ISA Connections Issue 04

Connections The International School of Amsterdam Magazine

Contents

Connections

New Learning Spaces

The International School

A new suite of classrooms has been introduced for Middle

of Amsterdam Magazine

Years and Diploma Programme students.

Winter 2016

4

Japanese Alumni Reunion Editor-in-chief

Director, Edward E. Greene and members of the faculty and

Erika Harriford-McLaren

staff, recently visited Japan as part of an international trade

7

mission. While there, ISA hosted an alumni reunion in Tokyo.

Co-editor Shelly Harrison

John O’Brien In 1995, 16-year old John O’Brien, an aspiring professional

Design and layout

soccer player from America, enrolled at ISA to complete his

Wouter F. Goedkoop

senior year before launching into more than a decade of pro

20

soccer on two continents. Alumnae Lara Kok (‘14) caught up Contributor

with O’Brien twenty years later to discuss what life was like for

Lara Kok

him while at ISA and to find out what he is up to now.

ISA Photographer

The Refugee Crisis

Kerry Reinking Photography

Many members of the ISA community have been active in pro-

www.kerryreinking.nl

viding knowledge and assistance during this current refugee

32

crisis, from the ISA Amnesty club’s symposium on how the Publisher

crisis affects the Netherlands to a CAS student working dur-

ISA in collaboration with

ing the summer at a refugee processing camp in Lampedusa,

XPat Media, The Hague,

Italy.

The Netherlands Global Village Day Printer

ISA celebrated its 19th annual Global Village Day celebrations

Drukkerij Damen

with a record-breaking 52 countries participating in the pa-

Werkendam

rade of nations.

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The Netherlands The Circular Economy ISA alumni, families, faculty

This year, the ISA Upper and Lower School Green Teams have

and friends receive

adopted a new theme - the circular economy - to motivate

Connections. We welcome

members and the community to not be wasteful.

36

your comments and encourage you to submit

Grade 10 Personal Projects

ideas and articles for

For many grade 10 students the culmination of the MYP cur-

consideration.

riculum is the completion of a year-long process researching,

38

drafting, designing and implementing their personal project Letters and inquiries may

and presenting it at the annual Personal Project evening.

be addressed to: Connections

Music for the Masses

Sportlaan 45

ISA recently launched a new Middle School Girls Choir, who

1185TB Amstelveen

are ready to make their mark at the upcoming AMIS MIddle

+31 20 347 1111

School Honor Choir hosted at ISA in April.

44

communications@isa.nl www.isa.nl

Alumni Profiles Catch up on the latest news from your former classmates with

Cover

our alumni profiles. This issue focuses on our alumni who at-

ISA Alumnus John O’Brien

tended the reunion in Tokyo.

Photo Courtesy of Ajax

48

1

Welcome Now that we are well into a new calendar year, it is

ing before school opens until the gates are locked

safe to say that these are busy times at ISA. Some 15

each evening. From concerts and theater events to a

years ago, ISA was a moderately sized school of 825

flurry of NECIS athletic competitions, weekly assem-

students. Today, ISA is one of the largest internation-

blies, Green Team, math, chess and debate clubs, Cub

al schools on the European continent, with over 1350

and Boy Scouts, Brownies, dance lessons, painting

students from over 50 countries. Add to this figure the

classes, community service and Music Academy

275 faculty and staff, our Music Academy, language

lessons, our students are engaged in a wide varie-

tutors, coaches and the scores of parents who spend

ty of interests, while strengthening their talents. The

time with us each day, and you can get a sense of just

same can be said for our parents who organise coffee

what a beehive of activity ISA is. Make no mistake:

morning sessions, SHARE events, the PTA’s wonder-

it all makes for a dynamic and exciting school and

ful Wednesday morning gatherings, book sales, and

community!

tours throughout Holland. And of course, our faculty and staff who support our professional workshops in

The activity and ‘busy-ness” is one of the reasons we

ISA’s Centre for Development, Learning & Technology,

agreed that the theme of this issue should be ISA in

bring in guest speakers and authors, and hold numer-

Action. Our school buzzes with activities in the morn-

ous curriculum planning meetings for internal teams and visiting educators.

ISA is a virtual cornucopia of opportunities for all members of our community, but especially for our students. The challenge is to find the space and time (and energy) to make all of these events possible without tripping over one another—and to find calendar software that allows us to keep track of all that is going on (and where) without running complex coding algorithms!

As our school has grown over the past years, we have increased the number of activities we offer (and the number of people involved in activities), but we have tried to ensure that every activity is needed, valuable, and run by a highly dedicated coach, tutor or advisor.

The editors of this issue have had quite a challenge selecting a sampling of the many activities that will exemplify just what the phrase ISA in Action means.

From our cover story on John O’Brien, alumnus and former world-class Ajax and U.S. national team soccer player to our recent grade 10 personal projects, this issue highlights how supporting student interests benefits our own community and beyond.

2

The activities that are shared in this issue will serve

In closing, let me wish each of you a year rich with

to highlight this key dimension of our school and

happiness, opportunity and action!

community.

Enjoy this issue of your ISA Connections.

It should not go without saying that all of the activities offered at ISA would not and could not happen without the dedication of the scores of individuals who give so generously of their time—their late afternoons and evenings, their weekends and their vacations—to en-

Edward E. Greene, Ph.D

rich the lives and learning of our students by leading

Director

those activities. I salute our teachers and staff, our coaches and parent volunteers who do so much to keep the ISA ‘buzz’ alive and well.

3

New Learning Spaces

As ISA student numbers continue to grow, so does the campus itself. At the start of the 2014-2015 school year, ISA opened a new 7800 m2 wing allowing it to

found that, with new course offerings and the acceptance of additional students in most grade levels, the need for more space was imminent.

not only accommodate an additional 250 students, but also providing key learning spaces for a new Early Childhood department, Upper School library, classrooms, science labs and an additional “mini� Upper School cafeteria.

While the new wing brought much needed breathing space for teachers and students, the school soon 4

ISA currently has over 1350 students attending the school. One of the great benefits of receiving an education at ISA is that class sizes are kept at a level to allow for true student-teacher interaction throughout a lesson. To ensure that this continues, a decision was made to annex a section of the roof to create a new suite of classrooms for Upper School students.

The new area provides classrooms for lessons in music, drama, visual arts, design, film, French, Dutch, Theory of Knowledge, media and theatre as well as a new meeting room for general school events. Both the Middle Years and Diploma Programme students are able to benefit from the new learning spaces.

Visual arts and media teacher Adriel van Drimmelen loves the new area and, in particular, the flexibility that his classroom with its writable walls and desks provides for student lessons.

“My class involves teaching media literacy and a warm up to film for students who want to take the Diploma film course later. The walls in this room allow us to visualise ideas in a different way. Having the scale to be able to write something big and create a hierarchy of information, on the board or on the tables, allows for a free flow of ideas. The students aren’t limited to the edge of a paper.”

The asthetics of the earlier extension are apparent in this area as well. The use of natural light, colour and the addition of a eco-friendly green plant wall contribute to a great environment for learning.

“When I walk into this new area - the colours, the space - it’s inspiring for students and teachers alike.”

5

Spanish Delegation As one of the leading schools in Europe, ISA has served as a rich source of educational insipration for schools and teachers around the world.

Recently, a delegation of Spanish educators visited the school to gain insight on what makes ISA and the students it educates so successful.

The visitors went on a tour of the school, led by several of ISA’s Spanish-speaking students and were able to watch classes in both the Upper and Lower schools to see how ISA has integrated technology and the tenets of the IB programmes into its daily curriculum.

The delegation also met with administrators to discuss the insights gained from the group’s visit and to reiterate support for student language exchanges and continued sharing of best practices.

Anne Frank Project ISA has been invited by the Anne Frank Foundation to participate in the creation a new anti-discrimination curriculum and tool for educators and students. ISA, along with 7 other consultant institutions in Europe, will be assisting the foundation with grade 8 teacher Shannon Hancock coordinating the ISA pilot.

The project focuses on tolerance and will include an online tool for educators, which will be translated into multiple languages for local use in countries throughout Europe. The project involves five pathways for learning including identity, discrimination, life stories, taking action and media literacy. Additionally, a focus will be added on migration and refugee issues in Europe. ISA students will also participate in the testing of the online tool before it launches.

6

Japan Alumni Reunion

Blowing from the west Fallen leaves gather In the east.

- Yosa Buson In November, a delegation of Dutch firms and institutions, including the mayors of Amsterdam and Amstelveen and representatives from the International School of Amsterdam, travelled to Japan as part of an

ISA’s relationship with Japan has been long-standing

economic trade mission to strengthen existing ties be-

and the enrolment numbers of Japanese students (cur-

tween the two cities and one of the Netherland’s largest

rently representing the fourth largest student population

Asian investors.

by nationality) reflects the importance of Japan to the Netherlands and ISA.

Members of the ISA delegation included Director Edward E. Greene, Director of Admissions Julia True,

Alumni Reunion

Admissions Officer Brigitte Good-Mueller, Japanese

In addition to its delegation duties, ISA also hosted a re-

Teacher and ISA Japanese Community Liaison Yae-

union for Japanese alumni at the Hotel Okura in Tokyo.

ko Hashimoto and English as an Additional Language

The reception provided the opportunity for old friends

teacher Virginia Weeganaar.

to connect with other ISA community members living in

A lasting relationship

and around Tokyo.

According to statistics from the Netherlands Missions

The reception was also attended by Amsterdam Mayor,

Japan, the bilateral trade balance between the Nether-

Eberhard van der Laan, Amstelveen Mayor Mirjam van ‘t

lands and Japan was 11.5 billion Euro in 2014. Japa-

Veld, Ambassador Radinck van Vollenhoven as well as

nese investments in the Dutch economy employed more

other delegation members. Over 180 alumni and friends

than 39,000 Dutch citizens, with investment in techno-

of ISA were in attendance.

logical innovation accountinig for more than 140 billion euro annually.

7

8

9

Is there anything you miss about living in the Netherlands?

Soga Kayoko - Alumni student

What were your most memorable experiences?

Mio Subana - Alumni student Hanging out with friends, art class, biology class (Mr. R), IB essay.

Nagoya Takashi Tadashi - Alumni student All that I experienced while in ISA was different from Japan and made me change my outlook on life and way of life.

Mayu Mori-Uchino - Alumni student Making friends from all over the world.

Emiko Hari - Alumni student My most memorable experiences were challenge week, the ISA ski trip, volleyball and basketball tournaments and my graduation.

Ikuko Tomioka - Alumni parent The PTA international brunches.

Yurie Takai - Alumni student Global Village Day. Wataru Kobayashi - Alumni student The ISA ski trip.

Reina Matsumoto - Alumni student It is difficult to mention the most memorable experiences because all my memories left such an impression. I enjoyed the field trips, the U12/U14 sports teams, the choir events, and the flower parade in the World Trade Center along with the Dutch prince.

Mayu Ichise (Tajiri) - Alumni student My Geography trip.

Ayako Ito-Bitani - Alumni student That I could volunteer to join Tanzania Girls and visit a MaaSae school. Also that there was an after-school soccer team for women. The wide variety of things to do was very interesting.

Marie Nozaki - Alumni student Award Scheme, the Tanzania Girls trip, art classes, being on the swim team and the school trips.

Sho Tamaki - Alumni student My most memorable experiences at ISA were with the soccer team.

Yoko Goto Inohara - Alumni student ESL classes!

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The peaceful ambience.

Kazumi Hiruma - Alumni parent Friends, teachers, landscape, food, nature.

Akioka Eisaku - Alumni student The traditional canal buildings, frites and oliebollen. Yummy.

Nagisa Matsuura - Alumni parent Safe and well-organised bicycle paths and the Sinterklaas parade.

Yurie Takai - Alumni student Oliebollen, Kroket, friet with mayo, cheese, cheese, cheese!!! So many things‌Morning markets, pancakes with orange brandy sauce, book stores and just the atmosphere of Amsterdam. I miss that in winter there was a warm heater and that in summer it stayed bright outside until almost 11:00.

Ayumi Hiraki - Alumni student I miss everything! I hope I can visit The Netherlands again.

Ami Kobayashi - Alumni student I miss the atmosphere of Amsterdam where people are always welcoming and warm.

Yukiko Komuro - Alumni student ISA! How the school trusted the students and we got to think for ourselves.

Yuta Yajima - Alumni student The people, the scenery, the climate, the atmosphere ... basically everything. I truly wish that I could return to Amsterdam as a mature adult and work and live there.

Mariko Nishizawa - Alumni student Everything. The people, the food, the canals, the trams ...

Naho Maiya - Alumni student I miss how progressive it is in Holland. I also love the life style, maintaining a healthy balance between work / study and personal life. I miss the scenery too.

Karin Tsurita - Alumni student Bike riding and S P A C E !! Ice skating on the canal and on the pond back behind the Amstelveen city hall.

Do you have any advice for Japanese students?

Kase Daito - Alumni student

Ayako Ito-Bitani - Alumni student

Commitment and dedication will pay off. Good luck!

Know that your experience at ISA will always be treasured!

Ikuko Tomioka - Alumni parent

Marie Nozaki - Alumni student

Please enjoy and do your best to participate actively in the various

Get out of your comfort zone ... Do not just stay within the same

things.

ethnic group!

Mayu Mori-Uchino - Alumni student

Mika Isohata - Alumni student

Please enjoy life in Amsterdam! It is so much fun.

Just enjoy it all!

Mizuho Hashimoto - Alumni student

Kiyoe Shimizu - Alumni student

You should actively participate in the things around you because

Learn about the Dutch culture and customs, and try to enjoy the

there are a lot of opportunities and it will be good for you later in

food. Also participate in the various events.

your life.

Sayaka Watanabe - Alumni student Yurie Takai - Alumni student Since this is an experience you only get once, please study and enjoy. Be sure to speak

In the International School, you will be able to meet with people of different nationalities. This experience has become my strength, even now that I am no longer there.

out more and make a lot of friends.

Yutaka Fukumori - Alumni parent Wataru Kobayashi - Alumni student

Your parents must have or get a drivers license.

The experiences you have at ISA cannot be experienced

Shota Watanabe - Alumni student

anywhere else. Have fun and

This time is beneficial for your future, so be sure to work hard and

challenge yourself even when

to enjoy your time there.

it’s tough.

Ayano Kuwahara - Alumni student Reina Matsumoto - Alumni

Work hard and study. At ISA there are students with diverse values

student

and experiences, so if you are able to build a strong connection do

Your time in the Netherlands

so as much as possible.

is valuable, so please spend it wisely while at ISA. And, please actively participate in various

Misuzu Tasaka - Alumni parent Just relax and have fun!

activities.

Taishi Kimura - Alumni student Ami Kobayashi - Alumni student For the IB, I always give advice that students

Gain as much knowledge as possible and give extra consideration to applications beforehand.

should start assignments as soon as possible and learn about time management, because that is one of the most important things in university and work.

Naho Maiya - Alumni student Appreciate the experience and try not to always compare Holland with Japan. Be open minded and try to mingle with non-Japanese.

Mayumi Teramoto - Alumni parent It is different than in the Japanese community, but this should be

Yuta Yajima - Alumni student

seen as fun and not something to make you anxious.

I think it is a great opportunity, especially for students to interact with such a diverse range of nationalities at school and for getting

Marika Kase - Alumni student

an insight into the Dutch culture. European nations are connected

Experience the Netherlands, also in other aspects such as with the

by land, so I highly encourage students to travel to other nations

language. When you leave ISA remember how fun it was and that

during breaks and expand their horizons.

you got to spend time with children from a lot of countries. That is irreplaceable.

11

University Visits

Selecting a college or univeristy is often top of mind for

mation on university entrance requirements around the

Diploma Programme students and their parents at IB

world and assistance in meeting application standards.”

schools across the world. With over 23,000 insitutions of higher education around the world, trying to navigate

University Fairs

the various opportunites, rankings and application pro-

With a solid reputation for producing knowledgable and

cesses can be, and is often, a daunting experience for

prepared graduates, ISA has been able to maintain a

the entire family.

positive and transparent relationship with many univer-

University Counselling

sities around the world.

The ISA Upper School Counselling Department aims to

Throughout the year, ISA remains in contact with uni-

make the journey to post-secondary life easier through

versity representatives from around the world. In addi-

its counselling sessions, testing and academic advisory

tion, the school partners with other schools in the region

services and univeristy visit and fairs programmes.

such as the American School of the Hague’s College and University Fair, to expand the opportunites ISA stu-

Currently, the ISA Upper School Counselling depart-

dents have to meet with university representatives.

ment has 3 counsellors who work directly with high school students in grades 9 - 12. Two counsellors are

Additionally, ISA hosts dozens of universities on campus

dedicated to assisting Diploma students in their explo-

each year. All students are given the opportunity to ex-

ration of post-secondary planning.

plore education options from schools in the Americas, Europe, and Asia during their lunch breaks and in after

Counsellor Lauren Lundin explains, ‘We assist students

school and evening events.

with all aspects of their post-secondary planning, from research on gap year options to reviews of the best

For students exploring education in the United States,

college or university choices for their particular interest.”

ISA partners with the Ivy Circle, a collaborative organisation between the Fulbright Centre USA , the United

“We give group sessions and have individual meetings

States Consulate and alumni representing Ivy League

with both students and parents to prepare them for life

colleges and other esteemed institutions.

after graduation from ISA. This includes providing infor12

Graduates from 2013 – 2015 have been offered admission to the following institutions (university names in bold indicate those to which ISA graduates matriculated).

CANADA HEC Montréal McGill University Queen’s University University of British Columbia University of Calgary University of Guelph University of Manitoba University of Toronto University of Waterloo Western University York University JAPAN Hiroshima University Hitotsubashi University International Christian University Keio University Kwansei Gakuin University Okayama University Osaka University Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Sophia University University of Tokyo University of Tsukuba Waseda University NETHERLANDS Amsterdam University College ArtEZ Institute of the Arts Delft University of Technology Erasmus University Erasmus University College The Hague University of Applied Sciences Hotelschool The Hague Inholland University of Applied Sciences Leiden University Nyenrode New Business School University College Maastricht University College Roosevelt University College Utrecht University of Amsterdam University of Groningen University of Maastricht University of Utrecht Utrecht University of Applied Sciences

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Webster University OTHER INTERNATIONAL Escuela Superior de Adminisitración Dirección de Empresas (ESADE) The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology IE University Isituto Marangoni Milan Korean University Monash University Trinity College Dublin University College Cork University of Hong Kong Université Paris VI – Pierre et Marie Curie Yonsei University UNITED KINGDOM The Art Academy Aston University Bath Spa University Bournemouth University Brunel University Buckinghamshire New University Camberwell College of Arts Cardiff University Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design City University Coventry University Dundee and Angus College Durham University Edinburgh Napier University Exeter College Glasgow Caledonian University Greenwich School of Management Hult International Business School London Imperial College London Isituto Marangoni, London Keele University King’s College London Kingston University Lancaster University Leeds College of Art & Design London College of Fashion London Metropolitan University

London School of Economics and Political Science London South Bank University Loughborough University Middlesex University New College of the Humanities Newcastle University Nottingham Trent University Oxford Brookes University Regent’s University London The Robert Gordon University Roehampton University Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Southampton Solent University UCFB Wembley University College London University of Aberdeen University of Abertay Dundee University of the Arts London University of Bath University of Bedfordshire University of Birmingham University of Brighton University of Bristol University of Cambridge University of Central Lancashire University of Dundee University of East Anglia University of Edinburgh University of Essex University of Exeter University of Glasgow University of Greenwich University of Hertfordshire University of Kent University of Leeds University of Leicester University of Lincoln University of Liverpool University of London - Goldsmiths College - Heythrop College - Queen Mary Royal Holloway University of Manchester University of Northumbria

University of Nottingham University of Oxford University of Portsmouth University of Sheffield University of Southampton University of St. Andrews University of Stirling University of Strathclyde University of Surrey University of Sussex University of Warwick University of the West of England University of Westminster University of Winchester University of York UNITED STATES OF AMERICA American University Amherst College Bard College Boston College Boston University Brigham Young University-Hawaii Brown University Bryant University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Calvin College Carnegie Mellon University College for Creative Studies Columbia College Chicago Columbus College of Art and Design Dartmouth College Drexel University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Florida State University Fordham University The George Washington University Hope College Johns Hopkins University Kent State University Marist College Messiah College Mills College Mount Holyoke College The New School – Eugene Lange College New York Film Academy New York University Northeastern University

Northwestern University Pomona College Princeton University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rice University Rollins College Sam Houston State University Santa Clara University Sarah Lawrence College Savannah College of Art and Design Seattle University South Dakota School of Mines and Technology St. Cloud State University Stanford University United States Air Force Academy University of Arizona University of California - Berkeley - Irvine - Los Angeles - San Diego - Santa Barbara - Santa Cruz University of Colorado at Boulder University of Evansville University of Florida University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Miami University of Michigan The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Oregon University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of Rochester University of Vermont University of Washington Wake Forest University Western Washington University Wheaton College (Illinois)

13

Project Zero Jim Reese, Education Chair of Project Zero Perspectives, opens opens the 2015 Project Zero conference in Amsterdam.

For over 15 years, ISA has partnered with Harvard’s

Focusing on the future of education, the three-day event

Project Zero, a multi-disciplanary programme that in-

offered interactive courses on topics ranging from Mak-

cludes “investigations into the nature of intelligence, un-

er-centered Learning and Using Thinking Routines in Lit-

derstanding, thinking, creativity, cross-disciplinary and

eracy Circles to Using Visible Thinking for the Purpose of

cross-cultural thinking, and ethics.”

Differentiation.

With the opening of ISA’s Centre for Development,

“This conference offered a great blend of research and

Learning and Technology, a professional development

hands-on demonstrations, punctuated by thoughtful

institute for educators from around the world, came the

conversations on the very best practices emerging from

opportunity to partner with the Centre for the Advance-

Project Zero classrooms “ noted Greene.

ment and Study of International Education (CASIE) to bring one of the largest Project Zero conferences, Ze-

Professional development has always been a priority for

roing in on Learning, to Europe and ISA in October of

ISA and having the conference onsite gave the school

2015.

the chance to allow it’s entire teaching staff to showcase their own skills while getting access to some of the top

ISA Director Edward E. Greene is proud of the events

educational training and networking offered in the world.

success.

“It was especially rewarding to see the number of ISA “What a fantastic event our school hosted (and, in many

teachers who offered courses and gave presentations

ways, led). Over 400 international educators joined us

over the three days. Several ISA teachers opened their

on campus, some from as far away as Australia and

classrooms and visitors were nothing less than exuber-

China, for an exciting, sometimes moving, and always

ant in their reports about the teachers, the students and

inspiring conference.

the classroom environments” said Greene.

Renowned Harvard Project Zero researchers David Per-

“Suffice it to say that beyond being a world-class pro-

kins, Ron Ritchhart, Daniel Wilson, Veronica Boix-Man-

fessional conference for all of us (and for the over 200

silla, Carrie James and Liz Dawes Duraisingh brought

visitors), it was a great moment for ISA. Our school, our

innovative ideas and educational philosophies to the

staff, our students, our facilities and programmes were

attendees, offering re-imagined visions of schools, of

all categorised as a ‘Wow!’

learning, of teaching and of leadership.

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The International School of Amsterdam’s Centre for Development, Learning and Technology offers first-class training and professional development opportunities for teachers, administrators, technology directors and other members of the educational community who want to learn the latest developments and methodologies from leading educational experts.

Assessing What Matters Most: Developing Authentic Performance Tasks

April 14 & 15, 2016 In this workshop, we’ll explore a set of practical and proven design tools for developing quality performance tasks based on Jay McTighe’s recent e-book, Core Learning: Assessing What Matters Most. Such tasks provide more than simply another method for measuring learning – they embody the most important goals of the Standards while engaging students in meaningful learning of them.

Follet Destiny – School Library Management System Software April 11 & 12 2016 The Destiny Doctor will be back to join the European Team to share tips and tricks about Destiny, eBooks, eTextbooks, and much more!

upcoming events 2016

Forest School Training Course Fall 2016 To gain the skills and confidence in leading Forest School sessions for children, young people and adults in an outdoor environment.

For detailed information about these events, visit us online at cdlt.isa.nl 15

16

Michael Thompson In April of 2000, a book was published that changed

Lastly, regarding college admissions, he explained to

the way that the world approached the education of

parents how they should be a support tool for their

boys. While focus is often put on leveling the playing

children in this process and should be open to ex-

field for girls, this book, Raising Cain - Protecting the

ploring the wide range of school options for their child

Emotional Life of Boys, explored the unique ways that

versus limiting them to a small and select group of high-

boys learn and interact with each other and how schools,

pressure schools. He also encouraged parents to re-

and familes, could integrate alternative methods to

main an active part of their college child’s life - because

ensure success and a healthy well-being for their sons

they are still developing as adults and parental guidance

as well as their daughters

is still needed.

The author, as one of the United States leading

In addition to the parenting sessions, Thompson

psychologist specialising in children and families, was

also met with ISA Upper and Lower School students,

no stranger to the subject. Today, with nine best-sell-

discussing subjects like Best Friends, Worst Enemies,

ing books under his belt, Michael Thompson, Ph.D. has

The Pressured Child and University Admissions in

become a renowned global advocate for protecting the

Perspective. For faculty, he held sessions on Top Ten

emotional well-being of children and a much sought-af-

Suggestions for Teaching Boys, The Paradoxes of

ter speaker in the education world.

Anxious Parents and ISA students and the University Admissions Process.

Over the years, ISA has been fortunate enough to be able to invite Thompson to campus to meet with

ISA parent and staff member, Helen de Wolf, believes

students, parents and faculty.

that Thompson’s messages are on point.

On Thompson’s latest visit he held three parent sessions

“Before Dr. Thompson came to ISA I knew his name

- Raising Responsible Children, The Nature of Boys

from Raising Cain, but had never read any of his books.

and College Admissions: a failed rite of passage. In the

Now I’ve read almost all of them. As a Brit, I was not

first session Thompson challenged parents to provide

sure if I would feel such a strong connection with an

consistency and to not be afraid to give their child re-

American psychologist and writer, but I needn’t have

sponsibility. He tackled democratic, authoritative and

worried; his experience and understanding really

authoritarian parenting styles - outlining how parents

transcends cultural boundaries.”

can get to a point where they can provide a strong moral base and framework in which their children can prosper.

“His talks are full of practical wisdom and new perspectives which I find hugely reassuring and helpful. Most of

In his talk, The Nature of Boys, Thompson took a few

all he challenges and reminds me about what it feels like

pages from his book and outlined several key points for

to be an adolescent and how tough it can be in a world

parents of boys to pay attention to including:

full of distractions and new pressures.”

- Give boys permission to have an internal life, approval for the full range of human emotions, and help them to develop an emotional vocabulary so that they may better understand themselves and communicate more effectively with others.

- Teach boys that emotional courage is courage, and that courage and empathy are the sources of real strength in life.

- Use Discipline to build character and conscience, not enemies.

17

Positive Discipline Parents of young children, no matter where they are from in the world, have all experienced times when their child’s will and need for independence tests the limits of parental patience. From sibling rivalry to power struggles and meltdowns, a misbehaving child can, and often does, cause stress that reverberates through the entire

adopted around the world. Alder and Dreikurs believed that a child’s negative behaviour stems from a need to feel significant with a social group or setting and that positive encouragement versus negative reinforcement could lead to improvements in behaviour as well as the

family.

overall parent-child relationship.

While parenting styles may differ from culture to culture,

Dreikurs further suggested that children have four un-

there are some common approaches to help parents take on the challenge of discipline, in a positive and healthy way for all involved. One well-known method, “positive discipline”, is being largely embraced by therapists, psychologists, schools and parents alike and has recently been introduced at ISA in parenting sessions.

conscious goals leading to misbehaviour – attention, power, revenge and avoidance of failure – and that by addressing each of these with a positive approach, any negative behaviour could be minimised or even eliminated.

“Anticipation influences outcome—the fear of making a mis-

Positive Discipline 101

take leads to mistakes. Anyone who can alter the expectations

The concept of positive discipline, or positive parenting,

of people can change their behavior.” Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs

was originally created by Alfred Adler, an Austrian-born doctor and psychotherapist and the founder of the school of individual psychology. Adler’s former student and colleague, Rudolf Dreikurs, an American psychiatrist and educator, further developed the concept by 18

simplifying it for parents and teachers, allowing it to be

ISA introduced the programme to help parents raise their children to become “responsible, respectful and resourceful” community members – both within and outside of the school.The ISA programme is based on the

work of Dr. Jane Nelson, a licensed marriage, family and

difficult concepts for some adults). We also spend time

child counsellor and renowned author of the best sell-

discussing the importance of solving problems when

ing positive discipline book series, and is led by Lower

we are rational and calm and how to self-correct when

School Counsellor, Denise Granai. We spoke to Granai

things get out of control.

for her impressions of the programme and its impact.

Will ISA continue with these sessions and will they have them

Why do you feel that these positive parenting sessions are

for older children as well?

important for families?

We will definitely continue to offer the Positive Disci-

Positive parenting is important for any family looking for

pline programme, including our Positive Discipline pro-

long-term solutions to address a child’s misbehavior.

grammes for preschoolers, children, and teenagers. Last

With the Positive Discipline programme, it acknowledg-

year we were able to have workshops for all of these age

es that punishment does work in the short-term, but the

levels and it is a possibility for this school year as well.

long-term results are the 4 “R”s (resentment, rebellion,

However, if a parent is unable to make a workshop there

revenge, or retreat). By using punishment we attempt to

are plenty of resources that we recommend including

make a child feel bad in order to correct behavior. How-

Positive Discipline books in our school libraries, as well

ever, this does not motivate change because children

as my favourite Positive Discipline blog and online class

do better when they feel better. By practising positive

site – http://blog.positivediscipline.com.

parenting techniques, and taking time to try new ways of interacting with children, we then encourage children and adolescents to be respectful and reasonable with their decisions.

What are the types of valuable social and life skills that can be learned from positive discipline and does this only apply to children or for parents as well?

A large part of the Positive Discipline programme is changing the way we perceive a child’s behaviour and how we react as adults. Modeling appropriate or expected behaviours as adults is a big part of teaching new skills to children, such as problem solving. In our workshops here at ISA we use something called the “Mistaken Goal Chart” which guides parents to think about what the child’s motivation is behind the behaviour and how we, as adults, can try new ways of interacting in order to correct that behaviour in a positive way.

You have done sessions on sibling rivalry and power struggles. What are the key pieces of advice or takeaways that you would like parents to understand when dealing with these types of situations?

These two topics are difficult as they can throw adults into a negative cycle of constant arguing with a child or between children. This is not fun for anyone. It is important to find times where we can have positive interactions with each other throughout the day and as adults we need “connection before correction”. When discussing power struggles and sibling rivalry, we examine many topics such as empowerment, attentive listening, validation of feelings, and “letting go” (one of the most 19

John O’Brien (bottom row, second player from left) as a member of the Ajax 2003 team playing against AC Milan. Other notable players on the team included Zlatan Ibramovich, and Rafael van der Vaart.

John O’Brien Interview by Lara Kok

and his enrollment at ISA to finish out his high school

All photos courtesy of Ajax.

In 1995, John O’Brien made his way from Playa del Rey,

Photo credit: Ajax/Louis van der Vuurst.

California to the Netherlands to attend ISA. Like many 16-year olds, O’Brien was an avid soccer player and dreamt of following his passion for the sport into the professional sphere. However, O’Brien was not the typical high school sports star and his move to Amsterdam, without his family, was not the typical ISA student story.

It was, in fact, the beginning of something great… something historical and would, for many, mark the point where the international soccer world took players

years.

ISA graduate Lara Kok (’13) interviewed O’Brien from his home in Berkeley, California to find out more about his time at ISA and his experience playing in Europe and for the United States national team.

When you left to come to Europe at 16, was that the first time you had lived outside of the U.S.?

Yes, and I was a little different from some of the other people at ISA at that time, since most of my classmates

from America seriously for the first time.

had already moved a lot with their families. For me that

At the age of 14, O’Brien had a trial with Ajax, Amster-

but I had never lived anywhere else. And I moved over

dam’s professional soccer team from the Eredivisie.

Having caught their attention, he was recruited to join 20

the team at age 16, prompting his move to Amsterdam

was the first time. I had travelled a lot for soccer by then, without my family and in with a Dutch host family.

It was great being at ISA and to connect with other Americans as well as an international community. It allowed me to build some friendships and really made me feel at home. So I had kind of the Dutch world – which was my soccer world – and this kind of international world where I went to prom and did these things

rived there were a lot of really friendly people, both on my team and at ISA, and that helped a lot.

I definitely went through times where it was weird to be there. The culture is different and the weather was very different from Southern California, which took some

that were very American. It made it easier to adjust.

getting used to. But then once I was there, I thought

Did you find a balance between your two lives – Dutch and

to learn the language and that was a big part of me

international?

The first year, and a couple of years after that, I stayed friends with people that I met at ISA and we would explore the city as expats, which was different from

“let’s try to enjoy this as much as I can”. So I really tried enjoying my time there. Being able to converse easily with people meant I didn’t feel like a foreigner all the time, which was nice.

what the Dutch kids were doing.

You began your soccer career at 16 and then had quite an

Over the years, it shifted. I became more Dutch as I lived

that like?

there, as you can imagine. As I got to speak the language better, I learned to enjoy hanging out in a Dutch social environment. It was really nice to kind of move back and forth between those worlds – going to places with the Dutch kids and doing what they liked to do and then out with the expats getting in touch with the inter-

extensive career after that until you were injured. What was I moved to Amsterdam when I was 16 turning 17 and went to ISA for one year to finish high school. I came to Amsterdam to play for the Ajax Youth Soccer Academy, which was pretty great. At that time, ISA was pretty flexible in terms of letting me go to training every afternoon, even when we started at 13:00 in the afternoon, so I

national community of the city.

would only have school in the morning.

How did your parents and friends back in California feel

But I would go to practice daily and eventually made my

about you being abroad by yourself and doing this immersive cultural transition?

People in the soccer community were really excited about it. At that time there wasn’t much of a pathway to professional soccer in the United States and so they were like “Wow, that’s awesome that you get to be there” and other people were like “Holland? I’ve never

jump from the Youth Academy to the professional team and had a good professional career playing for Utrecht, for the Hague and for Ajax, which was mostly for the first team for about 6 years and it was great.

I also played for the US national team in a couple of World Cups and in the Olympics in 2000. So that was

heard of it” and didn’t really know where it was.

my first career – playing soccer professionally.

My brother and sister were very excited about it and my

It all really started in Amsterdam. I really grew into a pro-

parents missed me and tried to come over as much as they could. For my family, it was really a kind of experiment. “Try it out one year and see how it goes”. Then one year led to another year and then it just got too

fessional player there with the training I received and in that environment.

What do you think is the difference between U.S. soccer and

good to leave.

Dutch soccer?

Ajax was a very serious soccer environment, especially

Dutch it’s very organised with a lot of passing, really

at my age. It wasn’t something that you think of as “fun” or “light”. Before it had been about doing a tryout, trying to make the team and showing how good I was and then it got to the point where it was “real”. I remember on the plane ride over just starting to cry and realising that I was leaving the States and moving to another country.

That really kind of took me by surprise. But when I ar-

It’s very different. Very different styles of play. With the technical and a lot of ball possession. In the U.S. it’s technical as well, but more of a dribbling style of soccer with a lot of counter attacking, very organised defensively and very much about the team and team spirit.

While I was playing, that was something that became tricky – to code switch and be the American player at 21

one time and then come back and be a Dutch player.

I had to play these different types of soccer, even with very different types of soccer balls, because they aren’t the same and I had to adjust to that as well.

This might be an impossible question to answer but do you feel that you had a team that you liked playing with more – Ajax, Utrecht, the Hague or the US National Team?

I think looking back on my career, I felt more like a Dutch player than an American player, mostly because I spent 12 years of my soccer-playing years in Holland. In the beginning I felt more American and thought can I do this here as an American? Then eventually I just started to feel more Dutch. I had amazing times with a lot of different teams there, playing in Utrecht my first year and playing in the Eredivisie for Ajax, where we won championships and I got to play with some of the best

roster. I was bored just playing soccer and thought I should do something else, and had time for it. It really helped me to learn Dutch, and so then I went to the Hogeschool voor Economische Studies and studied international management for about a year and a half.

Right around that time I started getting paid but I was on the reserve team and I moved in with the family of a guy on my team. Later I moved to an apartment on my own, which was around the time I started playing Eredivisie for the first time and got loaned out to Utrecht.

So at that point I was living on my own and commuting to Utrecht and I was still trying to go to school. But it was really difficult to play on the weekends in front of big crowds and then on Sunday night after a big game get myself ready to go to school on Monday. So I decided

players in the world.

to put school off at that point and come back to it later.

And then with the US team we did great at one World

There are students at ISA who would love to do what you have

Cup and the Olympics as well. So being part of all those teams was amazing. All a little bit different. Now that I‘m back in the States, I still feel that I have a bit O’Brien celebrating Ajax win as Eredivisie champions with teammates, Tomas Galasek and Steven Pienaar.

more of a Dutch perspective on soccer. It’s a little

Photo credit: Ajax/Louis van der Vuurst.

things?

done. Do you have any advice for them?

It’s really on a case-per-case basis. It can be a lot of work and stressful at times when some kids are out and exploring other hobbies and you have to take care of

different than the American feel.

yourself and your body, go to sleep early and make sure

Was soccer your only focus or did you have time for other

you feel a little different or that you are missing out on

After ISA, I went to a Dutch high school for short time of about 3 months. I was about 18 and still on the youth

you are eating well. It’s things like that that might make something. But it’s still a great path to choose to try to do. I don’t have any regrets dedicating myself to soccer.

I think I’ve learned a lot from it.

Moving on from soccer, what was it like when you decided to stop playing?

It was a big transition to stop playing. At the time, I had a lot of injuries and was kind of bitter that I couldn’t play and at the same time I was happy that I could explore some other things. It took me a while to find my way and what I was interested in. Right now I’m in a psychology programme - doing a doctorate in sports psychology.

I wanted to stay connected with soccer in some way. I tried coaching but it wasn’t really for me. During my career I worked with sports psychologists and found them helpful and really like them, so that also influenced my decision. I was really curious about the mental things that make a difference when someone plays. How people talk about these things, think about them, how a player can improve and adjust his or her mindset over time. It feels like a helpful position – sports psychology

22

– helping people manage themselves inside and outside

I still keep in touch with Dutch friends I have other there.

the sports world.

A few of them came out to my wedding last year. I look

Since I started studying I found it really fascinating how

my newborn son a little bit of Dutch along the way.

people work and how many factors go into things like motivation and what kinds of things get in our way and

forward to getting back and hopefully too to teaching

Are you better able to take on different situations and cul-

trip us up. It’s really interesting.

tures after this experience?

Are there any expectations in this area for the future?

I understand “cultures” in a deeper way. You have to get

Maybe helping families who have kids who are really dedicated to a sport to manage that, for example helping them to manage when a child or a family starts to move to a different country to follow that sport. I think that would be nice. It’s an idea – I still have a few things

I definitely have a more international outlook and I think into a culture and feel it and from there you find a place for interacting. It’s a very deep experience.

It’s not just the surface things that people talk about.

Like birthdays for example…in Holland the birthday per-

to do and there are more things that I want to try out.

son brings in the cakes and in America it’s the other way

Do you still feel an attachment to Amsterdam?

a culture inside of you. I feel like when I start speaking

I’m in Berkeley now. I‘m from Los Angeles – so not living too far away. But definitely, you calling me and me seeing the +31 country code on my phone was really an “ahhh” moment. I love Holland. I love Amsterdam. I really feel like it is still a part of me.

around. It’s a different world when you open up and let Dutch, the Dutch part of me comes out, especially the Dutch humour, which is a bit more dry and cynical.

Do you have any special memories from ISA? I remember we always used to go the snack bar for breaks. I think the school has moved since then, but those were amazing times. ISA was great.

Inspired by John O’Brien’s story and have a son or daughter who loves to play soccer? Ajax offers opportunities for ISA students to attend summer camps and clinics and to train at the very same facilities used by all the Ajax teams!

Choose from Ajax Boys, Ajax Girls, goalkeeper and even international camps to learn how to improve one-on-one skills, to dribble, pass and receive better. The club also offers training clinic days in May and during the summer holidays. Registration for both the camps and clinics is now open.

For more information visit: www.ajaxcampsenclinics.nl.

23

Wakeboard King ISA

has

a

legacy

of

students

dedicated

to

achieving the best - in the classroom as well as in the realm of sports. Milo McCafferty, a grade 10 student, has been doing his part to keep the legacy going, and in doing so has made a name for himself in the world of

ly and welcoming to everyone irrespective of their skill level. That helped.”

After two seasons of wakeboarding, McCafferty’s home

wakeboarding.

wake park, Wet’n’Wild, decided to sponsor him for the

For those unfamiliar with the sport, wakeboarding, once

as a board and gear.

called “skurfing”, is a combination of surfing and waterskiing. While it’s origins are unknown, the first skurfer was built and launched in the mid-1980’s. The sport’s popularity took off after that, with international competitions being televised across the sports world and the

following year. They gave him free membership, as well

“I agreed to compete in competitions in the Netherlands, the UK and Germany and now I’m also sponsored

by Jobe, a global supplier of water sport equipment.

World Skiboard Association launching in 1989.

“In return for the companies helping me out, I ride with

McCafferty is what some refer to as a “lifer” here at ISA.

as often as I can, filming at least one video a year, and

He has attended the school for 12 years, since he was in pre-school. Growing up, he was an avid skate and snowboarder. His parents, had always encouraged him and his older brother, to be active in sports and after a quick search on the internet for cable parks in the

their gear and promote both companies by competing regularly updating Instagram, Facebook and anything else with pictures, videos, updates about how I’m progressing in the sport.”

McCafferty has found that balancing his newfound ca-

Netherlands, he entered the world of wakeboarding.

reer with school and a social life isn’t always easy.

“Because of my love for board sports, I decided to try

“Balancing my school work and life with wakeboarding

wakeboarding. It is really similar to snowboarding but only on water. To be honest, at first I disliked it because I wasn’t able to stand up, but after trying it a few times and landing my first jump, I really loved it and was down at the cablepark every day of the week. The people at 24

the cable park are really helpful and extremely friend-

is really difficult, as my family and I live out in the country side and my friends live quite far away. I often need to make the decision between going to Amsterdam to see friends or going to the cable.”

“Though my parents always make me finish my homework first, on weekends it’s especially difficult to finish homework, go to the wake park and do something with friends. I don’t always fit all three in, so I try to go to the wake park as often as I can on school nights to get rid of all my energy built up during the school day.”

McCafferty chose to integrate his love of the sport into his Grade 10 IB Personal Project. He found that just because he had a love for the sport, it didn’t make creating a worthy personal project any easier.

“My personal project was quite difficult. I’m trying to put a big wake park into a small box. Under the guidance of my uncle and grandfather, I built a wakeboard winch, which is a small version of a cable system. It’s a small 6.5 Honda engine that uses a centrifugal clutch system to power and rotate a sprocket attached onto an axle.

Attached to that axle is a big spool of rope. Using the power of the engine, the spool of rope rolls in at the speed of a normal wakeboard cable. The interesting thing about what I’m building is that my winch is portable, meaning that I can bring wake boarding to more urban spots such as the canals in Amsterdam.”

Obviously, McCafferty isn’t afraid of a challenge where wakeboarding is involved. So when the time came for him to compete in the Nationals competition, he didn’t hesitate. However, he found the road to first place to be far from smooth.

“Although it was very fun, I found it difficult to make a decision on the run I would put together. I qualified first overall after the first day with 90 points in the boy’s category. The next day, however, I arrived a little later and my heat for the semi-finals was over. The judges told me I was disqualified and couldn’t join the next heat as it would mean someone would miss out if I qualified further. Luckily, all the boys in that heat didn’t mind, and I was able to join. However, the judges said I was only allowed one run instead of two, and I had to make a de-

“The Nationals is the biggest event in the Netherlands each year, and I felt really proud to have won it. I learned a lot from the competition, had a lot of help from my friends and my family, and in the end was very happy with my run and my placement. I’m especially grateful to Albert Klomp for being supportive as a mentor, always helping me get ready for competitions, to learn new tricks and for coaching me since I started.”

“I certainly intend to continue wakeboarding and next

cision if I was to throw a trick I was uncertain of landing.

year hope to be training with the Dutch wakeboarding

To his surprise, McCafferty landed the trick and qualified

and compete in more global international competitions,

for the finals in a first place position. For the finals, he

federation which will enable me to train with top athletes and hopefully, the world championships in a few years.”

competed in two rounds, and once again decided to go for the gold and perform tricks he had never landed before. The gamble paid off and he found that after a final run, he secured a first-place finish.

25

Dutch ‘Basket’ball When thinking of sports and the Netherlands, football

der component so that “boys and girls could play

(or soccer as North Americans like to call it), swimming,

together on equal terms, encouraging team work and

and speed skating typically come to mind. But there is

cooperation.” This insistence on allowing women to play

another sport, albeit not as well known, that has cap-

on the same level as men caused many to deem the

tured the hearts and sporting interest of the Dutch and

sport immoral.

others around the world for over 100 years - Korfball.

Despite these objections, interest in the sport spread

Top: One of two Korfball teams participating in the 1928 Olympics. Korball was selected as the demonstration sport that best represented The Netherlands.

Those new to ISA or the Netherlands may have never

and korfball became known across borders throughout

heard of it, but for the Dutch, playing korfball is as com-

Europe. It was even selected to be the national demon-

mon as hockey, skating or soccer. Like with the other

stration sport for the Netherlands at the 1928 Olympics

sports, korfball players grow into their game and if lucky,

in Amsterdam, beating out archery (deemed too Greek),

some even make it to the national level - just like ISA

rugby (not Dutch enough), skittles (too small for a large

Dutch teacher Annette de Graaf did.

audience) and kaatsen, a type of Frisian handball similar

History of Dutch “Basket”ball

to tennis (a close second-runner up).

In 1902, Dutch teacher, Nico Broekhuysen, travelled to

In time an international bureau was established in the

Sweden to study physical education and soon discov-

Netherlands, later moving to Belgium to become the

ered the joys of ringboll, a popular Swedish game which

International Korfball Federation. The Dutch love of

Photo credit: The Netherlands Olympic Committee.

Public Domain.

consisted of mixed gender teams aiming to score points

korfball had officially become an international past time.

by throwing a ball through a ring on a pole. Intrigued

This allowed players like Annette de Graaf to take a

by the sport, Broekhuysen brought the game home to

home-grown passion and share it with the world.

Side: Annette de Graaf, TOP Sassenheim.

the Netherlands, changing it slightly to accommodate younger students and adding a basket to replace the

How did you become interested in Korfball?

hoop. He named it korfball, after the Dutch word “korf”

As a child, my family and I spent our weekends on

meaning “basket” and the first known game was played

sports fields - mostly for football (soccer) since my dad

on the Jan Luykenstraat, close to what is now the

was a semi-professional player and my mom used to

popular Amsterdam shopping street, P.C. Hoofdstraat.

play as well. My brother and I always joined him when he had to play or coach a team and I absolutely loved

26

Over time, the popularity of the game grew, despite

watching and playing the game. But in my hometown

lingering controversy over it’s mixed gender teams.

of Wormer (close to Zaandam and the Zaanse Schans),

When Broekhuysen introduced the sport to the

all the girls at school played korfball when they turned 6

Netherlands, he purposefully kept the mixed gen-

and not soccer. Since my mother played korfball when

she was younger, she thought that it would be a great choice for me.

How long have you been playing korfball and were you able to advance to competitive levels when playing?

You are allowed to start playing korfball when you are 6 years old, so once I reached that age my mom signed me up for the Groen Geel korfball club in my hometown.

It’s a very competitive club to this day, and currently has over 500 members in various age groups and levels.”

“The Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Under 19 teams compete at a national level and in the Hoofdklasse, the second highest league in the Netherlands.”

I have been a member of the club for 26 years, but have also played for two other clubs; TOP Sassenheim and Blauw Wit Amsterdam. Both are members of the top league. While playing for those teams, I had the chance to work with experienced team players and trainers, so now I am trying to bring back all the skills and knowledge I gained to Groen Geel where I am currently playing in their highest team again.

In addition to playing for those three teams, I have also played for regional and national teams from ages 14 to 21. This required a lot of extra training sessions and travel to tournaments in the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Belgium and England, but I loved it. They were really amazing times, and I look back at them with a huge smile and pride.

What was the most exciting competitive moment you had while playing the game?

Without a doubt I have to say that playing for TOP Sassenheim in the Korfbal League was the highlight of my career. Playing at that level totally changed my perspective of the game, which in turn made me play much better. It felt amazing to be part of such a talented and successful team.

proud to be a part of it.

What motivates you when playing?

In korfball, teamwork is extremely important since you are not allowed to dribble or walk with the ball in your hands. It gives such a kick when the timing of movement and passing is perfect; when everything comes together and you manage to score a goal and eventually to win the game. Korfball is the only mixed sport in the world, which makes the dynamics in a team very interesting.

At the Groen Geel we are now practicing new tactics which require a lot of time to implement, but finally it is starting to pay off now: We won two matches and one ended with a draw. Our goal this year will be to stay in the second highest league and for sure not to relegate since Groen Geel has very talented youth who need to play at this high level next year.

Sadly, this year will be my last year playing at such a high level, since it very hard to combine training sessions and competitions alongside being a mother of two little girls. It feels really strange that it is going to be over soon and I am enjoying every single bit of the trainings and matches as much as I can. It would be great if maybe my “mini-me’s” would follow in their mama’s footsteps one day!

Would you recommend this sport to others who are looking to

I also very much enjoyed wearing the orange jersey while

take on a new challenge while in Holland?

playing for the national U19 and U21 teams. Singing

Korfball is an excellent way of meeting new friends

along (quietly, I’m not a good singer!) with the national anthem before the match was really a dream come true!

and to learn the Dutch language. Besides the sporty activities, most clubs organise fun parties and summer camps for their youth members.There is a korfball club

And of course so many amazing matches for my home-

right next to ISA, called KVA and people who are in-

town team Groen Geel. For over 10 years I have been a

terested in trying it out can always go for a free try-out

member of the first team and it still makes me feel very

training session.

27

Polo à la George

There is one person, who has crossed paths with almost every ISA student over the years. What many don’t know is that before coming to ISA, he left his mark in the world of international water polo. His name is George van Rijn, but many know him as just “George”.

Before, opening “George’s Place”, George van Rijn had a different dream. When he was 8 years old, he followed in the footsteps of his older brothers into the arena of competive sports in his hometown of Wassenaar, a town next to The Hague. His first love was swimming, but at the age of 16, he decided to take advantage of his strong swimming ability and his size (good Dutch genes) and to join a water polo team.

Fit for Life

The growing desire for adults to be healthy is evident

for future generations - or at least those studying at ISA.

in our everyday lives. From the rise in Zumba classes and personal trainers to the growing number of low-

At ISA providing children with the right tools to succeed

fat and organic items on our grocery store shelves,

in life goes far beyond books and technology. Starting

people around the world are striving to have a healthier

at a very early age, the school begins to lay a foundation

existence. In today’s on-the-go society, having a healthy

for strong bodies as well as minds.

lifestyle often means instituting overall life changes,

28

be it re-examining one’s diet or finding a mindful bal-

Recently, ISA grade 2 teachers launched a unit called

ance between work and play. It is these shifts that of-

Fit for Life. This unit, as part of the IB curriculum, helps

ten make the transition to healthier options seem like a

children to not only learn about healthy choices, but also

impossible dream. However, this may not be the case

how to integrate them into their daily routines.

It takes commitment to excel in any sport and like many athletes who aim high, van Rijn trained seriously, practicing mornings and evenings and eventually mak-

to be a member of the U18 team, allowing him to defend the Dutch honour at home and abroad.

ing his way into the highest division in the sport in Leid-

“It was a great time and really challenged me. But I

en. It was during this time that the Dutch national team

also wanted to go to school. I started attending a ho-

invited him for a tryout.

tel school in the Hague and soon my school nightshifts began to conflict with my evening trainings. I had to

“This was really a dream for me. I’d been playing for years, but to get the chance to compete at that level was amazing.” recalls van Rijn.

Invitation in hand, he competed in the Noord/Sud competition, where the top players in each province are selected to join and compete on a national level. The years

make a choice, so I decided to focus on my work career so I could take care of myself and a family in the future.”

Does he regret his decision to leave the sport. Not really.

“It was difficult, especially when I saw my teammates continue to play and even compete in the Olympics in Barcelona. But it was a wise decision. My ambitions still

of practice and dedication paid off and he was selected

continued and I found success, just in a different way.”

“Fit for Life is a fabulous unit because it is truly

“The

impactful. The students learn a great deal about their bodies in terms of nutrition and health, including food intake, how digestion works as well as the importance of balancing school, activities and rest. Throughout this unit the students realise that they can make choices and take action in a healthy and fun way that will directly impact their lives now and in the future” explains grade

best

part

is

that

the

children

become

enthusiastic about healthy, everyday foods and their parents are amazed at the new foods, like kale and spinach, that their children are not only eating, but asking for. It really empowers students to bring their newfound knowledge home to inspire the whole family to good health.”

2 teacher, Marta van der Meer.

The culminating events for the unit include mindful-

This idea of fun also extended to physical exercise,

pop up lunch restaurant and the selling of homemade

with the introduction of FitNut, a health and exercise programme, into the Fit for Life curriculum. ISA has been active in the FitNut programme’s early stages, being one of the first schools to adopt the programme into its curriculum. The programme is set to launch soon in the UK and US.

ness sessions, the creation of a grade 2 Fresh-Mex smoothies (learned from FitNut) to raise funds for ISA’s Tanzania girls programme.

Van der Meer notes, “Learning to live an all-round healthy lifestyle should start early in a child’s life. The Fit for Life unit allows the children to embrace new habits that will benefit them and their families for a lifetime.”

“FitNut is a multi-sensory programme that engages children in fun exercise and hands-on practical nutrition education” says founder and former part-time ISA staff member, Lynne Bogan.

“We have created a set of unique cartoon characters, like Barry Banana, that peaks a child’s interest while teaching them the overall benefits of eating well. We also use circuit training classes to increase their self esteem, confidence, strength, flexibilty and balance.

Finally, for each session, we provide juicing and smoothie making opportunities with specialist nutrition education for kids to take home and share with their parents.”

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Mother Tongue Storytelling Once a month, parent volunteers will choose a book or When moving to another country, parents often seek to find a balance between helping their child learn a new language at school (English or local) and finding ways to maintain a connection to their own “mother tongue” (spoken in the home) language. With the average stay for an ISA student being 3.5 years, for many families, maintaining their child’s proficiency in their mother tongue language is imperative to ensure a smooth

and present them to Early Childhood and Lower School students. Community participation varies, with Italian, Japanese, German and Korean communities having participated so far.

“This is a wonderful experience for the children because it exposes them to their mother tongue through different

transition when they return to life in their home country.

means and contexts and allows them to explore aspects

It Takes a Village

year the Italian community had sessions on Christmas,

“Supporting a child’s mother tongue is truly important in an international school environment such as ISA,” notes Sabrina Rossi, Lower School Librarian. “Our classes are taught in English, so it’s our mother tongue activities that allow students to understand that their own language is as important as English and that the school, and the various communities within it, values their

of their own culture.” explains Rossi. “For example, last Carnival and Easter.”

Lasting Connections to Home In the end, Rossi believes it’s about helping the children maintain a deeper connection to home, while building their confidence in their abilities.

language as well.”

She notes, “Some children don’t speak very much

For years ISA has organised a successful programme

this kind of event, after a whole day in English, gives

of after-school mother tongue tutoring sessions for students in the Lower and Upper Schools. Recently, Rossi, in collaboration with several parents, has introduced another less formal way to bring mother tongue languages to life for ISA Lower School students – through mother tongue storytelling afternoons.

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activities such as songs, hand puppets or storytelling

English or even any when they join ISA. Taking part in them exposure to something they can understand and makes them feel more comfortable and confident around their friends and classmates.

“They get to share an integral part of themselves – in a language they feel comfortable in.”

SHARE, ISA’s parent-run fundraising organisation, contributes to the support of student-led initiatives within the school through monetary donations and promotional assistance.

For the 2015-2016 school year, SHARE has been extremely active in providing the ISA community with a wide-range of events to participate in to support student causes.

SHARE Your National Cuisine This event invites national communities from within the

For a Good Cause

school to serve as volunteer cooks to provide homemade delicacies from their cultures to sell as take-home dinners. The Indian and Japanese communities participated, selling a variety of meal options including rice balls, samosas and sushi in the Fall event raising over 2000 Euros in just one afternoon. A Spring version will be held early March featuring food from the American, British, Hispanic, Indian and Korean communities.

SHARE Halloween Bake Sale Having put out a call to all bakers in the community, the

Be sure to book your calendar for SHARE’s upcoming events:

after-school Halloween bake sale was a huge success for SHARE raising over 1500 Euros.

SHARE Quiz Night SHARE Quiz Night tested the wide range of knowledge (both useful and inane) of the parents and faculty in a

SHARE Your National Cuisine (10 March) SHARE Easter Bake Sale (22 March) Dance for Those Who Can’t (1 April) Run to SHARE Fun Run (1 May) SHARE Second-Hand Sale (22 May)

fun-filled pub-quiz environment. With over 70 attendees, the event, which included dinner and drinks, raised over 2000 Euros.

SHARE Second-Hand Sale A staple of the ISA Winter Fair, the second-hand sale encouraged families to do an early-spring clean and to donate their gently-used items for resale. This year’s event raised over 4600 Euros.

Dance for SHARE - Scottish Celiidh Evening In Scotland, a Ceilidh represents a traditional gathering of friends and involves folk music and dancing. For this event, SHARE brought in an official “caller” to lead participants through a serious of popular Ceilidh line dances. It was a roaring success, and combined with a raffle featuring great Scottish-themed prizes and art donations, the event raised over 5000 Euros.

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Amnesty International For years, ISA students have supported the international human rights organisation, Amnesty International,

version of the event at the school to encourage

through a variety of student-led initiatives.

community action. Fifty students, parents, faculty and

For the 2015-2016 schoool year, the student club

the release of political prisoners around the world. There

planned numerous events, the first being Amnes-Tea, where students were invited for free tea and cookies during their morning break and given information on Amnesty’s latest campaigns and petitions. The annual event serves as a means to educate students on human

staff participated in writing over 130 letters to request was one prisoner in particular, American Albert Woodfox, who struck a chord with many of those writing letters. He had, at that point, been held in solitary confinment for 43 years in a prison in Louisiana in the U.S., even after his conviction had been overturned three

rights violations occuring around the world.

times. In late February of this year, after years of effort

In October, the student club in collaboration with

Amnesty’s Write for Rights, Woodfox was freed.

Amnesty International Netherlands, Stichting Vluchtelingenwerk Amstelland (SVA) and Stichting Ondersteuning Vluchtelingen Amstelland (SOVA), hosted an evening symposium, Beyond the Borders: The Refugee Crisis.

It was an informative evening, with representatives from the three organisations highlighting how the current refugee crisis is affecting the Netherlands and the local community in particular. A newly arrived refugee, and former academic, also attended and addressed the audience providing a personalised view into the daily life of those fleeing war and violence. The event raised 600 Euros which Amnesty International Netherlands

and international outcry though campaigns such as the

Following Write for Rights, Amnesty students have also arranged in late March to hold a Price of Silence Day an event where they pledge to remain silent for 24 hours to support a particular Amnesty cause or issue. Supported by the Upper School administration, this event further allows the community to support and learn about the various Amnesty causes. Last year, students raised over 700 Euros from pledge donations from friends and families in support of their efforts.

Natasha Vohra, Amnesty Club President is happy with

requested to be donated to SVA and SOVA.

the club’s efforts. “As a club, we are doing really mean-

Every year on December 10, International Human

tions from around the world we are enabling students to

Rights Day, Amnesty members around the world participate in a global writing marathon to raise awareness of Amnesty “Prisoners of Conscience”.

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This year, the ISA Amnesty club decided to host a mini-

ingful things and by increasing awareness of these violabecome activists in causes that personally mean something to them. We are proud to be a part of that and of a community that is taking action.”

Journey to Lampedusa The Italian island of Lampedusa rests in an idyllic setting, with crystal blue waters, beautiful beaches and a blissfully warm Mediterranean climate. As Italy’s southern most point, Lampedusa is actually closer to Africa than it is to its motherland.

While in the past it was renowned as a top tourist destination, in recent years it has become an attraction for an entirely different reason. In October of 2013, Lampedusa made world headlines when a boat carrying hundreds of migrants capsized off of its coast - killing more than 365 women, men and children. In April of 2015 another boat sank in Libyan waters off the coast of Lampedusa, this time claiming 800 lives.

ISA student, Leah Broger, decided that she wanted to do more than just learn about the migrant crisis from the news. She decided that she would go to Lampedusa herself to see how she could help and soon found herself spending her summer holiday at a refugee processing centre on the island.

“As part of my CAS project I decided to take the opportunity during the summer to confront the harsh reality of the immense refugee immigration in Italy. I managed to get in contact with a doctor, who as a former refugee worked in the Centro d’Accoglienza in Lampedusa and I was stationed with her in the ambulatory wing, which consisted of two very simplistic rooms. Not being allowed to manually perform any clinical treatments, I was in charge of the medical diary. Each refugee, once arrived, is assigned a number with which they have access to meals and medical care. Lacking passports, these numbers become a form of identification.”

“The first patient who came in was a Nigerian woman

who seemed to have chronic pain in her lower back due to an injury (she had arrived two days prior). Not expecting much, I asked for her number and medical history.

However once she revealed the vast periphery of her burned wound I was stunned. She had been burned by the hot oil that came out of the boat during the voyage yet had suffered in silence, afraid that the captain would not bring her under the suspicion of infection.”

“I’m fluent in 3 languages and have an intuitive recognition of other languages, which helped immensely when trying to understand the problems of each refugee. I

ISA student, Leah Broger

quickly became a listener to a copious amount of often heartbreaking stories and ultimately, had to translate these to the doctors.”

Broger was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency of the doctors and volunteers, but was disheartened by the frustration and at times seemingly ungratefulness from some of the refugees, especially since many of the locals who volunteered didn’t have access to three meals a day like those in the camps.

“I soon realised however (and I ashamedly admit) that I came in with this subconscious expectation that all the refugees would show gratitude. After the experience I quickly realised that humanitarian aid wasn’t about ‘looking like a good person’, but rather doing a duty to humanity.”

“I would absolutely do this again. And if anyone is interested in doing something similiar, just be ready to show that you are going to contribute positively. Don’t be scared to try something outside of your comfort zone, you’d be surprised how many things are feasible if you really want them to be.”

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Global Village Day

Once again, ISA celebrated a magnificent Global Village Day, an annual event that for the past 19 years

has served as a means for ISA students, of all ages, to celebrate the unique aspects of their heritage and culture with the school community.

The event is organised by the Upper and Lower student council members with assistance from members of faculty, administration and the parent community.

On this day the halls of ISA are full of students wearing traditional costumes such as the Choka from Georgia, the Hanbok from Korea, the Sayan from Bulgaria and the Pollera from Colombia. For many students, this is the first time that they have been able to showcase the beauty of their country’s national dress with their friends and teachers. This display of pride becomes most evident in the student-led country dance performances and, of course, in the highly-anticipated Global Village Day Parade of Nations.

This year, the parade truly represented how the ISA student body has grown, both in size and in

the

number

of

countries

represented.

with

52 countries marching in the parade this year versus 38 in the year prior. While some countries had large student numbers represented, it was often the smaller processions - the three from Georgia, the two from Nepal and Puerto Rico and the solo marchers from Switzerland and Bangladesh, that received roaring applause of admiration.

In addtion to the parade, the students were able to visit classroom villages that parents and teachers created to help them experience the sights, sounds, and tastes of the cultures of their classmates. With their specially made Global Village Day passports in hand, students were able to travel the world - stringing beaded necklces and eating biltong in “South Africa”, learning the hakka in “New Zealand, and playing a game of cornhole in the “USA”.

For the ISA community, Global Village Day is the ulitmate expression of the school’s mission “to educate for international understanding” and will no doubt continue

34 to be in the future.

35

Circular Economy 101

Each year the ISA Green Team comes up with a theme to motivate the students and community to be active participants in supporting eco-initiatives that make positive and sustainable change for ISA and the world around them.

This year, the students, working with new Lower and Upper School supervisors, Lisa Verkerk and Julius Kleipool, and two new lead parent volunteers, Manjula Prasad and Emma Langbridge, decided to focus on a topic of growing importance for businesses and con-

more sustainable, last longer, can be re-used, are repair-

sumers: the Circular Economy.

able, and are easy to recycle. It also means encouraging

What is the Circular Economy?

indicated through eco-labels.”

Imagine a world with little-to-no waste. Where everything that was created, be it techinical or biological, had components and by-products that would be recyclable, restorative and reusable, limiting the mass amounts of waste produced by humans each year. That is how the circular economy works - and the numbers behind adopting this approach underscore the important role that this cycle can play in not ony saving our planet’s ever-diminishing resources, but also as a benefit to our

consumers to buy greener, resource-efficient products

Keeping ISA Aware - Reduce, Re-use & Recycle To bring greater awareness of the concepts surrounding the circular economy to the school community, the Lower and Upper School Green Teams will be creating displays in the lobby during Earth Month (April) to highlight how the circular economy works and how average citizens can contribute to it.

economies as well.

“We wanted to choose a theme that was ahead of the

A recent article in the Guardian UK, highlighted a study

students could begin to understand. I’ve been seriously

by McKinisey which estimated that “shifting towards circularity could add $1 trillion to the global economy by 2025 and create 100,000 new jobs within a year, and not just in the STEM sector.” New technologies require new mindsets and designers, lawyers and supply chain professionals would all benefit from this new economy.

At a side event on the circular economy at the recent United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris, Karmenu Vello, European Commissioner for the Environment noted the necessity of a world that embraces the concepts supporting circular economy.

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“In practice, it will mean designing products that are

curve in terms of environmental thinking and that the impressed with how all the Green Team students - even the youngest 7-year-olds - have grasped what a circular economy means and why it makes far more sense than a linear one.” notes Langbridge, the Lower School Green Team Advisor.

The Green Team has invited speakers from organisations employing circular economy methods to provide overviews of their company’s commitment to the concept during a dedicated parent session and for students during Green Team-led student assemblies in March.

To round everything out, the Geen Team has also put

together a world-class fashion show featuring clothing designs from companies that employ circular economy methods into their production. Proceeds from the fashion show will be given to the Green Team’s chosen charity for 2015-2016, the Plastic Soup Foundation, a organisation aiming to rid oceans and waterways of plastic waste.

Models from the Upper and Lower school Green Teams, as well as other interested student volunteers will walk the catwalk to showcase recycled and reprocessed materials, made into fashionable eco-conscious clothing.

Global and local designers and retailers have contributed clothing and accessories for the students to model.

“We wanted to find a fun and exciting way to tell people a bit more about sustainable fashion, whilst also raising funds for the student chosen charity - Plastic Soup Foundation. Both Vicki Davison (another parent who I’m organising the show with) and I have learnt so much about how polluting the fashion industry is and have already begun to change the way we buy clothes.” explains Langbridge.

“The show’s motto is Reduce, Re-use and Recycle.

We hope to inspire more people to see the power they have as a consumer to make the right choices and find out a bit more about where their clothes have come from.”

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Grade 10 Personal Projects Finishing the Middle Years Programme is a true

accomplishment for ISA’s grade 10 students. However, before getting to that point, the IB requires that MYP

students produce a personal project that demonstrates their ability to “participate in self-directed inquiry [and]

individual creations ranging from a working Tesla coil

to develop deeper understandings through in-depth

and a hand-carved bow and arrow to a book featuring

investigation.”

40 self-designed life hacks and a history of make up and its uses on various ethnicities. The range of projects

Paul Griffiths, ISA’s new MYP Coordinator, sees the pro-

the world, documentaries, research on refugees and

“The personal project is a challenging and creative com-

- showcased the immense creativity and talent of the

ponent of the MYP framework. It requires our grade 10 students to draw upon the learning and thinking that have been embedded throughout their courses as MYP learners and is a unique opportunity for our students to

a handmade “modernised” Morrocan wedding gown students.

“This was my first year as MYP Coordinator and facilitating the personal projects has been a major highlight for

really take ownership of their learning.”

me. I really enjoyed watching how the students slowly

The number of projects produced this year was greater

a topic that they truly cared about. It’s rather awe-in-

than any before with an exhibition featuring almost 100

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- paintings, cook books, prepared food from around

ject as a culmination of a student’s MYP experience.

took control of their learning through an exploration of spiring.”

My Personal Project Gender-based Discrimination in Sports To educate people, including myself, on gender-based discrimination in sports and to clear up misconceptions on what true discrimination in sports is. - Noa

My Personal Project Honor for the Emperor To write a film script depicitng the loves of Japanese soldiers. - Shoh

My Personal Project The Global Issue of Child Soldiers To raise awareness of child soldiers. - Emma

My Personal Project My Cracow To make a documentary film that shows the beauty and life of the Polish city Cracow.

- Dominik

My Personal Project Bringing My Music to Life To write and sing original songs and covers and to start a Youtube channel with accompanying videos. - Evie

My Personal Project Untold Stories of Refugees To raise awareness about the refugee crisis and to share their untold stories.

- Frederika My Personal Project Cricket World Cup To create a website about the Cricket World Cup - Alec

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My Personal Project Sensationalism in the Media depicted through grafitti To raise awareness regarding sesnsationalism in the media and its effects upon modern society. - Pietro My Personal Project Cultural Fusion Oil Painting To show a cultural fusion of my own experiences of Dutch and Japanese culture in an oil painting. - Yuki

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My Personal Project Recycling an old bike To create a fixed gear bicycle out of recycled materials that have been thrown away.

- Sergi My Personal Project The Walled City of Lahore To enlightten people about the culture and food of Lahore Pakistan. - Omer

Bear Necessities The PTA runs several initiatives that benefit the ISA community, but one of its most popular is the school store ­­—The Bear Neccesities.

For well over a decade, the shop has been providing a a wide variety of school-related items for families to purchase so that students always have access to the tools they need for learning.

An all-volunteer staff of parents keeps the store running smoothly — both before classes start and at the end of the school day. From the standard notebooks and pencils to a tablet stylus or an eco-friendly water bottle, the Bear Necessities provides most of the items a child needs from their grade-level class lists and a few nice ISA-branded extras.

“We all live pretty busy lives, so having the school store on-site really provides a way for famiies to be more efficient with their time versus travelling all over town to buy school supplies and helps to relieve stress when a student forgets something” explains volunteer Gail Anderson.

The shop has extended hours during the first days of school in August/September, and in January.

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42

Othello

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey’d monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on.” ― William Shakespeare, Othello

Last Fall, the high school drama department staged an adapted version of the Shakespearean classic, Othello, drafted over the summer holidays by ISA Drama

In this production, the city of Venice was transformed into an intimate bar setting, drawing out a richer sense of familiarity between the characters and the audience.

teacher, Kelly Webber and her husband, Brad Masoni.

In this bar, love, jealousy, and rage all centred around

Techniques from the UK theatre group, Frantic

served as the bed on which Desdemona would perish.

Assembly, known for their dramatic use of physicality and restrained motion, were used to transfer the play

the focal point of the pool table in the middle, which also

By employing the methods from Frantic Assembly, the

into a more contemporary look and feel.

actors were able to create a truly realistic illusion of

The staging was unique, with audience members

Independent noted, when using the Frantic Assembly

seated along the periphery, providing the frame in which the play was set and a new perspective of the characters and their interactions throughout the various scenes.

the struggles, passion and grief from the play. As the methods “the tragedy gains an electrifying new vigour and relevance.”

The sold out audiences at ISA would certainly agree.

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The Trebletones Starting a new club isn’t always easy at a school like ISA. With an abundance of extracurriclar choices to choose from, it can be difficult to attract the attention of students and to have them commit their time and energy to a new project.

After working on last year’s Musical Theatre review with the Upper and Lower School choirs, it became apparent to the Upper School Choir teacher, Kelly Webber, that there was a gap in the singing presence of middle school students.

“I saw a need for middle school students to feel more at home with regard to singing in public. I know that singing in the Upper School choir can be somewhat intimidating for the younger grades, as the Upper School Choir is truly a highschool choir.”

“Knowing that the AMIS Mixed Honor Choir Festival would be at ISA in the spring, I thought this would be the perfect time to develop a real middle school presence.”

And thus, the first ISA Middle School Girls Choir was born. But why for girls only?

“I know far more about the pedagogy of changing girls’ voices, and I thought it would be a great to let them have a chance to shine just as girls singing.”

The choir, although still in its infancy, already has 13 members and has performed at the ISA Winter Concert, the Project Zero conference and is currently practicing for performances at the upcoming AMIS Festival in April at ISA.

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AMIS Mixed Honor Choir Festival ISA, a long-standing member of the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) has been selected to host the upcoming 21st Annual AMIS Mixed Middle School Honor Choir in April. ISA music teachers Douglas Beam and Kelly Webber will serve as the faculty hosts.

“As a school, we have been striving to develop our various choral programmes by participating in important international events from organisations such as AMIS and the The American International School of Muscat (TAISM) Festival of Choirs in Muscat, Oman.” explains Webber.

“Currently, we have an Upper School choir for students in grades 6-12 that meets twice a week during lunch.

This year we have also added our new Middle School Girls Choir, and will have several of the students from that choir participating in this festival. It’s a real honor to be able to both host this event and to share our students’ talents.”

The 4 day-event will allow ISA to host students from 11 schools from around the world, including Hong Kong International School, Singapore American School, the International Community School of Addis Ababa, Saudi Aramco Expatriate School, Dubai American Academy, Bonn International School, International School of Basel, the American School of the Hague, ACS Egham International School, the American International School of Vienna and the International School of Düsseldorf.

The participants will be led by guest conductor Paige Short and accompanist Luke Zaccaro through voice workshops and a diverse repertoire, ranging from Handel to pop-icon Amy Winehouse.

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NECIS ISA’s Cross Country Team

U14 Volleyball - Cup 2nd

Varsity Volleyball - Cup 2nd

Varsity Soccer - Cup 2nd 46

U12 Volleyball

ISA’s Cross Country Team

JV Volleyball - Plate 1st

Varsity Volleyball MVP Noa Pijl

U12 Soccer

U14 Soccer - Plate 2nd

JV Soccer - Cup 1st

Varsity Soccer MVP Matt Anderson

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Class Notes Japanese Reunion Updates

Mio Subana Since leaving ISA, Mio has been a book editor, book rights coordinator and a flower producer.

Mayu Mori-Uchino Mayu graduated from the University of Tokyo and is now working as a medical doctor.

Mizuho Hashimoto Mizuho entered Okayama University and has completed a short-term study abroad in Myanmar.

Emiko Hari Emiko worked as a Japanese teacher in Korea after graduating university. She returned to Japan with her family, and is now working for a real estate consulting company.

Tanaka Hiroyuki Tanaka graduated from university and graduate school and is now a lawyer.

Yokoyama Schiff Yokoyama graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and now works at Concent, Inc. Naoko Iwanaga Naoko attended and graduated high school in Aichi Prefecture. She attended the University of Tokyo, and now works at a logistics company in Chiba Prefecture.

Yurie Takai Yurie lived in Kyoto and studied children’s psychology. She also joined the orchestra club and played the cello. After graduating, she lived in Nagoya and has been working for a bank. She has also joined an amateur orchestra, where she performed four times last year.

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Wataru Kobayashi Wataru enrolled at Waseda University Faculty of Education.

Reina Matsumoto Reina attended junior and senior high school and university in Japan. She then joined the airline industry in 2009, where she continues to work today.

Mayu Ichise (Tajiri) Since leaving ISA, Mayu has worked at language school for English.

Ayako Ito-Bitani Ayako attended Waseda University School of Commerce and has been working at the Fujitsu Limited Financial Accounting Department since graduating, including a three year period in Seoul, South Korea.

Mika Isohata Mika attended university in Yokohama and studied English literarture. Mika now works at Korean Air. Sho Tamaki Sho entered the Science and Technology department of Keio University and is continuing in a graduate programme at the school.

Naoko Akiyama Naoko has been a designer, photographer and editor.

Nori Takei Nori went to the UK for his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He has been working in Japan for the last 15 years.

Kiyoe Shimizu Kiyoe went to university in Japan and after graduation, served as a cabin crew member for 10 years for Japan Airlines. She now is a housewife and mother of one.

Yoko Goto Inohara Yoko returned to Japan for university and worked in the airline business for 7 years.

After leaving that industry, she worked in advertising and promotions for three years, and is now self employed. She is a mother of a year and half old son and baby number two joined the family in December.

Ayano Kuwahara After ISA, Ayano attended the University of Japan.

Morioka Miyazaki Morioka works as a Japanese teacher for students from abroad.

Sayaka Watanabe Sayaka returned to Japan, then moved to the United States. She returned to Japan after graduating high school, and is now a senior at the University of Tokyo.

Karin Tsurita Karin is now in junior high school and is a member of the junior orchestra in Tokyo as a cello player. She plans to play at the Prague Music Festival this year.

Maiya Eiko Alumni parent Maiya moved to the UK with her family and later returned to Japan. Her son and daughter work for Japanese companies.

Taishi Kimura Taishi is studying at Sophia University.

Naho Maiya Naho attended Ohio Unverity, and taught in Ohio after graduation. She moved back to Amsterdam, worked as a learning centre tutor at ISA and then moved to New York to obtain a master’s degree.

She taught for 7 years before

returning to Tokyo, where she is teaching at an international school.

Mariko Nishizawa After graduating in Paris, Mariko moved back to Japan with her family and entered Keio University where she graduated in 2008. After graduation, she started working at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, and has worked there since. She married in 2012 and became a mother in 2013.

Yuta Yajima Yuta earned a bachelor’s degree at the department of Economics at Keio University, Tokyo and later continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, majoring in fashion design. Upon returning to Japan in 2012, he launched his own fashion label.

Kaori Ishii Kaori attended Keio Universty and after graduating in 2002, began working in an advertising agency.

Yusuke Yoshida Yusuke obtained a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering at Tokyo institute of Technology in 2010 and has since started working at Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. Eriko Ide Alumni parent Eriko moved to Singapore for three years, returning home to Japan three and a half years ago. Her son is currently at Keio University and her daughter is enrolled in Metropolitan International School Ami Kobayashi Ami has entered Waseda University in Japan and has been studying liberal arts.

Ayumi Hiraki Ayumi graduated high school and university in Japan and is now working for a foreign IT company.

Atsushi Hishikawa Atsushi studied at Tsukuba University and after graduation began working at Bridgestone Corporation.

Soga Kayoko Soga moved to Japan, graduated from Keio University and worked at L’oreal. She now works for Van Cleef and Arpels.

Yuka Masuko Yuka went back to Japan, and gained a B.A. in Psychology at Hosei University in Tokyo. She worked at a trading company as a sales assistant and secretary and has also worked at art galleries in London and Tokyo.

Akioka Eisaku Akioka is studying Sociology.

Tsurumi (Yoshida) Sachiko Tsurumi returned to Japan where she graduated university and works in property and casualty insurance.

Yoko Yoshida Alumni parent Yoko and her family moved to New York, where she helped at her daughter’s school as a class mother. Her daughter, Akari attends Boston University and Yoko is a caregiver for her mother-in-law.

Shuko Murakami After two years of vocational study, Shuko joined a bank.

He left the company a few years ago and is married.

Yohei Takeshita Yohei spent high school in Shanghai and university in New York. He now works in Japan.

Wakana Mitsuhashi Alumni parent guardian Wakana and her family have moved back to Japan and Yoko has started university.

Rumiko Simpkins Rumiko worked for a trading company. Is married and a mother of three.

Invest in yourself and your future‌ The International School of Amsterdam’s Centre for Development, Learning and Technology offers first-class training and professional development opportunities for teachers, administrators, technology directors and other members of the educational community who want to learn the latest developments and methodologies from leading educational experts.

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