On Thursday, October 11, European School gladly welcomed its graduate Salome Vacheishvili, which currently holds the position of Admissions Counselor and Recruitment Coordinator at Bard College Berlin. A former graduate of our IB school herself, Salome is well-versed in the college admissions game. Having succeeded on both sides of the fence, she found it easy to engage the audience with an enlightening info-session. As an added benefit, students got to learn more about liberal arts education, concept of which sometimes eludes students as well as educators.

On October 8, 20 teachers from Danish History Teachers’ Union paid a visit to our school. The delegation had been invited by the Georgian Association of History Educators. Natia Pirtskhalava, head of the department of social sciences at the European School, discussed current priorities for teaching history in Georgia and answered their questions regarding effective teaching practices at our school. The guests took a tour around European School and visited our newly renovated library and laboratories.

On October 2, our school hosted the representatives of Franklin and Marshall College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. European School Students engaged in a lively and meaningful discussion with the representatives and found out more about the college admissions process. The pupils from our International Baccalaureate (IB) programme were pleased to hear that they have a privilege to graduate at Franklin and Marshall College in just three years. As our school is in the process of becoming a STEM school, our students were particularly interested in Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which is a great, test-optional STEM University.

For American High School students, excursions of the new study year have started with a rafting tour. The day was full of various sports activities. 8-th, 9-th, 10-th and 11-th graders visited adventure club “Jomardi” located in the river valley of Aragvi, and also tried adventure park tour in sports and fun city made of wires, which has roads with different difficulty levels. Students had a lot of fun and came back home relaxed and fully recharged.

On the first day of school, we were honored to host representatives of Duke University. Anne Sjostrom, associate dean of the Duke undergraduate admissions and Jennifer Bailey, from Duke Kunshan University, paid a visit to the European School.

On Friday, June 1, seventeen Grade 10 students accompanied by their Georgian teacher, Mrs. Tekla Beradze, and Mr. Joseph Blake, Director with two professional hiking guides explored the natural beauty of the hills of Georgia on their way to admire the famed church of Bolnisi – Tandzia. Encapsulating the vibrant historical and religious nature of the area and the foundations of the church in the 13th Century, both students and staff were mesmerized by the verdant valley and tranquility of its location.

On Tuesday, April 17, the American High School Senior students had their Senior Project Presentations. Preparing Senior Projects is obligatory for AHS seniors. They write research papers and then present them to an academic audience. The jury evaluates two components: the relevance of the topic and the speaker’s presentation skills. Students are free to choose their research paper topics but work closely with their supervisors who provide them with sources and constructive feedback.

On Tuesday, March 27, Grade 8 and 9 World History classes with their teacher, Mr. Joseph Blake viewed the exhibition Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel – Preparatory Drawings by famed Italian artist, sculptor, architect and poet of the Renaissance epoch - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) at the National Gallery, Tbilisi. The exhibition allowed all to view the graphic details, including the hand from the fresco "Creation of Adam" and figures from the fresco "The Fall of Man and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden". The exposition also incorporated multimedia, as well as the screening of the film "Journey to Discover Michelangelo."

The European School gym hosted a basketball match between Georgian Program and American High School teams on April 17, 2018. Georgian Program beat the American High School 69:64. Irakli Kochiashvili and Luka Tsurtsumia became the players of the day, scoring 42 and 34 points, respectively.