COMMUNITY UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 29

COMMUNITY UPDATE

DIRECTOR’S UPDATE

Dear parents,

It is difficult to believe that a full month of school has already flown by. Yet, one of the most exciting events on the ISB calendar is just around the corner, and I hope that you are looking forward to joining our Homecoming celebrations next Friday This is such a unique event that really speaks to the kind of community we are here at ISB You only have to walk around campus on the day to instantly witness the incredible bonds that exist between our students, parents, faculty and staff, and our alumni, who come back home each year to celebrate with us It is this sense of belonging and connection to this place that strengthens us as a community.

In many ways, Homecoming is the manifestation of everything that our school has to offer throughout the entire year Just this week, our IB Theatre students are attending the TaPS Symposium in London and working alongside actors and directors We have a couple of sports tournaments happening on campus this weekend and there is always such an incredible energy at these events. I do encourage you to come along if you can to cheer for our Raiders athletes. Next week, Fanny Chan, Director of Advancement and I will be traveling to the US for a series of Alumni Reunions. What strikes me the most when catching up with our alumni is hearing just how much ISB, and the people they met here, continue to impact their life today Seeing how these relationships have stood the test of time truly is a testament to the remarkable legacy of our school, and to the resilience of our entire ISB community

On that note, I want to thank you for your continued partnership and I wish you all another (hopefully) sunny weekend.

Kind regards,

Donald

COMMUNITY UPDATE

PERFORMING ARTS

The Performing Arts department is pleased to announce that its IB Theatre students had the fantastic opportunity this week to attend the TaPS symposium in London, where they worked with actors and directors, and attended various performances including ‘Cabaret’ and ‘The Play that Goes Wrong’

The private music lessons programme has also had a lot of success, with 200 students signing up to learn an instrument with our expert teachers Finally, at the upcoming Homecoming festivities on 6 October, the PA department will be presenting a variety of performances including String Quartet, IB Theatre, and Junior VoiceWorks in the HS Atrium

ATHLETICS

Homecoming, Friday 6 October 2023

The entire ISB Community is invited to our annual Homecoming community celebration! You won’t want to miss this event, with its vibrant atmosphere, roaring cheers, inspiring music, and good food. Please find more details, and how to register, on the ISB Homecoming Page.

You can stay up-to-date with all of our games and tournaments on the Raiders Athletics Weekly Schedule. You can also find an overview of the year with all our key dates, estimated travel costs, and ISST Tournament locations

Raiders Academy

Applications for the Raiders Academy for the fall season are accepted until 7 October. Studentathletes can fill out this interest form The Academy provides a pathway for highly motivated student-athletes aspiring to take their performance and understanding to the next level

It is an extension of the athletics programme, run by the Raiders Athletics Department, for ISB athletes who are looking to be further challenged and pushed This program is available to students in grades 10-12. Please contact Coach McCarthy for more information at mccarthya@isb be

During the upcoming Learning Conferences on 12 & 13 October, there will be supervision on offer for students in Preschool to Grade 6. It runs from 8:30-17:00 and the cost is €70 per day.

You can register your child(ren) using the Supervision request form until Monday, 9 October If you have any questions, please email the team at: isbplus@isb be Please also note that there are no after-school activities during these Learning Conferences days

High School Fun Run, 9 October 2023

The HS Student Leadership Team is thrilled to announce that they have organised a High School Fun Run, which will take place on 9 October from 16:00 - 17:30 High School students can participate to raise funds for some of our many community engagement projects

In addition to raising funds, the goal of this event is to bring the HS students together for a common cause, building a sense of empathy and responsibility. We would love to have as many students participate as possible. Participating in this event will count towards October’s community engagement for the students who get involved.

At the Fun Run, there will be music, a food truck, and a giant inflatable, as well! Students can sign-up using this form, and parents are more than welcome to come and support this fantastic event!

As we near the end of September, the Family Association (FA) classes and events are in full swing Please find below a list of all that we have planned this Autumn In the meantime, we look forward to coming together to celebrate Homecoming at ISB on 6 October.

Get Ready to RED OUT for Homecoming

Homecoming 2023 will be taking place on Friday, 6 October, and to celebrate this unique community event we have created a one of a kind ‘Forever ISB’ Homecoming T-shirt You can place an order and pay online, and we will deliver to your student’s homeroom (for Lower School) as well as to the Upper School.

Shirts are €15. Please note that quantities are limited. Purchase online now

What’s On

Language Classes - Wednesday and Thursday mornings

FA Yoga Classes are Back on Campus - Tuesday at 09:00

FA Lunch Meet Up at Seven -3 October

FA Monthly Meetings - 10 October

Italian Cooking Class - 19 October

Kitchen Libanese Course - 9 November

For event details and registration, please see the FA Update. Connect with the FA:

MOBILITY

Recent ISB Bus Survey

Thank you to all those who completed our recent Bus Survey and provided us with useful insights to help us further improve our service. We’ve had 144 responses to the survey.

The results indicated that 56 people out of 842 bus users are still experiencing difficulties with the service, and so we will continue to work closely with our bus companies to address these remaining issues In the meantime, we have already made several adjustments to those routes needing immediate attention and will continue to steadily address different aspects, as needed

HEALTH SERVICES

With the colder months ahead of us, we would like to remind our community about the general health related absence guidelines

As a general rule, if your child is displaying symptoms and is unwell, they should remain at home If symptoms worsen or do not improve after 48-72 hours, we encourage you to seek a Doctor’s opinion.

they are coughing frequently; they have a severe cold with a continually runny nose; they have vomited within the past 24 hours; they have had a fever within the past 24 hours; they have any condition which could be communicable

Please find here a communication from our head nurse to ensure a healthy environment for our children, faculty and staff

OTHER UPDATES

Updating Your Contact Details

Have you recently moved to Belgium or are still needing to update your contact details?

Please do so by scanning the code on the right and filling out our form

It is important that we have up-to-date contact details for your family in our system

Schoology

This week, you should have received a communication about Schoology, ISB’s digital learning platform.

To support you in getting connected to your account, we have organised the following brief, drop-in opportunities that will also give you a chance to ask any questions you might have Please bring your mobile device with you so that we can better assist you

Each of these sessions is available to all parents, regardless of your child’s grade level

UPCOMING EVENTS