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| WAB's first international alumni gathering took place in London. |
Since its inception in 1994, Western Academy of Beijing has been home to more than 4,000 students, parents, and staff members. Today, the WAB community is spread far and wide across six continents and more than 75 countries. We are celebrating this community by starting a new tradition of alumni gatherings around the world, starting with the WAB Alumni gathering in London on February 4.
WAB's first international alumni gathering was a success, as our Interim Director and three School Principals hosted 20 former WAB students, parents, and staff members in Hammersmith Centre in London. This was the school's first formal attempt at creating global, off-campus gatherings, and the high turnout was a good reflection of the enduring WAB spirit.
The attendees were Incoming School Director Robert Landau; former WAB Board Chair Tom Hathaway, his wife Rebecca, and children Hugh and Felix; Tim and Lorraine Clissold with children Christian, Sam, Honor and Max; Emma and John Reed with children Frederick, Lorcan and Niall; Gary and Helen Manning; and Simon and Marian Lang.
According to Interim Director David Randall, "These [gatherings] are common in other schools and grow as the alumni network becomes more active." With future WAB High School graduates expected in the long-term, we should expect more celebrations around the world. Dr. Randall added, "What was striking was that all parents wished that their children were still a part of WAB." Events such as these are a way to ensure that the WAB bond stays strong, wherever you are in the world.
Our community members from Scandinavia, Netherlands, Canada and Southeast Asia are ready for their own reunions! If you are an alumni student, parent or former staff member who would like to help plan a WAB gathering in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Toronto, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, or Sweden, please contact wabalumni@wab.edu with the subject heading "Alumni Gathering."
Also...upcoming for all WAB Alumni: Olympic Open House
Do you know of any WAB alum making the Olympic journey to Beijing this coming August? Make sure that WAB is a part of their itinerary! WAB will be hosting an Open House before the Opening Ceremony for all returning alumni students, parents and staff members in Beijing. The event will be an opportunity to catch up with friends old and new, tour WAB's state-of-the-art campus. To sign up for this Open House event, please contact wabalumni@wab.edu with 'Olympics' in the subject heading. You will then be added to our Olympics Reunion mailing list.