Previous Events

80 alumni, alumni parents, faculty and friends joined us at The Lion Pub to celebrate the holiday season. It was a wonderful evening of festive fun!

A special thanks to Dora Somogyi, Class of 2007, and her band for entertaining us with songs from her new album. Be sure to check out her website: www.thisisdora.com

Nearly 50 alumni joined ZIS at the Princeton Club of New York to hear Fabio Luisi, ZIS Past Parent and Principal Conductor, Metropolitan Opera New York, speak about "The Art of Fragrance."

Fabio Luisi is a Grammy Award-winning Italian conductor. He is Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera and General Music Director of the Zurich Opera. For years he has been creating perfumes for friends and now he offers them to the general public. His perfumes use natural substances from all over the world. Mr Luisi says "I bring these exotic ingredients together in order to create, with patience and painstaking care, unique and special perfume recipes, because perfumery, like music, is an art of blending – blending sounds in music, blending aromatic substances in perfumery. FL Parfums are unique in the world of scents."

Alumni, faculty, family and friends came together on Friday, August 19 to celebrate this year's Mattern Award honoree Dick Killen, English teacher, who taught at AISZ from 1972-1990. Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate this amazing teacher! A slideshow from the event can be viewed here.

It was a beautiful evening at the Kilchberg Villa for the 5 year reunion of the Class of 2011. Great to see everyone there!

It was great to see our Class of 1996 back at the villa for their 20 year reunion. Thanks to everyone there!

It was great to see our Class of 2006 back at the villa for their 10 year reunion. Thanks to everyone who came!

This ZISMeets event, held at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, combined alumni networking and a fascinating lecture with Nick Felton, an influential designer who has been profiled by the Wall Street Journal, Wired and Good Magazine.

Former Facebook employee Nicholas Felton spends much of his time thinking about data, charts, and our daily routines; his Personal Annual Reports present a tapestry of graphs, maps, and statistics reflecting his year’s activities. In his Feltron Annual Report of 2013, for example, Felton gathered over 94,000 data points, including data from 44,041 text messages, 31,769 emails, and countless social media posts.

Much family fun in the sun was had when our alumni based in Sydney, Australia got together for a lazy afternoon at Clontarf beach. Cold beers and ice creams were enjoyed while memories of Switzerland were shared. Thank you to everyone who came and to the Kemp family for organizing!

ZIS faculty members, Ian Hoke (Upper School English Teacher) and Jeff Steuernagel (University & Career Counsellor) enjoyed their visit to The Blackfriar Pub in London and catching up with our alums there. Thank you to everyone who came out!

Israeli alums and their families shared a wonderful evening together at Onza Restaturant in Tel Aviv.

A record breaking number of alums, alumni parents and faculty met to celebrate the holiday season. The Lion Pub in Zurich is our traditional venue but this year we were privileged to have Dora Somogyi Class of 2007, and her fantastic band play for us. Thanks Dora!

Alumni Tamara Gutermann and Dominique Stelling-Dätwiler (Class of '89) organized a AISZ reunion at the Spinnergut Villa. Alums and former faculty enjoyed a breakfast and tour of the school led by Middle School Principal, David Wood.

A record number of Alumni Parents came together at Vis-à-Vis in Zurich to connect with old friends, meet new ones and learn about the school's latest initiatives. Thank you to Alumni Parents Eva Montuori and Monita Singh for making the evening such a success!

Chicago-based ZIS past parents and students enjoyed a fascinating architectural walking tour. Many thanks to tour guide and host Sue Murphy and organizer Chloé Claes for a super afternoon!

The Class of 2005 met for their 10-year reunion at the Villa in Kilchberg. Alumni flew in from as far away as South Africa, California and Australia! Alumni parents and faculty also enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect and reminisce about their happy days at ZIS. Contact alumni@zis.ch if you would like to organize a reunion for your class!

ZIS Foundation Trustees hosted our latest New York City alumni reunion at Opia Restaurant.

Join us as we welcome our 2015 Visiting Scholar and alumnus Richard Morais ('77). Journalist and author of the novel The Hundred-Foot Journey. Wednesday April 22, 17:30 - 21.15, at ZIS Upper School, Adliswil Campus. The evening will consist of an Alumni Apéro followed by the showing of the film and a discussion with the author. Please register for the event here.

Past parents reunited at the Alumni Parent Coffee Morning and enjoyed socialising in the sunshine at Lui Holzleg's home. If you missed this one then watch this space for information on the next one to be held in the fall!

Celebrating down under! AISZ / ZIS alumni in Australia met at the weekend to share memories of their time in Switzerland. Alumni ranged from graduating in 1977 to 1996. Thank you to everyone who came - we hope to make this a regular event on the alumni calendar.

ZIS Director Jeff Paulson and Deputy Director Mark Schulz enjoyed an evening with a group of alumni and past staff in San Francisco.

A lively evening was enjoyed at The Folly in central London on Thursday January 29. UK based alums and past parents gathered to network and socialize.

Israeli based alumni and current families gathered at Kitchen Market in Tel Aviv port. A wonderful evening was shared in this trendy setting. We hope to make this a regular reunion venue in Israel.

Our annual festive tradition continued at the Lion Pub in central Zurich. Alums, past parents and faculty met to celebrate the holiday season in good company.

On Friday October 24, former Mathematics teacher and coach Mike Marlow (third from the left in photo) received the John Mattern Alumni Award for Faculty at an Upper School Assembly. The award, which was created in 2013, honors a former faculty or staff member who has provided “an exceptionally high degree of individual attention to, and concern for, students in all areas of school life.” The Mattern Award alumni committee and director Jeff Paulson were on hand to present the Award – which included a CHF 1,500 prize – to Marlow, who worked at ZIS from 1988 to 2005.

Later that day, Mike was honored during an Alumni Apero held at the Middle School Kilchberg, site of ZIS’s predecessor school AISZ. Dozens of former students, former parents, and current and former faculty were on hand to greet Mike and his wife Maura, who had traveled from their home in Malta to receive the Award.

Alumni celebrated the school's 50th anniversary at the home of ZIS alumni parents Barb and Chuck Davis in Long Grove, Illinois on June 29, 2014.

Nearly 40 alumni students and parents joined us at Opia restaurant in New York City on April 10 to celebrate the 50th anniversary.

Alumni students, parents, faculty and staff will meet at the Lion Pub and Winebar in Zurich City on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 7 p.m. For more information and to RSVP, visit the form.

This eventful weekend kicked-off a year of activities to focus on our school's history and celebrate our future. View the video about the kickoff weekend! For more information about 50th Anniversary events, please see the separate "50 Years" page (menu on left) or www.zis.ch/50years

Alumni, past parents, faculty and staff met in San Francisco on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at Sinbad’s Restaurant, 141 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA (next to the SF Ferry Building). Special host was the new ZIS Director, Jeff Paulson!

Thank you to the alumni, alumni parents and faculty who joined us in Zurich on December 19 to celebrate the season at the Annual Alumni Holiday Apéro. A record turn-out of 45 shared a fantastic evening at The Lion Pub and Wine Bar.

Alumni of ZIS, AISZ, and IPSZ gathered at 5 Napkin Burger Restaurant in Boston on October 20. Community Relations Director Michaela Seeger hosted the event and welcomed alumni and former staff.

Sable Kitchen and Bar in Chicago was the site of the latest meeting of Chicago alumni, on November 7. Community Relations Director Michaela Seeger hosted the event.

Alumni met for a day of art and wine and cheese at world renowned ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event took place on Saturday, September 29 in front of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, where guests perused priceless works of art, then wrapped the day up with wine and cheese at a fellow alum's house!

New York City alumni networked and shared memories at Opia Restaurant on October 17.

126 students graduated from ZIS at a special ceremony at the Upper School on Saturday June 16.

Director Peter C. Mott gave an address which was followed by the presentation of awards by Upper School Principal John Switzer and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Douglas O. Marston.

Two Grade 12 students, Maphrida and Max, spoke on behalf of the Class of 2012, and music was provided by the ZIS Concert Band as well as the Grade 12 students Lynn and Jordan.

The event was attended by family, friends and faculty.

If you would like to watch the graduation, please visit www.zis.ch/graduation

We would like to wish the members of the ZIS Class of 2012 all the very best for their future and hope to see them at our alumni events!

Representatives of all ZIS stakeholders gathered on June 12 for a surprise tribute evening in honor of ZIS Director Peter C. Mott, who is leaving the school after 25 years. Guests included members of the ZIS community, past and present; educational leaders; politicians; corporate contacts; family and friends.The event included speeches by politicians, past and present chairmen of the ZIS Board of Trustees, parents, faculty, and educational leaders.

A tribute film reflecting on Peter C. Mott and his time at the school was shown and music was performed throughout the evening by students and alumni.

During the evening, Douglas O. Marston, Chairman of the ZIS Board of Trustees, announced that the theater in the new Arts, Humanities and Language Center at the Upper School Campus will be named The Peter C. Mott Theater.

Peter C. Mott joined the American International School of Zurich (AISZ) in 1987 as the Assistant Director. He was later appointed AISZ Director and instigated the merger with the International Primary School of Zurich (IPSZ) to form Zurich International School in 2001.Under his leadership, ZIS has become a leading international school for more than 1,500 from over 55 nationalities at five campuses in the Greater Zurich and Baden region.

As many of you may have heard one of our alumns, Timothy Crossan, recently died tragically at the university he was attending. Tim, and his siblings, attended ZIS from 2003 until 2008 when the family was transferred at the end of Tim’s 10th grade year.

For those among you who remember Tim and would like to do something to remember him, we reprint a message received from Tim’s college, the Western... Washington University:

Western Washington University, upon the generous donation from the Crossan family, has established the Timothy Crossan Memorial Fund. The Fund will provide resources for the University's counseling programs, such as enhancing the library of resources (videos, books) for students, expanding outreach activities for the campus and enriching its student-volunteer 'peer counseling' program. The Timothy Crossan Memorial Fund is an endowment at the University, to which family and friends may make contributions directly.

For details on making a contribution, please email alumni@zis.ch.

On January 20 2012, ZIS held a Careers Forum where volunteers from various professional backgrounds came to share their career expertise and experience with our Grade 10 students. We were delighted that 25 alumni were able to participate and share their knowledge - thank you!

Following the forum, an intimate gathering of alumni enjoyed tours of the Upper School and Middle School Villa and reminisced about their old school days over a hot bowl of cheese fondue!

Thank you to the Alumni and faculty who braved the snowy weather in Zurich on December 20 to celebrate the Annual Alumni Holiday Apéro. A lovely evening was shared at The Lion Pub and Wine Bar.

Another successful Ghana Cup took place on May 22, 2011. The day included activities for all ages, with proceeds benefitting ZIS's sister school in Ghana, the Bosomtwe Community School. Thank you to everyone who participated!

At Hoxton Grill Lounge in London, fifteen AISZ / ZIS alumni, along with former students from five other international schools, attended a fun reunion and enjoyed reminiscing about their school days in Zürich.

About 50 alumni came together to celebrate the holidays and catch up with old friends and teachers at the annual alumni holiday apéro, which took place at Kaufleuten Lounge in Zürich.

AISZ alumni who had attended the school in the '80s joined together with their families at the Kilchberg villa on Nidelbadstrasse, former home of AISZ, now home to the ZIS Middle School. Attendees enjoyed a tour of the villa and reminiscing with former faculty members. Special thanks to Roger Kaufmann '84 and Roberto Moratti '82 for organizing this fun family get-together.

Alumni from ZIS / AISZ / IPSZ as well as six other international schools in Europe gathered for our 4th annual reunion, this time in New York at the Havana Room. Over 100 alumni from the schools attended, and ZIS alumni enjoyed catching up and reminiscing.

More than 20 alumni braved harsh weather to celebrate the holidays and catch up with old friends and teachers at the annual alumni holiday apéro, which took place at The Lion Pub in Zurich.