P2 /Reduce, Reuse, Recycle The Elementary students visit the PET Recycling Plant.
P2 / Campus and Local
P3 / Terre des Hommes
P4 / Sport
Meet our veteran elementary teacher, Mrs Lollie Simon.
IB students take Grade 5 along for a CAS project.
ISBerne Swim Squad in action.
@ ISBerne ISBerne School Newsletter
Vol. 2
January 2013
Celebrating Language & Culture
Hindi, German, and Swedish mother-tongue programmes show ISBerne’s commitment to its students’ languages. On Wednesday afternoons, ISBerne hosts the Mother Tongue Programme for Elementary students in Grades 2 - 5. The original offered languages of Hindi and German have now been joined by classes for Swedish as well. Since ISBerne introduced the IB Programme, Grade 11 and 12 students have had the option pursuing their native language studies independently with choices as varied as Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Urdu and Vietnamese, while the school offers English, French and German in classroom study. ISBerne’s Language Policy, adopted in 2010, makes a firm commitment to extending the availability of mother tongue programmes to younger students to support them as they prepare for study in the IB Diploma Programme. Studies have shown that speaking in the mother tongue language at home, while in itself important, does not adequately prepare students for the further study of the literature of their home countries. Students who have a strong grasp of their mother tongue also have an advantage when learning further languages as they transfer skills and knowledge between them. An article in the IB World publication states, “All IB students are expected to be learning in at least two languages by the age of seven, to aid
aim is not for English to overpower “...the replace a student’s mother tongue... ”
developing intercultural understanding. But transforming the mission statement into action means valuing each student’s linguistic heritage and language profile and ensuring schools address mother tongue entitlement. The importance of mother tongue to identity, self esteem, cognitive ability and, ultimately, academic success is well established and reflected in the continuing growth of opportunities for students to study and use mother tongue in all three programmes.” The primary language of instruction at ISBerne is English, but it is important to note that the aim is not for English to overpower or to replace a student’s mother tongue, but for it to become important tool in their academic careers. The ideal outcome for children who speak other languages at home and are being educated in English for is for them to grow up as multilingual students. To achieve this goal, ISBerne started the mother tongue program to support parents’ and students’ efforts to maintain their mother tongue, while also striving to stress the value of the student’s own culture. Scott Jackson, Elementary School Principal, states that the programme is “an enriching experience for all students
or to
and it is anticipated as the school grows, more language groups will be offered to students. Along with the local community English programme in the Elementary school, Wednesday afternoons are fast becoming a world of learning languages!” He also stresses the value placed by ISBerne on the role of a child’s first language in their development of additional languages. Strolling through the hallways of the Elementary School, one can see in the work of the students decorating the walls how well integrated the concept of being able to communicate in more than one language is. Many different languages can be heard from students and teachers alike throughout the campus, keeping constantly in mind how truly multicultural ISBerne’s school community is. “We’re off to a very promising start and are confident that we will be able to further expand the program in the near future and feedback from parents is very positive at this point,” says Eric Muller, Language Coordinator and German teacher at ISBerne. “There is an intention to offer more languages (as requested by the community) to Elementary as well as Secondary School students in the future.”
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle ISBerne Elementary students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 traveled by train in a series of visits with their teachers to the Ostermundigen PET Recycling Plant to learn more about recycling. This trip was inspired by a discussion with ISBerne’s custodian, Mr. Fabrice Lucy, who joined the field trips to help translate the tour into English. Students were led on a tour through the plant to observe the various steps involved in the recycling process. The plant, located near the Ostermundigen Bahnhof, was described by one of the students as being “very big and very loud!”
items collected from the PET bins and then separating the bottles by color. The students were able to see the large cubes that the bottles are compressed into, which are then processed and made into new bottles or turned into rope. Watching the work that goes into recycling made the students mindful of the importance of only putting the correct items into recycling bins and they agreed to commit to placing only PET bottles into PET bins. One Grade 4 student remarked, “Seeing how those workers have to sort through all of our rubbish makes you think about making sure you put the right rubbish into the right bins.”
The plant takes in over 30,000 PET bottles each day from Bern and its environs. The process begins with the workers sorting through the various
It is anticipated that ISBerne’s Secondary School students will conduct similar visits in the near future.
Meet Mrs. Lollie Simon, Grade 1.
Ms. Lollie Simon was originally hired at ISBerne as a sports teacher, following completing a degree from Kent State University in Ohio, USA. Twenty-eight years later, she is teaching Grade 1 in the classroom at the end of the ground floor hallway in the Elementary School. The room is full of books, posters, games and other teaching materials. When Lollie first arrived, ISBerne had
about 50 students and was in need of the gym which she helped to plan – well designed for volleyball, as it so happens! She is still coaching the Grades 9 - 12 Girls and Boys Volleyball Team in the same gym, preparing them for competitions in the SGIS (Swiss Group of International Schools) tournaments. Her first tenure at ISBerne was for eleven years, at which point she moved to Basel and worked at the international school there, returning eight years later to ISBerne where she has taught ever since. Outside of the classroom, Lollie’s passion is playing the steel drums or pans, the musical instrument originating from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Lollie performs with other “pannists” at the Panyard, (check out their website at panyard.ch) with the “Funland Seranaders”. You can watch her in action at the website
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funlandseranaders.ch/mitglieder. She and her group have performed regularly at ISBerne’s International Day, held towards the end of each school year. Back at ISBerne, Lollie reflected on how the school has changed throughout its history. She talked about how the school has steadily grown in size since it was founded in 1961, remembering the time before computers were a part of everyday life, “and now there are computers all over the school!” The important things, however, have not changed. “ISBerne has always been a small, child-friendly school. What we have consistently done here is to look at the whole child, and the Primary Years Programme allows us to continue this philosophy. There are more buildings now, more students and teachers, but this focus and dedication have always been the main part of what ISBerne is as a school.”
Terre des Hommes
IB Diploma Programme students (Grades 11 and 12) lead younger students from Grade 5 during a CAS community service project. In late November, ISBerne Grade 11 and 12 students participated in the fund raising activity “Strassenkind fur einen Tag” to support the organization Terre des Hommes. This year, the students decided to bring students from Grade 5 along to support their efforts. Students wearing distinctive orange hats emblazoned with the name of the charity walked around the Hauptbahnhof area of Bern selling chocolate bars, baked goods and performing music to both raise money and awareness. One man in the street liked the hats so much that he offered 10 CHF for one! The idea behind “Strassenkind fur einen Tag” is for students to assume the role of a street child and to perform the typical work which they must do to survive, from selling newspapers, cleaning car windows and shoes, and asking for money. This activity takes place every year around the 20th November as on this date in 1989 the UN Children’s Rights Convention was adopted. Terre des Hommes’ mission (visit their website at terredeshommes. org) is to develop and implement
projects designed to improve the living conditions of disadvantaged children in their own environment while bringing attention to their needs to the public. ISBerne students spent two weeks getting ready for this event, preparing items for sale and learning
“
...the idea is to assume the role of a street child and perform typical work they
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might do to survive...
about the organization. The day itself presented many challenges, from the low temperatures to the attitudes of people the students approached asking for donations. Students were surprised that some passersby were indifferent, or in some cases even mocked their appeals for donations. They tried different strategies to make their efforts successful, including changing their original approach from asking “Helfen Sie die Strassenkinder” (‘help the street children) to asking people to “donate to Terre des Hommes” when they realized that people might be thinking they were
asking for money for themselves. In the end they raised the impressive sum of 1020 CHF. It is experiences like this that allow ISBerne students to apply what they learn at school to the wider world. In the four hours that they were out on the streets they were able to get a glimpse of the hardships that face children who do not have a safe and comfortable home to go to and how their poverty makes them almost invisible to people passing by them on the streets. The CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) aspect of the IB Diploma Programme requires just this kind of outreach as it encourages students to take “seriously the importance of life outside the world of scholarship, providing a refreshing counterbalance to academic studies” (from the IBO website at ibo.org). Dr. Kathleen Noreisch who accompanied the students reflected on their experiences, saying “Initially some of the students were wary about speaking to strangers and asking for donations, but it was clear that as the day progressed they were buoyed by their positive experiences and even more motivated to keep at it after experiencing unfriendly responses. I think it was a very valuable experience for the students - not only in terms of reflecting on what it must be like for less fortunate children who are forced to work every day but also in terms of the way in which the students themselves will react to other charity workers who address them in the future. Overall, I am extremely proud of the students and the hard work that they put in on a cold, November day.” 3
ISBerne Swim Squad
PTC AND FOISB The Parent Teacher Committee (PTC) organises events and activities for the ISBerne school community and for Friends of ISBerne (FOISB) which includes ISBerne and other expat and local families in the community. UPCOMING EVENT Brit/Berne Disco Thursday 24 January 2013
ISBerne’s Elementary and Secondary Swim Squads participated in two separate competitions this autumn. The Elementary Swim Squad won 10 medals in Clarens-Montreaux and spent their time out of the pool cheering each other on. For some of the students, this was their first swimming competition ever and everybody did a great job.
The Secondary Swim Squad drove through heavy snow to compete in Neuchatel in December. This was an ‘open age category’, meaning that Grade 6 and 7 swimmers were competing against Grade 11 and 12 swimmers. They rose to the challenge and consistently broke their individual records in all categories. Congratulations to Anja Rahlenbeck for winning two bronze medals!
Students from ISBerne Grades 2-6 and The British School will have lots of fun dancing and playing games at the 4th Annual Brit/Berne Disco organized by the PTC and held in the ISBerne drama room.
PSA Berne Update The Parent Staff Association is the organisation for all parents and staff, meets throughout the year, and elects three representatives to serve on the ISBerne AG Board. On Thursday, 10 January, at its Annual General Meeting, the PSA Berne held elections for the upcoming year. ISBerne looks forward to working with the following newly elected individuals: Mrs Lori Crowley Mrs Yvonne Kuhn Mrs Maggie Torres For information and updates from the PSA Berne, contact info@psaberne.ch.
NEXT ISSUE: Mattenstrasse 3, 3073 Gümligen, Switzerland Phone +41 (0)31 951 23 58, Fax +41 (0)31 951 17 10 www.isberne.ch Editor: Sarah Bechtel Publlished by, Michael Butora communication@isberne.ch
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SKI FRIDAYS AND SKI WEEK It has been nearly 20 years since ISBerne began chartering its own ski train for the seven Fridays during the school’s ski term. Mr Chris Warren discusses the programme and the traditions. ISBerne is proud to continue this wonderful opportunity to take advantage of our spectacular location.