COPENHAGEN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
JUNE 2016 #10
Editor in Chief: Suzanne O Reilly
Managing Editor: Chris Hambley
Hellerupvej 26 2900 Hellerup, Denmark
www.cis.dk
Graphic Design: Ivan Gendjov P: +45 39 46 33 00
Dear CIS Community, Welcome to the spring edition of CIS Footprints. With the help of our two assistant editors, students Filippa Dineson and Lila Schroff, we will explore what place means to our community both near and far. As a transient community, having a strong sense of place is important if we are to enjoy our experiences and feel at home in a host country. Over the past fifty years, CIS has had a number of different buildings, each holding a special place for those connected to the school. CIS and Copenhagen, it seems, are definitely places people call home and enjoy to return too, if only in memory. According to the geographer Yi‐Fu Tuan, “what begins as undifferentiated space becomes place as we get to know it better and endow it with value.” We might imagine here the experience of that first day at CIS for a new student who has just arrived from another school or country. What initially must seem strange and daunting soon becomes familiar and comforting. We might move schools, cities, countries, even continents, but “places stay put”; they offer stability, security and permanence; they are where we pause, Tuan argues. But as we continue to prepare to leave behind the Hellerup and City campuses for our new home in Nordhavn in less than a year, perhaps our feelings of stability and permanence will be challenged. Looking to the reflections, memories and lived experience of both current students and alumni in this edition of Footprints, however, CIS appears to be a place that has permanence in the lives of many of our students and community members; for however long our students, families and staff pause here at CIS, we sense that they develop and take with them a true sense of place, lasting feelings of attachment and belonging. Best wishes, Suzanne and Chris
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DIRECTOR, WALTER PLOTKIN “Perhaps this issue of Footprints will give you some insight into the complexities of place. Maybe the expressions “there is no place like home” and “home is where you hang your hat” give us a clue as to why the noble experiment that has become international education has been so successful, and at the same time point to some of its limitations.
CIS BOARD 2016/ INTERVIEW WITH JAY WATKINS While being on the Board means being less ”visibly social” than being on the PTA, the work is gratifying in its own right.
CIS PTA We focus on building a strong school community and are an active part of school life. Many parents volunteer to join in with PTA activities, giving their time and energy and energy to fundraising and working in partnership with the school.
NEW SCHOOL ARTICLES “Not too long ago, the CIS Nordhavn Campus was more of a dream than reality, but that is changing more and more everyday”
MY FAVOURITE PLACE – MIDDLE SCHOOL “Walking into the classroom, the first thing that catches my eye is the purple carpet in the corner of the room. I later learned that we would sit there, together.”
MY FAVOURITE PLACE – ALUMNI “When I came to CIS it was in its final year at Gammel Kongevej in the heart of Copenhagen. At that point it was already clear that the move to Hellerup was going to happen.”
CIS FOOTPRINTS June 2016 13 15 17 19 21 22
THE PROM Unlike previous years, we have decided to host Prom at the Hellerup Campus. We wanted to have a school-based event actually at school, and even though we don’t attend the Hellerup Campus, it still feels like a part of where we belong.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Blaz Kristinc and Anne Kolker Blaz: “ Make knowing yourself your primary objective - look at yourself from the side and know your strengths and weaknesses; try to see how others would perceive you.” Anne: “ I’ve tried to live my life according to a quotation attributed to the Dalai Lama to “approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.”
IB ART The idea to use the new campus came from one of the DP art students and her teacher. They had a vision for the exhibition in a stark, “deconstructed” space. space.
SUSAN BROWN Everyone who has ever given, or helped with sorting clothes or transporting them, is a part of CIS Spirit of Giving.
TRIBUTE TO OLIVER TODD 1965 - 2016 “Those of us who lead a somewhat transient, international life are fortunate to meet many wonderful people. Of those we do meet, a few leave a more lasting impression. To me, Oliver was one of those people.”
OUR SPONSORS A big thank you to all our sponsors at the PTA Spring Fair 2016.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT Walter Plotkin School Director are separated by the specifics of language, custom and previous experience? What is the thread that binds us, given our seeming and real differences? Is home a place or something else, less fixed and clearly defined? Perhaps this issue of Footprints will give you some insight into the complexities of place. Maybe the expressions “there is no place like home” and “home is where you hang your hat” give us a clue as to why the noble experiment that has become international education has been so successful, and at the same time point to some of its limitations. As a group we have become accustomed to periodic, if not frequent moves, learning to adapt to new surroundings and social networks. For many of our students, home has become “where my family lives.” For some of us, though, home is a place that is fixed and disconnected from any impermanent residence. I know that I am considering this as I anticipate moving back to the United States after thirty years of life in many a farflung place.
We
have come from places all over the world to become CIS community members. For some it’s been from across town, while others have traversed continents to join. Collectively we represent nearly 100 nationalities (though it’s tricky to get a precise number) and probably a similar, if not greater, number of mother tongues and cultures. We have lived in thousands of homes, communities and countries. Our children have probably attended tens of thousands of schools, many of them quite different from ours. How, then, is it possible for us to get along as well as we do? Is place the barrier to harmony and cooperation that it perhaps once was when strangers were considered to be potential if not actual threats to our wellbeing? Are we strangers to one another if we
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Will life in North Carolina feel like home? Will I miss joys that I have been afforded by the opportunity to live and work in fascinating places like Samoa, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Africa and Europe? Will I reacclimate to a day-to-day life amidst family and old friends? I hope and suspect that the answer to both questions will be yes, but I’ll have to get back to you on that. To bring this small essay full circle, however, I would like to share an observation that many, if not most of you, have already had. Despite our many differences, we are at heart quite similar. I believe that if we approach others with respect and empathy, which are universal values, we can learn from and with others, creating temporary oases on our personal treks through time and space. While home clearly matters, we should try not to confuse that with place.
GRADUATION 2016
Nationalities: Australia, China, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israe, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe
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THE CIS BOARD 2015 - 2016 Interview with Jay Watkins New Board Member
Form left to right: Susanne Larsson, Rosalind Gibbons, Lars Krogsgård, Brit van Ooijen, Sylvia Scharf, Jesper Møller and Jason Evans. Not pictured: Andy Reynolds, Cécile Della Torre and Jay Watkins.
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requent change is a hallmark of international schools and CIS is no exception. This summer, several CIS parents currently on the Board will move on to new places: Susanne Larsson, Jason Evans, Cécile Della Torre and Andy Reynolds. We wish them all the best and thank them for their work and commitment to CIS.
Watkins as a member of the New School committee and Heather Stevenson and Dimitri Griffioen were elected as new board members at the recent AGM. Claudia Schiffhauer was elected as the alternate board member.
MOVING TO OTHER PLACES While being on the Board means being less ”visibly social” than being on the PTA, the work is gratifying in its own right. For example, our Governance Committee recently completed a full review of all the school’s policies and procedures, with help from two former members, Katie Robson and Isabella Smith. A huge task, but indispensable for proper governance. A big thanks to everyone involved. To become a Board member at CIS, you are either appointed or elected. Last month we appointed Jay
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Amongst those who are moving on this year include Walter Plotkin, our Director, and Caroline Brokvam, our High School Principal. Some of you have met their successors, Jennifer Weyburn and Stephen McIlroy, currently in China and Thailand, respectively. Both are very excited to be joining CIS, and made an appearance at the Annual General Meeting in April.
THE CIS BOARD 2016 Interview with Jay Watkins New Board Member
We asked Jay Watkins, our newest school board member, about his experience so far.
What role will you serve on the board?
Any concerns?
I will serve on the New School Committee, whose job is to assist our director, Walter, and the School Board to ensure that our move to the Nordhavn campus stays on schedule for January 2017 start. I’m very confident that we will be on schedule, but regular committee meetings to sort out issues, that always do arise, will help make sure our successful start in January 2017 happens.
Not really. I am daunted by the collaborative effort that will be required to consolidate the Hellerup and City Center campuses into a single new campus at Nordhavn. While we have lots of planning and work ahead with the move, I truly believe that those involved with building the new campus, and the larger group involved in transition planning, have their heart in the right place. This is going to work because the students, the administration and the parent community will come together, as a team, and make the move a success.
So after seeing the new building under construction, what do you think? I am excited. First of all, when you walk through the site, the attention to detail and quality of workmanship is great. You can tell that the architects and construction team have put great effort into ensuring that the new school campus will be stunning. Moreover, the Nordhavn campus will be a real source of inspiration to the students, teachers and community. The project is delivering a campus environment that will foster a dynamic educational experience for many years. From the classroom designs to the open spaces throughout to the many special purpose rooms, the school will open up new doors on how and what we can teach our kids. Finally, the Nordhavn campus is well positioned to have a positive impact on the overall future community of Nordhavn.
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THE CIS PTA Who are they? What do they do?
PTA Board, from left to right: Amanda Vo, Andrea Worobel, Caroline Banerjee, Kirsten Tschofen, Jo Burt, Liz Woodhour
Staff Appreciation Day Committee
Parents’ Culinary Creations
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Delicious Action
CIS Newcomers Committee
THE CIS PTA FOCUSES ON BUILDING A STRONG SCHOOL COMMUNITY BY:
Organizing events and establishing programs to welcome new families
Copenhagen Guided Tour
Planning events to raise funds for supplementing various school initiatives
CIS Spirit Of Giving
Supporting student and staff needs, and reinforcing the partnership between parents, faculty and school
CIS Spirit Shop FOOTPRINTS - June 2016
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A VISIT TO THE FUTURE Lila Shroff Filippa Dinesen
The new CIS Building is growing every single day
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ot too long ago, the CIS Nordhavn Campus was more of a dream than reality, but that is changing more and more everyday. In fact, when walking through the colossal building you can almost imagine being at school. Of course the musty sawdust smell surrounding the future cafeteria will eventually be replaced by the hunger-inducing aroma of fresh lunch. And the rhythmic beating from the eventual music room will soon no longer be workers installing foundation columns, but from students learning how to play the drums. As we step into a potential Danish classroom, my mind flicks to the oral assessment we have coming up next week. Continuing further down a spacious hallway I see a construction worker feverishly scribbling over well-worn blueprints, chewed pencil in hand. It’s hard for me not to imagine myself in his shoes, taking a math test where the numbers just don’t add up or writing an essay where I can’t find the right words. Not long later, we enter the new gym and I remember that I have volleyball practice soon, and that I should probably get going. Taking a final step outside the new CIS, I am reluctant to leave, though I am quickly comforted by the thought of coming here every day. Eventually, once the hype of the new school fades off, I might one day even groan at the thought of coming through these doors, but for now I can’t wait!
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Although I was forced to wear a hard hat and neon vest to enter, and even if the glass walls are still metal frames and most of the doors are yet to be installed, it’s beginning to feel more and more like our school.
Those quiet hall ways will be full of cheer before we know it
Can you guess what will that be?
Our future science lab looks like a decor from a sci-fi movie FOOTPRINTS - June 2016
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MIDDLE SCHOOL MY FAVOURITE PLACE AT CIS My favorite place in school is the library. I love the smell of old books and the cozy feeling you get when you’re inside of it. I love how quiet it is. Magnolia Fazeli-Larsen (Grade 7) With every movement the tire swing groans in pain, creaking as we rock it from side to side. Bubbles of laughter escape our throats as we push our friends higher and higher into the sky. Reality is long forgotten, as we rock away our problems. Our arms burn from the effort of pushing the heavy swing. But in the end it’s worth it, gazing up at the blue sky, pointing out different clouds and what they look like. We settle into peaceful bliss, without another care in the world. Isabella Egvang (Grade 8) The place I like the most in CIS is the D floor, which is for eighth graders, and eighth graders only. It has purple couches. Large, soft, fluffy couches. Good couches...if you don’t look beneath the pillows. That’s another story. If you get let out to break early you can get a whole couch for yourself, and relax a bit before the next class. You can hang out with friends, finish the homework you should’ve done the day before, or eat a snack, adding to the grease of the plush cushions. And then you go on to your next class, and start all over again next break. Thomas Steenstrup (Grade 8)
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Bonk, bonk. “You’re out!” That is what I hear the most when we play foursquare in front of the huge doors and steps of the old building’s main entrance at Hellerup. We never talk about assessments, because that conversation doesn’t belong on the court. Everyone is smiling and chatting. No homework, no computers, and most importantly, no school. We can all feel the sun on our faces, even if the sun is hiding behind the puffy clouds. It is wonderful to be outside, in the fresh air. Isabel Ginnerup (Grade 8) Walking into the classroom, the first thing that catches my eye is the purple carpet in the corner of the room. I later learned that we would sit there, together. Sometimes we would read a story, and we would all crowd around him, our Grade 4 teacher, Mr Coddington, to see the pictures. That purple carpet was the one thing that kept the room calm and made me feel at home. Nora Krogsgaard (8) I’ll never forget the colourful tower in the corner of the playground, with a slide and monkey bars jutting out from the sides, which friends scramble up as quickly as they can, to avoid being caught by “it”. Shrieks from near misses, and the laughter from people running away ring through my ears. Sasha Calvert (Grade 8)
You walk into the lunchroom, between the pillars, look at the corner, smile at your friends laughing, and you know that they’re ready to share a chair or help you find another one. Sometimes it’s that table that feels tiny with everyone sitting around it. Sometimes it’s those couches that seem to hold half your grade. Sometimes it’s that long table across from the teachers. Tarne Lamp (Grade 8)
The gym is one of my favorite places at CIS. The joy of running across the open court or waking up early to get extra practice. Basketballs bouncing, echoing in the spacious area. The changing room is where I can have a good laugh with friends before and after a lesson or practice even though the small space is overwhelming with twenty smelly boys, and too much cologne. Looking over the balcony is always fun as well, watching the smaller children run in circles, smiling. Casey Shultis (Grade 8)
The first classroom I ever entered at CIS was my Pre-K classroom. It was large and spacious, with several round tables near the huge windows. The most important feature, however, was the rough, blue carpet. It was the centre of my school world. The gathering place. Johannes Hækkerup (Grade 8)
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ALUMNI
MIKKO VON LÜDERS – 1994 GRADUATE (NO.4) When I came to CIS it was in its final year at Gammel Kongevej in the heart of Copenhagen. At that point it was already clear that the move to Hellerup was going to happen. What was also clear was that the gym at Gammel Kongevej would remain the home of our CIS basketball team. For a few years, that gym was a sanctuary. It was filled with blood, sweat, tears, and unparalleled joy. The good times were shared by a group of students whose backgrounds, nationalities and languages all differed and yet this hallowed ground unified us all. To this day, there are bonds
that stretch across the globe, based singularly on the moments shared in that gym. Therefore, the sense of home that we all yearned for, and none of us understood in that conventional way, actually resides in our hearts today. The memory of a gym, long since re-purposed into a car rental facility, serves as strong walls that are impenetrable to those of us who still reside there in our hearts and minds. And that home is shared by a family who couldn’t have been more different. It is the best home I ever had!
MARKUS KAUFFMANN 2011 GRADUATE
I think my favourite spot at CIS, and probably the place I spent the most time, is the carpark/football and basketball area behind the gym. It was not as nice back then as it is now, but we had some great games there during our lunch breaks with people from across grades joining in. I would usually show up to class very sweaty and completely red in the face after break, which once led to Ms. Wykes asking me to put my head out the window for the first few minutes of design tech.
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MY FAVOURITE PLACE AT CIS
MATTHEW STANNERS - 2004 GRADUATE 3rd Grade Tree House
Flemmings’ Office
I was eight when I arrived at CIS. Our classroom was on the first floor, at the back of the middle school building. The classroom was lovely, but what made it really special was our teacher, Mrs. Rhodes. She had commissioned the two Flemmings, school janitors, to build a treehouse within our classroom. No other classroom had one, just us.
The basement boiler room where the Flemmings and their dog, Baloochi, resided was a mysterious place for the ten years I went to school at CIS. That is until I spent four years working my summers down there. Suddenly the room became another home and on top of that I was given my own set of keys to the school. No room was out of my reach. I spent my summers cooling down in the basement after being in the heat, cutting grass or painting walls. It really was the only room in the school that you could escape all the students and teachers for a bit of calm and space‌until the next blackboard needed putting up or kindergarten toy had been broken and needed fixing.
wwwwwDuring winter when it was super cold outside, we would sit up in the treehouse and play. It is the closest I ever got to experiencing a true feeling of hygge in a school.
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THE CIS PROM 2016
BEFORE THE PROM
AFTER THE PROM
Hellerup campus - It still feels like a part of where we belong. Following the CIS tradition that 11th graders organise prom, ten of us decided it was something we would like to be involved in and have worked together to ensure that prom this year will be just as special as all of the years before. From finding a venue to designing posters, we have managed to complete nearly all of our tasks and are in the final stages of plannings for the High School Prom.
The CIS Prom Committee is proud to announce that this year’s Grade 11 and 12 prom was an absolute success.
Unlike previous years, we have decided to host Prom at the Hellerup Campus. We wanted to have a schoolbased event actually at school, and even though we don’t attend the Hellerup Campus, it still feels like a part of where we belong.This year, as decided by the DP students via a vote, Prom will be James Bond themed. This involves red carpets, candles and lots of roses. We have arranged to decorate the Performing Arts Centre at the Hellerup Campus in such a way that people can have fun while being amongst many ‘007’ props. We have also planned to have a dinner suitable for everyone to be served in front of our ‘wall of memories’. Finally, a photographer has been arranged to take photos of the night, so we have something to look back on in years to come. Prom Committee
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Held in the Performing Arts Centre, the evening could not have gone any better. Our beautifully dressed guests arrived into a space completely transformed with hundreds of roses, candles, and beautiful Tivoli lights draped from the ceiling. With James Bond theme music playing in the background and a beautiful rendition of ‘Writings on the Wall/Skyfall,’ sung by Chiara Damman, the mood was set. Darren Davies delighted us with a delicious three-course meal which was accompanied by a variety of mocktails. As the evening commenced, we played James Bond themed games and opened our ‘casino room’ hidden in the rear of the Performing Arts Centre. It’s safe to say that every guest felt their inner Bond coming out that night. The Prom Committee is so very thankful to Katherine Krom for guiding us through the process of such a huge event and for bringing her positive energy to every moment of the journey. Thank you also to the wonderful 10th grade students who came to help us throughout the night—we could not have done it without you and can’t wait to see what you produce for next year’s prom.
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: BLAZ KRISTINC, 2008 GRADUATE disadvantage and would be handicapped for the rest of my life due to my lack of high academic achievements. In 2008, I enrolled in the University of Ljubljana, which was equipped to help students with dyslexia; however, being unsure of exactly where I wanted to go and what I really wanted to do in life, I decided to take a break from university to see the world, and I spent my savings on visiting both friends and far away countries. My travels over time took me to France to take a seasonal job in hotel management. I did not have any intention of building a career in this direction, rather I just wanted to meet some cool people, work and snowboard in my spare time. I started at CIS in grade 5, in 1999, and spoke very little English. I also entered the EAL Program where I was fortunate enough to have Mr. D´Andrea. Mr. D (as we called him) was a great teacher but I was too young at the time to really grasp how important his lessons would be later in life. By the time I entered Middle School, I found that not only were the academic expectations rising but also I found myself in a struggle with dyslexia. It became clear that I was not much of an academic type. I was always more attracted to the social dimension of the school experience, on the other hand. From a young age, I found out quickly that the primary driving forces in people’s lives are their emotions and relationships with those around them, so I tried to see the world not through the lens of what people said or did, but by the motivational force behind it; however, with dyslexia throughout my middle and high school years, I did grow slightly weary of what was coming next. I thought perhaps I was wrong in my way of thinking and that perhaps academic achievement was a cornerstone of a successful life, which seemed to be out of my reach. As an inclusive school, the teachers at CIS did what they could to help me, especially Ms. Duchatel, my EAL teacher. Ms. Duchatel provided me with a special computer so that I was able to write notes in class, and I was allowed extra exam time, which surely helped. Thanks to her support, I graduated in 2008 with certificates, a great feeling, but I still wondered if this meant that I actually was at a
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As time went by I had built up a solid relationship with the owner of the hotel; however, once my seasonal contract was over, I was ready to go home. As life would have it, it turned out that the owner also owned real estate in my home country of Slovenia. To cut the long story short, I now operate a flagship Villa-type vacation home, which is one of the best in the country and is raising the bar for hospitality operations in the region. Nested in a private location on the top of a mountain, overlooking a scenic Alpine valley, guests come to Villa Bella from all over the world to enjoy the pristine nature and breath-taking surroundings. You can see the villa on www.exclusiveslovenia.com and I invite everyone to come and experience my beautiful country! As a final word to those students who are worried about their current achievements and feel the pressure and uncertainty about the future, I want to tell them this: Make knowing yourself your primary objective - look at yourself from the side and know your strengths and weaknesses; try to see how others would perceive you. That will allow you to save a lot of time and effort in order to concentrate on the most fruitful endeavors. Finally, don’t try to imitate other people’s success. Stay true to yourself and you will succeed. With all my heart best wishes to all of you! Vi ses i Slovenia! Blaz Krstinc, 2008 CIS Graduate
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: ANNE KOLKER, 2004 GRADUATE I came to CIS in 5th grade (1996) with my family, as my dad was posted to the U.S. Embassy. We ended up staying until I graduated in 2004, at that point commuting between CPH and Kampala, Uganda. What is your happiest memory and your most favourite place? My happiest memory of CIS: what an unfair question! Too many NECIS trips, MUN fun, ridiculous days spent in the student lounge, putting on hilarious plays, wonderful teachers, and great friends, but the one memory that comes to mind most vividly is that at the assembly at the end of, I think it was, 7th grade: my class performed a play we had written ourselves (mostly Aleks Klinke, Jesper Duffy, and Matthew Stanners, I believe) that was called “Macbeth, the Comedy.” We had held a grand total of one rehearsal before the show, and, suffice it to say, it was a very weird play--the three witches were gambling addicts, Lady M (me) was a total bimbo, and there was also singing. It ended, as the play does (spoiler alert) with everyone dead, and I was the last one to try to use the pop gun and it was jammed. I whispered, apparently a little too loudly, “how do you work this thing?” and Jack (who was Macbeth, but on the floor dead at that moment) put his head up and said “pull the trigger, darling, pull the trigger.” The audience thought it was part of the show and laughed uproariously. Amazing moment of perfect comedic timing on Jack’s part. My favorite place at CIS is probably the PAC. I spent so much time there over the years and it was so formative to my life (hat tip and fond hello to Daniel Sarstedt). In Copenhagen, my favorite place is the couch facing Rådhuspladsen at the Baresso coffee across from Dagmar Cinema (I hope it’s still there). It is the most hyggelig place I can think of to this day. My favorite teacher is Bheka Pierce, who recently sent me a copy of the 1001 English Delights, proving that you never stop learning. I don’t know who I’d be without his influence, scholarship, encouragement, and friendship, but likely I’d be less curious and less empathetic.
Can you tell us about your passion for politics? I’ve always been passionate about politics (I created the CIS primary school student council and was its first President!), and working for then-Senator Obama in 2007 was my second summer in DC in the political world. He’s just as amazing as you think he is, and I am so proud that he is my President and of all that he has accomplished against great odds. For a while, I thought I wanted to run for office myself, but have decided against that. I’d rather be behind the scenes and not have to raise money for myself. I continue to be involved in politics as a volunteer and eager consumer of news, and support Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries currently underway. As someone who called her “Madam Secretary” when I worked at the State Department, I look forward to calling her “Madam President” soon. What are your goals for the future and do you have any words of wisdom for future CIS graduates? In terms of goals for the future, I’m just over half-way done with law school at NYU, so my immediate goal is to finish my education and become a fully-fledged lawyer. While I didn’t always want to be a lawyer, this career path is perhaps unsurprising to many of my high school classmates. I was inspired to go to law school as a result of my work on the UN Climate Change negotiations for the State Department (I did MUN as my real job), and hope to someday return to public international law, working for a U.S. government agency. In general, I hope to contribute to bending the arc of the moral universe towards justice in both my personal and professional life. As far as wisdom, I’ve tried to live my life according to a quotation attributed to the Dalai Lama to “approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.” And, read as many books as you can get your hands on: whether fiction or non-, they can help you understand yourself and the world around you, question assumptions and authority where needed, and books have helped me to find home and comfort throughout my not entirely sedentary life. Best, Anne
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IB ART EXHIBITION 2016 John Bo Jacobsen - ECIS Chair
Visual Arts Graduation Exhibition
Despite that we are still nine months away from completion of the construction phase, it was wonderful to attend the IB art exhibition 2016 at Nordhavn. It was simply great to see students working in the building for the first time.
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As usual, the quality of the pieces on display was very high, but since the artwork was also on display inside the construction site, it made for a very special experience.
This successful event underscores why a lot of people have been working very hard on this new building project for the last six years, and I cannot wait to see it completed so we will see the whole building come to life with enthusiastic and energetic students.
THE GRADUATING VISUAL ARTISTS OF 2016 Walter Plotkin - CIS Director
Artists: Naomi Bekele, Pratya Arora, Nicola Richards, Josephina Jørgensen, Brage Håvik, Sydney Evans, Ihdaa Bugis, Sophie Achiam, Nikola Trajkovski
The idea to use the new campus came from one of the DP art students and her teacher. They had a vision for the exhibition in a stark, “deconstructed” space.
Having the wonderful student art hung in the inspiring new building gave our community an opportunity to glimpse the present and imagine the future, both qualities of good art and architecture.
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SUSAN BROWN CHAIR OF CIS SPIRIT OF GIVING group to organise future collections. This group became CIS Spirit of Giving.
The CIS Community has donated not only clothes but also volunteered its time. Can you elaborate more on what it means to be part of CIS Spirit of Giving? Everyone who has ever given, or helped with sorting clothes or transporting them, is a part of CIS Spirit of Giving. It means thinking of others in need; that is, making the effort to wash those clothes so they can be donated, or cleaning up that pair of shoes, where it would be so much easier to just put them in a clothing bin or out for the rubbish collections. It means giving time and covering petrol costs to drive the donations to the Red Cross Centres. It means giving time to sort the clothes we receive so that we can hand them over in an easy to manage way.
You formed CIS Spirit of Giving in November 2015. What prompted you to start this project? CIS Spirit of Giving formed out of the generosity of CIS Parents. In the autumn of 2015, the Middle School Students were involved in a project to help others. Some did bake sales, some organised sponsored events, and one group decided they wanted to help the refugees in Denmark by collecting winter coats and boots. Once this project ended, though, people just continued giving. We didn’t only have coats and boots but many clothes, toys and other useful items. People were so willing to give because it was going to people in need. Seeing how much CIS had to give and encouraged by Suzanne O’Reilly, Claire Jewel, Eva Sanchez and I formed a
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CIS Spirit of Giving wants to be so much more than just passing on the donated items to the Red Cross. Our aim is to run targeted collections of what is needed at the time by the Red Cross or other organisations working with the refugees so that donations can be put straight into circulation.This saves money for the Red Cross, instead of them going to a
This is a n important i ssue. While we m ight f eel t here isn’t much we can do, when we do small things, bigger things can happen. The act is also meaningful because you’re helping a person you don’t know.
From Alexandra Christiansen (Gr. 8)
large sorting warehouse where donations are stored until they are asked for.
You have reached a number of networks outside of CIS, so can you tell us a bit more about how you reached beyond the walls of CIS? Through making phone calls and asking questions to find out who needs what and where, we have made a number of contacts in the Red Cross Centres in Sandholm, Auderød and Avnstrup. What has surprised us is how enthusiastic the people at these centres are that we are doing what we are doing. It is through the communications with them that we learn what they are in need of. We have visited Sandholm and seen how and where donations received are processed, which gave us the idea to pre-sort the clothing and shoes before delivering them. Through doing this, our donations can go straight onto the shelf in the outlet where the refugees visit to choose clothes. Through personal contacts we have also learnt a little about the refugees once they gain a status that allows them to move into a kommune. Most of the people working in the kommunes with the refugees are volunteers. They help them with Danish homework, translation and integration into Danish society. Volunteers see and hear first-hand what these people have been through to get their families to a safe place. They also see where budgets are stretched and have reached out to us to help; for instance, where two families, with eight children each, all needing winter coats and boots, arrived in the winter having been granted asylum here in Denmark. Finally, volunteers are building up their own outlet shop for the refugees in a church hall where donations can then be distributed. We have also reached out to a local underwear company for donations of ladies underwear, and have been pleasantly surprised with boxes of underwear from them on two occasions. Underwear is something for which every Red Cross Centre has asked us.
Your future goals?
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To carry on, on a regular basis, with the targeted collections
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Continue building links with the Red Cross for what they need and when, as well as with the volunteers in Rudersdal Kommune. The Red Cross does not have such a large need for children’s clothing whereas the Kommune may and these are things we need to explore with them
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We would also like to find ways to involve the middle school children and are working with Jon Treadgold in the humanities department on this
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We would also like to set up a page with volunteer opportunities.
One of the most positive things to have come out of the CIS Spirit of Giving is how the community at CIS has come together to help and support it. We have always had so many donations, and volunteers to sort and transport the donations were plentiful. We should be truly grateful to know that we are surrounded by kind, generous and thoughtful people. You can follow us on Facebook at CIS Spirit of Giving
From Sasha Calvert (Gr. 8)
FOOTPRINTS - June 2016
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TRIBUTE TO OLIVER TOD 1965 - 2016 It is with great sadness that the Board has learned of the passing away of Oliver Todd, and I am writing on behalf of them to express our sincere condolences with this huge loss for CIS. Aside from being a longstanding and highly respected English teacher, Oliver served for many years as the High School teacher representative at Board meetings. His dedication, frank remarks and facial expressions will be remembered in appreciation of a man with firm beliefs and high standards, who did not give credit unless he was absolutely convinced it was due. Oliver was also an active member of the teacher panel that conducted Skype interviews with our Director candidates last year. He took this role seriously and came well prepared with probing questions. Yet his wry sense of humour was never far away; he took a special delight in surprising candidates with off-topic icebreaker questions such as: “What is your guilty TV show pleasure?” Colin Laforet, Colleague I had the utmost respect for Oliver as a colleague. He was a true master of his profession that knew his audience so well. He had a profound impact on his students, and it didn’t matter what learning style entered his classroom, for he found a way to reach them all. He always freely gave of his time to sit, listen, and offer his advice thoughtfully but never carelessly. Oliver will always be remembered for all the good things he brought to the CIS community. He truly was the salt of the earth kind of person, but, more importantly, a good friend and colleague. Pete Butler, Former PE Teacher Those of us who lead a somewhat transient, international life are fortunate to meet many wonderful people. Of those we do meet, a few leave a more lasting impression. To me, Oliver was one of those people. It was with great sadness that I learned of his passing this week. As I cycled to work that morning, it was peacefully quiet, and my thoughts were of Oliver and my memories of him. We worked in different faculties in different buildings. I taught MYP PE in the faculty that Paul Mitchell once famously stated “creates new brain cells,” while Oliver worked with a
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FOOTPRINTS - June 2016
faculty that another quickly pointed out “fills them up”. I remember Oliver’s exceptional wit in terms of both intelligence and humour; his ability to always engage me in entertaining conversation, and his natural gift at brightening up my day whenever we crossed paths. Any day interacting with Oliver was a good day, and for that I thank him. Jarrad Fry, Former CIS Student Mr Todd was a great teacher and a hilarious person. I have countless memories of great classes with him where he would tell us stories about his life growing up. In typical Mr Todd fashion, these stories were usually crude and, at times, even sad, but they were always highly entertaining and ended with a positive outlook. He was sometimes thought of as negative or cynical but, for me, this made him one of the most positive people I’ve met. I learned a lot about how to look at the world from Mr Todd. It was a joy to be a student of his—he changed my life and his memory will live on. Lars Kastrup-Nielsen, Former CIS Student I send my deepest sympathies and respects to the Community of CIS. I remember when Mr. Todd was my English teacher. He would always have us reflect on our work and always make us aim towards our individual potentials. While I sometimes felt he was hard on us with his great expectations, I came to realise that he simply tried to push us to perform the best that we could. And I pushed myself to do the best that I could with his guidance. He gave me so many valuable tools and knowledge concepts that helped me not only in my English course but also outside of school in my independent work. It is in large part to him that I chose to study a joint BA Theatre and English degree at Brunel University in London. He was, is and always will be, an inspiration to me. From a former CIS student, Farewell Mr. Todd, you will be remembered.
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPRING FAIR 2016 SPONSORS
THE CIS PTA FOOTPRINTS - June 2016
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