Welcoming New Families 

We aspire to know and understand our students while ensuring that they have appropriate peer connections and adult advocates at every grade level. This begins with our work helping to transition new families into TAS.

The role of student ambassadors is to ensure that all new students feel included and valued from day one. Each divisional counseling office works with the Admissions Office to ensure that families are welcomed and find connections as quickly as possible.

In addition to providing helpful information sessions specifically designed for new families and maintaining close contact with teachers of new students, all three divisions train and oversee a network of buddies tasked with helping new students settle into TAS.

In the Upper School, these students are known as Reach Out buddies, in the Middle School, they are Student Ambassadors. In the Lower School, older students are selected to be classroom buddies to help students adjust.

REACH OUT is comprised of select TAS students that are trained to become mentors/buddies to incoming new students. In order to join REACH OUT, TAS students are nominated by faculty and counselors based on interpersonal sensitivity and leadership potential.

Once selected, REACH OUT training equips our students with active listening skills, empathetic understanding for their peers, and awareness of the relationship cycle with new students.

Every year, REACH OUT buddies work closely with new students and with the counseling office with the goal of providing a smooth and welcoming transition to the TAS community. Buddies keep in contact with the new students throughout the semester, sending out emails, inviting them to the social events, and answering any questions they might have along the way.