On Friday, 6 January, ASL was excited to welcome home 94 alumni, parents of alumni, current and former faculty and staff, for the biggest Homecoming turn out in recent ASL history. 

Returning alumni spanned from Classes of ’78 to ’16, and enjoyed an afternoon of high-energy basketball games and an evening of masterclasses, drinks, nibbles and catching up with old friends.

Twelve alumni kicked off the celebrations with a fierce and friendly basketball game, much to the delight of an excitable crowd cheering from the bleachers. Players on the winning team included John Farmer ’97, Aboudi Qattan ’12, Anton Foy ’15 and Luke Gilbert ’12, against the team of the Class of ’16: Caroline Dibble, Courtney Welch, Jed Alberts, Jack DeNoma, Ryan Farrell and Leif Merlino.

Basketball fans then stayed on in the Farmer Family Gymnasium to watch the girls and boys varsity take on TASIS and were thrilled to cheer both teams to victory. In between games, Director of Athletics John Farmer ’97 announced the unveiling of the banners for six teams who became ISST champions in 2015-16—congratulations to the girls swimming, girls basketball, baseball, girls and boys combined track and field, and the girls and boys combined tennis.

Over in the Community Arts Building (CAB), alumni took part in masterclasses with beloved faculty members. John Wilson (ASL 1971-2009) led a quiz bowl on US presidential history, featuring the alumni from the quiz bowl champion team of 1991, Giorgio Mandelli ’91 and Gholam Bakhtiar ’91, against members from the Class of 2000, Jess Hartogs Oakley, Michael Benz and Buzz Zand.

In the classroom above, Martin Drexler (ASL 1995-present) shared the art of still-life painting with Britain Baker ’05 and Catherine Ames P ’15 ’16. “It was great fun seeing the new CAB and participating in the quiz bowl!” commented Gholam. 

A reception in the CAB gallery rounded out the evening. Guests received a warm welcome from Head of School Coreen R. Hester and caught up with old friends over drinks and nibbles.

Buck Herron (ASL 1998-present) was thrilled to welcome home returning alumni. "I thought the reception had such a lovely feel to it,” he remarked. "The joy and laughter I saw as everyone greeted each other was great. I enjoyed seeing students I hadn't seen in years, and it was wonderful to speak with them and reconnect!”

Home is definitely where the heart is, Eagles! Thanks for coming back to join us for such a great evening.