Scroll down for links to 60th photo galleries and videos!

The 2022-2023 school year marked the 60th anniversary of the American School of Barcelona since its founding by Dr. Jose Maria Poal. Upon returning from the United States in 1962, he had the vision to open a school where teachers, students, and parents could work together toward attaining a quality American-based education. From those humble beginnings with only a few hundred students, mainly Catalan, Spanish, and a few Americans, the school is now home to close to 1000 students from 60 nationalities.

After a year of celebratory activities, a heartwarming final community celebration was held on the evening of Thursday, June 8, 2023, full of the talents of ASB alumni and the presence of guests from near and far.

Journalist & television presenter Ainhoa Arbizu '97, daughter of former faculty Ms. Rosa Ruiz (1975-2015), hosted the evening, with alums Lucas Balloni & Vicky Townsend '22 performing a duet and Isabel Hernádez '05 (IZAH) giving a soulful rendition of the Des'ree hit "You Gotta Be."

Former Elementary Principal (1975-2012) Ms. Nancy Boyd spoke of the school's early history alongside Assistant Director Bill Volchok, who talked about the school in more recent years. 

Director Mark Pingitore and Board President Roland Nash addressed the school's stakeholders, including the student body, faculty and staff, and community. Director Pingitore also gave recognition to three current staff members and alumni on staff for their service and contributions to the school - Mr. Jose Manuel Calahorra '84 (Facilities Manager - son of founding Facilities Manager, Jose Calahorra Alquezar, who started working at the school in 1962, and father of Jessica '15), Ms. Marta Vernet '85 (Head of Activities and Community Service - daughter of founding teacher, Ms. Montserrat Yll, and mother of Maria '13 and Laura '16), and Ms. Ana Mercadal (Head of Human Resources - daughter of former teacher Ms. Ros Greehy, 1975-2014, and mother of Chloe '33).

Videos sharing the school's history and diverse student body were played through the evening, created by alumna Elizabeth Carné '99. The Spotlight Productions cast of Greased Lightnin' also entertained guests with a memorable "We Go Together" ensemble to wrap up the indoor portion of the evening as guests made their way outdoors.

Once in the amphitheater, alum DJ Lucas Larrahona '06 delighted guests with tunes from the 60s onwards as attendees became reacquainted with one another, some after many years of absence.

60th-anniversary panels depicting photographs throughout the years adorned the amphitheater space, thoughtfully created by Grade 8 students with their technology teacher Mr. Ignasi Jaumandreu and support from former faculty, Ms. Febe Bellon (1986-2018), who spent many long hours working through the school's archives.

A signing board allowed guests to leave their memories and messages of congratulations to the school and to each other, much to the delight of students who discovered the board the next day.

The evening concluded with a 60th birthday cake followed by a beautiful firework display against a throwback song that resonated with many alums, Un Millón de Amigos, by Roberto Carlos. 

The American School of Barcelona has come a long way since those humble beginnings. The celebratory evening was a wonderful tribute to the school's six decades and a true testament to how far they've come.

So many fond memories collected under the following links - don't miss the fun of browsing through these wonderful moments we shared together:

Click PHOTO GALLERY (allow a few minutes to load) to see more photos and videos from the celebration.

Click PHOTOBOOTH (allow a few minutes to load) to see some fun photos taken in the photo booth at the celebration. 

Click 60th ANNIVERSARY HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO to view a video highlighting the celebratory evening.

Click HISTORY VIDEO TIMELINE to view the video shared at the celebration.

Click FACULTY VIDEO to view the video shared at the celebration.

Click INSTAGRAM REEL to view the reel that was created by alumna Meilynn Poma '23 after the celebration.