CIS FOOTPRINTS COPENHAGEN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
CIS CAMPUS FAÇADE UNVEILED The building will be covered with 12,000 solar panels that will provide at least half of the school’s annual electricity consumption. p05
ECIS AWARD AND CAREER PATHS
CHARITY HAIRCUT
“A student who is a good representative of their own country, with a positive attitude toward the life and culture of others, able to converse in at least two languages...” p13
I donated my hair to Locks of Love to give financially disadvantaged children, who are suffering from long-term medical hair loss, the ability to feel normal and confident. p18
JUNE 2015 - EDITION N.8
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORS
Dear CIS Community, Welcome to the last edition of CIS Footprints for this school year. We hope you enjoy the many articles written by the CIS Community, and would especially like to thank our alumni for sharing their stories and reflections. We are sorry to see our two junior editors, Anjali and Maibritt, leave this year. Once again, for our final edition, they have done a phenomenal job. Maibritt, however, is only taking a one-year sabbatical, so we look forward to her re-joining the team. Have a safe and wonderful holiday, and we´ll see you in October. Suzanne, Chris and Virginia
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela
Editor in Chief: Suzanne O Reilly
Managing Editor: Chris Hambley
Hellerupvej 26 2900 Hellerup, Denmark
Graphic Designer: Virginia de Colombani
E: http://www.cis-edu.dk/
P: +45 39 46 33 00
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ANOTHER GREAT YEAR
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NORDHAVN CORNERSTONE EVENT
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Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
The new campus will allow CIS to grow as there will be more space and more facilities, such as science labs, dance and gym studios. AN EDUCATED GUESS Our students will not only hear stories about living with other nationalities or about responsible options of using energy, they will live those concepts on a daily basis. NEW CIS CAMPUS FAÇADE UNVEILED The building will be covered with 12,000 solar panels which will provide at least half of the school’s annual electricity consumption.
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ADMISSIONS The greatest gift that we can give is to teach them to be curious, resourceful, respectful and responsible. PTA The PTA Newcomer’s Committee stayed busier than ever welcoming nearly fifty new families through the Buddy Family program... THE ART OF SPEAKING Despite general jitters, all students were rearing to get up on stage and every single one of them did their best.
SPOTLIGHT: STEFAN LARSSON Over thirty CIS students performed on the stage of the Betty Nansen Teatret, in Frederiksberg, taking part in our first-ever evening called “The Art of Speaking.”
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ALUMNUS: ASSAR QURESHI There were times when the workload seemed insurmountable, but, at the end, all of us got through the heaps of coursework and marathon exams. ALUMNUS: DISHANT MAHENDRU CIS has provided me with so many enriching experiences and memories. It gave me the opportunity to interact with an intellectually diverse international community.
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ECIS AWARD AND CAREER PATHS
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SPORTS PAGE
A student who is a good representative of their own country, with a positive attitude toward the life and culture of others, able to converse in at least two languages...
“We believe our true goal is to provide opportunities for our students to gain the essential life values of commitment, discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, team work and empathy for others.”
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WIG WEDNESDAY Wig Wednesday is the name for a one-day event put on by UK charity CLICSARGENT, supporting children and young people with cancer. CHARITY HAIRCUT I donated my hair to Locks of Love to give financially disadvantaged children, who are suffering from long-term medical hair loss, the ability to feel normal and confident. GREETINGS FROM GHANA Donations from the CIS community have been essential to this process. These talented women are so happy to have been given the chance to farm. JUBILEE / LEAVERS List of 2015 CIS anniversaries and leavers, including staff and students.
ANOTHER GREAT YEAR
“Be a student as long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.”Henry L. Doherty
“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.” William Butler Yeats
“Wishing you all a wonderful summer” Walter Plotkin
“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” Cesare Pavese
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AN EDUCATED GUESS The following is an excerpt from the speech given by Brit van Ooije, Chair of the Board of CIS, at the Cornerstone event, on June 2nd, 2015, at our future Nordhavn campus.
NORDHAVN CORNERSTONE EVENT By Anjali Mulcock and Maibritt Henkel
“The new campus will allow CIS to grow as there will be more space and more facilities, such as science labs, dance and gym studios”
On Tuesday, June 2nd, a group of students and teachers from various grades made their way to the world of construction sites, in Nordhavn, for the Cornerstone Event of the new school. Despite the rain and wind, we enjoyed inspiring speeches about the future building, and the inclement weather didn’t stop the students from having a good time and supporting the event with their colourful flags (the fact that they were on live television probably helped!)
Today is indeed a cornerstone event, as the new CIS campus endeavours to become a cornerstone in the Nordhavn community, in keeping with the pioneering spirit of a school that started 52 years ago in a shed in Bagsværd. Bagsvaerd, for those of you who are not familiar with the immediate surroundings, is located approximately 14.7 km northwest from here, not far from Lyngby.
And because a just world equals a sustainable world, we chose to create a building that reflects this growing awareness of sustainability. This is a tailor-made campus for enquirybased teaching and learning. And it will offer an environment of sustainability, through smart ways of generating, using and/or disposing of heat, light, water and other resources. Hence our students have direct experience of what it is to be environmentally conscious.
That’s where we started. But, as an allegedly wise, old man in China once said: “Learning is like rowing upstream - not to advance is to drop back.” And so the shed in Bagsvaerd advanced, or if you prefer, went south, though not in the negative sense this expression has in some languages. On the contrary, what we see happening here is the making of a school that strives to combine today’s needs with an educated guess about tomorrow’s possibilities, and to combine a global outlook with a local community facility.
In short, our students will not only hear stories about living with other nationalities or about responsible options of using energy, they will live those concepts on a daily basis. And that is something we think is worth celebrating. Welcome to the school of the future. Long live CIS!
We were lucky to have both the American Ambassador and the Lord Mayor attending the occasion. The mayor was kind enough to answer a few questions about the project before he was quickly whisked away for other purposes. He told us that the new campus would allow CIS to grow as there will be more space and more facilities, such as science labs, dance and gym studios. It will take advantage of its remarkable location on the water, and we will have water sports, as well as top-notch technology and a sustainable environment to work in. All the people that we interviewed seemed very confident in the new campus, saying that it will improve the learning possibilities for future students. Despite the extended time, the building is coming along well and we look forward to seeing you in the new campus in...only nineteen months! 3
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NEW CIS CAMPUS FAÇADE UNVEILED
ADMISSIONS
Thomas Nielsen
President of Colby University, David A. Greene
CIS Director of Communications and Advancement
By Christiane Conradt-Eberlin, Head of Admissions
On Tuesday, June 2, the school of the future, with a unique solar panel facade, was presented in Nordhavn. The new CIS Campus combines modern architecture with sustainability, IB pedagogy and age-appropriate design for students aged three to nineteen. The school is expected to open in January 2017 with a capacity of 1,200 students.
“Copenhagen endeavors to become a world-class city of education, business and commerce. In order to achieve that ambitious goal, we need to be able to offer an international school which can live up to the standards we know from other international schools around the world. Copenhagen International School will undoubtedly help to attract highly educated foreign experts and business leaders to Copenhagen, because we can now offer a strong international community with a clear, sustainable profile in and around Copenhagen International School,” said Mayor Frank Jensen.
The building will be covered with 12,000 solar panels that will provide at least half of the school’s annual electricity consumption. The solar panels will cover a total area of 6,048 square meters, making it one of Denmark’s biggest solar panel plants integrated into a building. The panels are estimated to produce around 300 MWh per year, equivalent to the annual consumption of approximately seventy single-family homes.
Visit cis.dk and click on “News” to see more pictures of the event, to listen to a “Soundscape” created by a group of CIS 7th graders and to watch local TV coverage of the event.
In addition to contributing to the school’s green profile, the solar panels also form a permanent part of the school’s educational programs so that students can follow energy production and use data in, for example, physics and mathematics. The purpose of the solar cells is to ensure sustainable energy consumption, and give students both some good environmental habits and an awareness of renewable energy. “We are proud that with the construction of the new school we can integrate innovative architecture into our teaching and learning environment. The goal of the school is to enhance students’ competences in an international environment so that they become responsible world citizens with a focus on sustainability,” says Brit van Ooijen, Chairwoman of the Board of Copenhagen International School. The 25,000-square-meter school building is Copenhagen’s biggest school and it is going to accommodate 1,200 students and 280 employees. The school will be ready in January 2017. “We are really excited to show the construction of the new campus to the public. It’s a great experience to help create a whole new area here in Nordhavn, where the school will be a central focal point. The School is in itself so unique and attractive that we hope to inspire other educational institutions both in Denmark and abroad,” said Chairman of the Property Fund Copenhagen International School, John Bo Jacobsen.
“The building will be covered with 12,000 solar panels that will provide at least half of the school’s annual electricity consumption”
I am so happy and honored to be the Head of Admissions at an international school. School education and administration are some of my greatest passions. Each and every student is at the core of our thinking. For this reason, learning is at the heart of all the schools I have visited and worked at, and, of course, also here at CIS.
who can communicate effectively in several languages and make a difference in the world. It’s a joy to offer this opportunity to the 337 new students that enrolled at CIS during this academic year 2014/15.
We want each student to be proud of her achievements and of those of her peers, and we want to share the process with you, their parents. The greatest gift that we can give is to teach them to be curious, resourceful, respectful and responsible: “Educating champions of a just and sustainable world.” This is my fourth year living back in Denmark and working here at CIS. Before, I worked for seven years at the American School of Warsaw as the Director of Admissions and Communications, having made the jump from the corporate world – a move I have never regretted. My son started his international schooling at AS Warsaw when he was three and continued his education here at CIS, graduating with an IB Diploma Program when he was seventeen. He is now eighteen-years-old and is thriving studying Computer Science at Colby College in the US. My daughter is enrolled here at CIS after starting her years in AS Warsaw – and what I don’t know about the school, the curriculum, teachers and students, she knows. My decision to work at an international school is a decision that has changed my life and that of my children. We have enjoyed our experiences and have immensely benefitted from them, so I would like your children to have the same possibility here with us at CIS.
“The greatest gift that we can give is to teach them to be curious, resourceful, respectful and responsible”
A child´s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark. For this reason, we carefully select our teachers, assistants and all who work in the school. We choose a variety of qualified and certified people to work here. All of our staff contribute to the development of each child; they support or challenge or celebrate their successes. We are a close-knit community where respect for all is encouraged and nurtured. We have high expectations of all because we all rely on each other, and we have something to learn from each other. In this way, we ensure that everyone at the school feels secure, valued and respected. We are sure that, with the education and supportive environment that you provide at home, along with the education we provide in the school setting, your child will succeed, not only academically but also as a responsible, caring, global citizen
At the event, the Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen, unveiled the facade of what has been dubbed Denmark’s most innovative school. 5
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PTA Andrea Worobel Incoming PTA Chair
“Wow-what a year! When I think about the many successful activities the PTA was involved in, I’m blown away by the dedication of our parent and teacher community” Wow--what a year! When I think about the many successful activities the PTA was involved in, I’m blown away by the dedication of our parent and teacher community. Here are just a few of the many highlights...
We also reappropriated 50,000 DKK raised in past years from the CIS Endowment to the CIS Scholarship Fund.
We celebrated the amazing diversity of our community at the primary school with the International Food Festival as part of UN Day. What an extraordinary display of our cultures! We were also pleased to support Team Peru’s Salsa Night and the Prom Committee’s Trivia Night. Our high schoolers put on fabulous events with mentorship from the PTA and we look forward to working with them again next year.
As our activities wind down for the year, I’d like to recognize those on our leadership team who are stepping back from key leadership positions. Liz Woodhour served as PTA chairman for the past two years, and her energy and commitment are truly unmatched. Fortunately for us, she will remain as PTA Parliamentarian and continue to share her institutional knowledge. Yvonne Brown’s extraordinary talent as marketing chair extraordinaire propelled the PTA into the future with a complete digital overhaul of how we do business and she will be greatly missed. Jo Britton and Jo Burt were the drivers behind our Newcomer’s efforts this year and I’m pleased to report that Jo Burt will remain involved as the Primary School representative next year. Finally, Maureen Chaduc kept our books in pristine condition!
The PTA’s largest events for fun and fundraising - Halloween, the Holiday Fair and the Spring Fair - helped raise money for several initiatives. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the year than by putting that money back into programs that will help enhance our students’ learning!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to ALL those parents and teachers who stepped up to help us organise the many activities and events that make CIS special. I am awed and inspired by your talents and commitment, and look forward to working with you in the 2015/2016 school year.
The PTA Newcomer’s Committee stayed busier than ever welcoming nearly fifty new families through the Buddy Family program, plus monthly coffees, Ladies’ Night Out, and the annual Wine & Cheese evening.
This year, the PTA voted to fund the following items (amounts are rounded): • 7,400 DKK for twenty-eight metal art frames for a professional display of art from the Senior School • 7,500 DKK for a 3D printer for Middle School Design department to help students go deeper into 3D design and manufacturing • 19,000 DKK for two dynamic movement skills systems for the PE Departments across all grades • 5,000 DKK for lap tables and pillows for Early Years students to build comfortable and flexible “work nooks” for small group and independent work • 16,500 DKK for the 2nd and 3rd grade iPad bank
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SPOTLIGHT: STEFAN LARSSON Stefan Larsson Interview with the director of the Betty Nansen Teatret
THE ART OF SPEAKING By Anjali Mulcock and Maibritt Henkel
On the 28th of May, a group of selected students who excelled at public speaking were chosen to perform at The Betty Nansen Teatret, in Frederiksberg. We would like to thank the teachers (Mr Hambley, Mr Hindrichsen, Mrs Bucher and Miss O’Conner) and Mette Laursen, Chairwoman of the Board for the Betty Nansen Theater, for making this happen. It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to experience the stage and showcase their talent for friends and family. Despite general jitters, all students were rearing to get up on stage and every single one of them did their best. Their confidence may have been boosted after the theatre director, Stefan Larsson, gave some reassuring words from his own acting days: “Perfection for me is dead. If you are perfect you are not human, so when you get up on that stage don’t be afraid of making mistakes. The audience feels connected to the performer when they make mistakes.” The performances, by sixth- to tenth-graders, varied from speeches to duologues, from poetry to novel reading. This grand stage was a beautiful venue and all participants were extremely appreciative of the authentic theater experience. We hope we will be able to make this occasion a CIS tradition, and give this memorable experience to future students.
“Despite general jitters, all students were rearing to get up on stage and every single one of them did their best”
but we don’t often see these people onstage. They look like you, or me. And that’s of course a big thing to change in the future, so everyone’s represented up on stage. So we could do much more than that.”
On May 28th, over thirty CIS students from grades six to nine performed on the stage of the Betty Nansen Teatret, in Frederiksberg, taking part in our first-ever evening called “The Art of Speaking.” New junior editor for CIS Footprints, Anna Westberg, had the chance to sit down with the theatre’s director, Stefan Larsson. (This interview was edited for clarity and lenght)
YOU ARE RATHER NEW IN YOUR JOB HERE AT BETTY NANSEN. DO YOU THINK IT WAS OF IMPORTANCE TO THE BOARD WHEN THEY HIRED YOU, THAT YOU ARE A FOREIGNER?
HOW WERE YOU APPROACHED WITH THE PROPOSITION OF CIS USING THE BETTY NANSEN THEATRE?
“Of course, sometimes it’s that I come with more open eyes, I’m not so stuck, so maybe I’m freer in a way, because I don’t have as many relations that disturb me or corrupt me so that’s good. But I could come from India, or from the States also, but it’s always good to come from the outside and have a different perspective.”
“I was approached by my chair[wo]man of the board, Mette Larsen, who had kids in the school, and she asked me if it was possible for CIS to be here.”
DID IT HAVE A SIGNIFICANT MEANING THAT CIS IS MULTICULTURAL?
AS A THEATER - DO YOU PLAN THAT BETTY NANSEN SHOULD HAVE AN INTERNATIONAL ELEMENT?
“Actually, my kids have been to the international school in Aarhus, so I really like the idea of an international school and I like the multicultural thing with the school, and I think it’s more important than ever, in Denmark, for the multicultural society, with a bigger respect for each other.”
“If I have actors from different backgrounds, different cultures, it’s a more interesting environment to be in a room, because if they all come from the same neighborhood in Copenhagen, with the same middle-class background, it’s boring. It’s nice to hear other stories, other perspectives from actors, people coming here, directors. So in that way it’s influenced my work.”
YOU BEING A SWEDE, LIVING IN DENMARK, HOW DO YOU THINK DIVERSITY IS AN IMPORTANT ASSET TO THE ARTS?
HOW DO YOU IMAGINE THAT CIS AND THE BETTY NANSEN THEATRE CAN BENEFIT FROM ONE ANOTHER IN THE FUTURE?
“All influences are good in art, [whether] it comes from different nationalities, or cultures, or whatever. It’s a melting pot, the stage—this house of arts, for arts. It could be much better, we could do much more; I don’t want to talk too much, but you could say we have a problem in Scandinavian theatre…It’s full of people from different nationalities, in Denmark, in Sweden,
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“Hopefully, we can make this a tradition that the school comes back, and we can do this kind of thing and we can create some kind of relationship so you can come and see our productions.”
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ALUMNUS: ASSAR QURESHI
ALUMNUS: DISHANT MAHENDRU
Assar Qureshi
Dishant Mahendru
Class of 1999
Class of 2006
vocational interests. I spent the first five years of my professional life in the private sector, including the financial sector working for a very prestigious bank. The next six years I worked in the Danish civil service. Financing clean energy solutions has become my area of specialization and for part of my career I was a UN negotiator for Denmark. (Thanks for the practice MUN!) During my time at CIS, my comfort in international environments and high level of ambition developed. The point is that you may not feel any particular professional inspiration while at CIS, but some of the day-to-day things you take for granted will certainly give you a competitive advantage.
ASSAR, YOU GRADUATED IN 1999 AFTER SPENDING THIRTEEN YEARS AT CIS. HOW WAS IT TO GRADUATE, AND DID THE IB PROGRAM PREPARE YOU FOR UNIVERSITY LIFE? I still fondly remember my time at CIS. It was the only school I attended before going to university, and graduation was a big relief. There were times when the workload seemed insurmountable, but, at the end, all of us got through the heaps of coursework and marathon exams. Most of us did pretty well in terms of grades, too. There were three aspects in particular that I found useful about the IB. Firstly, that it covered a broad range of subjects. Even for someone who wanted to study social sciences, the fact that we had to take at least one science-based subject, maths, TOK [Theory of Knowledge], and additional languages, was really helpful in making us more rounded and educated as individuals. Secondly, we had an amazing history teacher who is no longer with us. Thanks to his higher level [HL] history classes, 20th century history in the first year of university was a breeze—the A-levels students couldn’t compete. Finally, sweating and stressing over the extended essay was invaluable practice for the many long essays and dissertations I ended up researching and writing during my undergraduate and postgraduate education.
YOU ARE NOW A DIPLOMAT IN THE DANISH FOREIGN SERVICE, SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN BRIEFLY THE EXCITING NEW PROJECT YOU ARE WORKING ON? Since September of 2014, I have been posted to Islamabad as the head of the newly established trade section. As commercial counselor, my role is to safeguard and promote Danish business interests in Pakistan. This is a new position at the embassy in Pakistan, and a privilege for me to be working in a role that allows me to contribute to trade relations between my country and that of my roots. We are currently focusing on a number of areas such as renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, textile, cement manufacturing, and agribusiness, and things are looking very promising.
WHEN YOU GRADUATED, WERE YOU CLEAR ON WHICH PROFESSIONAL PATH YOU WANTED TO FOLLOW AND WHY?
WHO WAS (IS) YOUR ROLE MODEL IN LIFE?
I wasn’t clear on what I wanted to do, but I would keenly follow which positions became available in international organizations, like the UN. I was in to current affairs and international politics for as long as I could remember, but part of me was also interested in business. My parents never pressured me towards a particular career path, and this allowed me to explore my own
I think I had many different role models, but I also think that the most important ones are the ones who are tangibly close to you. These are people that you can interact with and gain inspiration from. My own parents gave me my strong moral and ethical compass, and the courage to defend my views. 11
Starting my own technology business, with a strong emphasis on innovation, was a lifelong dream of mine. Like any entrepreneur, you have to experience a large-scale problem before developing your solution. In my case it was consulting, where I set up Cambridge Innovation Consulting during my PhD. Academic universities around the world have some of the smartest scientific individuals on the planet. The key problem was that industries weren’t properly utilising that intelligence to their benefit. It was our goal to work with companies in the consulting, financial services, manufacturing, and corporate R&D sectors, and solve any of their technology-related problems by recruiting the correct scientists.
DISHANT, YOU ENTERED INTO KINDERGARTEN IN AUGUST 1992 AND GRADUATED IN JUNE 2006. CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MOST MEMORABLE TIMES AT CIS? CIS has provided me with so many enriching experiences and memories. The school gave me the opportunity to interact with an intellectually diverse international community. Apart from the great classes, taught by CIS’s gifted teachers, I was actively involved in NECIS, MUN, Student Council and the school yearbook, meeting individuals who were so passionate about a whole array of interests. But, I have to admit, my most cherished memories were with my best friends with whom I still keep in touch. They made my time at CIS so enjoyable, whether that was during basketball practice, break-time foosball in the common room, or standard banter during classes.
WHO WAS (OR IS) YOUR ROLE MODEL IN LIFE? My parents. They taught me to be independent, resilient, to follow my passion, work hard to achieve the success that I desire, and, most importantly, never give up. Looking at what they accomplished in life, and what they went through, makes me incredibly proud in calling them my role models.
LIFE AFTER CIS: TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND, WHY YOU CHOSE YOUR CAREER IN TECHNOLOGY AND HOW IT LED TO ENTREPRENEURISM
ANY WORDS OF WISDOM FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING THIS YEAR, AND, INDEED, YEARS TO COME?
After the IB, I continued my bachelors and masters education in electronics engineering at the University of York. It was a really exciting field, mainly because it allowed me to be creative with technology to develop new and innovative ideas. My career started when I was introduced, at York, to nanotechnology, an exciting new interdisciplinary scientific field that was considered to be the future of technology. That’s when I realised I wanted to dedicate my career towards it. After my masters, I decided to do a PhD in nanotechnology at the University of Cambridge, where I still focused on electronics engineering; however, this time at the nano-scale. My PhD research was in data storage, where my group was aiming to store 15,000 gigabytes of information into the size of a USB stick.
We are always tempted by, and drawn towards, the social constructs of what society feels are the safest choices we should make and the right directions we should take. During my times at CIS, York and Cambridge, I realised that expectations apart from your own counteract your ability to achieve your true potential, for satisfying society will just never be enough. That was when I decided to follow my own passion. Ultimately, the right direction you take is your own, and the right decisions you make are your own.
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ECIS AWARD AND CAREER PATHS The ECIS Award is “Awarded to a student who is a good representative of their own country, with a positive attitude toward the life and culture of others, able to converse in at least two languages, a contributing force in the life of the school, with the ability to bring differing people together into a sense of community, thus furthering the cause of international understanding.”
We asked some former recipients of the award the following question: Did the ECIS award for international understanding have any profound effect on you and your decision to follow your professional path?
KATRIN ORAY (NÉE KAHN), 2001
DARIA CHERNOIVANOVA, 2005
DISHANT MAHENDRU, 2006
SHANDANA MUFTI, 2010
GEORGIA CASSARINO, 2010
VICTOR MARTIN – 2012
I was in Copenhagen in August for my first wedding anniversary and walked by the school to show my husband. Somehow it looked so different and so small! I miss CIS. Copenhagen has changed so much these past fourteen years. I took my husband to show him the old, cool places where I used to hang out, but they were all gone. But I still love Denmark—it always has a special place in my heart and I love Danes. Whenever I hear Danish or have Danish clients, I’m like....ahh.... home.
I work at the International Cooperation Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences. I can’t say that getting the award alone is what motivated me to pick this career path, but I always had the award as one of the sources of encouragement in the back of my mind. It also acts as good back-up when you tell people (potential employers) that you are internationally-aware or have good diplomacy skills, which is something I’ve done on numerous occasions.
I guess in some respects it [ECIS Award] has [affected me]. Even though I pursued my interests and career towards science and engineering, I’ve always wanted to get involved with international economic development projects. After setting up my first consulting company, which focused on emerging technology, consulting for the second company, Honeycomb Global, allowed me to combine both interests.
I’m about to graduate with a BA in journalism from Northeastern University, a school that’s known for its co-op programme that sends students into four to six-month long full-time jobs as part of their college career. I’ve completed two co-ops, one in Boston at the Boston Globe, and one in Cape Town at an NGO called Tremendous Hearts.
Well, I work as a finance associate for GSK [GlaxoSmithKline], the pharmaceutical company, maybe not an obvious correlation between this position and the ECIS Award; however, I did specifically want to work in a multinational company so that I would get to travel and work with people from around the world.
When I got into CIS, back in 2010, my objective was to enter medical school. The ECIS award (which I really thank CIS for awarding me) did not have a decisive effect on this choice, but it was, for sure, a great enhancer to follow my professional path. CIS was my first international living experience, and to be recognized with such an award was truly an honor.
I work as an attorney in Estonia, but have quite a few international clients. I currently serve on the board of the Estonian Bar Association, and used to be on the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce in Estonia as well as the International School of Estonia, so I’m sure the award has had a very positive effect on me.
We’re now setting up high-tech manufacturing clusters in South Asia where we work along with central and regional governments in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It’s creating an innovative environment for sustainable growth that creates jobs, facilitates entrepreneurship, enhances education, and helps to further develop the region’s economy.
I love journalism because of the opportunities to tell stories that are important, to speak with and on behalf of people who need a platform, and, perhaps most of all, because of the interesting characters you meet along the way.
As I read again the description, I actually think that the award helped me see clearly something that CIS taught me during the IB: the need for international diversity and respect for other cultures.
Last autumn, I took a quick break from journalism to move to South Africa, a country I’d never visited, to work at an NGO, where I tutored young kids in foster homes. I don’t know that the ECIS award has influenced my career choices, but I think that whatever attributes that my teachers at Copenhagen International School saw in me, and thought were deserving of the award, continue to guide the choices I make.
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GRAND PRIX EAST DENMARK TOURNAMENT FOR U10 BOYS
A GREAT YEAR OF SPORT! Rob Reynolds
Todor Kubura
Athletics Director
In May, we participated in the Final Four basketball tournament, playing against the former champions, but eventually losing in the semi-final game to finish in third place. I am very proud to say how much desire and hard work our young athletes showed throughout the entire season.
Some people want it to happen, Some wish it would happen, We make it happen...
The season was long and we ended with fifteen wins from eighteen games, a tremendous success. Our Athletics Director, Robert Reynolds, and the sport department, helped the team in various ways, such as with the organization of practices, communication with the Danish Basketball Association, and their support in our hosting, here at CIS, of the last tournament of the season, where the team admirably represented the school and CIS community. After this season, where we set high standards, our main goal for next year is to continue to develop the basketball program at CIS, giving our students the opportunity to enjoy and achieve their sporting dreams, and remain competitive with other basketball teams from Denmark.
The 2014-15 school year has been a busy, productive and fun year of sport at CIS! While NECIS remains the central focus for middle and senior school students, the Athletics Department has been nurturing sport in the primary years through two initiatives: Skjold Hawks, a soccer program run through Skjold, a local Danish soccer club, and Grand Prix Basketball, associated with the Danish Basketball Association. It has been great to see our youngest athletes participate in organized practices and weekend tournaments. We have been especially pleased with our Grand Prix Basketball program in which our U10 Boys won 3rd place in Demark East!
Throughout the NECIS program, we have had great success with the following impressive results: U12 Girls Soccer – 1st Place U15 Girls Soccer – 2nd Place U14 Girls Basketball – 2nd Place Varsity Girls Basketball – 2nd Place Junior Varsity Girls Volleyball – 4th Place NECIS Swim Meet – 58 Medals
In the Athletics Department, we believe our true central goal is to provide opportunities for our students to gain the essential life values of commitment, discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, team work and empathy for others. Along with these core values important to living a successful life, our students also participate in a wonderful community in which they foster important friendships based on a shared experience on the pitch, court, swim hall and track.
NECIS Track and Field – 48 Medals Cross Country – 7 Medals (This is out of 13 runners.) U14 Boys Basketball – 1st Place Jonstrup Cup Varsity Boys Soccer – Most Sporting Team U12 Boys Basketball – Most Sporting Team
Sport is the vehicle and thus Sport is Life!
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WIG WEDNESDAY
CHARITY HAIRCUT
By Jo Britton CIS Mum
A simple dare by an English friend who shares my passion for wig wearing, karaoke silliness, and an up-for-a-laugh attitude to life, turned into a proper fundraising event recently in the form of a ‘Wig Wednesday’ coffee. Wig Wednesday is the name for a one-day event put on by UK charity CLICSARGENT (supporting children and young people with cancer), which encourages people to wear a wig for the day and raise funds at the same time. You can find more information about it here: http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/
party, my parents’ visit, and a nasty cold), I decided on a small event—raffle and auction. I first requested prizes from friends within my predominantly ex-pat existence, then invited friends and acquaintances to my house for a morning of fun. The result? Dk.12,250 to give to the charity, a lot of new Facebook profiles to giggle at, a future mention in a friend’s novel (an auction prize I won with a friend), and a wonderful time with some lovely, generous people. Dealing with my water being cut abruptly off mid-coffee-serving only added to the excitement. And I am sure the workman enjoyed being questioned by various wigged ladies! All good fun in the name of charity.
Previously, I ran fundraising events for major UK charities. I love nothing more than a party and organising any social gathering, so really this was just a dream event for me. With only ten days to arrange (including a long weekend, my son’s eighth birthday
“The result? Dk.12,250 to give to the charity, a lot of new Facebook profiles to giggle at and a wonderful time with some lovely, generous people.”
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO JOIN THE CHARITY CLUB ORGANIZATION – WHAT ATTRACTED YOU MOST TO THE CAUSE?
VICTORIA, WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO HELP OTHERS THIS WAY? One of my friend’s mother got cancer and lost all her hair during the chemotherapy. It was a very emotional experience for herself and also her daughter, but with the wig, everything seemed normal. I therefore decided to donate my hair to Locks of Love to give financially disadvantaged children who are suffering from long-term medical hair loss the ability to feel normal and confident in public. Since I’m also a part of Charity Club, I wanted to raise money for their sustainable development project as well. The Talented Women’s Club have received a plot of land and, are currently using it for farming, which allows them to produce nutritional food and, with the surplus, create more micro-credit funds; however, land encroachment is a serious problem in Ghana and Charity Club hopes to collect enough funds to help build a wall around the farm. I hope to help make this goal achievable through my hair donation.
I chose to join Charity Club because they aim to create sustainable development by empowering women, which is very different from many other organizations. Every meeting there is a great atmosphere and I enjoy spending my lunches with my Charity Club peers.
WHAT ARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL CAREER PLANS FOR THE FUTURE? Currently, I would like to study immunology, as I spent my practicum at Copenhagen University, which sparked my interest in the field.
WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS PROJECT TO PORTRAY? I wanted to show people how a simple act can help in many ways. I hope I’ve inspired and given people a chance to help in any way that they can offer.
HOW DID IT FEEL TO HAVE YOUR HAIR CUT – WAS THERE A LOSS OF EMPOWERMENT?
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?
I felt like I lost my layer of protection, that I no longer had any place to hide, and that I was exposed to world for the first time; however, I have no regrets and I’m more than happy to change in order to help other people and, I hope, even inspire other people to do the same. 17
You only live once, be the best you can be!
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THE CHARITY CLUB SENDS GREETINGS FROM GHANA!
A central concern and priority for most Ghanaian families living in poverty is to keep their children in school. Even though primary and middle school education is now free, students have to arrive dressed in standard uniforms and with their own pencils and notebooks. The choice to send a child to school can also be an economic hardship for a family due to the loss of labor from the child while she or he is in school. Sadly, many children spend their days selling goods in local markets or working in fields. But the women in The Charity Club’s microcredit project in Ghana are all sending their children and grandchildren to school, a solid indicator of the initiative’s success.
Donations from the CIS community have been essential to this process. These talented women are so happy to have been given the chance to farm. In October of 2014, the Charity Club held a benefit concert for the Talented Women’s Club. It was a magical evening of classical music performed by CIS students and teachers. The funds earned were applied towards developing the farming project.
CIS students continue to learn about sustainable development as they follow the progress of The Talented Women’s Club (TWC) in Ghana. When Charity Club students were in Ghana, last summer, they saw how the purchase of a plot of land impacts development. Farming gives access to fresh produce at cost. And money earned from agricultural products is used by the TWC to give larger microcredit loans. The microcredit loan fund is collectively owned, as is the farm.
Further information: amyfaircloth@cis.dk and ute.reichert@cis.dk Listening to twelfth-grader, Gergana Gyuleva, play Beethoven
JUBILEES
LEAVERS
5 YEARS
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Walter Plotkin Mary Donnellan Andy Coddington Sarai Halliday Joyce Tromba Leanne Bruun de Neergaard Riitta Soini Kathy Sublett Andrew Stern Alison Brown Mette Jessen
Jen Lusk Heikki Soini Riitta Soini Rebecca Foley Leah Christiansen Amina La Cour Mikael Vallsten Stine Haukali Nielsen Minh Chen Gunnarsson Michelle Bercon Jensen
10 YEARS
Leanne Dunlap Stephanie Burke Thomas Orr Faye McAuley Jenny Bucher Greg Friedman
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Johanna Alderin Carsten Brinch Katherine Krom Karen Serritslev Kate Eriksson
15 YEARS
SENIOR SCHOOL
Finn Siesing
Bob Carignan
20 YEARS
EAL
Tracey Coogan
Kevin Desmond
25 YEARS
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
Karina Lindquist
Nikolai Jessen-Petersen Amy Friedman Michelle Close
JANITORIAL STAFF Finn Siesing Krystyna Lunding 19
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