CIS Footprints II by Copenhagen International School

CIS footprints april 2013

Challenging and Inspiring Students since 1962

/Always on the Move /Education in our Times /Team Peru

â&#x20AC;&#x153; Kiya is the Quecha word for moon, the symbol for a new beginning â&#x20AC;?

Copenhagen International School

“it is our hope that “CIS Footprints” will allow its readers to follow the continued success of the school, never forgetting where we have come from and how far we have come. If you have a special footprint in your memory about CIS, let us know, and perhaps together we can develop it for use in a future edition”

Editor in Chief: Suzanne O Reilly

Art Director: Virginia de Colombani

Hellerupvej 26 2900 Hellerup, Denmark

Editor: Stephanie Burke

E: http://www.cis-edu.dk/

Printed by: Hellerup Lyskopi

P: +45 39 46 33 00

table of contents 04

What is International Education

What’s Cooking?

Always on the Move

Education in our Times

“We live in a world of infinite connections. Our ideas travel across the planet through a series of invisible networks...”

“A new school needs an up-to-date strategic plan, outlining who and what we aspire to as a centre of international education”

“The new campus will allow us to tailor the physical framework to the didactic, pedagogical, social and physical needs of the three schools”

“The goal of education is now to support individual growth as a person...”

The Danish International Schools Network

International School of Billund

Team Peru: Changing the Out and About way Change Happens

“There is a need to improve the living and working conditions of foreign knowledge workers in Denmark”

“Kiya is the Quecha word for ‘moon’, the symbol for a new beginning”

“The history of CIS is more analogous to the building of a home, with each school member simply adding a brick or adornment at various times. A collection of small and sometimes subtle actions has cumulatively resulted in a school community that is in many ways greater than the sum of its parts...”

What is international education? A Message from the Director

Director: Walter Plotkin WalterPlotkin@cis.dk

That is a question that has initiated many a conversation and focused the attention of educators for a number of years at countless conferences and workshops. The surprising answer, however, is that there is no consensus as to what it means, despite numerous scholarly papers, in addition to the ongoing professional dialogue. I wonder if it isn’t time to consider other descriptors for the type of teaching and learning institutions that are commonly termed “international schools.” Perhaps the notion of a school being international, while once an important distinction, is now more or less superfluous. Is a school in a national system that offers IB programs, for instance, any less international than CIS or any other similar school? What if it teaches a local curriculum that emphasizes the importance of empathy and respect, two “internationally” recognized values? We live in a world of infinite international connections. Our ideas and information travel across the planet through a series of invisible networks, literally at the speed of light. Our consumer goods and 4

products routinely cross borders to arrive at our doorsteps. Virtually all of the “developed” world is built on sets of relationships and dependencies that blur distinctions of where one country starts and another stops. Is it time for us to focus on the interpersonal in education as opposed to the international? I would like to suggest that we might be better off if we looked for what was universal or global as opposed to international. By considering education that espoused the simple virtues of wisdom and compassion, perhaps we might take education, wherever it is practiced into its next stage of development. Could this type of education produce the type of world and future envisioned by excellent “international schools” and “international educators” throughout time? I think so.

“We live in a world of infinite connections. Our ideas travel across the planet through a series of invisible networks...”

What’s cooking? CIS Board

The CIS Board: Jeneva, Cecile, Katie, Isabella, Lars, Andy, Brit, Aldo, Rajendra, John, and Kees-Jan

The CIS Board is as usual busying itself with helping to oversee the school’s health and well-being, in multiple senses of these words. Our governance committee is currently in full swing with succession planning in order to deal with the natural turnover in an international expat environment and to ensure that we have a continuous supply of dedicated parent volunteers. Our most recent new member is finance director Andrew Reynolds who agreed to add his expertise to that of Lars Krogsgård on the Board’s finance committee. In addition, the governance committee has been working tirelessly on an extensive revision of the CIS policies and procedures.

magazine, you can read in more detail what this building project entails. A new school needs an up-to-date strategic plan, outlining who and what we aspire to as a centre of international education and continuous care for our students. At the upcoming Annual General Meeting in April, the strategic planning committee will present a framework for this, based on and continuously gathering feedback from the CIS community. All in all, as we move towards more clement weather and the first physical steps towards a brand new building are being taken, we are optimistic for a bright future for the most important “talent pool” we have: our children.

“A new school needs an up-to-date strategic plan, outlining who and what we aspire to as a centre of international education”

We also work in close collaboration with the ECIS Board, another group of volunteers committed to and responsible for the building of the new school. This exciting project on a waterfront location in Copenhagen will allow us to concentrate the growing number of CIS students on one large campus rather than on the two distinct locations we currently have. In the ECIS Board piece in this 5

always on the move

New CIS Building

ECIS Board (Board responsible for the building project)

These are indeed exciting times for CIS. As our 50th anniversary allows us to look back at all that we have achieved in the past, we now stand at a crossroads with an exciting new school project underway. As we grow in size and ambition we have come to realize that the premises we now enjoy on Hellerupvej can no longer provide the framework for all that we wish to accomplish with our school. To truly be able to offer a world class education in a world class setting we must take a leap. This next step in the development of our school comes at a time when we are well established, very well respected in the international school community and ready to grow in several directions. Not only will the move and building project allow us to include more students, we will also be able to offer more classes and courses in the middle school and senior school as well as improved in- and outdoor facilities for the primary school. In addition, we will be able to focus on creating stronger ties with the community around us - expats and Danes alike - making it possible for Danes to meet expats and vice versa allowing a 6

THINGS TO KNOW ARCHITECTS: C.F. Møller CLIENT: Copenhagen International School SIZE: 22400 m2, with room for 1000-1200 students ADDRESS: Copenhagen, Denmark OPENING DATE: 2016

wider exchange of experiences and cultures. Another focus area which complements this exchange and meeting of cultures and nationalities is stronger sports facilities, restaurant and theatre production.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The new campus will allow us to tailor the physical framework to the didactic, pedagogical, social and physical needs of the three schoolsâ&#x20AC;?

As one of the founding IB schools, with 50 years of experience, excellent teachers and staff and a committed and active parent group we believe that we can set the bar high and create a school to match our ambitions. We look forward to moving the new school project ahead and to keeping you up to date on the exciting developments.

The strong growth in applicants has confirmed the need for a school that can accommodate a larger number of students making it possible for Danish and international companies to offer excellent international education for their employees and families regardless of their countries of origin. CIS is pleased to be able to assist the business community with this important piece in the plans to attract new and fresh minds to the country. The plan is for the new school to be located in the Nordhavn section of Copenhagen; by the sea and a new metro station and in walking distance of Nordhavn station with excellent access for bicycles. Nordhavn is the new up and coming area of Copenhagen, the vision of a modern green CO2 neutral city with lots of new apartments, the new UN city, businesses and more. As one of the initial participants in the development of the area, we will be playing a key role in defining the neighborhood and putting a face to the vision of an open and international community. As part of this endeavor the sports facilities, performing arts centre and the cafe will be located at street level and open to the public outside of school hours. However, being an initial player also means that there will be building going on around us for a while after we move into the buildings and that all the outdoor facilities may not be ready right away. The school which will have 1200 places is scheduled to be ready in 2016. The new campus will allow us to tailor the physical framework to the didactic, pedagogical, social and physical needs of the three schools; the primary, middle and senior school. Big ideas and big dreams take time to realize, we now realize. The past two years have been spent fundraising, planning and negotiating with partners and stakeholders such as foundations, Copenhagen Kommune, By and Havn (the owners of the land we plan to build on) as well as architects and engineers. A building foundation has now been established (in accordance with Danish legal requirements) to run the building project and all the key players and elements are now in place to start the project. Future phases of the project will include sessions with students, teachers, parents and administration to gather information from experts and users in order to create the best possible IB school.

EDUCATION in OUR TIMES Teacher News

Andy Coddington

On first thought of creating this article, images of computers, projectors, routers and various iDevices danced through my head. However, on further thought, my mind wandered to other ideas, including discussions that I have had with colleagues near and far about how we can best support student thinking and understanding. There is no doubt that technology is playing a role in supporting students and teachers, yet the heart of the issue lies in the very foundation of what defines an educated individual. Society seems to have a different understanding of what it means to be educated. Businesses no longer merely want individuals who have mastered a skill set. Expectations have changed. With the shift in expectations, educators and educational institutions have been able to reassess their purpose and begin focusing on what really matters: dispositions, concepts, thinking, and understanding. Though these components have long been a part of an individual’s education, they are now taking center stage and are the driving force behind educational shift. The goal of education is now to support individual growth as a person helping students become creative, resilient problem solvers, prepared to take action in the global community. Walking into classrooms these days yields a much different picture than in years past. Thinking back to my own education in the US, I can recall cursive letters perched atop the blackboard, laminated math problems adorning the back wall, and posters from social studies and science plastered on cupboards or windows. Though the laminator still runs from time to time, it envelops something of more substance. Classes today are covered with student work, student thinking and student understanding. Education looks at students as thinkers, valuing their opinions and ideas to help shape the direction of the class.

“The goal of education is now to support individual growth as a person...” A stroll into a grade 1 classroom in CIS communicates that student work is valued. Painted paper plates hang from a branch showing how students can use symbols to represent their identity and how they are connected to the community. Various paintings are strewn across a clothesline from an exploration of perspective, looking at how artists use still life and abstract art to communicate ideas. Cut out 10s blocks sit atop the carpet waiting for eager hands to connect them to other paper manipulatives to show what defines numbers and how they connect to one another. A glance into a grade 4 classroom at the other end of the school is equally as intriguing. A rainbow border of key terms from the unit sections off the back wall. On closer examination, each part of the border asks students to make a symbolic connection to terms being discussed (what animal represents scarcity to you). Inside the borders, different natural resources have been researched and connections between various resources can be seen with strings that join the two. Diamonds have been linked to oil, pastureland to citrus orchards, and rocky soil to coal. All this in preparation for a trading activity to support understanding of interdependence and scarcity. As educational practice continues to evolve, students are now at the center of the equation. Slowing down the pace of classes and giving students the chance to share opinions and explain their thinking is the norm. On any given day, who knows what is going to happen but one thing is for certain, students’ voices will be echoing inside classrooms, sharing perspectives and opinions about ideas much bigger than how to spell “education.”

The Danish International Schools Network (DISN) Promoting International Education in Denmark

Charles Dalton Principal of Rygaards International School

There is a growing awareness that companies, research institutions and nations must search for competence world-wide if they are to gain or maintain a competitive advantage. In Denmark, this is no different. To this end there is a need to improve the living and working conditions of foreign knowledge workers in Denmark, this includes the availability of quality international school places for their children. Indeed the availability of international schools plays a vital role in encouraging international employees to come in the first place, before they choose to settle in Denmark. The Danish International Schools Network was founded on March 15th 2012. The purpose of the network is to promote international education in Denmark by encouraging collaboration between member schools, representing member schools in negotiations with authorities in Denmark and abroad and facilitating professional development of staff. All international schools in Denmark function as private schools and are obliged to follow the rules and regulations that are laid down by the government and unions. These regulations can sometimes be restrictive when it comes to running an international school as they are based on Danish school culture and tradition. The Board of DISN hope to be able to negotiate further dispensation from these regulations when deemed necessary. Teacher’s work conditions and pay could be an example of such an area. International schools need to be able to compete on the international school’s employment market when recruiting suitable staff. Conditions and pay must to be competitive. Providing suitable continual professional development is also a factor when it comes to the recruitment and retention of staff. Most courses offered in Denmark are in Danish and meet the needs of Danish schools. International schools are forced to send their staff abroad or to organise their own courses, which can be costly. Thus, the network would like to facilitate the running of courses in Denmark to the benefit of all international schools in the country. Member schools are also able to share knowledge, good practice and information on running schools in Denmark. Mutual support can be provided as we work together towards the improvement of the international school provision.

“There is a need to improve the living and working conditions of foreign knowledge workers in Denmark” Membership of DISN is open to all approved independent Danish schools with authorisation to teach in English. The Board of the association is elected by and from the DISN membership and consist of 3 elected members: a chairman, vice chairman and a treasurer. The Board decide among themselves who fills the various posts. Membership is normally for two years but re-election is possible. Two supplementary members are also elected each year. Conferences are held twice a year, in March and October. At the last conference in October, the key note speaker was Lesley Snowball. Lesley is a special education, language and curriculum specialist with extensive experience as a teacher, school leader and consultant. The theme of her three sessions was “Improving student learning through inquiry-based teaching and learning, assessment strategies and teacher appraisal. 9

International school of billund Set up by LEGO Foundation

Camilla Uhre Fog, Acting Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International School of Billund and Director at the LEGO Foundation, Koldingvej 2, 7190 Billund, Denmark

In order for Denmark to be a serious player in the global race for competencies, innovation and development, we need an attractive and international educational offering. We will see a shortage of highly-qualified Danish employees in the years ahead, and many companies foresee an increasing need for international manpower in the future. A number of surveys also indicate that one of the key barriers to growth in Denmark is that we lag behind when it comes to attracting and retaining knowledge employees and experts. In this context, the availability of international schools plays a crucial role in persuading international employees to settle in Denmark. At the LEGO Foundation, we want to contribute to the development of unique, world-class international educational offers while at the same time helping to inspire international employees of the future. Naturally, we also want to be able to attract international employees to the LEGO Group in the future as well as to other companies in the Billund area. In addition, it is important to us to provide Danish parents with interesting offers and future opportunities for their children, and the trend is that more and more parents want an international education for their children. We have therefore taken the initiative to found a unique private, independent international school in Billund, the International School of Billund, which will open with a childcare centre and pre-school class (Year 0) in August 2013 and subsequently in stages as of August 2014. A survey conducted by the UK firm ISC Research, which specialises in international schools, shows that the need for international educational offers in many parts of the world exceeds the offering available, and that many countries choose to earmark resources for international schools to safeguard the recruitment of employees. The same trend is seen in Denmark, where a number of surveys indicate that the capacity in our international schools does not meet the demand. The challenge of meeting the demand for international schools, however, is not a new phenomenon. Back in 2009, the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) conducted a survey among 70 of its large international member companies, 10

THINGS TO KNOW International School of Billund set up by LEGO Foundation August 2013: School will open its doors to students from 3 to 6 years August 2015: Official launch of IB World School Candidacy with full PYP and MYP programmes for ages 6-16

We believe that we in Denmark have a special potential and the necessary competencies and knowledge to create world-class international teaching. And we are uniquely equipped to do so! Our strong creative learning tradition has attracted renewed attention. In many ways, the world is looking to the north when it comes to play, learning and education and to developing and nurturing creative and problem-solving young people with excellent collaboration skills. The conditions are in place for creating a unique international education which can make Denmark stand out from other countries and attract the highly-qualified international employees who are so crucial to Denmark’s development and position in the global race. The LEGO Foundation will contribute to this through the new international school in Billund.

“At the LEGO Foundation, we want to contribute to the development of unique, world-class international educational offers while at the same time helping to inspire international employees of the future.” which showed that 55% of the companies had experienced problems securing places for international employees’ children at international schools. And the shortage of school places was a direct reason why one-fourth of these companies had difficulties recruiting employees. According to ISC Research, the number of pupils in international schools worldwide has more than tripled from about one million pupils in 2002 to today. This figure is expected to increase to six million pupils over the next ten years in line with the number of international schools going up from 6,000 to 10,000. Denmark is following suit in this development. In August this year, the news agency Ritzau evaluated five of Denmark’s 22 international schools, and the trend is clear: The number of pupils is rising year by year, and new international schools are springing up – and not just in the Greater Copenhagen Area. International schools do not in themselves guarantee higher quality or more visionary teaching, but the need for a curriculum spanning countries, cultures and religions is real and important – not just for the individual pupil or family, but also for society at large. There is increasing awareness of and focus on the fact that international education is important, also among our politicians. Apart from the international aspect, it is also important to keep in mind that we are educating our children for jobs that do not yet exist. Society is developing at an incredible pace, and it is impossible to predict the types of jobs which will be available in 10-20 years’ time. This poses new and different requirements for the competencies which our children need to acquire. Strictly academic competencies are still essential, of course, but it is also important to focus on ‘soft’ competencies such as creativity, problem-solving, the ability to collaborate and to think critically. These are the skills which prepare our children for managing on their own and navigating in a future global society of which we are unable to conjure up a clear picture.

The unique part about the International School of Billund is its cornerstone – creativity. We want to create a creative international school which combines the recognised international curriculum, the International Baccalaureate, with our proud Danish learning traditions – and even to take it one step further so that not only the teaching but also the physical environment focus on and provide space for promoting creativity and learning through play. The teaching activities at the school will be characterised by hands-on experiences, with pupils working with assignments and problems to which they can relate and which encourage them to experiment, develop own solutions, think outside the box and collaborate. The school will offer relevant and engaging teaching activities which motivate the pupils to participate actively and take ownership of their own learning. This will require that the teachers accept and take on a new, more facilitating role as ‘facilitators’ or ‘mentors’. A role where the teachers set out the framework and the target and steer the process in the right direction, but at the same time leave room for the pupils to experiment and explore on their own. This type of teaching is exactly what is needed to ensure development of the competencies our children will need in the future. In Denmark, we are able to offer a very unique solution in terms of our children’s learning and not least in terms of the development of competencies such as creativity, collaboration skills and problemsolving in future employees. Let us put our tried and tested Danish learning tradition to good use as a competitive parameter which can contribute positively to attracting international employees and to developing Danish society. The International School of Billund is a new player on the international school map. The school will offer unique international teaching activities with a strong focus on creativity, play and learning. This will be at the core of our values – and approach. We look forward to welcoming the first parents and pupils.

Team peru: Changing the way change happens Charity IB

Sohini Kumar

Imagine a boy of 12 or 13. What do you envision? A young boy running around, playing football? Maybe mischievously pulling a girl’s braids and running away? Or perhaps hanging around his mother, hoping she will buy him a chocolate bar if he is good? All of these are things young boys may do, but not Luis. He lives in a home for children with special needs in Peru, called Mama Cocha. When he moved in, he was 11 years old. The average 11-year-old child weighs 35 to 40 kilograms; Luis weighed 12 kilograms. Due to severe malnutrition, he wasn’t able to raise his head. He couldn’t respond to someone calling his name. Many people in Peru believe that children with special needs are ‘devil’s children’, which is why many young people like Luis have been mistreated and abused. Two years later, Luis still lives in Mama Cocha. After many sessions of therapy, he is able to make eye contact and follow objects with his eyes. His life is no longer at risk, thanks to a British charity called Kiya Survivors. Kiya, or quilla, is the Quecha word for ‘moon’, which is the symbol for a new beginning.

Luis is one of the children living in Mama Cocha, and also one of many children with special needs in Peru. More than 200 such abused and abandoned children and young people across Peru are supported by Kiya Survivors, which was founded by Suzy Butler. Team Peru, a program founded in 2005 at Copenhagen International School, works in partnership with Kiya Survivors to support two homes for such children: Mama Cocha and the Rainbow Centre. Mama Cocha, located at Los Organos (Mancora), currently provides a home for up to nine young people. There are two dormitories, a lounge, a kitchen, two bathrooms, a bedroom for the staff, or substitute mums, and a playground. The staff who take care of the children consist of three substitute mums, a speech therapist, a physiotherapist, a psychologist, a social worker, a teacher and a watchman, as well as a director responsible for the centre.

“Kiya is the Quecha word for ‘moon’, the symbol for a new beginning” The staff at Mama Cocha work on different projects, along with therapy, to help develop the children’s behavior; for example, they often do creative workshops, which help the children learn about sharing, collaboration, completing projects, and asking for what they need, as well as using weaker muscles. One of Team Peru’s aims is to provide a secure future for the young people living in Mama Cocha and the Rainbow Centre. We support these two homes through fundraising at school events, birthday parties, etc., as well as the 100 Club. The aim of the 100 Club is to get a hundred members who are willing to donate £10 each month. The average monthly running cost of Mama Cocha is about £1,200, including food for the children, maintenance, salary for the staff, etc. If 100 members join, Mama Cocha, along with the children’s future will be secure. As well as raising money for the homes, CIS students from grades 9-11 are chosen to travel to Peru every two years. Not only do they get the chance to meet the children and provide service at the centers, but they are also able to see the effect of their work. They are able to see how their efforts are creating a change in people’s lives, and, most of all, they are changed by what they see. The latest CIS trip to Mama Cocha was in March 2012, but preparations began months before. We were given information packets about Peru, told about the centre and the young people living there in more detail, learnt Spanish, and worked on teambuilding activities. We were prepared for the three major things we had to do during the trip: building a shelter so the substitute mums could cook outside; making signs for some of the rooms at Mama Cocha, and the house; and painting a mural in the physiotherapy room. We were divided into groups according to our jobs, and started planning what we would do.

During our stay at Peru, our first day at Mama Cocha involved looking around the house, beginning work on our projects, and -- what was looked forward to by many -- seeing, and interacting with, the children. Over the next week, we worked on our projects, and by the end of the trip, we had not only changed Mama Cocha, but Mama Cocha had also changed us. Sebastian Gregersen, a 12th grade student who has been a part of Team Peru for four years, said, “Going on the trip gives you insight to what it takes to make a functioning world. The experience makes you appreciate what you have and value what you can give.” Traveling to Peru and working hands-on there has been inspirational in several ways for the students who have been on the trips. Matthew Lundy, an 11th grade student who went on the 2012 trip said, “In this age of technology, of Facebook and Skype, people underestimate the impact of seeing somebody in person. You can look at words and pictures on a page, but to really understand a person, to really get involved, you have to be close enough to touch them, to treat them like a soul. Close enough to see slight changes in their eyes and faces. I will often forget a picture that I see in a commercial or powerpoint but I will never forget what it was like to see the way Hector walked and looked at me. I will never forget the sun on my face as I worked across from him. I will never forget his smile.” Seeing the children developing, growing, and smiling truly puts into perspective just how much a little kindness and care can do. Having the chance to interact with children with special needs shows how words are not the only way to communicate, and how a smile can say much more. “Being able to go to Peru and see the children we had heard so much about was amazing,” said Antonia Kasoulidou, a grade 11 student who went on the 2012 trip. “Just watching them grow and seeing how we are making a difference in their lives is truly one of the best things I could ever experience.” There are many ways to help Peruvian children like Luis. Sponsoring a child takes as little as £8 a month and the money directly benefits the child you sponsor, about whose progress you will be notified regularly. Donating for the children or the home in general is also possible, as well as volunteering your time or sponsoring a project. To find out about more options for supporting children with special needs in Peru, please visit the Kiya Survivors web site: http://www. kiyasurvivors.org/index.php. An opportunity to personally see and work with children like Luis may be once in a lifetime; but a chance to make a change isn’t.

out and about CIS Evvents 2013

Celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day

Staff appreciation day 14

Girls basketball team with coach Fred

NECIS girls

NECIS boys

Boys basketball team

CIS Book Fair

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