Winter 2019, Vol. 5
Engaging with the Community: Service Learning at ISB Throughout our students’ time at ISB, they are asked to take action in various ways, both as part of the curriculum and through stand-alone initiatives. In the curriculum, the community service program builds as students advance through the Primary Years Programme (PYP, Pre-K 3’s through 5th Grade) and Middle Years Programme (MYP, 6th Grade-8th Grade), culminating in the MYP Community Service Project that each student completes in 8th Grade. In addition to classroom and individual service projects, ISB also organizes two school-wide service days - Local Day of Service and Global Service Day - to align with the goal of ensuring that our students become locally- and globally-minded.
This year, ISB celebrated its annual Local Day of Service on October 26. We believe it is important for our students to be present and active in our local community, and this day provides opportunities for them to engage in service in a meaningful way. Whenever possible, these service activities are tied to the curriculum and skill building. Under the IB framework, the concept of action is an important step of the inquiry cycle and is the culminating piece of every unit of inquiry, so our teachers are always looking for ways to tie their students’ classroom work into Day of Service.
Second Grade students, for example, were engaged in a unit on “Rights and Responsibilities” this October, and for their action on Day of Service, they wrote postcards to their local representatives about immigration policy. The many discussions and learning experiences that the students had in the classroom surrounding children’s rights, as well as the students’ rights and responsibilities in their own community, led to this action step and added a tremendous amount of passion and energy to this project.
We were also thrilled to have some of our students integrating their language skills into their service activity this year. Third Graders visited the Bumble Bee Daycare to read to younger children, and our Spanish track students took this opportunity to read books in Spanish to the Spanish-speaking children at the daycare center. We are looking forward to finding even more opportunities like this, in which students can use their language skills to connect with the multilingual communities that we are a part of, both here in Brooklyn and beyond.
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“Something we always want to emphasize with students is the ‘why’; not just to associate an activity with a number of hours, but to think outside themselves and consider how their volunteerism impacts the community and people around them. As faculty advisors, we talk about empathy and let students know what skills they have and how they can make a difference. We also work with them to build resilience, discussing how not to feel blocked when they are in front of someone whose situation is different from their own. We encourage them not to be afraid, even when they encounter discomfort”. -Miriam Butterman, MYP Coordinator/Service Learning Development
Building Service Throughout our Program While in the Lower School, community service and action takes place largely in the classroom setting and on our local and global days of service. When students enter Middle School, they experience community service as a larger, fully integrated part of the curriculum, a program that includes service hours that must be completed independently. But it is vitally important, according to Miriam Butterman, MYP Coordinator and Service Learning Development, that the students build a deep understanding about why they do service and why it is important. “We spend a lot of time speaking about service with the 6th and 7th Graders, and in these discussions, we really unpack what it is and what sort of actions we consider to be selfless service. We spend a lot of time on the social-emotional aspect of service work and the issues at the center of their service experiences.” These conversations highlight the importance of perspective taking, empathy, and overcoming challenges to our students, all skills that are built through their engagement in community service. Our students’ activities range from the very small scale to their taking initiative and trying things on weekends, on their own or with their parents. Some of these activities take place at school, such as creating decorations for events like the Multilingual Book Fair, or setting up AV equipment for an assembly or meeting. On the surface, these may not seem like big actions; however, the students’ involvement helps the school and allows our Middle Schoolers to experience and contribute to ISB’s culture of participation. Sometimes these activities move beyond campus: for example, we partner with local organizations such as Carroll Park. Every holiday season, the park hosts a big event and our students participate by setting up lights and handing out hot chocolate. Whether helping in the Library, volunteering for a neighborhood event, or prepping AV equipment for a school function, these experiences help our students understand that we are all part of a community and that everyone’s participation is what enables things to happen.
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“One of goals of the International Baccalaureate is to raise internationally-minded learners. We believe that in order to achieve this, it takes going a little further with our service work, because there’s only so much that the students can learn within the classroom setting. It’s important for us to give them the right tools and the right knowledge to learn how they can take action and how they can prepare themselves to do so. ISB’s curriculum is intended to give them these opportunities that they wouldn’t really have otherwise, and to expand their minds and get them thinking about empathy and responsibility.” -Vinny Abbate, Athletics Director and Middle Community Service Coordinator “Our students have some really great community service opportunities throughout the year, and we also make sure that they have the opportunity to reflect on the actions they are taking and think about why they are doing the service that they are doing.” -Miriam Butterman, MYP Coordinator/Service Learning Development
Going Beyond Community Service Hours: The MYP Community Project Our students have natural compassion and an innate desire to help, and the community service program at ISB is designed to build in such a way as to give our students the social-emotional and intellectual skills necessary to focus their energy toward action. The culminating project of our students’ community service experience is the MYP Community Service Project, in which our students direct their own learning by designing service projects on topics that are meaningful to them. The Community Service Project is organized in four parts: investigating, planning, taking action, and reflecting. “The investigating and planning requires a lot of independence from our students, and taking action can be done in many ways. We discuss direct action, indirect action, approaches to learning, skills, advocacy, and research. Sometimes students decide that they want to learn more about a situation that is happening in the world and will use their project as a way to impart that knowledge to us. Or they may go out in the field; for example, last year, two students 4
created a community journal that they called ‘The Brooklyn Book of Thoughts.’ The idea for this project was to bring coffee shop patrons together to write their thoughts in a shared notebook. They put these journals in local coffee shops because they wanted to connect people; the students just loved to write and thought maybe others would too. Their reflection, after reading the many thoughtful comments left in the books, was that people have so much more in common than they think”. -Miriam Butterman “I love seeing the projects because some students just go above and beyond anything that you have expected and come up with these really great ideas. While the final projects vary in scale, you can see that they bring their own experiences and passion into each one.” -Vinny Abbate We look forward to seeing the many ways our students will work to improve their communities in the months ahead, and we are especially grateful to Miriam, Vinny, and all the classroom teachers who work to make community service and action such an enriching and fundamental part of the ISB student experience.
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Dispatches from Dubai:
Catching up with Annabelle Joslin ‘17, Oliver Joslin ‘17, and ISB Co-Founder and Founding Head of School Rebecca Skinner We can hardly believe it has already been a year since Rebecca Skinner and her family left New York for their next adventure in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. We asked Annabelle and Oliver, Class of 2017, along with Rebecca, to share some of their favorite new experiences abroad and what they have taken with them from ISB.
What’s something that you learned at ISB that is helping you now? Rebecca: Not a day goes by when I don’t think about how my ISB experiences are helping me. In my new role, I am able to work more closely with students and teachers than I did in my later years at ISB. Whenever I have to prepare for a challenging conversation or situation, I think about how my colleagues at ISB would handle it and try to channel their positive energy. I am also constantly reminded of how important it is to communicate with teachers, parents, and students in a new and growing school. Communicating and working collaboratively were two of the keys to success at ISB and are at Dwight School Dubai as well. Oliver: I think that the skills that I learned, such as being confident while presenting, going into detail, and always asking questions, have helped me a lot. These skills have been useful to me in not just academics, but also in making friends. After knowing people for such a long time and meeting new friends along the way, I have become more confident when I am faced with a new group of people. Annabelle: Taking part in the IB curriculum at ISB has really helped prepare me for the school work I’ve done in school this past year. For example, working on the Community Project at ISB helped prepare me for another Community Project in 9th grade and a Personal Project in 10th. I’m sure it will also be really helpful when I start the Diploma Programme next year too! 6
What’s an unexpected challenge that you have encountered living in Dubai or in your new school? Rebecca: It is very hard to receive mail in the UAE, as the postal service does not deliver to homes. As a result, people use services such as WhatsApp or SMS to communicate about events, topics, etc. that would be done by mail in the US. This has been very hard for our family members and friends to understand, as they all wanted to send us holiday cards in December! Oliver: Many things are hard to adjust to here, with the weather being up there on the list (the heat in the summer, that is!). However, I feel like the hardest thing to adjust to here is probably new school environments. Annabelle and I moved to Dwight School Dubai when it opened in September, so we have started at our third high school in under two years. It is hard having to start over again and again, and it takes time to become comfortable with cultural beliefs that sometimes differ from my own. Annabelle: It’s not that big of a challenge, but I miss having FaceTime! It’s a lot harder to keep in touch with my friends in the US without it. I have a hard time remembering my phone number as well, because I mix it up with the one I use back home. School also starts on Sunday and ends on Thursday, which I still find a bit confusing. Like Oliver said, some cultural differences can also be hard to get used to. Sometimes a new look on something is refreshing though.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve done/place you’ve been since the move? Rebecca: We have all been so busy at school and work that we haven’t traveled much yet. We did go to Jordan over the winter break, and Petra was definitely one of the coolest places I have ever visited. It is incredible to see all of the buildings and homes carved into the side of the mountains. While we were there, I picked up a book called Married to a Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen, and it was so much fun to read about her life at Petra and to be able to recognize the areas of the city that she was talking about and which we had just visited. We also spent one night camping (ok, really it was “glamping”) at Wadi Rum, and Annabelle and Oliver saw their first shooting star. Wadi Rum is a desert landscape that looks a bit like being on Mars, and many films (Star Wars and others) have been shot in the area. Oliver: I think that Jordan was amazing. It was very interesting getting to learn about all the ancient ruins, spending a night in the desert, and traveling all over the country in just over a week! If I had the chance to go there again, I most certainly would. As for experiences in general, I love meeting new friends here! They come from so many cultures, and somehow we find things in common. For example, one of my new friends is from Spain; and he and I look pretty much the same and have the same interests. It’s almost like I’ve found my clone... Annabelle: I think the coolest thing I’ve done since moving was going to Jordan. It’s a lot easier to travel to other countries in the Middle East than it is in the US because they’re a lot closer together. In Jordan, we got to see all sorts of castles and old ruins, which was really fun. Camping here has also been cool because it’s so different from the camping I’m used to. In the UAE, instead of sleeping in a tent surrounded by trees, bushes, and lakes, we get to sleep in the middle of the desert! I’ve also made great friends here, which I think counts as pretty cool.
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What do you miss most about ISB? Rebecca: I miss all of my friends and colleagues, as well as the students and parents. I am grateful to be able to keep up with the latest ISB news through the weekly Dragon Times. It helps me feel less homesick and makes me proud to see how the school continues to live out the ISB mission. Oliver: I miss my friends and the general community of the school. I always felt like ISB was a safe place (not that I think anywhere else isn’t) where I could learn new things and have fun while doing it. Annabelle: I miss the community! The people at ISB were always so kind and supportive, and that’s definitely something I miss. I also miss the language immersion. After growing up in a school so full of languages, it’s odd for me to be in a place without the same opportunities. When I went to high school, I took history in English for the first time! Even though it was easier for me, something about it was a lot less interesting. I think I miss the challenge.
What’s your new favorite food? Rebecca: That is a very hard question to answer. I love learning about the nuances of “Middle Eastern” food and knowing which foods are more Lebanese or Yemeni or Emirati. We have enjoyed experimenting with making our own version of Adas (lentil soup) now that it is “winter” in Dubai. Oliver: There are so many options! I think I’ll have to choose lamb kebabs and freshly made bread. They do tend to put a lot of spice on things though; I tried a piece of chicken that was “mildly spiced”, and my mouth was burning seconds later! Annabelle: Probably shakshouka and palak aloo. Shakshouka is a spiced egg dish with tomato, and aloo palak is Indian curry with spinach and potatoes. I love baklava, too - there’s no shortage of good food here!
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Staff News and Updates Delphine Michaud, Director of Lower School, will be presenting at this year’s National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Annual Conference in Long Beach, CA. This presentation is the culminating project of her year-long NAIS Aspiring Heads of School Fellowship Program. We wish her and her fellowship group members good luck! ISB Mathematics Coordinator Matt Stokes received the David Clune Award for Data Analysis and Educational Excellence from ERB. The purpose of the Clune Award is to recognize exceptional achievement in data-based research that supports student learning and drives educational excellence. He also attended an ERB Conference this October in Nashville, TN. Itzel Mendoza and Karina Bustamante presented at La Cosecha, the largest dual language conference in the country, on using inquiry in second language learning. Read more about their experience on page 14. Lower School teachers Molida Khuon, Samuel Gradess, Cristina DominguezDelgado, and Kelli Jernigan attended the National Council of Teacher of Mathematics (NCTM) Conference in Seattle, WA. Isabelle Dussart, French Language Coordinator and 2nd Grade French Head Teacher, attended a mathematics workshop in Québec, Canada, as well as a meeting of French educators in New Orleans, LA. Karina Bustamante, Hined Haida, and Sara Fernandez attended IB workshops in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C., respectively. Since the beginning of the year, more than 25 teachers have attended off-site professional development conferences, workshops, meetings, and school visits, and many more will be doing so in the spring. We always look forward to the new ideas, teaching approaches, and techniques they bring back to ISB with them from these important expertise-building and -sharing experiences!
Upcoming Events
We hope to see you at an upcoming event at ISB! February 26: ISB Alumni, Staff, and Dragons Basketball Game March 8: ISB’s 5th Annual Pecha Kucha Evening March 12 & 13: ISB Musical Theatre Performances April 12: Jeffrey Zeigler Cello Performance May 10: ISB’s Spring Benefit May 30: Class of 2015 Alumni Reunion June 14: Class of 2019 Graduation
ISB’s Community Expertise in Action Throughout the fall semester, ISB parents have been generously sharing their expertise with our students and providing them with exciting new opportunities for inquiry and exploration. The examples on these pages are just a few of the myriad ways our community comes together to enhance our students’ educational experience.
8th Graders, who have been studying acids and bases in Science class, took a field trip to Dr. Thomas Tuschl’s lab at Rockefeller University. Dr. Tuschl - award-winning biochemist, molecular biologist, and parent to Lila ‘19, Leonard ‘18, and Theodor ‘18 - spoke with the class about his scientific career before engaging them in an investigation into acids and bases. He first took them into a lab area, where he showed the results of combining acids and bases, and then he discussed the health impacts of exposure to strong acids and bases. The students then taste-tested some of the less concentrated acids and bases that we encounter in our daily lives.
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In Art class, 1st Graders enjoyed a special visit from artist and ISB parent Boris Torres, who showed the students samples of his artwork and discussed his creative process with them. Chris Walker, engineer and parent to Marion ‘25 and Audrey ‘22, worked with Marion to create a presentation for her 5th Grade class on different types of maps. They started by explaining the process of how engineers measure the globe, and they brought clementines with cuts along the peels so that students could unpeel them in a way similar to how the Goode Homolosine maps represent the Earth. Chris also explained how satellites work in relation to GPS technology. The students concluded by applying mathematical concept of scale to drawing aerial views of rooms in apartments and houses.
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3D Printing Comes to ISB By Pat Hough, Technology Integration Director & Middle School Design Teacher Science and technology often merge in the pursuit of knowledge and to find solutions to problems that require scientific-driven product design. Solving technological problems demands scientific knowledge, and modern technologies provide new STEM learning opportunities and experiences. These approaches tie into the PYP and MYP concepts of Connection, Development, and Creativity. To enhance STEM learning, ISB purchased its first 3D printer, a Lulzbot Taz 6, late last Spring. Soon after, Middle School Design teacher Pat Hough collaborated with Science teachers Alicia Smith and Kimesha Reid-Grant to create a project that connected science and technology through design. The students used TinkerCad, an online 3D drawing program with computer-aided design, to create models of paralympic sports equipment inspired by a field trip to the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum’s exhibit on “Access and Ability.” This exhibit explored how users and designers are expanding and adapting accessible products in innovative ways. The students’ designs included accessible skis, hockey skates, and a wheelchair for disabled soccer players.
Sports equipment, designed by 7th Grade students 12
Some 3D projects from this year include chairs created by 8th Graders in Design class and models of “Fairy Houses” by 6th Graders, which they are using to measure area, volume, mass, and density.
Alicia and Pat will once again work in collaboration with 3rd Graders to create playground equipment as part of their unit of inquiry on “Simple Machines”. Each student will construct a model of either a slide or a seesaw, exploring the physics of the equipment and addressing the design problem with creative solutions. See-saw, designed last year by a 3rd Grade Student In late spring, 6th Graders used the 3D printers to tie into their unit on energy in Science class. The students worked in pairs to design models for sources of electricity generation, such as wind turbines, solar panels and hydroelectric stations. This spring, 5th Graders will have access to the 3D printer to create models related to their PYP Exhibition unit, “Where We are in Place and Time,” which will be investigating the central idea, “The trials and errors of the past may enable us to progress and learn.” Feel free to stop by the Technology Office, located in the Learning Commons, to see the machine at work! Device for generating hydroelectricity, designed last year by a 6th Grade student 13
Sharing Our Expertise: ISB Educators Itzel Mendoza & Karina Bustamante on the Role of Inquiry in Learning a Language This November, Spanish Nursery Head Teacher Itzel Mendoza and 5th Grade Spanish Head Teacher Karina Bustamante traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico to present at La Cosecha, the largest dual language education conference in the country. We sat down with them to hear more about their presentation topic, their educational philosophy, and the value of inquiry in second language learning.
You both recently presented at La Cosecha Dual Language conference. Can you tell me more about what your presentation was about? Itzel: Our presentation was on how inquiry can really help to develop and build academic vocabulary in a second language. One of the struggles for second language teachers, regardless of whether or not it is an immersion environment, is how to build academic language. Students have an easier time learning functional phrases. They can learn to say basic things, but how do you get the academic language to stick and how do you get your students using it?
What do you mean when you refer to academic vocabulary? Itzel: This often refers to unit vocabulary, words that you will find in nonfiction works, such as informational text. This is the kind of vocabulary that you develop because you are reading more informational texts or doing research, and this sort of language is required for high-order thinking. A lot of children will probably not be using this sort of language on their own, native speakers or not, unless it’s a topic they particularly love.
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What’s an example of how this academic vocabulary is built in Preschool? Itzel: For example, this year as part of the Pre-K 3s “Who Am I?” unit, we watched a video about the major body parts. Of course, the children have a notion of what body parts we have, but this video used the words head, trunk, and extremities (cabeza, tronco, extremidades). Throughout the unit, we kept using these same vocabulary words when we would talk about our bodies, draw our bodies, or do an activity related to the body, and the vocabulary stuck - the children have been using it on their own - because they were engaged during all of these activities.
“We believe that there is so much that we are able to do here at ISB because of the way that we marry inquiry and language, and the way that we put children at the center of their own learning.” -Itzel Mendoza
How did you choose this for your topic? Itzel: One of the challenges that second language teachers face is keeping a child engaged and motivating them to want to learn and use the language. We believe that there is so much that we are able to do here at ISB because of the way that we marry inquiry and language, and the way that we put children at the center of their own learning. As a teacher, once you get to know your students, you can find out how to engage them; when a child is engaged, they are the most likely to learn. That’s our challenge with languages. It’s so much easier to engage a child when you put them in situations that they are curious about and that they find really interesting. Karina: In the older grades, one of the things that language teachers often discuss is getting the students to use the language. One way we get them to do this is through inquiry, allowing the students to build their own questions and to choose their own way of exploring them - by using various materials and feeling motivated and passionate about learning and exploring.
What is something that you value about our inquiry model? Karina: I see inquiry as a new model to teach a second language. Among other language model pedagogies, I think inquiry is one of the best because it motivates the students. If they want to do something, then they also really want to learn the language. When they are invested in the topic, they don’t even realize that they are developing the language at the same time. When they feel connected to what they are doing and form a relationship to the content, they are more eager to express their ideas in Spanish because they really feel invested. By the time our students reach 5th Grade, they really can communicate. They can learn, they can read, they can write, they can debate, and they can think in the second language, and to me, this is very powerful. Another thing that I like about using inquiry in the classroom is that you can have different language levels in the classroom, and the students are all able to participate in the discussion, no matter what we are talking about. They can express their own ideas at their own pace, be part of the conversation, and get across the main concepts that they have in mind. It’s easier to tackle grammar when your children are engaged, and that is our goal first and foremost. The inquiry model also gives us the opportunity to use authentic materials and to develop cultural awareness for students. Being exposed to the language in the context of news, song lyrics, videos, etc. allows them to build the vocabulary of a native speaker.
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Itzel: When I was doing my coursework in bilingual education, I had a colleague who was a Spanish speaker and who had learned Spanish later on in life. When speaking about her experience, she told me that she had spent years learning Spanish in high school and in college and had really felt that she knew Spanish, but when she went to Spain, she realized she didn’t feel like she could be herself in Spanish. She constantly felt like she was translating. I think that’s a big thing that learning a second language through inquiry allows us to do: it allows the child to be themselves in the target language. They aren’t translating, and they are constantly adjusting and reflecting during their learning experience. Inquiry allows the students to think in a second language. We believe that it isn’t just about having them learn a new language, but having them learn in a bilingual environment. It’s not a routine, it’s not about memorizing vocabulary; it influences their thinking to be in a bilingual setting. This is how you can allow a person to feel like themselves in another language and not feel that they’re constantly translating or switching; if you can think in another language, you can feel like yourself in that language.
What did it mean for you both professionally to be able to share your expertise during this conference? Itzel: It was an incredible experience, and our presentation was really well received! We had someone say, “Are you presenting tomorrow? Because I’m telling all my colleagues that they should come!” We have both been here at ISB for a number of years, and it feels really good to represent our school and the amazing work that everyone is doing here. Working at ISB has allowed us to be teacher inquirers and to build and reflect on our own journey as bilinguals, which in turn helps us guide our students. Karina: I think we do a lot of amazing work here with our students. As a 5th Grade teacher, it’s just incredible to see how far they have come by the time they reach the end of Lower School. We see true results with our students using this pedagogical approach, and it’s something we would like to share with other educators. Our goal was to inspire other teachers to take a risk and present language learning in a new way. The idea is to have other teachers replicate this inquiry approach in their classrooms, or at least start with something small. They don’t have to develop a whole new unit but can start with the concept of having students take more ownership of their own learning. It was just amazing to present at the conference, not only for the act of presenting, but also the excitement of saying, “Look at the work we are doing at ISB!” It was a moment to step back and see how much we have progressed as teachers. Also, it was amazing and fun to collaborate with Itzel on this! Itzel: We feel like we are walking “inquiry”. Karina and I do a lot of reflecting on this topic, and it’s something that we get very excited about. We really do enjoy the inquiry process, just like the kids! The teacher collaboration here at ISB is truly wonderful. There is a great sense of community among teachers.
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One thing I’ve noticed is that even when teachers leave ISB, they really miss the school and the work they did here, and they keep it in their minds. It’s a place where you can really have such ownership of your work, and you’re given the space to reflect on your practice. We don’t turn off, and we are always discussing the work that we do with our colleagues.
What is next? Itzel: We would love to have other opportunities to present at educational conferences and to keep sharing the work we do here at ISB. This year we gave a workshop to ISB faculty and staff during one of our staff professional development days, last year we presented at the NYSAIS Global Language and Culture Conference, and we would love for ISB to continue having that presence, of course. After presenting at the school, state, and national levels, who knows maybe next we will be sharing ISB’s teaching philosophy with other educators from around the world!
“Our goal was to inspire other teachers to take a risk and present language learning in a new way. The idea is to have other teachers replicate this inquiry approach in their classrooms, or at least start with something small.” -Karina Bustamante
Alumni Questions We caught up with several ISB Alumni and asked them to answer a few short questions about their post-ISB lives. Here are their answers... Look for more responses from our Alumni in our next newsletter! What’s your name, and where do you go to school now? Emmet Gregory ‘16: Xavier High School in Manhattan Leila Narisetti ‘16: Packer Luke Vascos, ‘16: Xaverian High School Shirin Pechefsky ‘18: Beacon What’s your favorite class in high school? Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? Emmet: My favorite class is Ethics, and I am in Boxing Club. Leila: My favorite class is Literature, History, and Memory of Atlantic Slavery. I’m involved in swim, dance, student council, and mentoring. Luke: My favorite class is History. I play Varsity Soccer. Shirin: My favorite classes are English and Global Studies. I tried a few extracurricular activities but am not fully involved in any. Are you still taking French or Spanish? Any other languages? Emmet: [I am still taking] Spanish. Leila: [I am still taking] French. Luke: I am taking an AP Spanish class. Shirin: I’m still taking Spanish. What’s your favorite place to eat by your new school and what do you order? Emmet: Chipotle. I order steak on a quesadilla. Leila: Court Order. I like the bacon, egg, and cheese. Luke: I like going to the deli and getting an Arizona with a bacon, egg, and cheese. Shirin: One of my favorite places is Lenwich’s, and I always order the burger.
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What has been your biggest challenge since starting your new school? Is there any advice that you would give your younger self? Emmet: There is a lot of testing in my high school. Seeing the teacher more would be my advice to my younger self. Leila: Bigger classes have been my biggest challenge at Packer. Luke: My biggest challenge has been essay writing. I would have told myself to work harder on learning how to write them and using more detail. Shirin: I think the most challenging thing has been trying to find my place in Beacon and in the world. I would tell my younger self that I don’t need to box myself into being one thing and standing in one place. What do you miss most about ISB? Emmet: I miss the small community. When I was in it, I didn’t appreciate how it was like a family! Leila: The community! Luke: I miss having the building with the gym, art room, and lunchroom, as well as the Annex on Court Street. Shirin: I miss knowing nearly everything about my school. Although I love Beacon, a lot of it is very uncomfortable and new, and that takes a while to get used to. I basically grew up in ISB so I felt generally comfortable there. What’s your funniest story from your time at ISB? (One that you can share!) Emmet: It was in gym class and it was a new teacher’s first day, and I kicked a ball and it accidentally knocked down the new teacher! Luke: One time in 5th Grade, I made my friend laugh while he had water in his mouth. He laughed, so he spit out all of the water on the floor and our teacher, Maca, got really angry with him and sent him outside. Shirin: There have been a lot of funny memories, but my favorite was when a bird flew into the third floor hallway. I don’t know why, because we see birds every day, but we all thought it was hilarious.
It was great to see so many of our former students back on campus in early February for our annual Alumni Dinner!
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More to See on the Blog... Club Getaway 2018
by Richard Brownstone, Director of Middle School PE Department Head Xavier Huc led 31 6th Graders and four other chaperones to Club Getaway in Kent, Connecticut, for three days and two nights of activities, games, team-building, and fun. Trips like these are especially important because 6th Grade is a major entry point for new ISB students. By taking the entire grade out of town — and removing all academic pressure and outside commitments — ISB gives the new and returning students some time to acclimate to one another, build new friendships, and come back to Brooklyn as a new ensemble. Read more about their outdoor adventure on our website.
Le cycle d’investigation: Les objets témoins du passé
by Molida Khuon, 4th Grade French Head Teacher Read about how the 4th Grade French students became archeologists, learning about ancient objects and even going on an ISB archeological dig!
Staff Spotlight: Anne-Sophie Devouassoux Pre-K Head Teacher Anne-Sophie Devouassoux began teaching in ISB’s Preschool in 2014. She recently sat down to share her journey from her hometown in the French Alps to adventures hiking in Nepal, biking through Italy, surfing in Ecuador, and finally teaching here in New York City, and how these experiences have shaped her as an educator.
For these stories and more, go to isbrooklyn.org and click on “Inside ISB.”
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