ISA Connections Issue 09

Connections The International School of Amsterdam Magazine

Our Mission To educate for international understanding Our Vision To create a community of lifelong learners who value inquiry, critical and creative thinking, take informed risks, and act with integrity and compassion.

Contents

Connections The International School of Amsterdam Magazine

Board of Trustees

Spring/Summer 2018

Meet the newest member of the ISA Board of Trustees.

Editor-in-chief Erika Harriford-McLaren Co-editors

Top Education Employer in the Netherlands

Shelly Harrison

ISA is proud to announce that it has once again won

Megan Smith

the Top Employer in Education Award.

Contributors Matt Jasinski

4 5

Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Design and layout

ISA Alum Daniël Nelson’s love of photography

Wouter F. Goedkoop

has led him to receiveing one of the world’s most prestigious and coveted photography prizes - The

ISA Photographer

Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award from

Kerry Reinking

the Natural History Musuem in London.

12

www.kerryreinking.nl Publisher

Pulitzer Prize Winner, Colson Whitehead, visits ISA

ISA in collaboration with

Colson Whitehead, author of the Pulizter Prize

XPat Media, The Hague,

winning novel, The Underground Railroad, took

the Netherlands

time from his touring schedule to discuss writing,

Printer

politics and his views on the world with ISA grade

Damen Drukkers

12 Theory of Knowledge students

20

Werkendam the Netherlands

Georgia On My Mind

ISA alumni, families,

After travelling to visit his home country of Georgia,

faculty and friends receive

Grade 8 student Georgi Vanko returned to ISA

Connections. We wel-

with a pledge to help impoversished residents of

come your comments and

a local charity. Within months, he started his own

encourage you to submit

fundrasing group and began making a lasting

ideas and articles for

impact on the residents and the ISA community

consideration.

who joined to help him support his cause.

Letters and inquiries may be addressed to:

The Voice Goes Green

Connections

ISA’s student-run newspaper is making the jump

Sportlaan 45

from print to digital in an effort to further support

1185TB Amstelveen

the Green Team and school’s commitment to

+31 20 347 1111

sustainability.

26

34

communications@isa.nl www.isa.nl

Alumni Updates, Reunions and Class Notes

Cover

ISA Alumni gathered in New York and London for

“The Good Life’

our latest reunion events.

37

Photo by Daniël Nelson ‘17

1

Theater in Amstelveen—a professional theatre and a most comfortable and convenient venue. With a capacity for more than 600 guests, finally, there were enough seats for all who wanted to attend!

Congratulations to our graduates and to the faculty and staff who have supported them during their years with us.

The ceremony was made even more memorable by the fact that the ISA Athletics Award, given annually to a male and female athlete, was renamed the Simon Schilp Athletics Award in memory of veteran PE teacher and coach Simon Schilp who was taken from us so tragically just a year ago. It is a fitting tribute to a great educator and friend.

Congratulations to the first two recipients, Noa Pijl and Wade Cyr. This past academic year saw several key changes in our leadership team. Sarah Grace, Head of our Lower School for the past ten years, was appointed Associate Director for Teaching and Learning.

Susan Loban, Assistant Head of Lower School, was

From the Director Welcome to the year-end issue of ISA’s Connections magazine. It only seems partly real that the 2017-2018 school year is headed into its final weeks.

Where did it go? Well, one answer to that question can be found in the articles within this issue which highlight some of the many, many events that made the past year such a joyful one.

Just a few days ago I was honored to celebrate commencement with the Class of 2018. The group—91 strong—was the largest graduating class in ISA’s history. They were also the very first to hold commencement off campus since the school moved to our Sportlaan address in 1996. Starting this year, commencement will be held at the Schouwburg 2

appointed Head of Lower School and Mark Mayer joined us as the new Lower School Assistant Head.

Matthew Sipple came to us from Latvia to serve as the new Head of Upper School. Together, they have strengthened an already very talented team of administrators.

Among the most pressing of tasks the leadership team faced this past year was the completion of materials in support of a preparatory visit for accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the Council of International Schools.

The amount of information and detail requested in a process like this is enormous—and incredibly time consuming. No matter how valuable the process is to the school in the long run, when you are knee deep in preparations for a visit you are reminded of just how few hours there can be in a day!

A team of six evaluators spent three days on campus with us observing classes, meeting with small groups of teachers, parents, administrators, and students while checking the school against a set of rigorous international standards. The feedback from the visiting team was helpful as well as quite satisfying to hear.

Commendations from the visiting evaluators included: • Culture of Thinking is strong and cuts across all of the core principles.

• They praised ISA’s 22-year relationship with Harvard’s Project Zero.

• Never had they visited a school where students, parents, faculty and staff were so uniform in their shared understanding of the core beliefs.

• The deep commitment to developing the people who work at ISA has created a great foundational culture which needs to be preserved, particularly as the school transitions to a new director.

• The foundation our teachers have as learners themselves empowers them to inspire the same passion for inquiry within their students.

• “It was truly a pleasure to spend time in this school. One word summarizes what we saw—

are all truly fortunate to be part of this international school community.

I would like to close by thanking the Board of Trustees for their support of an array of initiatives this past year, including the new physical education facility that opened earlier this year—and a much-needed extension of the Grade 8 wing, scheduled for completion this coming October. Neither of these projects will add to the school’s overall capacity for enrollment, but both will add significant opportunities to the nearly 1,400 students at ISA today and well into the future.

It has been a tremendous year for the International School of Amsterdam. I thank all of our community for their many contributions and for their support.

I look forward to being with you again next school

astounding.”

year.

In my decades as an educator I have been involved

With best wishes for a happy summer holiday,

in more accreditation visits than I wish to count, but never before have I heard a visiting team describe a school as ‘astounding.’ Seeing what the faculty, staff, parents and, above all else, our students do each and every day at this school, I will have to say that I fully agree with the visitors’ choice of words!

While there are always challenges to address, we

Edward E. Greene, Ph.D. Director 3

ISA Board Welcomes New Trustee Perry Buenen - Appointed Trustee

to the Netherlands, and joined Pitney Bowes to

Perry Buenen joined the ISA Board of Trustees in

further align their operations across EMEA. Since

2018 as an appointed trustee. He holds a Bachelor degree in human resources, as well as an MBA from Henley Business School in the United Kingdom. Perry has broad management experience in human resources, procurement, manufacturing and supply chain. He started his career at Xerox as a HR manager, and finished as the vice president for Manufacturing & Supply Chain EMEA. Having lived in the United Kingdom for 2 years, he returned

2007, he has worked for Canon, as the senior vice president Business operations EMEA. A consistent theme

during

his

career

has

been

‘change

management’, and leading complex, international organizations. He has extensive experience in organizational transformation – consolidating, outsourcing, reorganizing – and most recently acquisition and integration. Perry is married, and has 2 sons and a daughter.

The David C. Masters Boardroom

On April 9, 2018 the ISA Board of Trustees, Director Edward E. Greene and Emeritus Board member, Leo van Os, dedicated the Trustee’s boardroom to former Trustee, David C. Masters, who sadly passed away in the Spring of 2017.

David’s wife, Rosalind, and two of his four children, were in attendance as Director Greene unveiled the plaque that commemorated the newly dedicated room.

David served on the ISA Board for more than 20 years and was deeply dedicated to advancing the mission and vision of the school. His financial prowess enabled the school to maintain steady growth while enriching its facilities and services for hundreds of expat families and faculty and staff over the decades. It is with the greatest respect that the school

commemorates

dedication.

4

his

memory

with

this

ISA Wins Top Employer Award Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.

Working in the field of education often means following a passion – for learning, for teaching and for building a stronger future. For over 53 years, ISA has attracted leading educators from around the globe, creating a legacy of academic excellence which extends the teachings from within the classroom to the broader world - creating a lifelong love of

of excellence from faculty and staff during what has been a period of unprecedented growth and expansion for the school.

The results, announced in the Winter of 2017, once again showed consistently high numbers across the survey categories and highlighted a soar in overall survey scores, far exceeding the winning 2014 results.

learning for every member of the ISA community.

ISA also placed in the top 10 for businesses

In order to meet the needs of a school community,

Resources team – Harmen Veling, Michelle Pescott

an investment must be made into supporting faculty and staff and encouraging their professional growth. As a school, ISA is committed to cultivating

with under 1000 employees. The ISA Human and Trudi Williams – represented the school at the awards ceremony and accepted the award on behalf of the school.

a positive and empowering work environment. To ensure that this is happening, the school has partnered with Effectory, a leading personnel research company, to measure, and improve, employee satisfaction.

In 2014, the Effectory survey results placed ISA as the Top Employer in Education in the Netherlands.

With the launch of the Spring 2017 survey, the school’s administration and Board of Trustees were hopeful that the scores would show a sustained view 5

Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage 6

“Schools stand to gain from an array of learning profiles” says Geoff Richman

because we are all born different and raised differently. Our ways of thinking result from both our inherent ‘machinery’ and the experiences that have ‘programmed’ us.’

At international schools, not only are there more children with different learning profiles, but there are many students coming with cornucopias of experience from so many cultures, making for classrooms replete with those born and raised distinctively. To clarify language, the authors refer to a specific defi-

In 2016, the research arm of International Schools Consultancy (ISCR), led by director Richard Gaskell, surveyed nearly 600 international, independent schools with respect to whether and how they include students with learning differences. More than a third of the schools were in Asia, while Europe and the United States were represented by nearly a quarter each. With respect to admission policy, 32% of schools considered themselves selective, many highly so. But half of the schools described themselves as non-selective, willing to accept students with mild learning differences only (13%), mild and moderate (28%), or mild, moderate and intensive

nition of neurodiversity: ‘‘Neurodiversity is the idea that neurological differences like autism and ADHD are the result of normal, natural variation in the human genome’, John Elder Robison, a scholar in residence and a co-chair of the Neurodiversity Working Group at The College of William & Mary, writes in a blog on Psychology Today’s website.’’

Robison, who himself has Asperger’s syndrome, continued by proferring a philosophy that fits tonguein-groove with appropriate classroom support for

(9%) needs.

the neurodiverse:

The trend toward more open acceptance policies

‘‘Indeed, many individuals who embrace the concept

over the past two decades has led schools to grow more diverse with regard to levels of classroom skills, volumes of background knowledge, and abilities to thrive with a high volume of coursework in fast-paced environments. While recognizing this changing population, we teachers are still developing our understanding of how best to engage a broader

of neurodiversity believe that people with differences do not need to be cured; they need help and accommodations instead’. We couldn’t agree more.’

According to the authors, some of the advantages of neurodiverse talent at work are the unique perspectives of such individuals, which contribute to a valua-

range of students in our classrooms.

ble 21st century asset – innovation:

It was in the spirit of recognizing the contributions

‘Most managers are familiar with the advantages

of students with unique learning profiles, accepting their differences and playing to their strengths, that I read an article titled “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage” by Robert D. Austin and Gary P. Pisano in the May-June 2017 Harvard Business Review.

Naturally, the authors write about advantages of employees rather than students, but as I continued to read I was pleasantly surprised to find their reasoning appeared to fit both work and school environments: ‘Everyone is to some extent differently abled (an expression favored by many neurodiverse people),

organizations can gain from diversity in the backgrounds, disciplinary training, gender, culture and other individual qualities of employees. Benefits from neurodiversity are similar but more direct.

Because neurodiverse people are wired differently from ‘neurotypical’ people, they may bring new perspectives to a company’s efforts to create or recognize value.’

‘In fact, in recent decades the ability to compete on the basis of innovation has become more crucial for many companies. Innovation calls on firms to 7

add variety to the mix – to include people and ideas from ‘the edges’, as SAP (a company featured in the article) put it in the press release announcing its (dedicated hiring) program. Having people who see things differently and who maybe don’t fit in seamlessly ‘helps offset our tendency, as a big company, to all look in the same direction’, senior vice president

sensitivity to individual needs. SAP’s program ‘forces you to get to know the person better, so you know how to manage them’, says Bessa. ‘It’s made me a better manager, without a doubt.’’

Finally, it is not solely the individuals who gain from such neurodiversity. As the authors point out, busi-

of digital business services Silvio Bessa says.’

nesses gain in prestige by welcoming a wider range

In our classrooms, those unique perspectives—see-

hiring of neurodiverse talent) have been recognized

ing things differently—can contribute to the learning not only of those individuals but also of their peers; we can never know what is going to spark meaning for our students, especially as we have a greater number of students in that range of what SAP would call “edges”.

of abilities: “The companies that pioneered (the by the United Nations as exemplars of responsible management and have won global corporate citizenship awards.” Our schools, too, stand to gain from including an array of learning profiles. Demonstrating dexterity in successfully teaching students with different abilities and experiences is valued by families and children. Perhaps that will not get us recognized by the UN, but it will be appreciated— and rewarded—by our communities.

Demonstrating dexterity in successfully teaching students with different abilities and experiences is valued by families and children.

Nudging a big company to consider alternative ways forward equates to a school division, a department, or perhaps just a single teacher incorporating a greater variety of learning strategies or presenting concepts through multiple modalities. In recognizing and accepting diverse thinkers in an office or classroom, managers and teachers gain valuable skill in tapping into the strengths of all employees and students. Indeed, it is our capacity as teachers to “put more tools in our toolbox” that gives all of our students the best shot at achieving to their utmost: ‘Perhaps the most surprising benefit is that managers have begun thinking more deeply about leveraging the talents of all employees through greater 8

This article was originally published in International Schools Magazine (Spring|Autumn 2018)

References Austin, R and Pisano, G (2017) Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage, Harvard Business Review, May-June DeGaskell, R (2016) Inclusion in International Schools and Those Offering International Curricula, International Schools Consultancy Research & Next Frontier Inclusion

Geoff Richman is Head of Upper School Learning Support at ISA.

Of Sound Mind & Body Be Active, Be Healthy, Be Happy One of the great strengths of an IB education is the recognition of how a holistic approach to learning allows students to discover new ways of finding personal balance and making informed and healthy choices in life.

Physical and Health Education (PHE) aims to do just that, and in the ISA PHE programme, the motto—be active, be healthy, be happy—drives this message home.

To ensure that ISA students are able to embrace the aspects of the learner profile such as risk taking and balance into their PHE regime, the school recently expanded the Upper School PHE facilities to include a climbing wall, dance and yoga area, a weight room a new cafeteria dining space and a dedicated classroom for learning.

The new space, which serves almost 700 Upper School students, was opened in February, allowing the growing numbers of ISA students to take on new challenges and experiences while expanding their knowledge of new ways to bring about healthy living.

9

The CDLT

The ISA Centre for Development, Learning and Technology has continued to bring together educators and administrative staff from around the globe for training and development from the industry’s top

latest in maker spaces, engineering, and tinkering for schools.

thought leadership.

In December, the CDLT welcomed back and hosted

In 2017-2018, more than 540 participants attended

Deep Dive Child Protection workshops to continue

CDLT events covering a variety of topics to benefit school communities such as Mindfulness for Teaching and Learning, WIDA Standards and Assessments for EAL, Mathematical Task Design, Music Job-Alike and a high-level meeting hosted by the Anne Frank Foundation for the launch of their Stories that Move anti-discrimination curriculum.

Additionally, the Centre hosted several events featuring presenters from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The “Pedagogy of Play”, led by Ben Mardell and Mara Krechevsky in collaboration with teachers from the International School of Billund, explored the importance of the role of play in a child’s learning process, while Dr. Ron Ritchhart, Principal Investigator for the Cultures of Thinking Project and Senior Research Associate at Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero, hosted two workshops— Cultures of Thinking and Leading a Culture of Thinking to further the reach and teachings of Project

the Council of International School’s Foundation and training schools on the latest developments in child protection. While In February, the 3rd European Conference on iPads in the classroom returned and continued to be a huge draw for educational technology leaders, bringing in 75 attendees for three days of hands-on presentations of the best in “Ed Tech”.

To reach those working outside the classroom, the Centre partnered with ECIS and AISAP to host a conference for international school admissions with over 115 admissions and advancement professionals from across the world attending.

Extending on this, the Strategic Marketing and Communications event was held to discuss the latest in school marketing to best serve families, students and communities, and attracted communications professionals from sinternational schools in 13 countries including the UK, Netherlands,Germany, Tanzania, Russia, Israel, Zimbabwe and Monaco.

Zero’s innovative visible thinking pedagogy.

The 2018 - 2019 calendar of events is already set to

Additionally, Edward P. Clapp and Andrea Sachdeva,

information on upcoming events, please visit the

from the Agency by Design research project at Harvard held a two-day interactive workshop session 10

on maker-centred learning initiatives covering the

continue the rich offerings from this year. For more CDLT website at cdlt.isa.nl.

Upcoming Events for 2018-2019

Attention Autism Programme Foundation Level

Integrating Academic Language with Content Learning

Interdisciplinary Learning Workshop

“How might we…?”

Design Thinking

September 28-29, 2018 Led by Deborah Short

October 12-13, 2018 Led by Kim Edwards

October 18-19, 2018 Led by Consilience

This two-day course equips attendees with the skills to set up and run the 4 Stage Attention Autism programme. Targeting the teaching of attention, communication and social interaction skills, the training focuses on the practical aspects of intervention, working in a team and offering an irresistible invitation to learn.

This interactive workshop will help teachers identify the features of academic language used in different content areas and will demonstrate instructional techniques that scaffold language development through video clips, modeling, and participant participation.

Interdisciplinary teaching and learning can be seen as a challenge for many teachers and schools.

This workshop is designed to develop participants’ understanding of the principles and practices that underpin MYP interdisciplinary teaching and learning.

Explore design thinking conceptually and practically as the foundation for learning experiences in a makerspace/ maker-centered learning program, but also for other curricular subjects as well. Gain knowledge hands-on activities, reviews of various design thinking models, and deep dives into classroom examples.

Conferring With Student Writers

Maker Educator Certificate

IB Art Symposium

Tech Coaching Workshop

September 24-25, 2018 Led by Gina Davies

November 8-9, 2018 Led by Carl Anderson

November 28-December 1, 2018 Led by Consilience

December 6-7, 2018 Led By Heather McReynolds

December 7-8, 2018 Led by Maggie Hos-McGrane

This two-day workshop will explore the how-tos of having effective writing conferences with students. Participants will learn new ways of thinking about writing conferences, and practical conferring strategies that they will be able to put into practice as soon as they return to their classrooms.

A four-day professional development program where educators explore learning through Making with hands-on activities, case studies, and classroom examples.

The Certificate explores the educational theory, practices, and approaches to successfully integrate learning through making in the classroom.

Join us at the International School of Amsterdam for a wonderful opportunity to come together as teachers to share best practice, discuss issues and angles on teaching art, exchange teaching ideas and practical advice on how you approach this course.

Move towards a model of technology integration coaching, where subject and grade level teachers in your school are supported to become self-directed in the ways they use technology to transform student learning.

Great Books Foundation Shared Inquiry Workshop

January 11-12, 2019 Led by Facilitators from the Great Books Foundation

Owning Up: Creating a Culture of Dignity in your Community February 1-2, 2019 Led by Rosalind Wiseman & Charlie Kuhn

When Thinking Becomes Routine: Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Unlocking the Secrets of Great Teaching

Developing Authentic Performance Tasks 2019

February 14-15, 2019

March 7-8, 2019

April 4 -5, 2019

Led by Mark Church

Led by Grace Dearborn

Led by Jay McTighe

Brains, Behaviours and PSED April 11 – 12, 2019 Led by Debbie Garvey

Dedicated to Professional Development by Teachers for Teachers 11

Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Daniël Nelson, ‘17

12

“The Good Life”

Natural History Museum 13

Republic of Congo with the hope of photographi-

When you found out that you won the award for best Young Wildlife Photographer were you surprised or did you feel confident that your submission would win?

cally documenting the critically endangered western

I was sitting at school, during global politics, when

lowland gorilla. An avid fan of photography from a

I heard that I won the initial age 15-17 category of

young age, Daniël often combined his family’s love

the competition and I jumped up out of my chair in

of exploring new lands with his passion for capturing

celebration. Although I was confident in my own

the world’s natural wildlife wonders through his lens.

photography, I hadn’t anticipated I would win it. It

Little did he know how that family trip to the Congo

is so easy nowadays to take good pictures (in fact,

would forever change his life.

everyone is now technically a photographer with their

It was during the summer of 2015 that ISA student and aspiring nature photographer Daniël Nelson visited the Odzala Kokoua National Park in the

iPhones) that I wasn’t sure if they would pick me.

After hours of trekking through the jungle Daniël and his trekking group came across a band of gorillas. As

The fact that I won the grand Young Wildlife

he waited to find the perfect moment to capture the

Photographer of the Year Award was an even bigger

gorillas on film, a young adolescent male stopped to

surprise; they had not mailed me that in advance.

rest near him. It was then that he captured a photo

I found out during the award ceremony just like

of “Caco” that would propel him onto a global stage

everyone else. The images from the other young

and cement his place as one of the best photogra-

photographers were equally as good; I am sure it

phers in the world.

was a close call.

Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year in London announced the winners of its annual and

Do you remember the first photo that you took that made you think that you could actually be a professional photographer?

highly prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Yes. Even though the first time I picked up a camera

Award, which was created in the 1960’s to “chal-

was at the age of six, I had that first ‘aha-moment’

lenge perceptions about the natural world, helping

when I was visiting Zimbabwe at the age of thirteen.

to promote sustainability and the conservation of

We came upon a rare animal sighting whilst on safari.

wildlife.” With over 50,000 entries from 92 countries

It was a caracal that had hunted a baby impala.

submitted in 2017, Daniël’s submission was chosen

I took the images and our lodge used them for their

as the winner of the youth category - one of the two

brochure and it was a verification for me that I could

top overall prizes - thereby designating him as the

use photography to showcase the natural world to

official Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

an audience. That image remained on the lodge’s

In October of 2017, the National History Museum

brochure for three whole years.

After graduating from ISA in May 2017, Daniël decided to take a once-in-a-lifetime gap-year expedition—travelling (via local transport) through 22 countries in Africa. He took a brief pause from his expedition to go to London for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards ceremony where it was announced that he was a top-prize winner. Once announced, he did a quick round of global press interviews before heading back to finish his trip.

While his access to the internet was been very limited, we managed to reach him while he was staying briefly in Mozambique, on his way to Zimbabwe, to get some insight into his recent honour and on his journey across the continent.

14 Daniël’s photo from Zimbabwe.

Daniël at the beginning of this trip and a few months in.

You recently graduated from ISA and began a trip that took you throughout Africa, starting in Morocco and ending South Africa. What inspired this?

How did you get the chance to do photography for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on this trip?

I have always been fascinated about the world we

WWF. I also hosted a talk about my photography in

live in and geography was my favourite subject at

their headquarters in the Netherlands once. But as it

school. But, both at school and in books, sources

turns out my trip allowed me to have a pretty good

always kept mentioning the same countries like

deal with them. My presence in the Congo was bene-

Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, the

ficial for them because opposed to hiring a freelance

Netherlands, China, etc... Meanwhile, I was always

photographer that they would have to fly in from the

more curious about the lesser-known nations in

Netherlands they could just ask me for free. I was

the world such as Guinea Bissau, or Micronesia, or

already in the area and did not mind the tough work-

Kyrgyzstan. Undoubtedly those places had inter-

ing conditions, and thus it was a win-win for the both

esting stories to tell, yet I never heard about them.

of us. It ended up being an amazing experience to

For that reason I decided that once school finished

explore the wild jungles of northern Congo and shoot

I would embark on a trip into the “omitted” regions

a reportage about poaching in the region.

of our planet – and that turned out to be West and

Before my trip, I had already done some work with

Is the trip what you expected it to be and how has it changed you?

We have an official photography club at ISA now, so what advice would you give to aspiring young photographers who may want to pursue their passion beyond just having it as a hobby?

The trip turned out quite different. I had anticipated

It is important to remember that images will always

that it would be tough and adventurous, however as

play a crucial role in communicating messages.

it turned out everything (but for a few hiccups) went

Whether it be nature, people, sports or architecture,

surprisingly well. I had underestimated the fact that

there are always people out there fascinated by the

in all places, whether it be Togo, Sierra Leone or the

thing you are trying to portray. Having said that, it

Congo, people are kind to one another and welcome

is of course important to stay creative and always

a visitor like me into their culture. Everywhere moth-

look at things from a fresh perspective. When I take a

ers cradle their babies, husbands fall in love with

picture I always ask myself “how is what I’m shooting

wives, kids go to school, parents become grandpar-

going to benefit a larger audience; how will it effect

ents, etc... – yet we somehow all forget this when

them?”. I always find that helps me a lot.

Central Africa.

we think of travelling to this continent. That was my biggest lesson and it changed my perspective on the world a lot.

15

Less Cloud.

More Sky.

Gielty skyrunning in Tromsø, Norway.

Photography by David Gonthier.

ISA Physical Health Education (PHE) teacher,

mountain races connect the runner to the place

Damian Gielty is a true believer in sport for bring-

“where earth meets sky”. From races in the Swiss

ing joy to life. While most would consider finishing a

Alps to the snowy peaks of Mount Kenya, the sport

marathon to be a lifetime physical feat, Gielty goes

became official in 1995 when Giacometti founded

several steps further by not only adding distance,

the Federation for Sport at Altitude.

but also altitude to complete the race of all races Skyrunning.

Where Earth Meets Sky

To date, there are more than “200 races worldwide with around 50,000 participants from 65 countries”, according to the International Skyrunning Federation

Skyrunning involves timed running trials up and

which exists to ensure that the sport is regulated and

down mountains with an altitude of 2,000 metres

governed properly.

or more while navigating extremely technical trails.

While many have never heard of the sport, it holds a

A Gielty Pleasure

long history dating back to the 1890’s with the first

Gielty, a former professional footballer in Scotland,

Ben Nevis race in Scotland.

has been training and running skyraces for the last several years. He is also responsible for ISA’s Duke

16

Italian mountaineer Marino Giacometti coined the

of Edinburgh programmes, through which he encour-

term “skyrunning” to emphasise that these rugged

ages the importance of lifelong physical activity.

“After having competed in competitive team sports,

Gielty’s youngest son, Leo, is following in his father’s footsteps by competing in mini sky races.

I wanted to set new goals and seek new challenges for myself,” noted Gielty. “It’s something I hope our students will continue to do when they leave NECIS (North Eastern Conference of International Schools) sports and ISA. In the end, his passion for mountains and spending time in the outdoors, coupled with the reward of a physical challenges, drew him to Skyrunning. “To be able to see more of the outdoors and play in the mountains for 9-10 hours is gruelling, but hugely

expeditions. As the Gold Award leader, he also

rewarding.”

provides on site support during the trip.

In 2017, he participated in two events in the Sky

“Chasing the students around the mountains on the

Extreme category - the 50-kilometre Tromsø race in Norway (4600 vertical climb) and the 52-kilometre

expeditions also helps me stay somewhat fit enough before a summer dedicated to seeking out moun-

Glencoe Skyline race (4750 vertical) in Scotland.

tains with my camper van and family.”

So how does he prepare for such high altitude races

“This year I have been accepted in a top 100 athlete

while living in the lowlands of Holland?

priority list to compete in a race in Italy called Trofea

In addition to leading Duke of Edinburgh expeditions,

and is the pinnacle of the sport. Its 52 kilometres and

Gielty also does practice runs of each course prior to the students hiking it, to scout and map out the trails, review the surroundings for safety and to gauge the technical challenges before the students start their

Kima”, reveals Gielty. “It takes place every two years 4200 vertical covering seven passes. Super excited for that in August this year!”

Good luck Damian!

Running the Glencoe Skyline in Scotland.

Photography by No Limits.

17

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ISA hosts it’s Book Week every year as a celebration of the power of words, encouraging students to have a love of reading and to see it as integral to their lives.

Nurturing a Love of Reading for Young Learners Lower School students celebrate in a variety of ways; from dressing up as their favourite storybook character, to creating a famous book setting within a shoebox, or even decorating a potato as their favourite lead character. This interactive learning broadens their imaginations and takes them beyond the words on the page, encouraging the youngest of ISA students to become active and curious readers.

There are also a number of dedicated reading opportunities provided in the Lower School Library. A “Mystery Reader,” an ISA staff member or parent, reads to the students each morning, piqueing their curiosity. Tents are set up for students to find a quiet space to fully immerse themselves in their book and authors of some of the students’ favourite books are invited to visit to enrich their learning experience and to give them a taste of life behind the words they read and images they see each day.

For 2018, Ali Sparkes, writer of The Shapeshifter series, visited grades 3-5 and held writing workshops to give the students insight into the life of an author. Rachel Bright, an author and illustrator, visited students from nursery until grade 2, where she gave presentations and held drawing workshops.

Enriching the Upper School Learning Experience Upper School students had the opportunity to meet National Book Award winner and famed author of the Goosebumps series, Neal Shusterman. In his session, he provided background to his writing, and context to his work, allowing students to ask questions and discuss their own interpretations of the characters in his various trilogies.

Shusterman also engaged the students in discussions on how to authentically bring one’s story to life as he did in Challenger Deep, which addressed the challenges of his son’s development of mental illness as a teenager. His sessions engaged the students on a personal level and underscored how the lessons learned through the IB learner profile can truly be life changing and impactful.

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Pulitzer Prize Winner Colson Whitehead Visits TOK Classes In the International Baccalaureate’s Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Course, the ideas of “knowing and knowledge” are explored without the confines of any sort of initial definition, but in such a way that the discussions surrounding it “open up questions that will remain in play for the rest of the course. The

cal facts regarding the operation of the infamous underground railroad, which helped lead thousands of slaves to freedom, with more recent practices of eugenics and forced sterilisations on African Americans from the Tuskegee syphilis experiments. It is a difficult and challenging read and thus provided the

course does not declare. It invites.”

perfect opportunity for discussion with Whitehead to

Understanding the value of the notion of “invita-

subjugation, and how his book, albeit sometimes in-

get his take on the enduring relevance of ethics and

tion” versus “declaration” is central to any ISA TOK course, and enables both the students and the teachers of the course to become simultaneous learners and co-creaters of new truths and realities.

From

class

economics

discussions and

over

literature—both

politics,

socio-

classical

and

modern—TOK at ISA aims to bring truth to the forefront of life-long learning for each person.

advertently, links the two across the passage of time.

ISA: When you made the decision to write this book were there personal motivations, maybe from your family or personal history, that sparked this as something you wanted to do?

CW: Not from my family. I mean I think in terms of my artistic evolution I put it off and after avoiding it for

In December, ISA had the opportunity to take that learning one step further, when world-renowned author, Colson Whitehead, met and engaged with TOK students to discuss his Pulitzer-Prize winning novel,

didn’t want to write this book. I’m still not sure why I was avoiding it. I think just in terms of a technical way it was very ambitious and I didn’t feel I could pull

The Underground Railroad.

it off when I was younger. I was thirty when I had the

The Underground Railroad

the way it deserved to be treated. Coming to the

The novel, which tells the story of Cora, a young runaway slave and her harrowing experiences while racing to find freedom, leaves readers without shelter or defence from the truths and legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and, particularly, slavery in America. It bridges both the historical and contemporary impacts of slavery, while allowing readers to experience the human and personal effects of institutional

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14 years it was time to confront the problem where I

idea and it just seems I wasn’t ready to treat slavery material as an older person in my 40’s, and as a parent, I was able to appreciate more the true devastation of slavery.

ISA: Was your book influenced by the current global political environment?

CW: The book was held very separate from the con-

racism.

temporary scene. I think if you are worrying about

While a fictional novel, the story mixes histori-

book does talk about American history in a way that

race in 1850, you are worrying about race now. The

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presents certain contemporary facts with clarity.

Midway, the slave catcher in the book, is a philosopher of white supremacy, manifest destiny and imperial energies and so the book in some ways represents the persistence of white supremacy and the history of slavery and American and capitalism. I think it does sort of deal with a lot elements of American

and writers here at ISA and beyond?

CW: I think that when I was younger and started to write I realised that something that could help me get by was that no matter what you were writing about, slavery or family - someone more smarter than you

history that we don’t always think about.

has probably done it before. Whether its Dostoevsky

ISA: Was there a specific reason why you chose The

that you have, or trust that you have, your own

Underground Railroad as a theme for this book?

CW: When I was a kid, I envisioned the underground railroad as a real train that ran underneath the earth, and then my teacher explained to me how it really worked. Then about 18 years ago, I came across a reference for the railroad and thought wouldn’t it be weird just to make that crazy idea into a literal train.

So take this childish childhood ideal and make it real.

I added that each state that Cora went through was a different state of possibilities - like Gulliver’s Travels.

It goes back to the Odyssey - a person going through a series of allegorical trials on the way to home and

or Toni Morrison. All you can do as a writer is hope humanity and distinctiveness that you are bringing to the story. So don’t worry about what other people are doing. Try to find and realise your own vision. So I take inspiration from a lot of different people and then at a certain point I have to realise what message I’m taking from them and then go on my own path.

ISA: What did you want your audience to get out of this book - to take away from it?

CW: I didn’t really write this to educate people. It’s my eighth book and the audience comes and goes.

I’ve gained readers by writing realistic books about

on the way to freedom.

growing up in New York and lost and gained different

ISA: Some schools have been hesitant to use your book in

no didactic message in the book. I’m writing to fulfil

the classroom, but do you think this book can bring an understanding of slavery to students at a high school age and do you think it can make a difference?

CW: I think that there are certain texts, and I don’t necessarily want to compare my book to them, but Roots and Beloved were eye opening when they came out, and presented American history and slavery in a different sort of way, because we aren’t well educated in how slavery developed and what it meant to people’s families and psychologies. These books sort of, in the place of what is actually being taught in school, they teach people about slavery.

And definitely because my book jumps around and mentions forced sterilisation and the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment, [sic] definitely high school students haven’t heard about that. I mean I learned about it in college and so the book is a jumping off point for a lot of different kind of conversations you can have. That’s not why I wrote it, but I do realise that it is sort of read widely and starts off a lot of different conversations so I’ve been glad that teachers have adopted it.

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ISA: What advice do you have for young and aspiring artists

readers by writing about zombies. There’s definitely an artistic imperative for myself. Sometimes people come along for the ride and sometimes they don’t.

In this book I did however ask myself, “How can I move things around and make a new order of history to spark a sense of recognition in the reader?”

A new sort of way thinking about history. I’ve been delighted in the books reception but I was not thinking about how other countries would interpret it. But in Poland and France they’ve seen a connection between the French resistance and the Polish resistance against the Nazis’ and the underground railroad workers. They hid fugitives at great personal risk to get them to safety and so even though it’s America’s story, that relationship between the dominators and the dominated, the colonisers and the colonised of course has played out many many times in human history. It’s not just America, it’s every where, every culture. The book has had a much bigger life than I was thinking when I was writing it. Unfortunately, the people who get the lessons out of this book, are not the ones who are going to read it.

All School Food Drive For most of us, the Winter season is a time for turning up the heat in our homes, eating warm meals and spending time with family. For some, however, it is a time of cold, hunger and loneliness. Even here in the Netherlands. That’s why, each year, the ISA Student Council hosts an annual food drive to contribute to the Missionaries of Charity Soup Kitchen in Amsterdam.

While its never difficult to get the ISA community to donate, this year the food drive organisers invited various departments of ISA staff to participate in a team challenge, to see which team could bring in the in the most food. The response was amazing and the winning team, the Upper School French and Dutch departments, brought in a total of 118 boxes of food and canned goods to add to the donation pool.

In the end, the food drive donations filled almost half of the school’s main foyer, resulting in over 120 moving boxes of food being donated to the

Key 2016 Figures from Voedselbank.org 1,2 million people in the Netherlands live below the poverty line 135.000 people receive help from the Food Bank (voedselbank) 38% are younger than 18 years of age 53% are between 30 and 50 years of age

Missionaries of Charity Soup Kitchen.

52% are female and 48% are male

There was such an increase in donations this year,

30.500 households

that the school actually ran out of boxes at one point, having underestimated just how responsive the students, parents, faculty and staff can be when it comes to helping others. A huge thank you to everyone who donated!

40% are single and 24% are families 30% are single parent families 1 in 8 kids in the Netherlands goes to school hungry 23

To Infinity.... and Beyond If you were to ask a young child today to name an

For many, meeting Smith was awe-inspiring, bringing

astronaut, it’s quite possible that the name “Buzz

them in contact for the first time with a real-life space

Lightyear” may be the response. And while Pixar’s

explorer. It was a moment he would never forget.

Lightyear may be the modern hero equivalent of Buzz Aldren or Neil Armstrong, the students at ISA

From his challenges in joining the programme (he

had the opportunity this Fall to meet their own “ISA”

was rejected multiple times) to his training and daily

astronaut to admire and aspire to be.

routine in the space shuttle, Smith guided students and parents through the realities of being a rocketeer.

In the history of the United States National Aeronaut-

He answered questions and encouraged students to

ics and Space Administration (NASA), there have

follow their biggest and wildest dreams.

only been 339 astronauts in it’s amost 60-year existence. Steve Smith, former NASA astronaut and ISA

Most importantly, Smith highlighted, through pho-

alumni parent, is one of the few who made the cut.

tographs taken in space, the degradation of the planet’s resources and called on students to be

While a parent at ISA (his two children graduated

sustainable change makers and planetary heroes of

from the school), Smith was active in sharing his

their own making.

experiences in space with ISA students of all ages.

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Even though his children no longer attend the school,

Smith is currently the Director of The Center for

Smith still takes the time to return to Holland to en-

Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which

gage with students and show them what exists in the

manages the International Space Station National

far beyond.

Lab and travels the world as a motivational speaker.

Maths is hard... or is it?

Maarten Dolk, a researcher and developer at Utrecht University’s Freudenthal Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, made a return visit to ISA to once again help demystify mathematics for Lower School students and their parents. to better understand the thinking behind the different Dolk creates teaching materials for teachers and pro-

methodologies employed by their children’s teachers

vides on-site parent information sessions to increase

to solve problems and conduct investigations, but

understanding of how important it is to gain knowl-

he also helped parents to take on a new approach

edge of current maths strategies - many of which

to maths through an interactive session where they

parents around the world find difficult to grasp.

solved conceptual math problems on their own using

New Math?

same skills as their children.

Today’s parents often express frustration at “new”

In addition to working with parents, Dolk also worked

mathematical strategies and their inability to use

with Lower School classes and met with members of

the problem-solving skills they learned in the past to

the ISA leadership team to help them prepare for the

be able to help their child with homework. In Dolk’s

math curriculum review beginning in the 2018-2019

session in February, he not only helped ISA parents

year.

New Play Space ISA Lower School students were given a project to help administrators design a new playground for the campus. With ideas pouring in for ziplines, soccer pitches, slides and climbing walls, many of the suggestions were taken into consideration and were integrated into the final construction plans, allowing students to be co-creators and designers of their own future and ISA’s newest play space.

After months of anticipation, on a bright and sunny November day, the students gathered to watch Dr. Greene perform the ribbon cutting to inaugurate the new play facilities and to finally play on the playground of their dreams.

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Georgia On My Mind Each day the faculty and staff at ISA strive to ensure that the mission of the school—to educate for international understanding—is ingrained in everything that the school does. And while the nature of the school being international, often means the first two words of the mission stand out, it’s the third word— understanding—that drives the students to become the positive change the world needs.

Grade 8 student Giorgi Vancko exemplifies this with a project that he set up—Help the Republic of Georgia fundraising group— after visiting a home for the handicapped,the House of Virtues, in his home country of Georgia while on summer holiday with his family.

By February, the residents had their own water

The House of Virtues houses twenty-five physically

machine. Giorgi and his family travelled to Georgia

and mentally-handicapped residents, who have been over time living in a state of poverty. With no access to running water, a roof that leaked whenever it rained, and broken washing machines, Giorgi saw that the home was in dire need of support and

for an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

It is an incredible achievement for Giorgi to have spearheaded such important humanitarian work at such a young age and he has no plans to stop

wanted to help.

his good work now; he has pledged to continue to

Moved by the stories he heard from the staff and

residents of the House of Virtues. Next, Giorgi plans

residents of the home, Giorgi returned to the Netherlands, and ISA, to raise funds to improve the living conditions and well-being of the residents. The Mission of the Help the Republic of Georgia Project is to:“help those in need in the Republic of Georgia.

We focus on supporting the physically and mentally

support the country of his mother’s birth and the to raise money to replace the damaged roof of the home. The ambitious project aims to raise 11,000 Euros for the new roof.

Giorgi and his classmates will be organising fundraising activities throughout next school year and

handicapped and children.”

students involved in the group have had the

With the blessing and support of his family and his

the House of Virtues to see for themselves the

fellow classmates, Giorgi held presentations to the ISA community explaining why his proposals to improve the home were necessary. After raising funds, work on the home began in October 2017.

Running water was to be provided by a 107m well.

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supply. They were also presented with a new washing

opportunity to take part in a trip to Georgia to visit impact of their efforts on the residents.

If you wish to support Giorgi’s initiative and the important work of the Help the Republic of Georgia, you can visit the project’s Facebook page.

#MyFreedomDay There are approximately 40.3 million people in

CNN #MyFreedomDay

modern slavery around the world, according to the

In addition to the field trip and class discussions,

non-governmental organisation, Anti-Slavery. This

the Global Politics and Individuals and Societies

astounding number includes “10 million children,

students created videos for social media and

24.9 million people in forced labour, 15.4 million

petitions to share with the ISA community to

people in forced marriage and 4.8 million people in

discuss their learnings and encourage action.

forced sexual exploitation.”

The petitions and videos were launched to coincide Since 2011, news giant CNN has been highlighting

with the global #MyFreedomDay event from CNN on

the plight of victims of modern-day slavery in the

14 March, which highlighted anti-slavery awareness

CNN Freedom Project, a global campaign aiming to

actions from around the world, through video, social

raise awareness of, and to eradicate, all forms of the

media, news stories and a running blog.

slave trade.

The students were encouraged by the fact that Over the course of the school year, ISA grade 11

ISA was one of 45 schools from across the world

and 12 Global Politics and grade 9 Individuals and

featured in the #MyFreedomDay blog and that their

Societies students have been studying modern-day

efforts in raising awareness worked. Next year they

slavery and how it impacts global politics, societal

hope to bring the project deeper into the community

attitudes as well as their own lives.

and get students clubs, families and the Amsterdam community involved.

Having watched videos from the CNN series, the students embarked on classroom discussions, analysing what roles governments play in keeping slave trades alive, dissecting how cultural and societal attitudes affect community responses and delving into how they themselves could be part of the solution, versus just being bystanders in the fight.

Diplomacy at work Grade 11 Global Politics students had a rare opportunity to visit the Libyan Embassy in the Hague to discuss that government’s response to a CNN documentary on human trafficking and detentions within Libyan borders. For the students, it was a unique chance to see how international diplomacy works first hand. While the Libyan officials were courteous and engaging, the students quickly learned how difficult it can be to get to straight answers when politics, cultural differences and language translation are at play.

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Global Village Day With 60 nationalities crossing over the threshold of ISA each day, there was no doubt that the 2018 Global Village Day Celebrations would be one’s of ISA’s most remarkable displays of cultural diversity since the school first opened its doors in 1964.

Global Village Day has been celebrated at ISA for 20 years, allowing students to share the beauty and the breadth of their own cultural heritages with their friends and classmates and contributing to ISA’s raison d’être

and

mission “to educate for

international understanding”.

Like the years before, Global Village Day 2018 featured speeches from students leadership, dance and music performances from various countries and the beloved parade of nations - with students from both Upper and Lower School walking in “Olympic” style opening ceremony parade to represent their country.

One of the key strengths of ISA is that is not only encourages students to learn about other cultures, but also recognises the value of teaching children to gain a deeper knowledge of their own traditions, so that they can become ambassadors of understanding through true self awareness.

Global Village Day allows each child to celebrate themselves and to be proud of who they are, while learning that while we all are different, we are also the same in so many ways.

Photos by Kerry Reinking

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ISA Athletics

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The Voice Goes Green The Voice, ISA’s Upper School student publication, is published multiple times a year with student

journalists meeting each week to plan and develop the publication, guided by their Editor-in-Chief, Senior Editor and Advisor. There is no journalism class which supports the project; it is written by

paper copies are printed and students are asked to

students, for students.

give a copy back when they are done reading it. For

The aptly-named publication gives voice to the

paperless publication, with all content published

opinions of the student population and is a platform where important issues can be raised and a productive discussion can take place. Students write about a range of topics relating to the IB curriculum as well as news and events that have happened at ISA. They pen thoughtful opinion-pieces on several current issues, such as the dangers of superfood fads and

the future, the Voice envisions itself to be an entirely digitally on a dedicated website.

Matt Jasinski, the current advisor to the Voice student journalists, said: “Going green is beneficial in multiple ways. First and foremost, ISA is a committed Eco-School with a dedicated Green Team that is always looking for ways that ISA can

the political nature of modern pop music.

be more eco-friendly. Since printing the publication,

Going Green

this commitment will further push us as a school to

ISA is a committed Eco-School accredited by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). In order to reflect ISA’s green culture, the Voice pledged to become more environmentally friendly by transitioning to an entirely digital publication. Digital publishing will not only ensure that the publication is more eco-friendly, but also means more exposure for our student journalists. The first step on the journey to going green was to find a digital platform to publish the paper on. We are happy to announce that the last two issues of the publication are available for the to view online at issuu.com/isacommunications.

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To reduce the amount of paper that is wasted, fewer

unfortunately, requires a lot of paper, we believe that achieve our sustainability goals.”

“Going digital is also the future of journalism. Our Gen Z students use their computers and mobile devices to communicate with each other and to complete their school work, so it makes sense that to reach them, we should provide an easily accessible digital publication. We hope that this will not only increase the exposure of the newspaper amongst our students but also encourage our entire community to celebrate the work of our journalists.”

In a world where fact sometimes seems stranger

continued to resonate despite the passage of time.

than fiction and news is consistently prefaced with

As Upper School Drama teacher, Rebecca Pugh

“fake” or “real”, the High School production of

noted in the playbill “the universal themes of the play

Antigone this fall was a timely reminder of how

seem even more relevant [today]. It is about empow-

humankind’s historical battle with hubris can lead to

erment, familial loyalty and the continual struggle

destruction and chaos, while in turn creating lasting

against those who abuse power.”

cultural, social and political impact.

The play featured powerful performances from veterThe story follows the plight of Antigone, daughter

an student actors Anna Lee (Creon), Annabel Mckee

(and sister) of Oedipus, who defies the will of the

(Ismene, Margot Conde (Antigone) and Gonçalo Leal

new King (her Uncle Creon) by providing her brother,

(Haemon), who were supported by an equally strong

Polyneices, with a proper burial versus being left to

ensemble of over 40 students.

rot outside the city gates - invoking the King’s penalty of death for anyone who does so. Although Antigone,

Sian Lysaght, ISA Head of Department for the Arts,

and her fiancé Haemon (Creon’s son), attempt to rea-

stated it best in her review of the play.

son with Creon that her act was just and right by the Gods, the King remains steadfast in his decision,

“The archaic voice speaks of the contemporary with

and sentences her to death. What follows is tragedy

great relevance that one could believe it to be a work

in pure form as only Shakespeare can write - with

of the most critical of modern writers.”

Creon recognising too late the folly of his decision as Antigone, his son, and his wife all perish tragically as

“Antigone is packed with issues of corruption, abus-

a result of the leader’s pride and arrogance.

es of power, gender inequality, law and the moral authority of state and leaders. As the chorus reminds

While Shakespeare’s play was set in ancient Greece,

us, when the state is almighty and the leaders are

the High School’s version was modernised and set “in

unaccountable, “common decency’ is threatened.

an imagined future, where print no longer exists.” And

Listening is the virtue that essentially saves Creon

while the setting may have been different (no mobile

after his ethical bankruptcy betrays all that is just and

phones in Ancient Greece!) the themes of the play

fair. Lessons and relevancies abound!!”

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PTA

Exactly thirty-two years to the day after the 1985

The ISA community has always been supportive

Mexico City earthquake, the unthinkable happened

when it comes to raising awareness and funds for

again for residents in and around Mexico City. On

areas stricken by global disaster. From earthquakes

September 19, 2017, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake

in Nepal, Japan and Italy to hurricane stricken

shook Mexico City ultimately killing 370 people (228

Haiti and Puerto Rico, the 60 countries represented

in Mexico City) and leaving more than 6,000 injured.

at ISA have a rich history of coming together for the

Just one-day later, category 4 storm, Hurricane

common good, despite borders or nationalities.

Maria tore through Puerto Rico, as part of a trail of devastation for the island region, killing and injuring,

ISA parents and the PTA have been integral in

what we now know to be thousands.

helping ISA communities to gather aid to help loved ones and compatriots back home.

Most recently, Hispanic and American parent volunteers came together to raise over 1500 Euros with an aid-awareness campaign and fundraising bake sale.

The Hispanic community also raised funds to help those affected by the Mexico Earthquake, with a breakfast morning which was kindly supported by the Mexican embassy. Mr Jorge Delgado Sumano, a representative also attended the event thank the community members who helped to purchase over 220 tickets. An additional Upper School bake sale generated over â‚Ź540 Euro, bringing the total amount raised to â‚Ź3834.50. All funds raised will go directly to UNICEF Mexico, an organisation who specialise in relief efforts for children and families in the hardest hit regions of disaster, providing them with life-saving resources.

Additional fundraising will be done for Puerto Rico in the Fall of 2018.

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Alumni Updates Dig Deep We are Georgia (‘14) and Jim Knight (‘16), and, as brother and sister, have decided to take on Mount Kilimanjaro for the charity Dig Deep. Our belief is that clean water should be available to everyone, no matter where you live, and we want to take part in this global movement. Dig Deep’s water projects prevent the spread of lethal diseases and enables families to focus on educating their children.

We are excited to take you along with us on our journey as we begin to train, as well as taking you up and down the mountain. We aim to raise awareness for this cause by organising various events and creating a film of our hike, which corresponds to both our selected fields of study: Film and Event Management.

Therefore, any donations over £40 will receive a credit at the end of the film.

Our fundraising target is £5980, which will go towards breaking the cycle of poverty by providing clean water and training in Kenyan communities and getting us to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. Thank you in advance for any donations, we look forward to this challenge! To donate please visit our web page at https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/theknights.

Reunions London & NYC 37

In Memoriam Mike Allan, a former ISA humanities teacher specialising in economics and who served as ISA’s Humanities Department Chair, sadly passed away in January following a brief illness.

For many years, Mike was a leading voice at ISA in the school’s development of an ethos that embraced the principles of internationalism and intercultural understanding. All who knew him will tell you that he was one of the sharpest and most engaging minds to have ever passed through our school.

Having retired just a few years ago, Mike moved to Brazil with his wife, Graciete. On behalf of the ISA community we extend our warmest sympathies.

Associate Director for Teaching and Learning and former Head of Lower School, Sarah Grace, recalls “I remember her as very warm and generous. She had a great sense of humour and loved having people round for dinner. She was passionate about reading and making a library an inviting and welcoming hub of a school.”

Yvonne, who was English was married to Martin, a Swiss, and they raised two sons throughout their world travels.

After leaving ISA, Yvonne lived in Switzerland where she worked as a Librarian at the International School of Geneva, La Châtaigneraie campus and Yvonne Baumann, former ISA Lower School Librarian passed away in November after a long and brave battle against cancer.

Yvonne worked at ISA in the late 1990’s and left in 2001. She was a cherished colleague who is remembered fondly.

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later moved to China to work at Dulwich College Shanghai After Shanghai, she and Martin returned to Switzerland to retire, before she fell ill. She passed away at age 62. From all her ISA friends, colleagues and former students, we send our deepest sympathies.

Class Notes Heike Cornelius (‘06-’13) has been the Assistant to Head of Middle School at The Chapin School in New York City since January 2014.

Shelsea Doran (‘98-’13) graduated from Savanah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Atlanta Georgia, with a BFA in photography and is currently working part time in New York City for Prince Dimitri Jewelry, as well as running her own photography business.

Lisa Goodman (‘97-’08) has been teaching at the International Preschools in New York City for the past

finished an internship at the Art Loss Register, she is now working as a freelance researcher in London and launching her own platform within Looted Art and restitution.

Elsa Madrolle (‘80-’85)

graduated from St John’s

8 years.

International School in 1992, then the University of

Dae Ho Lee (‘98-’08) completed studies at Imperial

in 2001 and has been working in financial services

College and has worked in Management Consulting in London and Seoul and Venture Capital in London.

Lindsey Jackson (‘99-’03) completed a bachelor’s degree in English literature and a master’s degree in applied learning and instruction (educational psychology) and teaches child and adolescent development for educators at the University of Central Florida. Lindsey has been teaching 10th grade World Literature in American public high schools for

Maryland in 1996, and Georgetown Business School in London.

Lili Melvin (‘10-’14) graduated from King’s College London in 2017 and is now doing a Master’s in magazine journalism at New York University.

Rukmini Mukherjee (‘03-’15) is in the second year of a Design Engineering degree and is going to start an internship at Unilever this summer.

7 years.

Sarah Rosenbach (‘04-’06) graduated from the Uni-

Jayeon Koo (‘99-’06) currently works at UNICEF in New

New Orleans, worked in a psychiatry research lab at

York. Prior to joining UNICEF, Jayeon worked at UN secretariat New York and UNESCO in Paris and com-

versity of Pennsylvania, taught high school math in the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Psychology and Social

pleted a BA and MA in South Korea.

Intervention at New York University.

James LaVela (‘95-’01) studied at the University of

Jack Spalding (‘09-’12) is now working at Unilever in the

North Carolina at Chapel Hill and currently works for Uber as a Global Marketing Manager splitting time

role of Business and Technology Graduate Scheme.

between San Francisco and New York City.

Devon Tapp (‘09-’12) moved to New Jersey and is

Sarah-Mae Lieverse (‘08-’12) has graduated with a

University of Delaware where she is studying Health

MA from Sotheby’s Institute in Art Business, having

now a Division 1 athlete on the Rowing team at the Behavior Science.

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The International School of Amsterdam

Connections

To Educate for International Understanding