AISB spans over half a century of exceptional learning, beautiful memories, wonderful community events, inspiring teachers, academic excellence, cultural diversity, and so much more. Our faculty, staff, students, and parents keep the past alive while creating new stories to share with our AISB family every day.




 

Excerpt from the AISB 50th Anniversary Book
 

REBIRTH 

To Dream a Dream...

The start of the new millennium found the American International School of Bucharest as a school with strong and deep roots and high aims. 

“We knew that it was essential for the school to build a single, purpose built campus. However, there were huge challenges in this. First, we had no money to put toward such a project. Second, we had no legal status […] that would allow us to build and own a new school. Finally, we had no land upon which to build.” (Fred Wesson) 

On September 5th, 2001, the AISB Elementary School was anxious to start the new school year. Parents and students together were waiting to enter a new home, built especially for them, the new AISB campus in Pipera Tunari 196. Excitement, joy and high expectations were in the air as members of the AISB Board of Directors, administrative team, parents, students and faculty came together to inaugurate the new building. In her dedication speech, Ms. Susan Johnson, US Embassy DCM and Chairperson of the AISB Board of Directors, reminded all of the huge amount of work that made this dream come true but all eyes were ready to explore the new school. 






The Secondary School students remained in the Dorobanti campus for the first half of the 01-02 school year, anxiously awaiting their move in the winter. In the Carpati Chronicle, the school’s newspaper, Chris Muller, former AISB Secondary School Principal, wrote about how the excitement of moving into the new campus intertwined with the sadness of leaving such a wonderful building as the one in Dorobanti: “So we reach the point where we say goodbye to our beautiful home at Dorobantilor no. 39. Our cozy family home with its guardian angel looking down from the gable. The place that is brimming with memories, from academic trials and tribulations to victories and defeats on the sports field, to sharing intellectual and cultural pursuits with people from in and outside of our community. We have long dreamed of moving into our beautiful new campus but now that the move is imminent we start to get very sentimental about Doro. The reality is we have outgrown this place and it is time for somebody else to reap the benefits of its unique character and facilities. We are meant for bigger and better things at the new campus.“ 


In January 2002 the American International School students were under one roof, in the new campus, in a school in which more than 40 nationalities come together to work and play in cultural harmony. 


For the first time in the 39 years of its existence, AISB had over 300 students under one roof and was not going to keep silent about it. The April 2002 New Campus Dedication Day inaugurated all of the new AISB facilities in a ceremony that was attended by over 1,000 people. 





The current Central Park of the AISB, the heart of the school, hosted a full size stage and was the focal point of all ceremonies. In attendance were representatives of the Romanian government, the Orthodox Church, the US Embassy and other embassies, parents, students, family and staff of AISB. 
 

They all gathered together to celebrate the dedication of the greatest international school campus in Romania. 
 

AISB students enchanted everyone with their talent and showcased the endless possibilities that the new facilities offered. Going around the hallways, classrooms, library, theater or sports facilities, guests could listen to the AISB Steel Drum Band or hear wonderful stories read by Early Childhood teachers. 

Ms. Simona Miculescu, former Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of  Romania and Susan Johnson, DCM, US Embassy officially open the new campus 

 

They could see technology on display in the new IT Labs or witness a martial arts demonstration in the Elementary School Gym. They could listen to Spanish songs or view a puppet show in the Art Department. And the list goes on and on…. What a day that was! 
 

Food, drinks and entertainment topped the day. All guests were entertained by a famous Romanian pop-band and were invited to Romanian folk dances. In the words of Lynn Wells, AISB Director of Admissions and Advancement “The day was unforgettable … in every way.” 
 

AISB was now settled and ready to build on its impressive history, to draw on its outstanding roots and grow. Sky was the limit … 


Read the entire edition of the WORLD Magazine Special Edition Winter 2018 here.