ISSUE 3 | MAY 2022
Spotlights A MONTHLY CELEBRATION OF THE CIS COMMUNITY
WHAT'S INSIDE Field trips • Grade 5 Exhibition • Grade 12 final day • and so much more...!
For any queries, please contact dani.bell@cis.dk
Contents 4
WELCOME TO SPOTLIGHTS A welcome note and introduction to this month's edition
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FIELD TRIP SPOTLIGHT See where our students have been this month
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CLUB SPOTLIGHT Here's what some of our student-led clubs have been doing this month
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CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHT See what our students have been doing as part of their IB learning this month
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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT Meet some of the faces behind the scenes at CIS
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EVENT SPOTLIGHT Take a look at the school activities from across the month
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STUDENT LIFE SPOTLIGHT See this month's after-school activities including sports, music and more.
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SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT See snippets of our sustainability in action.
Welcome to the third issue of Spotlights... April seems to have passed by in the blink of an eye, but not without a whole host of action! This month saw us celebrate the work of our Grade 5 students at their annual exhibition, as well as say farewell to our Grade 12s as they left for study leave. In this edition of Spotlights you be able to read about these events and more, as well as meet a number of people from the CIS community; from parents, to teachers and football coaches. I'm always amazed at how interesting and diverse the CIS community is, I'm sure you'll feel the same too reading their stories. If you have a story to tell and would like to be featured in a future edition, please reach out any time! Dani Bell Head of Community Relations
OUT AND ABOUT
Field trip spotlight This month our youngest students have been making the most of the Spring weather with lots of trips to the great outdoors. Here's where they have been.
Kindergarten trip to the Zoo This month, our Kindergarten students took a trip to Copenhagen Zoo as part of their Unit of Inquiry about sharing the planet with animals. Kindergarten Coordinator Rachel Beck tells us more... In Kindergarten we are learning about sharing the planet with animals. We are inquiring into what animals need and how we can help them meet their needs. In class the children have build a zoo using recycled and natural materials. Before going to the zoo, the question we posed to the kindergarten students was “are zoos good for animals?” This sparked a healthy debate with different opinions. We will ask the question again after visiting the zoo to find out if the students thinking has changed.
Pre K trip to Dyrehaven Klampenborg Exploring and learning through play is a central part of the IB Early Years Curriculum, which our Pre-K students put into practice in full force at Klampenborg Dyrehaven this month. The IB PYP programme focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and the world outside. Through a combination of play, exploration and social relationships, the experiences our Pre-K students have are designed to contribute to well-rounded, confident and inquisitive students. One of the ways this has been explored this month is through a series of trips to the Deer Park (Dyrehaven) in Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen. The children have chosen a tree that they will follow over time. This time the challenge was to make a circle around the tree. The day was spent playing in nature, climbing the fallen trees, looking for bugs and collecting items to take back to class.
Grade 6 took a trip to Copenhagen Zoo this month to work on a realworld art commission... watch this space!
Pre-K trip to KU:BE This month, our Pre K students have been covering the Unit of Inquiry of buildings, building instructions and maps, which they explored on a field trip to KU:BE. Here's more on what they have been up, in teacher Paula Turco's words... As part of our Unit of Inquiry into buildings, the children have been building using Magna-tiles and wooden blocks. Clipboards were added to the construction area for them to draw their buildings either before they began to build or as the building was in progress. Later, a large square of paper was added to the area for the children to extend their play. They drew water and sand around their buildings, as well as a moat around a castle to keep its inhabitants safe. We connected all our thinking about place, space and maps to our field trip to KU:BE, which was a wonderful day for students and teachers alike!
LEARNING
Curriculum spotlight Take a look at some of the wonderful things our students have been doing as part of their IB curriculum at CIS
Grade 5 Personal Project Exhibition On Tuesday April 26th, the Grade 5 floor of the Primary School was transformed into an inspiring exhibition space, as our students proudly showed off the projects that they have been working on this year. From child labour, to greenwashing, homophobia, the plight of red squirrels and even gaming addiction, our students explored topics that were as varied as they were interesting!
This exhibition is a culmination of a year of hard work and inquiry. Students have been buddied up with mentors from across the school, but the hard work was all very much on their shoulders. We never cease to be impressed at how confident, insightful and sensitive our students are in how they handle difficult subjects. Thank you so much to all the students who exhibited their work, and bravo!
How to support your child with gaming addiction - a PYP Personal Project Showcase by Harad, Donovan and Riku
As a parent, it is important to make sure your child does their homework and has good well-being. Something that could be in the way is gaming addiction. Gaming addiction can affect children’s health, and social skills, and lower their talents. It's not just about their health right now but it will also affect your life many years from now. Parents must know about this issue to protect their children against gaming addiction. Things to watch out for: Thinking about gaming all or a lot of the time Feeling bad when you can’t play Needing to spend more and more time playing to feel good Not being able to quit or even play less Not wanting to do other things that you used to like Have problems at work, school, or home because of your gaming Playing despite these problems Lying to people close to you about how much time you spend playing Using gaming to ease bad moods and feeling
How to support your child with gaming addiction - a PYP Personal Project Showcase by Harad, Donovan and Riku
Things you can do to avoid gaming addiction: Make sure your child is mostly outside to avoid damage to your eyes Make a screen time limit with your child Make a list of when you can play Practice with the child stopping in the middle of a game Manage what games you play (Instead of playing Fortnite or Roblox play games where you learn or calm games like simple planes.)
Thank you for reading this and we hope it will help you and your children! - Harad, Donovan and Riku - Grade 5
Grade 6 Peace Mural This beautiful piece was created by Grade 6 students over a few lessons. They had been working in their drawing part of their foundation course unit and learning about mark making, and how artists use marks with a range of different tools, mediums and materials for creating texture or impact in either drawings or paintings. The students explored marks with paint first to create the background , scraping and brushing the paint across the canvas. Then they followed by making sheets of marks using a wide variety of tools and black ink. They then drew flower designs which they then scored into polystyrene, which enabled them to make the flower head prints. Finally they assembled it together cutting the ink sheets into strips and then cutting out and placing their printed flower heads.
EVENTS
Event spotlight Here's a look at just some of the special events that have been taking place around campus this month
Farewell Grade 12 It's hard to believe but the time has already come to bid farewell to our wonderful Grade 12 students. They will now be off campus in full-study mode (we hope, at least!) in preparation for exam season... but not before we had some fun on their last day on campus! Their penultimate day started off relatively tamely, as we held an informal awards and performance event. Things ramped up on Friday with an action packed itinerary the whole day through. The culminating part of the day was the legendary water fight against the joint teacher and grade 11 student team, we're sure this will be a great memory for them as they look back on the day. We would like to wish our grade 12 students the best of luck as they prepare for the examinations and we are sure they will do themselves proud. They are a fantastic group of students who have achieved wonderful things over their time at CIS and they are certainly champions of everything we stand for.
Book Tasting in the Library This month students from across the school were invited to a Book Tasting event in the Library, where they were able to sample or ‘taste’ different genres. It was a wonderful way to explore new types of books that may otherwise have been overlooked, and a great way to make full use of the wide range of books in our Library!
Diversity Week 2022 At CIS, we aim to stimulate an environment of cultural diversity. We do this through attention to our curriculum including representation and text choices, as well as the learning opportunities outside of class. Led by our Student Council, we spent the last week of April celebrating diversity within our school community. Each day, the focus has been on a different group and on April 30th it culminated in games, discussions and an exhibition in the gym. Many thanks to our Student Council and Ms.Isolde Wänegård from our counselling team for their organisation of the week!
CLUBS
Club spotlight Take a look at some of the wonderful things our school clubs have organised this month for the wider CIS community
The CIS English and Magazine Club In Issue 1 of Spotlights, you heard from one of our Grade 9 students, Lisa Mary Paul, who created the first ever English and Magazine Club. We are delighted to share the final publication with you, which is now available online. Click the image below or scan the QR code to read the work from students from all over the school.
PEOPLE
Community spotlight Turn the page to meet some of the wonderful people from around the CIS community.
PTA Community Meeting Organisational changes, festivals and parent socials were all on the agenda at this month's PTA Community Meeting. Remember that you are always welcome to come along to the PTA meetings to both hear what's happening, but also just connect with other CIS parents and have fun.
Join Classlist to connect with parents and stay up to date on upcoming PTA events
Farewell and thank you, Merri Carnahan This month we sadly bid farewell to the wonderful Merri Carnahan, the CIS PTA chair. Here are a few words from Merri on what being part of the CIS community has been like for her. Hi Merri, Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview! Can you tell us a little about yourself, and what you’ve done here at CIS? Hi Dani! Glad to be talking with you. A little about myself…I served in the U.S. Army and worked as a school nurse back in the US, and as a Community Liaison Officer in Jerusalem with the State Department. I have been married for 21 years to my husband, Rob, we have 4 children, Robert (20), Maggie (18), Hannah (15), and Alaina (13). We moved to Copenhagen July 2020 and I really wanted to get involved with the community at CIS right away. I felt like it
would be a great way to learn about the school and Copenhagen. Being the Chair of the PTA has been a wonderful and challenging experience. I am so glad that I took this opportunity upon my arrival to Copenhagen. The CIS Community was so inviting when we arrived and I truly appreciated all of their support. Sitting on Interview panels and being able to envision the future of CIS with each candidate was amazing!
What has been a highlight of your time as PTA chair? My time as PTA Chair has been very rewarding. I have loved working with the staff of CIS and getting to know the members of the parent/student community. I love planning events that bring everyone together. The community came together quickly to collect and organise donations to support a worthy cause. Even with COVID we were able to have several socials, the Halloween party and the International Festival. What do you enjoy most about being part of the CIS community? I love how our community comes together in support of one another and how we value the differences of our cultures. The relationships that were built in the PTA and with the community are things that I will fondly remember. In the two years of being on the PTA we have been working hard to keep the community together through COVID restrictions and challenges.
What are your hopes for the PTA moving forwards? My hope for the PTA is to continue to bring our community together and to lean into the diverse cultures that we have. The new structure for the PTA is very exciting to bring more people together to make events and make our community stronger! With several new roles like culture coordinator, international family coordinators, marketing and social media coordinator we will grow with one another to be stronger. What will you miss the most? I will miss working with the staff, families, and students! This opportunity to be on the PTA has been amazing and so rewarding. I have learned so much from working with everyone at CIS. I have made some wonderful friends in the community and staff and that will be what I miss the most about being the PTA Chair! I will still be around the school so please say hello when you see me :)
What advice would you give to new parents who are new to Denmark and/or the CIS community? When you arrive to Denmark and CIS please reach out to the PTA. They are an amazing group of people who are here to help get you settled and welcomed to the community. Arrival to a new school is always challenging and overwhelming, just know that you are coming into a truly wonderful community. Be sure to get out and see Copenhagen, there is so much to see and experience.
This opportunity to be on the PTA has been amazing and so rewarding. I have learned so much from working with everyone at CIS. I have made some wonderful friends in the community and staff and that will be what I miss the most about being the PTA Chair!
Staff Spotlight - Meet MYP design teacher, Eddie Hi Eddie! Can you tell us a little about yourself? I started my teaching career as a Latin teacher in Pennsylvania, because my undergrad degree is in Classical Literatures and Languages. I met my wife (Eva Christensen, who is Primary School Danish teacher at CIS) in college, and after graduating, she moved to Shanghai to teach. She came back to the US to visit and we hit it off and started a long distance relationship. It was when I visited her in Shanghai that I realized there was a whole international world I had not seen. For somebody who grew up in the west, to have my eyes reveal this Eastern perspective and this vibrant city, well...
I decided to resign from my position in Pennsylvania and joined Eva in Shanghai in 2008. We spent three years working together at an international school there. From the travel, culture, food - it was an amazing opportunity. From there, we moved to Munich, where we had our first daughter Lily, and after two years, decided to move to Copenhagen in order to be closer to Eva's family. That's where we welcomed another daughter, Heidi, and we both joined CIS as teachers. Aside from travel and family, I also enjoy traditional rock climbing. I love the rope systems involved in multi-pitched climbing. In fact, just last week I was rock climbing in Tryfan, Wales.
Staff Spotlight Can you tell us about your role at CIS?
In my 8th grade class, we worked on lasercut dioramas to reflect UN Sustainable
In the past 9 years, I have taught from
Development Goals.
grades 4 to 9. I am currently a MYP design teacher specializing in digital design.
What's your favorite part about working at CIS?
Lately I've been focusing on photography, film, robotics, mobile game coding, and
I think I have a phenomenal colleague base:
graphic design. For instance, in my 9th
I love the people I work with, David and
grade class, we have students design their
Sameera. We work so well together and are
own avatar for a platformer game (think
eager to push the limits to create new
"Mario Bros."). Essentially they design the
things. It's all about how to create a great
character to look like themselves, so it's a
student learning experience. We bounce
reflective practice to define their own
ideas off each other, work hard, get
personal style. Then they create their avatar
students thinking and creating, and expose
using Adobe Illustrator, animate various
them to the different aspects of design.
movements (walk, jump, run, etc.) in Adobe AfterEffects, and then code it in our game making software called Construct3. The process and applications are nearly
I like the the general
identical to what professionals in game
philosophy of CIS. It's
making companies use to do their projects.
really aligned with my
As a design team, we like to expose them to the real life programs that are the industry standard for professionals in that field. In my 6th grade class, we are working with
feelings of where education is going, and I like our core values
robotics. In my 7th grade class, we are
and incorporating them
working on a photography unit, and use
into our units and
photography and Photoshop skills to capture CIS values.
lessons.
Danish lessons for Parents The popular Danish course, Danish for parents, is back at CIS. Led by Michael Halskov, these sessions run every Friday morning on campus. Lia Burnham tell us why she chose to sign up this year. Hi Lia, thanks so much for doing this interview! Can you tell us a little about yourself: where are you from originally and what brought you to Denmark? Hi Dani, I’m so happy you asked! My family and I moved to Denmark last summer for my husband’s job at the U.S. Embassy. Our son, Max, is in Grade 8 and our daughter, Olivia, is in Grade 4. We’re American, originally from Connecticut, most recently living in Northern Virginia. This is our first overseas assignment and we have been so lucky to have support in our transition from not only the embassy, but also from the CIS community and the PTA.
You’ve recently started a Danish for Parents course at CIS. Can you tell us a bit more about that? Absolutely! Our class just began last week and there are still plenty of spots available for anyone who is interested in joining. We meet in person on Friday mornings at CIS and are adding an online component as well. The overall commitment is under three hours per week, plus study time.
IHow has the experience been on the course so far? The instructor, Michael Halskov, is easygoing and fun. He is focused on teaching us the basics of the language such that we feel confident engaging in conversations. The pronunciation is so important to be understood, especially in Danish, and he has a gentle way of reinforcing the correct sounds so that we are constantly improving. What are you most looking forward to doing with your newfound Danish? I don’t think I’m going to be able to master the language in the next few years, but I would like to be able to join in a conversation with the other parents on my daughter’s football team and have the ability to accomplish daily tasks without resorting to English. What would you say to other parents who are struggling to get started with Danish? The Danes that I have met speak perfect English and are so kind that when they hear you struggling, they will switch to English. It makes it very easy for native English speakers to live here in Denmark, but harder to gain practice for Danish beginners. I have been using various apps for the last year in an attempt to learn, but I’ve found it’s really important to have feedback in order to improve. I’m glad that Michael offered to teach this course and I hope others will join us!
Parent Spotlight This month we are delighted to introduce you to CIS parent, Awat Abraha. Let's find out more about Awat and his family. Hi Awat! Firstly, can you tell us: where did you grow up? I am originally from Asmara / Eritrea, but unfortunately some men decided to start a war, so my incredibly strong mother fled to Germany with me and my four siblings. I still remember my arrival in Germany. It was winter and the country was covered in snow. Overnight, all the people around us were white, the sun was gone and as a child you are curious, so I asked my mother what happened to all the people around us and that I am scared to lose my color. My wonderful mother told me not to worry. She explained to me that the sun was taking a long walk here and when it returns back, my "new brothers and sisters" would get their colour back. We still laugh about it today when we reminisce.
How many years have you lived in Denmark? Exactly 4 years and 31 days (29.04.2022). We are enjoying our last year here in DK and at the same time looking forward to our next adventure. How many children do you have in the CIS and in which class do they go? One of our three children attends CIS. My son Nael, who was born with trisomy 21 – also known as Downs Syndrome, and is in Grade 4 and receives the intensive + support. His siblings Jace is in grade 2 and Nayeli attends kindergarten. Both at ISH.
Parent Spotlight What does it mean for you to be with CIS? It means a lot, literally. On the one hand, CIS, was the only International School in Copenhagen and the surrounding area that agreed to take a child with Trisomy 21 as a student. This one positive willingness has led to an incredible number of positive changes. To list just a few: 1. My wife has been able to follow the call of her employer and pursue international career opportunities. 2. I could take a time out from being a teacher and am currently a 100% stayat-home dad and husband. I don’t have to explain how important it is for the development of a child to have an active father. 3. Nael has incredibly great support through the Bridges programme, made many friends and has a beautiful friendship with his female pardon Selma. He learned a second language because of CIS. (Awesome ) These experiences make life so worth living and are priceless. Every day I bring my son to CIS reminds me how privileged we are to live this way of life and that it is not a matter of course to stay that way. We are very grateful towards CIS and the passionate commitment of the learning support teachers.
EXTRA CURRICULAR
Student life spotlight Here are just some of the things our students and staff have been doing on campus when the school day ends
Outstanding Athlete Award Grade 12 This annual award is given to a Grade 12 athlete(s) who played multiple sports or achieved a high level in a particular sport while demonstrating outstanding skills and displaying excellent sporting behavior. This year is slightly different as we chose to honor a team instead of individuals. A team that has positively overcome several challenges (interruptions due to Covid-19, canceled tournaments, coaching changes etc) and continues to thrive due to the good leadership and positive environment created by our Grade 12 players. Congratulations to our Varsity Boys Football team on receiving this award and in particular to the Grade 12 athletes on this team: Arnas, Wilf, Oskar, Rowan, Finn, Joe, Pavel & Matteo.
High School Football This month the Student life spotlight is on the High School boys' football team. Coached by Anders Berg, who joined Hawks coaching staff in January and who is very much enjoying his journey with the team. Anders is dedicated to the continuous development of team spirit while strengthening team core values. Their story continues with an amazing start of the spring season. Here, Anders shares his thoughts on the most recent game the team played. After a fantastic streak with 4 wins in a row in the pre-season tournament, last Friday we started the new season with an exciting match against FA 2000 at Fælledparken. We started the match insecurely, with a lot of failed passes due to the state of the pitch, which resulted in getting behind 0-2. But we managed to center ourselves on our core team values and accept there are a lot of things we can't change, and simply give our best. Suddenly, we managed to change our mindset, bringing us back to 22 by halftime. The boys talked at halftime about their performance and what to change.
Parent Spotlight We were confident we could win this game and everyone was ready to improve their performance. This mindset shift led to a huge turnaround in performance, and we managed to win the game 5-2! I enjoy being a coach at CIS for many reasons, but first of all is the fantastic mindset and openness the boys have within their "backpack" of life." At the recent grade twelve awards ceremony, all graduating students playing on this team received Most Outstanding Team award which recognizes their leadership, continuous effort to team development, resilience and impressive camaraderie.
This mindset shift led to a huge turnaround in performance, and we managed to win the game 5-2!
EXTRA CURRICULAR
Sustainability spotlight Our mission at CIS is to Educate Champions of a Just and Sustainable World. Here's a look at some of the ways we are doing that.
Litter Picking in action Last month we told you how, for the 4th year in a row, CIS students would be participating in the annual, week-long, Denmark-wide Affaldsindsamling (Litter Cleanup) 2022 sponsored by Danmarks Naturfredningsforening (The Danish Society for Nature Conservation). This year we had a wonderful turnout with students across the school collecting kilos of litter in their locals neighbourhood, parks, beaches, forests and everything in between. Here are just a few pictures of our litter warriors in action.
Thank you! A WARM THANK YOU TO EVERYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR ANOTHER GREAT MONTH
For any queries, please contact dani.bell@cis.dk