Issuu

2022 - 2023

ANNUAL UPDATE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF LATVIA

Table of Contents Who We Are

Director

Council

International Community

Inquiry Driven

Strategic Plan

Elementary

Secondary

Parent Group

Student Council

Pursuing Passions

ASA List

Athletics

Music, Art & Design

Service Learning

Campus Development

Graduates

Student Achievement

Global Citizenship

Who We Are Our Vision We are an international community, challenging students through a holistic, inquiry-driven program to nurture resilient, globallyminded learners.

Our Values 1

Inclusive Collaborative Empowered

Our Mission Collaborative Adaptable Inclusive Honest Respectful Empowered Holistic Courageous Responsible

Director ISL's mission to be an, “International community, challenging students through a holistic, inquiry-driven program to nurture resilient, globally-minded learners” describes the positive impact we hope our students will have on the world. As renowned educational scholar Howard Gardner writes, “I want my children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place.”

ISL has programs, facilities, and resources that any school would be proud of. However, we know that the most important ingredient to student success is having a caring team of teachers, staff, and parents who collaborate together to support each child. Thank you for being a part of ISL and for learning more about the story of our 29th school year, through the pages of this Annual Update. 3

Council The ISL School Council had a very productive year. We collaborated with Rick Detwiler, a globally recognized educational consultant and one of the founders of the US Office of Overseas Schools Good Governance Project, on a full audit of our school policies to condense them and bring them in line with current best practice. We refined internal financial planning and reporting to maximize efficiency and flexibility and ensure we correctly balance long term sustainability with the ability to move fast in the face of changing circumstances. But perhaps most importantly, we had the opportunity to engage repeatedly and meaningfully with the community, not only at our first Annual General meeting to be held on campus since the beginning of Covid, but also informally at International Day and throughout the year. If some students now think the Council stands for ice cream, that is also a cause for celebration…! We continue to be challenged and enthused by the opportunities for individual and shared growth presented by the school and are honored to be able to serve. 4

International Community When we say ISL is an international community, we mean it. People come from 50 different countries to study, teach, and work at our school. We celebrate and value the diversity of our students and their families, our faculty and staff. We believe we are made richer by the range of perspectives, talents, identities and experiences across these differing backgrounds. In our increasingly globalized world, it is more important than ever that our children understand the wider world and develop a global mindset. As an IB World School, we help students understand and value differences across the globe. Developing skills that transcend cultures is foundational in our teaching approach and reinforces our identity as an international school.

Inquiry Driven Inquiry-based learning is central to learning and teaching at ISL. Inquiry at ISL is built through many different approaches. Students and teachers engage in collaboratively building inquiry questions, using the natural curiosity of our students to drive our learning. We also use approaches such as maker spaces, visible thinking routines, philosophical dialogue, project based learning, and meaningful engagement with the wider community here in beautiful Latvia, to help students make sense of the world around them.

This is particularly evident in the culminating projects of each programme; PYP Exhibition, MYP Personal Project and the DP Core Learning project of Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge and the Creativity, Activity and Service programme. 7

Strategic Plan This was the first year of implementation for our strategic plan. As the chart below shows we were able to meet our goals and reach our objectives. We look forward to continuing to grow in these areas in the year ahead. Mar-Sep 21

Nov 21

Feb 22

Aug 22

We met with over 250 ISL stakeholders to capture feedback about where ISL should be heading in the future

These strategic documents were adopted by the Council and used as the foundation to create goals and prioritize objectives

The leadership team created ACTION MAPS to help guide our objectives.

ISL 2022-2025 strategic plan is LAUNCHED!

Oct 21 Students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the School Council developed strategic documents to guide our future direction

Dec 21 The Council approved the goals, parameters and objectives that will be used to create action plans

Mar-May 22

Aug 22 - Jun 23

Students, parents, teachers, staff and administration met in focus groups to complete action plans.

Year 1 of the Strategic Plan is implemented

Elementary

In the elementary school, we engaged in developing our Language learning and teaching with an international language consultant. During this professional development Grades 3-5 focussed on developing a wider vocabulary with a word study approach while Kindergarten - Grade 2 developed their approach to teaching phonics. Teachers also participated in an IB training event on Living and Learning Globally where we explored how we can embed international mindedness and global citizenship practices throughout our written and taught curriculum. Another area of focus for all of elementary was developing the integration of our Approaches to Learning and how we were embedding these skills into our Units of Inquiry. We also worked to personalize the learning within our Math teaching. 9

Secondary In the Secondary School, we began the year with a deep dive into responsive classroom, a philosophical approach to holistic education that puts our students' needs at the forefront of our learning. We then followed this up with a whole school IB training event on Living and Learning Globally where we explored how we can embed international mindedness and global citizenship practices throughout our written and taught curriculum. In addition, we continued our work with unit planning evaluation and improvement in differentiation to meet our students’ needs, sharpening our focus on student metacognition of the learning process through the use of student learner portfolios and conferring practices to help our students set goals and plan for success.

Parent Group The mission of the Parent Group is to foster a spirit of cooperation among all members of our school community, to help develop a closer relationship between parents, teachers, and students. In addition, the mission shall be to fund and coordinate activities and provide volunteer support to the school community.

The mission of the parent group is to be an inclusive group that builds, enhances and supports the ISL community for the benefit of parents, students and staff.

Through community and social events the Parent Group aims to welcome families to ISL, give them a sense of belonging and ensure that their time in Latvia is fun, meaningful and memorable.

Student Councils ISL has Elementary, Middle School & High School Student Councils. Student Council is a school organization that embodies and champions the ISL mission, vision, and values. Its members act as representatives for all ISL students. Members of the Student Council strive to enrich the learning experience at ISL by promoting students' voices, providing leadership opportunities, and creating positive school spirit through student-initiated events. The Student Council is a platform for students to voice their concerns and suggestions, and turn them into action. By achieving these goals, students will be empowered to positively impact their school community, as well as the world in which they live.

“Being in student counci l has helped me to grow as learner and a more integral part of the school community ” “I think I have become a leader and a more engaged member of our community by being part of the student council.” 12

Pursuing Passions We understand and appreciate that learning continues outside of the classroom and our after school activities (ASA) are an opportunity for our learners to explore new interests or pursue their passions. These activities are an extension to the school day and continue our journey of inquiry through sports, music, languages, STEM, arts, crafts and play. We offer a wide variety of programs and are constantly looking for further enrichment based on the needs and interests of our students. The ASA program is offered throughout the school year in three seasons (Fall, Winter, Spring), each season covering ten weeks of sessions.

“I like to sign up for ASA because I enjoy being with friends and trying new and fun activities together” “I like it because it's calming and I get to meet new friends from other grades.” “We get to learn new skills and get do things that we like” 13

ASA List Elementary School

Secondary School

Baking & Decorating Book-Inspired Snacks Ceramics Cheerleading Computer Coding Ebru Art Exploring & Building Fencing Games & Puzzles Golf Guitar for Beginners I am an artist Improvisational Theatre Judo Kids Chess Club Kids Dance Club Latvian for Native Speakers LEGO Construction & Creation Let’s Play! Mandarin Chinese Club Mindfulness Piggie & Elephant Plays Sensory Play Soccer Spanish for Beginners Sports for Fun Student Council Swimming Techwizard in Minecraft world Track & Field Working with Wool Yoga

Aikido Aspiring Artists Basketball CEESA Band Cooking Club Creative Writing Diploma Art Club Duke of Edinburgh Award Ebru Art German Grammar Club ISL Service Corps Japanese Culture & Language Knowledge Bowl Life Skills Makers Space Mandarin Chinese Club Manga Club Math Help Model United Nations Polymer Jewelery Robotics Soccer Student Council Swimming Volleyball Wharton Global High School Investment Competition

Athletics 2022/2023 was an exciting year for our Athletics & Activities program. We coestablished a local sports league so the students of the international schools in the Riga area have opportunities to compete and build sports culture among the international schools.

We set a tradition of hosting Elementary School Track & Field events at our campus twice a year - Fall and Spring Meets. These are great events that bring together the wider international school community and promote sports and health among the students. We thank our PTO team for always helping out and setting up concession tables at the events we host.

ISL participates in the Central Eastern European School Association (CEESA) events. We hosted the CEESA HS Girls Soccer Tournament in November and the MS Girls Volleyball Tournament in May; students also traveled to Bucharest, Vilnius, Istanbul and Skopje for various tournaments throughout the year. 15

Music, Art & Design On 13th of January we held our annual MAD night at ISL. Our grade 9 and 10 Music, Art and Design students showcased their portfolio work. We started the night with two exhibitions: HS student woodworking projects for our school community and an Art exhibition letting us take a look at the creative process students had engaged in during the first semester. The culmination of this creative evening performances by our HS Music students.

were

the

live

“Our MAD night helped us build a sense of comm unity within a unique and friendly sett ing.”

us to celebrate our hard for ity un rt po op t ea gr a s wa AD “M talent.” work, express our creativity and 16

Service Learning

Service learning is defined by its unique approach to addressing genuine community needs and giving back to those communities, both locally and internationally. Service learning requires students to take action, be proactive, and develop a program for themselves through a range of activities. These projects help develop transcendent values of care, respect, responsibility, and courage. 17

CAS Projects: Curriculum Int These student initiated and directed projects are coordinated by our 11th and 12th grade students. This is a holistic component of the IB and ISL diploma programmes, which empower our students to put their learning into action and make a difference in their community.

Angel Tree: An annual tradition, where the whole ISL community collaborate to serve the needs of children in and around Latvia. This year we delivered over 350 gifts to children at the Children's Hospital Palliative Care Unit, the Hospiss LV, and the Children's Home Association.

ISL Ukraine Refugee Drive Championed by our Student Councils and facilitated by our amazing support staff, ISL’s community donated over 70 large boxes, filled with clothing, blankets, diapers, food, & medicines to the Ukrainian Refugee Center in Latvia. 18

Campus Development We were excited to add a new pre-K 2 program to our early childhood team. The pre-school curriculum framework combines the PYP inquiry-based learning model with a heavy emphasis on English language development while supporting the mother tongue. Our young learners have a variety of specialist classes for the holistic development of artistic and physical skills. The program is designed around the IB PYP philosophy and establishes a strong foundation for social, emotional, physical and cognitive development in a safe, caring, playbased, and environment. Strengthening security is always a top priority at ISL and we were proud to be able to add the following safety measures: Reinforcement of School Entrances Drop arm bars with number plate reading systems, Additional surveillance cameras Speed bumps in drop off-pick-up areas Upgraded parking lot lighting 19

Graduates ISL Average World Average

30.24

33 5.27

ib Average Total Score

4.83

Average Points Scored

Class of 2023 University Acceptances United Kingdom

Netherlands

Queen Mary University London BIMM University Sheffield University

University of California Berkeley US Military Service University of Washington

France

Italy

Parsons Paris RUBIKA

John Cabot University Rome

Switzerland

Finland

Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences University College Roosevelt Willem de Kooning Academie The Hague University of Applied Sciences Maastricht University Zuyd University of Applied Sciences University of Amsterdam

University of Geneva (GSEM)

Hanken School of Economics

Poland

Austria

Warsaw Film School

Vienna University of Economics

Student Achievement In September and April/May, ISL students in grades 3 through 10, along with 13 million students in 140 countries, take the MAP Growth test in Math, Reading, and Language. The MAP Growth test is computer-adaptive, tailoring questions to each student's performance. Correct answers lead to more challenging questions, while incorrect ones result in easier ones, ensuring an appropriate level of challenge for all students. It's vital to note that the MAP Growth test is a single assessment at a specific point in time and does not measure intelligence or a student's capacity for learning. When making significant decisions about students, ISL staff consider the MAP test results alongside other data, including classroom performance, other test scores, and input from parents and teachers. This test employs a RIT scale to precisely assess students' knowledge, irrespective of their grade. It also tracks progress over time, allowing teachers to monitor a student's development throughout the school year and across multiple years. RIT scores estimate a student's instructional level and measure their progress or growth in school, much like marking a child's height on a growth chart at specific intervals. This type of score helps teachers pinpoint what students have learned and are ready to learn.

97%

85% 89% 89%

I would recommend ISL to others

92%

My child’s lessons challenge them to learn and improve

Annually, we actively seek comments and suggestions from the entire ISL community to further our mission and vision across all aspects of school life. 96% 92% 96%

I recommend ISL as a place to work

My students are engaged in their learning

93%

Our strategic plans are effectively communicated to staff

82%

I would recommend ISL to others

89%

The school supports staff well-being

The Council and Director collaborate to create a positive work climate

I feel safe at school

My teachers use a variety of ways to measure my progress

86%

I understand the mission, vision, and values of my child’s school

The school helps me to understand and respect differences and be open minded

I understand my school’s values

89%

I know where to go for advice and support for my child’s learning

The school communicates important information in a way that is timely and clear

Students (G 3-12) 87%

The truest measure of our success is reflected by the feedback we receive from students, staff, and parents.

Faculty & Staff 94%

Parents

The survey was a great success in terms of engagement with the majority of students, staff, and parents participating, and with all responses receiving a positive rating of at least 75%

Global Citizenship Global Citizenship is one of our ISL Learner Attributes. We have used these descriptors to guide our work within curriculum, instruction, assessment, and program design. Our teams are constantly reviewing our units of study to design intentional learning experiences that align with our Learner Attributes and our mission to nurture globally minded learners. In October, all teachers and the leadership team attended a two day IB workshop: Living and Learning Globally. Together, they focused on instructional practices that help students to connect their learning to their local community, global issues and their home culture.

We added a Diversity Statement to our school website to illustrate how ISL models being a global community. We created a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Team to ensure our curriculum includes materials from diverse authors, perspectives, and experiences. Our commitment to Global Citizenship is ongoing and everevolving throughout the school. 23