Boarding

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Residential Life

Our residential way of life strives to educate students to be responsible, productive and ethical citizens with the skills to think creatively, reason critically, communicate effectively and maintain an attitude of respect toward people of other cultures.

Supervision

Dormitories have several live-in faculty members who rotate supervisory nights and weekends throughout the year. Students know who is on duty each night so that in an emergency, the person on duty is the primary contact. Dormitory supervisors also rely on student prefects for assistance. These students must be familiar with apartment locations and contact numbers should an emergency arise.

Roommates

Living with a roommate and away from home is a unique opportunity for a teenager. It provides ripe opportunitis for sharing about one another’s cultures, personal histories, and forming wonderful bonds that can last a lifetime. It also can be challenging to learn how to share a space at this age.

Differences between roommates are not uncommon when considering the various needs and habits that may present between two or more young adults. We work extensively with the students to establish an air of mutual respect in the rooms, and work on voicing issues with regards to the room in a respectful manner.

This provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn how to listen to others’ concerns openly while also having theirs heard; and to then, under the guidance of an adult mentor, devise an agreement that meets each person’s needs to the extent possible.

Learning how to communicate effectively, adapt, and share a common space while taking into consideration their own needs and those of others provides opportunities for life lessons and growth students would not normally get until university or beyond.

It is one of the more challenging, but also more special, aspects of attending a boarding school. Our experienced dorm staff work extensively to mediate and foster positive roommate relationships.

Building a community is our primary objective.

We believe in a stable, caring, supportive, family-like environment where students receive adult guidance through frequent daily interaction. “Family” is the key word because, given the distance that many of our students are from their own families, our faculty is committed to providing a positive “in loco parentis” role model for students.

The residential houses of Leysin American School are vital to the well-being and positive functioning of the school community. Our students feel at home on campus, and this helps them to feel positive about themselves and to appreciate their life at LAS.

In the dormitories, students have the opportunity to appreciate and understand other cultures. Living together, they recognize the differences of language, food or traditional costumes and then begin to explore the ideas, values and histories that have created each cultural group’s uniqueness.

This rich experience opens up another avenue to realize that, despite our obvious differences, we share many similarities as human beings that we might not have previously recognized.

LAS Uniform and Dress Code

The LAS uniform is not a traditional school uniform, but it does help to give students a sense of identity. This is their home away from home, and by wearing the school badge, they feel they belong. Upon arrival and during orientation, students choose from a range of clothing items that are then tailored on the spot to fit them correctly and comfortably.

Items available include polo and other shirts, skirts and ski jackets. The dress code must be respected during the school day.

Outdoor Program

The Outdoor Adventure program is a series of excursions and activities designed to showcase the natural outdoor resources in the area surrounding LAS. Leysin is located in a prime alpine location, with abundant rock climbing, high-mountain trekking, via ferratas (mountain routes equipped with fixed steel cables and footholds) and several ski resorts and mountain huts nearby.

The Outdoor Adventure program encourages students to be active in the outdoors and the Swiss mountains—with hiking boots, snowshoes or ropes and harnesses—to see the view from the top. The program consists of afternoon activities and weekend trips. The fall semester includes an overnight trek to the summit of the Dents du Midi (the highest peak in the area), as well as an after-school activity of orienteering and avalanche awareness. This activity includes hiking around the local ski resort terrain and surveying the various aspects of the slopes, becoming familiar with piste and off-piste trails.

Field Trips

The series of outdoor activities and weekend trips are open to all interested students. They include (but may change because of weather factors and enrollment):

• Overnight trek to summit the Dents du Midi mountain (3257 m; 10,686 ft.)

• An overnight hiking trek organized by the students

• Sailing on Lake Geneva, a team-building exercise

• Via ferrata up the Tour D’Ai, Leysin canyoning and/or whitewater rafting (in the spring)

• Indoor and outdoor rock climbing

• Early season overnight ski trip

• Winter overnight hut trip

• Overnight spring camping trip

• Lake Geneva bike touring trip

Paragliding

Travel

Ideally located in the heart of Europe, Switzerland’s Lake Geneva region serves as the gateway for travel to the cultural treasures of nearby France, Italy, Austria and Germany.
Centuries of history come to life before students’ eyes on school-sponsored excursions to cities such as Rome, Paris or Athens. For example, when students visit the Sistine Chapel, they learn about the election of Catholic Church popes over the centuries. In Athens, they visit the sites where democracy was born. Leysin American School combines formal study with travel as part of the curriculum. Students are expected to pursue academic tasks on these visits, complete reports and projects, and are graded on their work.

September Weekend
Students get to know their faculty family brothers, sisters and parents. These trips are generally within Switzerland and often involve sports and team building activities.
Swiss Culturals (October)
Students in Grades 9, 10 and 11 visit cultural centers of their host county, Switzerland, such as Basel, Berne, Geneva, Lucerne and Lugano.
Italian Culturals (October)
Senior and postgraduate students visit Florence, Rome or Venice as part of their Theory of Knowledge class.
European Culturals (May)
Students have a choice of European cities to visit. Thse trips generally include Barcelona, London, Paris, Venice, Istanbul, Vienna, Munich, Prague or St. Petersburg. Through a Swiss chapter of Habitat for Humanity, students may participate in community service trips to such countries as Romania and Poland to assist the less fortunate. Our Peace Corps Partnership provides an opportunity to visit and work with struggling communities in Morocco.
Optional Spring Break Trip (March/April)
At extra cost, students may opt to go on a faculty-sponsored trip over Spring Break. Past destinations have included community service trips to Bosnia as well as cultural trips to Tanzania, China, Egypt and Nepal.

Weekends
Weekend field trips are organized throughout the year within Switzerland and to neighboring countries. Every weekend, school-sponsored trips are offered to nearby Lausanne, Geneva, Montreux and Bern to take advantage of museums, theater and shopping. Weekly sports and leisure excursions include Zermatt for glacier skiing and the Aquapark adventure destination in Bouveret.