International Section Update

One thing that we have agreed upon in the office this year has been the subtle rebranding of the Department of International Studies (DIS). It sounds like a school subject (in many schools that is exactly what it is), so we have gently rolled out the ideal of the ‘International Section’ which is better aligned to that of the ‘Matura Section’.

Eine Sache, auf die wir uns in diesem Jahr im Büro geeinigt haben, war das subtile ReBranding der Abteilung für Internationale Studien (DIS). Es klingt wie ein Schulfach (in vielen Schulen ist es genau das), also haben wir sanft das Ideal der 'Internationalen Abteilung' ausgerollt, das besser an das der 'Maturaabteilung' angeglichen ist.

The global pandemic has made this a particularly tough year. Our students have been surprisingly buoyant and positive, and our teaching and support staff have been magnificent. Whether you go to the staff room, pop down to the dining hall and chat with the kitchen team, meet the services team in the corridors or bump into one of our maintenance team clearing snow and fixing things about the campus, people are cheery, smiling and engaging. It makes a difference and it is valued. Thank you. lievable work ethic, a smiley face but above all a real passion for the students in her care. To achieve what she has whilst effectively juggling three separate jobs in most schools (Deputy Head, IB Coordinator and House Parent) is mind blowing. There will be other articles in this magazine flagging up what she has achieved in her short time here at the Lyceum, but to coin a phrase, our loss is absolutely Rossall School in the UK’s, gain. She leaves us to become Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Rossall – a leading UK independent day and boarding school - and we all wish her, Steve, Asa and Theo all the very best with the exciting adventures ahead. Erna and I will miss her camaraderie, banter and sense of purpose in the office.

Personally, working with Marie-Louise has been a delight, my employ at the Lyceum was down to Marie-Louise, and I am thankful for that opportunity. I know that we will all stay in touch.

As a team in the DIS office, the three of us have worked hard to bring change and to ensure that we retain the school’s reputation as an outstanding international boarding school. The journey is ongoing; we have entered the proposed route into the proverbial ‘sat-nav’ and we are certainly heading in the right direction.

We welcome Kieran Burgess who joins us in September as the new Head of DIS and IB Coordinator. He has been in teaching for thirteen years, joining us from Dulwich Beijing, where he has been for three years. Prior to that, he has taught for periods in Japan, Singapore and the UK. Kieran is a second-career teacher, having worked in the theatre (performing arts) industry and then served for five years in the UK police force as a special constable and sergeant (community police). We look forward to welcoming Kieran, his wife Alison and young daughter Aurelia to the Lyceum in August and to the continuance of our journey.

OTHER UPDATES FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SECTION:

• The introduction of the Cambridge iGCSE curriculum starts in earnest from August 2021 with DIS3. Teaching staff have had a professional development day given over to specific planning in department teams, having had over a year to sow the seeds and get things into place.

• Erna has been working and planning for the whole school CIS (Council of International Schools) re-accreditation follow-up where we, with the Matura section, have been working on honing documentation, procedure and practice across the quality of teaching and learning, pastoral care and governance. They have scheduled our on-line ‘virtual visit’ for June 2021.

• We are pleased to report that IB exams go ahead, Switzerland being one of the countries remaining on the examination pathway. Given the concern for the use of an algorithm last year, we are happy that students get the chance to perform in exams and to determine their own futures. We are planning, and looking forward to, the graduation ceremony that will take place on July 10th 2021.

• Finally, we need to find a way to stop, Mr. Walsh from stealing our office chocolates. At first, we thought he was visiting to be sociable and engage as a diligent Head of Department, but we quickly discovered that our stash of office chocolates was going down after every visit.

We wish you all a good, safe and enjoyable summer and very much look forward to catching up with students, parents and alumni in the new academic year.

David Ardley, Assistant Head International Section