Dear Parents,

The ground breaking ceremony for AISB's new premises at Nagykovacsi took place on January 12, 1999. It was conducted by US Ambassador Peter Tufo and Richard D. Jackson, Chair of the School Board.

Since many parents are new, I will briefly explain the status of the school's facilities. At present, the Lower School (Kakukk ut. 1-3) is rented from the U. S. government and houses grades prekindergarten-grade 4. The school has an option to purchase this facility and the intention is for the school to exercise this option when appropriate. The Lower School is overcrowded (this is not news to anyone who comes here at arrival time in the morning or dismissal time in the afternoon!) so the top two grade levels (grades 3-4) will be moved to the new facility.

At present, our Upper School is in another rented facility in Csilleberc. Our lease for this facility runs through school year 1999-2000. It is the school's plan to replace this facility with a new one in Nagykovacsi so the new school will house the grades 3-12. It has been designed so that the different levels; elementary, middle, and high schools, will be in separate sections of the building. The building is designed to house 500 students, but the core facility can accommodate 700 students. This will give us the flexibility to expand the new facility if our enrollment grows more than anticipated.

Our school purchased land in Nagykovacsi in October, 1998 after a long search for property in Budapest and other surrounding areas. The site is a beautiful one and will be ideal for our school's facilities in the next millennium.

John K. Johnson,
School Director

New School Project Highlights