On December 26th, over fifty dressed-up and glamorous alumni, parents, and seniors attended the Christmas feast for a night of story-telling, food, music and photographs at Ambassador Hotel. Laughter flooded the ballroom as old friends met up and reestablished their acquaintances with tight hugs and wide smiles.

The event started off with dinner and following, each of the alumni went onstage to speak of and offer advice on the college application process in addition to share their experiences at college. Everyone seemed to be doing well in school, both socially and academically. The current seniors were all extremely interested and after each spiel, they would ask questions regarding courses, clubs, sports, time management and also whether or not the food is better than PAS lunch only to be disappointed with a “No!” The night came to a close as a photographer snapped pictures of everyone and as friends wrapped up their conversations by promising to catch up sometime during winter break.

It was time to face the chilly winds again but everyone stepped into the cold with warmth in their hearts and a comforting fuzziness in their souls. That’s what the PAS alumni banquet is all about: being the one happy family PAS is known for.

The evening was filled with wonderful student performances. The Junior Percussion students in grades one and two performed “A little Christmas Dance,” the Junior Orchestra students in grades 3-5 performed “4 Renaissance Christmas Tunes,” and the Junior Percussion students in grades 3-5 performed “Joy to the World/Deck the Halls.” The Recorder/Percussion students in grades 6 and 7 performed “Feliz Navidad.” As the night continued the Elementary students performed a show stopping “Christmas Show” that included an awesome video create by Elementary teacher Mr. Graeme Anning. The Chior students in grades one to five sang three songs beautifully, “Let it Snow,” “Winter Wonderland,” and “Winter Song.”

During the first intermission there were raffle drawings and many in attendance won awesome prizes, none was happier than Physical Education teacher Mr. Ken Lee who won a Giant mountain bike. After the intermission the audience was energized by performances buy the Jazz and Hip Hop Dance group who were on the top of their game, the PAS Cheerleaders cheered and flew and the Dance Crew did some amazing break dancing. Next up were the PAS musical students in their wonderfully performed excerpt from their upcoming Spring musical “Into the Woods.”

Another intermission brought more prizes to the attendees; Eugene Ho won and Ipod Touch. Upon our return from intermission the Drama students performed a dramatic and funny excerpt from “A Midsummer Nights Dream.” Then the 9th and 10th graders had a dance performance that was followed up by the 11th and 12th graders dance performance. Then the PAS staff showed the students what a real performance looked and sounded like as Sue and Popo from the main office sang a duet as Francois, Michelle, Vicky, Mei-ling all danced in the back ground. I

It was a sight to see and a sound that no one will soon forget. As the night finally concluded the teachers took the stage to festively sing “Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “Feliz Navidad.” It truly was and action packed night filled with fun and happy memories that will last for years. We all hope that you had a great time; we appreciate everyone’s hard work and attendance. Happy Holidays from the administration, teachers and staff of Pacific American School; we wish you all the best in the New Year!

It was a beautiful unseasonably warm day filled with athleticism, good sportsmanship and school spirit. Event organizer Physical Education teacher Mr. Ken Lee divided the PAS student body into four teams: The Blue Cranes, The Green Mantis, The Red Snakes and the Yellow Bees. Throughout the day the teams competed in a variety of events that tested both their teamwork and individual athletic ability. As hundreds looked on the PAS students lined up at the starting line and waited for the sound of the starter’s pistol. The track events ranged in distance from 100m dash, 400m run, a 400m relay and a longer 800m relay. These races were very competitive and there were many exciting finishes. In the center of the track students competed in hurling the shot-put, navigating a challenging obstacle course, tugging their hardest in the tug-of-war and playing a very offensively exciting flag football game.

Teachers and parents joined in the competition and participated in an 800m relay race against the four student teams. It was a hard ran race, the students and the teachers were neck and neck down the final straight but teacher Chris Ward took the lead in the last few meters to win the relay race for the teachers. See kids you should never give up! As the day drew to a close it was time for the closing ceremony where accolades were bestowed and medals were awarded. The Red Snakes proved their brute strength in their domination of the tug-of-war. With their chanting, cheering and “karate kid” kicking the Blue Cranes won first place for spirit. One team reigned supreme and proved their athleticism above the rest, the Yellow Bees were this year’s PAS sports day champions.

Congratulations to all of the participants; your energy and attendance made this a great event filled with lots of laughs and smiles. A sincere thank you to all of the teachers, staff, students and parents who made this awesome event possible. Hope you all enjoyed the festivities; congratulations again to the Yellow Bees!

We had a very active bunch of delegates this year. It was the first international conference for some of our younger students. They got a great first hand look at the preparation that goes into an international conference such as this. This experience that they brought back will definitely be a great asset for our growing MUN program here at PAS. Tiffany Lin, a tenth grader, had this to say about THIMUN. “It was a great experience for me. I learned many debate skills and got to make friends with people from all around the world”. Eugene Ho noted this about the week in Singapore. “I represented St. Lucia in GA! This year. I worked with a group of awesome people on the issue for arms. Our resolution passed in our committee and even went to the plenary session.”

Overall, we had a great time. We were very proud of the professionalism and dedication that our PAS delegates exhibited during the conference.

Overall, it was a great conference for some of our younger delegates to gain some positive experience in a manageable environment. On the second day, many PAS delegates were key writers of resolutions in their respective councils. We are very excited with the growth of MUN at PAS and are looking forward to our upcoming conferences in Singapore, New York and Beijing.

Mr. Wahlgren  & Mr. Choquette

PAS MUN Advisors

The three Most Valuable Delegates from HSINMUN

Peggy Lin - Security Council

Christine Hsu – Human Rights

Ben Lee - ECOSOC   

Preceding the Halloween festivity was our UNICEF fundraising. We raised over 30,000NT for UNICEF. Great job everyone!!!

The high school was first to experience all that Camp Taiwan has to offer. Only 9th and 10th grade went as 12th grade was busy with college preparations and 11th grade went to Camp Pacific American at I-lan with Mr. Garcia. Enjoying beautiful weather, the high school was ready to tackle Camp Taiwan and their “Wild West” theme. A highlight for 9th graders was new activities, such as the giant ladder and zip line. “The giant swing was tiring and our group wasn’t assigned to the zip line,” said a visibly content Julius Chiang. Guinness was contacted about a possible record-breaking Giant Swing, log-walking attempt. Unofficial estimates placed Melissa Lee’s crossing time at an amazing eight seconds!

The burst of energy that is 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade was next to storm the mountain, albeit for one night only. However, quite a load of fun, activities, and food were packed into those 24 hours. One highlight was a brand new activity, Caterpillar King. Howard Yin expressed his happiness with this game by exclaiming, “I’m the king!” When asked about archery, Brandon Pai said, “I liked the soup. It was creamy.”

Last, and perhaps not least, the 6th, 7th, and 8th middle school students came to take the best that Camp Taiwan had to offer. Premature sunshine scorched the sloping stroll to camp and soon the skies opened and soaked their sneakers. But spirits were not dampened. Being old hands at camp, the middle-schoolers were proud to demonstrate their familiarity and skill with some of the activities. When asked about her favorite activity, Catrina Chen answered, “maybe…river tracing.” Witnessing the sight that is climbing, teacher Kurt Wahlgren saw “many, perhaps the majority of the seventh graders,” complete most of the climbing wall. “It was really fun, but a little tiring,” said Eddy Tsao, who triumphantly stood at the top of the wall and enjoyed a panoramic view of camp.

So, with another year of fun and learning behind us, we look forward to next year. Be it Camp Taiwan or Camp Pacific American at Yilan, the Typhoons will be ready for a fabulous outdoor experience of food, folks, and fun.

Back at the camp site, campers enjoyed barbecues and bonfires, as well as movie night and a “chubby bunny” competition. In addition to all the fun, students took time to plan team strategies and design presentations and a talent show, as well as to reflect quietly on their experiences by writing in a journal. By the end of the camp, the students and faculty were exhausted, but they had all had an experience that would last them a lifetime.

Since 1910, the Harvard Prize Book has been an important way for Harvard Club members to help attract talented young people to advance the college study in the USA. The Prize Book is awarded to outstanding students in the next to the graduating class who demonstrate excellence in scholarship and leadership and achievement in other non-academic areas. Over 1,900 high schools around the world have applied it annually.