ISK_Annual Report 2014-2015

E M P O W E R I N G S T U D E N T S TO C R E AT E S O L U T I O N S F O R TO M O R R O W ’ S C H A L L E N G E S

Annual Report 2014-2015

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Message from the Director

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Arts & Athletics

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Message from the Chair of the Board of Directors

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Service Learning

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Elementary School

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Information Technology

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Middle School

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Financial Review

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High School

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Admissions & Advancement

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Award Recipients

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PTO

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Curriculum

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John Roberts Director, ISK

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from the Director The 2014-15 school year has been one of exciting developments and achievements for ISK. Students can be proud of a year of challenging themselves, pushing their boundaries, persevering to overcome difficulties, and embracing new learning. Teachers and staff can be proud of a year of goals met, challenges overcome, and students who have learned as much as they can.

There has been an especially strong sense of community at ISK this year. According to the annual Parent Survey, the vast majority of parents feel good about this year’s opportunities for them to get involved, and about both the community spirit and purposeful atmosphere on campus. The PTO has been especially active this year, having organized monthly Farmers’ Markets, facilitated business training for local artisans, and supported Friends of the Arts in successful art shows and community service projects. The enormous mural project surrounding the elementary construction site has also been a graphic reflection of both community engagement and ISK’s enthusiastic support for the arts.

ISK has long offered an outstanding array of cocurricular programs, but our programs expanded again this year. We have become Global Members of Round Square, providing opportunities for international student exchanges and conferences.

The ISSEA league of international school in south and east Africa has expanded its events to include festivals for Drama and Visual Arts, as well as Band and Choir. ISSEA also added a STEM competition—Science, Technology, Engineering and Math—and three new athletic events: track and field, tennis, and swimming. I.S.K. students performed exceptionally well in all events this year, from the arts to robotics to athletics.

Besides these additional event opportunities, ISK students have continued to develop their leadership skills and community commitments through the school’s strong service learning program. I continue to be amazed by our student leaders and volunteers for their dedication to serving the community and making a difference in the world!

Teachers and staff should feel proud of this year’s accomplishments in the areas of technology integration, student learning goals, implementing Habits of Learning rubrics, and the many adjustments to courses that are making our Educational Aims come alive in classrooms. One of the most exciting of these developments was the launch of the 5th Grade Capstone Project, which focused on Human Rights.

Throughout the year the “ES15” construction project has been rising behind our colorful mural wall. This new facility will be ready for our elementary children and teachers to start 2015-16 in an exciting new home! The Board of Directors also spent a lot of time this year creating a common, community-shared vision for the future, which culminated in a new Mission statement: ISK inspires and nurtures passion, creativity and ambition in pursuit of a better world.

This inspiring new Mission statement reinforces the school’s Vision and Aims documents, and sets the stage for some rigorous planning in the years ahead to live up to the school’s foundation principles and strategic ambitions.

John Roberts Director, ISK

“Students can be proud of a year of challenging themselves, pushing their boundaries, persevering to overcome difficulties, and embracing new learning.”

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Vicky Cole Chair, Board of Directors

from the Chair of the Board of Directors 2014-2015 has been a highly successful year at ISK. The Board of Directors started the year with an excellent retreat in August (with the Board of Governors, school Administration and members of the Faculty Council), at which we examined our roles and responsibilities, updated the Strategic Plan and set our goals for the year (all of which were achieved).

We had four major challenges this year: The budget was prepared, and submitted to the Board of Governors for their endorsement. For the first time this was accomplished in November rather than February. This change was primarily to help with the recruitment timeline. The Finance Committee was under pressure in the weeks beforehand but under the steady guidance of Kevin Doyle, our Treasurer, and Moez Jiwani, it was completed in time.

Also in November, we met with the visiting accreditation team to give them input on our improvements in school governance. There are more details on this elsewhere in this Annual Report, but the team was very impressed with our progress in this area.

We wanted to review our policy on Substance Abuse, and a working group led by Rene Berger gathered input and ideas from all stakeholder groups and some external contributors, culminating in a community forum. The new policy was approved in May.

Our main task this year was to appoint a new Director who will lead ISK forward beginning in July 2016. The Director Search Committee, again comprising of representatives from all stakeholder groups, worked many long hours, read applications, drafted questions and created the overall processes. The task was then handed over to the Board members, who were incredibly dedicated and put in long hours for Skype interviews and spent time with the three shortlisted candidates before their final interviews. Stakeholders were invited to meet the final candidates and encouraged to send us feedback. We came to a final decision to appoint David Henry, current Director of the International School of Tashkent, to the position.

Kate Angell masterminded the whole process, and was commended by Search Associates for her thoroughness and organization.

As well as all that, the Board quietly went about its business of school governance, with help from John Roberts, Emma Wanjui, and all those who attended and presented at our monthly meetings.

We have had a lot of support and input from parents, students, faculty, and administration this year, and we are very grateful. We are confident this will continue into the next school year and are looking forward to August 2015!

Vicky Cole Chair of the Board of Directors

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Patricia Salleh Matta Elementary School Principal

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year in review Elementary School With ES15 being on our minds throughout this past year, it is wonderful to see the facility nearing completion and ready for us to move into in August 2015.

Closer to home, there has been increased Educational Aims visibility either through student learning or discussions at ES staff meetings.

We are revamping the ISK Way to the ISK Aims Way, so watch this space! We celebrated the very effective first year implementation of the Grade 5 Capstone Project. What confident and well-researched presentations through the lens of the Aims we witnessed around the enduring understanding “All people share a responsibility to promote human rights in pursuit of a better world”. Well done to the Grade 5 team for this very successful first event.

Continued refinement and strengthening of our assessment practices was evident this year through tracking student progress, rubric revision and development, collection of exemplar material and revision of summative unit assessments to ensure they are in line with our standards and benchmarks. There has also been an increased emphasis on student self-assessment.

Student Support Services The launching of the SSS student database allows us all to access and have updated information on students enrolled in this department. Teachers continued to receive training in personalized learning, both in-house and also with a guest consultant. The strengthening of our inclusive practices to ensure SSS students’ progress has

been planned, tracked and assessed throughout the year. Students are now monitored, if needs be, from the time they enter the ES and are categorized by their needs level and their support is planned accordingly. RTIs and IEP’s have been refined and teachers have done a particularly efficient job writing new RTIs throughout the year.

SMART Goals For the first time, ES faculty teams set a SMART Student Learning Goal, which was tracked and monitored over the course of the year. The collaborative conversations around its planning, student learning, as well as the continuous collection and use of data to analyze and track student progress was very productive.

Technology @ ISK With an increased emphasis on expanded ICT offerings throughout the elementary school program, we included more use of iPads in the classroom and more technology integration outside of the ES lab. The introduction of coding in the younger grades was a learning experience for many of us, but how exciting! Using Google Apps for Education in Grades 3, 4 and 5 which incorporated Gmail, Google Docs and Google Drive helped students better organize and access their work in the Cloud. Several IMPACT session were set aside for teachers to receive training in technology. This included familiarization with our new student information system, Power School, in addition to Google Docs, and various Apps/ programs.

continued on page 12

“We celebrated the very effective first year implementation of the Grade 5 Capstone Project....

Well done to the Grade 5 team for this very successful first event.”

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Successful Learners A small team of ES faculty successfully revised the Characteristics of Successful Learners to ensure that from August 2015, they are aligned with the ISK Educational Aims and with the Middle School and High School. The new ES HOLs (Habits of Learning) will be implemented at the start of the 2015-16 school year. The showcasing of student learning continued over the year through art shows and concerts, the Just Write Competition, Field Days and monthly assemblies. Wow, wow to our PRIDE and Peer Helper groups this year!

They consistently demonstrated leadership, dedication to service learning and the promotion of school spirit.

The school wide Child Protection Committee met its goals for the year with a revised How-To Operations Manual in place for August 2015.

The curriculum documents have been posted on Moodle and are ready to be used in the new school year. In closing, I applaud the continuation of the Saturday Sports Program, organized by a wonderful group of dedicated parents in collaboration with our passionate ISK faculty and staff.

Patricia Salleh Matta Elementary School Principal

Ms. Margaret Oganda with her ES Music Class

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Craig Baker Middle School Principal

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year in review Middle School Technology This was a big year for technology in the Middle School. Teachers received a broad range of training including familiarization with our new student information system, Power School; Google Docs, and iPads. Teachers have also begun documenting curriculum integration into their unit plans. Great progress was made with student electronic portfolios (e-folios) in Google Docs. Now all CASL activities and reflections are documented in Google folders, and the Sixth Grade has begun archiving work and reflections in an Aims-based, e-folio. Next year e-folios will include all grades in the Middle School. Sixth grade students have been using iPad technology in some of their classes, and next year we’ll have one-to-one iPads in both the Sixth and Seventh grades.

Arts We have maintained a highly successful Arts Program, including dramatic productions, concerts, and art shows. This year we sent some of our students to the International School Theatre Association program in Bucharest and hosted a choir festival with schools attending from four different countries on the continent.

Service Learning Our students participated in numerous service projects on Wednesday afternoons, weekends, and Intercultural Trips. One of the highlights of

the service work was having three Maasai girls, receiving secondary scholarships from our eighth grade class and joining our school for a day in April.

Integrated Learning There has been continued work and planning for more integrated learning in the middle school, including a fully integrated mini-unit in the Seventh grade, integrated projects in Sixth and Seventh grade math and science as well as Eighth grade science and social studies. Teachers planned their Intercultural Trips for next year, which will include collaborative, integrated projects based on ISK’s Educational Aims.

Last year, we revised our Habits of Learning (HoLs) based on the ISK Aims, and this year we implemented the new model. Middle School teachers have been more systematic in collecting data on HoLs, and this is becoming embedded in the Middle School culture. These revised HoLs now appear first on our report card and are valued just as much or more as academic achievement.

Craig Baker Middle School Principal

“Last year, we revised our Habits of Learning (HoLs) based on the ISK Aims, and this year we implemented the new model. Middle School teachers have been more systematic in collecting data on HoLs, and this is becoming embedded in the Middle School culture. ” Annual Report 2014-2015

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Robert Blanchard High School Principal

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year in review High School The high school has enjoyed strong enrollment and a particularly positive climate of learning this year. Factors such as clarity around academic expectations and tools, proactive and coordinated approaches to student issues, an engaged student government, the implementation of a gradelevel coordinator model, and a senior class full of excellent role models helped the high school to focus on individual student needs, practically eliminate all major disciplinary incidents, and think out of the box in seeking to implement our new ISK mission. Three areas of focus in the high school are worthy of particular mention: Online Academy and Related Initiatives The high school enjoyed a successful online academy pilot this semester, working through planning items so that we have a clear way forward for full implementation next academic year. This platform has opened the door for students to pursue areas of passion/interest not available in our regular curriculum, acting as enrichment opportunities, supporting personalized options and individual education plans, and mirroring the types of learning environments many students will experience in post-secondary schooling.

Other new tools implemented this year such as Gmail, Powerschool, and ManageBac have helped support systematic planning for 1-to-1 and build a strong platform for student-school communication. The high school provided

significant professional development for faculty this year and is well positioned now to become a 1-to-1 school next year, envisioning obvious learning applications within the classroom as well as opportunities for program improvement in areas such as advisory.

We also spent considerable effort auditing course options at ISK, and we now look forward to introducing IB English Language & Literature as well as completely re-envisioned and overhauled IT courses.

Pastoral Care and Grade-Level Coordinators The high school saw a strong first year of implementation with our grade-level coordinators, who focused on key pastoral and student-oriented approaches to applying a whole child perspective to the ISK experience. This was also a structured and carefully planned year for advisory, including looking more in detail at grades 11 and 12; having said that, we are looking at reframing this program into a mentoring model next year.

Numerous high school staff members as well as some students made important contributions to the school’s Substance Abuse policy review, cooperatively serving on a Board sub-committee and ultimately helping in the research and creation of a new policy that will be implemented in 2015-16. continued on page 22

“This platform has opened the door for students to pursue areas of passion/interest not available in our regular curriculum, acting as enrichment opportunities, supporting personalized options and individual education plans�

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Expanding School Walls The high school has been thinking deeply about how to enrich the ISK educational experience through increasingly authentic, personalized, and experiential learning opportunities. The expansion of ISSEA resulted in the school hosting a major international football tournament while rolling out involvement in non-sporting areas such as Band, Drama, and STEM. The implementation of new intercultural trips - including the elimination of the senior trip - accompanied by a new definition of our trip philosophy have also been helpful in challenging students to apply a bigger-picture,

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AIMS-based approach to their thinking and learning. While we asked students to focus on commitment and leadership this year, as we roll out more options for students that encourage engagement outside ISK walls (curriculum, trips, co-curricular, internships) we plan to develop additional systems that guide students in making good choices and finding balance in school life.

Robert Blanchard High School Principal

International Baccalaureate

Examination Results Forty-five seniors were enrolled for the IB diploma, representing 63% of the 2015 graduating class. Forty-three seniors successfully earned the IB diploma, representing a pass rate of 96%. The average diploma score was 33 and the average

grade obtained was 5.17. The highest diploma points awarded to a candidate was 42. Fifty one additional juniors and seniors completed IB courses either for certificates or in anticipation of their 2016 diplomas.

School Statistics

Percentage of seniors attempting the diploma Percentage of candidates who earned the diploma Average points earned by diploma recipients

Average course grade obtained by diploma recipients

Highest points earned by diploma recipients % of courses for which ISK’s mean score matched or exceeded world norms

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CLASS OF 2015

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CLASS OF 2015 ACCEPTANCES AND OFFERS United Kingdom

University of Michigan

Drexel University

University of Nottingham

University of Minnesota

University of San Diego

Bath Spa University

University of Richmond

University of Northern Colorado

University of Kent

Carnegie Mellon

Univ of Colorado-Colorado Springs

Exeter University

Emory University

Duke

University of Leeds

New York University

Massachusetts College of Art and Design

University of Reading

Boston University

Elon University

Queen Mary University

Embry Riddle Aeronautical Univ

Furman University

University of Leicester

Western Michigan University

University of Tampa

Durham University

Purdue University

Tulane University

Newcastle University

SUNY-Buffalo

Albany College of Pharmacy

Cardiff University

University of Washington

City University of London

Georgia Tech

Europe

University of Sussex

USC

Sciences Po (Research Institution in Paris)

University of Portsmouth

University of Colorado-Boulder

University of Wageningen

Oxford Brookes University

Colorado State

University of Groningen

University of Brighton

Humboldt State

Webster Vienna Private University

Bristol University

Colorado State University

American University of Paris

University of Warwick

University of Florida

Delft University of Technology

Northumbria University

University of La Verne

VHL-University of Applied Sciences

Manchester Metropolitan University

Marymount Manhattan

HAN University of Applied Sciences

Nottingham Trent University

Northwestern University

Ghent University

University of Exeter

UC-Davis

King’s College London

Boston University

Canada

University of Glasgow

Brandeis University

University of Calgary

Florida Atlantic University

York University

United States of America

Ithaca College

University of British Columbia

Lynchburg College

Nova Southeastern University

Dalhousie University

Queens University of Charlotte

Rutgers University

University of Guelph

Beloit College

Northeastern University

University of Alberta

Emory & Henry College

Miami University

University of Toronto

Averett University

Guilford College

Carleton University

Georgetown University

Goucher College

University of Waterloo

UC-San Diego

Agnes Scott College

Queen’s University

UCLA

Principia College

Western University

UC-Berkeley

Haverford College

Brock University

Texas A&M

Loyola University Chicago

University of Western Ontario

Eckerd College

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy &

Sauder School of Business

Quinnipiac University

Health Sciences

McGill University

Michigan State

George Mason University

Rider University

American University

Other

UCONN

Pace University

Heriot-Watt University (Dubai)

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Sofia Miah Gr 12 Director’s Award for Creative and Critical Thinking

Antonia Shaw Gr 12 AISA Service Leadership Award

Finote Gijsman Gr 12 Outstanding Scholar Award

Alex Alverson Gr 11 Outstanding Scholar Award

Danielle Awori Gr 11 Outstanding Scholar Award

Ella Frigyik Gr 10 Outstanding Scholar Award

Emily Print Gr 9 Outstanding Scholar Award

Fletcher Piellet-Long Gr 9 Outstanding Scholar Award

Jasmine Elder Gr 8 MS Leadership Award

Kareena Padamshi Gr 8 Outstanding Scholar Award

Bella Bunkers Gr 7 MS Leadership Award

Emily Langlois Gr 7, Outstanding Scholar Award

Gai Ogasawara Gr 6 Director’s Award for Creative and Critical Thinking

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Jack Green Gr 6 Outstanding Scholar Award

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Kiara Ehsani Gr 6 MS Leadership Award

Rachel Brooks Gr 5 Director’s Award for Creative and Critical Thinking

Shan Robinson Gr 5 Outstanding Scholar Award

Jodi Lake Director of Teaching & Learning

CURRICULUM Teaching and learning is at the core of all that is done at ISK. There are always a multitude of initiatives, projects and big ideas underway to support this. Three major highlights from 2014-2015 reinforced the idea that ISK is an international school with an emphasis on innovation, creativity, passion and ambition.

Educational Aims and Curriculum ISK’s Educational Aims are coming to life in multiple facets of the school. Newly aligned Habits of Learning across all three divisions reflect the language and spirit of the Aims. A new IC Trip philosophy was adopted to guide the way the trips are planned, implemented and aligned to the Aims. The Grade 5 Capstone project ushered in increased curriculum integration as a way of celebrating learning through the lens of the Aims. In addition, a group of teachers, administrators and students found innovative means to implement an educational program that will stretch students’ creativity, build on their passions while developing the skills they will need for careers that are not yet even imagined. This year, the Aims Curriculum team began building a strategic implementation plan to bring these ideas to the core of the academic and co-curricular programs.

A Center for Professional Learning ISK is committed to developing capacity for its faculty and staff. This year, ISK was fully committed to becoming a center for professional learning for schools in Africa as well as in the international world. Increased funding for both support staff and faculty professional development was a major factor in the budgeting process. Next year, ISK will host six different regional/ global conferences in line with our strategic plan and Aims. Workshops and conferences will include a focus on: • Highly Capable Learners • Sensory Integration • Curriculum and Program Development: Math, Science, Modern Languages, PE and Technology • Leadership Training

In addition, ISK will host the Next Frontiers Inclusion Conversation in February 2016 with more than 100 teachers from international schools in attendance.

Accreditation The five-year accreditation report and subsequent visit by CIS (Council of International Schools) and MSA (Middle States Association) confirmed the tremendous growth that ISK has experienced in these past years.

The Visiting Team commended ISK for its commitment to strategic growth and continuous improvement.

Major commendations included: • Revised admissions policy to be more inclusive of students with varying levels of learning needs • Growth of the service learning program • Facilities master plan with special commendations given for the extensive Operations facility, the Commons and the new faculty housing • Commitment to thinking forward as we plan for an educational program that will meet the needs of the current and next generations Next steps noted by the team included: • Attention to the Kiswahili program • Attention to ways ISK might bring more of Kenya into all aspects of student learning Final comments by the team were : “ISK is well situated to maintain and enhance its standing as a top-tier international school.”

“ISK is a premium international school which carries on looking for the next level of students’ learning to address and to “empower students to create solutions for tomorrow’s challenges”.

The International School of Kenya celebrates all we’ve accomplished in 2014-2015 but we are always looking for ways to take us to the next level of excellence.

Jodi Lake Director of Teaching & Learning

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ISK Athletics Department Facts:

2014 Athletic 2015

Highlights

Elementary School

8 Teams

Middle School

22 Teams

High School

30 Teams

ISK Tournaments- Hosted

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Home Games

150+

Away Games

150+

85 COACHES, ASSISTANT COACHES & PARENT VOLUNTEERS

SPORTS AWARDS 2014-15 MS Male Athlete of the Year: Caleb Kalu MS Male Athlete of the Year: Shreya Srivatsa MS School Sportsman Award: Rushan Jyesh Manek HS Nuriana Merali Award - Grade 9 Athlete of the Year: Yasmien Khaled HS Athletic Service and Leadership Award: David Onyango HS Academic and Athletic Excellence Award: Finote Gijsman HS ISK Female Athletes of the Year Award: Nora Tuts HS ISK Female Athletes of the Year Award: Alishaan Merali

Roar Lions Roar!

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2014-15 ACHIEVEMENTS

ISK ISSEA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Local League: KAIIS (Kenyan Association of Independant International Schools)

ISK hosted the ISSEA Football tournament in April. This 3 day event involved 8 schools from our ISSEA group.

KAIIS U19 Girls Basketball: Champions KAIIS U15 Boys Basketball: Runners Up KAIIS U19 Girls Hockey: Runners Up KAIIS U19 Boys Volleyball: Champions KAISS U19 Girls Volleyball: Runners Up KAIIS U19 CoEd Tennis: Champions Lisle Shaw Trophey: Champions (Golf) Turi Cross Country: Champions

Over a thousand people were out for our memorable opening ceremony and ISK community pulled together to host and house our 154 visiting players! It was a highly successful event, and even a lot of rain turning our upper field to mud, couldn’t put a dampener on things!

The Lions are renowned across Africa for their commitment to excellence on the court, on the field, in the pool, and on the track.

International League: ISSEA (International Schools of South and East Africa) ISSEA Cross Country: Boys Champions ISSEA Cross Country: Girls Champions ISSEA Boys Track & Field: Runners Up ISSEA Girls Track & Field: Runners Up ISSEA Boys Basketball: Runners Up ISSEA Girls Football: 3rd Place ISSEA Boys Swimming: 1st Place ISSEA Girls Swimming: 3rd Place ISSEA Golf: Overall Team Champions ISSEA Golf 2nd Place individual: Qaher Madhani

ISSEA Golf 3rd Place individual: Shaneil Haria ISSEA Boys Tennis: 1st Place ISSEA Girls Tennis: 1st Place ISSEA Girls Singles Champion: Alissa Thakker ISSEA Girls Singles Runner Up: Karizma Gadhia ISSEA Girls Singles 3rd Place: Serish Thakker ISSEA Boys Singles Runner Up: Aahil Saleh ISSEA Boys Single 3rd Place: Omar Gulam ISSEA Boys Doubles Runners Up: Omar Gulam & Aahil Saleh William Moore Athletic Director

Reaching for the top

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year in review Creative Arts Passion and innovation were evident throughout the year in the ISK Arts Centre. Students, parents, staff, alumni and members of the local community were treated to a variety of exciting concerts, plays and art exhibitions, along with many new improvements to our facility.

The new sound system in the theatre, made possible by donations to the Annual Fund, was a wonderful addition that improved all ISK productions. Remaining funds in the Annual Fund go to purchase a new projector and screen. New lighting in the atrium was a welcome addition and a new kiln was installed to enhance the quality of our students’ artwork.

Visual Arts K-12 This year, visual art covered the spectrum from African beading to Eastern European puppetry and the art of story telling from ancient Greece. We also explored a wide range of disciplines, from classical drawing and local clay techniques to video installations with emerging media.

We also inaugurated a new IB Visual Arts Curriculum and expanded the scope and quantity of our art shows. There were eight art shows school wide featuring the accomplishments of the visual arts in the Elementary, Middle and High Schools. Each of these shows presented by the Visual Arts Department were in conjunction with other disciplines, e.g. Drama and Music.

Elementary School Visual Arts & Music All grades in the Elementary School used music and art in support of enduring understandings. Semester 1 featured “Tell Me A Tale: Stories can be explored through the arts” and Semester 2 presented “Who? What? When? Where? Why? Arts explored through the study of people, place, time and mediums.”

ES Music spread the joy of music through their

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singing, moving, playing instruments and creating and continued its tradition of a collaborative ES Creative Arts Celebration Week. ES students also participated in the opening ceremony of International Day singing “World of Music.”

Middle School Music The Middle School Music Department continued to teach beyond the classroom with memorable semester concerts as well as curricular and co-curricular events throughout the year. Some of these events included the Middle School Band Camp, the All Family Community Picnic, Operation Smile, International Day, and a Holiday concert at Village Market. In addition there were recitals, IB performances, Composer Club performances and the Hunger banquet.

ISK played host to the Middle School Choral Festival in 2015 with four of our sister international schools attending from other East African countries.

High School The High School Music Department was extremely active throughout the 2014-15 school year. The high school band and choir performed their regular semester concerts and individual students and groups also performed for many school functions including the All Family Community Picnic, Friends of the Arts Show, the Hunger Banquet, International Day, the HS drama production of One Man, Two Guvnors, the IB Art Show Closing, the Volunteer’s Breakfast, several school assemblies, and Graduation.

The co-curricular ensembles of A Cappella and The Composer’s Club contributed significantly to the music culture at ISK this year. In addition, high school band and chorus members travelled internationally to the ISSEA Band and Chorus Festival at the American International School of Johannesburg and The American International School of Muscat Festival of Choirs in Oman.

Dracula was in the house

Middle School Drama The Middle School thrilled audiences this year with their productions of The 4th Dimension (a devised piece by the 8th grade class) and Annie The Musical. Many of our MS students were fortunate to attend an International School Drama Festival help in Bucharest, Romania. It was a busy and productive year of drama at ISK. High School Drama The 2014-2015 year was enriching and fulfilling for the HS drama department. The IB students not only performed a variety of pieces for the school community, both in and out of class, but they traveled to London to engage in workshops with other IB students from around the world.

These workshops were facilitated by IB theatre teachers, examiners and other professional actors, directors and practitioners. Our students were also were able to watch, discuss and critique multiple professional productions on the West End. Another international trip was taken to Lusaka, Zambia to participate in the first ever ISSEA Drama & Visual Art Festival. The Drama Department also produced 2 well-received productions, Dracula and One Man, Two Guvnors. The high school theatre students also presented Fringe Festival, a student directed evening of theatre.

Creative Arts Faculty Music, Drama and Visual Art

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year in review Service Learning Creating a culture of service at ISK through the service learning program has been a challenge but at the end of the day we aim to use direct experience to assist students to learn to take initiative, assume responsibility, empathize with and understand their local community and develop problem-solving skills. The service learning program also integrates meaningful service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, allowing students to learn and develop through active participation. As we use this program to create a culture of service, we empower our students with the realization that they can make a difference in our world today.

Each week we have 325 students participate in various school service activities and many more working on the week ends with their families or individual organisations.

This year we were also became a global member of Round Square.

What does it mean to be a student at a Round Square school? The Round Square approach promotes six IDEALS of learning: Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service. Our student leaders said they strive to integrate the IDEALS into every moment of each student’s everyday life. The Round Square leaders seek fresh ways to promote the IDEALS through posters, assemblies, and barazas. They reach out to younger students in middle school and elementary school with the intention of helping them realize their full potential as students at a Round Square school. Guided by the IDEALS, our students are working hard to become a larger presence in the Round Square school network.

ISK was recently granted global member school status in the Round Square network, recognition

that the ISK curriculum is closely aligned with the IDEALS. ISK is blessed with many wonderful student leaders and a student body possessing a strong general understanding of democracy. ISK’s co-curricular service program, led by students, gives everyone the opportunity to volunteer their time locally. Our annual inter-cultural trips take students on adventurous outings into the Kenyan landscape, broadening their view of the country and giving them a firsthand impression of how we affect our environment. By engaging with hundreds of students from similar schools at the conference, our students can finally receive the full benefit of the diverse experiences they have enjoyed at ISK. Student voices: The service learning program, “has enabled me to inspire more people, especially children of the future, to care about others and care about the environment.” Another student who painted murals at local health clinics commented, “ If service projects are meant to be about connecting with a community that you wouldn’t have otherwise interacted with, the Nairobi Mural project was successful. If service learning is about learning valuable people skills then the Nairobi Mural project achieved this for me.” Finally another student shared that her peer mentoring experience, “was an extremely inspirational and important interaction, because these children are living in tough and difficult times yet they are full of hope, life and joy. What was really inspiring, was how these young children have so much faith despite the difficult conditions in which they live in and how they believe that one day their lives will change forever and for the better.”

Pierina Redler Service Learning & Activities Director

“Each week we have 325 students participate in various school service activities and many more working on the weekends with their families or individual organizations.”

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year in review Information Technology This was a year of challenges, change and innovation for ISK Technology. This year we built a solid foundation for work to come and created a renewed commitment to providing our staff and students with the resources to help reach the Educational Aims and mission of ISK. A special note of thanks goes to our new K-12 Educational Technology Leader, Kathleen Chromicz for all her great ideas and hard work. This year we also welcomed Jack Otieno, our new Systems and Network Manager, who joined us in August 2014.

PowerSchool Implementation A completely new, school-wide grading and student information system was implemented this year. The work included importing historical data to create custom, standards-based report cards and a new parent portal. Next year will be a year to refine and create new reports for leadership to use in analyzing student data.

Google Apps for Education This initiative was a radical change in how we manage email, share and save documents, collaborate and produce digital work. This was designed to be a phased implementation but many staff and students have already gone beyond our year one expectations. Teachers in Grades 3, 4 and 5 incorporated Gmail, Google Docs and Google Drive to help students better organize and access their work in the Cloud. High School used Google Forms and the Flubaroo addon to facilitate self, pre and formative assessment, particularly in Psychology, Yearbook, French, PE and Biology.

SSS Database Simultaneously with the PowerSchool implementation work was done with an outside programmer to seamlessly integrate our SSS data collection and reporting into the PowerSchool information system. Our SSS staff and classroom teachers now have access to student assessments, IEPs, meeting notes and lots more.

These features are in one secure database linked to student scores and demographics.

Human Resources System For the first time, HR management has a browserbased database for tracking employee data and creating reports. All current employee records have been imported into the system.

ManageBac We implemented a new tracking and reporting system for our High School student’s Service Learning requirements. The program change was extremely successful and students have been able to record and blog on their experiences with more success and far less far less technical obstacles than in previous years. iPad 1:1 Pilot Students and teachers explored how using iPads promoted their learning goals. Students in grades 6 and 7 will be ready to take iPads home next school year, complete with extra protection for storing in backpacks and lockers. Students and parents will take part in an afternoon program to distribute the iPads in August 2015. Grade 5 will also be 1:1 and PK-Grade 8 will also have continued access to iPads. At the ES level,

“This year we built a solid foundation for work to come and created a renewed commitment to providing our staff and students with the resources to help reach the Educational Aims and mission of ISK”

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homeroom teachers have created one curriculum lesson for completion on the iPad. Parent Outreach Parents in all divisions were offered discussions and follow-up about raising children in the digital world. A new site, www.isktech.edublogs. org, containing many resources about Digital Citizenship and technology integration is now also available to both parents and teachers.

Electronic Portfolios Pilots Middle School e-Portfolios based on Google Sites are up and running in the 6th and 7th grade.

Learning progress will be demonstrated for the 3 years that a student is in Middle School. The e-Portfolios for incoming 5th graders will be ready in August. Grade 9 students created their e-Portfolios using Wix.com to promote reflection and synthesis.

New High School technology course offerings

were created for 15-16. In addition to IB Computer Science, these include three STEM courses: Digital Design, Application and Game Design, and Robotics. In a new High School elective, iMe, students explore living productively in the digital world.

Tech Integration was seen throughout the year, including Middle School assemblies, movies, modern language interviews, game designs, music projects, and many other formats that demonstrated how students utilize technology to demonstrate their learning. The Elementary School has expanded integration of computational thinking/coding lessons and the High School has introduced digital citizenship classes for Grades 9 and 10 using the strands of ‘Learn’, ‘Balance’, ‘Protect’ and ‘Respect’.

Phil Bloomstein Director of Technology

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Annual Report 2014-2015

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year in review Finance ISK’s strong financial position and effective financial management practice was confirmed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the audit opinion for 2014-2015.

Enrollment for the year was below projection based in part on a decision of the Canadian High Commission to make Kenya a non-family post. The school administration successfully adjusted to the loss of over 20 students by revising the budget and delaying purchases which did not have an impact on student programs.

The Board of Governors and Board of Directors provided guidance and input to further ensure that ISK remained on firm financial footing.

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The financing and construction of the new Elementary School was a primary focus throughout the school year. ISK’s solid financial position enabled the school to complete the construction of the new, state-of-the-art facility while meeting all current financial obligations.

Constant review of the school’s Long-Term Financial Plan (LTFP) by the Board of Directors and Finance Committee ensure that the LTFP remains sound.

Kevin Doyle, Finance Committee Chair Moez Jiwani ISK Business Manager

7%

7%

10% 12%

16%

2014-2015 CAPITAL BUDGET STATISTICS

2015-2016 CAPITAL BUDGET STATISTICS

48%

20% 5%

2014-2015 OPERATIONAL BUDGET STATISTICS

2015-2016 OPERATIONAL BUDGET STATISTICS

75%

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“A comprehensive Alumni Plan was created to emphasize the importance of ISK Alumni to the school’s past, present & future”

Alumni Happy Hour, May 2015

Alumni Barbecue, December 2014

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year in review Advancement The Advancement Office provides support to the ISK community in many ways throughout the year.

The office is responsible for admitting new students, welcoming alumni, helping the ISK community communicate more effectively, staging events such as the Welcome Back Picnic and New Parent Coffees, and raising funds to support school projects programs. The highlights of the year included the following.

the review and development of the new Mission, Vision and Educational Aims statements.

Online Admissions – A competitive review of software suppliers, in collaboration with the IT Department, resulted in the selection and implementation of online Admissions for all applicants to ISK. Data now flows seamlessly into our school’s database, PowerSchool.

Scholarship Endowment Fund – The Advancement Office, in concert with the Advancement Committee, created an exciting program designed to fully support ISK’s scholarship program. This multi-year effort will be launched in the Fall of 2015 with a goal of funding eight full scholarships for qualified Kenyan students who would otherwise be unable to afford ISK’s tuition and fees.

Annual Fund – The successful launch of ISK’s first Annual Fund was made possible by the participation of parents, faculty, staff, alumni and students. The support of the ISK community was clearly evident in the programs and projects that were funded and which will benefit ISK students and the local community.

• Student Leadership Training • Sound system, projector and screen in the Arts Centre auditorium

Marketing & Communications– The marketing plan for the year was focused on the ISK scholarship program, recruitment of new faculty and staff, enrollment to reach potential new families and creating general awareness of ISK locally and internationally.

Lynn Wells Director of Advancement

ISK Alumni – A comprehensive Alumni Plan was created to emphasize the importance of ISK Alumni to the school’s past, present and future. The Advancement Office engaged Alumni in many ways throughout the year, such as hosting the ISK Alumni BBQ, a networking event on the ISK campus, and other “Meet & Greet” evenings in Nairobi. The school’s Official Alumni Facebook page was also created this year to help Alumni reconnect to ISK and boasts over 500 Alumni Friends.

Foundation Documents – The Advancement Committee, consisting of parents, alumni, Board members, administrators and teachers spearheaded

Lynn Wells Director of Advancement

“The office is responsible for admitting new students, welcoming alumni, helping the ISK community communicate more effectively”

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The Advancement Office provides support to the ISK community in many ways throughout the year. The office is responsible for the following:

Over 1000 applications and inquiries received every year.

The “first face” of ISK!

Building on ISK’s tradition of philanthropy with programs to benefit ISK students and the people of Kenya.

Ensuring a good home to school partnership through effective internal and external communications.

Presenting ISK to the potential new faculty, staff, parents and students. ISK’s face to the public.

Print and electronic publications tell the ISK Story, from the Annual Report to Student/ Parent Handbooks.

The general public has a need to know who we are and what is our mission. Strong press relations help ensure that the ISK story is told and appreciated throughout Kenya and the world.

Capturing technology that is always changing and critically important in providing current and new parents the information they need in a timely, effective manner.

Celebrating the ISK Community through a wide variety of picnics, welcome coffees and generally fun events on our beautiful campus.

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Alumni networking, both on campus and off, is a key ingredient in the ongoing success of our students.

Telling our story to corporations, organizations, potential families and government leaders is vital to our long term success in achieving our mission.

Philanthropy at ISK The ISK Annual Fund is only one way we give back to our students and the local community. Each year the Annual Fund helps enhance our school programs and enriches our academic and social programs. It helps provide our students with additional, meaningful programs and facilities that would otherwise not be affordable within the operating budget.

Contributions to the Annual Fund create an additional revenue stream that flows directly into these “extra” academic, artistic or co-curricular programs. These projects and programs are selected each year

by ISK faculty and administration. Annual targets are set to obtain the funding to support the projects and programs that will make a difference in student learning.

The Annual Fund is an investment in ISK students today that will last them a lifetime.

Thank you to the following individuals and companies who have helped make this year’s Annual Fund such a huge success.

Kate Angell Charlie Nicholas Craig Baker Nadeem Noordin Robert Blanchard George Odongo Patry/Blenkiron Robert Onyango Phil Bloomstein Keir Paesel Jon Cain

Pamela Pappas Chris Chang Benjamin Piper Irene Chifallu Pierina Redler James Christoff John Roberts Vicky Cole Farhat Shah Kevin Doyle John Smith-Sreen

Paul Burugu Gachucha Geoffrey Tooth David Guarnieri Aruna Varsani Moez Jiwani Anne Wanja Jodi Lake Jane Wells Miriam Maina Lynn Wells Patricia Salle Matta

Friends of the Arts (FOTA) Isaac Mundia Benefit performance of “Missed Connections” Janet Muasya Suzanne Lipscomb Dan Natirboff Bobbi Nicholas

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Welcome to our pride!

In 2014-15, ISK had over 850 students representing 55+ nationalities. This diversity fosters a warm, welcoming atmosphere where new students are quick to adapt and appreciate each other’s cultures.

5

44

79 14

6 36

9

9

9

12

5

1

286

9

2

1

2

2

1

1

1

3 3

1

1

4

3

ISK STUDENTS REST OF THE WORLD

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ISK boasts a vibrant community of 550+ families from around the globe. Below is a breakdown of our student body by nationality from the 2014-2015 academic year.

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4 5

1

2 2 1

1 4

1

2

5 21

3 22

9

4

2

47 1

3

3

4 7

80

2

1

3

4 1 4

18

22

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year in review PTO The 2014-2015 school year has come to a close and the PTO would like to start by thanking everyone who made the year a success. First of all, we would not be able to even function without the unwavering support of the Director, the Administration and the Faculty. More importantly though, we could not achieve all that we do without the dedication of the parents in our community. Whether it is donating time, talent, treasure or food we can always count on ISK families to help us succeed.

We started the year with the New Parent Orientation and followed it quickly with the Welcome Back Picnic. This is always a fun event, bringing together the community to celebrate the start of a new year. On Monday’s we continued the tradition of hosting coffee and tea mornings at the PTO Shop, giving parents a chance to start the week with friends and catch up with what is happening on campus.

Other highlights of the first semester included grade-specific teas, which were designed to give parents a chance to meet other parents in their children’s class; two bus tours of the greater Nairobi area; 2 MS Socials; the ES Costume Party and the Holiday Bazaar. FOTA (Friends of the Arts) also hosted the first of two Art Galas. Fifty select artists contributed works to the show and

FOTA’s proceeds were generously donated back to the ISK Annual Fund to complete the purchase of a new sound system for the Arts Center Auditorium. The PTO finished the semester by hosting our first Organic Farmer’s Market. This proved wildly successful and was continued on a monthly basis throughout the year!

The second semester brought even more activity: more grade-levels teas; two more MS Socials, a 3rd bus tour and a FOTA gallery tour. At the International Day and Taste of Nations, the PTO organized food tents and cultural displays from 50 countries on six continents; our Spring Fling Dinner and Dance moved to a new location this year and was a fun evening out for parents only; and FOTA held their second Art Gala of the year featuring almost 100 artists. Proceeds from this Art Gala funded an art program and part-time teacher at the Little Prince School in Kibera.

Finally, the PTO helped show off the best of ISK by hosting the Hospitality Tent during the ISSEA Soccer Tournament.

One of the centerpieces of the PTO volunteer core is the PTO Shop in the Arts Center. Under the guidance of Vicky Quinlan almost 40 volunteers staff the shop and sell goods from over 60 local vendors. Most of these are not-for profit groups who depend on the shop for their

“We could not achieve all that we do without the dedication of the parents in our community”

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livelihood and 100% of their sales are returned to them. The shop also hosted two small business workshops for the first time this year to teach the vendors basic principles to help grow their businesses.

achieve their goals of helping the community at large. In addition, we contributed funds to the Promotion Ceremonies for the 5th Grade Class and the 8th Grade Class, and donated funds to the HS Prom Committee and the Senior Banquet.

During the course of the year any funds raised by the PTO are directed back into the community.

In addition to FOTA’s donation to the Annual Fund, the PTO contributed more than $700 to the Athletic Department to help purchase the new lion mascot for ISK.

Again, the PTO would like to thank our community for their support and dedication. We look forward to the 2015-2016 school year and to seeing our friends, old and new.

Adrienne Donohue & Geoff Boyer PTO Co-Chairs

We also distributed $5,000 in grants to nine school clubs and service groups to help them

ISK sends a big “thank you” to our PTO

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Accredited fully by the Middle States Association of Schools in the United States and the Council of International Schools in Europe.

International School of Kenya PO Box 14103 Nairobi 00800, Kenya Tel +254-20-209-1308/9 or +254-733-639-363 communications@isk.ac.ke I www.isk.ac.ke

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