Inside TASIS’s Incomparable Performing Arts Program How Your Child Can Avoid The Summer Slide Enter The Mind Of A Bully
SUMMER 2017
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Welcome to the Summer 2017 edition of International School Parent Magazine! This time of year is always a period when older students are looking forward to an exciting, exam-free summer, but equally many parents may be wondering how to entertain their children over the long holidays. Which camp should I choose for my child? What happens if the weather is bad? How do I stop my children just wasting the wonderful weather and staying inside on their consoles? Luckily, there are so many fantastic things to do in Switzerland, and a lot of them are free or low cost. Most cities will hire/ lend you and your family a bike to take a tour round the local landscape, and www.myswitzerland.com/en/cycling.html offers some truly excellent cycling routes to try out, as well as pointing you in the direction of the local hire shops. Making picnic lunches with your children (to carry in their own backpacks!) and then heading off on the bikes together is a great way to fill a day without relying on the X-Box whilst the sun is shining. The website www.schweizmobil.ch has further ideas for places to go canoeing, rafting and mountain biking. So what’s stopping you? The ISP summer camps guide on our website www.internationalschoolparent.com also has some excellent suggestions for day and residential camps, plus loads more great articles, some of which are not featured in our magazine. For our summer edition, our editorial team has looked at top tips for parents on how to prevent the “Summer Slide”, and work some gentle academia into their routine over the holidays. We also feature an article by Hattie Wrixon of www.unisnotforme.com about options available to those children who are not sure they want to go to university. A daunting prospect for most parents, Hattie explains it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom.
We remain committed to the task of helping parents and children to make the most of the fantastic opportunities an education at an international school in Switzerland provides. All that remains to be said is that I hope you have a wonderful end to the term and a fantastic summer holiday.
Dorte Ertboll also gives some great tips on cooking with your kids, and how to get them enthusiastic about what they are putting in their tummies, and insists that curiosity for cooking and eating is an enriching part of growing up.
Nick Gilbert Editor & Publishing Director International School Parent Magazine
As usual, we have some great articles from educational experts. I would like to extend our invitation to other specialists in all fields of education to contact us for writing opportunities. We welcome all enquiries about being featured in an issue of the magazine.
Tel: +41 787 10 80 91 Email: nick@internationalschoolparent.com Visit: internationalschoolparent.com Facebook: facebook.com/internationalschoolparent
Work hard and be the best! Best wishes
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Contents 04 How Your Child Can Avoid The Summer Slide 08 Raise A Reader 12 Athlete Friendly Education Centres: A Commitment From Student-Athletes And Staff 16 Why Does Leadership Matter To US Universities? 20 Family Fun – In The Kitchen? 25 Uni Is Not For Me 28 Are Summer Camps Still Relevant For Young People Today? 31 Why Not Try Something Different This Summer? Have Your Kids Develop Their First Social Enterprise 34 A Middle School Approach To Computer Science 38 Enter The Mind Of A Bully 44 International School Parent Magazine: Interview With Tim Meunier 50 The Search For The Ideal School 54 Exercise, A Booming Trend For The Good Or …? 60 How The Tasis Summer Programs Built An Incomparable Performing Arts Program 67 School News
International School Parent Summer 2017
How your child can avoid the summer slide
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7 top tips for parents
BY JOANNA PRESTON ACADEMIC COUNSELLOR, TUTORSPLUS
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International School Parent Summer 2017
he summer slide. It almost sounds like it could be a kids’ ride in your local park, but actually it is far from funny and many parents aren’t aware of the extent of its impact. Primary school students’ performance commonly falls by about a month over the summer vacation and the effect can be even more pronounced for children with special needs, with some falling back by several months, back-pedalling on all the hard work achieved in the previous academic year. While the summer slide may have a more pronounced influence on children in the primary years, it affects older students too. One secondary teacher explained “older students fall out of the habit of learning.” After all, who can blame kids struggling to get back into the academic driving seat after a long, action-packed and non-academic summer? However, the same teacher added “it is often the case that the students who need to work hardest are the ones who don’t have the organisational skills and selfdiscipline to approach summer learning systematically.” Learning loss is not just about avoiding the academic back-pedalling it is also about consolidating and keeping the habit of learning alive and kicking. It isn’t a new phenomenon. William F. White, a New York Maths teacher, originally coined the phrase in 1906, but it is a description that is still relevant today. A recent study carried out in the U.S found that when school re-starts after the summer, many students find they have fallen back. Research from the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), based on answers from 500 teachers found that 24% of teachers spent at least 5-6 weeks going over material from the last academic year. Other studies have supported these findings. A meta-analysis published in the “Review of Educational Research” (H. Cooper, B. Nye, K. Charlton, J. Lindsay and S. Greathouse 1996) found that in the best cases, students demonstrated little or no academic growth over the summer and at worst lost one to three months of learning. With all this in mind, it doesn’t mean we should lose sight of the most important aspect of the summer break, it should be just that; a break. Our kids have worked hard all year and the summer is the time not just to relax, but to have fun and spend precious time with family and friends. Over-scheduling would be an anathema to that. Educators and parents alike want children to make the most of the freedom of no schedule, no rude awakening by the alarm clock and long, lazy days. In this time of increasing mental health issues amongst young people this should not become another reason to add to an already present academic pressure for achievement.
All that said, the summer can be the perfect moment for parents to take advantage of the free time, (particularly if their child has experienced challenges in the last year), to help build a strong foundation for the future and help make learning fun. So as the doors close at international schools all over Switzerland this summer, here are the top tips from the teachers at TutorsPlus for how to stop the summer slide affecting your child.
1. Decide with your child if they need to work over the summer, and if so what to focus on and when is the best time to do it.
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This means making an agreement ahead of time so any work doesn’t become a daily negotiation. Get your child on board with the idea that learning can be part of their summer and that it can be fun and rewarding too, not forgetting the most important fact that there will still be ample time off. To help decide what your child needs to focus on, often the latest school reports are a clear indication of where support should be targeted. For resistant children, it can help to discuss in advance with their class teacher what, if anything, they need to consolidate over the holidays. Another approach is to use a tutor at the start of the break to review what your child has found difficult during the year and to help them make a timetable for what they need to study, this takes the parent out of the equation and particularly with teenage students can reduce the chances of conflict. Students can then work independently and check in again with the tutor during the holidays to review progress. It is also good to be clear to your child when there will be no work expected of them at all.
2. Sketch out the plan you have agreed on and decide when learning will happen.
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This can help set expectations from the start and help your child take ownership of their own learning. Considerations to keep in mind might begin with breaking up bursts of learning with free time or taking the first few weeks off before bringing in a routine of learning in preparation for the back to school period. Most kids learn better in the morning and if it becomes routine it is simple to make it part of the daily schedule like breakfast and brushing your teeth...Its just part of the day.
3. Use the famous grandma’s rule to reward.
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Creating time for learning in the morning also gives you the chance to enact the “grandma’s rule” or if you are more scientifically minded the “Premack Principle.” Either way, it amounts to the same thing; preferred behaviours (X-box, pony riding, eating sweets) can be used as a reward for less preferred behaviours (calculus, irregular verb conjugation etc.)
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International School Parent Summer 2017
4. Make reading and writing an everyday activity.
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Set a reading goal at the start of the summer and make reading an everyday activity.
Learning is often best and most fun when it is part of life and has nothing to do with sitting at a desk, surrounded by school books.
A holiday journal can be a way to capture special holiday memories whilst also giving children opportunities to work on their literacy skills and handwriting. Buy postcards wherever you go and your child can write to their friends and family. Encourage your child to keep in touch with their friends at home via email and, if possible, a friend who reads and writes a language your child is learning.
5. Make learning fun for all ages and harness the power of apps for online learning.
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Many kids prefer online learning to getting out their books and given it is the summer it is good to make learning different and fun. One of the best is Khan Academy, particularly for its focus on Maths, but there are many truly great resources, such as Storia (literacy), Sushi Monster (maths), Grammar Jammers (literacy), BrainPop (Science) and many more.
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If writing is a challenge or your child can’t resist the iPad, they can make a holiday book and let them caption all of your photos Super Duper StoryMaker is a good choice. Another great app to encourage creative writing is StoryBird www.storybird.com which allows your child to create their own story, complete with illustrations and either share via an email link or order a printed hard copy, so your child could be the author of their very own book.
6. Look for learning opportunities in the little, everyday moments.
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Learning is often best and most fun when it is part of life and has nothing to do with sitting at a desk, surrounded by school books.
7. Know where to get more help if you need it.
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If your child is really having difficulties, it pays to know where to search for help. Your child’s teacher is the first person who will be able to tell you if your child needs to work on specific areas of what they have learned over the last year.
If you find the subject knowledge is beyond what you can help your child with, tutors can provide the specialist help you need. They can also act as a buffer, so it isn’t always the parent having to negotiate work time. The key is to find a qualified tutor with sufficient experience in the programme your child is studying.
So, while parents are getting to grips with the idea of academic regression over the long break, those in the staff room prepare themselves for each September; reversing the summer slide, re-teaching some of what has been lost and getting their students back into gear for learning. What if this September your child is ready to hit the ground running and even has a head start?
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For more information TutorsPlus academic advisors are always happy to give parents advice or help answer specific questions they have about any education question. With teachers experienced in all international programmes across Switzerland, there is always an expert on hand to help. You can reach them on 022 731 8148 or info@tutorsplus.com
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International School Parent Summer 2017
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Raise A Reader
BY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PARENT EDITORIAL TEAM
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International School Parent Summer 2017
eading is a hot topic and parents often worry if their child is at the “right” reading level. With so many schools teaching reading in different ways and at different stages of development, a universal answer is not easy and this causes parents anxiety. However, every parent can play an important role in helping their child become a confident reader. For practical suggestions to give your child’s reading a boost this summer we have worked with two specialist teachers at TutorsPlus, to give parents practical tips on how to ignite your child’s passion for reading. Teachers seem to be unified when it comes to the most important thing parents can do; set a good example by showing how much you enjoy reading. Sit down together to read as a family, take trips to the library or book shop together and talk about the books you are selecting for yourself, the last one you read and what you thought about it.
KARINA’S TIPS Karina is a teacher with over 30 years of experience, she has taught in the UK, in the Middle East and more recently in Switzerland both as a classroom teacher, a special needs teacher and a gifted and talented programme developer. She is also a dyslexia specialist and an associate member of the British Dyslexia Association. Here are her tips: 1. For young children, allow them to re-read favourite books as this encourages a feeling of success in a low risk environment. This type of repetition also helps in other ways, such as promoting reading speed and accuracy, both vital components in the reading process. 2. Make sure that reading is seen as a reward, make it comfortable and fun. Buy an attractive book as a special treat and snuggle up on the sofa to share the book together. 3. Don’t correct every mistake, instead repeat the mistake and offer the correction, ask which word makes more sense and give praise for the correct choice. 4. Keep a mental note of the sounds and words the child struggles with and then make up games using those sounds and words – how many words can we make out of ‘tame’? Letter tiles are very useful for this purpose.
Many children will achieve a creditable reading age as mechanical readers i.e. reading with fluency but totally without understanding. 5. Ask your child questions about the story to check understanding. Many children will achieve a creditable reading age as mechanical readers i.e. reading with fluency but totally without understanding. For this reason, it is extremely important to engage with your child during the reading process: ask questions about thoughts, actions and feelings and encourage the child to predict what they think might happen. 6. Try to link the reading task with something topical that the child is interested in. For example, if you are planning a summer holiday then try to find reading material that relates to that in some way; going on safari, learning to swim, cooking around the camp fire.
7. For older, reluctant readers it can help to let them choose what they want to read. Buy books and magazines that relate to things that your child is interested in. As long as they are reading, it doesn’t matter if it is a comic strip, or the cereal box because pictures with captions, call-outs and boxed-text break up the main text into manageable chunks.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
TIPS FOR READERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS 1. For children who have attention difficulties or dyslexia, reading familiar texts in the comfort of their own home promotes feelings of security and this can have a positive influence on their confidence levels. 2. Often readers with dyslexia prefer to read non-fiction texts because it is far less daunting. Longer fiction texts can be challenging and boring. It is no fun for the dyslexic teenager to be asked to read a 200 page; small print novel when they cannot remember what happened on page one, let alone the rest of the first chapter. Non-fiction texts work better because shorter bursts of information and pictures help the child to maintain interest and thus experience greater reading retention.
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3. Children with dyslexia will perform quite well when asked literal questions about a text, but will find it extremely difficult to draw inferences from text. Information that has been implied rather than directly stated is an essential skill in reading comprehension, as well as in both oral and written communication. Read a book your child has read and discuss it with them in a casual and non-threatening way - ‘I was not expecting that to happen!’, ‘Why do you think she reacted in that way?’ – This type of approach will help to improve both confidence and understanding by way of improving inference and deduction skills.
ANNA’S TIPS Anna is a fully qualified teacher, with 10 years of experience in education, in the UK and more recently teaching for TutorsPlus in Switzerland. She is a GCSE English Examiner for AQA and a mother to her 4 year old girl. Here are her tips: 1. Team up with others to encourage reading. Perhaps, your child would enjoy a “reading with a friend” session? I even know a child who reads to his dog each night before bed. It doesn’t matter what motivates them, but it is important to find out. 2. Why not start a family book club where you all read together one night a week? You can make it a special evening with favourite snacks and simply read together or discuss the books you are reading. 3. Consistency is the key, but remember - a little goes a long way. It’s better to have an “enjoyable” 5 minutes each day without much pressure and drama, rather than make reading a chore that is “boring” and lasts for “too long” and losing your child’s motivation to read. 4. Young children become excited by a new reward system (like stickers) to signpost progress. Depending on your child, it can be based on the number of pages read each day or the number of books read throughout the whole holiday season. Come up with a great prize to motivate them to keep going.
Why not start a family book club where you all read together one night a week?
5. If your child is anything like mine, you can use their time on the iPad to encourage reading: if your child reads for 15 minutes, they can watch for 15 minutes. But remember every child is different and may respond differently, so do adjust. 6. There are children who prefer reading online books, which can be a massive help if you have a reluctant reader. Raz-Kids is a popular site (www.raz.kids.com), you can download online books to your phone or iPad and take them on holiday with you. One wifi connection while you are away and you have a whole library at your fingertips. 7. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a book of fiction! Encourage reading a variety of sources: comics, non-fiction, manuals, even if it’s just a poem a day! 8. Make a game out of it: Ask them a question, let them research and find the answer, then you can reward the efforts.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
Remember, it doesn’t have to be a book of fiction! Encourage reading a variety of sources: comics, non-fiction, manuals, even if it’s just a poem a day!
IDEAS FOR QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR YOUNG READER ABOUT THE BOOK THEY ARE READING • Were the characters interesting, how would you describe them?
• Was the story easy to follow, can you retell me the story? • What would you like to tell others about the book? • Will you look for other books by the same author?
• What part of the story did you enjoy the most and why?
• Give each book your own personal star rating. Another idea is to ask your child to write a book review of the best book they have recently read.
For more information TutorsPlus academic advisors are always happy to give parents advice or help answer specific questions they have about any education question. With teachers experienced in all international programmes across Switzerland, there is always an expert on hand to help. You can reach them on 022 731 8148 or info@tutorsplus.com
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International School Parent Summer 2017
Athlete Friendly Education Centres: A Commitment from Student-Athletes and Staff 12 |
BY ANNE LOUISE WILLIAMS internationalschoolparent.com WORLD ACADEMY OF SPORT
International School Parent Summer 2017
n a cold morning in early December 2016, Thomas Brown, originally from the UK, was out training with his newly adopted Danish football team. Over a thousand kilometres away, his classmate Piotr Ciechanowski, was competing as part of the Poland youth national ice hockey team. These are the realities for many young student-athletes who choose to commit to maintaining a balance between both school and high performance sport. This also reflects the changing face of the realities for youth in a globalised world where opportunities are plentiful and mobility more accessible. Such commitment not only requires dedication and planning on the students’ part, but also from all those who support them on their journey including the school, coaches and parents. Both Brown and Ciechanowski are fortunate as they attend Ikast-Brande Gymnasium in Denmark, an accredited Athlete Friendly Education Centre (AFEC) by the World Academy of Sport (WAoS). The school attracts both local and international student-athletes who are interested in the school’s excellent high performance sports programme along with being able to complete the International Baccalaureate over an extended period should they choose to do so.
while being professional athletes. The school helps ensure that they have a solid educational foundation – should their sport ambitions not work out, or for when they finish playing professional sports down the line. We want help them make the most of their talents in sports and to do both – education and sport – you need to balance the two.” Flexibility, support structures and maintaining high academic standards are key components for students to have the best chance to achieve a balance between education and sporting commitments. When asked what support systems are in place at Ikast – Brande, Baktoft adds: “When the students are away at competition, our Sports Coordinator and IB Coordinator are told about the competition by the student and his/her coach, and the students and the coordinators talk about a coordinated plan: Will there be time to do homework while away? [Is there] anything the student needs before leaving? Skype with teachers while away? “The IB Coordinator reminds all the teachers to post as much online in our homework system as possible: handouts, homework, questions etc…the school is very open to finding solutions that fit the needs to the athlete. For one of our very high-performing football players, we have extended his IB [through the IB Sport Pilot in collaboration with WAoS].” In terms of the local sports community and professional sports clubs, Ikast-Brande Gymnasium is closely connected through well-developed relationships where the coaches and teachers often communicate over email or the phone, sometimes weekly during busy periods. Baktoft further notes: “Now because of our [AFEC] accreditation, players can take an education in English, which benefits our school, while playing sports, which benefits the local clubs. So it is a real strength for our community, both in terms of education and in terms of attracting talent to our clubs and local community [that we are AFEC accredited].”
It is the dedication of the teachers that allow flexibility to be readily accepted across the school community.
Ciechanowski comments: “My teachers provide make-up classes to cover content missed upon returning to school [after long periods away due to national training camps and international competitions].” He also notes adds:“The school provides flexibility with my class timetable, enabling me to travel between the hockey rink and school without impacting my classes. I also live in the dormitory at school which provides me with a healthy diet so I do not have to worry about cooking.”
Brown points out that he receives a variety of support from the school including extra classes in History and extended assessment deadlines where required. His personalised timetable is another example of on-going support as it allows him to practice football for extended hours three mornings a week which wouldn’t be possible in other school systems. He comments: “My main challenges are getting a good night’s sleep as I practice late, as well as travelling and staying on top on the assignment load. Fortunately, the school and the club is generally very understanding and supportive.” It is the dedication of the teachers that allow flexibility to be readily accepted across the school community. Karen Baktoft, Biology teacher at the school comments: “Ikast-Brande is a school interested in supporting students in taking an education
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International School Parent Summer 2017
WAoS, with support and guidance from its International Advisory Board, the International Baccalaureate and many of the International Sport Federations, has put in place a framework for schools to become accredited as ‘athlete friendly’. Schools that are accredited are known to promote excellent support services and provide flexible learning pathways to enable student-athletes balance both sporting and educational commitments.
If your school is providing excellent support services to its student-athletes and /or your school is interested in learning more information about this initiative, please email Anne Louise Williams awilliams@worldacademysport.com or review the World Academy of Sport website, www.worldacademysport.com
Student athletes are also being positively developed in other schools throughout the world including: • Jordan - Amman Baccalaureate School, • UK - Ellesmere College, Plymouth College, and Anglo European School, • Thailand – UWC Thailand and British International School, • Spain - SEK Ciudalcampo and SEK El Castillo, • Denmark - Ikast-Brande Gymnasium, • Australia - Trinity Grammar School, • Singapore - Singapore Sports School, • Hong Kong - all ESF high schools including, KGV School, Island School, Sha Tin College, Renaissance College, South Island School, West Island School and Discovery College, and • The Netherlands – Rivers International School
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Why does leadership matter to US universities? 16 |
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DR. URSULA DURAND, PHD LSE, M.PHIL OXFORD, BA CORNELL – SCIENTIA EDUCATION
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International School Parent Summer 2017
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f you look through the undergraduate admissions webpage of the University of Oxford, it reveals how its admissions officers view prospective students: “We pick the best and brightest students purely on their academic merit and passion for their chosen course.” You’ll find it hard to find a similar statement on the admissions webpage of an American university. Take Harvard for example: “While academic accomplishment is important, the Admissions Committee considers many other factors—strong personal qualities, special talents or excellences of all kinds ….” Leadership is listed at the top of their “strong personal qualities”, alongside others like maturity and warmth of personality. As you can imagine then, applying to a US university involves much more than presenting academic credentials. References to leadership appear throughout the Common Application (or Common App), the undergraduate application system through which students apply to nearly 700 colleges and universities in the US and Canada. In the “Activities” section of the application, students are asked to not only detail their activities, but also describe their associated “position/leadership” role. The Common App’s Teacher Evaluation Form asks teachers to rank students on 15 key areas. Alongside areas such as intellectual promise and resilience lies – of course – leadership. Students will also come across leadership in the Common App’s essay section, whether in the personal statement or in a supplemental essay for a particular college. Take, for example, the following supplemental essay prompt from the University of Oklahoma: “The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in educating leaders of communities in Oklahoma, as well as across the country and the world. Please share your leadership experiences and why they are important to you.” In short, when applying to a US college or university, presenting “leadership” credentials is all but unavoidable.
serves as an indicator of what students can do (and how far they can go) with their education: their capacity to not only have innovative ideas, but to take those ideas to engender progress, catalyse change, influence discourses … while bearing the banner of their alma mater. Some universities go as far as to describe leadership as central to their values. UC Berkeley’s undergraduate admissions clearly underscores what leadership means to its institution: “Leadership is an important aspect to the UC Berkeley culture. It’s in our DNA; after all, this is the home of the Free Speech Movement.” Demonstrable ability to lead is important to UC Berkeley because it seeks students that personify its core values, not only because its students are a reflection of its institution, but also because a student that shares its values is more likely to thrive there compared to a student who does not. This highlight an important read-across for prospective applicants: when researching a US university, dig deeper to get a sense of its values and culture. Then ask yourself: do these values align with my own views, and – if so – how can I show that I share them? Convincing a university that you have leadership potential is not the same as listing a string of positions. When it comes to leadership, actions speak louder than titles. If you have been a “class president” or “captain of the football”, you will want to explain what it is you did in those roles. Remember also that leadership can arise in a variety of settings, whether at school, in extra-curricular activities, or in the home. For example, you may have managed a challenge or a setback in academics and found a resourceful way to bounce back from it. You could also demonstrate leadership by showing initiative in and dedication to an organization, job, or hobby. Leadership in the home can arise in surprising situations: have you chosen to help care for your grandparents or to take an after-school job to help out your family financially? Such actions show that you have initiative and maturity. And sustained, meaningful actions speak the loudest. So, what can students do to start building their leadership resume? First, start now. It is never too early to become involved in something that you are passionate or curious about. Second, choose activities or hobbies that genuinely interest you. Engaging in activities that you enjoy will take you in a direction where you will be more naturally inclined to demonstrate leadership. You are more likely to remain committed to and go the extra mile for such activities, which raises a third point: don’t join an organization or start an activity only to pad your resume. Doing so risks the possibility that you will become bored or even frustrated, which will prevent you from making any real contribution to it. And that’s the key, a leader is someone who makes a difference to what they are doing.
...do what you love, do so earnestly and do make a difference.
But what exactly does leadership mean to a college or university – and why is it such a sought after trait? Yale University’s undergraduate admissions page gives a clue: “We are looking for students we can help to become the leaders of their generation in whatever they wish to pursue.” For Yale, leadership qualities are what will help carry a student’s intellectual promise to the highest level of their field or profession. Put differently, leadership
Leadership matters to universities because they believe that student leaders will best placed to transform what they learn at university into meaningful contributions to the world afterwards. The conclusion is this: do what you love, do so earnestly and do make a difference. Then the leader in you will emerge.
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Family Fun – in the Kitchen? BY DORTE ERTBOLL
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Kids love cooking! But we still often choose not to involve them. It can take longer, be messier and be hard to enjoy. But including children in the cooking process has heaps of benefits too. In fact, getting your children involved in the kitchen may be one of the best things you can do for them – and for your relationship with them. internationalschoolparent.com
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International School Parent Summer 2017
tudies show that working with family members to prepare meals benefits children in many ways. Learning to prepare their own food helps to build confidence. And it helps the child to start making his or her own healthy choices about what to eat and become more adventurous about trying new and healthy foods. Cooking with your child can also strengthen the bond between you and encourage communication, around a fun and natural activity.
Cooking may seem like a chore at times. We can feel short of time or tired at the end of the day and feel that we need to rush it before another need has to be attended to. However, when we include the children in the cooking process, the activity can become a chance to spend quality time together as opposed to being a chore that needs to be completed as fast as possible. The attention on each other and closeness you can feel around sharing a task is great for heart-to-heart conversations or simply a chance to have a bit of fun together and it’s a great way to build strong family bonds. It’s even sometimes easier to raise difficult of serious topics when you are busy working on a manual task and working alongside each other as opposed to facing each other. But just as importantly, simply laughing, chatting, singing together or enjoying shared excitement about eating something we like the look of, can be the perfect antidote to stressful times at school, work, issues with friends or perhaps difficult moments in life.
HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG?
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SHARING MEMORABLE MOMENTS
The fact is that children start to show interest in helping in the kitchen already when they are very young, and possibly before you can think of tasks to give them to do! Many children will be curious about helping out already as young as two or three and it doesn’t have to be too young to involve them. In fact, they’ll benefit enormously from taking part and will enjoy even the smallest tasks. Young children feel curious to learn and try new things – and at this stage, just about anything is new. A very young child can snap the ends from green beans, crumble bread for bread crumbs, peel garlic, wash vegetables, learn to measure ingredients and roll out dough or stir mixtures with a spoon… Think about the tasks you can give your child as you sense his or her interest growing. And perhaps try to let go of some of your ideas about what the child can or cannot do. Just being involved is important for young children. As they grow older, they can learn to take on more difficult tasks like cracking eggs, cutting vegetables, operating appliances, and following a recipe on their own. When they’re very young, just having a bowl and a spoon and a few ingredients to mix together can be a fun and enjoyable activity. And can give you the space you need to prepare other parts of the meal with less stress too.
WHERE TO GET STARTED The best place to start is with really simple recipes that will allow your child to enjoy successes right from the start. The simpler the better to avoid overwhelm or discouraging experiences. There are tons of great children’s recipe books and the best ones to start with have step by step instructions and lots of illustrations. Don’t forget that many children will feel very unfamiliar with even the most common ingredients and you want to make it easy for them so they can be autonomous for at least parts of the process. Don’t make a big fuss about spills or imperfections, at this stage it’s more about becoming familiar with the foods and ingredients and you’ll be amazed at how fast they learn and improve. And you’ll be touched by the pride they’ll project when they see the results of their work. Make sure to encourage and complement them on jobs well done and teach them how to take part in the cleaning up, as well as the cooking. You’re the child’s guide in the kitchen as they learn but you may be surprised at just how fast they pick up the new skills and become independent if they enjoy it. Many children soon want to experiment further with own recipes or discover new ways of combining ingredients and flavours and this is a wonderful way to get them to eat a great variety of food and be willing to experiment and try new things. With encouragement, patience, and room to experiment and make mistakes, children learn to complete even complex tasks and enjoy the results. They learn when to go by the rules and when to break them in a safe environment. And they learn the pride of accomplishment and the joy of giving to others.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
EAT YOUR GREENS
MAKE IT A REGULAR EVENT
Children who help with cooking eat more vegetables! They feel more comfortable with trying new things, they are more likely to enjoy a greater variety of food and they are generally more ready to try new things if they have helped to prepare them. Giving children the chance to learn about the food they eat and make their own choices and be involved in the preparation makes them naturally keen to also taste and enjoy the food. The pride they feel about their accomplishments is perfect for building an appetite to try more different food and ingredients over time.
If you want to make cooking with your children a regular activity, choose a day of the week that’s your cooking day. Make it a regular activity that’s in the diary – ideally on a day without after school activities or too much home work. You should expect to need more time for this at first, until your children get more used to cooking and will be faster and more independent. And then choose what to cook. If you have a good children’s cookbook, let your child have a look and pick some recipes they like the look of. Agree on a first recipe, do the shopping (ideally together) and get started!
To really build on this, make sure to involve your child in the decision process too. Let them decide what to cook and involve them when shopping for ingredients. Make it a part of the discovery process and encourage them to try new ingredients and foods. Who knows, maybe some day they’ll even want to try cooking ingredients they didn’t use to like. Familiarity can create comfort and desire to discover. Just make sure to keep it fun. And don’t insist on a healthy ingredient they really don’t like. Instead look for other healthy alternatives and focus on including those. There are usually many possible healthy ingredients to choose from so variety should not be an issue even if there is some pickiness. And children tend to grow with what they’re exposed to so keep it fresh, fun, new and varied.
THE EXTRA TIME IS AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR CHILD’S FUTURE!
Anything you teach your children in the kitchen will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
Cooking truly is a life skill and one of the most important ones that we can grow. Anything you teach your children in the kitchen will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Whether this is cooking skills, menu planning, basic kitchen hygiene or openness to trying new healthy options, they will take these skills into adulthood and continue to develop and use them.
You may feel that cooking with your children is time consuming and requires more patience than you have. And it’s true that we can often complete the same tasks in less time and making less mess on our own than if we include the children. But passing on involving the children in the kitchen also means that we miss out on the many benefits it can bring and is important to keep in the calculation.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
START WITH THIS SUPER SIMPLE BUT DELICIOUS RECIPE
Meatballs In Tomato Sauce INGREDIENTS
HOW TO PREPARE:
– 500g minced lean beef
1. Wash your hands well
– 2 level teaspoons of dried herbs
2. Break up the meat in a bowl. Add the egg as well as mixed herbs and flour
– 1 egg
3. With clean hands, pick up some of the mixture and shape it into a ball about the size of a
– 1 tablespoon of flour – Olive oil or butter for cooking – You’ll also need pasta and to either buy or make your own tomato sauce using 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic and 400g of chopped tomatoes,
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16 meatballs/ Serves 4 – Recipe adapted from Usborne’s Beginner’s Cookbook (a great starter book for younger cooks)
basil and tomato purée
tennis table ball. Try to make 16 balls using all of the mixture 4. Heat three tablespoons of oil or butter in a frying pan and add eight meatballs. Keep the heat ‘medium high’ so the meat will cook but not burn. Turn the meatballs often until they are brown all over 5. Put a paper towel onto a plate and lift the meat balls onto this once browned and cooked. Brown the other meatballs and put them on the plate when done. 6. Make the tomato sauce by frying the onion and garlic in oil until soft. Then add all the other ingredients and leave it to cook for about 10 minutes (or use a good ready made sauce) 7. Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce, put a lid on the pan and cook gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally 8. Cook the pasta according to instructions on the packet 9. Serve the pasta with the tomato and meatball sauce and enjoy!
> E njoy getting your child involved in making these, and play around with the ingredients to suit your family’s preferences!
Dorte is a healthy lifestyle coach who works with women and men who want to live better, happier and healthier lives. She teaches nutrition, health, mind-set and habit building and helps her clients feel slimmer, fitter, better, younger, happier and more fulfilled. She delivers her signature programmes the Feel Fab Formula and Lighter Living online and in various locations in the Geneva area. Find her on: Dorte@soul-v.com, www.soul-v.com and www.Facebook.com/groups/FeelFabLab
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International School Parent Summer 2017
Uni is not for me INSERT
BY HATTIE WRIXON UNISNOTFORME.COM | 25
I know it’s many parent’s nightmare when their child questions the value of university, especially if their school education has been invested in, either at an international school or a boarding school in the UK. But I would urge you to discuss any doubts your son or daughter might have about university, fully and frankly, and take time to explore what are now a myriad of alternative options.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
hen I made my decision not to go to university five years ago, tertiary education was a conveyor belt option unequivocally expected by my academic girls’ school. I was challenged by my teachers, my friends and my friends’ parents. University was a rite of passage we were expected to follow, despite soaring tuition fees and no assured prospects of fulfilling and well-paid employment after graduation.
More than half of respondents (56%) said initiative and passion are the qualities they most value, while a sixth (16%) said selfmotivation. Energy came next (12%) followed by integrity (8%) while ability to learn quickly, reliability and time-keeping, honesty, dedication, loyalty, charm and goal orientated scored equally at 2.13%. Well known success stories of people who did it without a degree include Laura Tenison, founder of JoJo Maman Bebe, food campaigner, Jamie Oliver, handbag queen, Anya Hindmarch, and Rosie Hardy, photographer to the stars. But ordinary people are doing it too, like UNFM Society members, Zoe Ledsham, who was a legal trainee at leading law firm, Clyde & Co and now qualified as a solicitor working at Bond Dickinson, Kayleigh Anderson, EY apprentice and Josh Uwadiae, a fitness guru.
My own parents were non-judgmental but were quite clear that if I chose not to go to university, I should nevertheless make a useful and purposeful contribution to society. However, access to information about alternative career pathways were scarce then, and what started as an initial blog about my experiences has grown into a comprehensive resource and campaigning voice for young people exploring alternatives to university – Uni’s not for me (UNFM) www.unisnotforme.com
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It felt to me then that the tide was beginning to turn and an alternative to a degree need no longer feel like a second class option.
Five years down the line, things have changed considerably. In 2015 Uni’s not for me partnered with YouGov to canvas public opinion on what society would most benefit from in economic terms. Only 7% said ‘more graduates’ while a significant 57% said ‘more young people trained through NVQs, apprenticeships or on the job training’. It felt to me then that the tide was beginning to turn and an alternative to a degree need no longer feel like a second class option.
Commenting on A Level results in the same year, Mary Curnock Cook, chief executive of UCAS and herself a university graduate in her 40s, said students could no longer assume a good degree would result in a well-paid, interesting career. And when the high mistress of St Paul’s Girls’ School, one of the best performing school in the country, warned that bright girls may consider university “a waste of time”, the media paid attention. University is wonderful for many things, but so are many of the alternatives. Implicit in the small number of people who believed we need more graduates is the fact that we already have far too many.
However, many people are still unaware that securing a successful career in professions like law, accountancy and engineering are entirely possible without a degree, and increasing numbers of bright young people are choosing to learn and earn, and are proving formidable competition to their graduate peers. Initiative, passion and self-motivation are the qualities leading UK employers most value in employees aged 25 or under, according to research we undertook last year. Not a single employer surveyed said it would matter if a job candidate went to university – as long as they displayed those characteristics. More than 50 organisations, including EY, Clyde & Co, The Berkley Group, River Island Clothing, Pimlico Plumbers and Pret a Manger took part in the research.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
We should invest in, and celebrate, all those who contribute to healthy, functioning lives. UNI’S NOT FOR ME’S 10 POINT CHECK LIST:
In the early days of UNFM, I was asked to speak on local radio and was so nervous, I could barely string together a logical thought. Since then I’ve learnt to think through the three things I want to say and not deviate! I’ve argued against Lord Willetts on BBC Radio 4’s ‘World Tonight’; organised a debate in association with the London Times on the merits of going to, and not going to, university; met Government ministers to explore how best to raise awareness of apprenticeships; and have met, and been supported by, some of the most prolific business leaders in the UK. Most importantly, I have been lucky enough to be part of a growing community of ambitious, articulate and inspirational young people who decided uni wasn’t for them and are making huge successes of their lives. Entrepreneurs, lawyers, accountants, fitness gurus, artists, photographers and film makers are just some of those who now make up UNFM Society, our social, networking and professional development platform. Schools are measured by league tables based on pupils’ exam delivery – it seems to me that very few of them teach you how to survive on your wits, and argue for what you believe in – and I don’t believe these tightly defined measurements are helpful in terms of delivering a healthy and balanced national economy. A balanced economy requires a balanced and committed workforce, whether you’re a high level economist or highly skilled plumber. We should invest in, and celebrate, all those who contribute to healthy, functioning lives. My final point is simply on how we define success. Technically, this is the accomplishment of a clearly articulated objective. Failure: simply not achieving success. But if a starting point is a dream of 13 A stars and the reality is 10 As (still brilliant in my view), you might argue this as a failure. Conversely, if the dream is to pass an exam no one ever thought you could, then achieve a C grade and are able to apply that resilience in the workplace, even without a degree, that’s success. Five years ago, few people would have agreed with me. In 2017, when a £50K debt is considered the norm for a graduate and employers value initiative and passion above else, many more do.
1. Is your son or daughter planning to go to university because they want to, or because that’s what you or their school want them to?
2. Are they passionate about a particular subject? If so, and really want to spend three or four years exploring that subject, then university is almost certainly right for them. 3. Even so, have they explored all other options? Careers in accountancy, law and many other professions don’t require a university degree. 4. Do you think society will make negative judgments if they don’t go to university? UNFM is working to bust the myth that learning begins and ends with formal education. Learning is a life-long process. 5. Are you concerned they’ll miss out on an incredible social life? To some extent that’s up to them. UNFM Society, a social, networking and learning programme is helping address that. 6. Employers are looking for initiative, passion, self-motivation and energy. Factor that in when considering options. Hands-on experience may trump a mediocre degree. 7. Have they considered a gap year (but probably not one that involves lazing on a beach in Thailand) to give more time to reflect on their options? 8. Are they rushing their decision? They can always go back to uni later in life. 9. Do you know the difference between apprenticeships and internships? Apprenticeships give you a national recognised qualification. 10. Are you accessing the best possible advice? UNFM can help! www.unisnotforme.com
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International School Parent Summer 2017
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Are summer camps still relevant for young people today? BY HAUT-LAC INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
The long summer break from school that is common to most countries creates both problems and opportunities for parents who want to ensure their children are able to make the best use of their time. internationalschoolparent.com
International School Parent Summer 2017
owadays, it is commonplace for both parents in a family to have full time jobs, and thus looking after their children during school holidays isn’t always easy. More people now also relocate abroad to enhance their careers and experience life in different countries, which means they are no longer able to rely on extended family members for help with childcare. When faced with logistical problems such as these, summer camps are a welcome option. However, it is important to properly consider how your children and family may benefit from particular camps before signing up to one as their prices, options, activities and quality vary immensely. Many families hope to use the summer holiday to optimise and improve aspects of their children’s lives or education. Camps now provide a variety of different programmes to suit children’s interests, whether these be sporting, artistic, technical or linguistic, so that they may grow and learn during their holiday whilst also having fun. As camp providers, we have to be aware of new and emerging social and educational possibilities for young people in order to design appropriate programmes for them. Summer camps, such as the Haut-Lac Activity Camps, will be running a range of new courses this summer based on the results of a parent/student interest survey. Camps, such as the Haut-Lac Performing Arts Camp, Film Camp, Robotics Camp and Programming Camp, can play a hugely important role in children’s development by offering them real and positive life experiences that could also help them with their school studies.
Not only is this interaction multilingual and multicultural, but it is also face-to-face and in real time rather than via a computer screen! Real life communication skills are vital for our children’s well-being but something that the next generation are doing less and less as our use of technology grows. Camps thus need to provide activities that will, one the one hand, pull children away from their phones, iPads and computers, and on the other hand, teach them the necessary technological skills to succeed in our rapidly-evolving digital world. As any well-run summer school or camp organiser knows, its staff also play an extremely important role in the overall camp experience. The actions and attitude of camp staff have an enormous impact on the children in their care, who often see them as positive role models even after returning home. The latter is what camps like Haut-Lac search for in candidates and continue to stress to their staff during their training programmes. Camp staff should ideally be qualified, energetic, enthusiastic and dedicated to working with young people. They should be able to provide the children in their care with a fun, vibrant and safe atmosphere in which to meet new people and experience new challenges. Haut-Lac has been running camps for children and teenagers since 1987 and truly believes that a camp provides children with unique opportunities for growth in many areas. Camps should provide a secure and supervised environment in which children may take their first independent steps away from family and school, discover more about the world they live in, and learn to look after themselves whilst connecting with others.
Camps are a great way to encourage students to adopt a more mature outlook on life...
One of the main advantages of adding an educational component, such as language learning or computer programming, to a camp is that it may be taught without the restrictions of a particular curriculum or exam preparation. We found out many years ago that providing students with the same instruction they receive at school during their summer break often just caused them to switch off. We thus had to rethink our approach.
> F ind out more about Haut-Lac Camps at www.haut-lac-camp.ch
Camps should in fact instil enthusiasm and passion in students by enabling them to develop their skills with other like-minded youngsters outside of a restrictive school curriculum. Camp students should thus be taken out of their comfort zones and put in situations that encourage them to interact with others, practicing, experimenting and sharing their new skills. It is through the continuous practice and use of new skills and methods that students grow in confidence and are able to perform better, as we have seen at Haut-Lac Activity Camps over the last 15 years. Camps are a great way to encourage students to adopt a more mature outlook on life, as they are obliged to take care of their own equipment, get themselves ready for classes or activities, calculate how best to use their pocket money and much more. Furthermore, the interaction with other children from other countries and cultures, often in different languages, helps them learn and understand more about the wider world.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
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EXCELLENT ACROSS THE BOARD When a school receives ‘Excellent’ in all categories by an independent and globally recognised inspection body, you know you can rely on that school for your child’s education. Geneva English School is the only international school in Geneva to receive an Excellent rating in every possible aspect of its latest ISI inspection report. Here are just some of the comments in the report: • “engaging, relevant and cutting-edge education” • “motivational atmosphere” • “highly-committed staff” • children “delight in discovery” • “Throughout the school, teachers and teaching assistants have an exceptionally warm and positive rapport with the pupils, instilling in them a ‘can do’ attitude, which builds their resilience and perseverance.” Read the full report from the International Schools Inspectorate (ISI) at www.geschool.ch
GENEVA ENGLISH SCHOOL Route de Malagny 36 BRITISH EDUCATION - GLOBAL OUTLOOK 1294 Genthod internationalschoolparent.com
International School Parent Summer 2017
Why not try something different this summer? Have your kids develop their first social enterprise
BY ILARIA MARCHESE AND ASHLEIGH ANDERFUHREN, NATURAL GIRL UNNATURAL WORLD BLOG internationalschoolparent.com
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International School Parent Summer 2017
he job market as we know it is and will continue to change. Job stability as baby-boomers experienced it is long past gone. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average person born between 1957 and 1964 held 11.7 jobs between the ages of 18 and 48 and nearly half of these occupations were held between 18 and 24 years old. Millennials, and even more so Generation Z, are predicted to change jobs at least double the times their parents did. Furthermore, the job market is going to change even more with the integration of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in most, if not all, economicsectors. In fact, some experts1 predict that employment will be contract employment.
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In this environment where employment is less secure and in general less available, there will be a greater interest in entrepreneurial “careers”. Veronica Colondam, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of YCAB Foundation, who is an expert from the Forum’s Young Global Leaders community, declared that the most important skill of tomorrow is an entrepreneurial spirit – and the skills to know how to apply it: “It is not enough to be innovative or collaborative, it is also about knowing when to apply each of them, and how they can be used in a business context.” Furthermore, access to the best colleges requires more than the best grades and test scores. Admissions departments are looking to educate the leaders of tomorrow and by having on your resume the experience of starting a business or social program, you show evidence of leadership. Actually, the student who has demonstrated that he or she sees a problem or inefficiency and has the imagination and wherewithal to attempt a solution, possesses what admissions departments of top-tier colleges desire the most; the prospective student demonstrates initiative, courage to take risks and dedication. Finally, having a testimonial about their entrepreneurial experience on their resume will make him or her stand out as, let’s face it, there are plenty of prospective students with recommendation letters from teachers or coaches. Keep in mind that what admissions departments are looking for is not the innovation level of the business initiated norits complexity or profit, but rather the demonstration of the ability to take initiatives and follow through.
WHY HAVE AN ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE IN HIGH SCHOOL? 1. Low risk: the objective of creating a social venture for a high school student does not lie in financial profits nor does (s)he have a family to maintain. The reason why most people never try to implement their innovative ideas is because the majority of start-ups fail. But even if students do fail, the experience gained is invaluable and well worth the time invested. In addition, the sooner you can test your ideas, the better; perhaps, from an unsuccessful idea a better one will be born and with the knowledge and experience learned, chances of success increase. 2. An easily accessible customer market: family, friends and teachers are perfect potential clients. It is very likely that people will be interested and encourage the young adult to pursue his/her entrepreneurial project and support him /her along the way. This will also come in handy when doing market research, as getting feedback from friends and teachers is relatively easy. 3. Trends spread quickly in a high school environment and everyone is aware of them: creating a small business in response to a current trend can be easy and at the same time, meet a real demand. For example, Thomas Suarez, a 12-year-old app developer, created his app Bustin Jieber, a “whack-a-mole” game in which you pummel the Biebs. When asked why he created it, Suarez stated that, “a lot of people at school disliked Justin Bieber a little bit, so I decided to make the app.” 4. Successful entrepreneurs love to give advice to young would-be entrepreneurs: they will make time that they wouldn’t make for anyone else, and they will speak more openly with a would-be entrepreneur than anyone else because they do not see him/her as a threat or someone with an ulterior motive. In addition, by developing a social venture students can connect with their aspirations for a better society and use their creative talent. It invites them to take an active role as citizens, get in touch with reality and to collaboratively articulate and test workable solutions to societal challenges.
“...the most important skill of tomorrow is an entrepreneurial spirit...” internationalschoolparent.com
International School Parent Summer 2017
WHAT IS AVAILABLE IN THE ROMANDIE TO SUPPORT YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER IN HIS / HER ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE?
Finally, through online platforms the teams will interact with the European entrepreneurial community of SIA 2017. The objective of the summer two-month incubation is to allow each team to evolve its idea into a viable business model. All the meetings will be accessible online and none are mandatory. Indeed, SIA’s objective is to empower young social entrepreneurs by providing them with support that is readily available, but it is the young entrepreneurs who decide if and when they need it!
The Social Impact Award (SIA) is a competition launched among students who want to initiate social or environmental change in a constructive way. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and practice of social entrepreneurship among students in Europe. Founded in 2009 by Impact Hub Vienna, it has since grown to more than 18 countries, including Switzerland. It has been implemented for the first time in Romandie by Impact Hub Geneva. This summer, twelve social entrepreneurial projects will participate at no cost to them in an incubation program with one-on-one mentoring sessions, entrepreneurial workshops, the support of an international community and an inspiring work environment. Each team will be assigned a mentor, a successful entrepreneur or a professional of a well-established financial corporation, UBS. Weekly entrepreneurial workshops on various business aspects ranging from IT capabilities to public speaking will be delivered by specialized business consultants. In addition, they will also have access to Impact Hub Geneva co-working space and its range of community building activities.
The most promising projects will have the opportunity to participate in the SIA International Summit, win up to CHF 4,000 in seed funding and an additional 3-month incubation program, again at no cost. Participation in the creation of a viable business model in a supportive environment will provide participants with transformative educational learning tools, concepts, entrepreneurial practices, and teamwork. This will enable them to realise that they can have a positive impact on society. We hope that SIA will create a favourable environment for constructive synergies from which feasible solutions to the great challenges of our time will emerge. Applications are open until 2nd week of June at: www.socialimpactaward.ch/apply All that is needed is an idea and your child’s commitment! References 1. Pwc. The Future ofWork: A Journey to 2022 (n.d.): n. pag. 2014.Web.
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Why choose ISBerne? • O ur ISA test scores place ISBerne in the top tier of schools around the world. • Happy students – 96% of our students enjoy school. • H appy parents – our families appreciate and contribute to a strong, supportive parent community. • A new purpose-built campus. • E asy access by train, car or tram. Bussing can be made available for groups in Fribourg, Neuchâtel, or Solothurn. For more information visit our website at www.isberne.ch. For questions, please call us at +41(0)31 951 25 58. internationalschoolparent.com
International School Parent Summer 2017
A middle school approach to Computer Science
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BY PAUL BAUMGARTEN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF LAUSANNE 2017
At the International School of Lausanne, we believe that every student should be exposed to the ideas of Computer Science and have at least an introductory ability to programme.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
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International School Parent Summer 2017
omputer programming, or “coding”, is argued to develop creative thinking and systematic reasoning skills that are crucial for academic and vocational success. It has been suggested that just as reading and writing are considered important skills to learn, even if you are not going to be a professional writer, that it is useful to think of the benefits of learning to code in the same way.1
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In the MYP, computer programming skills are developed through the Year 8 Design course that all students complete, and an optional Design course in Year 11 that serves as preparation for the Diploma. In Year 8, the course uses visual blocky programming tools such as Blockly, Scratch and Mindstorms to allow students to focus on the computational thinking without the additional layers of syntactical complexity that comes with a “normal” text based programming language. Through these tools students can be introduced to the idea of procedural algorithms, simple variables, selection and iteration. Contextually the course is divided into two main projects over the year: Building a computer game, and building a functional robot.
The algorithmic thinking skills required to program, also form an excellent foundation for problem solving in general. The IB Diploma course for Computer Science identifies six thinking skills considered essential for programming. They are thinking procedurally, thinking logically, thinking abstractly, thinking concurrently, thinking ahead, and thinking recursively.2 It should be self-evident that these higher order thinking skills will be of lifetime benefit to students regardless of career pathway.
The robotics unit in particular tends to be a perennial favorite with students. The unit starts with an introduction to robotic concepts and a series of video lessons the students follow that teach them the basics of how to program the motors to turn on/ off, read the value of a sensor, and so on. Students then progress through a series of challenges which are of increasing level of difficulty. Working in pairs, they will self-select the challenges from each level they want to undertake. Once completed, they will demonstrate their robot completing the task to the teacher and have the accomplishment signed for on their progress sheets.
The creative process involved in coding is also frequently underestimated. Students will commonly note in their postproject reflections that they were surprised by the level of creativity required to solve a given problem, originally coming into the course thinking it would be more like having to “discover” the correct formula to use. Coding is also critical to the modern creative arts, with digital technology forming a key role in visual arts and music (for instance it is now commonly acknowledged that the Gaming industry is larger than the Movie industry).3
A highly anticipated part of the unit comes toward the end when students pit their robots in battle against each other for a “robot rumble”. The winning two robots from each class come together over a lunch time in the main foyer for a grand final that attracts quite a crowd of enthusiastic onlookers. The overall winners are then honoured in perpetuity with their names engraved on a plaque in the Design department.
The immersiveness of computer technology in society is only going to continue to increase.
The immersiveness of computer technology in society is only going to continue to increase. Advances in robotics such as selfdriving cars, through the portable computers we carry in our pockets and wear on our wrists, mean that these technologies are becoming an intertwined part of our daily lives.
In addition to all these “soft” benefits are, of course, the tangible advantages a foundation in programming can provide to a student’s career. From architecture to zoology, coding skills have real tangible application and value to employers. In fact, Code.org estimates that 67% of computing jobs are outside the tech sector. Finally, the tech sector itself has a growing demand for more programmers as dedicated specialists. It is estimated there are more than half a million open computing jobs in the United States alone, and that it represents the number one source of new wages in that country.4 The International School of Lausanne takes a multi-pronged approach to Computer Science with a combination of two middle school courses and after school activities, feeding into the IB Diploma Computer Science course for those wishing to pursue it as a possible career choice.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
Historically we have based the robotics unit on the Lego EV3 Mindstorms technology, though this year we have also experimented with some groups of students using MakeBlock mBots which are programmed using Scratch. Another change that has come about this year is the addition of the Maze challenge. This is a summative assessment towards the end of the unit where students demonstrate their programming prowess by building a robot to self-navigate its way through a maze course. Overall we have found the Year 8 Design course to be highly engaging with the students. They enjoy the responsibility that is placed upon them to self-select the work they will complete from the list of challenges provided, along with the sense of achievement that comes from demonstrating their success once or twice a lesson. The course serves as a solid foundation for further programming skills, with a Javascript based after school Computer Science club for those who want to take it further, and the Year 11 Digital Design introduction to programming course. As demand for computer science understandings in wider society continue to grow, the International School of Lausanne is doing its part to equip its students to make a valuable contribution. Paul Baumgarten has been teaching computing for 11 years and is originally from Perth, Western Australia.
References 1. R esnick, Mitch (2012) TEDx Beacon Street: Let’s teach kids to code. https://www.ted.com/talks/mitch_ resnick_let_s_teach_kids_to_code 2. I nternational Baccalaureate Organisation (2014) Computer Science Guide 3. C ox, Kate (2014) Consumerist: It’s Time To Start Treating Video Game Industry Like The $21 Billion Business It Is. https://consumerist.com/2014/06/09/ its-time-to-start-treating-video-game-industry-likethe-21-billion-business-it-is/ 4. C ode.org (2015) Summary of source data for Code.org infographics and stats. https:// docs.google.com/document/d/1gySkItxiJn_ vwb8HIIKNXqen184mRtzDX12cux0ZgZk/pub
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International School Parent Summer 2017
ENTER THE MIND OF A BULLY 38 |
BY LAURENCE VAN HANSWIJCK DE JONGE, MSC, PH.D PSYCHOLOGIST FSP / CHILD DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST
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International School Parent Summer 2017
THE DEMONS THAT HIDE IN THE DARK
my name is Laura and I was a bully. “She was a short girl with cropped red hair, plump and she always wore bright pink lipstick. She smiled a lot, she had a funny Irish accent. Which was funny in itself as we all had funny accents, we were at an international school after all. She was an easy target. The teacher would turn her back and one of “us” would start throwing props at her, when she turned we would make pig noises. The teacher would turn and ask what was going on but we all sat with a poker face, as did she. She still smiled at us. We would make Wanted signs with a picture of her face and some piercing scrawl underneath it, I think I blocked out what we said. “We” all thought it was hilarious. We would wait in a corner till she passed and watched her face sink. Everyone would snigger. I remember there was some sort of sinking feeling in my heart, but I sniggered along with them. She still smiled at us as she passed. Whoever came up with a new idea got a lot of recognition from the group, it propelled us forward to do more. I remember one day I saw her leave school, you could see she had been crying, that day we were too busy huddling and laughing about something else to pass comments. At the end of the school day I would also go home, I can’t remember ever feeling proud of what had happened and I chose to focus on other thoughts. I myself had my own demons to deal with. A lonely broken home, being ripped from half of my family due to a messy divorce. Never feeling right at home and a lot of conflict. Never feeling that I could be myself and always being told how to do things. Looking back, I guess I needed a place to feel recognized, a place where I was appreciated, positive or negative. I was so insecure in myself, I see that now. I took up smoking, partly to be “part” of the group but mainly to have something to hide behind. I remember always skulking in the corners when I was alone with the big kids, there was another group of bullies and I saw what they did, I was terrified they would target me. I would hunch my shoulders as I walked by, smiled at them and pray for the best as I desperately sucked on my cigarette. They would pass comments my way, I would pretend I didn’t hear them. Back to the classroom and back to targeting the little red head with the bright pink lipstick. That felt better. When I look back now, I wonder what became of the little red head. I realize now that the reason she was an easy target is that she never was assertive, she never said “stop”, she never stopped being nice. Maybe somewhere that is what we were looking for, to see her breakdown completely. She was so insecure and so desperate to make friends….and so scared. We were like a pack of wolves, smelling the scent of fear. ” > Laura (name is protected); 42years old
Have you ever wondered why all the most hideous mythical monsters created live in dark caves, under forlorn bridges, dark murky waters and so on? Have you ever encountered a dragon like creature with the body of a crocodile and the head of a horse and a neck like a giraffe (South African Ninki Nanka) who lives in a bright green pasture with daisies and butterflies?? Our brain is wired to protect us, something that we cannot see is a danger, it can harm us as we cannot assess it, hence our brain sends out warning signals which create the feeling of anxiety, panic, fear, we retaliate from it. Our brain is keeping us safe. Most mythical beasts were created in places of darkness, where one could not explore (back in the day) and one could only wonder “what lies beneath” and our minds are such creative places, oh the things that could lie beneath! The belly of caves with fresh running water were often left unexplored and untapped for the community due to great, fierce, mythical figures that would lurk there. We fear what we do not know. In order to lose our fear of a bully, in order to lose the “scent” of fear that is prayed on we need to debunk the bully, we need to understand them and bring them into the daylight. There is a range of information that needs to be understood in order to stop or diminish bullying. However, it starts with debunking the mind of a bully. However, as with administering a medicine to the wrong cause, first we need to really understand “what is bullying”. So often in this day and age children get pestered or someone was mean, the first label they attach to that is “bullying”, the word is over used and erroneously used. We have pestering, teasing, thoughtless kids, a mean moment, conflict, rudeness. This is not “same-same but different” this is different. Let’s look at what bullying is.
...about 21% of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying...
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International School Parent Summer 2017
I BULLY... OR DO I?
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THERE ARE 4 TYPES OF BULLYING
Data from the USA show us that about 21% of students ages 1218 experienced bullying (2014–2015 School Crime Supplement; National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics) and 20% of students in grades 9–12 report being bullied on school property (2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Verbal
We are definitely seeing, in our schools especially, “that gratuitous references to “bullying” are creating a bit of a “little boy who cried wolf” phenomena. In other words, if kids and parents improperly classify rudeness and mean behavior as bullying – whether to simply make conversation or to bring attention to their short-term discomfort – we all run the risk of becoming so sick and tired of hearing the word that this actual life altering (and sometimes as far as deadly) issue among young people loses its urgency as quickly as it rose to prominence. It is important to distinguish between rude, mean and bullying so that teachers, school administrators, police, youth workers, parents and kids all know what to pay attention to and when to intervene. As we have heard too often in the news, a child’s future may depend on an adult’s ability to discern between rudeness at the bus stop and life-altering bullying (Signe Whitson).”
Physical
Laura was a bully. There is a pattern we can see between the older kids that were bullying and her bullying. There was repetition, repetition to the same target and repetition ad nauseum. In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive (physically or mentally) and include: • An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.
Name calling, threats, taunting, verbal abuse, racist remarks
Social Exclusion, spreading rumors, public humiliation, making rude gestures, playing nasty jokes, damaging someone’s social reputation Spitting, hitting, kicking, pinching, breaking someone’s belongings
Cyber Over cellphones and internet, not exclusive
to: mean texts, prank calls, rude comments, compromising images, imitating others, fake online log-ins, nasty rumours
THESE ARE NOT BULLYING BEHAVIOURS Teasing When everyone is having fun, no one is getting hurt, there is a strong relationship between the two people, the person is not distressed and it is not repetitive
Conflict
ere is a possible solution to the disagreement and Th an equal balance of power
Mean Purposefully saying or doing something to hurt intentional
someone once (or maybe twice)
Rude
udeness might look more like burping in someone’s R face, jumping ahead in line, bragging about achieving the highest grade or even throwing a crushed up pile of leaves in someone’s face. On their own, any of these behaviors could appear as elements of bullying, but when looked at in context, incidents of rudeness are usually spontaneous, unplanned inconsideration, based on thoughtlessness, poor manners or narcissism, but not meant to actually hurt someone
unintentional
• Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.
It is important to distinguish between rude, mean and bullying... • Unwanted: Bullying is aggressive behavior (in its different forms) that involves unwanted and negative actions.
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> N ow that we are crystal clear on what bullying is and is not, let’s look at the mind of the bully.
International School Parent Summer 2017
THE MIND OF A BULLY Before we delve into the dark cave, we have to understand this. When we understand what lies behind the bully, often it takes away the mystery and this reduces the fear, which in turn reduces the scent of fear. Hence, we don’t walk hunched, avoid eye contact, look at the ground, fidget. It creates an air of assertiveness, this in its’ self is a deterent to the bully. Equally it creates a new mindset “this is not about me, I am not terrible, its about them, …..” this change in mindset creates a change in feeling. Once we believe it is not about us being insufficient/ not worthy, we drop the anger and sadness and move to empathy or disinterest, it doesn’t stick anymore.
LET’S LOOK AT THE BULLY We sometimes hear that bullies harass other people because they are emotionally insecure or socially incompetent. They resort to harassment and intimidation because they can’t think of any better way of getting attention. The reality is more complicated than that. There are two types of bullies, the ones who feel like social misfits, the ones who feel depressed, anxious, or lonely. However, these bullies usually belong to a special category-bullies who are also the victims of other bullies. In contrast, there are the “pure” bullies. These are the people who always occupy the dominant role. They don’t get victimized by other bullies. And they seem to reap the benefits of their position. Bullies aren’t necessarily high-strung, insecure, socially clueless, or academically inept. Other research supports the idea of the confident bully. Studies conducted in Finland, Ireland, and the United States have all found that kids who bullied were more likely to have positive self-concepts (Kaukianien et al 2002; Collins and Bell 1996; Pollastri et al 2010). If pure bullies aren’t suffering from deficits in social reasoning, self-esteem, self-control, or social status….then just what is missing? New research points to an old-fashioned answer. Bullies may simply have trouble with moral reasoning. One study found that bullies scored low on a test of empathic reactivity (Gini 2006b). Other studies (Obermann 2011; Perren et al 2012; Pozzoli et al 2012) report that bullies are more likely to justify their behavior in terms of the consequences for themselves, rely on rationalizations that make anti-social behavior seem acceptable. Kids who bully others on a daily basis are at a greater risk of developing anti-social traits particularly if they also exhibit other behavioral problems. One study of Italian and Spanish children, researchers asked 4th and 8th grade students to identify the bullies and victims in their classes. Next, researchers presented each child with a visual story—told with cartoons—about peer bullying (Menesini et al 2003). During the presentation, researchers asked “If you were this boy or girl in the story” (pointing to the bully), “would you feel (guilty, ashamed, indifferent, or proud)? Why would you feel this way?” The bullies were more likely to say they would feel pride or indifference. Bullies were also more egocentric, explaining their emotional responses in terms of the positive consequences for themselves (Menesini et al 2003). This
seems to be a common pattern. These results have been replicated in Denmark (Oberman 2011), Switzerland (Perren et al 2012), and Italy (Pozzoli et al 2012). So if they are on top of the food chain, does that make bullies the popular kids? Studies show that bullying does not equate with popularity. The real bullies aren’t the coolest, most popular kids — they’re the ones on the edge of the inner circle trying to get in, and they’re using bullying as a tool for social mobility. Those who are most popular, at the top of the social hierarchy, are the least aggressive. “They have much more to gain by being nice when they’re up at that level than by being cruel,” theorized lead author Robert Faris, assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Davis. Alternatively, it could be that the most popular kids are “simply different and incredibly nice people.” It appears that it didn’t matter what kind of aggression was involved - the popular (but not most popular) kids are more likely to be perpetrators. At the core of bullying is a relationship issue, kids are craving to fit in and be included, but don’t know how. Those at the second tier of popularity don’t have a platform of security, and use bullying as a way of gaining influence. So there are the pure bullies. What about the other group, the bully-victims, they are both bullies and victims. Such victimized aggressors suffer from a distinctive set of problems. Compared to pure bullies, they may be more: anxious, depressed, lonely and high-strung. A study of American teenage boys found that bully-victims suffered the worst psychological health of any group – including pure bullies and passive victims. An American government-funded study, carried out by the Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning (WBL), focusing on information collected from 6,500 eight to eleven year olds, found that 5% of children were bullies, but only 0.5% were “true/pure” bullies, while 4.5% were bullied themselves. The majority (74%) of bullies were found to be boys, who suffered the highest levels of depression, anger, paranoia, emotional disaffection and suicidal behaviour, and disliked school the most. So it seems that the greater part of bullies are actually those that are not pure bullies and suffer from a host of difficulties and low self-worth. So what lies behind these children? A study conducted in the UK involved 666 students (ages 12 to 16) from 14 schools who had recently reported bullying others. The researchers compared the bullies with a group of 478 students who had not recently engaged in bullying. Bullies were more likely than non-bullies to live in families without two biological parents, such as living in single parent families, living with extended family members or with foster parents. Such situations may mean bullies, in some cases, do not receive as much attention at home, the scientists said. Further studies by Perren (2005) suggests that families of bullies frequently have little closeness and unity, as well as being focused on power over one another. These children often report more negative family functioning than non-bullies. Because of the lack of parental and family support, many adolescents use bullying as a form of control and attention. These children do not know the correct form of asking for attention, love and support from others, including their peers. Brown (1986) suggests that this is often a response to family situations, as well as peer pressure. A portion of these
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International School Parent Summer 2017
children lack any control in their lives, except for the control they place on others. Many times children find that when they are lacking something essential in one environment, they will overcompensate in another. Quite often, children may be victims at home and a bully at school. Older siblings can also be the cause of the problem. If they’ve been bullied, they are more apt to bully a younger sibling to feel more secure or empower themselves. And we cannot rule out the fact that an adult role model is a bully. This can include parents, teachers, coaches, etc. Very often, even unknowingly, parents are bullies, are angry, or don’t handle conflict well. Something as simple as stamping continuously on a kid to do better, continuous reprimands can cause a feeling of lack of control in a child. This they then try to rectify by controlling someone else themselves. Bullied bullies get relief from feeling helpless by overpowering others.
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One last theory on what lies behind the bully is fear. One study states that that they are all easily overwhelmed with fear. They are afraid of getting hurt, they are afraid of not being liked, and their list of fears are usually lengthy. The truth is that fear is an important feeling to experience, but it is not healthy to be obsessed with fear. It appears that these kids have come to believe that they should never experience any type of discomfort in their lives. Those who have thoroughly bought into this concept, believe strictly in following a protocol on how to live their lives in exchange for being rewarded with things going their way. This is in line with Carol Dweck’s fixed mindset, these students constantly seek to reaffirm their superiority, they are afraid to take risks for fear of demonstrating a deficiency, and seek the easiest paths to success. Is it possible then that bullies aren’t genetically hardwired, but come to school with a fixed mindset for social prominence?
LET OUR CHILDREN RISE Now that a light has been shun within that cave with mystical demons, we see that at the base of every type of bully lies a cracked foundation. Demystifying the bully, understanding that most of these children hide their deficiencies behind an iron front, fearful to the bone of them being unveiled, this takes power away from them. Our children now have the opportunity to rise, rise above their own fears. They now can feel greater selfmastery when they understand the true nature of the bully, their insecurities, mental deficiencies and desperate need for power. As was stated earlier on, the reason the bully is able to control a child is because of the child’s fear of the bully, it encourages the bully to continue their abuse. Once a child realizes that a bully mentality is cowardly and flawed the thoughts that they meet a bully with change. Once these change, the feeling changes and the behavior changes and hence what we portray, our body language changes which, in turn shifts the paradigm. If you are more assertive, you are less of a target. Not only physically, equally in the cyber world and with social and emotional bullying. If harsh words are said but you understand it is not about you but about them being insecure or unmoral, once you see beyond the front to the desperation with which they are trying to uphold a fasade, trying frantically to fit in, the harsh words slide off like Teflon. They don’t stick. I am not broken, it is not all about me. Enter a small lesson from Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. It is not the “situation” that creates all our strong feelings, it is the “Thought we hold about the situation” that creates these feelings. And guess what, we are in control of our thoughts! Imagine:
Demystifying the bully, understanding that most of these children hide their deficiencies behind an iron front...
SO ALL IN ALL
• Bullied bullies get relief from feeling helpless (or anxious or angry) and overpower others
• Social bullies have poor self-esteem and manipulate others to look better • Pure bullies are calculated and lack empathy
• Pure bullies are at risk of developing anti-social traits • Bullies use bullying as a tool for social mobility
• Bullies are craving to fit in and be included, but don’t know how, they don’t have a platform of security and use bullying as a way of gaining influence • Bullying is used as a form of control and attention often due to a lack of parental and family support • Bullies are afraid of demonstrating a deficiency
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International School Parent Summer 2017
Situation: Playground, a “bully” throws vicious insults your way “you are such an ugly little tramp” Thought: “There must be something true in that” Feeling:
Sadness, uselessness, defeat
Behaviour: Walk away with slumped shoulders; ruminate statement (statement sticks) most of day feeling sad Now we know the mind of a bully, look what changes. Situation: P layground, a “bully” throws vicious insults your way “you are such an ugly little tramp” Thought: “ Gosh that doesn’t sound nice, that girl must feel really insecure to have to try and get popularity by saying such nasty things, most likely this has no reflection on me but is just about her trying to get social power” Feeling:
A little annoyed but ok
We are shifting the goal from “how to defeat the bully” to “how to defeat our fears and learn through the experience”. Having our happiness and peace of mind attached to events and the whims of others places us out of control, we give our control away, and we render ourselves helpless. We often mistakenly attach our happiness to people’s behavior and actions, which are out of our control. The reality is that other people and events are seldom in our control. When our children learn that they do not control how others behave or how life unfolds they are more likely to detach from attachment to such things, they are more able to be taught to have high expectations for themselves, their own morals and conduct, understanding that their happiness is not fixed to how others treat them and that they have control over their thoughts and hence their feelings. We have to realize that we as parents, equally, do not have full control over policies, government, school etc. Equally we cannot stop what is happening on the internet, we cannot lock our children up, away from playgrounds, school grounds, streets and computers. There are ways of reducing bullying, minimizing its existence in schools. However, it starts with the child itself. It is time to empower our children. Let our children rise!
Behaviour: Walk on, head up, and continue with the day; thought slides off
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International School Parent Summer 2017
International School Parent Magazine: Interview with Tim Meunier Head of School – GES INTERVIEWED BY NICHOLAS GILBERT – INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PARENT MAGAZINE
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I arrive at Geneva English School to find that it is the school’s annual pyjama day. True to the school’s ethos, Tim is clearly in the spirit of things. Dressed in his own pyjamas and a dressing gown, he greets me and shows me to his office overlooking the lake. The sun is shining, and the view of Mont Blanc in the distance is glorious. internationalschoolparent.com
International School Parent Summer 2017
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Photo Copyright – Richard Powles-Brown
International School Parent Summer 2017
lthough new to Switzerland, and in his first position as Head of an International School, Tim brings a wealth of experience to the role having taught at the independent school Clifton College in Bristol, The Dragon School in Oxford, Felsted School in Essex, and most recently Colet Court (prep school to St Paul’s School) in London, gaining experience in teaching and leadership roles at both junior and senior, selective and non-selective, co-ed and single sex schools.
WHEN DID YOU START IN EDUCATION AND WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A TEACHER?
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Both my parents were teachers, and my father had said to me “don’t be a teacher”. Of course if your father says not to do something, you inevitably end up doing it. But seriously, I studied natural sciences at Cambridge and I was one of those people who couldn’t quite decide what to do when it came to A-level. I couldn’t quite decide what to do at university either because I have always been interested in a broad spectrum of things. I could have studied languages, for example, as I have always enjoyed them but in the end, I plumped for sciences. Even once I had narrowed it down to that, I couldn’t quite decide what type of science I wanted to study! The great thing about science at Cambridge is that during the degree, you study quite a variety of topics. In the end, by the time I got further into higher education, I was heavily into materials science, what things are made of, which I find fascinating. I think I could have been an engineer, or designer, or a research scientist, but when I met my wife she was studying at Homerton College in Cambridge, which at the time was a teacher training college, so we both embraced a future in teaching. In the end, I realised that I was interested in working with people, that I wanted to do something fun and challenging, that I wanted to do something that I felt meant something, with real purpose. Education ticked all of those boxes. Another box that it ticked for me was the fact that I am interested in lots of things. I think some people think that teaching can be quite narrow, but it is absolutely not. Throughout my educational career, I have been involved in sport, drama, science, music, and loads more, because it all happens in a school. It’s great, because if you want to get involved in those sorts of things, you can. Through teaching I have been able to pursue a very broad life, and it’s been absolutely great. I don’t regret a single day of the decision I made all those years ago.
FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE TEACHING IN THE UK, AND YOUR TIME AS A HEAD TEACHER, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BRING TO GES? Experience! I have a taught in all ages of education, and I have worked in some excellent schools with high standards. St Paul’s, for example, has a very multinational community, which is not so different to the type of clientele I see here. Obviously, Geneva is tiny compared to London, but it’s a multinational centre so I’ve already recognised a lot of similarities, which is great. I have spent a little over half my career teaching in secondary schools, and the other half teaching primary age children. I have taught in boys’ schools, co-ed schools, and English prep schools. I think that is a very broad range of experience, and there probably aren’t many people in my role here who have done that. Most people tend to get pigeon-holed early on as either a secondary teacher, or a primary, or a prep, and people think that they are different worlds. The reality is that the differences are often not as great as people might think. Human beings all have needs, and the needs are roughly similar throughout the age-range. Yes, hormones kick in, the language people use changes, but it’s a gradual transition. The basic skills you have as an educator to communicate and motivate are not that different as the students grow older. There are some obvious differences, for example, I remember teaching a group of 8 year olds, and when they walked in the first thing that struck me was how small they were. Before then I had been used to teaching people mostly taller than me! I think the whole business of passing on some of your knowledge and experience to the next generation. and helping them through the school, is a wonderful thing to do. I am sure I can apply that to GES.
WHAT QUALITIES WOULD YOU HOPE CHILDREN HAVE WHEN THEY LEAVE GES? Open minded, genuine, possessing a strong sense of right and wrong, a global outlook, curious, realising that there is more to learn than we can ever learn, there will always be more to learn; lifelong learning I suppose is the cliché. I hope they leave us as people who are eager to get out into the world and make a difference or do something with their lives. That doesn’t mean they must be Prime Minister or a global leader because that is not for everyone, but knowing who they are, and having an inner self confidence that makes them sure of the things that they could, or might want to do. I hope that GES students will have a good personal platform from which to do those things. We want them to leave to embrace tomorrow’s world.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE NEW SECONDARY CAMPUS IN VERSOIX? The idea of the secondary school is to build on the excellent reputation that has been created here amongst parents, and to offer our students who would normally leave from here, the obvious next step. The projected final size of the secondary school is 5-600, but that is about as far as we want to go. This is so that we can maintain that individual feeling, whilst being able to offer a breadth of subjects and activities that become possible at that level of student enrolment. It’s very important for me that we maintain this nurturing, familial feel. The secondary is a brand-new campus, only three kilometres from here actually, in Versoix. We have commissioned a Dutch educational architect called Dirk Jan Postel to design a dynamic learning environment. He designed the latest extension to this campus (Genthod), which is where our year 7 students are studying at the moment whilst we complete the new campus. We are creating an inspiring space which can be used for many different functions where we will be able to teach students, but also there will be creative areas, group work spaces, etc. We know that we will be offering the iGCSE, and following that an A-Level option.
WHAT ARE THE ASPECTS THAT PARENTS OF GES VALUE MOST ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL? The warm, welcoming atmosphere, the quality of the education on offer, and the small family community minded sprit of the place. You can feel it as soon as it comes in. There are happy, smiling children, who are well looked after. We know them individually, we know their names and characters, and this is first and foremost what parents value most. They also value the environment, the green space, the wonderful views. It lends a whole atmosphere and environment to the place which is difficult to put into words but it’s all part of it. As we open our secondary, we want to keep that. Although the new building is very modern and futuristic, which is important and we love it, at the same time we will still strive for that level of individualism that you see here now.
WHEN DID YOU ARRIVE HERE? August! I was here for a month and settled in nicely in time for the start of the new school year. | 47
Photo Copyright – Richard Powles-Brown internationalschoolparent.com
International School Parent Summer 2017
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I hope they leave us as people who are eager to get out into the world and make a difference or do something with their lives.
DO YOU HAVE FAMILY HERE? Other than my wife, not in Geneva. I have two boys who are grown up, one is 30 and the other 33, both live in West London which is great because it means we still have a connection back to London. I am a Grandad to two grandsons (aged 3, and a few months). This is great because it reconnects me with the very young, and it’s fascinating. I do have some relatives here (aunts and cousins) who we are gradually rediscovering and meeting which is lovely.
DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES? Singing is my greatest passion. Actually, my wife and I have just joined a choir in Geneva.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF SWITZERLAND? Well so far, Switzerland is brilliant. My wife and I both love the outdoors. We love walking, travelling, and trains! I love cycling so I will be on my bike, and I cycle to school most days. I have the same bike that I bought when I was 17. In its day it was very good, it’s a Reynolds 531 Steel frame that I am very fond of. Skiing, we haven’t done for a long time. I don’t know to what extent we will get back into that, but I did a lot when I was little and my father was a skier. I quite like the idea of putting snow shoes on so we would love to do that. We really love culture, so we will be going to the theatre, concerts, and opera. We went to a lovely concert in Tannay when we first arrived, so will definitely be doing more of that.
Geneva English School Awarded Excellence Across the Board Geneva English School has become the only international school in Geneva and also in Switzerland to receive an Excellent rating in its inspection report by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. The school, which has this year expanded into Secondary, received ‘Excellent’ in all eight aspects. The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) follows the UK Government’s high standards required for British Schools Overseas and the inspection was conducted in March this year (2017). In its findings, the report praises Geneva English School (GES) for its “engaging, relevant and cutting-edge education”, “motivational atmosphere” and “highly-committed staff”. The report describes the school as fostering a genuine spirit of enquiry, and developing articulate, confident, thoughtful learners. But it also emphasises the school’s caring and nurturing atmosphere. “Throughout the school, teachers and teaching assistants have an exceptionally warm and positive rapport with the pupils, instilling in them a ‘can do’ attitude, which builds their resilience and perseverance,” it states. “A common feature is teachers’ energy and enthusiasm.”
Exploring Switzerland is going to be amazing!
As an independent, British government-approved body, an inspection by ISI provides parents with the reassurance they need to ensure they are selecting the very best school for their child. Clare Allen, a parent of two GES pupils, 10-year-old Alfie and 7-year-old Charlotte, who is also a Teaching Assistant at the school, agrees entirely with the report. “What makes GES special? It’s just everything!” she says. “That nurturing environment, the kids are treated as individuals, children and teachers are so happy, and walk into any classroom and you can see a great level of learning going on.”
Photo Copyright – Richard Powles-Brown
GES Headmaster, Tim Meunier said, “Everyone in the school is very proud to have been praised highly for our learning standards, environment and educational approach, which we believe are absolutely right for today’s young people. It is an exceptional validation for the school and one that is very encouraging as we expand into the Secondary years.” The full ISI inspection report and more information about the school is available at www.geschool.ch
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The Search for the Ideal School
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Parents want their children to have the best school experience possible. Teachers want to teach in the most satisfying school possible. And kids want … well, what do kids want?
BY ALYS MENDUS UNIVERSITY OF HULL, UK BY PAUL MAGNUSON LEYSIN AMERICAN SCHOOL, SWITZERLAND internationalschoolparent.com
International School Parent Summer 2017
his past year at Leysin American School (LAS), we asked the kids. What would you include in your ideal school? What would students learn? How would teachers teach? What would it physically look like? Teachers and 22 middle school students, ages 12 to 15, met once a week for an hour over two months. On the first day we told students that they would be presenting their ideal schools in a poster session at a conference at our school, to which all of our seventh through tenth graders would come as well as some students and faculty members from other schools. We also told them that an expert in ideal schools, Alys, would arrive in the last weeks of the project to give feedback on the students’ ideal schools based on her many school visits across the world. In the first few sessions, students researched school systems (e.g. national systems in Norway and Saudi Arabia, charter schools in the United States) or particular philosophical stances (e.g. Steiner Waldorf and Green Schools). Students recorded what they learned about the school systems in preparation for a mock school board meeting. We convened the school board in Week 3. Into a hat went the roles of school board members, visiting salespersons, parents in the audience, and school personnel. There was only one agenda item: choosing the ideal school for a new middle school that was going to be built in the district. Students worked in groups for the next several weeks to complete a list of tasks they needed to accomplish to present their ideal school. Their completed tasks would be assembled into poster sessions at the conference. As one could predict with middle school students, some groups jumped eagerly into the task and others held back, distracted by this or that, until the last week when we found extra time to get everything finished and glued together. The finished products looked good: three-ply posters, architectural models of cardboard or plastic (printed on a 3D printer), media on laptops, and even trifold handouts and business cards made by one group of industrious girls. The day of the conference the students arrived in professional dress. They presented their work and answered questions before meeting in a breakout session with Alys. Slyly, Alys had prepared her talk to show links between schools she had visited and these new student projects. During the first Ideal School meeting time that Alys attended, she spoke to students in each of the six groups and asked them tricky questions about the ethos of their schools. Through these dialogues she was able to understand the positionality of the schools that they were creating. On the surface it appeared that four out of the six schools seemed very similar to LAS, which on the one hand was a credit to the current system, but on the other
hand raised questions of how seriously the students had taken up the challenge to design their own ideal school. However, once Alys began to get to know the students she was able to dig further and extrapolate what made each school unique. One group of students explained how their school had no grades and was based on a project-based curriculum in the arts where the gardening class grew the vegetables to be cooked in cookery classes and where science, maths and English were incorporated into each project. Alys shared with them how their vision was similar to the Putney School, a progressive boarding school in Vermont, which she visited in 2013. The Putney School has a school farm and students are involved in all parts of the animal husbandry, including get-ting up at 5:30 a.m. to do the milking! Another group, although keen to continue traditional subjects, keep similar teacher roles, homework, and grading, wanted to change the classroom environment from rows of desks to an open plan with movable benches. Alys told the students about Solvik, a Steiner Waldorf free-school in Järna, Sweden, which she visited in 2011. Solvik also has open plan classrooms with moveable furniture, fireplaces to sit beside, and big window ledges to perch on. A third group optimised something that is important in the day-to-day life of these 12 to 15 year olds, namely “gaming.” Their school was designed to be run by international gaming champions, where gaming skills would be taught and homework would be finishing a level. The building design had a huge auditorium for collaborative games and a massage parlour for aching shoulders from long gaming sessions. In addition to gaming there was math and physical education classes. Alys showed them photos from her 2016 visit to the Green School in Bali, where the middle school uses gaming approaches in project based learning.
> Alys explains her background
“I am a teacher and currently I am in the final year of a PhD, on a scholarship from the University of Hull, UK in Freedom to Learn. I am using autoethnography to search for my Ideal School around the world. My research has taken me to over 150 schools in 19 countries. I have been to public and independent schools, with wide ranging pedagogies from traditional to alternative, including progressive, democratic, and home education. As I visit each school (or place of learning), I look for the “gems” (the aspects that to me make that place exciting) and then share these impressions and approaches with other people that I think will be interested in learning about these ways and might use them to make changes of their own. I am seeing myself as a “cultural broker” (from Giroux, 2015) on an iterative, rhizomatic journey sharing stories of educating differently.” In addition to sharing her own gems with the middle school students at LAS, Alys also developed a survey of open-ended questions for the students to complete the day after the conference. In this manner the LAS middle school students can share their thoughts with all of us.
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• The results showed that homework that was not finishing work from class was not a popular option, although a couple of students felt that optional extra work was fine but shouldn’t be compulsory for all. • Eleven of 17 students supported school systems that had grades. A few of them felt that grades would help them to know their progress and skill level. However, many students emphasised that grades in their Ideal School were not very important. They were concerned that an overemphasis on grading would decrease confidence and self-esteem. • Thirteen of 18 students did not want a school uniform. The arguments were in favour of supporting students’ own ability to be unique, the need to be comfortable, and the desire to have their own choice in what they wear. The five students who were in favour of school uniforms thought that a uniform made everyone more equal, which could prevent bullying. But, they added, the uniform policy would have to have a wide range of options to choose from.
• There was unanimous support for their Ideal School having classes, although Alys had repeatedly emphasised that the Ideal School does not need to be in a building nor even have a time-table, sharing with students notions about “Democratic Education”. One sceptical student responded: “Our ideal school would have classes because without classes the school isn’t a school”. • There was also unanimous support for having teachers, which was great news for us teachers. Especially because teachers familiar with the Ideal School project were jokingly worried about their jobs! Alys observed the influence of the current use of team-teaching in the Middle School on student responses, with several commenting that the Ideal School would have small classes with two teachers. Some students recognised that the role of the teacher was to keep the students safe and that teachers could play a different role, supervising and guiding more self-directed learning. How-ever, some agreed they prefer teacher-led instruction rather than self-led learning.
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Specific suggestions for LAS included a request to start later: 9 a.m. instead of 8 a.m., for example. The later start in the morning was supported by the argument that “students need to be more awake in order to learn better.” Students would also like more choice when it comes to which classes they attend… and more recess! There was also a suggestion that students be able to give feedback on school rules as “it is important to be fair and let the students suggest something.” These comments might suggest a trend towards students being more autonomous in their education, a central goal of the LAS middle school. Working on projects with the goal of presentations at a school conference – with outside visitors, professional dress, and that little extra edge of sharing one’s work with strangers – helped some of the middle school students to think outside the box. Hats off to the students who took up the challenge! They created something new and provided all us parents and educators with some insights to reflect on.
Parent organisations and schools interested in running an Ideal School project are invited to contact Alys (alysme@ gmail.com) and Paul (pmagnuson@las.ch) for tips based on what they learned during the course of this project. Best of luck on your own searches for the Ideal School!
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International School Parent Summer 2017
Exercise, a booming trend for the good or ‌? BY MEHERNAAZ DUGAST ROUILLÉ
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Fitness centres, Wellness studios, Personal Training studios have been growing in numbers since many years especially in the urban cities. Indeed there is a need for this service in our modern society due to seated jobs and a sedentary lifestyle where we practically sit all day long. We all are quite aware that we need to exercise for prevention and cure and also to create movement for our joints and muscles. As well as to balance out the musculoskeletal system due to various kinds of sports we indulge in, as recreation or competition or simply due to a sedentary lifestyle.
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HOW DO WE EXERCISE CORRECTLY AND SCIENTIFICALLY? A question which everyone must ask themselves before they indulge in an exercise program by themselves or with a personal trainer. Mehernaaz quotes “Whether you are 7 or 77 years old, a wrong exercise is like taking a wrong medication.” 1. C hoose the right exercises which suit your posture, 1 medical history, muscle imbalances, nature of work and stress levels. Why so? Everyone has a different body structure, posture, nature of work, digestion, stress levels, etc. For example, • An exercise program for a butcher and an accountant will not be the same due to different muscles used in their work • An individual with an excessive thoracic or lumbar spine will not have the same exercise program
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• Someone who is very exhausted would benefit more from a walk in nature or a Yoga class than by running or going for a Body pump class.., since the sympathetic nervous system will release catabolic hormones like cortisol to combat the stress in the body. Thus creating more fatigue, breakdown, depressed immune system and decreased growth and repair of the body and thus making him / her more exhausted
2. Sequence the exercises in the right order. Why so?
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The order in which you perform exercises is very essential so that the muscles work correctly, to not fatigue certain muscles and get the maximum out of your program. For example, • All abdominal exercises must be always done at the end of your strength exercise program, never in the beginning • The exercises using multiple muscles like squats, must be done in the beginning of the program
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
– TIPS – Mobilize your joints first Follow up by a stretching program Stretch your tight muscles only Then go into the strength part of your program Strengthen your weak muscles only Finish with a few gentle movements to relax your muscles
If you skip the above steps, is when the muscle imbalances are created, therefore causing serious muscle and joint injuries, poor postures, aches and pains, etc. We often see individuals in the gym with great muscle tone but extremely poor postures, cyclists often have very rounded mid backs… therefore, the above steps are vital for the wellbeing of the musculoskeletal system whether one wants to exercise for general fitness or for improving their sport or posture.
3. Perform the exercises with good form. Why so?
• Someone with gas or constipation, needs to clear out their digestion along with an exercise program. Otherwise they will not activate their deep core muscles effectively or not at all due to the incapacity of the body to do so due to bloated intestines – TIPS – 1. Get a professional to assess which muscles are weak and tight in your body so you can program your exercises accordingly 2. Take up group classes which are in small groups, where you are well corrected 3. Do not exercise using DVD’s, the program is not made for your body or your specific needs 4. Wrong exercise selection will cause injuries like aches and pains which may develop into herniated discs, back and neck pain, hip pain and distort one’s posture 5. Make sure you have checked the certifications and experience of the professionals who you work with - Ask questions
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Poor form will give poor result as well as injuries. – TIPS – 1. Buy a good book which will teach you the correct form 2. Get a qualified and experienced personal trainer to teach you 3. There are plenty of personal trainers, one has to choose wisely, since all are not necessarily correctly trained. Some are not even certified. This is the sad truth of the fitness industry, where the courses are not standardised. Therefore an exercise for one trainer might be correct but for another might be totally wrong. Therefore ask questions
4. Change exercise program between 1 to 2 months approximately. Why so?
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• To shock the muscles so that they react and not plateau out • To take you to the next level of fitness – TIPS – 1. One can change the various components of an exercise program - the exercises itself, the number of repetitions, the number of sets, the speed, the intensity, etc. 2. One can mix these components effectively to get the client to the next level, however slowly, progressively and safely
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International School Parent Summer 2017
WHAT IS IMPORTANT? One must prioritize the 4 components of fitness – >
Flexibility
>
Strength
>
Stability
>
Power
BUT HOW? Flexibility and Stability must always be given priority over strength and power. Why? • This is so because if your flexibility is poor, your strength will suffer due to reduced range of motion in the joints • Poor core and abdominal strength, will lead to reduced strength in the other muscles of the body. This is because the core and deep abdominal muscles are the power house of the body, poor strength in these muscles will lead to the collapse and weakening of the other muscles of the human body • When flexibility is improved, muscle balance is restored in the musculoskeletal system and hence mobility of the individual improves • Stability provides a strong base and support for movement and thus reduces the chance of injury • Strength building comes in next, after a strong foundation of Flexibility and Stability. Why? • Once the body has developed sufficient flexibility and deep abdominal strength, that’s when the body can cope with strength exercises • A strong foundation of core strength is needed for the human body to support the other muscles and joints of the human body. Without a strong base, no structure can hold itself for long • Functional strength exercises help to improve activities of daily living like picking up children or boxes, pushing or pulling furniture • To improve posture • To improve sports performance • It is important to strengthen the postural muscles regularly and all the other muscles which are weak in one’s body
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If one is looking for general fitness, one must first work towards flexibility, mobility, and core strength, followed by a muscle strength program for your specific weak muscles
WHAT ABOUT POWER TRAINING? • Finally Power, which is only essential for those who are into high levels of sports performance and/or have jobs requiring high levels of power • For example, construction workers, packers and movers, tennis players, rugby players, football players or any other sport at a competitive level • Power training must be avoided, if one is not into the above activities, unless one desires to. However, progression from strength to power training or combination of both must be done gradually and under supervision • Unfortunately, many individuals do power training in the gyms or studios or group classes, without any base whatsoever of flexibility, mobility, core strength and general strength. This will lead to serious injuries now or in years to come
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PAY ATTENTION TO 1. Machine training will weaken the individuals from inside out and cause many muscle and joint imbalances, leading to injury and pain. Use machines very rarely and only in case of required physiotherapy 2. Many individuals often cycle, swim, play tennis, ski, hike, snowboard, etc… without following a stretching program before and after their sport. Thus leading to serious injuries, poor postures, and in many cases preventing them to follow their sport or passion in the long run due to pain or injuries. Stretching and mobilising the muscles and joints before and after are vital for muscle balance 3. If you wish to continue and improve your passion or sport activity, as well as stay fit and mobile as you get older… START A FLEXIBILITY AND STABILITY PROGRAM NOW!!!” quotes Mehernaaz. She runs a group class called Back&Abs, tailored for the same 4. TAILOR-MADE exercise programs is what one needs since our bodies are very different from each other 5. Combine weight training, resistance training, Hatha Yoga, Swiss ball training, free hand exercises, foam rollers and medicinal ball training to give your program a complete look and feel
“Whether you are 7 or 77 years old, a wrong exercise is like taking a wrong medication.”
All the very best!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mehernaaz Dugast Rouillé is a Personal Trainer, Back & Neck Pain & Posture Specialist and Hatha Yoga Practitioner with an experience of over 20 years in Lausanne, Paris and in Mumbai. She works with individual clients personally as well as conducts small group classes in Lausanne. Her small group classes like the Back&Abs, Hatha Yoga and Body Toning are conducted keeping in mind that not all participants will perform the same exercises due to their differences. She also extends her services to corporate houses and associations wherein she conducts various seminars and workshops on health, fitness and wellbeing. Email - consult@meher4fitness.com Mobile - 078 842 18 78 Website - www.meher4fitness.com
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International School Parent Summer 2017
STUDY MECHANICAL ENGINEERING at one of the best technical universities worldwide & #1 in Germany | 59
What your kids get: Industry trainings with worldwide renowned German companies such as Daimler, Bosch & Carl Zeiss World-class Mechanical Engineering Elite teaching & small classes Mentoring program & career guidance T prevake a sn i e our ew and ak j ProgSummeroin r a in Ch ms ina o Germ any! r
International community On-campus dormitory KIT Infrastructure Additional workshops & language courses
Application Deadline: April, 30 | Karlsruhe, Germany | English-Taught www.carlbenzschool.com
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How The TASIS Summer Programs Built An Incomparable Performing Arts Program BY MARK CHEVALIER
Each summer a community of professional artists gathers amongst the mountains and lakes of southern Switzerland and devotes itself to providing a transformative experience to students hailing from more than 50 nations. internationalschoolparent.com
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or seven weeks each summer, a community of professional artists gathers amongst the mountains and lakes of southern Switzerland and devotes itself to providing a transformative experience to students hailing from more than 50 nations. “It’s a beautiful thing,” said writer, actor, musician, and educator Andrew Leonard, who has spent his summers in Lugano since 2013. “The program and setting draw a special type of artist and create a special type of experience for those artists.” An indispensable component of the TASIS Summer Programs and known simply as DPAT, this Dedicated Performing Arts Team of actors, musicians, dancers, and writers runs comprehensive musical theater courses for middle school and high school students and performing arts workshops for younger students; prepares students of all ages for a variety of musical theater, drama, dance, and music performances; showcases its own considerable talents with a staff talent show while encouraging students to do the same; and offers a musical revue, classical music evening, and other cultural events that often bring leading professionals from the region to campus.
THE GENESIS OF DPAT
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The arts have played a central role at The American School in Switzerland since its founding in 1956 by M. Crist Fleming, who believed “a love of literature, the arts, and the performing arts is the heart and soul of education.” Chairman of the Board Lynn Fleming Aeschliman has followed in her mother’s footsteps as TASIS’s greatest champion of the arts, and while the performing arts have long been an integral part of the School’s summer offerings, it was the creation of DPAT in 2013 that pushed the program to new heights. The TASIS Summer Programs consist of three divisions – CDE (ages 4½–10), MSP (ages 11–13), and TSP (ages 14–18) – and prior to 2013, each division had an independent performing arts program. Following the summer of 2012, Todd Fletcher – who had been involved with the arts at TASIS since 1988 and wrote an original musical about M. Crist Fleming in 2000 – proposed a set of centralized standards and the creation of one team to work across all three divisions. Fletcher drew upon his extensive experience with the performing arts at TASIS to open an impressive treatise, and DPAT was born. “I don’t think there’s a single other program out there like it.” Andrew Leonard “Todd was suddenly freed up to hire true professionals who could focus on what they are passionate about – the art – without all the other responsibilities that come with being a summer counselor,” said Matthew Frazier-Smith, who was hired as a theater and dance teacher in 2013, promoted to Assistant Director of DPAT for the first session of 2014, took over for Fletcher as director for the second session that summer, and has led the thriving program ever since.
THE DOUBLE MEANING OF “DEDICATED” Frazier-Smith has retained many holdovers from Fletcher’s time while adding several new hires of his own. His team now consists of 17 professionals from all over the world with areas of expertise ranging from acting and singing to choreographing and playwriting. They typically spend 75 percent of their time teaching and 25 percent performing for students. “We get to create new material, work on new musicals, and inspire children from around the world,” said Leonard. “And we also get to perform at the same exact time. I don’t think there’s a single other program out there like it.” “The opportunity we have is unparalleled in the world of arts education,” added Mikey Rosenbaum, a DPAT teacher since 2014. “The team, along with the willingness (and courage) of the students to create and learn and grow together, is why I continue to return to this magical place.” The artists’ enthusiasm and love for their craft is palpable the moment they set foot on campus each June, and they all understand what it will take to prepare students for a series of original musical theater productions and a variety of other performances in just three weeks—only to do it all over again with an entirely new group of students when the second session begins. TJ Liquori, who earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the world-renowned Berklee College of Music and teaches in Massachusetts during the academic year, joined the team in 2015 and concedes that he did not initially understand that the “Dedicated” part of the group’s title was added to address the need for a team of teaching artists dedicated specifically to the performing arts. “To be honest, when I first joined the Dedicated Performing Arts Team, I thought that ‘Dedicated’ was added to the title to mean ‘devoted to a task or purpose.’ This was my first impression of the team; there is truly no job left unfinished. If you need someone to help you manage backstage at your performance, five people will volunteer in their free time. If you need to highlight scripts for your students, you’ll have multiple other team members in the office within five minutes. This ‘dedication’ to the team and its students as a whole makes DPAT as great as it is.”
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“I’m amazed at how much our teachers are willing to put into it,” said Frazier-Smith, who has a BS in Theater, is about to finish an MFA in Dance, and worked as a dancer, actor, musician, choreographer, and educator with a number of prestigious companies (including Disney Theatrical Group and Merry-Go-Round Playhouse) before coming to TASIS. “They choose to put in long hours all summer because of how much they enjoy working with the students TASIS attracts.”
While it is important that student performers have fun, it is imperative that they find meaning. And meaning, as Fletcher states in the treatise, “is to be found in stories, words, and music that our students can live with for the rest of their lives, material that contributes to their intellectual and spiritual development, pieces whose themes, messages, and morals can be referred to as the children grow into men and women.” https://youtu.be/j-63i937J5U?list=PLHcvgnN_XiAexQaIjkcJ1IUqnu0oXDgC4
SKETCH TAKES ON BULLYING Actor, writer, and educator Stephanie Figer, who has been a part of DPAT since 2014, wrote the book and lyrics and directed Sketch, a thoughtful musical that compels its audience to examine the perils of middle school through the eyes of a bully victim. Figer collaborated closely with fellow DPAT members Liquori and Mikey Rosenbaum, who co-wrote the music for the show.
THE AIMS OF THE PROGRAM As Fletcher lays out beautifully in his treatise, a successful performing arts program is one that provides both fun and meaning, accounts for the importance of both process and event, creates opportunities for joy (defined as the summation of fun, meaning, struggle, and success), empowers students to be collaborators, recognizes the primacy of language, and imparts life lessons. “It is an enormous pleasure to witness the unveiling of hidden talents, the realization of uncharted potential, and the joy that accompanies such moments of discovery.” Matthew Frazier-Smith Now that Frazier-Smith has guided DPAT for five full summer sessions, he can take for granted that, at a minimum, both his staff and his students will work incredibly hard, accomplish more than they thought would be possible, and have plenty of fun along the way. He and his team also go to great lengths to create an environment in which each student will contribute actively and find his or her own meaning in the process. “Many of our students are performing for the first time,” he said. “It is an enormous pleasure to witness the unveiling of hidden talents, the realization of uncharted potential, and the joy that accompanies such moments of discovery. At the end of each session, it’s such a pleasure to celebrate the courage exhibited by these young artists to traverse unfamiliar territory and boldly share their discoveries with an audience.” Frazier-Smith also feels strongly that one of DPAT’s most important jobs is to model ideas and values for students. This may take the form of exhibiting a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, and a creative spirit, but it also includes ensuring that all the original musical theater productions—the heart of the program—convey messages that help combat pressing issues faced by today’s youth.
Performed by students taking the Middle School Program’s Musical Theater course on both July 20 and August 12, Sketch centers on a bookish 11-year-old girl named Violet, a social outcast who spends her days ducking insults and dreaming up villainous alter-egos for her classmates and teachers. When the bullies who have harassed her for years discover her artistic talents, they convince her that sketching parodies of students and teachers is a victimless crime. At the shows climax, Violet must decide between using her talents for her own selfish gain or for the good of others. “The kids immediately connected with the bullying theme, and they all had stories about their experiences at their respective schools.” Stephanie Figer Figer – who earned a degree in Theater Arts from Point Park University and since 2008 has divided her time between performance and teaching, working for both Merry-Go-Round Playhouse and Children’s Stage Adventures – wanted her students to work with a script that authentically represented their experience as modern-day middle schoolers. “Middle school kids have it tough,” she explained in her director’s note. “Stuck somewhere between elementary and high school, they have to navigate new hallways, peer groups, responsibilities, and feelings. They cope in all sorts of ways: some might sketch pictures, others resort to bullying, and still others might even try musical theater.” With heartbreaking stories of bullying-related suicides in the news far too often and the sobering statistic that bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims (according to a Yale University study), it’s clear that this is a pressing social issue in demand of more attention.
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A further study in Britain concluded that at least half the suicides among young people are related to bullying and determined that 10–14-year-old girls may be the group at the greatest risk. Figer took aim at this demographic with the character of Violet, and she was amazed at how her students responded. “Working on the show was a really eye-opening experience,” she said. “The kids immediately connected with the bullying theme, and they all had stories about their experiences at their respective schools.” Students approached the topic thoughtfully, acknowledging that we don’t live in a black-and-white world where people are either bullies or victims. “What was interesting was that no one saw themselves as being one of the ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys’ all the time,” said Figer. “Everyone cited instances where they were picked on (like Violet), but they also confided that they had been guilty of treating other classmates poorly.” Given the diverse student body at TASIS – more than 50 nationalities are represented on campus each summer – Figer’s students quickly came to understand that their experiences were not tied to their particular home country, cultural background, or group of friends.
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“Because TASIS provides a built-in multicultural experience, it really hit home that the difficult choices young people are faced with are universal,” she said. “No one is alone. We are all connected, and a decision made in one corner of the world can have a massive ripple effect.” Once students dove in and connected with the characters, they took ownership of the show and demonstrated a level of dedication that amazed Figer. “It really became important to them that the story be told clearly, bravely, and in a way that the audience would enjoy,” she said. “Every lyric had to be understood, every note had to be right on pitch, and every joke had to land. They wouldn’t accept any less than excellence from themselves – a TASIS standard. In the end, they showed a maturity and work ethic far beyond their years.”
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL Students who have graduated from the Middle School Program (MSP) and will be returning as TSP students (ages 14–18) this coming summer will now have the opportunity to continue their growth in the intensive TSP Musical Theater course, which will be offered for the first time since 2014. “I am so thrilled the TSP Musical Theater course has been reinstituted because it means these young actors will get to continue their artistic journey under the guidance of the best instructors the industry has to offer!” said Figer. The comprehensive course, which is designed to build upon the MSP offering, includes classes in music, dance, and acting taught by leading professionals. In support of the founding DPAT principle that students must also be collaborators – providing them, as the treatise states, “a sense of ownership that comes from true contribution to a project or process” – students play a significant role in crafting the original musical they perform at the end of the session. Liquori, who also wrote much of the music for the TSP production last summer, is thrilled that TSP students will now be able to devote as much time to the original musical as their MSP counterparts. “As exhilarating as it is to pull off a polished, 30-minute musical in just seven rehearsals, having the additional time with the students next summer will greatly improve the entire process,” he said. “The students will have more time to grow as singers, actors, and dancers to build a greater foundation for the final performance. In addition, they will leave with a higher sense of growth, fulfillment, and accomplishment, having developed these important performance skills along the way.” Perhaps most importantly of all, the Musical Theater course will provide the DPAT teachers much more time to get to know the students they work with. “Learning more about them helps us teach them more effectively and provides a stronger bond between students and staff,” said Liquori. “It is an entire team of artists (both teachers and students) that produces a TASIS production, and the TSP Musical Theater course will help us make that team as strong as it can be.” https://youtu.be/F5Ujs1WX92I?list=PLHcvgnN_XiAexQaIjkcJ1IUqnu0oXDgC4
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International School Parent Summer 2017
FAMOUS ADDRESSES FEAR OF FAILURE Last summer’s original TSP musical, Famous, explored a theme that surely hit home with many of its student performers, most of whom were participating in their first musical production. The show was performed in the Palmer Center on the TASIS campus at the conclusion of both the first and second summer sessions. Written by Rosenbaum and Liquori and directed by Rosenbaum, Famous tackles the idea that we must be forced outside our comfort zone to reach our potential and that it is only through our mistakes that we learn what we are truly capable of. “The search for fame or success comes in many forms, including high school popularity,” said Rosenbaum, who studied Musical Theater at Belmont University and now works as a writer and actor in New York City and Nashville. “We wanted to explore that search, sometimes through social media or pop culture, as a way to find acceptance and a platform to perhaps do good in the world.” The musical follows the paths of a few young artists in their quest for recognition and admiration through performance in the fictitious worldwide reality competition television show Who...Wants to be Famous? Contestants compete for their claim to fame and in turn find out what it means to be known and the opportunities that recognition can bring. “The struggle these characters are going through, accepting the possibilities of failure yet attempting achievement nonetheless, is an intentional parallel to the courageous students in our shows,” said Rosenbaum. “Overcoming personal fears became an integral
part of Famous, not only the story itself but the process the students go through to produce the piece itself. Many, as a part of this musical activity, had never performed in a musical before, some never having sung or danced in public, even!” “The polished productions are shining examples of the type of students that TASIS attracts: highly dedicated, bright, and talented individuals.” TJ Liquori As Liquori indicated, without the benefit of a TSP Musical Theater course, the group had to rely upon just seven evening rehearsals to pull the whole show together. “Usually after finishing a TASIS performance, my first thought is, ‘How did they do that in less than four weeks?’ said Liquori. “Not only do the students remember all their speaking lines in a language that is often not their first, but they learn original music and choreography to go along with it. The performance quality matches that of performances that have months of rehearsing. The polished productions are shining examples of the type of students that TASIS attracts: highly dedicated, bright, and talented individuals.” “The amount of work and time that each of the talented performers contributed to the production was absolutely astounding,” added Rosenbaum. “From day one, they stretched themselves and discovered talents they never knew they had. Every step of the short, rigorous rehearsal process was filled with a sense of joy, resulting in a beautiful, meaningful production.” https://youtu.be/ei6D2LLNbyw?list=PLHcvgnN_XiAexQaIjkcJ1IUqnu0oXDgC4
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International School Parent Summer 2017
IMAGINATION STATION TACKLES SCREEN ADDICTION While the debates about the effects of screen time on a child’s development will rage on interminably, with opinions ranging from the idea that screens are “digital heroin” to the belief that this conclusion is “digital garbage,” it’s clear that many children are spending too much time staring at screens and not enough time interacting with nature or engaging in imaginative play. Leonard, who teaches Musical Theater and Drama at a private school in New York City during the academic year, developed the idea for last summer’s CDE musical, Imagination Station, after observing an alarming trend in his American classes. “Whether it was my high school students who didn’t want to look up from their iPads, or my five-year-old student who had a breakdown when I had to take away her smartphone, I noticed one thread that tied all of these instances together: obsession with technology,” he said. “I realized my students are increasingly invested in the screens in front of them instead of what is inside their heads.” Leonard set to work and penned the book, music, and lyrics for Imagination Station, which premiered at TASIS on July 20 and was also performed on August 12. 66 |
“I needed to write a musical for children to perform that helps us all become excited by our own potential – our potential to create and to use our imaginations,” he said. “As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of TASIS, let us look to the future, to the next 60 years, and all remember what is vital to our success in education: children must remain imaginative, and use their imaginations to help change the world.” Imagination Station is set in the year 2500. Everyone lives on a space station, robots have taken control of humans, and reading, writing, and individual thinking have become extinct. A lone child remains curious and embarks on a magical adventure to an exciting and colorful land, where she begins to understand the importance of creativity, imagination, and individual thought. Leonard, who also wrote and directed an uplifting musical called Petey Peach Tree that was performed in the summer of 2014 and will be reprised by the TASIS Elementary School Theater Program this June, expects even his youngest students to serve as collaborators in the artistic process.
“I think this show lit a lot of ‘lights’ in the young brains of the children who participated,” said Leonard. “I like to make sure we discuss the point of my musicals with the children performing them, and we had many beautiful discussions about why it’s important for us to use our imaginations.”
A PLACE FOR EVERYONE Frazier-Smith is adamant that all students – regardless of experience level – can thrive in the performing arts program at TASIS, and he encourages anyone with an interest in acting, writing, singing, dancing, or playing an instrument to apply for a spot this summer. “We are excited to work with every student,” he said. “We want kids who are enthusiastic about any of the areas. Passion is far more important than experience.” “It’s remarkable what these students are consistently able to achieve if given the opportunity and proper resources.” Mikey Rosenbaum One of the biggest benefits of working exclusively with original scripts and student-created material is that the musical productions and the Musical Theater courses can be molded to best suit the strengths of each student performer. “Our teachers have the flexibility to make whatever adjustments they feel are necessary,” said Frazier-Smith. “Their goal is to push the most advanced students to new heights and to help even the most inexperienced students get up to speed before they’re called upon to perform.” The inspiring results are what keep the core team returning year after year.
“It can never just be about moving chess pieces on the board,” he said. “A lot of the staging and choreography for Imagination Station came out of their own ideas in rehearsal. I let them create ideas by using their imagination, and then I tried to incorporate those into the final product—truly giving them ownership of the powerful potential to create!”
“It’s remarkable what these students are consistently able to achieve if given the opportunity and proper resources,” added Rosenbaum. “The growth these students demonstrate in such a short amount of time is nothing short of incredible, and those who continue to return each summer improve tremendously in not only their performance abilities but in their social, interpersonal, and leadership skills as well.”
The net result was an event that was entertaining for the audience and a process that was highly educational for the young performers.
Visit the TASIS SmugMug page to see many more images from the 2016 Summer Programs.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
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The latest news from Switzerland’s top International Schools internationalschoolparent.com
SCHOOL International NEWS School – British Parent School Summer of Geneva 2017 tions Model United Na ) group ited Nations (MUN The BSG Model Un first Berlin to attend its recently travelled to days ent, staged over 3 conference. The ev topics debated a range of with 300 delegates, crisis illance, the refugee including state surve ria. It was a valuable and the conflict in Sy nts to understand the opportunity for stude inded , and to meet like-m workings of the UN has Europe. The event students from across up to grow the MUN gro given us the chance ed. nferences are plann further, and future co
Enrichment W eek BSG students in both the Primary and Secondary se ctions participated in a very successful En richment Week. Our Years 1 through 9 classe s worked in vertic al learning grou ps on an overarching them e of ‘Transformati ons’. The week involved cross-curricular ac tivities in Art, En glish, Drama, Ge og raphy, Science, P.E. and foreign languag es. Students we re ab le to showcase their script-writing, co stume designing, acting and problem-so lving skills. What talent we have am ongst us!
DELF Diplomas
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finally Ministry of Education This month, the French rk: the DELF e truly dedicated wo sent us the fruit of som selection of our Last academic year, a Diploma certificates. to take the DELF m Year 6 to 10, chose students, ranging fro BSG facilitated d of the summer term. examination at the en this external ration and logistics for the registration, prepa nch acquired by redits the level of Fre examination which acc mon framework. to the European com the students according ssed and who took the exam pa All of the 33 students d themselves. which they challenge achieved the level for embly to tificate in a special ass They received their cer vo à tous! tic achievement. Bra celebrate their linguis
Trip to London Students in Ye ars 10 and 11 enjoyed a scho ol trip to London this spring. Highlig hts included vis its to the Imperial War M useum, the Ta te Modern, th e Th ames Barrier, the HM S Belfast and the Jack the Ri pp er tour. In each ca se, links were made to elem ents of the GCSE H umanities curri culum, bringing History, Geogr aphy and Art to life for all. Eq ually unforgettable were the teac her-student ra p battles and karaoke, and the game of cricket in th e park.
Visit to the Museum of Games ed the This spring, our Year 1 and 2 classes studi lement what topic “Toys: Past and Present”. To comp Museum of was learned in lessons, they visited the ial exhibition Games in Vevey where they saw a spec t traditional on British Games. They also learned abou was very games from around the world. The tour alike loved informative and students and teachers out the seeing the old games. Of course, trying a fantastic day! games was definitely the highlight of
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SCHOOL International NEWS School – Collège Parent Champittet Summer 2017 Pully Digital reputation workshop Collège Champittet organised a prev ention workshop on digital identity for stude nts in grades 7 and 8. This workshop taug ht them how to behave on social media in orde r to protect their digital reputation and also helped the students understand the impact of what they post online.
ject ssroom pro Global Cla et ge Champitt ic year, Collè This academ g in a participatin h grade are pupils of 5t ol Village Scho ct with The je ro p l ua biling ional ass Internat d the Comp an n to us o in H Education ord Anglia oha, both N D in l o ho Sc llège. ls of the Co sister schoo schools and ge n to exchan s the childre w lo al ct je This pro d French, in English an es g sa es m online osphere. ational atm in an intern
Humanitarian trip to Cambodia p of students During the school break, a small grou a humanitarian travelled to Cambodia to take part in help set up project. Our students were on site to a school. The an access to clean drinking water in h involved the set-up took place during an event whic as Northbridge villagers, parents and students as well Education school International School, a Nord Anglia
ge Champittet. in Cambodia and sister school of Collè
Career discovery fair Collège Champittet recently hosted a Career discovery fair for grades 11, 12 and 13. On this occasio n, students met with professi onals from a variety of sectors and industrie s. The discussions and presenta tions helped students shape or fina lise their future career plans.
en ess of Champittet’s vegetable gard Learning while gardening: the succ pittet’s take turns to look after Collège Cham Each week, groups of 6 to 8 students them do with enthusiasm and that allows vegetable garden. An activity that they one s counting the number of vegetable to practice their mathematics skills (by seed can give, for example), but also
teaches them about nature.
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SCHOOL NEWS – GEMS World Academy International School Parent Summer 2017
Of Mice and Mozart This year, our primary students from Grades 1-5 awed us with their spectacular musical performance entitled “Of Mice and Mozart”. Months of hard work learning songs and rehearsing lines and stage moves, paid off as the children presented to family, friends and fellow students. Behind the scenes, parents volunteered to create and make the 90
Celebrating our Cultures Our annual Intercultural Day was a great success. On hosted this whole school and community event in
Saturday, April 1st, we
our GEMS World Academy
Switzerland Sports Centre, with many parents and students dressed in their traditional national costumes. Over 25 country stands , filled with delicious local dishes and drinks, formed a lovely market square . Families listened to
costumes necessary for the production, decorated and painted scenes and on the night, helped the 90 children get into costume and make-up. This is the second annual musical performance by the primary students and following two years of rave reviews, we look forward to many more. There is most definitely an upswing in the Arts at GEMS!
the younger students sing songs from across the world, followed by a collective Scottish dance and a country and flag parade led by the local Fanfare of Etoy. In the afternoon, there were a variety of activities such as World Dance workshops, a trivia quiz, Lego monument building, football and rugby, organised by GEMS staff, Intersoccer, Rugbytots and Bricks4Kidz.
70 | The day was a testament to our community; international, caring, respectful and always happy to contribute
to a fun time.
FUTURE-YOU We’ve all heard people say “the futur e is
unknown” and ask questions like “Wh at will the younger generations face in the employment world with so many changes taking place on an almost daily basis?” At GEMS, we strive to prepare our stude nts as best as possible for their futur e. We might not have all the answers, but we get professionals and experts in to come and talk to the stude nts and open their minds to the endless possibilities. One even t does this in particular and that is our “FUTURE-YOU” day. This year, we offered various workshops for our secondary students that were run by job specialists to allow the discovery of different industries, profe ssions and trends. In the evening, we hosted a special speaker event where not only our students, but also families and outside guests were welcomed. Speakers John Zimmer and Marco Lamb ertini captivated the audience with perti nent questions, facts and stories. John Zimmer, international spea ker, started his talk with: “the two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you know why”. His talk touched upon how to be your best every day, to have purpose, serve others and be grateful and how to be a good prese nter and speaker; a life skill important in today’s world. Marco Lamb ertini, Director General of the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), said that today is the era of humans. With the accelerated use of natural resources over the last 50 years and the disappearance of certain spec ies of wild- and sea-life, we need to make changes. The conclusion was that in order to make these changes, the WWF and similar organisations need innovative, entrepreneurial people with all kinds of different educ ational backgrounds, not just biology or science, but with an interest and passion for the earth. His exam ples of what is happening to our mad e the audience realise that there are many opportunities now and in the future to re-grow sustainability.
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SCHOOL – GEMS World Academy SCHOOL International NEWSNEWS – International School Parent School Summer of Zug 2017 and Luzern
trip field trip r studies was a field Coca Cola science ses. A highlight of ou ba d an ds aci ing en study to this year we have be ents in the school lab In Grade 7 Science a series of experim ted uc nd co we , ing e go it affects nt near Zürich. Befor dity levels and how to the Coca Cola pla ar content, and its aci sug d an ty nsi de its ing oratory. t Coca Cola, includ d taken inside the lab find out more abou r of the premises an tou a en giv re we tangy taste, ca Cola plant, we ric acid to achieve a your teeth. At the Co the use of phospho ple am ex for n, ctio hts secrets of produ class! Other highlig We discovered the t as we had done in jus nt, nte co ar sug Ph and n. The product is tested for de it into productio and how the finished drinks that never ma e som g tin tas d an Fanta, ss to life. new design for the ht our studies in cla included seeing the all and really broug us for e nc rie pe ex ng was a fabulous learni Coca Cola field trip , Grade 7 By Cassidy & Alex
German in Action in the Primary School
catering team with the support of Young students recently enjoyed a German café at school, set up by the school and learning, the children were the German teachers and parent volunteers. After weeks of preparation, inquiry
ordering their selections, and making able to put their language skills into practice in the café, reading the menus, very excited to practise in a real life a payment. Children of all levels of German were engaged in the activity and
from German lessons and maths skills situation. The transdisciplinary nature of the café, using vocabulary inquiries a new context. This illustrates what is at from the homeroom, allowed the children to collate their and to apply it in for the benefit of the students. the heart of the ISZL community, everyone working together to promote learning By Josephine Burn, German Teacher
Creative Up-cycli ng with
Nations 2017 onal Model United The Hague Internati ernational in the The Hague Int students participated L ISZ of up gro a r, This yea rld”. The ers in a globalised wo its theme being “Bord ns, tio Na ited Un l de Mo students ited Nations’ in which scribed as a ‘mock-Un conference can be de topics bate current events and come together to de from all over the world olutions. viously written UN res ance - guided by pre of international import es, ke any binding chang not actually able to ma are we nts de stu as Although ers, and l issues, educate oth wledge about globa kno in ga to le ab re we we week was a ke a difference! The come inspired to ma be ly, ant ort imp st mo skills in d us to develop our and one that has helpe fabulous opportunity writing. aking, debating and researching, public spe
Visiting Artist Pt olemy Elrington Ptolemy Elrington, a sculptor from the UK visited ISZL earlie r in 2017. His work is embedded in the re-cycling/ up -cycling movement and he works with found as well as donated items. Pto lemy worked with ou r High School students on wearable art and sculptural wo rk, introducing his wo rk and offering advice on wa ys to make connectio ns and types of ma terials. He worked with Middle Schoolers on creati ng a wonderful Eagle , the ISZL mascot, now hanging proudly in our Galler y. Ptolemy also had a wonderful day with the Primary School making amazi ng animal and organ ic sculptures with the younger stu dents using collected and donated re-cyc led materials. It was a fabulous we ek, and was enjoyed by all, especially Pto lemy who was hugely complimentar y about our wonderf ully respectful and cre ative students. By Stephen York, Middle School Vis ual Arts Teacher
e 11 By Megan R. Grad
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SCHOOL International NEWSSchool – International Parent Summer School of2017 Berne
We’ve moved!
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ISBerne has a lot to celebrate this sprin g. to its new premises, which has energised
The school has finally moved everyone with a case of spring
fever! The school had an Open Doo rs celebration where the students and parents were able to see the finish ed campus for the first time. There were musical performances, tours and kid-friendly catering with natural juices, and hot dogs on hom e baked buns. The sun was shining and gave an opportunity for the stude nts to get familiar with the new playground and outdoor basketball courts. Mark your calendars now for your chance to see the new scho ol at our annual International Day Faire. Food and fun for everyone and this year we add tours of the new campus into the mix. Join us on Satu rday, June 24th!
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International School Parent Summer 2017
Go online to order a free brochure hult.edu/ undergraduate
The business school for the global generation At Hult, you’ll do more than study business. • Earn a degree with both U.S. & U.K. accreditation • Learn from leading industry professionals • Connect with students from 128 countries at campuses in San Francisco, London, Boston, Dubai, Shanghai and Ashridge Estate, U.K. Contact our authorized representative for Hult enrollment advising in Switzerland EF Education, Rue Centrale 15, 1003 Lausanne bachelor.ch@ef.com +41 21 321 23 83 www.hult.edu/undergraduate Hult International Business School is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational organization registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). EF Education First is an Authorized Representative for Hult enrollment advising in Switzerland.
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International School Parent Summer 2017
Potential Passion Responsibility 74 |
Exceptional academic results and top university admissions Inspirational teachers committed to students’ success Internationally accredited IB school for ages 3 to 18 Pre-school and kindergarten programmes include German lessons approved by Bildungsdirektion Kanton Zßrich
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