ACS STUDENTS ATTENDED FOUNDERS’ DAY IN ISTANBUL

The main goal of the Founders’ Day is to give the students and the teachers from American schools, situated on the territory of the former Ottoman Empire, the opportunity to integrate into one big family where amazing emotions are shared and new friendships are made.

ACS sent a group of 10 representatives. There were eight students: Lora Beltcheva (president of Student Council), Rossen Vutov (vice president of S.C.), Mincho Vichev (cashier of S.C.), Zdravko Varbanov (secretary of S.C.), Iva Lazarova (senator of 12th grade in S.C.), Stefan Patsov (senator of 12th grade in S.C.), Linh Le (captain of the ACS girls’ basketball team), and Nikola Karakolev (captain of the ACS boys’ basketball team ). Two teachers accompanied the students: Kateri Couture-Latour (11th grade Biology teacher) and Amos Van Die (10th and 11th grade English teacher). The other participants were students and teachers from six schools in Turkey, Greece, and Lebanon: Üsküdar American Academy, American Collegiate Institute, Tarsus American College, International College, American College of Greece-Pierce, Anatolia College.

The program of the event included icebreaking games, singing, presentations of the schools, a basketball game, competition for creating the event’s logo, opening and closing ceremonies, and a cruise downthe Bosporus with lunch and dancing. Тhe cruise was a delightful surprise because of the spontaneous presentation of traditional dances from each country represented in the event. Every student was enthusiastic to learn more about the culture of the other countries, as well as to teach the fellow participants some aspects of his/her own culture.

“We met amazing people from all the other American schools, and especially our incredible hosts who were very kind to accept us in their homes with generosity and hospitality. We are very grateful to ACS for giving us this opportunity to experience such an amazing and unforgettable time in Istanbul!”, our students shared after the journey.

The picture above shows the logo of the event that all participants designed together.