Campus Development

Campus Development >> A Step towards Growth Cebu International School Campus Renovations

School facilities play a crucial role in the overall education and wellbeing of the students in terms of safety, practicality, and convenience. The new changes made to the Cebu International School (CIS) campus facilities enhanced the lives for students, teachers, parents, the staff, and the whole CIS community. As a junior who has been in CIS since 1st grade, I strongly believe that CIS has strived to efficiently maximize the available spaces within campus area in order to provide the utmost quality of academics and establish a robust sense of community by welcoming everyone. Extensive developments were made including:

1. New library (Resource center) The newly renovated resource center (library) was the biggest change introduced in school year 2016-2017. By utilizing the area previously dedicated for the hallway, IT lab, and the benches, CIS resource center provides a myriad of functions as it can accommodate a larger number of people. By locating the librarian’s area in between the elementary section and the middle high school section, students of all ages can efficiently and conveniently approach the librarians for help and guidance. Due to the increased size of the resource center, the number and scope of resources have also increased correspondingly.

Alongside the renovation came numerous additions into the resource center. Firstly, a segregated meeting room, that teachers, staff, and even students can reserve, has been added. Instead of using a wide-open area, in the case of our previous resource center, the meeting room provides privacy as well as intimacy, thus bringing the sense of collaboration and discussion to a higher level. When the meeting room is vacant, students (especially Juniors and Seniors) may reserve the room during study hall, or homerooms/classes may also utilize the meeting room for presentations or discussions. In order to prioritize the students undertaking the IB curriculum, there has been an addition of three study rooms, that can each accommodate 4 to 6 students. At the far side of the resource center, near

the elementary section of the library, a parent room was established. Parents or visitors may use this room when waiting for students or for a meeting. Since the new resource center combines both elementary and middle high school libraries, the previous elementary library located in ELC was removed. Moving on to the next facility change, this area was also renovated into a Common Collaborative Space.

2. Common Collaborative Space for the ELC (Elementary Learning Center) The Common Collaborative Space for the ELC encourages further teamwork and cooperation between students from different grade levels. By establishing a common room that students can easily access to look for their own relevant resources from books, newspapers, magazines, the internet, or through discussions, the Common Collaborative Space pushes the primary school students’ level of independence when looking for information, and aids them for the development of problem-solving skills. Additionally, the communication between teachers from different classes are enhanced due to a common area, where teachers can use to plan for future activities.

3. Repositioning of the Classrooms The repositioning of the classrooms was a highly reasonable and efficient change, due to the convenience provided for students, especially newcomers. Previously, classrooms in CIS were ordered in a random manner; thus it was challenging for new students to locate their assigned classes. As school year 2015-2016 started, CIS has decided to change the locations of the classrooms, in order to create a logical pattern in the placements. The ELC classrooms were arranged so that the youngest learners from Pre School 3 to Grade 2 are on the first floor, and Grades 3-5 on the second floor of the ELC building. The MHS (middle and high school) went through many changes, alongside the renovation of the resource center. This helps teachers and students close in age to access materials and work together. For middle and high school, CIS relocated the classroom

in the order of IB departments - Human Sciences, Natural Sciences, English, World Language, Mathematics, and Art. By doing so, communication between subject teachers of the same department became much more efficient due to the proximity of their classrooms.

4. Open Canteen (Field View) By January 2016, the Open Canteen was fully constructed, providing extra space for students and staff during lunch times. Alongside the increasing number of students, creating an Open Canteen not only provided an additional space, but was an efficient usage of the area that was previously unused. Located by the field, parents and visitors may view the field activities, such as soccer and rugby practice, house sports day, tournaments, etc. This new facility invites parents to become part of the CIS community by dedicating a space for them.

5. First Floor Bathrooms Although many students perceive the change in the first floor bathrooms as a minor change, such change acknowledges the safety of students to a great extent. Despite the presence of guards and the addition of security cameras around the campus, bathrooms are spaces of privacy, where intervention of problems are difficult due to the decreased amount of supervision. By segregating the bathrooms for students, staff, and visitors, it isn’t just a matter of increased convenience and improved facility, but it eliminates the chance of conflicts that may arise. The guards enforce strict rules for both students and visitors, telling them which bathrooms to use.

Changes to the CIS campus facilities do not stop here. CIS is dedicated to provide the best experience in learning; thus the pursuit of continuous development and improvement of school facilities is ceaseless. Constant relevant changes will eventually lead to enhanced education for not only students but for the whole CIS community, establishing an ideal community for individual growth as well as discovery of potential. As our school motto mentions, we are ‘responsible, respectful, and prepared’ in approaching our education and our Respect for Others, Community, and Self will not only educate our mind but also discipline our hearts. CIS ROCS!

By Shin Seung Heon Brian, (16sshin@cis.edu.ph)

Campus Development >> New Campus To Impact Learning, Says UNIS Hanoi

Commenting on the major development, Mr Len Archer, Director of Finance and Operations at UNIS Hanoi, said, “UNIS Hanoi was founded in 1988 and started life in rented facilities with just 12 students. The campus we currently enjoy came into being in 2004 and since then we have not re-modeled in any way, despite our student numbers steadily growing to 1,100 students and the landscape of education evolving. This campus redevelopment however is not intended to increase student enrollment, but it’s about contributing to the teaching and learning that takes place here in a dramatic way.”

STUDENTS and teachers at the United Nations International School Hanoi (UNIS Hanoi) are set to benefit from a $35 million campus revamp that’s designed to ‘dramatically and positively impact’ learning.

Unveiled recently to the School community by the Head of Schools, Dr. Chip Barder, the campus development plans feature a state-ofthe-art World Languages Centre, a testing centre and new track and field facilities. In addition, a UN Plaza will be constructed, on-campus security tightened and environmentally friendly centralised heating and cooling system installed.

The project, which has been in the pipeline for the past 5 years, will be carried out in four phases, starting this June. Designed by global architects, Perkins Eastman, the construction will be overseen by project management consultants MACE, working with a design team from Group GSA and engineering firm, Boydens. The projected deadline for completion is June 2019 and will include renovation works throughout the School.

The School this year launched a new five-year strategic plan with a goal of Excellent Learning front and centre including objectives to ensure learning spaces empower programmes.

Dr. Barder added, “As part of our plans, we have included some areas around the campus which can be used in a myriad of ways, to give us the flexibility as educators to innovate in these spaces in response to the educational programme.”

New Campus Features Include:

* UN Plaza Welcome Centre * World Language Centre * Testing Centre * Activities Area in the Early Childhood Centre * Track and Field Facilities * Solar-panelled walkways * Wind Power technology * Food Science Section

Press Release >> International Schools Moving Towards Inclusion

An increasing number of international English-medium K-12 schools are embracing the opportunities and challenges of inclusion says a recent survey conducted by ISC Research and Next Frontier Inclusion.

The survey was conducted this January and asked over 8,000 international schools about their approaches to inclusion and their provision for children with learning differences. Responses were collected from 584 schools of varying sizes, based in all regions of the world. Today’s international schools market responds to the learning needs of children from both expatriate and local families, and provision for students with special learning needs is no longer an exception. As legislation supporting inclusion in schools is being implemented in such countries as the UK, US and Australia, so expatriate parents are expecting such provision from international schools. And local families, unable to access specialist support in their state schools, are increasingly turning to international schools for the solutions they need. It is as a result of these demands that a growing number of international schools are becoming more inclusive.

The results of the survey by ISC Research and Next Frontier Inclusion (NFI) reflect this move towards inclusion. Although a third of the schools that responded classify themselves as selective (27% based on testing and previous school records and 6% as highly selective), the remaining schools consider themselves non-selective to varying degrees. 13% said they accept a managed number of students with mild learning differences and 28% said they accept a managed number of students with both mild and moderate learning differences. 9% said they accept a managed number of children with learning differences who include some with intensive needs. Often children with intensive needs follow a modified curriculum and may be placed in ‘a school within the school’, following an alternative pathway to graduation.

Integration within the mainstream classroom varies significantly. 35% of schools that participated in the survey said they follow an inclusive approach whenever they can; 25% said they use a learning specialist as a consultant and 10% said they use a learning specialist to co-plan, co-teach and co-assess alongside the mainstream teacher (known as a ‘push-in’ model). 44% said they use both push-in and pull-out (resource room) models. Only 5% of schools reported that the pull-out model was the main learning approach employed. However, NFI has found that there remains considerable confusion in international schools regarding the relative merits and weaknesses of different models of provision suggesting more understanding of appropriate provision needs to be developed.

What is evident from the survey is that most international schools are uncomfortable with an exclusionary attitude towards children with special learning needs. However, skilled staff are often lacking. Only 33% of the schools in the study said that staff working with

students with learning differences are entirely qualified special educators. 21.5% said staff are mostly qualified, 39% said some are qualified, and 14% said they have no specialists to support children with learning differences.

Of particular note was the fact that 84% of the international schools that responded to the survey said they enrol children with special gifts and talents, but only 35% of the schools said they are satisfied with their provision for this group of students. “There is a disconnect here,” says Bill Powell, Director of NFI. “Many times, school leaders use finances as a reason to exclude children with special educational needs. They’ll say: ‘we don’t have the programme for you, so it would be wrong for us to take you into our school’. But on the flip side of this, some of these schools are accepting children with high academic gifts and talents, even though they admit they are not happy with the provision they provide. That’s a significant ethical consideration that this survey has highlighted.”

In response to this misalignment, NFI is putting together a task force to propose standards for meeting the needs of highly capable students in international schools.

Other conclusions from the survey suggest an attitudinal shift away from elitist and non-inclusionary language and policies although many schools indicate they are insecure about how to change. “There’s a greater willingness towards inclusion, but there’s also some scratching of heads about what to do, and a fear about getting it wrong,” says Ochan Powell, also a Director of NFI.

The survey is the first of its kind amongst international schools and ISC Research intends to track the market on an annual basis to identify trends as they develop. “Anecdotal evidence suggests the market is moving towards being more inclusive,” says Richard Gaskell, Director for International Schools at ISC Research. “This focused research will help us to provide the data that international schools need in order to know how the market is actually responding to the needs of all students.”

A full report of the survey is available here or from ISC Research. <http://tinyurl.com/za62ccy>

ISC Research is part of The International School Consultancy (ISC) and has been the leading provider of data and market intelligence on the world’s international schools market for over 20 years. Next Frontier Inclusion is a non-profit membership organisation supporting international schools on their journeys to becoming increasingly inclusive of children with special education needs.