SLAS Times 2016/2017 Fall 2016 | Page 13

CELEBRATING SLAS’S BACK TO SCHOOL BASH BY PILAR PASCUAL The Back to School Bash (B2SB) was held on Saturday, September 24th, 2016 at Shanghai Livingston American School (SLAS). The B2SB is a special day where all students, teachers, and parents get together to celebrate returning to the school routine. The event began at 12:00 PM and ended at 4:00 PM, but for those who wanted or needed community service hours, the set up time was at 9:00 AM and clean up finished at 5:00 PM. The B2SB was a great day for most of the school, although some may disagree. Ms. Marta Saludes, the Spanish teacher at SLAS, enjoyed the B2SB very much. “It is a great event to welcome all families and build bridges between teachers, parents, and students so that there is a friendly environment for all of us,” she explained. She then added, “this year’s B2SB was a great success, thanks to the great weather and amazing activities, where all school departments – Japanese, Korean, and International – were able to participate!” Ms. Marta liked this year’s B2SB very much, and she thinks next year’s B2SB will not be able to live up to this year’s. At the B2SB, people from many different countries, with various cultures, had the chance to socialize and spend the day with each other. People from all different ages and races got to share a in this special occasion. Even though everyone was tired and bored in the morning, they did not regret coming to school on a Saturday after all. Outside restaurants, like Blue Frog and Mexico Lindo, came to sell their food. Also, many vendors, like Renaud Air and Atlantis Resorts, came to do some marketing about their companies in order to sell their products. The event finished at 4:00 PM and everyone came to the conclusion that it was actually a pretty good day, thanks to the awesome weather, the fun activities, and the astonishing performances. Although some of the people who attended the B2SB loved it, there were some others who did not enjoy it as much. Jack Joo, a 9th grade student at SLAS, explained, “All I did was play basketball, and the activities that the school offered were not interesting to me.” He then clarified, “However, I liked having an event like this because I got to meet my friends on Saturday and I could hang out with them.” The Back to School Bash is an event that helped the SLAS community connect with one another. People excited about this event, like Ms. Marta, enjoy helping the school to make the best out of this type of special occasions. However, not everyone loves it as much, but that is all right because everyone spent a charming day with each other. SLAS’s staff and students look forward to the next Back to School Bash! 13