Good morning, students, faculty, and administration, 

Welcome Back! My name is Alana Fuentes, and I am your Student Council Executive Board President. I am so excited for this upcoming year. It will be one full of learning, growth, and hard work, but most importantly, full of friendship, teamwork, and memorable moments.  

In our first meeting, your Executive Board discussed what our mission would be this year. We understand that our school is more than just a place we come to study in. Instead, it is a place where we find our extended family, those people who we create incredible bonds with and a place where we can find our biggest fans. We believe that our education at TASIS does not solely focus on our classes but also on exploring our passions and building strong relationships with the people around us: our fellow classmates and teachers. We realized that here in TASIS, we are students by chance but a family by choice and that we, the Student Council, want everyone here to make that choice every day as they enter our school. We want to strengthen this by focusing on celebrating our differences: unique interests, unique talents, and unique perspectives. Even though we are all different, our TASIS community functions as a family that uplifts one another and provides comfort for everyone. 

Our theme this year is LEAP Year. Of course, this school year is a leap year, hence the name. But for us, LEAP stands for Let’s Embrace Authentic Personalities. We want to support our inclusive school environment where we all feel welcome and appreciated despite our differences. Throughout the year, we will be hosting different contests that we can celebrate together as well as share the unique talents in our TASIS family. Be on the lookout for what those may be, and be sure to participate in the activities that interest you. We will be hosting a final award ceremony in April, where we will share with our TASIS community the different works students created during our contests. This year, we will continue last year’s Final Fridays. Be sure to give your best effort in every activity since Spirit Week points are up for grabs. This year, since we want to grow our sense of family, teachers will be an essential part of our activities by both supporting and participating in them. 

I would also like to encourage you to actively participate in the different activities and opportunities that our school offers. Whether it is joining a club, participating in a sport, and/or engaging in community service, it is important to explore all you can do here as it will enrich your experience at school, and it will give you opportunities to create more bonds with people, which is crucial to building up our TASIS family. 

I would also like to add that we, The Student Council, are very excited to represent you; we are here to be your voice. We have included a Google form in our Student Council Website where you may give us feedback or suggestions on anything we do. I would also like to remind you that this year’s Executive Board is made up of me, Alana Fuentes, Nicolas Casanova, our VP, Mariana Inclán, our secretary, Elena Pietrantoni, our Treasurer, Tobias Luksemberg, our Historian, and Camila Goveo, our Public Relation Specialist. You may reach out to us at any time for questions, suggestions, or anything you would like to say. And, of course, you have your class boards as well, who are there to listen to you and communicate with us. Teachers, we would also like to hear from you. We recently sent out a form where you may give us suggestions. Thank you to all of those who have already answered. We are looking forward to implementing all the ideas everyone in our school gives us. 

Finally, as students, every year, we need to follow the guidelines and expectations established by TASIS Dorado. Tomorrow, we will all talk about the Honor Code, but today, we want to highlight that everyone wears the correct uniform so that we can all show our school pride. Here is a reminder of the Do’s and Don’ts. 

Do’s: Wear your skirts or pants with your oxford shirt tucked in. Polos may be untucked. Shoes may be red, navy, white or black. If you wear pants, you must wear a black belt with your formal uniform. PE uniforms are only to be worn on the days you have PE class. For high school students, PE will only be during the first semester. Thus, no PE Uniforms should be worn during the second semester.  Spirit gear is only to be worn on Fridays with the formal uniform skirt, pants, or shorts. Don’t forget that joggers are not allowed this year. 

Don'ts: PE shirts are not to be worn with formal pants and/or skirts. Socks with designs are not allowed. Socks must be of solid colors such as black, white, red, and/or navy blue. Unauthorized hoodies may not be worn. Only TASIS-approved and university jackets are allowed. Oxford shirts cannot be untucked, and do NOT forget your belt.  

Your Student Council Executive Board is excited to have an amazing year with our TASIS Community. Follow our Instagram page, and bookmark our Sites webpage to see what we are planning for this year. You are an essential part of our organization; we want to hear from you and see you. We are here for you, so don’t be shy and talk to us or your class boards. 

I would like to end by saying that I hope we all have a great school year and remember, we are students by chance but a family by choice.  

Thank you all! Have a great day, and Bear Pride!

- Alana's Beginning of the Year Speech 

Dear TASIS Family: 

Thank you for allowing me to represent you for the past few years. As this is my last induction as part of the Student Council, it is a very special day for me, and I am so excited to be here today introducing its new members.

Fellow board members, congratulations! Being part of the Student Council is an honor that you should be proud of and should be taken as a priority throughout this year. It is an experience that will challenge you. It is not easy to balance all the responsibilities that come with it, but it is possible, and, in the end, it will actually be a rewarding experience. As I think back on my years on the student council, my biggest advice is to take the “I’ll figure it out” mindset and not let yourself be intimidated by the responsibilities of this position. Allow yourself to take advantage of this opportunity to grow as a leader because the Student Council shapes you into a better person and helps you discover and develop great qualities. Stay focused, have drive, be patient, and work hard to make your class have a great year. You will see that you will enjoy this experience along with your classmates. Personally, I find the best aspect of this position is the teamwork it entails. Originally, for me, this was the most difficult. Being a team player was not easy for me, but through the years, I have seen that sharing this experience with others and working alongside them is the best part of the role. I mean it when I say that teamwork makes the dream work. The better relationship you have with your board and class, the better the year will go.

Now, my fellow students, we, the council, have a mission this year to strengthen the family bond within our TASIS Community. As you may already know, our year’s theme is LEAP Year, which stands for “Let’s Embrace Authentic Personalities”. We understand that one of the qualities that makes our TASIS education so great is the unique perspectives and passions we are encouraged to explore. Like a family, we seek to appreciate those aspects that make each and every one of us unique.  We want everyone to be on the same page when we say that we are students by chance but a family by choice. Our year’s slogan is incredibly important to us. 

We understand that the basis of a good family relationship entails caring for one another, celebrating, and listening to each other. For this reason, we have committed to strengthening the inclusive environment in our school. We are actively trying to increase our presence with elementary students and include teachers in our activities since they are a huge aspect of our TASIS family and crucial to strengthening our school's bonds. We found it so rewarding to see our teachers come with their fun, competitive attitudes to Teacher Trivia this past Final Friday. Expect to see more activities like these, where we seek to include all the different parts of our TASIS family sharing memorable experiences together. 

This year, the student council is thrilled to implement monthly contests to celebrate the unique talents within our school. We believe that allowing students to demonstrate their passions and talents is an important part of a school’s mission. Being in a school that has allowed students to have endless opportunities to explore their passions, we believe that we, the Student Council, have a duty to join that mission, showcasing those passions and talents, and celebrating them together. For this reason, all throughout the year, we will be hosting different contests for those creative minds in our family. Winners will be announced via social media, morning announcements, and final Fridays. Additionally, near the end of the school year, in April, we will be hosting a final award ceremony where we will showcase the amazing works students created throughout the year. Be on the lookout to see if one of the contests is right for you. 

With this in mind, I am excited to announce our first contest. We will be hosting 2 logo contests for those artistic members of our family. First, one logo will be used to represent the Student Council this year. We want to start a tradition where each year, the student council creates a logo for the year, and what better way to create a logo than with the help of our student body? Second, field day shirts are back! We want you to be a part of the creative process. You may create a logo, and we will pick one to be on this year's field day shirts. These contests are a great way to demonstrate your talents because all we want to do is celebrate that with you. The rules and guidelines will be posted soon via our Social Media and morning announcements. 

Another aspect that we noticed we needed to work on this year was our community service. We realized that filling out our National Gold Council of Excellence Award application is the area we need to strengthen. We know that one of the main missions of the National Student Council is to promote service in the school environment. Therefore, we have established a goal this year to aid nearby communities. We decided that throughout the year, we will organize donation drives to collect items that could be reused and donated to nearby communities. Our first drive will be this September. We will be asking for old costumes, obviously in good condition, in order to donate them in October and provide awesome costumes just in time for the Halloween season. More information, as usual, will be posted on our Instagram @tasisstuco and in our Morning Announcements.  Also, we want to start a tradition this year to take out a percentage of our funds at the end of the year to donate resources to a school we will be working very closely with and supporting throughout this year. We acknowledge that we are very blessed to have so many resources here at TASIS that make our education so special. We would like to express our gratitude by helping another school have more resources, be it by donating materials they need for back-to-school or helping buy desks or other items they need for their students. We will consider their needs as we help them. Thank you to everyone who supports our Student Council for allowing us to do things like this throughout the school year. 

Finally, in order to strengthen our family, we are focused on improving communication between each other. Students, feel free to approach anyone here on the stage whenever you have something to say.  We are here for you and to serve you. We are here to listen. You can email us anytime at studentcouncil@tasisdorado.com. Additionally, we have implemented a form to our Google Sites where you can give us feedback and suggestions on anything we do. We look forward to hearing new ideas to improve our Student Council. 

We have already been working really hard this year to make this school feel like home, but we still have the whole year ahead of us, and I am so excited about all the planned activities. We are also eager to use the new spaces in our school, the WAC, and the CITL  for activities like canteens and morning announcements. As our school expands, we are also inspired to expand our impact. We promise to continue our commitment to you and hope you continue trusting us. 

Be sure to follow our Student Council Instagram and Website to know all the latest news and announcements. 

And remember, we are students by chance but a family by choice. 

Have a great day, and Bear Pride. 

Thank you!

- Alana's Student Council Induction Ceremony Speech

First and foremost, let's talk about the fantastic Final Fridays. These spirited games, held on the last Friday of the month, serve as a spirited precursor to our much-anticipated Spirit Week. The enthusiasm that you all bring to these events is truly remarkable. Whether it's the fierce competition on the field or the cheers from the sidelines, Final Fridays embody the passion that runs through the veins of our student body. So, every time you participate or cheer for your peers, you're not only having fun but also contributing to our school's competitive edge. The student council is extremely proud of everyone participating in these games and is even more fascinated to see where this chapter takes us.

Next, I want to extend our gratitude to all the talented students who have participated or even considered participating in our school's contests. These contests provide a platform for you to showcase your exceptional abilities. This year, we have had the pleasure of hosting a logo design and coding contest. It has been an exciting start, and I am pleased to announce that we have even more exciting contests planned for the future. Your performances have added an extra layer of vibrancy to our school's cultural tapestry. Seeing the courage and dedication with which you step onto the big stage and give it your all is inspiring.

We also hosted the PSAT picnic. It was an overwhelming success, thanks to the dedicated efforts of our Student Council and maintenance teams and the enthusiastic participation of everyone who attended. It was a wonderful day filled with laughter, delicious food, and the opportunity to relax and bond with our fellow classmates. The hard work and planning that went into organizing this event cannot be understated, and we want to thank the people who put in countless hours to make it happen. We are also grateful to all the students and teachers who joined in, contributing to the positive atmosphere and making this picnic a memorable experience. Thank you for coming together and creating a day to remember!

Furthermore, our recent pep rally was a sensation. It was an extraordinary event and the first pep rally in the WAC (Wellness and Athletic Center.) I hope each of you enjoyed it as much as I did. The energy, enthusiasm, and school spirit that filled the arena were truly electrifying, creating an unforgettable atmosphere. It was a great testament to the unity and pride we have in our school, and I couldn't be prouder of our student body for making it such a remarkable experience.

I would like to take a moment to give a special shout-out to all the student-athletes who participated in the tournament. Your dedication and sacrifices are truly appreciated and do not go unnoticed. Your unwavering commitment to representing our school in various sports should be a source of pride. Your hard work and dedication serve as an inspiration to us all, and we are so grateful for the honor and reputation you have brought to our school.

Last but certainly not least, let's not forget our beloved mascot, "Claws." Claws is more determined than ever to bring an abundance of school spirit to our campus. As our energetic mascot, Claws is committed to rallying our school and creating an environment that fosters unity and pride. I can't wait to see Claws at every event, ensuring that the school spirit is at its peak, and I hope you will be there along with him. Together, with Claws leading the way, we'll continue to celebrate and support our school, making each event even more special and memorable. Thank you for being a vital part of our school's spirit and success!