ISA Connections Issue 03

Connections

The International School of Amsterdam Magazine

ANNUAL REPORT ISSUE

Mission Statement

Our Vision

To be the foremost educator preparing students to become enlightened world citizens

Our Mission

The International School of Amsterdam exists to provide Education for International Understanding

Our Philosophy

We value integrity, respect and responsibility

We are committed to:

Providing a high quality international educational programme

Providing a safe, supportive educational environment

Challenging students to realise their potential Appreciating and celebrating cultural diversity Promoting open and effective communication

Promoting active involvement in the school, local and global communities

Preparing students to be independent thinkers and life-long learners

Striving for continuous improvement

Connections

The International School of Amsterdam Magazine Annual Report 2015

Editor-in-chief Erika Harriford-McLaren Co-editors Shelly Harrison Chris McLaren

Design and layout Wouter F. Goedkoop

Editorial assistants

Lara Kok

Luke Raben

ISA Photographer Kerry Reinking Photography www.kerryreinking.nl

Publisher

ISA in collaboration with XPat Media, The Hague, The Netherlands Printer

Drukkerij Damen Werkendam

The Netherlands

ISA alumni, families, faculty and friends receive Connections. We welcome your comments and encourage you to submit ideas and articles for consideration.

Letters and inquiries may be addressed to:

Connections

Sportlaan 45 1185TB Amstelveen +31 20 347 1111 communications@isa.nl www.isa.nl

Cover

Middle School adaptation of Midsummer Night’s Dream

Photo credit: Frankie Rees

Board of Governors

ISA Board of Governors overview for the year and introduction of new Board Chair, Brenda Broad and new parent members, David Rosenburg and Eric Robles.

Class of 2015

Overview of information from the graduating class of 2015, including awards, IB results and class of 2015 university and college acceptances.

Measures of Success

In August 2014, ISA won an award for being the Best Employer in Education in the Netherlands. Read more about how ISA wants to continue this trend with faculty and staff, how the school recruits the best and who was hired to join as new faculty and staff for the 2015-2016 year.

Thoughtfull School

Learn how ISA’s Thoughtfull School project is changing the the review processes behind traditional teacher evaulations and, more importantly, opening opportunities for teachers to benefit from collaborative training and support.

Centre for Development, Learning and Technology

ISA launched a new professional development centre on campus to support the professional development of ISA faculty and staff as well as other educators from around the world.

Partners in Health

A visit from royalty marked the launch of a new collaborative project between ISA’s Lower School Green Team, the Kikkoman Corporation of Japan and the Dutch organisation, The Missing Chapter Foundation.

Tanzania Girls 2015

For over the last 15 years, ISA has supported the education of young women at the Maasae Girls Lutheran Secondary School through the ISA Tanzania Girls Programme. Read a summary of the 2015 experience from Alessandra Lessen, a grade 11 participant.

The Arts at ISA

From Shakespeare to Miss Saigon to instrumental ensembles and Van Gogh, the arts at ISA continue to enrich the spirit of students, families and surrounding communities.

Business & Financial Information

ISA Business and Financial information for 2014-2015.

Editorial

Dear Friends of ISA,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the International School of Amsterdam’s Annual Report for 2014-2015. While no report can fully capture all of the amazing events and the wonders of teaching and learning that take place each and every day at this school, it is our hope to share a glimpse of highlights of what was undoubtedly a year to remember.

A Golden Anniversary

The 2014–2015 school year marked ISA’s Golden Anniversary. And, I believe everyone will agree that we did the school proud throughout the year with some very, very special celebrations.

The festivities began in early August with a great gathering of alumni and friends—over 700—who came from

as far away as Australia, Japan, India, and the United States to meet up with long-lost friends and classmates. Just a month later, almost 1400 members of the extended ISA community gathered for a Birthday Bash, organised by PTA President Clare Lenterman and her team. The sunny day was filled with great food, live music, games and even a ferris wheel as we celebrated the beginning of our Golden anniversary year. But for celebrations of our fiftieth, I would have to say that the grand finale, the pièce de résistance, was an event at the Van Gogh Museum that none of us will ever forget. On a chilly December evening, the faculty, staff and ISA Board of Governors enjoyed a semi-formal evening that included live music and a walking dinner, with the entire newly-launched collection available for our private viewing for the evening.

On-going Growth

With perfect timing, while both the alumni and ISA community celebrations were taking place in August, the new school wing, a 7800m2 beauty, designed by renowned Dutch architect Max van Huut, opened its doors to four floors of new classrooms, libraries, offices, meeting rooms, and a gym that allowed the school to address, temporarily, much of the pressure on our waiting lists. The new wing also allowed us to establish the long-planned ISA Centre for Development, Learning and Technology (see https://cdlt.isa.nl). ISA is now able to offer top-notch professional development opportunities onsite, not only to our own faculty but also to teachers from across the globe. The leadership of Lower School Assistant Head, Susan Loban, and Project Zero Coordinator, Lisa Verkerk, has been instrumental to the centre’s successful emergence.

Environmental Impact

I must also mention here that ISA was honoured with gold-level status by the Eco-Schools programme from the Foundation for Environmental Education. This is due to the dynamic ISA Green Team, a combined Lower and Upper School collaboration that has, over the years, had several hundred members. The success of our Green Team and the awarding of Eco-Schools status are the legacy of long-time ISA parent Peggy Brannigan, whose family has now returned to California after many years at ISA. In her honour, ISA has launched an annual student award – the Peggy Brannigan Award for Environmental Action – a scholarship given to a graduating senior who has demonstrated leadership, commitment and action to protect the environment. In addition to the scholarship, a donation is made by the school in the student’s name to the environmental organisation of their choice.

Extending our hand

In 2014-2015, ISA continued its long commitment to reaching out to those in need, both locally and globally, thanks to the leadership of our CAS Coordinator, Marjorie Bone, our dedicated faculty and staff, and the parent volunteers on the SHARE Committee. Together, they were able to spark the community into action to make meaningful contributions to the victims of the Nepali earthquakes last spring and to support many other long-standing service initiatives within the school. The Amnesty International Club, the Global Issues Network, Habitat for Humanity and the Tanzania Maasae Girls School initiatives all continued to extend ISA’s reach across the globe, thanks to the support of our students and staff.

A Memorable Year

The 2014-2015 school year was, indeed, one of historic and memorable proportions for our school. There is just so much more to recognise and celebrate—but I will leave that impossible task for the remaining pages of this report.

The International School of Amsterdam continues to grow and prosper across so many dimensions. All of us—from the Board of Governors and administration, to the globally recognised faculty and talented staff–share a deep belief in the power of education to improve the world. Our mission – Education for International Understanding – drives virtually every aspect of our school’s programs and culture.

Please enjoy the following report on what was a fantastic fiftieth year for the International School of Amsterdam. We are all looking ahead as new possibilities for the next fifty years continue to unfold!

With all best wishes to our extended community,

Edward E. Greene, Ph.D Director

Board of Governors

Dear Friends of ISA,

The 2014-2015 school year marked several important milestones in the history of ISA and for the surrounding community, as both the school and the city of Amstelveen celebrated their respective 50th anniversaries and an expansion to the ISA campus.

A Celebration

When ISA opened its doors in August 2014 to begin celebrating its 50th year, it welcomed over 700 alumni from around the world for a two-day reunion celebration. Alumni, faculty, students and parents and former directors came together to celebrate their time at ISA, to relive memories and to re-establish old friendships. Many consider ISA as a home, and the 50th anniversary reunion proved that to be true. There is no place like home.

Expansion and Growth

In October, together with the Mayors of Amsterdam and Amstelveen, outgoing Board Chairman, Leo van Os, and Director Ed Greene, ISA officially opened a new 7800m2 wing to the school.

As the first school in the world to be accredited with all three International Baccalaureate programmes – the Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme and the Diploma Programme – this new facility, with the possibility of accommodating 350 extra students, brought our population to over 1200 students, allowing ISA to continue to do what it does best – offering the very best in international IB education.

This increase in the ISA community mirrors the steady growth of international business in the Amsterdam region and will no doubt further strengthen our longstanding relationship with our partners in the area.

On behalf of the Board of Governors, I would like to congratulate the school’s leadership, faculty and support staff for all that they have done to make this 50th anniversary and new opening such a success. As the incoming Chair of the Board for the 2015-2016 school year, I look forward to working directly with all aspects of our community and to ensuring that our board helps ISA to remain a global leader in international education. ISA stands ready to continue to provide this same level of excellent international education and community spirit for the next fifty years, and the Board of Governors is ready to help you do so.

On behalf of the Board of Governors, Brenda Broad, Chairman

New Board Members for 2015-2016

David Rosenberg – Parent Member

David Rosenberg was elected to the board in 2015 as a parent member. David came to the Netherlands in 1994 with his wife, Isabelle van Notten. David has had a career in various sustainability roles: Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Ahold, Executive Director of UTZ Certified, and Director Sustainability at Ecom Agroindusrial Corp., a trader in coffee, cocoa and cotton.

He is now an independent consultant. His wife, Isabelle, runs a non-profit organisation, the Responsible Mining Index. His daughter, Sarah, is in grade 12.

Eric Robles – Parent Member

Eric Robles joined the ISA Board in July 2015 as a parent member. He holds a master’s degree in Economics from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and participated in the General Management Program (GMP) from CEDEP at Fontainebleau. He was born and raised in Suriname (South America) and moved to the Netherlands in 1973. He enjoyed a 28-year career with ING in several leadership roles, and he worked outside the Netherlands for many years.

For the last two years, Eric has been an independent consultant, coach, mentor and angel investor. He and his wife, Arlien, have one child, Cezare, in grade 5, who has attended ISA since age three.

Class of 2015

On June 6th, the fifty-six members of the Class of 2015 were celebrated for their hard work and commitment while at ISA. All members of the graduating class are to be congratulated on successfully completing this stage of their education, and we wish them the best in their future endeavours.

Awards and Recognition

During the 2015–2016 commencement ceremony, a number of special awards were presented to students who have made an outstanding contribution to the school and our community.

The ECIS Award for International Understanding was given to Brian Smith; the ISA Leadership Awards went to Goedele Mangelaars and Matthew Freeman; the ISA Award was conferred to Cassandra Isherwood; and the ISA Athletics Awards were given to Brian Smith and Matthew Freeman.

Number of candidates who passed the diploma:

Average points of candidates who passed the diploma:

Highest diploma points awarded to a candidate:

The inaugural Peggy Brannigan Award for Environmental Action was awarded to Ran Zmigrod. This annual award was created in recognition of Peggy Brannigan, an ISA alumna parent who led the school’s Green Team and sustainability initiatives for several years. The award is given to a graduating senior who has demonstrated leadership, commitment and action to protect that environment. The selected student wins a 1000 Euro scholarship, with a further 1000 Euros donated in the student’s name to the environmental organisation of his or her choice.

IB results

The students who passed the IB Diploma yielded an average point score of 34 out of a possible total of 45, while 11.76% of the class of 2015 earned scores of 40 or above. The average subject grade obtained by ISA’s successful diploma candidates was 5.34 out of a maximum of 7 points, which compares favourably with the world average of 4.99 points.

World average subject grade of students who passed the diploma: 4.63 5.17 5.00 5.06 4.99

Average subject grade of ISA students who passed the diploma: 5.07 5.24 5.58 5.35 5.34

University and College Acceptances

We are proud of the achievements of the Class of 2015 and wish them much success in the next stage of their lives.

The graduates have been offered admission to the institutes of higher education listed below.

Japan International Christian University * Osaka University * Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University * Sophia University * Waseda University *

Netherlands

ArtEZ Institute of the Arts * Delft University of Technology *

Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam * University of Applied Sciences Utrecht * Inholland University of Applied Sciences *

Nyenrode New Business School * Universiteit Maastricht * Utrecht University Vrije University

Other International HEC Montréal (Canada)

IE University (Spain) * McGill University (Canada) * Monash University-Caulfield (Australia)

Queen’s University (Canada)

The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology *

Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)

Université Paris VI-Pierre et Marie Curie (France) *

University College Cork (Ireland) *

University of Calgary (Canada)

University of British Columbia (Canada) *

University of Guelp (Canada)

University of Hong Kong University of Newcastle University of Waterloo (Canada) York University (Canada)

United Kingdom The Art Academy * Bath Spa University

Bournemouth University Durham University

Exeter College Imperial College London * Kings College, University of London Loughborough University

Newcastle University Oxford Brookes University Queen Mary, University of London * Royal Holloway, University of London University College London, University of London * University of Aberdeen * University of Bath * University of Bedfordshire University of Birmingham University of Brighton University of Bristol University of Edinburgh University of Essex * University of Exeter University of Glasgow University of Kent *

Univeristy of Northumbria University of Nottingham University of Sheffield University of St. Andrews University of Strathclyde University of Surrey University of Warwick University of Winchester University of York *

United States Boston College Boston University Brunel University

Bryant University

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Florida State University Fordham University

Johns Hopkins University * Mount Holyoke College * New York University

Rollins College Santa Clara University * Stanford University *

United States Air Force Academy *

University of California, Irvine

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, San Diego *

University of California, Santa Cruz

University of Florida * University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Miami University of Michigan * University of Oregon University of Washington Wake Forest University

*One or more graduates have enrolled at this institution.

50th Anniversary

The celebration of the International School of Amsterdam’s golden anniversary set the tone for a remarkable and memorable year.

Just 50 years after opening its doors in a small classroom in the Riverenbuurt neighbourhood of Amsterdam, ISA has grown into one of the leading international educational institutions in Europe.

Marking the 50th anniversary were several events, starting with an alumni reunion weekend, when over 700 alumni-students, faculty and parents returned to ISA from as far away as New Zealand, Brazil and Japan, to re-connect with old friends and teachers, tour the school and reminisce about their days at ISA.

The school then welcomed new and returning families with a special anniversary barbeque, boasting a record attendance of 1400.

Lastly, a very special and exclusive private showing of the newest collection at the Van Gogh Museum was arranged by Director Greene and the Board of Governors to show gratitude to the ISA faculty and staff, many of whom have been at the school for well over a decade.

The anniversary also coincided with the official opening of the new wing of the school, in a ceremony that included the mayors of Amsterdam and Amstelveen, and several key community partners who have supported ISA throughout the years.

Measures of Success

The 2014-2015 school year was significant on many levels, from the 50th anniversary to the opening of the new wing of the school and the welcoming of over 250 new families into the ISA community.

But there was another achievement that stood out, not only in our community but also throughout the Netherlands. Shortly after the school year began, ISA was awarded the Best Employer Award for Education (Beste Werkgever Award) by Effectory, a leading personnel research company, which surveyed the employee satisfaction of ISA’s faculty and staff. The overall high satisfaction scores attributed to the win.

Hallmark of Success

Consistently achieving the goal of ISA’s mission – to provide education for international understanding – has been the hallmark of the school’s success, and this would not have been possible without the commitment and dedication of the over 240 full- and part-time faculty and staff throughout the Nursery, Lower and Upper Schools.

ISA faculty and staff are always striving to learn more, to share their knowledge, and they are dedicated to inspiring and supporting our students, and each other, to develop at the highest levels.

Recruiting the best

As the school continues to grow, so will its need for more highly qualified, innovative and diverse faculty and staff to provide an open and global platform for learning and personal and professional development.

With this in mind, Director Greene, Head of Upper School, Paul Sanders, and Head of Lower School, Sarah Grace, set out during recruitment season to add to ISA’s finest.

ISA administrators recruit in Europe, Asia and America to ensure greater access to the leading international educators. A typical ISA recruitment year sees more than 2,500 resumes entering into ISA’s human resources department. While it may seem like an impossible task, likened to finding a needle in a haystack, ISA has done just that – found and hired some of the best in the international education arena.

For the 2015-2016 school year, ISA hired a new Assistant Head of Upper School, a Director of Educational Technology, and more than 20 new Upper and Lower School faculty and staff. Additionally, the Lower School promoted two members of staff to Assistant Head and Curriculum Coordinator roles.

Sybille Harth

- Assistant Head of Upper School

Sibylle joined ISA as Assistant Head of Upper School in August 2015. She has worked as a curriculum coordinator, with particular focus on the IB Middle Years Programme and the continuum of Middle Years and Diploma Programmes, for six years, both at the United Nations International School of Hanoi (Vietnam) and Skagerak International School (Norway). After completing a teaching degree at the Freie Universität Berlin, she gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Brunel University (London) and an MA in School Management from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. Sibylle is regularly invited to lead school evaluation visits for the IB, facilitates professional development workshops and is a school consultant for the Middle Years Programme.

Michael McGlade - Director of Educational Technology

Michael brings 20 years of teaching in international schools to ISA and comes most recently from the American International School Riyadh, where he was the Director of Technology for the past six years. He also served as the Educational Technology Director at Dubai American Academy.

Michael holds a Master’s degree from the State University of New York and a Bachelor’s of Education from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. Michael’s experience overseas has included administration, training teachers and parents in the use of technology, technology integration, and technology teaching. While working in the Middle East, he served as a member of the NESA Virtual Schools group as well as the NESA Technology Advisory Group. Michael has one son attending ISA.

Satya Akhouri - Lower School Classroom Assistant

Satya is a classroom assistant in grade 1 this year. For the past four years, she served as substitute classroom assistant at ISA. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Science from the University of Rajasthan, India, and a post graduate diploma in Systems Management from the National Institute of Information Technology, India.

She has a daughter who graduated from ISA in the class of 2014 and a son who is now in grade 10 at ISA.

Rachel Bodily - Upper School Math Teacher

Rachel obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, specialising in Education and Mathematics. She taught in California and worked for the Quantum Learning Network, teaching in both Indonesia and Hong Kong. After receiving her Master’s Degree in Education, she traveled to the Netherlands and now teaches Grade 9 and Grade 10 Mathematics, Student Learning Support, and runs the after-school Math Help Centre. Rachel also co-advises the Upper School Student Council.

Emily Coull - Lower School Grade 1 Teacher

For the past two years, Emily has taught at the International School of Utrecht and, before that, served as a substitute teacher here at ISA. Her degree in primary education was completed at the University of Tasmania.

Hormoz Daghigh - Upper School Maths and Science teacher

Hormoz grew up in Canada and joins our Upper School Math and Science departments. He comes to ISA from the International School of Tianjin, in China, where he taught IB Physics and Math. He has also taught A-level Physics in the Czech Republic. Hormoz has a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta. Hormoz and his wife recently welcomed a baby daughter.

Kate D’Anvers - Lower School Counselor

A native of New Zealand, Kate completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of Auckland and earned her two postgraduate diplomas at Massey University. She has most recently served as the head psychologist at a child and adolescent therapy centre in Auckland. Prior to this, Kate spent several years working as a child psychologist in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Amy Dobbert - Lower School Grade 4 Teacher

Amy holds a degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Florida. She has been a classroom teacher in the Bay District Schools and the Hillsborough County Schools in Florida. Most recently, she served as a peer evaluator in the Hillsborough County Schools and is now teaching grade 4 at ISA.

Adriel van Drimmelen - Part-time MYP Arts and Media teacher

Adriel holds a Master’s in Fine Arts from Saint Joost Academy and a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in the Netherlands. He served as a Fine Arts instructor at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy from 2008 to 2015 and was recently a library assistant at ISA.

Adriel teaches MYP Arts and Media.

Masha Goldis - Part-time School Nurse

Masha holds a Bachelor of Arts in General Nursing from the University of Tel-Aviv, Israel. She is registered with the Dutch and Israeli Nursing Boards. She served as a nurse at Amstelland Hospital from 2013 to 2015 and was a nurse and trainer at Rambam Medical Centre, for five years. Masha has two children attending ISA.

Bernadette Gorczyca

- MYP English Teacher

Bernadette holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s degree in education from Rutgers University. Prior to moving to the Netherlands, she worked as a high school English teacher in Bridgewater-Raritan, New Jersey. Most recently, Bernadette previously served as a substitute teacher in the ISA Upper School.

Shannon Hancock - MYP English Teacher

Shannon joins ISA having taught integrated English-History (Humanities) and being leader of the 8th grade team at the Graded School in São Paulo from 2013-15, the International School of Belgrade, and the Bay Area, California, for the last 17 years. Shannon holds a BA from NYU and a Master’s degree in writing from Lancaster University in the UK. She and her husband, Adam, are joined by their daughter and son, who are attending ISA.

Adam Hancock - MYP Math Teacher

Adam comes to ISA via the Graded School in São Paulo where he was the chair of the Mathematics department. Prior to this, he taught at the International School of Belgrade and in the Bay Area of California. He has taught both MYP and DP Mathematics, grades 6-12. Adam completed his degree at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and is teaching MYP mathematics at ISA.

Parvathi den Herder - School Nurse

Parvathi has a BA in Nursing from Leiden University and an MA in Healthcare Management from The Hague University, and she is registered with the Dutch and Malaysian Nursing Boards. She has served as the School Nurse at The International School of the Hague, 20142015; School Nurse at Youth Health Care South-Holland West, The Netherlands 2014-2015, and Health Care Officer at Garden International School, Malaysia 20082013.

Rachel Hutchinson - Lower School Part-Time Pre-Kindergarten Teacher/Assistant

Rachel will serve as a part-time pre-kindergarten teacher and assistant. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Leeds University and was previously a primary school teacher in the UK.

Pipi Jelinkova - Lower School Classroom Assistant

Pipi completed her studies in high school pedagogy in Prague, Czech Republic, and previously served as an LRS (Lunch and Recess Supervisor) at ISA.

V ik k i Ke ule r s - U pp e r S cho ol C o un s elo r Vikki joins the Upper School Counseling team and comes to ISA from the Bavarian International School in Germany and the International School of Brussels A citizen of the Netherlands, Vikki completed her undergraduate studies at the British Open Univer sit y and received a master’s degree in psychology from Erasmus Universit y in Rot terdam

Mari e Ko no pkova - L owe r S cho ol Clas s r o om A s si s t an t Marie holds a master’s degree in primar y school teaching from the Czech Republic and will be a Lower School Assistant this year She has previously ser ved as a recess super visor at ISA , a primar y school teacher in Prague, and a household assistant for the physically challenged

Kim Nguyen

- Upper School Individuals & Society Teacher

Kim joins the Upper School Individuals & Societies Department. Kim holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree from Arizona State University He spent the past three years teaching History at the American School of Bombay and, before that, taught History at the American School of Campinas in Brazil and Language Arts in Phoenix, Arizona with Teach for America.

Gregory Rault - US French Teacher

Gregory is a native of France and joins ISA as a French teacher in the Upper School. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from the University of Rennes, France. Gregory previously taught at Washington International School and the Alliance Francais in Washington, DC.

Cherry Siddall - MYP Digital Design Teacher

Cherry received a degree from the University of Portsmouth in Computer Science, which was integrated with IBM, where she continued working post-graduation. After completing a PGCE at the University of Southampton, she began her teaching career in the UK. She has been teaching IT at the International School of Stavanger for the

School in Singapore. She is currently working towards a Master’s degree in Digital Technologies and Communication in education with the University of Manchester

Angela Strunks - Lower School Grade 5 Teacher

A native Californian, Angela will be teaching Grade 5 this year Angela has been an elementary teacher at the International School on the Rhine, Germany, serving previously at the International School of Heiligenhaus. In California, she worked in highly diverse schools with a background of working with children in Special Education. She complet-

University of Long Beach and recently cleared her lifetime teaching credential with the Induction Program at Claremont Graduate University in California.

Emily Suff - Lower School Part-Time EAL Teacher

Emily joins the Lower School EAL Department as a parttime teacher She has previously taught EAL at the British School of Amsterdam, as well as humanity subjects in the UK. She holds degrees in History and education from the University of Worcester and Birmingham in the UK.

Victoria Taylor - Lower School Part-Time Secretary/ Administrative Assistant

Victoria joins ISA as part-time Secretary in the Lowerness Studies (Accounting and Finance) from Nottingham Trent University, UK. She has been working in the Netherlands for the past eight years, working as a Human Resources Advisor with both Fluor and prior to that, Liberty Global.

Celine Vignon - Lower School Part-Time French Teacher

Celine will be teaching French part time in the Lower School.ucation from the University of Reading and a Masters in English Literature from the University of Grenoble, France. She previously served as Head of the Modern Foreign Languages Department at King James I Community School.

Stanimira Withers - Lower School Part-Time Music

Teacher

Stanimira teaches Music in the Lower School. She holds a Masters degree in Musicology from the University of Amsterdam and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Pedagogy

her home country She previously taught music at Suzhou International School, China, and in Doha, Qatar; Mira has worked as a freelance music teacher and pianist in Tanzania, Jordan, and the Netherlands.

Promotions

Carolyn Lacey - Assistant Head of Lower School

Former PYP Curriculum Coordinator, Carolyn Lacey, was promoted to the position of Assistant Head of Lower School. This role allows the Lower School Administration to have two Assitant Heads to further support the Administrative team.

Lisa Verkerk - Lower School Curriculum Coordinator

Lisa Verkerk, who served as a Lower School teacher in ISA for many years, was recently promoted to the role of PYP Curriculum Coordinator for ISA. This role will compliment her other position as ISA’s Project Zero Coordinator

ISA Digital Design teacher, Sarah Woods, was selected to present a talk for the 2015 TEDxAmsterdamEd event in March. In her talk, Identity: Where Fear and Change Intersect in Education, Sarah linked her own personal experience adjusting to a new way of life after losing her hair to alopecia to the idea that schools and teachers need to adopt a technology mind set to continue the evolution of education.

“Like I had to accept that I was never going back to being that woman who had hair, we need to help each other get to that point where we can recognise [a] new identity for teachers. We are in a whole new way of doing things, and we have to find a way to connect with that,... and become it”. Watch Sarah’s talk at https:// youtu.be/lClU4gelhVI

TEDxAmsterdamED Connections

ISA launched its first magazine, Connections, in March.

Published three times per year, the magazine was created to give the school a new channel to celebrate and share the successes and stories of ISA students, families, alumni and partners from around the world.

“The creation of Connections magazine, both in print and online, was a logical step in the evolution of ISA communications and alumni relations,” notes ISA Communications Manager, Erika Harriford-McLaren.

“It has allowed us to tell the world about the amazing things happening at the school and gives our alumni an opportunity to re-connect with the school and old friendships.”

Apple Distinguished Educator

Ensuring that technology is up to date at ISA is not an easy task. This is why the ISA Educational Technology and IT teams strive to stay at the forefront of training and knowledge to assist faculty, staff and students. ISA IT team member Aram Schalm has been working at ISA for over 11 years and has made it a priority to stay inline with new developments that may effect educational technology at the school.

This Spring, Schalm was invited to be a part of the Apple Distinguished Educator Programme (ADE), “a worldwide community of over 2000 visionary educators and innovative leaders who are doing amazing things with Apple technology in and out of the classroom.”

Every year, the The ADE hosts a week of professional development that all new Apple Distinguished Educators must attend. Schalm attended the the 2015 Institute for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa held in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, which consisted of workshops, presentations, regional meetings, project teams (creating content), and masterclasses led by innovators such as Pulitzer Prize winner Bill Frakes.

“It was truly an amazing experience, being able to collaborate and develop ideas and content with other like-minded educators from all over the region,” said Schalm. “There were also many familiar faces that I had previously met from other international schools during ECIS (IT) Conferences, iPad Summits, Google Summits and other professional development activities that ISA has sent me to in the past.”

The programme covered a large part of Schalm’s functions at ISA, including the coordination and management of the installation, personalisation and roll-out of

Charting a new Path

devices, including apps management and ebooks for students in the ISA 1:1 iPad programme in Lower School (K-5), and for the Upper School students in the 1:1 laptop programme.

“The workshop that I enjoyed most was on Managing iOS Devices (Tools & Strategies). It was led by the Product Manager of Apple. It’s a rare occasion when Apple lets you peek into their kitchen, even if only for five minutes!”

“It gave me some great insight into what the near future will bring with regards to mobile device management in education and how we can ensure that our students and faculty at ISA will benefit from it by having faster and better service to obtain new content and easier-to-use and up-to-date devices.”

ISA Science teacher John Charters attended the European Space Agency (ESA) Summer Teachers Workshop at the ESA Space Research and Technology Centre to learn more about how to use “space as a context” when engaging students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) discussions and activities in the classroom at ISA.

Charters had the opportunity to attend several workshops, including those led by ESA astronaut and Dutch national, André Kuipers and award-winning solar astrophysicist Pål Brekke.

Thought-full School

Thought-full Schools is a progressive professional development initiative that was introduced to the teaching faculty at ISA by Director Ed Greene at the start of 2014. At its heart, it is a collaborative peer development programme that provides an open and mindful platform through which teachers have the opportunity to support and learn from each other in creative ways.

A Collaborative Process

Through classroom observations, discussions, collaborative planning sessions and conversations, teachers engage authentically with their colleagues in ways that not only inform, but also enhance, their teaching practice. For many experienced teachers, this opportunity encourages and empowers them to delve into their practice in ways that extend beyond what might be possible within the confines of a conventional professional appraisal.

Personal and Professional Development

The Thought-full Schools approach specifically encourages teachers to “unpack” the often complex and challenging practice of teaching so that they can stimulate deep reflection on teaching philosophies and teaching methodologies.

Its goal is to foster both the personal and professional growth of those involved and to inspire participants to cultivate and refine their teaching methods and approaches so as to better understand, accommodate and support the well-being and academic development of their students.

ISA Implementation

The pilot programme, which was launched at ISA in August 2014, involved over 35 faculty and proved to be such a success that, with the ISA Board of Governors approval, has become a formal alternative to the standardised appraisal process for experienced teachers.

The programme is also an option for newer teachers keen to explore their teaching practice. Given the positive feedback received and the growing interest in the initiative, it is set to become an invaluable long-term component of the professional development landscape at ISA.

The 2015-2016 programme will be led by Dr. Greene and MYP Science teacher Mary Kelly.

Centre for Development,

Learning & Technology

Investing in the Future of Education

In 2015, ISA launched the Centre for Development, Learning and Technology (CDLT), to support the professional development of ISA faculty and staff and that of international educators from around the world.

At ISA, the creation of the CDLT enables the school to ensure that its teachers and staff have access to the most current and relevant methodologies, tools and techniques for providing students with future skills for life-long learning.

The centre was designed with educational professionals in mind, and is housed within ISA to allow participants to benefit directly from the school’s resources and innovative teaching methods. Classroom tours are a standard part of the programme, giving a true “insider’s view” of the power of visible thinking and technology in action.

“ISA has been known for its commitment to on-going and wide-ranging opportunities for professional development for staff and faculty. It’s one of the things that is frequently cited by teachers as a key to their decision to investigate the possibility of working at the school.” noted Susan Loban, Assistant Head of Lower School and CDLT Coordinator.

“It seemed a natural part of our school ethos to include a year-round professional learning centre to extend our commitment to the international school community.”

Since it’s launch, the CDLT has hosted many events including workshops and a conference on behalf of the International Baccalaureate. The upcoming 2015 -2016 schedule features world-class events and speakers, including a global CASIE-Project Zero event and sessions with noted educators, Jay McTighe, Ron Ritchhart and David Perkins.

upcoming events

Cultures of Thinking Seminar

January 7–9, 2016

For teachers, assistants, administrators and school leaders across grade levels and subject areas. Dr. Ron Ritchhart’s research focuses on understanding and developing the kinds of thoughtful learning environments that foster powerful learning for both students and teachers.

iPad Open House and Workshop February 3-6, 2015

This is a hands-on workshop for teachers interested in integrating iPads in classrooms for children aged 3 to 13.

Participants will also have the chance to observe a school wide one-to-one iPad programme in action. Featuring Educational Technology Leader Warren Apel.

Georgia Heard & Kathy Collins

Literacy and Writing Workshops

February 11 & 12, 2015

This one-day workshop will be led by Estelle Tarry, renowned author of Teaching Assistants in International Schools and senior lecturer at the University of Northampton, UK.

Enduring Cooperation

For almost half a century, ISA has served as a partner to the Japanese community in the Amsterdam region, mirroring the deep relationship that its host country, the Netherlands, has shared with Japan.

ISA Director, Ed Greene, Admissions Director Julia True, and Communications Manager, Erika HarrifordMcLaren, greeted the delegation, providing a private lunch and tour of the new wing of the building.

Ambassador of Japan to the Netherlands, Masaru Tsuji, and members of the official

The meeting minutes from the founding ISA Board of Governors, noted “the establishment of [the school] had been important, even crucial, for the commercial development of Amsterdam.” Among other points, the availability of ISA was ‘one of the reasons why the city of Amsterdam was favoured over other locations as a centre for Japanese business activity in Europe’.

Meeting the needs of the Japanese community has always been imperative to the growth and evolution of the school and, as the decades have shown, has allowed ISA and local communities to benefit from the cultural richness of Japanese expats and society.

In September of 2015, ISA was honoured to host an official visiting delegation from the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands, who were touring the Japanese community throughout Amstelveen. In attendance were Ambassador of Japan to the Netherlands, Masaru Tsuji, Vice Mayor of Amstelveen, Maaike Veenigen, and Director at Amsterdam Inbusiness, Christa de Kemp.

Ambassador Tsuji and his delegation also met with a group of Japanese students, giving them an opportunity to discuss first-hand the experiences of the young Japanese women and men studying at ISA.

The presence of Japanese students has remained steady at ISA over the years. In 2014-2015, Japanese students comprised 10% of ISA’s diverse community, ranking 5th overall in terms of nationality at the school.

Continuing this long-standing relationship with the Japanese community remains a priority for the ISA Board of Governors and the school.

In the Fall of 2015, representatives from ISA will join a trade mission to Japan to further strengthen diplomatic, economic and social relations with the Japanese people and government. ISA will also host a reception at the Hotel Okura to reconnect with Japanese alumni.

Christa de Kemp, Director of Amstelveen Office and Senior Manager Japan of Amsterdam Inbusiness

Japanese visiting delegation

ISA Director Ed Greene

Partners in Health

For years, the ISA Green Team has been active in promoting healthy eating habits for students, including working directly with the school’s food services, Van Rijn Catering, to bring healthier alternatives to the school lunch menu. From the introduction of bi-monthly “power lunches” (meat-free lunch days) to reduce the school’s carbon and water footprints, to self-service water terminals in the cafeteria and throughout the school, the Green Team has made healthy eating a priority.

A Pioneering Partnership

This year, the Green Team was presented with a new opportunity to make a difference in the healthy eating habits of children when they were invited to be a part of a unique collaboration with the Missing Chapter Foundation, led by HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, the Kikkoman Corporation and the Japanese School of Amsterdam.

The partnership between the Dutch non-profit, Kikkoman Corporation and the ISA Green team involved research, interviews, mind maps and chalk talks which culminated in the release of a new and innovative publication “Health is Building Bridges - Health and Nutrition Through the Eyes of Children”. Students from the Japanese School of Amsterdam contributed the unique and beautiful illustrations displayed throughout the work.

HRH Princess Laurentien, a designated UNESCO Special Envoy on Literacy for Development, started the Missing Chapter Foundation in 2009. The promotion of healthy eating is part of the organisation’s mission to “contribute to future-proof decisions about key societal issues.”

Mr. Jaap Rost Onnes (Former Honorary Counsel General of Japan) , Ms. Sarah Grace (ISA Head of Lower School), Mr. Imai (Kikkoman), HRH Princess Laurentein of the Netherlands, Dr. Shigeomi Ushijima (Kikkoman), ISA Director, Dr. Ed Greene, Ms. Carloyn Lacey (ISA Assistant Head of Lower School) and Mr. Kasuga (Kikkoman).

Lower School Green Team Coordinator, Marta van der Meer, HRH Princess Laurentein of the Netherlands and a proud Lower School Green Team member.

Shokuiku

The Kikkoman Corporation has been a partner of the Missing Chapter Foundation since 2013, with a shared goal to connect with children and offer support for healthy eating and nutrition. The opportunity to produce this publication aligned perfectly with the company’s ten-year anniversary of their Shokuiku (food education) Commitment and their education strategy of “sharing food-related information, knowledge and experience for a delicious, healthy diet.”

Building Bridges

The goal of the joint initiative was “to provide a platform for the views of children with various backgrounds,... to stimulate dialogue and [help] them think about universal issues of shared concerns regarding health and nutrition.”

The ISA Lower School Green Teams (grades 2-3 and grades 4-5) participated in the project by exploring questions and themes such as how to make healthy living easier and more fun and why there is a need to take care in the way we use, and waste, food.

They were provided the opportunity to express their wishes for the future of the planet and their answers provided some unique insights such as:

There is a need for constant reminders to make healthy choices because, for a child, one reminder is not enough.

Behaviours can be changed and society can become healthier only by ensuring that children and their parents work together - because parents decide what to buy and cook – not the kids.

Children don’t often know how to make healthy choices for food and drinks, even with all the knowledge they have, because they are often given mixed signals about what is truly healthy and what isn’t.

Overall, the initiative found that “the solutions that the children come up with to encourage healthy eating are often uncompromising.” For children, it is logical to “divide stores in two: a healthy/unhealthy section” or even to “make unhealthy products very expensive.”

The collabration allowed both organisations and the schools they worked with to truly dive deep into just what “healthy” means to children and how adults, parents, schools and companies can better encourage and educate young and old minds alike.

Debate

Two years ago, ISA launched a debate club for Upper School students. The club, which has a middle school and a high school team, has grown from just a handful of interested students to almost 60 throughout the 20142015 school year.

The students take part in weekly sessions that help to hone their skills, but it is the international competitions that most excite and challenge them. The club held an exchange with the English International School of Prague, where they debated whether technology improves learning and whether it is better to be an actor or an athlete. Another exchange against the American School of Paris allowed the students to debate on the issues of creativity in schools and the role of the USA in the rise of ISIS.

While the range of topics is wide, it does allow the students to use the knowledge that they have gained from ISA’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching subjects –giving them the skills to find the deeper meaning behind a debate subject and to create stronger arguments against competitors, both locally and nationally.

In the spring, ISA debate students attended the Roosevelt World Schools Academy in the Netherlands –the national English-language debate championships,

where they debated on issues such as schools for LGBT students and the international sporting involvement of countries with a record of human rights abuses. Four ISA students were selected to go further in the competition, with an aim for one of four exclusive spots on the Dutch national debate team for the World Championships in 2016. Grade 11 student Frederique Joosten advanced further, making it past the round of “sweet 16” and into the top eight. She will continue to train throughout the following school year to compete for one of the final slots on the Dutch team.

“All students should feel welcome to get involved in debate. Learning to master your public speaking is one of the greatest life skills you can take away from school.”

Ian Kilbride

Green Team

During the 2014-2015 school year, the Lower and Upper School Green Teams supported ISA’s own environmental and sustainability education goals from the IB curriculum through various actions and initiatives.

The Green Team, run by a steering committee of parent volunteers, faculty and staff, actively supported ISA in the installation of 400 solar panels and underground heat-cold storage to gain energy neutrality for the new wing of the school. They also also helped the school to research and implement the use of “Living Green” plant walls, for the new wing as well.

The Lower and Upper School student Green team members were also active throughout the year, using recycled items to create art and gift items to sell and help support ISA’s Tanzania Girls programme and using the results of the annual trash audit to convince the school to increase the number of recycle bins around the school and to add more visible labelling for easier sorting.

The Lower School Green Team planted 5,000 flower bulbs throughout the school grounds for the community to enjoy in the spring, while the Upper School team built bird and bat houses for the campus.

Due to these actions, amongst others, the Green Team, helped ISA to get its Global Eco-Schools status re-certified, allowing the school to remain a leader in sustainability in the international educational sector.

Tanzania Girls 2015

Written by Alessandra Lessen

There are so many great things about attending the International School of Amsterdam, including all the opportunities one has to connect with different people, cultures and societies from around the world – both within ISA and beyond.

One of these opportunities always stood out for me, and as I entered the summer of my senior year, I, like many young ISA women before me, was given the amazing opportunity to travel to Tanzania and volunteer for 19 days at the Maasae Girls Lutheran Secondary School (MGLSS), a programme that ISA has been actively supporting for over 15 years.

The First Days

Although we had been briefed before leaving for Tanzania, I was still nervous before we arrived. As student volunteers, we were each made leaders of our own groups of students. I must admit that before arriving, I had a fear that the Maasae girls would not like me because of our differences. However, upon the first day of meeting the girls, I was greeted with hugs and was completely taken aback by their openness. These young women knew nothing about me, and yet, they were already showing me such strong kindness and affection. I knew then that this would be an exciting experience for us all.

As the days passed, I got to know both the girls within my group and also girls from other groups in the school. We ate our lunches and dinner with the girls and occasionally went on nature walks. Communication was hard at times, because some of the girls knew English extremely well, while others not at all.

We helped the girls with their maths, science, English, and arts and crafts, and it made us happy to contribute our own knowledge to helping them grow. When the girls approached their schoolwork, it was always with smiles, and they never hesitated to ask the other ISA volunteers and me questions. We soon learned, however, that the girls’ way of saying “I don’t understand” to something we were explaining to them would be the word “yes.” At first, the other volunteers and I took this response as a “Yes, I understand” and walked away to help the other girls in need of the same assistance. As new “teacher assistants,” it was difficult going back to the same group constantly to answer the same question. Once we figured out what “yes “ actually meant, we got creative and found different ways to explain the assignments and interpret the answers so that we could help each other out. This is where our IB education really came into play: we could actually see the value of learning through different approaches to problem solving.

Our Daily Routine

The days at the school were long, starting before 8:00 and ending around 22:00. Every breakfast we ate porridge and for lunch and dinner we ate rice and beans. During this time the girls would tell us about their ambitions and dreams for life and it made me and my ISA friends feel very inspired to hear their stories and their goals. We learned that inspiration could go both ways.

Outside the classroom

It wasn’t all about school and classes. On the weekends, we made sure to do something fun with the girls, including a trip to Tarangire National Park. I will never forget the amount of joy on their faces when we travelled to the safari park and the girls saw the lodge for the first time. These young women never really have the chance go on trips like these, and as it was my first time seeing a lodge as well, I shared their moment of awe when they saw how beautiful it was.

We also took the girls to a Boma (local village). This particular Boma was home to one of the students in my group. ISA donated a cow to the village to show our respect and support. As a way of thanking and welcoming us, the local villagers sang songs and showed us their homes and their way of living. This was a true peek into what everyday life of the Maasae people is like. They also slaughtered the gift cow we gave to share and feast with the villagers and our group. It was truly amazing to witness in person the Maasae culture and their tradi-

ISA Tanzania Girls participants: Alessandra Lessen, Ayse Hincal and Virginia Cinelli

tions. The men of the village even allowed us, the ISA women, to see them cook the slaughtered cow, which is for the Maasae a sacred ritual usually reserved for men. It was truly an honour to be able to see both the women’s and men’s duties within the village.

Saying Goodbye

Every day, the Maasae girls came to class eager and excited to learn and play games with us. And every evening, I was just as excited to spend another day with them and feel that joy again and again.

I learned many things from these amazing young girls. They taught me so much about their life in the Maasae, and I had the honour of returning the favour by helping them with their subjects and also giving them insight into where I came from.

Saying goodbye was hard. Before our ISA group left, we all wept alongside the girls. When I arrived back in Amsterdam and sat down to read the girls’ goodbye letters to me, I began to cry again because of just how much effort these young women had put into their messages. If they could not interpret their meanings in words, then they drew them.

This was a trip of a lifetime for me. It was not about a student-teacher bond, but much more about making new friends. I came back to Amsterdam as a new person and, yes, the trip taught me how to appreciate the small things in life. But what really affected my change was the girls. These beautiful young individuals taught me how to be happy, because most of them were not going to see their families again until they graduated from college. Some of them only had the clothes on their backs, and even that did not matter, because they were thankful and always wanted to give me or the other ISA volunteers gifts. The MGLLS students gave me so much love and attention that it made me feel beautiful and gave me a confidence boost that I needed. Because of this trip and being a friend to these young women, I became someone new and left behind my fears of blending in or being out there. In the letters that we received the girls wrote a special quote to us: “Mountains will never meet, but we will meet again.”

If I were given the opportunity to go on this trip again I would so that we could, indeed, meet again.

Heifer International

In 1999, a small and innovative NGO set out to change the lives of those in need in Africa. Working under the “teach a man to fish” philosophy, Heifer International changed the lives of local communities throughout the continent by “helping them build an independent life by providing them animals and training”...which gives families healthy food and the ability to sell to the market the products that are not consumed by them (such as milk or eggs).

Alongside the ISA Tanzania Girls initiative, ISA has been a supporter of Heifer International throughout Tanzania for many years, raising money to purchase animals for families to raise and profit from. During their stay, the 2015 Tanzania Girls participants were able to visit a dairy goat project that had been recently funded by ISA.

“The milk helps to provide a nutritious food source, with any excess being sold, thus providing an income of its own, which helps to pay school, housing and clothing costs,” noted Sue Worsnup, long-standing project coordinator for Tanzania Girls.

“It was very encouraging to see the difference that our goat made to the lives of those concerned.”

Sue Worsnup

Habitat for Humanity

For almost half a decade, ISA has been actively supporting Habitat for Humanity in different countries around the world. Each summer, a team of students and faculty and staff advisors heads out to a new country to further the Habitat mission of “a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”

For 2015, the ISA Habitat for Humanity club journeyed to Krygyzstan to build not only a home, but also connections between the various students’ cultures and the residents of their host country.

Habitat for Humanity Kyrgyzstan “focuses on renovations of condominium buildings, finishing of half-built homes or providing affordable loans to families with mentally disabled family members.”

Kyrgyzstan is far from a wealthy nation, with “nearly 70 percent of the population liv[ing] in sub-standard homes or homeless,” according to the organisation. Often generations of families are forced to live together due to a lack of means and reside in single-room homes that lack adequate water, heating or ventilation.

The ISA team assisted in the construction of a house for a local family, working alongside them in the process to get to know them on a more intimate basis and to see what impact their help could have.

Grade 11 student Daniella Kandelman joined the 2015 team and found the experience invaluable.

“It’s nice to actually get to interact with the people you are helping and to experience their culture.”

Fellow grade 11 student, Anshu Hemrajani agreed. “We could actually see the visible progress of what we were doing and how our efforts created something. It was a great experience.”

SHARE

The concept of sharing is understood and embraced world wide, allowing humanity to bridge differences and, action by action, make the world a better a place.

At ISA, SHARE represents just that - a way for the ISA community of students, parents, faculty and staff to contribute their time and energy to raise money and awareness for various charities around the world.

The 2014 - 2015 SHARE committee, led by ISA parent volunteers, Marianne Heemskerk, Beatriz Garcia and Zoe Rizokosta, organised a variety of events to support ISA’s longstanding student charities - Tanzania Girls, Habitat for Humanity and Heifer International, as well as for smaller student charity-based clubs.

Amongst the events were SHARE Your National Cuisinewhere the various international communities at ISA joined forces to cook meals from their home country for families

to purchase for dinner that evening, incuding Spanish tortillas, Japanese Rice Balls, Korean Bulgoki, Portuguese Pasteis de Nata, Indian Kheer and British and Irish Shepard’s pie.

Another event, Run to SHARE, allowed members of the community, of all ages, to register and participate in a “fun run” track event and win amazing raffle prizes.

The last and most prominent event was the SHARE Gala Casino Night - a dress up affair where art pieces from students, local and internationally acclaimed artists were auctioned off to raise funds. A dinner buffet supplied by some of Amsterdam’s leading restaurants was included and a disco and casino were added to the mix to round out the evening.

In total, SHARE raised over 40,000 Euros to assist ISA charities and to aid the Nepali Relief efforts.

Food Drive

“Anyone in need of a meal” was the school-wide mission for the 2015 annual ISA Food Drive. The initiative, spearheaded by the ISA Soup Kitchen Club, invited all grades, from nursery to grade 12 to take part in building a “food mountain” to collect food for the homeless in Amsterdam. The ISA Lower School Student Council visited several classes in the Lower School to explain how to donate and why it is important.

The students packed all the donated food, and certificates were awarded to several classes to show appreciation for their communal efforts in collecting donations.

The grade 5 Student Council representatives also went with club supervisors to the Soup Kitchen headquarters in central Amsterdam, where they gained invaluable insight as to how the food was used and were able to connect with those who are on the receiving end of this initiative.

World Water Day

This year marked the 22nd anniversary of World Water Day – a day the United Nations has dedicated to those around the world who suffer from water-related issues. ISA has celebrated this event for several years and once again took part in raising funds for the East African Coast Organization (EACO), which addresses water-related issues along the coastal areas of East Africa.

Over the years, ISA’s donations to EACO have enabled the organisation to provide wells and toilets in local communities which have been suffering without water. ISA Lower School students collected plastic bottles from home and school and placed them in high-use water spots around their homes such as the sink, shower and washing machine. Over a week, every time a family member used this water “hot-spot”, they donated.

On World Water Day, the students brought their bottles to school, where they were collected by the Lower School and the amount calculated. In one week, the students and

their families raised over 2,700 Euros. The money raised was enough to purchase a Floflo water well drill, aiding several more communities struggling without water.

Credits: Unilever for World Water Day

Nepal Relief

As an International School ISA has a uniquely personal connection with cultures around the world. When tragedy or disasters strike a nation, no matter where around the globe, ISA families feel a sense of obligation to come to the aid of those in need. From supporting the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the earthquakes in Haiti and Pakistan and the tsunamis in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Japan, the ISA community of students, parents, and faculty and staff have remained dedicated to helping those in need.

As Nepal was rocked by numerous earthquakes in the Spring, the ISA community once again rallied to support one of the most vulnerable populations in the country –orphaned children.

Working with ISA parent Simona Singh – a Czech and Nepalese citizen – the school identified a unique organisation – the Destitute and Orphan Children Safeguarding Foundation Nepal (DOCS Foundation Nepal) – whose mission is to be a lifeline for the almost two million orphaned children throughout the country.

“As the major international relief organisations are already benefiting from large-scale donations, we have chosen to support a local charity, which works specifically with children,” noted Dr. Ed Greene, ISA Director.

Dr. Greene, Singh and the ISA student and faculty community organised several initiatives to both raise awareness of the tragedy and funds for the DOCS Foundation.

ISA student and parent communities hosted a variety of events including bake and rummage sales, and food sales from the Japanese Relief and Philippines Relief clubs. The parent fundraising group SHARE also donated a portion of the profits from their Gala fundraising event to generate funds for the campaign.

Top: ISA Students and familes raised awareness and kept the community updated on the status of the disaster and fundraising.

Middle: A beautiful mandala was donated for auction at the SHARE Gala event.

Bottom: Mandala winner, Irep Karaca

Through its combined efforts, the ISA community raised more than 13,600 Euros. All the money raised at the school during the appeal directly benefits the children whose lives were devastated by not only losing their families but also their homes and all means of support.

Nunya Academy

The music programme at ISA has always been driven by inspiration from visiting artists from around the world who travel to the school to train and educate ISA students on the joys of World Music.

For years, ISA has welcomed the visits of Kofi Gbolonyo, a visiting percussionist from Ghana. Gbolonyo, an Assistant Professor of Music (Ethnomusicology) and the Director of the UBC African Ensemble at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, runs a small music school, Nunya Academy, in Dzodze, Ghana, that trains budding African musicians in West African music, art and culture.

ISA Lower School Music teacher, Fabian Galli, has been visiting the school during summers as part of his professional development and encouraged Gbolonyo to come to ISA to train the Lower School music classes on African percussion – in particular the Djembe.

Gbolonyo’s lessons at ISA have been such a success that Galli sought to find a way to “pay it forward” with the skills that he and his students acquired from Gbolonyo. This sparked the Nunya Academy Charity concert, aimed at raising funds to give less-privileged children and youths the opportunity to learn through music and technology.

The concert, which played to a sold-out crowd, was an all-school effort, featuring the ISA Upper School Ensemble and the Lower School Choir and Percussion groups. The event also included a drum group, featuring members of the local community and ISA faculty playing the Djembe, a rope-tuned skin covered drum common throughout West Africa.

A special guest performance from a local Ghanaian choir rounded out the evening. The proceeds, which amounted to over 4500 Euros will be used to create additional opportunities for local youths in Dzodze to take lessons at the Academy.

“Knowledge is [like] a baobab tree, [one person’s] hands cannot embrace it”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

It’s not always easy to motivate middle school drama students to perform in front of an audience, especially when you mention that they will be doing Shakespeare.

However, Ken Baldino, ISA’s new Middle School Drama teacher, discovered the trick to making Shakespeare “click” with young ISA minds. He made the performance magical.

By selecting A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Baldino gave the students an opportunity to make Shakespeare’s words and thoughts come to life in a modern fairy tale setting.

Incorporating various light elements, minimal set design, modern dance and a full DJ music set, the adapted play followed the true wording of the original. This gave the students an opportunity to see how older language can still be set to modern contexts and gave them new insight into the stories and plays from Shakespeare’s

The play, which ran for three nights, was a tremendous success, with many audience members returning to watch it again, after being inspired from the first viewing.

time.

“It is an amazing production, unique and beautiful and flows seamlessly. The staging is magical, the enchanting and alluring music will have you yearning for the sound track and the entrances of the fairies, their king and queen are spellbinding.” - Audience Member

“Lord, what fools these mortals be.”

Musical Theatre Revue

How does one bring together love, humour, pathos and music to tell a story that connects to both young and old at heart? Through music of course!

On 17 April, the ISA Arts departments combined their creative talents and created a magical night of music and storytelling with the first ever ISA Musical Review. A community-wide event, the three-hour performance featured the talents of ISA Upper School students, staff members, the Lower School Drama Club and the Lower School Choir.

The range of the 18 performances was impressive in itself. ISA Human Resources team members Michelle Pool-Pescott and Trudi Williams sang a moving duet of “I Still Believe” from Miss Saigon the Lower School Drama club gave a rousing performance of “Revolting Children” from Matilda the Musical, while members of the ISA Upper School Choir wowed the crowd with song and dance from Broadway’s best hits, with performances from Wicked, American Idiot, West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera, Rent and Chicago, amongst others.

The Hague

On January 31, music students from ISA, under the guidance of Upper School Music teacher Douglas Beam, participated in the annual solo and ensemble festival put on by the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) at the American School of The Hague.

The solo and ensemble festival is an annual event that is put on by the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS), an international organisation “dedicated to the promotion of excellence at all levels of music education.”

ISA’s instrumental ensemble, under the direction of Ensemble Leader, Frans Moussault, also participated in

the festival, doing exceptionally well and earning superior marks for their performance.

The students performed their pieces in front of professional adjudicators from around the world, who in turn listened to and then worked with each soloist or group.

An Honour Bestowed Grade 11 student Virginia Cinelli was chosen by her adjudicator to participate in an exclusive violin masterclass at the conclusion of the day’s festivities, an honour given to her as a result of her excellent solo performance earlier in the day.

Kindergarten Art Exhibition

Using a case study of renowned Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, the lSA Kindergarten students produced a colourful and awe-inspiring collection of artwork for the annual ISA Kindergarten Art Gallery.

Under the guidance of ISA Lower School Art teacher, Frankie Rees, the students explored how to use artwork to communicate human ideas, nature, culture, beliefs and values. From this, the students worked together with Rees and guest artists to bring their learnings and their new-found knowledge of Van Gogh to life.

Parents were also invited to view still-life models in the children’s classrooms and to participate in making their own art creations to further share the experience with their children.

The ISA Kindergarten Art Gallery is held each spring with a new theme to inspire students. It is presented in the main foyer of the school and is open to the full ISA community. Visitors can also sign a guest book to encourage the young artists and show their appreciation for the works.

Sports

NECIS VOLLEYBALL AWARDS

Varsity (Runner up) - Thirza Schuilwerve - Team MVP

Junior Varsity (3rd) - Noa Pijl *Most Promising Player

U14 (1st)

U12 (3rd)

NECIS BOYS SOCCER AWARDS

Varsity (1st) Daniel Ham* Team MVP Junior Varsity (1st) U14 (Runner up)

U12 (Runner Up)

CROSS COUNTRY

5000 meters 16+ - Matthieu Lair (2nd)

BASKETBALL

Varsity Boys (2nd) - Ido Kenigsztein* Team MVP

Varsity Girls (4th) - Stephanie Lair* Team MVP

Junior Varsity Boys (4th); Girls (4th)

U14 Boys (4th); Girls (5th)

U12 Boys (3rd); Girls (3rd)

SWIMMING

Total results: Gold (29); Silver (17); Bronze (20)

NEW NECIS RECORDS

50 meters freestyle long course

U10 Girls – Athina Economon

U12 Girls – Ada Dolanay

100 Meters freestyle long course

U12 Boys – Daniel Boos

100 Meters freestyle long course

U12 Girls – Ada Dolanay

50 meters breast stroke long course

U10 girls – Francesca Coppo

25 meters backstroke

U10 girls – Athina Economon

50 meters butterfly

U10 girls – Francesca Coppo

U12 girls – Ada Dolanay

U14 girls – Katherine Chmiel

4X50 meters medley relay

U14 girls – Wilson, Wilson, Economon and Chmiel

SOFTBALL

Varsity (2nd) - Sam Freeman* Team MVP Junior Varsity (1st)

TENNIS

Boys Singles

Level 1 – Genta Nakamoto (3rd)

Level 2 – Henk van Rooijen (2nd) Level 3 – Praijit Bharkaran (2nd)

Girls Singles

Level 1 - Zoe Oomens (1st)* NECIS MVP

Boys Doubles

Level 1 - Nakamoto/Bhaskaran (2nd)

Mixed Doubles

Level 1 - van Rooijen/Oomens (1st)

GOLF

Team result (2nd)

GIRLSOCCER

U12 (6th)

U15 (4th)

Varsity (4th) - Kennedy Baca* Team MVP

TRACK & FIELD

Total results: Gold (19); Silver (19); Bronze (15)

NEW NECIS RECORDS

800 M - Brian Smith High Jump - Lawson Sherrard

The International School of Amsterdam’s Centre for Development, Learning and Technology offers first-class training and professional development opportunities for teachers, administrators, technology directors and other members of the educational community who want to learn the latest developments and methodologies from leading educational experts.

Connections The International School of Amsterdam