High School Report

Robert Blanchard, EdD

High School Principal

Jarrod Dale

High School Assistant Principal

Awall of graduation photographs can sometimes tell a moving story. Since the year 2000, ISK has proudly and permanently displayed a picture of each graduating class for all of our community to see. As individuals, seniors might tell you how much fun they had actually taking the photo, how proud they are to get to this point, how important it is to feel a sense of belonging as a class, how they really must make the most of their last few weeks at ISK, how they feel a little sad imagining next year away from home, or indeed how excited they are for a new adventure beyond ISK.

Collectively, this year we see a picture of 85 seniors gathered together in person and unmasked - no small thing given that our Class of 2020 and 2021 pictures are in a collage style necessitated by the pandemic. We couldn’t possibly be more proud of our ISK Class of 2022 - 85 students representing 32 nationalities - who are right to smile as they come together, reflect, and get ready for their commencement exercises on May 27th.

Here are a few notes about our senior Class of 2022:

2

studied at ISK for ten consecutive years or more, one of whom enrolled at ISK in prekindergarten!

1

senior joined ISK for the one year of grade 12.

64

another 24

seniors completed the full International Baccalaureate (IB) as Diploma Program candidates;

completed at least one IB course.

2

seniors were 4-year recipients of our prestigious High School scholarship.

1

senior earned the AISA Award for Excellence in Africa.

34

seniors earned a place on the first-semester honor roll (17 high and 17 regular).

9

were members of the National Honor Society.

University Acceptances

The Class of 2022 university acceptances features an impressive list of universities - including Stanford and Yale - with 85 graduates earning 322 university acceptance offers and $5,298,338.00 in scholarship funding for tertiary education. 79% of the Class of 2022 report that they earned a place in one of their top choice universities.

Student Voice and Ethical Leadership

Led by a senior president and vice-president, our ASB continues to play a key role in the area of student voice and promoting ISK values. Comprising ten elected positions, the ASB led assemblies and community events such as a town hall. More and more student groups raise their voice and take action for positive change, for example, our new GSIA student group and Students for the Environment. The monthly Pride featured articles as a vehicle for student voice, with content generated by groups such as Project Imagine, Photography Club, and Embrace the Amazing. Overall, HS student enrollment was 360 in August, eventually growing to 366 students in high school by semester two. The ASB did a great job building community and helping all students feel included.

In 2022, ISK received recognition with two very special international awards for studentled efforts to truly make the world a better place. ISK and Plastiki Rafiki won the 2022 International School Awards Community Building Award. The Plastiki Rafiki group gained international recognition by taking action and empowering communities to promote and monetize grassroots plastic recycling in a self-sustaining manner. ISK’s Carbon Neutral Alliance won first place - including $5000 for the project - for AISA’s Outstanding Service Project Award. This innovative Alliance model involving collaboration among numerous student groups at ISK - including Students for the Environment, Construction by Design, Interact, GIN, Roundsquare, ASB, Plastiki Rafiki, and The Greenhouse Project - represents our educational aims in action and our deep commitment as a community to make ISK carbon neutral. Under the mentorship of staff, our students are working hard to accelerate the timeline around a 2030 target date for carbon neutrality. The school has taken a key step this year by kicking off a proper carbon audit.

Celebrating Co-Curricular Programs and Community

In addition to the highlights above, the High School ran a comprehensive, inclusive, and enriching co-curricular program throughout the year. Our opportunity to host the ISSEA Basketball Tournament was a stand-out event. This in-person tournament took place in March 2022 and was an amazing community event - our girls placed 4th, and our boys are the ISSEA 2022 Basketball Champions! Additionally, after some virtual ISSEA events, we were able to resume international travel for student groups and in-person events - great opportunities and wonderful memories for our students! We now have 47 different clubs on offer ranging from STEM, Environmental conservation, investment, peer-to-peer support, service, and creativity. Unfortunately, our parents were unable to come to campus for much of the year again this year, though this changed somewhat in semester two when parents were able to come to special events such as plays, matches, concerts, and Teas. During one Parent Tea, we organized a learning tour, a chance for parents to feel well connected to learning at ISK again!

Inclusion and Student Wellbeing Strategic Focus Areas

We renewed existing strategic focus areas this year, including an ongoing focus on teaching and learning, inclusion, and well-being. Regarding inclusion, a highlight of the year saw the successful implementation of a LifeCentered Education (LCE) program starting in Grade 9. This was accompanied by the development and approval of an Alternative High School Diploma. Overall, we are an improved school and stronger community with this program now in place. Regarding well-being, our advisory program continues to play an essential role in supporting student wellbeing, with the faculty continuing to receive support and training around project Wayfinder so that our advisory program can develop further. We also encouraged active student groups such as Be Well. And many of our co-curricular activities are now being viewed through a wellbeing lens. The annual intercultural trips and work experience program were not able to run as normal this year; instead we offered a modified version of each with students able to select from a variety of off-campus/overnight and oncampus options.

A notable development around teaching, learning, and curriculum development included re-envisioning our Physical and Health Education program, including a clear swimming philosophy. We also engaged in deep work at the leadership level to even better define what we mean by learning at ISK and what we expect to see when developing an architecture for learning through, for example, unit planning. This work looked like R&D at times, laying a great foundation as we create sustainable change and strategize our professional learning. ISK students again benefited from a wide array of course options, with IB and regular HS offerings totaling over 150 courses. In 2021-22, we expanded course offerings in support of inclusion, student choice, and personalized pathways, introducing Arts Pathways Projects, STEM Programming Our Physical & Digital Worlds, STEM Design & Construction, Textiles, and Agricultural Science. Thank you to our course review committee, comprising students and faculty representation. I conclude this year’s annual report with a full expression of gratitude, recognizing the community spirit, commitment to wellbeing, and kindness at ISK that prevailed amidst some ongoing challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The faculty maintained a growth mindset and worked together to deliver great learning experiences aligned with our mission for students. Students worked hard, looked after each other, and stayed positive even though it would have been easy to get frustrated with things like masks and missed ISSEA events. Families were so supportive, not to mention excited, when parents were finally allowed back onto campus for some activities in semester two.

And the Class of 2022 lived and learned through an empowering and unpredictable high school experience, with the pandemic presenting opportunities and challenges we’ve never seen before. On behalf of the community, we wish our graduating Class of 2022 all the best in life after High School and as proud ISK alumni.

Robert Blanchard, EdD

High School Principal

Jarrod Dale

High School Assistant Principal