Beliefs in Action Issue 03: Choices and Risks

Developing Minds

Developing Character Developing Community

Issue 03.

Choices and Risks

To Educate for International Understanding

ISA at the Moot Court Europe Competition They say that there can be no reward without risk, and most of us would agree that taking part in a high-level law competition against some of the best up-and-coming debaters and legal minds certainly counts as a risk! However, that didn’t stop nine ISA high school students, who recently discovered the power of taking on a challenge by participating in the Moot Court Europe trials.

Moot Court Europe is an international competition where students role-play being international lawyers while arguing a war crimes case before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Nine high school students were assigned to either prosecute or defend the leader of a fictitious state accused of war crimes, presenting their arguments before actual ICJ and ICC justices and lawyers.

Last year was ISA's first-ever year doing Moot Court Europe. We were contacted just one week before the competition because a team had dropped out. To our surprise, we tied as the best team in the competition, despite the other teams having two months to prepare! Based on last year's success, we were invited back again this year with our group of nine students and now-grade 12 student Daniel Khan as the students' coach.

Therefore, this was truly a journey of student agency, with students taking the lead on preparation and their arguments throughout the competition.

Over the last two months, the prosecution team (grade 11 students Elektra Sarafopoulou, Madison Portier, Maria Volovodova, Olivia Buklarewicz and Maya Harriford-McLaren) and the defence team (grade 11 students Nicholas Brady, Stella Kirchner, Elisabeth Gimenez Xarpell and grade 10 student Perrine Auvient) have worked tirelessly. Students crafted arguments using the facts of the case and the application of international law from the Rome Statute.

The justice recognised our teams for their level of preparation and speaking and debating abilities. ISA ended up placing 6th overall, and our Prosecution team member Elektra Sarafopoulou was recognised as the best speaker in the competition, with the overall highest presentation scores from the judges.

Individuals and Societies teacher and student advisor Mary Lowe quickly expressed her pride in the team: "I'm so proud of everything they have pulled off." Please help us congratulate our Moot Court participants on their hard work, dedication, and commendable representation of ISA on the global stage! They learned that taking a risk can be a reward in itself.

International Award for Young People During the first two weeks of May, 120 ISA students from Grades 9, 10 and 11 took part in hiking and camping expeditions as the final part of the International Award for Young People (formerly the Duke of Edinburgh Award) programme. The expeditions entailed three days of hiking and three nights camping in tents in the beautiful Beaufort region of Luxembourg.

The students were in groups of between 4 and 7, and they were required to be fully self-sufficient during the expedition. This meant they were responsible for their own navigation of the routes that they had planned, carrying all of their own equipment in their backpacks and preparing and cooking their own meals using camping stoves. Each day of hiking amounted to about 20 kilometres for the groups who navigated perfectly and slightly more than that for the groups whose navigation skills are still a work in progress.

It was fantastic to have our Award programme expeditions back up and running again after a two-year hiatus imposed by Covid-19. Although we all enjoyed our day trips in Apeldoorn back in October, the camping and multi-day hikes are what truly make our programme memorable for the students, and provide them with challenges and experiences that we hope form a highlight of their school year. Groups overcame long days of walking, heavy backpacks, blisters, navigational errors and very early starts in the morning to ensure they completed their hikes in time to catch the bus back to Amsterdam. Everyone battled through these challenges and finished each day with a smile on their face, even if there were a few moments of doubt along the journey. We are already looking forward to welcoming a new group of 9th graders into the Bronze level of the programme next year, and we hope to see all of this year’s participants back to complete the Silver level next year!

What is the International Award for Young People?

The International Award for Young People requires its participants to participate in activities across four ‘sections’ - Skill, Physical, Volunteering and Adventurous Expedition. It spans three levels - Bronze, Silver and Gold. The duration of each activity section becomes longer as participants move up the award levels.

The adventurous expedition also gets longer as the participants progress through the levels. At ISA we offer the Award as part of our Outdoor Education programme with 9th graders having the opportunity to join the award programme at the start of each new school year.

The Grade 5 PYP Exhibition Journey The PYP Exhibition is the culminating project of the PYP and an essential rite of passage into Middle School for grade 5 students. Students work together in groups to develop a final product based on a topic of their interest and meet weekly with an adult mentor from across the school who shares their passion.

From the beginning, students are given total agency and choice over the project.

A characteristic of the fluid nature of the PYP curriculum itself, students learning is not proscribed, meaning no limitations are placed on their imaginations or learning experiences. Instead, students live and experience the process of learning for themselves. Because they make all the choices, students can begin with their interest or passion and see where their inquiries lead them. Through the process, students address big questions and real-world concepts that they discover along the road, rather than being pointed in a certain direction by their teacher. Not only do students conduct research, gather data, problem solve and produce their final product, but they also become adept at managing their group dynamics through social skills, diplomacy and collaboration.

We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change. (IB learner profile)

This journey culminates in the exhibition itself, a whole-school celebration which is an opportunity for students to present their final product and key understandings. Students even have full agency over the medium they present during the exhibition, whether through a drama piece, poem, presentation, or short film. This year’s exhibition took place in person for the first time since the pandemic. Over two days, students had half-hour slots to present to an audience of their parents and were also recorded so they could watch it back later. After the presentation, each group enjoyed snacks and treats to symbolise the milestone they achieved together.

The PYPX is an opportunity for students to demonstrate a vital element of the IB Learner Profile: risk-taking. Students undertake the journey of the PYPX project with determination, gaining a sense of achievement and confidence from starting the challenge and seeing it through to the end. They use their own problem-solving skills to overcome obstacles and face problems together as a group and discover how rewarding the journey itself can be.

First Step into the Future: ISA Graduation Saturday, 4 June, marked an important milestone in the lives of our Grade 12 students: their graduation ceremony at the Amstelveen Schouwburg theatre.

The Class of 2022 has had a unique experience during their Diploma Programme years, as they switched back and forth from in-person to distance learning. Each and every student approached those uncertainties with determination, resilience and flexibility. In recognition of these unprecedented challenges, their graduation ceremony naturally began with a Google Meet, with opening remarks by Masters of Ceremony Hugo Boudier and Maxim Arandelovic: “today is about celebrating the achievements of a class for whom this is where it all began: on a Google Meet, at a distance.”

The first in-person graduation since the pandemic was naturally one of both celebration and grandeur. Each student was presented with their diploma and heard inspiring speeches from Dr Carmody, Assistant Head of Upper School Paul Griffiths, Upper School teacher Daniella Gates and head of the student council Prowjal Ray, as well as a truly special piano performance from Giorgi Vancko.

For this unique class, this ceremony represented, as Dr Carmody put it, “their first formal step into the future they see fit for themselves.” The qualities they have honed over their time at ISA will serve each student well as they make choices and take on challenges to build their bright futures. We are beaming with pride at everything the class of 2022 overcame and accomplished, and can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.

“First formal step into the future they see fit for themselves.”

ISA Student Finalist in Kytographie Competition Few things in life are more exciting than taking on a challenge and the risk paying off.

However, that is what ISA grade 9 student Evalouna Uguen-Perruchet discovered when she made the decision to enter the Kyotographie photography contest in Japan: she recently learned that she has been selected as a finalist.

This year, the Kyotographie International Photography Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the theme 'one'. This Buddhist saying expresses the idea that what is single, through internalizing the external, immediately becomes an embodiment of the whole. Therefore, one represents the individual, and ten is the number of entirety representing the whole. The exhibition takes place annually in the Japanese city of Kyoto.

Evalouna's journey of risk and reward began when Upper School design teacher Victoria Varona started a Kyotographie club at lunchtime open to all middle school students.

The club met every week from January until May. The club's aim was for students to not only learn the principles of photography but also apply them to a real-world setting by relating them to a theme of the Kyotographie competition.

Through careful consideration and connection with the theme, thoughtful artistic decision-making and creative experimentation, Evalouna staged her photograph, which led to her being part of an internationally renowned photography exhibition. As Victoria said: "what an achievement!" Evalouna will receive a certificate for her participation.

voice and a choice over their future.

As of the end of 2020, a quarter of the entire population of the Netherlands has a migration background. All these people with an international background are affected by the outcomes of local elections, and very many have the right to cast a vote. However, a recent survey circulated amongst the international population of the Netherlands showed that over a quarter of respondents didn’t know if they could vote in the upcoming local elections here, and another 37% didn’t know who they would vote for.

Perhaps even more striking, 87% of respondents hadn’t seen any election materials in English for 2022. This perceived lack of election information aimed at internationals in the Netherlands is something ISA wanted to remedy, and so our Individuals and Societies department invited De Kiesmannen to come to our World Theatre, and help un-muddy the waters for students in grades 10 through 12.

A Voice and a Choice: Dutch Local Elections Local municipal elections take place every 4 years in the Netherlands. All EU citizens registered in the country, and non-EU citizens who have been registered here for at least 5 years, are eligible to vote once they turn 18. For a cohort of ISA’s community, this March’s election was their first opportunity to vote. The political activism of youth around the world has been making waves in recent years, and issues that disproportionately affect young people, such as housing availability and climate change, are important aspects of municipal politics. As such, the March elections were not just a first vote for some, but also a matter of exercising their right to have a

As of the end of 2020, a quarter of the entire population of the Netherlands has a migration background.

De Kiesmannen put on an informative, and funny, ‘masterclass’ on the Dutch political system, the different parties in Dutch politics and where the parties stand on some of the major issues. They also zeroed in a little bit on local elections, and why exercising voting agency and choice is important. It was fast-paced and interactive, and our students gained a lot of insights from the experience.