Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: Forty-five Grade 12 High School students from The American International School of Muscat (TAISM), representing 19 nations, graduated in the presence of Ambassador Marc J Sievers, U.S. ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, on Thursday, May 31.
Five hundred parents, faculty, and students attended the
event which was held at the school’s Bosch Center for the Performing Arts.
The 45 graduates have been accepted and plan to enrol in universities around the world including the U.S.A., Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, the GCC and Oman.
Fawzi Mushantaf, chairperson of TAISM’s Board of Directors, and Kevin Schafer, TAISM director, awarded the diplomas to the graduates. The students were lauded for their outstanding achievements and their representation of the school in Oman and in their home communities.
Special significance was noted about the class of 2018 as it is graduating at the time of the school’s 20th anniversary of providing educational service to the American and international communities in the Sultanate of Oman. The school currently enrols 730 students from early childhood through Grade 12, representing 63 nationalities.
Richard Petersen, High School principal, presented two special awards to the graduates. The awards for Academic Excellence were given to seniors Fatma Moosa Hamdan Al Tai, Natalie Michelle Baltimore, Ethan Scott Brink, Serena Elizabeth Lee and Juan José Quintana Lopera who ended their academic record with the highest honours (GPA greater than 4.0). The Outstanding Senior Award, selected by the High School faculty, was given to a student who best embodies the mission of the school.
This year the award went to Juan Quintana Lopera. Fatma Moosa Hamdan Al Tai was selected to present the graduation address. Ethan Brink was selected by the faculty to be the master of ceremony for the event.
The TAISM Concert Band, under the leadership of band director Dylan Dwyer, performed the prelude and processional music, including Edward Elgar’s popular “Pomp and Circumstance.” In honour of the graduating seniors, the TAISM High School Choir, directed by Melanie Brink, performed the school’s choral anthem, “Like an Eagle.”
Earlier that day, TAISM held an awards ceremony for the High School students who were named as the most outstanding in the following areas in the 2017-2018 school year:
Arabic as a Foreign Language: Natalia Castano Palacio (Grade 12)
Arabic as a Heritage Language: Fatma Moosa Hamdan Al Tai (Grade 12)
Art: Shreya Sharma (Grade 10) and Jaiffer Nabeel Sultan (Grade 12)
Athletics / Outstanding Athletes: Serena Lee (Grade 12) and Jack Spilles (Grade 12)
Choral Music: Ethan Brink (Grade 12) and Juan Quintana Lopera (12)
Drama: Anne Griffin (Grade 10) and Juan Quintana Lopera (Grade 12)
English: Dvita Kapadia (Grade 12)
French: Shreya Sharma (Grade 10)
Instrumental Music: Majd El Ashkar (Grade 12)
Mathematics: Jean Charle Yaacoub (Grade 12)
Physical Education: Mark Kluknavsky (Grade 11) and Rafaella Saa Rodriguez (Grade 11)
Publications: Abbey McClurkin (Grade 12) and Jack Spilles (Grade 12)
Life Science: Serena Lee (Grade 12)
Physical Science: Austin Macfadyen (Grade 11)
Social Studies: Juan Quintana Lopera (Grade 12) and Jack Spilles (Grade 12)
Spanish: Natalie Baltimore (Grade 12)
Technical Theater: Carrie Ann Jilan (Grade 11) and Jared Rogerson (Grade 12)
Technology: Shihab Al Wahaibi (Grade 12)
Community Service Leadership Award: Fatma Moosa Hamdan Al Tai (Grade 12) and Dvita Kapadia (Grade 12)
Principal’s Award for contributions to the school: Natalie Baltimore (Grade 12)
