American School of Madrid

Today was a very special day on campus as we welcomed the U.S. Marines for our annual Toys for Tots collection!

Our community has supported this wonderful cause for years, and once again, our families have shown incredible generosity. Thanks to your donations of new, unwrapped toys, children in hospital will have a brighter Christmas.

A huge shout-out to our student service groups for coordinating this year’s drive:

LS Global Citizens

MS Leadership Group

US Caring Hands & Global Citizens

Thank you for helping us share the joy of the season! 🎄✨

Happy Holidays!

Today, many families joined us for the K1–2 Family Winter Celebration, which marked the end of our Identity Unit and showcased the various holidays celebrated by our students.

The festive morning included a joyful holiday sing-along, families exploring fun, winter-themed activities set up in each of our four K1-2 classrooms, and some holiday snacks.

Thank you to all who joined us to celebrate the richness of our diverse community!

Last week, our Middle School Winter Concert filled the auditorium with joy and festive spirit!

A huge round of applause for the 160 talented students from the choir, band, and orchestra who shone on stage, delighting us with a truly beautiful evening of music! 🎤🎺🎻
Thank you to everyone in our community who came out to support our incredible young performers. 

The energy was high as our Middle School students took part in the second annual Intramural Volleyball Tournament held during recess!

Big shoutout to Mr. Peterson and Mr. Blair for organizing the competition. Did you know Mr. Peterson was inspired by his own Middle School teacher, who ran a similar tournament? Talk about passing the ball forward! 👏

The Middle School fun continues:

This winter, we're lacing up for 3-on-3 Basketball!

Get ready to represent your country in the Soccer World Cup at the end of the year!

Congratulations to all Speech, Debate, and Acting team members who represented ASM at the fall NESDA tournament in Vienna! They competed well across six events, and in five events they advanced to the semifinals.

Oliver Amberg was one of three competitors in the NESDA league to win three medals, bringing home three bronze medals in debate, impromptu duet acting along with Daniel Prado, and oral interpretation of literature.

Laney Bartos advanced to finals in original oratory and finished third alongside Oliver in debate.

Ellie Pritchett and Luca Verde were finalists in impromptu duet acting, and semifinalists included Gabe Aparicio (oral interpretation of literature), Danilo Amberg (impromptu duet acting), Emmett Sexsmith (duet acting, impromptu duet acting), and Arvin Panjrath (duet acting).

Today, Maxted Neal from Hult International Business School led an incredible workshop for our seniors: "Managing Stress in Your Final Year and Transitioning to University."

The session was about understanding how our brains work in order to boost wellbeing and academic performance. We saw so much engagement from our seniors! 

Thank you, Max, for delivering genuine, long-term value to them. We are committed to supporting our seniors every step of the way.

We officially kicked off our concert season with a fantastic Upper School Fall Concert last week! Our performing ensembles offered a stunning variety of music. A huge shout-out to the Upper School Choir, Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and the handful of advanced Middle School students who brought their A-game!

We warmly invite all members of our community to the Middle School Winter Concert on Thursday, December 11, at 7:00 P.M. Come support our younger performers and enjoy a beautiful evening of music that is sure to bring joy and holiday cheer!

Last week, 17 of our bright 9th, 10th, and 11th graders took their skills to Lisbon for the Iberian Model United Nations (IMUN) Conference, joining over 500 students from across Europe.

Our students represented six diverse nations, including Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Paraguay, engaging in high-level, person-to-person diplomacy to resolve pressing global problems. They utilized public speaking, strategic thinking, research, and collaborative negotiation to make a real impact.

A huge shout-out to Alexia Tournois, who earned the special recognition of being selected as a Visiting Guest Chair. She was tasked with facilitating debate for a committee of 60 students!

We held our first-ever 'Parents in Practice' Cheer event last week, and it was a massive success!

Instead of just watching, parents jumped off the sidelines and into the action, practicing cheers, stunts, and routines right alongside their kids. The energy was electric, and the laughter was contagious!

Thank you to all the brave parents who proved that spirit—and a good stretch—knows no age limit. What a fantastic way to build community and show support for our amazing Cheer team!

Our Grade 11 scientists recently traded the lab for the wild to complete their Collaborative Sciences Project (CSP) at the Madrid Zoo Aquarium!

This student-led project is all about promoting collaboration across different science disciplines. In mixed-science groups, students started by devising their own unique projects focused on improving the Madrid Zoo.

Later, at the zoo, they became field researchers! 🏞️ Students spent the day:

Collecting data to answer their specific inquiries.
Deepening their understanding of animal behavior, ecology, and sustainability.

Following the trip, the young scientists used their data to create a short video, outlining their project idea and proposing their improvements.

The CSP is always a highly valued experience, helping students connect and collaborate across the entire year group in a real-world scientific context. What an engaging way to bring science to life!

Our 7th Grade scientists just wrapped up an amazing hands-on project as part of their Body Systems unit!

To understand organ systems, students:

Conducted a fish dissection to observe real organ arrangement.

Researched an animal and sewed their own dissectible toy animals, including organs, muscles, and bones.

Studied the respiratory, muscular, and digestive systems within their chosen animal.

This project was a fantastic way to learn scientific observation, research, and critical thinking while meeting Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). They even presented their creations to the community, including Lower School students!

At ASM, in Middle School Science, we empower and we create!