Athletics Report

Will Moore

Athletics Director

As the demands and constraints of living through a global pandemic have eased throughout the year, ISK Athletics has seen a huge increase in demand from our students to get involved in the program, with many exploring new sports and playing multiple sports throughout the season. To cope with this demand, the Athletics office has increased the variety of sports offered, creatively scheduled practice times to maximize participation and facility use, and increased the number of coaches to maintain the high standards of instruction and student-athlete development.

In response to feedback from the last academic year, the ISK Athletic Department formulated a new Philosophy that relates to the ISK mission and vision as well as explicitly focusing on embedding ISK’s Core values.

At ISK we believe that the purpose of the educational-based athletics program is to promote student well-being in a way that complements and extends the taught curriculum while supporting our Education Aims. Participation is regarded as a privilege, where student-athletes are role-models of the ISK Core Values: Innovation / Trust / Community / Equity & Justice / Inclusion / Growth / Productive Struggle.

The ISK Athletics Philosophy:

Through a series of workshops and leadership conferences that included coaches and student-athletes based on the philosophy and ISK’s core values, we have established an understanding of how this philosophy is reflected in our practice. This includes an understanding of how leaders within the athletics community should behave and reinforce the core values of the athletics program and the ISK Core Values in all their interactions with students and each other. This has begun to show benefits across the athletics program, with greater consistency, more support for new or younger players, and greater dialogue between students, student leaders, and coaches. Another benefit that came from these 2 conferences was the introduction of the “Grab and Go’ breakfast after morning practice. This has proved to be a great hit, especially with hungry Middle School students getting some much-needed energy to start the day off!

The school Board’s approval of an Athletics Assistant in the department was gratefully received and has proven to be a real benefit to the program. This new position has resulted in the ability to focus more on developing coaches and student leaders for the betterment of our student-athlete experience and performance. It has also enabled the department to offer more opportunities for students to participate in events and training. This has included the inclusion of the ES as part of the Athletics coaching program, offered for the first time at ISK.

The participation and enthusiasm for the ES athletics program for students in Grades 3-5 has continued to gain momentum over the year. ISK Athletics has engaged professional coaches to offer a carousel of sports experiences for these young athletes. Sports include basketball, football, hockey, swimming, volleyball, rugby, and tennis over the four activity quarters. This system offers safe, varied, and expert training that gives students the chance to find their passions within the sporting world as well as offering authentic team coaching experiences–for many, this is the first time. They have also learned about respecting others in sports, maintaining a positive attitude, giving their best effort and most of all, having fun! This has been the key focus for this initial launch. The commitment shown by these athletes and coaches has served as a solid base for when we introduce a more competitive program next year by arranging matches and tournaments against local schools, which is an aspect that both parents and athletes have been asking for. The ISSEA journey this year has shown the commitment of the ISSEA athletics directors and associated school’s to continue to offer quality competitive and exploratory ISSEA experiences for our athletes, arts, and STEM. These have been held both virtually and inperson, and we thank all those who have had the courage to create these opportunities.

Our success in the virtual ISSEA events this year reflected the passion and dedication of our students

Swim Training Track and Field Training

• Cross Country girls team - ISSEA Champions • Cross Country boys team - ISSEA Champions (for the 3rd year in a row!) • Track & Field girls team - Third Place • Track & Field boys team - ISSEA Champions • Chess - ISSEA Champions • STEM - ISSEA Champions o Overall Design/Robotics - ISK 1st Place o Overall Math - ISK 1st Place o Overall Science - ISK 1st Place • Swimming - o Boys - ISSEA Champions o Girls - 2nd Place ISSEA Chess team

ISSEA Swim team ISSEA Drama team

A highlight was the virtual ISSEA Track and Field and Cross Country event in October. Hiring the Kasarani National Stadium proved to be a great venue for 80 MS and HS student-athletes to experience and compete in. The virtual cultural events were well attended, with over 50 students involved with ISSEA Band and Choir, Drama, and Visual Arts.

ISSEA Track and Field

• Volleyball - ISSEA championships (IST -

Tanzania) o Girls - 5th Place o Boys - 3rd Place • Football - ISSEA championships (AISJ -

South Africa) o Girls - 4th Place o Boys - 4th Place

The pinnacle of ISK Athletics this year came in April when we had the privilege of hosting ISSEA Basketball. This long-anticipated event captured a community spirit rarely seen on campus. The support from many ISK groups, including Operations, Catering, Advancement, PTO, HS Lions’ Pride club, parents, teachers, and students, helped create a truly amazing event. The 150 basketball players and their coaches provided a spectacle that will last long in the memories of those involved. The icing on the cake was the outstanding performance of our Lions’ teams, and we were especially proud to see our boys team lift the championship shield at the awards ceremony! The High School Lions’ Pride student body sought to generate ideas to support the community. With the resumption of a competitive program, this dedicated group of leaders has sought to promote ISK teams and athletic events through different media avenues, tournament/match management, pep-rallies, Spirit Week, and teaching and leading cheers during ISSEA. Their service to our athletics program has been outstanding and they and the club is already generating new initiatives for next year’s events.

ISSEA Basketball (Boys) ISSEA Basketball (Girls)

Annual Athletics Awards:

MS recipients:

MS Fair Play Award: Teagan, Gr 7 MS Female Athlete of the Year Award: Jade, Gr. 7 MS Male Athlete of the Year Award: Rohan, Gr. 8

HS recipients:

Nuriana Merali - Gr 9 Athlete Award: Sebastian, Gr. 9 Athletic Service & Leadership Award: Vera, Gr. 12 Academic & Athletic Excellence Award: Yohan, Gr.11 HS Female Athlete of the Year: Vera, Gr. 11 HS Male Athlete of the Year: Solomon, Gr. 11

Will Moore

• Basketball - ISSEA Championships (ISK - Kenya) o Girls - 4th Place o Boys - ISSEA Champions • Tennis - ISSEA Invitational (AISM -

Mozambique) o Girls - 2nd Place o Boys - ISSEA Champions