COMMUNITY UPDATE
DIRECTOR’S UPDATE Dear Community Members, Trying to capture and convey all the amazing things our students have as a part of an ISB education can be difficult sometimes, given the breadth and scope of our offerings. Therefore, today I want to take the opportunity to highlight a couple of events with you, taken from opposite ends of our school, and to showcase what a diverse international education entails at ISB. On 25 April, the Early Childhood Centre organised a Home Language Day for our youngest learners. Our ECC students wore their countries’ colours and traditional attire to celebrate their heritage and to practise their home languages together. Our ECC team arranged for close to two dozen parent volunteers and teachers to provide educational activities in the 21 different home languages spoken within the ECC community! These activities included telling stories, singing songs, and playing games in the languages our students speak at home. Furthermore, our English-speaking students learnt new ways to communicate with others using sign language, Google Translate, and through greetings from around the world. We believe that finding ways to connect children's home language with their school life supports students’ unique identities, improves their language skills, and strengthens their sense of belonging. In the High School, as students look to their future beyond ISB, we are excited to be hosting over 60 universities from across Europe (including KU Leuven, University of St Andrews, Leiden University College, and ESCP Business School) for the annual European University Fair on Monday, 13 May. Over 300 students and parents, both from ISB and from other schools in the region, will attend this event. As we are seeing more and more of our graduates attending European universities, hosting this major event is not only important for our students, but it also highlights ISB’s recognition as a top school by acclaimed university representatives who chose ISB as a venue. ISB is a place with many different types of learning opportunities for its students, and these two events are excellent examples of what makes ISB stand out from others in the world of international education.
James MacDonald ISB Director