for about 18 years.

Why have you decided to stay?

I love working at TAS. The students and faculty are incredible.

My PE colleagues are outstanding professionals who I feel very fortunate to also call my friends (and husband). I am lucky to be able to work with them all so closely and I am happy heading to work every day.The middle school faculty is such a strong and capable group of people. I am always so astounded at how the Grade 6 camp faculty push through the week to make the experience as fun and exciting as possible for the students. TAS also offers my own children an incredible education. And Taipei is a wonderful city to live in. It is fun, safe and home.

What is your favorite part of teaching at TAS?

That’s difficult. There are so many things! I love seeing the growth of our middle school students as they move through the high school.

I also really enjoy the bonds that are built coaching the middle school and Varsity Touch girls. I teach or coach some of these girls for seven years starting when they are in Grade 6. At a recent graduation party, I reunited with a lot of TAS touch players from the previous few years. There will always be a strong connection due to the long seasons, training, traveling and competing together.

What is your current role?

I am the Upper School Electronic Systems and Information Specialist and robotics teacher.This is my ninth year here, but I’ve migrated positions several times.

This semester I’m also teaching a new course called Robotics Mentoring. It’s a great course that is designed to connect our upper school students to mentor grade three and five technology students. We want to help promote STEAM within the lower school to get both boys and girls excited about this type of learning.

Why have you decided to stay?

My mom worked at TAS over 25 years ago! From the moment I walked onto campus, it just felt like home. I love teaching now, which I didn’t know about before I started here, but I’m so grateful to the administration here who helped me transition from a career in technology to a career in educational technology.

What is your favorite part of teaching at TAS?

It’s so rewarding to see students’ creativity. I think that’s ultimately the best part because I like the sense of personalized learning that we have here.

I think overall I like how students change our lives as faculty members. For myself, it’s been a paradigm shift and made a huge difference, for the better. Teaching here has given me a direction and a passion for something truly meaningful. It feels good to give back to these students. Just knowing that these kids are making a connection to making a difference. We’re preparing them for their future and I feel very fortunate to be in this school where artificial intelligence and robotics are valued.

I feel really grateful for the TAS administration because they suggested that I do further education in the field of education. I got my master’s in educational technology and currently, I’m in the third year of my doctorate.

JUDE CLAPPER Upper School

What is your current role?

This is the start of my ninth year at TAS and my eighth as the Director and Chair of Scientific Research. I also teach honors chemistry in the science department.

Why have you decided to stay?

There are many reasons why my family has decided to make teaching and going to school at TAS a permanent decision. First, I am blown away by the quality of education that my own children have received in the Lower School. I am excited for the opportunities they will receive in the Middle and Upper School. Second, I love teaching the highly motivated students that attend TAS. They are a joy to teach! Third, the resources and support available to teachers at TAS is second to none.

What is your favorite part of teaching at TAS?

Well, TAS gave me the complete freedom and resources to create a research program that fosters curiosity, creativity and independence... so my favorite part is watching the research students present and explain their findings to other students and teachers at the end of semester symposia. It’s so rewarding to see how they respond to questions and explain their methods and results. The students feel very proud about the hard work they have put into their projects; I love to see their smiles and excited banter between peers at the conclusion of each symposium.

I can say that I’ve never worked with a more dedicated group of people in my life. I know that I am biased, but specifically, our science faculty are so incredibly talented. They are able to make science interesting, engaging and applicable. They put in incredibly long hours to ensure that labs, demos, projects and lectures are of the highest quality. I feel lucky to work with my colleagues.

In a departure from our normal data collection practices,TAS cancelled CTP5 and WrAP testing implementations in the spring of 2020. Owing to COVID-19, there were many uncertainties prompting this move. For one, it was impossible to say with certainty that there would be no further campus closings that semester, and the online testing options remained unreliable and unproven as measures of growth. For another, we focused our efforts on recuperating as much in-person class time as possible across all three divisions. Finally, it became clear that many of the schools that constitute the data pool for cohort comparison were also pulling out of testing, meaning the test would not serve effectively to measure growth meaningfully, nor as a comparative measure of relative success across the independent school cohort.

Both CTP5 and WrAP testing will resume in Spring 2021, and those scores will aid us in our evaluation of student growth, including comparisons of student performance before and after the spring move to distance learning.

每年春季小學部３到５年級的學生會參加教育紀錄局(ERB)綜合課程第五版(Comprehensive Testing Program, CTP5)和寫作進展 (Writing Assessment Program WrAP) 的考試。這些測試的結果讓TAS 與美國本土及海外的私 立學校能夠比較學生的表現。TAS使用這些資料來監督個別學生的學習進展,確定課程的需求,並評估課程的 成效。由於疫情的影響以及諸多的不確定性，基於以下的考量,我們決定今年不參加這項考試。第一,我們不 確定這個學年接下來的其他期間學校是否必須做線上教學。而這些不確定性也會影響學生接受測試時的成 績表現。 第二,我們的工作重點是盡可能增加面對面的上課時間。如果我們如期參加這兩個線上考試,學生 上課的相對時間也勢必會減短。最後, 因為構成資料庫數據比較的許多學校也退出了測試，這就明顯地意味 著今年的測試將無法有效地衡量出增長，也不能作為獨立學校群體相對成果的比較度量。 綜合課程第五版(Comprehensive Testing Program, CTP5)和寫作進展 (Writing Assessment Program WrAP) 的測 試都將會在2021年春季恢復舉行。屆時那些分數將可以幫助我們評估學生的成長，包括比較2020 年春季在 線課程前後的學生表現。

TAS vs World AP Tests 2020

2020 AP Result - TAS vs. World Wide TAS World

TAS vs World IB Tests 2020

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2020 IB Result - TAS vs. World Wide TAS 2020 World 2020

2020 IB Result - TAS vs. World Wide TAS 2020 World 2020

The 2020 AP and IB test season was adjusted by both governing boards due to school closures around the world from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. AP exams were shortened and conducted online while IB exams were canceled. Given that AP exams were only offered during the middle of the night, TAS students were not required to sit the 2020 exam. The majority of AP students elected to take the exam and earned typically impressive scores. 因為COVID-19新冠狀病毒的疫情, 許多學校都暫時關閉停止上課。由於這個原因，AP和IB這兩個理事會 對 2020年的春季考試均做了調整和變動。AP的考試時間縮短了而且考試只能在線上進行。IB的考試則是取消

The TAS Student Support Services (SSS) Department provides a range of services to maximize each student's social, emotional, and academic growth. In addition to classroom teachers, TAS students KA12 are supported by ten school counselors, two school psychologists, and ten student support service professionals. In addition, in the Upper School there are six college counselors to assist students with the college admissions process.

TAS accepts students with mild learning differences into the regular academic program. The resources offered by SSS include language enrichment for early childhood, reading support, speech/language therapy, academic support, and psychological services as well as personal and academic counseling. The totals in this report represent the numbers of students regularly receiving scheduled support from our reading specialist, academic support teachers, and speech/language pathologists. 台北美國學校的學生支援服務部門提供一系列的服務，以便讓每位學生的社交、情感和學術成長發揮到 最大極限。除課堂教師外，TAS學生KA-12還有10名全職的學校輔導員、2名學校心理學家和10名專業學生 課業支援的人員提供支持。此外，在高中，有6名大學輔導員，以協助學生的大學申請過程。 TAS接受具有輕微學習差異的學生進入常規學術課程。學生支援服務部門提供的這些資源，包括幼兒語 言輔導、閱讀支援、言語/語言治療、學術支援課程、心理服務、以及個人、和學術指導諮詢。在本報告中

COVID-19 IMPACT

Pandemic Control Measures

Our learning communities’ health and safety is our top priority. Our plans over the last year have been based on the Taiwan Government’s guidance provided through the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Central Epidemic Control Center (CECC). This guidance has proven to be extremely effective as Taiwan is among the few countries in the world where there are, as of printing this publication, no locally transmitted cases of COVID-19.

Due to the situation in Taiwan, TAS was able to limit the school campus closure to only a few weeks last school year. Like nearly all schools worldwide, Taipei American School shifted to virtual learning over several periods in 2020. We closed campus from Feb. 3 through Feb. 24 and delivered classes online for 16 days. Fortunately, we were able to reopen on Feb. 25 with serious social distancing, temperature checks, and other measures put in place. We then closed campus again on March 19 and March 20, heading into Spring Break and students learned virtually for the week following as well. In total, TAS delivered classes online for 22 days.

For the current school year, 2020-2021, the school opened on time with most programs and after school activities in normal operations. Opening our campus with assurance that we have a safe and healthy learning environment required that we make a few adjustments such as fever screening at entrances and the wearing of a mask when social distancing cannot be maintained.

In addition to the fever screening stations that are set up in various entryways and buses, TAS has implemented the following operational procedures, which follow the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines:

• In addition to the regular cleaning activities that take place after school, cleaning crews are taking extra precautions to wipe and disinfect surfaces using a bleach solution, paying special attention to entrance areas, handrails, door handles, and other frequently used public areas.

• Throughout the school day, cleaning crews will continue to use alcohol-based wipes to disinfect common-use surfaces such as handrails and door handles, and railings, especially those areas that are most frequently touched such as bathroom doors.

• Hand sanitizers, wipes, and tissues will be widely distributed throughout the school, in addition to the more than 100 bathrooms within the school that are available for handwashing.

•

The busing service contractors are taking extra care to wipe and disinfect seat surfaces and armrests and other high contact areas.

• Students showing any signs of symptoms will be sent to the Health Office, and if found to be with fever, will be relocated to an isolation room until picked up by the parent.

The school has also taken additional campus precautions to encourage social distancing. Seating at cafeteria tables has been adjusted to allow for appropriate social distancing during lunch time. Tents have been set up in the courtyards where there are additional tables and chairs; there are also additional serving lines allowing lunch to be served in three locations.

Campus Access

To ensure a safe and secure learning environment, at this time, campus access is limited as our primary goal is to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus on our campus. This can be accomplished by eliminating or reducing contact with other people and by practicing good hygiene.

All members of the community, if granted access to campus, will be subject to the following:

• Everyone entering the building will be subject to fever screening. Anyone found to be over 37.4 Celsius will be denied entry. Anyone denied entry due to illness must be symptom-free for 24 hours, without support from symptom-relieving medication, before returning to school.

• Hand sanitizing is required of everyone who enters the building. Sanitizing stations are located at all entry points.

• Masks are required to be worn at all times while on campus, except when otherwise instructed.

• All campus visitors and guests must provide their name and contact information and sign an affirmation that they have not traveled internationally or been in contact with someone who has traveled internationally.

In support of this objective, TAS has also recently installed an e-access control system that is widely used in schools around the world.

Revenue and Expenses

In 2019-20, revenue from tuition and fees represented 91% of total revenue. The next largest revenue source was auxiliary services at 4% of total revenues; this includes food services, transportation, the Tiger Store, and swimming pool. All auxiliary services also have offsetting expenses associated with them. Contributions and grants from the TAS community and U.S. Government comprise 4% of the total revenue. Other revenue areas are consistent with prior years.

TAS continues to allocate two-thirds or more of its revenue resources to instructional areas. In 201920, 67% of total expenses were allocated to student support functions. The other expenditure categories are consistent with previous years.

在2019-2020學年度，學雜費收入占總收入的91％

4％的輔助 服務，包括餐飲、交通、老虎商店、以及游泳池。所 有的輔助服務也有其相關的費用。TAS社群的捐款和 美國政府的補助佔總收入的4％。其他方面的收入都 與往年一致。和往年一樣，TAS把三分之二以上的收 入資源分配於教學領域。在 2019-2020 學年度，總支 出的67％用在學生的相關活動。其他的支出類別與往 年一致。

過去5年，學費的平均漲幅為5.2％，略高於同一時 期4.7％的年平均開支漲幅。 在2019-2020，總收入超過增多的總支出，主要是 由於較高的入學率與人事費用的精簡、 受新冠狀病毒疫情影響而減少的教學活動以及預 定行程、設施維修費用、一般及行政開支。

Per Pupil Costs

The ratio of students to instructional staff (FTE) of 8.36 is lower than the ratio of 8.42 the year before. The lower ratio was mainly due to more teaching faculty in 2019-2020. The per pupil cost is higher than the previous year by 3.7%, as a result of increased faculty personnel expenses.

Primary Constituency

Administrators 19 100% 599,650 19,988 Faculty 270 99% 1,950,195 65,007 Board Members 12 100% 5,191,741 173,058 Parents 896 61% 47,853,127 1,595,104 Alumni 512 5.7% 6,765,149 225,505 Former Faculty and Former Parents 30 5,941,494 198,050 Others-Family and Friends 10 78,700 2,623 Corporations 6 3,091,614 103,054 Service Organizations 1 30,500 1,017 Cash Received All Groups 1756 71,502,170 2,383,406 *FY20 Gala Ball was postponed due to COVID-19

TAS ANNUAL GIVING

TAS Annual Giving Restricted NT$

Total Cash Contributions 71,569,661 2,385,656

Building Excellence 16,155,155 538,505 Professional Excellence and Program Excellence 49,150,720 1,638,357

Hope N.F. Phillips Scholarship Fund 2,225,088 74,170 Quasi Endowment 2,369,521 78,984 Sponsorship of Parent/Alumni Outreach Events 1,669,177 55,639

Initiatives Supported and Funds Restricted for Longterm Disbursement 30,598,774 1,019,959

Building Excellence 1,589,321 52,977 Professional Excellence and Program Excellence 14,715,199 490,507 For long-term disbursement starting in SY 2023-24 11,724,603 390,820 Sponsorship of Parent/ Alumni Outreach Events 200,130 6,671

Hope N. F. Phillips Scholarship

OPENING DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY

Taipei American School established the Hope N.F. Phillips Scholarship Fund to provide partial scholarships—temporary tuition support—to families experiencing financial difficulties. This scholarship fund allows students who would otherwise have to leave the school because of financial hardship to continue their education at TAS.

The scholarship deservingly bears the name of Hope N.F. Phillips, former teacher, principal, board member, and alumni ambassador at large. This scholarship had been her dream for many years. It bears the name of one who has greatly enriched the history of the school, and it ensures that capable and valued students are able to continue their education at our school. For previous years the following number of students were assisted:

2019-2020 — nine students

2018-2019 — seven students

2017-2018 — one student

2016-2017 — six students 2015-2016 — five students

2014-2015 — one student

The ultimate goal of the Hope N.F. Phillips Scholarship Fund is to build an income-producing endowment that will support students at TAS for generations to come. Parents, faculty, staff, alumni, friends, and corporations are invited to contribute and assist us in growing this fund. Please support the Hope N.F. Phillips Scholarship Fund.

Gifts in Action

費和蒲獎學基金 (HOPE N.F. PHILLIPS SCHOLARSHIP) 台北美國學校設立費和蒲獎學基金以提供非全額獎 學金─臨時學費資助─給遭逢財務困難的家庭。此獎學 基金讓因為經濟困難而可能被迫離校的學生得以繼續 在TAS求學。此獎學金以當之無愧的前任TAS家長、老 師、校長、董事、與校友會無任所大使─費和蒲為名。 這個獎學金曾是費女士多年的夢想。這個獎學基金不僅 承載著是一個淵遠流長的學校歷史還有一個帶來極大影 響的名字，也確保那些有才能及受到重視的學生能夠繼 續接受本校的教育。在過去幾年來曾經接受費和蒲獎學 基金資助的學生人數如下：

2019-2020 — 九名學生 2018-2019 — 七名學生 　 2017-2018 — 一 名學生 2016-2017 — 六名學生 2015-2016 — 五名學生 2014-2015 — 一名學生 費和蒲獎學基金不但已經幫助了歷屆需要資助的校 友，也還會持續直接影響現今及未來世代的學生。

PROGRAM AND PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE

Joanna Nichols Memorial Visiting Scholar and Joanna Nichols Memorial Artist in Residence

The Joanna Nichols Memorial Visiting Scholar and Joanna Nichols Memorial Artist in Residence programs bring relevant, distinguished, and stimulating figures to TAS each year to share singular insights and experiences with students.

The 2020 Joanna Nichols Memorial Visiting Scholar, Mike Chinoy, spent the month of January at TAS. Mr. Chinoy was TAS’s first ever Joanna Nichols Memorial Visiting Scholar during the 2011-2012 school year. A long-time foreign correspondent and CNN’s first Beijing bureau chief, Mr. Chinoy is currently a Senior Fellow at the USC US-China Institute. During the month of January, Mr. Chinoy worked with a wide range of classes, including TAS’s award-winning journalism and film programs, Model U.N. and international relations class. Mr. Chinoy shared his unique insights and skillset with all students through workshops, documentary film viewings and discussions, and student body lectures. Mr. Chinoy’s stay at TAS

represents the ninth installment of the Joanna Nichols Memorial Visiting Scholar program, which is the result of the continuing, extraordinary generosity and vision of former TAS parent Mr. Kenny Cheng.

When travel restrictions precluded Mr. Kirt Mosier from spending the month of April in Taiwan as the 20192020 Joanna Nichols Memorial Performing Artist in Residence, the TAS Performing Arts Department reached out to Shou-Ling Wu, proud parent of a TAS alumnus and the former associate conductor of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. Graciously accepting the request to serve as this year’s Joanna Nichols Memorial Performing Artist in Residence, Ms. Wu seamlessly stepped into life at TAS and worked with Grade 8 chorus, upper school choirs, and the upper school orchestra on Franz Schubert’s Mass No. 2 in G Major. Ms. Wu served for over two decades as Assistant Conductor of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, collaborating closely for many of those years with Maestro Felix Chen during his tenure as Music Director. During her tenure at the Taipei Symphony Orchestra from 1990 to 2018, Ms. Wu appeared frequently with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra and Taipei Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

專案原本計畫邀請的Kirt Mosier先生無法在四月份如 期前來。我們的表演部門隨即聯絡到前台北市立交響 樂團助理指揮, 也是前台北美國學校學生家長的吳琇 玲女士希望她能給予協助。吳女士欣然地接受了我們 的邀請，也很快地就融入了TAS的生活 。她已經開始 與8年級合唱團，高中合唱團，和高中管弦樂團一起 工作準備演出舒伯特G大調第二號彌撒曲。吳女士在 台北市立交響樂團擔任助理指揮已經超過二十年了。 在這段期間裡，她和當時擔任團長及音樂總監的指揮 大師陳秋盛經常一起工作。在1990年至2018年期間， 吳女士經常擔綱出現在台北市立交響樂團和台北市立 交響樂團附設合唱團的演出。

Joanna Nichols Memorial Excellence in Teaching and Professional Development Award

Principals and the Head of School select two teachers from each division annually. As recipients of the Joanna Nichols Award, these teachers demonstrate a commitment to excellence in their classroom and have exceptional feedback on their teaching excellence. The 2020 recipients are Katarina Safradin, Louise Perdana, Michelle Lawgun, Joe Peotto, Jude Clapper, and Jason Kiang. Previous award winners continued to use their funds during the 2019-2020 school year by purchasing school supplies and magazines, registering for conferences in Boston, Singapore, and New York, and attending online coaching and literacy institutes.

每年總校長和各級校長從每個部門中選出兩名老師來接受獎項的表 揚。獲獎的這些老師均體現了在課堂上對卓越的追求，並擁有出色反

Safradin, Louise Perdana, Michelle Lawgun, Joe Peotto, Jude Clapper, and Jason Kiang。 之前的獲獎 老師在2019-2020學年期間繼續使用其獎金，參與註冊在波士頓，新

70th Anniversary Celebration

The school celebrated its 70th birthday with a spectacular community event featuring a lion dance, student performances, and much more. About 1,000 attendees - students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni administrators, dignitaries - joined the celebration in person and many more watched this event while it was streamed online.

70週年的校慶活動包括了舞獅表演，學生的演出還有其他的各項活動。 出席當天現場慶祝活動的有學生、教職員工、家長、校友、行政管理人員 和貴賓等大約1,000名來賓。還有更多人透過網路收看這個慶祝活動。

Athletics Program

Several additional curricular needs were met in the athletics program including the purchase of several additional soccer goals, an Aquam Sanio pace clock, HUDL packages for game and statistic analysis, judges and catering for the TAS Holiday Tournament, and more!

協助添購了一些設備和器材來支持運動課程的額外需求，包括足球 門、Aquam 游泳計時鐘、HUDL套組 （這是一個動作分析的應用程式， 可以讓老師或教練逐格分析學生的動態，並可以和其他影片作出比對， 從而改善學生運動時的姿勢），還有贊助 TAS 假期球賽的教練費用和餐 點以及其他的活動。

Film Program

TAS continues to invest in its award-winning film program. This year, the school purchased new cameras, batteries, cables, memory cards, storage equipment, and support for the student trip to the All American High School Film festival in New York City.

TAS繼續投資其屢獲殊榮的電影課程。今年，學校為紐約的全美高中 電影節購買了新的相機、電池、電纜、記憶卡、存儲設備和相關費用。

The Richard

K.

F. Soong Lecture Series in Humanities

The school welcomed back former Upper School principal, Dr. Richard Hartzell, as the first-ever Richard K.F. Soong Lecturer in Humanities. Dr. Hartzell worked with students in AP English Literature classes as well as AP History of Art classes. 學校歡迎前高中校長Richard Hartzell博士回校成為Richard K. F. Soong 人文系列講座的首位講師。Hartzell博士講座的課程是AP英國文學和AP 藝術歷史 。

Performing Arts

Funds supported the Upper School production of “The Miracle Worker,” visiting performing group The Idea of North, and other equipment purchases for technical theater and dance.

年度捐贈資助了高中部The Miracle Worker，還有到訪表演藝術團體

The Idea of North 的演出，並且也購置了戲劇和舞蹈技術支援的設備。

The Stanley ‘88 and Annabelle Ko Classics Scholar in Residence Annual giving supported the visits of both Josiah Ober and Adrienne Mayor. Josiah Ober is an American historian of ancient Greece and classical political theorist. He is Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis Professor in honor of Constantine Mitsotakis, and professor of classics and political science, at Stanford University, Adrienne Mayor is a historian of ancient science and a classical folklorist. Mayor specializes in ancient history and the study of “folk science”, or how pre-scientific cultures interpreted data about the natural world, and how these interpretations form the basis of many ancient myths, folklore and popular beliefs.

年度捐贈資助了Josiah Ober和Adrienne Mayor　這兩位駐校古 典學者的到訪。 Josiah Ober來自美國，他是古希臘和古典政治 理論家的歷史學家。他是Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis的教授以表彰 Constantine Mitsotakis，也是美國史丹福大學古典和政治學的教 授。

Robotics Program

The robotics program continued to grow this year with the support of annual giving. It sponsored the Dean Kamen SIGMU Robotics Chair to Matthew Fagen as he leads the curriculum and development of the Solomon Wong Tech Cube. Annual giving also continued to support curricular spending towards science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics including structural, civic, and engineering robotics sets. Additionally, gifts supported the purchase of new 3D printers, a powder coating oven, and a spray booth for the upper school robotics program.

今年的機器人課程在年度捐贈計畫的支持下繼續成長並且也贊助了

Dean Kamen SIGMU機器人主席Matthew Fagen所領導的Solomon Wong科 技館之課程與開發。年度捐贈計劃繼續支持針對科學, 技術，工程, 藝術 和數學的課程支出，包括結構性，平民，和工程的機器人技術器材。針 對高中的機器人課程, 我們也添購了新的3D打印機以及在噴塗間裡的粉 末噴塗爐。

Lower School Books & Visiting Author

As the Lower School grew, many books were purchased thanks to the generosity of donors. Books were purchased in both English and Mandarin. Gifts also supported the expansion of the fiction section in the lower school library with new shelves and supported the visiting author Kelly Yang, a New York Times best-selling author, who visited our community in December 2019.

Policy, Debate, and Forensics Program

Many purchases were made this year to support the expanding student interest in public speaking, debate, and forensics. In particular, the school sponsored trips to the Yale Debate, MinneApple Debate, Cypress Bay Debate, The Blake School Debate, Durham Academy debate, Montgomery Bell Academy debate, Stanford/Berkeley debate, and the NSDA Nationals.

今年進行許多添購，以支持學生在公眾演講、辯論和辯證方面不 斷擴大的興趣。特別是學校贊助參加了Yale辯論賽, MinneApple 辯 論賽, Cypress Bay辯論賽, The Blake School 辯論賽, Durham Academy, Montgomery Bell Academy 辯論賽, Stanford/Berkeley 辯論賽以及NSDA全國 演講和辯論錦標賽。

Lower School Playground

Annual giving helped the school to renovate the Lower School playground. This new state-ofthe-art lower school playground is an investment in the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of our children and will help our students play, learn, and grow into creative and confident adults who make a difference in their communities.

PARENT OUTREACH & ALUMNI EVENTS

TAS Parent Evening Receptions

Generously funded by donors, the Lower School, Middle School and Upper School Parent Outreach Receptions provided an opportunity for parents to connect with each other and interact with faculty and administrators. These are annual community building events open to all parents and faculty. 由於捐增者的慷慨資助，小學，初中和高中家 長的年度聯誼晚會不僅給家長們一個相互聯繫的 場合，也提供了一個與教師和行政主管互動的機 會。這個晚會旨在提供我們的社群成員一個溝通 交流的機會。所有的家長和老師們都歡迎前來參 加。

Alumni West Coast Events

sponsored a series of west coast alumni events with administrators to help build community in celebration of the school’s 70th anniversary.

TAS would like to offer its sincere appreciation for the following individuals, companies, and organizations as Cornerstone Donors in support for Taipei American School and its students. These donors have taken a leadership role at TAS by making contributions of NT$ 500,000 and above since 2004.

Note: * indicates multiple gifts of NT$ 500,000 or more

Anonymous (Multiple)

3M Taiwan

*David and Charlotte Ackert

*Milly and Bob Adelski

Air Products

Richard Arnold

*Gilbert Bao and Kay Ling ‘88

Michael and Katrina Birkin

Sherry Kuei and Jim Boyle ‘76

*CEC Group

Carole and H. Henry Chang

Henry Chang and Lillian Chen

Jason and Carita Chang

*Keo Chang and Monique Hsu

*Richard and Rosalind Chang

Tsao-Neng Chang

Wayne Chang and Amber Lin

Chao Family

Steven and Rachel Chatham

Chien-Ping Chen

* Chih-Ming Chen and Virginia Ding Edward Chen and Claudia Huang

*Mr. & Mrs. Felix Chen

* Frank and Amy Chen

*Howard Chen and Linda Hong

Kevin and Linda Chen

*Nancy Chen and Nelson Chuang

*Peter and Jenny Chen

*Richard and Sandy Chen

Ryan Chen ’25 Nicholas Chen ’20 Silvia Chen ’16

*Sara Chen ‘14 and Harris Chen ‘17

*Stephen and Candice Chen

Tiffany Chen 2014

*Chen Yung Memorial Foundation

Cheng Family

Jason Cheng and Gina Liao

* Kenny Cheng

*William Cheng and Henry Cheng ’27

Christine Chi ’98 and Chia-Ming Yeh Lisa Chiang and Stanley Chung ‘89

* Mike Chiang and Sarah Chen

Anthony Chiao and Joyce Chen

Chiao Thai Hsing Enterprise

*Carl and Virginia Chien

*Paul and Jade Chien China Chemical and Pharmaceutical Angela Chiu and Mark Quin

* Danny Chiu and Stephanie Chang

Debra Chow ‘97 and Jonathan Chow ‘01 George and Pearl Chow

James Chu

* Jacen Min Chung and Ji Hyun Kim

Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd.

Citibank N. A.

Class of 2013 Families

Class of 2014 Families

Class of 2015 Families

Class of 2016 Families

Class of 2017 Families

Class of 2018 Families

Class of 2019 Families

*Corning Display Technologies

Corning Incorporated Foundation

*Michael and Eva DeNoma

*Roy and Georgia Fan

Felicia Fung ‘84 and Peter Yeh

Fenny Jewelry

Nicole Hang ‘18 and Minna Hang ‘22

Tina Hayashi and Raymond Chen

*Dr. Sharon and Garry Hennessy Hewlett-Packard Company

*Felix Ho ‘93 and Sylvia Chao ‘94

*Henry Ho and Rosalind Wang ‘92 Leo Ho ’97

*Po Ming Hou and Janie Chang

Howard Hotels, Resorts & Suites

Katherine Hsiao and Andy Lin

*Benny and Vicky Hsu

*Charles Hsu and Kelly Woo

*Emmet ‘81 and Jackie Hsu ‘81

Hsu Family

*Dr. Hunter Hsu and Dr. Natasha Yang

*Martin Hsu and Winnie Chao

*William Hsu Jr. and Anchi Chin

Matha Hsueh and Suzan Peng

Huaku Development Co, Ltd.

Huaku Sky Garden

Dr. and Mrs. Alex Y. F. Huang

Peter Huang, Rebecca Lung, Sean H ‘20 & Natalie H ‘21

*Inventec Corporation

Jones Day

*Bryan Kang ‘19 and Vivian Shen Johnny and Christina Kao

David Ko ‘92 and Elizabeth Wang ‘91

*Stanley ‘88 and Annabelle Ko

Lisa Koh and Marc Lau

*Andre and Jana Koo

*Henrick ‘19, Ambrose ‘19 and Everett ‘25 Koo

*Carol Ku and Edwin Fu

*Heidi Ku and Daniel Chen

*Katharine Kuo and Howard Wen

*Yuen-Ching Kwok

*Maggie Lai and Aaron Hsieh

*Chang En Lee and Family Lee Chang Yung Chemical Ind. Corporation

Dennis Lee

*Frank and Diana Lee Harrison Lee

*Helen Lee and Andrew Soong

*Jessie Lee Kerry Lee ‘18 and Douglas Lee ‘21

*Kevin Lee ‘17 and George Lee ‘19 Lexus

LG Companies

Wayne Liang and Maggie Huang

*Eric Y. D. Liao and Theresa Y. P. Kao

*Johnny Liao and Judy Chen

Jonathan Liao ’00

*Brent Lin ’18 Dylan Lin ’19 Yasmin Lin ’20

*Charles and Katharine Lin

Jenny C. Y. Lin

*Stephnie Lin ‘17 and Scott Lin ’18

*Vincent Lin and Erica Chen

Welch and Casey Lin

John and Yurie Lin

*Jean Liu and Tom Lim ‘69

Long Chen Paper Company

MiTAC-SYNNEX Group

Edmond and Cathy Ng

*Friends of Joanna Nichols

*Sean and Mae O’Malley

*Lauren Pan ‘14 and Kristen Pan ‘16

Prince Motors Co., Ltd.

*Nathaniel and Ming Rich

Rohm and Haas Company

Samsung Electronics Taiwan Co., Ltd.

*The Scheidel Foundation

*Jeffrey and Margaret Schwartz

*Shea Family

Cindy Shen and Shen Mai

*Vincent and Nancy Shen

*Vivien Shen and K.S. Wang

Linda Sheng and Raymond Yan

Shihlin Electric & Engineering Company

Iris Shu and Darlington Tseng

Tony and Vivian Shu

Siemens Ltd.

*Oliver and Heidi Silsby ‘80

Justin Su and Josephine Lin

*Suen Family, Ryan’18, Charlotte ’23

*Hsueh-Jen Sung and Stella Chang

Taiwan Cellular Foundation

*Bill Tang and Vicky Yang

James and Cindy Tang

*TAS Parent Teacher Association

*Tasa Meng Educational Foundation

*Vincent Thai and Yi-Ning Hsu

*Paul Thrush and Lorraine Sun

*The Ting Family

*The Town Family

Cole Tsai and Stephanie Wang

The Tsai Family

*Gloria Tsai ‘94 and Family

Joyce Tsai and Derek Chen

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Tsai

Joanne Tseng and Stanley Liao

*Ferdinand P. Tsien and Family

*Wilson Tsou and Polly Siu

Helen Elena Tsung ‘84 and Sofia C.H. Liu

Tsung ‘21

Benny T. Hu

Alan Tuan and Cindy Weng

Chakris-Queenie-Theodore ’14 Wahawisan

*Walsin Lihwa Corporation

Allen Wang and Daphne Wang

*David Y. Wang and Chi Mei Shih

*Frank Wang, Jessica Tsai & Ainsley Wang

Harry Wang and Dorothy Hsui ’99

Henry Wang and Vivian Sun

*James & Jaye Wang

Jason, Vicky, and Annie Wang ‘12

*Jeffrey Wang ‘03

Joanna Wang ‘98 and Jerry Chiu

*Jonathan Wang ’04

*Kenneth and Jane Wang

Mark Wang ‘91 and Yumi Cho

Sarah Wang

*Tony W. Y. Wang and Alice C. H. Lin

Tracy H. Wang

*Walter and Shirley Fan ‘86 Wang

Wilfred Wang

Mr. and Mrs. Y. T. Wang

*Albert Weng and Michelle Cheng

*Julian Wolhardt ‘91 and Ketty Lieu ‘91

*Wonderland Nursery Goods Co., Ltd.

Phillip and Corinna Wong

*Professor Winston Wong

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wu

Tong-Sheng Wu & Athena Pei Tung

XYZprinting

Yageo Foundation

Nancy Yang

*Christine Yin and Family

Belle Yu

*Derek and Susanna Yung

As of June 30, 2020

2019-2020 PARENT ANNUAL GIVING ADVOCATES

Lower School

Vivian Chu (Co-Chair)

Christy Lin (Co-Chair)

Mandy Chen

Callie Cheng

Fantine Chu Michelle Gruwell Ann Ku

Nina Lin Sally Shih Fion Tang Mareen Tien Julia Tsai Melody Wu

Middle School

Fantine Chu (Co-Chair)

Linda Sheng (Co-Chair)

Sandy Chung Patricia Lee Theresa Liu Erika Peng

Upper School

Sandy Chung (Co-Chair)

Jessica Lee (Co-Chair)

Shivali Berry Mandy Chen Fantine Chu Mina Hirai Patricia Lee Rebecca Lung Leslie McFarlane Erika Peng Joyce Yu

2019-2020 ANNUAL GIVING PARTICIPATION

OVERALL PARENT PARTICIPATION RATE

Number

1,541 945 61%

PARENT PARTICIPATION RATE BY GRADE LEVEL

Class of / Grade Families Donors Participation

2020 - Gr. 12 189 91 48%

2021 - Gr. 11 169 110 65%

2022 - Gr. 10 180 102 57%

2023 - Gr. 9 161 100 62% 2024 - Gr. 8 144 89 62%

2025 - Gr. 7 138 85 62%

2026 - Gr. 6 121 80 66%

2027 - Gr. 5 95 63 66%

2028 - Gr. 4 82 51 62%

2029 - Gr. 3 88 50 57%

2030 - Gr. 2 49 32 65%

2031 - Gr. 1 62 41 66%

2032 - K 43 31 72%

2033 - KA 20 20 100%

Congratulations to the parents of the Class of 2033 for achieving 100% participation in the 20192020 Annual Giving Program! Your support sets a great example for all grade levels. Thank you!

Parent Outreach Receptions

Receptions during the 2019-2020 school year took place in the new Solomon Wong Tech Cube and provided an inspirational background for parents to connect with one another while seeing the new space in which their children would learn and grow. Parents, faculty, and school administrators toured several floors of the state-of-the-art facility and were able to talk to students in computer science and robotics who could personally attest to the impact of the new facility.

The parent receptions strengthen the schoolparent partnerships, which in turn, ensures a successful educational experience for students. These community-building events are generously funded by parent donors and other supporters in our community. We are grateful to the following individuals for their sponsorship of our 2019-2020 receptions.

• Stephanie Hong (’92)

• Joseph Chao and Hsiu-Chih Wu

• Paul Miao

• Anonymous donor

Past Parent Tea

We invited parents from Class 2016 through Class of 2019 back to our campus for a Past Parent Tea in January, on the same day that over 100 college-age alumni from Class of 2016 through 2019 returned to TAS and joined the Alumni College Students’ Homecoming Lunch where they enjoyed a chicken leg lunch together with students from this year’s senior class. The parents shared their children’s adventures after TAS and toured the new facilities that have been added to the campus in recent years.

70th Anniversary Celebration

The School celebrated its 70th birthday with a community wide celebration, lion dance, guest speakers, student performances, a reflective video, the naming of our Upper School, and alumni events around the world.

進設施的各個樓層，並且也與電腦科學和機器人技 術的學生進行了交談。這些學生提供了他們的第一 手經驗來談談這些新設施對他們學習的影響。這些 家長招待會加強了學校與父母之間的伙伴關係，從 而也確保了學生成功的教育經驗。 這些促進社群成員交流的聯誼活動是由我們的 家長和一些其他的支持者慷慨資助。我們感謝以下 人士對我們2019-2020年聯誼活動的贊助。Stephanie Hong (’92) ，　Joseph Chao，　Hsiu-Chih Wu　和 Paul Miao 以及其他匿名捐助者。 校友家長茶會 在1月份的時候我們邀請了2016年至2019年畢業 班校友的父母回到學校參加了一個特地為他們所 舉辦的校友家長茶會。當天，超過100名2016年至 2019年畢業班目前還在大學就讀的校友們 也回到了TAS參加了大學生校友的＂返校午餐＂ ，他們與今年１２年級的學生一起享用了雞腿便 當。這些家長們分享了他們的孩子從TAS後畢業之

MATCHING GIFTS

Many companies will match charitable contributions made by their employees, giving contributors the opportunity to double, and in some cases triple their gift to the school. We are grateful to the following companies for their generosity.

許多公司機構對其員工的捐助會再投入加倍性的捐款，使得捐助者將對學校的捐款有機會翻倍， 甚至在某些情況下增加三倍。 我們感謝以下的這些個人及其公司的慷慨捐助。

BNY Mellon Community Intel Corporation

Morgan Stanley Nike, Inc.

MEMORIAL AND HONORARY GIFTS

Memorial and honorary gifts are made in recognition of loved ones who have passed away or in tribute to individuals making special contributions to society.

紀念和表達敬意之捐款是為了表彰已去世的親人或向對社會做出特殊貢獻的個人致敬。

IN MEMORY IN HONOR

In memory of Doug Bishop Jessica Huang Michelle Kao ’03

In memory of Eric Wang ’08 Richard R. Arnold

In memory of Erina Sawa Anonymous

In memory of Mrs. Hope Phillips E.H. and M.E. Bowerman Advised Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Anonymous

In memory of Jan McDowell Stephanie Chih-Yang Hsieh ’04

In memory of Lois Linda Moore Blanks Richard R. Arnold

In memory of Mike Parmley ’65, Lisa Longacre ’66, and Zerk White ’67 Anonymous

In memory of Rick McGowen John Church ’65

In memory of Steve Lane John Dankowski

In memory of Tian Liang Hsu Amy Ho and Jovan Hsu

In memory of Tom Cook Karen and Andrew Jao

In memory of Tony P Wen Howard Wen and Katharine Kuo Morgan Stanley

In honor of Mr. Richard Arnold Shing Chi Poon ’92 and E-wen Liao Albert Chu ’83

In honor of Class of 1999 Albert Hsu ’99 Edward Wang ’99

In honor of Rick Krieger Deborah Bever ’90

In honor of Yi En Ian Liu Bernard Liu

In honor of TAS parents Anonymous

In honor of the Ting Family The Ting Family In honor of Alex Wu Jessica and Daniel Wu

We gratefully appreciate the generosity of all our donors. Every effort has been made to ensure that this is a complete and accurate listing. If an error has occurred, please accept our sincerest apologies and notify the development office at +886 2 2873 9900 ext. 821 or 443, development@tas.edu.tw, so we can ensure the correction is made.

Names are color coded to denote the designated fund supported. Hope N.F. Phillips Scholarship Fund TAS Annual Fund

Gift Split Between Funds Quasi Endowment

*Donors who have supported TAS for three or more consecutive years are marked with an *.

Donor names are listed by constituent under one of the giving categories listed below.

1949 Society NT$1,600,000 and above Cornerstone Donor NT$500,000-$1,599,999 20/20 Club NT$330,000 -$499,999 Legacy Circle NT$250,000 - $329,999 Tiger Council NT$180,000-$249,999

1949 Society

Alumni Walter and Shirley Fan '86 Wang

Board Member

* Ferdinand P. Tsien and Family

Corporate * Corning Display Technologies

Former Parent

* Kenny Cheng

* Danny Chiu and Stephanie Chang

* Professor Winston Wong

* Benny and Vicky Hsu

Parent Anonymous

* Mr. and Mrs. Felix Chen

Cornerstone Donor

Alumni

* Anonymous

Harry Wang and Dorothy Hsui '99

Jeffrey D. Wang '03

Jonathan D. Wang '04

* Julian Wolhardt '91 and Ketty Lieu '91

Board Member * Angelo and Tina Koo

Corporate

* Morgan Stanley

Faculty * Anonymous

Former Board Member The Town Family

Former Parent

Parent

David Y. Wang and Chi Mei Shih

* Henry Ho and Rosalind Wang ‘92

* Anonymous

* Keo Chang and Monique Hsu

Lisa Chiang and Stanley Chung '89

* Mike Chiang and Sarah Chen

* Charles Hsu and Kelly Woo

* Stanley '88 and Annabelle Ko

Carol Ku and Edwin Fu

* Heidi Ku and Daniel Chen

Blue and Gold Society NT$100,000 - $179,999 Leadership Club NT$50,000 - $99,999 Foundation Donor NT$25,000 - $49,999 Friend of TAS NT$1 - $24,999

* Richard and Sandy Chen

Christine Chi '98 and Chia-Ming Yeh

* Jacen Min Chung and Ji Hyun Kim

* Eric Y. D. Liao and Theresa Y. P. Kao

* Hsueh-Jen Sung and Stella Chang

* The Ting Family

Helen Lee and Andrew Soong

* Jessie Lee

Vincent Lin and Erica Chen

* Chang En Lee and Family

* Sean and Mae O'Malley

* The Scheidel Foundation

* Shea Family

Cindy Shen and Shen Mai

Vincent and Nancy Shen

Vivien Shen and K.S. Wang

* Tasa Meng Educational Foundation

* Vincent Thai and Yi-Ning Hsu

Gloria Tsai '94 and Family

* Helen Elena Tsung '84 and Sofia C.H. Liu Tsung '21

* Howard Wen and Katharine Kuo

* Phillip and Corinna Wong

* Derek and Susanna Yung

Club

Alumni Jeffrey and Yvonne Tsai Board Member * David and Charlotte Ackert

Legacy Circle

Former Board Member Jean Liu

Parent * Lisa Koh and Marc Lau

Tiger Council

Parent

* Shoko and Kiyotaka Someno

* Kuei and Posen Tei

* Dr. Alan Tuan and Cindy Weng

* Linda Sheng and Raymond Yan

* Iris Shu and Darlington Tseng

* Justin Su and Josephine Lin

Board Member

* Vera Wu '87 and Harry Spiegle Faculty * Anonymous

Parent * Frank and Amy Chen Joyce Hsu

Blue and Gold Society

Alumni Class of 2019 Eric Wu '94

Board Member * Joseph '87 and Katherine Hwang

Faculty

* Edmond and Cathy Ng

* Anonymous

* Sherry Kuei and Jim Boyle '76

Parent * Anonymous

* Jessica Chang and John Chang

Olivia Chang and Chi Chang

* Steven '15 and Patrick Chao '20

Hao Wen Chen and Erik Christopher De Melo

* Kevin and Linda Chen

Romy Chen and Family

* Joe Chiang and Melody Tung

Charlie Chiu

Charles Hsu and Jennifer Chen

* Hsu Family

Leadership Club

Administrator

* Anonymous

* Daniel F. Hudkins and Susan P. Bass

* Larry Kraut

* Jayson and Kathy Limmer

Alumni Harry Allyn Cockrell '68

Donald Tang '00

Board Member * Alex Hsu and Hsu-Ning Wang

Faculty

* David Ko '92 and Elizabeth Wang '91

* Anonymous

* Terry and Cheryl Lagerquist '98

* Ben Thompson and Hua Mei Liu

Mimi Kung

* H. Lee and J. Lin

* Joanna Wang '98 and Jerry Chiu

* Victor Hsu and Teresa Liu

* William Hsu Jr. and Anchi Chin

* Frank Huang and Julia Tsai

* Maggie Lai and Aaron Hsieh

* Kenneth Lau

* Jenny C. Y. Lin and Justin A. Lo '23 Pearl and John Lin

* Jesse Ho-Chieh Lo Yi-Shan Lu and Jeffrey Lee

* Paul Miao

* Francis Twu Lisa Wang '00 Mark Wang '91 and Yumi Cho

* Tim Weng and Amy Chen

* Sophie Yeh and Wood Chen

* Yo Family

Friend Dr. Druce Fu

Parent 27th CPMG

Anonymous

* Anonymous

* Lawrence Chang and Mandy Chen

Simon Chen '86 and Daisy Chan

Jonathan Chow '01 and Lilian Lim '01

* Simon Fang and Donna Chen

John and Michelle Gruwell

* Angela Ho and Arthur Wang

* Brian Hsieh and Tina Wu '93

* Jeffrey Hsu '19 and Jaylen Hsu '22

* Jennifer Hsui '03 and Michael Hsieh '97

* Jenny and Garry Huang

Lisa Ji

Jenny Yun-Fei Lee

* Krista Lee '90 and Paul Hu '90

* Jenn-Horng Lin and I-Hua Chih

* Elroy Liu '27

Foundation Donor

Administrator * Rebekah J. Klar

* La Familia Smith Vidal

* Nicholas and Tara Simeonidis

Alumni * James Tsao '89

Corporate Goldman, Sachs & Co. Matching Gift Program Nike, Inc.

Faculty

* Kevin B. Held

* Lindsey Kundel

* Katarina Safradin

* Aaron Sorensen

* Erika Soublet

* Cynthia Teeters

* Drew Williams

Former Parent * Louis and Julia Ruggiere

Parent * Anonymous Anonymous David and Lauretta Beale

* Ivy Chang and Luis Huang

Kate Chao and Terance Chen

* Eric Chen and Jennifer Lin

* Irene Chen '90

Jimmy Chen and Juling Wang

Vicky Chen and Martin Lin Amy Chiang and Sam Shih

TK and Gina Chiang

* Kailynne Chiu '20 and Kerrianne Chiu '23

* Ming-Hua Chow

David Chuang

* Kerwin and Samantha Go Shonda and Vaughn Hall Jr.

Friend of TAS

Administrator * Anonymous

* Anonymous

Becca and Josh Budde

Grace Cheng Dodge

Michael Dodge

* Matt and Jill Fagen

* Cathy Hsu

* Andrew and Kristen Lowman

* Adam Nelson

* Samuel Quek

* Rick Rabon

Brian and Christine Mann

Erika Schroeder and Rahul Shendure

* Adrienne Wang and Paul Hsu

* Henry Wang and Vivian Sun

* Dr. Nobutaka Watanabe and Deni Cheng

* David Wu and Karen Chyan

* Lesley Yang

* Eric Yu

Student

* Frances Hsu '23

Joanna Ho and Mark Hsieh

* Stephanie Hong '92

* Cynthia Hsu '91 and Alfred Woo '89

Pearl Huang and Steven Yeh

Emily Hung

Hyun Bin Kang

Taeko and Brian Lee

Monica Litt and Judd Eustice

* Bernard Liu

Melody Liu and Hugh Wu

Oscar Liu and Taili Wang

* Kenny Mok and Ikuko Adachi

* Flora Ng

* Kelly Phil '20

* Drs. Steven Quay and Suji Chen

* George Shen and Ann Shen

* Jixiang James Shen 2020

* Bonnie Su and Johnny Wang

Yen-Hao Su

Gustavo Vera and Veronica Acurio

* Vince Wang and Amy Park

* Jill Wu

Roger Yee

Michelle Yen and Marty Chuang

* Cecilia You and Jim Chen

Service Organization

E.H. and M.E. Bowerman Advised Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation

Alumni

Skip Abbott

Anonymous

Anonymous

Anonymous

* Anonymous

* Anonymous

Deborah Bever '90

John Bishop

* Jocelyn Bohn '11

* Seamus Boyle '17

* Antonio Chan '15

* Allen Timothy Chang '94

Kevin Chang '02

Rexford Chang '14

Riley Chang '16

Simon Chang '77

Collin Chen '18

Gordon Chen' 10

Pearl Ai Wha Chen '03

Phil Chen '96

Scott Chen '09

* Tiffany Chen '17

* Sean Cheng '02

Christie Cheung '95

Joy Chiu '16

Lucien Chiu '19

* Jay Choi '05

* Michael Chou '16

Allen Fang and Tina Chou

Albert Chu '83

Andrew Chu '19

Albert Chuang

Terry Chung '01

John Church '65

Class of 1989

Alex Dunn '15

Irene Fan '94

Laticia Fan '09

Harry W. Fritz '55

Paul Geddes '72

Shigeru Go

Tiernan Grehl '07

Likai Gu '00

Jack Hou '02

Cheyenne Hsieh '19

Albert Hsu '99

* Kevin Hsu '16

* Michael Hsu '94

Curtis Hu '19

Christina Huang '99

Jack Huang '01

* Timothy Weiting Huang '98

* Travis Huang '16

William Hung

* Cerise Kao and David Lo '03

Hiko Kawashima '89

Henrick '19, Ambrose '19 and Everett '25 Koo

* Frank Kuo '03

Marcus Liaw '19

Ethan Lin '15

Ian Lin

Jeffrey Lin '98

Paul Lin '95

Kevin Liou '12

David Ta-Wey Liu '95

Janet Chen Louie '81

* Gary Mi '91 and Janet Chen '92

Jonathan Moon '16

Paul Newman '04

* Phil Peach '74

Joseph Pogue '18

* Shing Chi Poon '92 and E-wen Liao

Bill Rollins '60

* Sarah Ruggiere '12

Deborah Shapiro '93

Laurie Shapiro '95

* Linda Groat Sheppard '73

* Jeremy Shih '16

* Terry Shu '68

* Jay Shuang '02

Eric Sun '99

Eydie Tai and Edward Tai

* David Tang '94 Jin-Tai Teng '14

Paul Torkehagen

Barbara Tsai Cleo Tsai '03

Eric Tsai '09

* Ervin Tsay '09

Derek Wang '16

* Edward Wang '99

Richard Wang '94

* Robert Wang Stephanie Wang '19

* Vincent Wang '10

Ting Wei '12

Helen Wong '98

* Caleb Michael Yang '04

Jerry Yang '09

Chris Peng '93 and Julie Yang '93

Matthew Yang '18

Christopher Yeh

* Johnson Yeh '98

Dallas Yew '03

* Cindi Yim '08

* Leon Yim '16

* Liann Yim '05

* Paul Yim '12 Mark Yin '99

Board Member Joseph Hei and Vivian Chiang '93

* Boon and Siew Kang

Tim Morton Wegner Family

Corporate

Faculty

BNY Mellon Community Partnership

Intel Corporation

MultiCom System Integrated Ltd.

* Stephen and Leslie Abernethy

* Kelsey Alexander

* John Andersen

* Jennifer Anderson and McGill Cheng

* Hway Anichowski

* Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous

* Anonymous

* Anonymous

* Anonymous

* Richard R. Arnold

* Carly Bargiel

* Brett Barrus

* Heather Barrus

* Zoe Bates

* Allan Bayntun

* Virginia Blais

Morgan Boepple

Denise Bord

* David and Cassy Braggett

Marissa Brits

Kristian Brodie

Kimberly Brooks

* Jordan Brown

* David Bullio

Chanun Caine

* Lisa Casarrubias

* Stella Chang

* Liwen Chao

* Shirley Chao

* Evelyn Chen '03

* Amy Cheng

Stephanie Chiang '09

* Roxanne Cho

* Georgina Christou

Alice Chuan

Christopher Ciambarella and Li-Chen Tsai

* Laura Cipriano

* Jude Clapper and Andrea Blough

James Closs

* Nyoli Connor

Weston Wang Cooper Donna Copel

* Annemarie Costello, PhD

* James Couch

* Carol and Ramy Youssif

Kathleen Cutler

Conor Davis

Carlos Delgado

* Andrea and Michael Dethy

* Michael and Kerith Donnay

* Corwin Edwards

Robert Espinal and Debbie Huang

* Ting Fan and Yvonne Tan

* Irene Fang

* Todd Ferguson

* William Fillbach

* Kenneth R. and Deborah Flemming

* Ivy Fong

* Jaami Rahim Franklin

Meagan C. Frazier

Mandy Friedman

Sherry Fu

Judy Fung

Dabina Gim

* Sherri and Michael Grande

John Gursky

Melanie Brennand Hamre

Song Han

* Amber Hardy

* Ryan and Eleanor Haynes

Beth Hendrickson

John Heslar

* Edward Hillmann

* Chris Hoffman

Stephanie Chih-Yang Hsieh '04

* Caroline Hsu

Jonathan Hsu

* Shannon Hsu

* Peter Hua

* Wei-Lun Hua

Andre Huang

Jessica Huang

* Rock Hudson and Michelle Lawgun

* Stephanie Huestis

* Tamara Hull

* Dave and BB Iverson

* Anthony Ives and Shan Lee

* Jacob Family

* Joel Jayamohan

* Anthony Joe

* Erik Johnsen

* Stacey Johnsen

* Zachary Jones

* Michelle Kao '03

Shanice Kok

* Bob and Carlee Kowalec

* Julie Kozak

* Stephen Kuhlke and Family

* Chen-Chi Kuo

Lawson Family

Caroline Lay

* Andy Lee

* Mizore Yoshida

Stephanie Lee '04

* Hannah Limmer

* Clarabelle Lin

* Hui Wen Lin

* Ruth Wen-Hsuan Lin

* Owen Lipsett and Jen-Ching Kao

* Carl Lochrin

* Dawn Loo

* Leo Lopez

Jacqueline Lovelace

Connie Ma

* Angela Mackenzie

* Brandon, Becky, and Tyger Maguire

* Timothy and Heather Martin

Juliana Martinez

* Dileep Mathews and Sri Vani Selvarajan

* David Matlock

* David Montgomery and Abigail Chen

Stephen Moran

David Morris

* Pearl Morris

Erin Mukri

* Kazuyo Noda and Tai-Li Chen

* Michael O'Neill

* Jennifer Paradis and Brian Chiu

* Matt Parenteau

Blake Pattenden

* Nathan Paxton and Carrie Lin

* Karen Pearson

* Louise Perdana

Mayuko Perkins

* Maria Peters '89

* Rhonda Pottorf

Diane and Justin Prophet

* Cesar and Mary Reyes

Hyeryoung Rhee

* Dustin and Verna Rhoades

* Lori Richardson Garcia

* Dan and Nicky Robinson

* Martin Robinson

Alfredo Papaseit

Chrisanne Roseleip Fossouo

* Kristin Rowe

* Naden Rowe

* Steve Anderson and Lisa Salo

* Laura Sanchez Murillo

* Kathy Sandler

Lisa Scherphorn Joanna See

Dee and Vivek Sharma Divya Sharma

* Angela Sheu

* Tim Sheu

Kellie Simms

* David and Darby Sinclair

Evie Slatter

* Nicky Yeung

Simone Zhang

Former Faculty * Charlie Chen

* John Dankowski

Former Parent * Anonymous Anonymous Victor Chen and Connie Lu

* Minjung Kim

* Young Su Jang and Jee Seon Youm

* Samuel Kim and Chin Sun Lee

* Suen Family, Ryan '18, Charlotte '23

* Haidi Tang

Parent Emma Alden

* Hyo Jun An

Anonymous Anonymous

* Anonymous Anonymous * Anonymous

* Anonymous Anonymous * Anonymous

Yoonah Bae

Shivali Berry

Michelle and John Boyd Allison Breinholt

Kianeh K Buttery

Gary Chai

Helina Chan

Celia Chan '95

Charlie Chang and Alyshia Chen

* Cheng Ming Chang and Huei Ling Lin

* Ching-Ho Chang and Li-Ling Wu

* Christine Lee and Lin Yun Chang

* Chun-Hua Chang

Cindy Chan

* Peter Stanley and Leanne Rainbow Family

* Nick Steckler and Ann Ho

* Michaela Stevens

* Betty Sun '72

Jei-Jei Tan

Johanna Tan

* Cathrine Tang

* The Kaplan Family

Jodi Joan Clair Thompson

* Amanda Thornberg

* Thornbury family

* Brian and Yi-Ling Tobey

* Gina and Dan Uhlman

Amy Usner

* Jenessa and Jason Van Schooneveld

* Luke Walker

* Katherine Wang

Rachel Jen-Chi Wang

* J. Chase Williams

Andrew Williamson

Marcus Wolak

* Esther and Andrew Wong

* Clare Chan and Randy Lee

* Eric Chang and Wennie Wei

* Henry Chang and Lillian Chen

* James Chang and Yi-Ting Yu

Jason Chang '97

* Jeng-Daw Chang

* Jennifer Chang and Johnny Lam

* Joanne Ong

* Mimi Chang and Marshall Cheng

Pei-Lin Chang

Rosina Chang and Jasper Lin

* Shu Chang and Joe Yang

* Tony and Tiffany Chang

Tracy Chang

Tsung-Pei Judy Chang

* Victor I. Chang and Siu Ching Salina Lee

The Chao family

Jack Chao

* Joanne Chao and John Chen

* Yvette Chen

* Andy Chen and Shimi Sun

* Angela Chen and Matteo Ho

Antony Chen

* Augustine Chen

Bayani Chen Inocencio

Beatrice Chen

Cathy Chen and Christopher Ling

Chao-Yuan Chen

Charles and Tina Chen

Chia-Ying Chen

Chien-Lin Chen and Ruby Liu

Chloe Chen

* Eddie Chen and Gloria Chang

* Edward and Susan Chen Edward Chen

* Eva I-Yin Chen and Jri Lee

* Frank Chen and Julie Lan Helen Chen Ian Chen

* Janet Chen

Janice Chen

* Jefferson Chen

Jimmy and Daisy Chen

* Jonathan Chen and Victoria Shih

* Jungwon Bang and Jeffrey Chen

Lizzy Chen and Charlie Wu Mindy Chen

Monica Chen and Willie Lan

* Nancy Chen and Nelson Chuang

Shou-Hui Chen

Shu-Chen Chen

* Susie Chen

* Teresa Chen and Brian Yen

* Tiffany Chen'22 and Allen Chen '24

* Timothy Chen and Queeniie Lin

* Vivian Chen

* Wen-Wei Chen and Michelle Chiao

Willy Chen '97

* Wilson Chen

* Ya-Ching Chen

* Yawen Cheng

Yu-Hsuan Chen

* Ben Cheng and Szu Wen Kuo

* Che Hung Cheng and Hsiao-Fen Yang

Ching-Wen Cheng

* Cheng Family

* Felisa Cheng

Ginny Cheng

* Isabella Cheng

Lisa Cheng

Sonia Cheng

* Priscilla Cheung and Charlie Hou

* Callie and Steve Chiang

Jane Chiang

* Vivian Chiang

* Celine Chien and Pascal Thien-Ah-Koon

* Chris Chien

Jacqueline Chien '16 and Vera Chien '21

Shih Hsuan Chien and Grace Wang

* Fion Chin and Yen Feng Huang

Miranda Chin Hsiu-Min Chiou

* Yeh Ren Chiou and Teresa Chen

Catherine Chiu and Alan Tsai

* Chui-Yung Chiu and Pei-Lin Chen

James Chiu

Maggie Chiu and Eric Lin

* Marc Chiu and Yvonne Chu

Yiting Chiu

Yu Yen Chiu

* Young Wone Cho

* Annie Cho '20 and Tommy Cho '21

* Julia and Benson Tsai Kun Yong Cho

* Darwin Choi and Ellie Jang

* Miran Choi and Min Seok Choi Rhea Choi

* Amy Chou and Irving Hsu Doris Chou '96

* Jeanky Chou Po-Shou Chou

* Shih-Yuan Chou and Shu-Wen Kuan

* Stella Chou and Maurice Peng

Steve Chou and Carrie Chu

* Wen-Chien Chou Danny Chow

Noel Chow and Shan Qi

* Patty Chow and Steve Chou

* Ding-Shuen Chu and Naomi Watanabe

* Leo Chu and Crystal Chao Maggie Chu

* Michael Chu '93 and Fantine Wang

* Michelle Chu

* Hank Chuang and Katy Tsao

* Michael Chuang

* Steve Chuang and Gloria Lee Lam Fong Chui

Gwang Hyun Oh May Chung and Lance Chiang

* Erick Co

Benjamin Coeffic and Haewon Jhee

* John Eastwood and Ching-Fang Chen Ahdi El-Kahlout

* Mami Endo and David Cheng

* Yiping Fan

* Pai-Yun Patty Fang and Peter Chien

FC Tigers and Heartbreakers parents

* Michael Fei '90 and Maria Ting '89

Young Hae Kuan

Zachary Fraser and Lucy Park

Florian Fuhl and Sumin Park

* Kimberley Fu and Eric Peng

Mark Go

* Swee Yong Goh

Melody Gu and John Shyu

* Takahito and Miki Hamajima

* Dong Hoon Han and Jiyoung Park

Jae Hyun Han

Paulina Heilian

Phyllis Heilian and Roger Lin

* Dairi and Sachiko Higashi

* Mifumi Hisamatsu

* Albert Ho and Jen Suh Hou

* Amy Ho and Jovan Hsu

Fanglin Ho

James Ho

* Dr. Jon and Judy Hodowany

Karen Hong

Sung Jun Hong and Hyesook Han

Patty Hou and Ken Huang

* Peter and Vivian Chan

Jeffrey Hsi

* Ariel Hsia

* Chi-Huang Hsiao and Ya-Hui Kuo

* Katherine Hsiao and Andy Lin

* Kaimao Hsiao and Jessica Kao

Serena Hsiao and Terry Tse

Helen Yang and Vincent Hsieh

Jalan Hsieh and PeiChi Wu

Kuo Tong Hsieh

Melody Hsieh and Kent Chen

* Meng- Yao Hsieh and Chi- Chien Chang

Shining Hsieh and Mei-Mei Song

* Alec Hsu and Mandy Chao

* An-Chin Hsu and Rachel King

Ashley Hsu and Jacky Lee

* Catherine Hsu

* Carole and H. Henry Chang

* Chia-Chen Hsu

* Elin Hsu and Ryan Yeh Sandia Hsu

Ting Feng Hsu

* Vincent Hsu and Sarah Chang Wenchi Hsu

* Jerry Hu

Annie Huang and Jong-Yee Huang

* Chung-Yang Huang and Shu-Jiuan Chen

* Daniel Huang

David Huang and Sarah Liu

David Huang '25

Hui-Wen Huang and Alex Sung

* Jack Huang and Carolyn Wang

* Jennifer Huang

* Kitty Huang and Stram Yeh

Lancy Huang and Eric Chen

Melissa Huang

Sabina Huang

Vicky Huang and Vincent Yang

Vivian Huang and Tsai Chun Pan

Wilber Huang and Cindy Chiu

* William Huang

Yao-Lin Huang and Shu-Fang Wu

* Yu-Chen Huang

Chris and Nicole Hudson

* Vicky Hung

* Victor Hung and Ina Lu

* John Imbrogulio

Midori Iwasaki

Katie James

* Youn Sung Jang

* Stephen Jen and Jenny Lin

Ian Jeng

* Sang Cheon Jeng

* Lih-Ren Jong and Min Lu

* Hyungkyung Joo

Man Woo Joo

Eun Young Jun and Seung Kyu Lee

Jungim Kang and Soonchang Hong Kathleen Kent

* Do Wan Kim

Hyungil Kwak and Ryangmi Kim

* James Kim and Liova Jin

* Jeonghee Kim and Sangyoup Lee

Jin Young Kim and Jeong Seob Ahn Jinseok Kim and Yae Ri Lee

* Kate Kim

Mi Ran Kim and Jr-Hong Chen

* Neil Kim and Yun Ryeong Choi

* Soonam Kim

You Jin Kim and Hwang Wook Suh

Youngmi and Jason Kim Yumi Kim and Yongsook Lee

* Ben and Becca Kintzley

Chun Long Ko and Yi Hua Lee

* Jasmin Ko

* Tracy Ko and Sam Hsu

* Tatsuya and Rie Komazawa Hironori Kondo '21

Albert Ku

* Meng-I Kuang

* Chung-Jen Kuo

* Gary Kuo and May Wang Howard Kuo

Hung-Chang Kuo and Micca Lee Isaac Kuo '20

Sofia Kuo and Calvin Wu

* Yvonne Kuo '22

Yuka Kurata

* Jacky Kwan and Barbara Wong

Justina Kwark and Paul Kim

Robert Kwon and Diane Yu

Jane Lai

* Polly Lai

* Kermit Lee and Feng Ying Ku

* Kerry Lee '18 and Douglas Lee '21

* Terry Lee and Jenny Yang

* Austin Lee '91

Daniele Lee '27

* David Lee and Gratia Tsai

Dustin Lee and Myoung Jin Oh

* Elaine Lee and Nick Lee

* Fei-Fei Lee

Iris Lee and Jack Wang

* Jae Hoon Lee and Minjoo Kim

Jenny Lee and Wayne Chen

* Jin Sun Lee

* Jun Soe Lee and Jea Won Joung

* Karen Lee

Kelly Lee

* Kevin Lee and Lucy Chiang

Kyung Heui Lee and Jaekuk Park

* Nick and Cheryl Lee

Richard Lee and Liman Hung

Rita Lee

Robert Lee and Teresa Hsu '95

Rosa Lee

Saebom Lee

Seho Lee and Miri Park

* Sejin Lee and Yuri Seo

* Sue Jung Lee

* Tsu-Yun Lee and Chiung-Zuan Chiu

Vivian Lee and Paul Lin

Vivienne Lee and Kenneth Tsai

* Yang Shin Kim

* Audrey Leu '25

* Frances Yi and Vincent Li

* Lily Li and David Yen

Matthew Li and Irene Liao

* Wendy Li and Jason Huang

Yanping Li and Albert Su

* Audrey Wang

* Darren Liang

Amy Liao

Jean Chang Liao and Jason Hou

* Naomi Liao and Alan Weng

Peggy Liao

Sarah Liao and David Lan

* Bo-Wen Liaw and Synsyn Lin

* Ji Hee Kim and Ji Woon Lim

* Stephenie Lim

Alice and Chris Lin

Blandine Lin and Frank Liang Carrie Lin

* Casey and Welch Lin

* Chien-Hung Lin

* Chung-Chih Lin and Hui-Fang Hsu

Cindy Lin and Max Huang

Daisy Lin '99 and George Jeng '99

* Daphne Lin and Jeremy Lu

* Elly Lin

* Evan Lin

Evelyn Lin and Eason Chen

Herbert Lin and Isabel Pan

Irise Lin and Martin Su

Jason Lin '21

* Jeff Lin and Anna Sung

* Jeffrey Lin and Carol Li

* Jerry Lin '00

* Jimmy Lin and Kelly Chen Judy Hsu and David Lin

* Luciana C. Lin

Meng-Yin Lin and Chi-Ming Huang

Mf Lin

* Pao Chun Lin and Toshina Hirai

* Ruth Lin and Ivan Hsu

Shirley and Joseph Lin

Shu-Cheng Lin

* Shuping Lin and Weichun Chao

Sunny Chen and Jeffrey Lin

Susan Lin

* Wendy Lin and Atsushi Hashimoto

Stephanie Ling '88 and Victor Chu

* Amy Liu and Steven Chen

* Andy Liu and Nien-Jung Tsai Angela Liu

* Cate Liu and Sam Tseng

* Chris Liu and Conny Lin '93

Chung-Chieh Liu and Mei-Yi Song

* Claire Liu '25 and Alan Liu '25

* David and Theresa Liu

* Gina Liu and Vincent Yang

Jui-Chu Liu

Kuan-Yu Lin

* Louis Liu and Amy Su

* Rachel Liu

* Shirley Liu and Stephen Chen

* Vanessa Hsin Yu Liu

* William Kuo

Rita Lo and Steve Wu

* Stanley Lo and Shan Shan Huang

Christina Lu

* Janice Lu

Monica Lin and Jonathan Lu

* Dr. Philip and Ariel Lu

* Ruth and James Lu

* Sean adn Sherry Tsai

* Peter Huang, Rebecca Lung, Sean H '20 & Natalie H '21

* Jesse Luo

* Cynthia Chung

* Paoping Ma

Cathy Mai and Hor-Seng Sou

* Takashi Masayama

Leslie and Graham McFarlane

Nancy Mckenzie

* Takako Mine

* Fumi Misaki and Andy Po-Hsuan Chou

* Yoshiyuki Miyazaki and Yan Hong Huang

* Betty Mo

* Richard Moh '93 and Shao-Yun Yang

* Sherry and Eric Moo

Kerry and Robert Moore

* Mei Hui Lin

Laura Mountcastle

* Steve Naito and Fion Tang

* Navi Nam and Sunny Yoo

* Alan Ng

Megan Nguyen and Craig Chin

Tuan Nguyen

* Adriana Nolin

Fong-Ming Nyeu and Jeffrey Su

Karin Nystrom

Jane Ogge and Gary Cowan

* Julie Oh '20 and Daniel Oh '25

Gerard C. Osmillo

* Jennifer Ou and Brandon Ko

* Christine Pan

* Hyeon Jun Park and Sunny Lin

* Juwon Park

SangHyun Lee and Jinyoung Park

* Sun Ny Park

* Sung Hee Park

Edward Partridge and Eunmi Jin

* Erika and Sam Peng

Mark Peterson and Mary Wu

* Joo Hee Pyo

* Kok Sun Pyun

Johanna Ransmeier

Ron and Vilma Reduta

Paul Roberts and Hsiao-Chuan Chiang

* Young Hae Ryoo and Sang Hoon Yoon

Anri Sakai

Mikiko Sato

* Emmy and Benjamin Schwall

* Sunny Lee

Leon Sera and Chinami Sera

Eunice Shao

Larry Shao

* Alex Shaw and Li Wei Chien

* James Shaw and Julie Chu

* Chia Ying Shen

* Miau-Lin Shen and Cheng-Heng Kao

* Bobby Sheng and Charlotte Kuo '86

Ching Sheng and Kai Sheng

Dwan-Fang Sheu

* Virginia Shiao

* Jen Shih and Kian Ing Koo

Keng Shih

* Jee Eun Lee

Cinthia Shyu and Vincent Lan

* Erwin Shyu '76 and Tina Fan

* Soderberg Family

* Chan Ho Sohn and Jungsook Yu

Li-An Song '23

Niels Steenberg

John Stevens and Ing-Nan Shen

Ian Su and Yvonne Chang

* Lesley Su and Jacky Cheng

* Jhih Wei Sun and Fang Wei Chen

Wakako Suzuki

Susan Tan and Yung Chiun Ooi

* Zhiwei Tan

Jeffrey Tang

* Chun-Ju Teng

* Takako Tezuka

Lay Cheng Toh

* Andrew Tong and Rebecca Chao

Branch Trent and Abigail Pittman

Cindy Tsai

* Henry Tsai and Catherine Huang

* Isabelle Tsai

Louis Tsai and Rachel Yau

* Nicole Tsai and Jack Hsu

* Peggy Tsai and John Chung Teresa Lin and Jeff Tsai

* Tiffany Tsan and Ken Huang

Andrew Hsueh-Chien Tsang

* Yu-Yu Tsao and Jason Chang

Fei-Chun Tseng and Wei-Zen Lo

* Joanne Tseng and Stanley Liao

* Katy Tseng

* Mei and Jim Tseng

Tracy Tseng and Allen Chang

* May Tsui

Naoki and Aiko Ueba

* Yoshio Ueda and Yi-Hua Chen

Ramanathan Velayutham

Christine Chen Wagatsuma

Alfred Wang

* Allen and Daphne Wang

* Angel Tung

Audrey Wang

* Austin Wang '26 and Avery Wang '27

Charlene Wang and Mark Cheng

* Cheney Wang and Sherry Hsia Ching-Hsin Wang

Chuan-Chi Wang

* Eric and Grace Wang

* Erik Wang and Kate Huang

Grace Wang and Ronald Cheng

* Hsin-Fang Wang and Johnny Chao

* Hung-Li Wang

* James Wang and Mon Chu Hsu

Jeanie Wang

* John Wang and Chien-Yi Hung

Nelson Zibo Wang

Nicole Wang

* Steve Wang

* Yu-Fen Wang

* Yu-Ping Wang and Fiona Luo

Patricia Wee

Vivian Chang and Jackson Weng

Chi Hung Wong

Jade Wong '20

Sheena Wong and Alex Chia

Annie Wu

Claire Wu

Emily Wu and Kenneth Wang

* Eric Wu and Christina Tsai

* Hsiao-Ting Wu and Sheng-Fu Cheng Jessica and Daniel Wu

* Jim Wu and Carolyn Lee

* Kasiya Wu

* Melody Wu Meng Yun Wu

* Ray Wu and Kelly Chu

Rose Wu

* Yu-Chang Wu and Marjorie Tsai

Yu-Ling Wu and Yung-Ching Huang

Annie Xiong and Yasuyuki Tsuchimoto

Jing Xu and Roland Rudorfer

Angel Yang and Clay Chen

* Anita Yang and Oliver Sun

Connie Yang

Heidi Yang

Katie Yang and Mark Pan

Linda Chang-Ling Yang

* Li-Ping Yang

Sharon Yang and James Kao Shirley Yang

Steven Yang and Junko Sano Tiffany Yang

Wen-ta Yang and Liz Shen

Elaine Yeh and Berlin Tsou

Fang-Wen Yeh

* Jenny Yeh

Jessie Yeh

Stephanie Yeh and Casey Chu Ya-Huan Yeh

* David Yen and Peggy Sun

* Monica Yen '00 and Louis Wu

* Shu-Hui Yeh and Kuen-Der Yang

* Min Yoo and Jiyoung Moon

Judy Young '90 and Tom Soong

Christine Yu

Jerry Yu

Pei-Di Lin

Yoo Kyoung Yum

* Warren Zee and Ann Liao Guojun and Yichun Zhou Baltazar Zuniga

Part-time Faculty * Anonymous

* Ruu Ki Chang

Vivian Huang

Chia-Ling Hung

Michael Leu

* Fenny Lin

Rosalind Lin

Sunny Lin

Karen Szu Chun Wang

* Ben Wu

Staff

Rachel Chiu

Laura Hsu

Yuen Yuen Hsu

Jennifer Wan-Yu Hung

Kiku Wang

Student

* Aidan Boyle '21

Substitute Faculty Karen and Andrew Jao

INTRODUCING THE LAWRENCE S. TING MIDDLE SCHOOL

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

On September 1, an important event took place on our TAS campus – the naming dedication ceremony of the Lawrence S. Ting Middle School. Mr. Lawrence S. Ting was a businessman and philanthropist, and father-in-law and grandfather to 11 TAS alumni and students (to date!)

A graduate of Columbia University, a military man, and a brilliant businessman, Mr. Lawrence S. Ting was a devoted man in everything he did. He served as Chairman of the CT&D (Central Trading and Development Corporation), Chairman of Phy My Hung Corporation, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Taiwan Plastics Industry Association.

Mr. Ting was a dynamic, creative,

resourceful man, who was determined and would not settle for anything less than excellence, who always embraced challenges, had an optimistic attitude, and never ceased trying until he achieved his goals. In business, he was a pioneer entrepreneur and contributed much to the thoughtful expansion of Ho Chih Ming city in Vietnam, notably with the award-winning, iconic, and sustainable South Saigon urban development project.

Mr. Ting was also known to be a very compassionate man. He and his treasured wife, Mrs. Sylvia Ting, cared very much about people in need and paid attention to education as well as the welfare of disadvantaged women and children. It is clear that they raised their

children to also live by their values. Since Mr. Ting’s passing in 2004, the Ting family has carried on Mr. Ting’s spirit and philanthropy with the Lawrence S. Ting Memorial Fund (LSTMF), Lawrence S. Ting Memorial School in Ho Chih Ming City, among other projects.

We are very honored that the Ting family continues to support TAS, most recently with the naming of the Lawrence S. Ting Middle School. Gifts to the school allow the School to continue to offer the best programs to all of our students. We thank the Ting family for their longstanding support, and joyfully celebrate together as a community the new naming of the Lawrence S. Ting Middle School.

PHOTO: KATHERINE WANG

WELCOME TO THE WALTER AND SHIRLEY ‘86 FANG LOWER SCHOOL

BY LINDSEY KUNDEL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

On September 1, an important event took place on our TAS campus – the naming dedication ceremony of the Lawre It has been a busy fall on campus this September, culminating in the naming of both our beloved Middle and Lower School buildings. On September 10, our community celebrated the dedication ceremony of our final divisional building, the Walter and Shirley Fan ’86 Wang Lower School.

On April 1, 2019, the school celebrated the naming of the Walter and Shirley Fan ’86 Wang Auditorium Lobby. Our school is lucky and humbled, a mere 16 months later, to gather again to honor Walter and Shirley and recognize them for their tireless support of Taipei American School.

Both Walter and Shirley are extremely successful entrepreneurs, Walter as President and Chief Executive Officer of JM Eagle Inc., and Shirley as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Plastpro Inc. Together, their humanitarian efforts and practice of servant leadership is remarkable to all who know them.

It’s also important to note that both Walter and Shirley, individually, have received the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor – Walter in 2006, and Shirley in 2011. They have, and I quote from the Ellis Island Honors Society, “made it their mission to share with those less fortunate, their wealth of knowledge, indomitable courage, boundless compassion, unique talents and selfless generosity, [and] they do so while acknowledging their debt to their ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of America.”

Walter and Shirley are truly passionate about giving back, helping people, and supporting the causes that they deeply care about. Their three beautiful children Chantalle, Matthew, and Walter, Jr., are physical

representations of that deep, loyal, true love that has bound Walter and Shirley together for more than 25 years. They share so much: wisdom, passion, perseverance, and faith. They have learned and taught all fortunate to know them that with perseverance and faith, anything is possible. It is fitting that they name the lower school because our entire community, alongside Walter and Shirley, have deep faith in the goodness and potential of our youngest learners.

Last year, at the dedication of the Walter and Walter Fan ’86 Auditorium Lobby, Shirley said that she and Walter “give to TAS not just in gratitude, but to honor the present and support the future – future pioneers and future leaders.”

And they have time and time again done just that, giving generously to support the programs that will benefit TAS students on all levels, including supporting our school-wide initiatives to better understand and attend to adolescent development within a strong, ethical character education foundation, and a series of programs that aim to provide opportunities for

students in all grade levels to learn about the importance, responsibility, and power of service, of giving back and supporting a cause.

As parents and educators, we know that character education, learning about the meaning of service and the values that we want to live by, start early in a child’s education. Service, compassion, passion, and ethics are important themes in all the programs that Walter and Shirley have supported at TAS. Through their support, Shirley and Walter are supporting programs that help us affirm and strengthen the School’s values starting at the very youngest age: honesty, respect, kindness, responsibility, and courage.

At TAS, we strive to develop the qualities that Shirley and Walter embody, as well as the drive to be servant leaders of determination, passion, and compassion every single day, starting on their first day at school and at the very foundation, in the newly named Walter and Shirley Fan ’86 Wang Lower School.

PHOTO: KATHERINE WANG

Did You Know?

INTERIM HEAD OF

SCHOOL

CONFUCIUS DAY

The annual Confucius Day Commemoration Ceremony took place in September at the Confucius Temple in Datong District. TAS’s Dean of Faculty, Dr. Nathan Smith, was honored to participate in the ceremony, which includes many symbolic rituals in celebration of the birthday of the great teacher Confucius. The temple has followed this ancient ritual for the past eight decades, including readings, music, and dance.

SAFE PASSAGES HONORARY PARTNER SCHOOL

Taipei American School has been chosen as one of only three Safe Passages Across Networks (SPAN) Honorary Partner Schools worldwide for the 2020-2021 school year. Over the last few years, TAS has invested time and energy into conversations around the SPAN concept, which focuses on the transition needs of students, parents and educators worldwide. Whether you are an “arriver,” a “leaver,” or a “stayer,” you will have support for your journey at Taipei American School. We are honored to accept this invitation as we continue to refine our vision for student, parent, and faculty transitions. Safe Passages Across Networks (SPAN) is founded and chaired by Drs. Douglas W. Ota. TAS hosted Ota several years ago to start our school down this path. While here, Ota led an EARCOS weekend workshop sharing recent research in cognitive neuroscience and counseling to identify areas that students will most likely struggle with during times of transitions. He also led advisory workshops in the upper school and met with our counseling and college counseling departments. For more information on SPAN, please visit its website: https:// www.spanschools.org/

Interim Head of School Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge joined Grade 4 students for their morning meeting turned conga line.

LOWER SCHOOL AND UPPER SCHOOL FIELD DAYS

TAS Student Government presented Upper School Field Day in September. After a very close competition, (Capture the Flag, Number Wave, Protect the Teacher, Name that Tune and more) the Class of ‘22 was victorious over the Class of ‘21 and the Class of ‘23 defeated the Class of ‘24.

The TAS Lower School P.E. department hosted the Lower School Field Days from October 6-8. Activities for students included kickball, capture the flag, parachute, scooter ball, and many more. The final event of Grade 5 Field Day was the Tug of War. After the teams faced each other, it was the teachers and principals versus the teaching assistants. And the crowd went wild!

On the Bookshelf

EDITOR BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

At Taipei American School, our community often hosts outstanding visiting authors who come to teach our students and faculty. We also choose different books each year to read within divisions or small groups. Be sure to check out these recent favorites!

“JUST

MERCY”

by Bryan Stevenson

Upper School community summer reading book

“COPING WITH CRISIS”

by Scott Poland

Upcoming Visiting Speaker, invited by the Wellness Committee

“SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE” by Ijeoma Oluo

Recommended by the Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee

“LOVEBOAT, TAIPEI” by Abigail Hing Wen

Recommended by middle school Librarian, Carol Youssif, because the author visited Taipei this fall

“STEM LAB” by Jack Challoner

Chosen by “The Window” editors in honor of the award-winning robotics and scientific research programs

“IT’S TREVOR NOAH: BORN A CRIME”

by Trevor Noah

This young readers adaptation was chosen by the Window editors in honor of the anti-hate speech efforts of the school

Essential Capacities In Action

DIGITAL AND QUANTITATIVE LITERACY

Every issue, we focus on a different Essential Capacity. In this issue, we explore examples of DIGITAL AND QUANTITATIVE LITERACY found across all three divisions.

In the Lower School: Grade 1 students use Seesaw on digital tablets to communicate and share with parents, teachers, classmates, and principals. They learn that when they use Seesaw and other social media platforms, they should share their best selves.

In the Middle School: Grade 7 science students use windup elastic band carts to investigate how changing variables such as distance, mass, and the number of elastics affect the distance and speed traveled. Students input and graph their data to make their conclusion.

In the Upper School:

On the first day of school in AP Statistics class, students were deeply engaged in a hands-on activity learning how to estimate population sizes of endangered species, complete with miniature toy turtles, Ziploc bags, and plastic pellets as learning assistants. Students used the pellets to conduct simulations to figure out the plausibility of reproducing the results from the initial sample of turtles for a range of different population sizes. We suspect there is a high probability of students enjoying their statistics class this year.

In addition to a rigorous academic program, and a focus on academic and personal excellence, TAS students will develop: