Contact Magazine Summer 2016 - Volume 23 Issue 3

Munich International School - Volume 23 - Issue 3 - Summer 2016

C O N TA C T

THE MAGAZINE OF MUNICH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Contents Head of School’s Introduction

01

Message from the Board of Directors

02

Feature: MIS Alumni & Friends

03

Academic News

06

Community News

09

Alumni and Friends

11

After School Activities & Co-curricular Arts

12

Athletics

13

Giving at MIS

16

50th Anniversary

16

Upcoming Events at MIS

17

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Munich International School Communications: Amanda Crawley Lydia Tukarski Andrew Almarza Phone: 08151 366 156 Fax: 08151 366 109 Email: publications@mis-munich.de Design: Paul Rea Photography: Graeme Fordham Photography Andrew Almarza

Contact is published by: Munich International School, Schloß Buchhof, D-82319 Starnberg www.mis-munich.de

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Head of School’s Introduction

MIS Alumni: the continuation of the MIS story Timothy Thomas, Head of School

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rühlingsfest has a long history at MIS. For decades we have celebrated as a community the onset of Spring with its warmer, sunnier weather, longer days and the start of the beloved Bavarian Biergarten season. It has served as an opportunity for parents, students, faculty and staff to come together, enjoy each other’s company outside of the usual structures of the school day and strengthen the relationships and ties that help make us a community.

This year’s Frühlingsfest stretched from Friday until Sunday, 20-22 May 2016. It was not only the longest and largest Frühlingsfest in the history of MIS, but it also marked a renewed effort to connect and re-connect with our alumni, former parents, faculty and staff members, and friends from the first 50 years of the School’s existence. Alumni and teachers from the School’s very first year (1966/67) were in attendance. And each of the five decades through which the School has grown and developed were well represented with former and current students, former and current parents, teachers, staff members, board members and all sorts of friends and contributors.

As the current Head of School, it was a special treat for me to meet so many people whose experiences and contributions to Munich International School shaped the School into what it is today. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lister Hannah and his wife Davidene. Lister served as Head of School of MIS for over ten years from 1984 to 1994. Although he has led a busy life since his time at MIS, participating in the founding and development of further international schools in places like Southeast Asia, I could see that he felt an authentic connection to the place, people and spirit of MIS. He remembers vividly and fondly many decisions and developments that shaped MIS and became embedded in the education and culture of our institution. As he described decision actions taken twenty-five years ago, I could easily draw connections to the present-day School.

Special features of this year’s 50th Anniversary Frühlingsfest included: • Alumni welcome and MIS campus tour on Friday, 20 May. • Alumni dinner at Königlicher Hirschgarten following the campus tour.

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Alumni heritage zone at the Frühlingsfest, including a slide-show with more than 250 photographs collected by Ms. Danielle Monticone, picture boards, yearbooks from the past, MIS merchandise and a video booth for recounting stories from MIS’ past.

Community boat ride on Lake Starnberg on Sunday afternoon.

This festive, XXL-format Frühlingsfest was possible thanks to months of hard work, organisation, planning and imagining by many people, especially MIS alumnae Heike Kohlhaas and Debbie Caudera. Heike and Debbie had the vision for an alumni-focused weekend and invested considerably of their own time and resources to bring that vision to life. Approximately a dozen further former students, teachers and parents contributed to the planning and execution of this momentus occassion.

With approximately 1500 people in attendance, our 50th Anniversary Frühlingsfest clearly struck a positive note with the Community. However, it is not the end of our 50th birthday celebrations. We look forward to celebrating with current students, faculty and staff the 50th Anniversary of the first day of classes at MIS on 19 September 2016. On that day, we will fill and seal our time capsule, make a special dedication to a very long-standing member of the MIS community and attempt to capture an image of our 50th birthday with a whole-school photograph. Our ultimate 50th Anniversary event for the year will take place in November 2016. At that event we will turn our attention to the future of MIS and celebrate the exciting developments yet to come. We warmly invite all current and former members of the Community to join us at that event – details will be announced soon.

Timothy Thomas, Head of School

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Message from the Board of Directors

Alumni should be an integral part of MIS’ future!

Wanching Ang, Chair of the Board

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IS has educated thousands of alumni, who hold many fond memories of their time at the School. But we have a woefully rudimentary alumni and friends database that is incomplete and often unreliable. A few alumni return to MIS to talk to students about university and careers every year. There is a small section on alumni in our Contact magazine. The 50th Anniversary Frühlingsfest hosted over 400 alumni who came from as far afield as Australia, the US and South Africa, but do we have to wait for a momentus occasion before we give attention to alumni and friends again?

Why are alumni relations important?

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Alumni are the best evidence to demonstrate the value of an MIS education! Yes we can look at IB scores and college placements, but our mission goes far beyond narrow academic success. We also want our students to be life-long learners, globally-minded, well-balanced and prepared for future challenges and responsibilities. If we don’t keep in touch with our alumni, how will we know that we are succeeding in our mission?

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Information about alumni and their achievements is of interest to current and prospective families including to validate their choice of MIS. Alumni, themselves, can be a great source of information about MIS in their professional and social networks.

They are our international ambassadors.

• Maintaining a current relationship with alumni ensures that their knowledge of our activities and achievements is up to date, and hence the messages that they share about the School reflect its true progress.

If alumni are such an important asset of the School, why haven’t we done more for alumni relations at MIS? In part this is due to the challenge of keeping track of a globally dispersed alumni and friends network, some of whom were only with the School for a few years, and many of whom are prone to be itinerant. But this is a poor excuse today, when technology and social media tools make it easier than ever to connect and stay in touch. Building and maintaining alumni relations requires the School to invest in staff, systems and processes with ongoing costs. Payback is either indirect (how do you quantify what role good alumni relations plays in increasing enrolment?) or long term (experts say it takes 7-10 years from the establishment of an active alumni programme till alumni are an integral part of the current School community). We operate in a competitive, unionised environment and the increasing cost of a high quality education outstrips the willingness of parents to accept large fee increases (with the added complication of a government imposed cap on fee increases for next year). There is pressure to manage costs and balance the budget. The average tenure of Heads at MIS is four years, similar to the global average, and Board members are elected for a three-year term. There is hence a natural preference for decisions and actions which demonstrate more near-term impact. There also tends to be a popular notion that organisations should avoid too much “central overhead” compared to employees who are doing core and essential work (teaching staff in our case), and pressure to be a lean organisation. I believe some of these factors have contributed to ‘alumni relations’ being low on the list of priorities.

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Alumni can act as role models for current students and are often well placed to offer practical support to students as they start their lives after school. Alumni experience and networks can be used to enhance teaching and learning at MIS, by providing real world linkages and opportunities.

We have to end this short term behaviour and start to act more sustainably. We have to shift from a transactional mindset to one that is about relationship-building. Strong alumni relations are a valuable asset, and should be an integral part of the School’s services. It will require investment in people and infrastructure to do this proactively and professionally. Alumni and friends of MIS are not just about the past. We’d like to connect with them and hear their stories. We’d like to keep them abreast of and engage them in current developments at the School. Alumni should be an integral part of MIS’ future.

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Alumni might also wish to make a financial gift to the School as many have already. Alumni naturally have a vested interest in helping the School become stronger and better, as it enhances the value of their own qualification. But realistically, if we haven’t done a good job of connecting and building a relationship, then we shouldn’t be asking alumni for money. I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of this – I have a son at university who only sporadically keeps in touch, and usually only when he needs money!

Wanching Ang, Chair, MIS Board of Directors

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MIS Alumni & Friends

Munich International School’s extended family of Alumni & Friends MIS Alumni & Friends – people who love MIS A school can feel like a family, especially in its first years. That’s how MIS felt to us when Sarah started 6th Grade at MIS in 1968, the year we arrived in Munich. Four years later, when Dick ended a 28-year Navy career to start work at MIS as business manager, the feeling grew stronger. Then two more Pattees, Penelope and David, hopped on the MIS school bus. Dick became accredited as a history teacher, taught MUN, and somehow found time to run the bus system. I look back fondly on those days. The camaraderie of Frühlingsfest, Ski Week, Ski Swap. A good school brings out a child’s particular strengths. I see that in my MIS graduates: Leadership (Sarah), Creativity (Penelope) and Ingenuity (David.) Dee Pattee, June 2016

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IS has always been much more than a school; it has always been, and remains a close-knit international community that students, parents, faculty and staff LOVE. This is clear from so many of the stories that we hear from MIS alumni and friends, many of which were joyfully recounted as part of recent 50th Anniversary celebrations.

MIS is an extended family; 70% of the School’s current students are from international families who spend an average of four to five years at MIS and away from their home countries. For many, MIS is often neither their first nor their last international school experience, but it nevertheless remains especially dear. This is evident in the many ongoing visits from alumni and friends that the School hosts throughout the year, as well as special events such as our recent 50th Anniversary Frühlingsfest weekend.

One particular alumnus had only attended Grades 4-6 at MIS, went on to another international school in Europe and university in the UK where he now lives and works.

However, it was to MIS that he wanted to return and show his girlfriend where had gone to school. Indeed, during this visit, he remarked that MIS was where he had felt most at home during his school life.

For those who have the privilege of meeting with alumni and friends who visit MIS, it is often a particular joy to watch them explore familiar places; to climb the wooden stairs outside the Junior School, stare out over the playground and sloping soccer pitch (all of the best players got to play down the hill, so we are told) and reminisce about which classrooms were theirs.

In the same way, students and families remain very dear to MIS. Later in this issue you will read about MIS Alumna Milly Clark who will represent Australia in the Marathon at the forthcoming Rio Olympics (page 11). Milly was only at MIS for two years in the early 2000s, but it was evident in the manner in which long-standing faculty and staff greeted this wonderful news a couple of months ago, that both Milly and her family made a special mark on MIS during their time here and remain close to people’s hearts.

My family came to MIS in September 1970 and were almost appalled at the state of the school we found; two or three classrooms hastily redecorated in a run-down part of the Schloss and two cow byres recently cleaned out seemed to be the full extent of the school. It was the enthusiasm of the teaching staff that made the venture appealing, and nine years later as Chairman of the School Board I was delighted to be able to sign the building contract for the Junior School and the Sports Hall which were the first new buildings of what is now an outstanding school able to provide the best education for international students.

I worked for Panavia who managed the design of the Tornado aircraft, my wife was at various times school nurse, PTO committee member and headmaster’s secretary. We were parents for twelve years and have retained happy memories of MIS. John Kaighin

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MIS Alumni & Friends

In the early days of MIS, parent volunteers as well as faculty and staff worked tirelessly to transform the Schloss and the two horse barns (refurbished a couple of times since then, and now the current Senior School building). These were the only three buildings on site at Schloss Buchhof when the School moved here from Harlaching in 1968. During the recent welcome back to alumni and friends event on the eve of Frühlingsfest, former students recounted one story of needing to collect egg cartons to sound-proof the music room, which at that time was on the ground floor of the Schloss. As recently as last school year, this same room was a math classroom, and since the opening the LADC in June 2014 it has become the new visitors’ meeting room. Thanks to the efforts of so many before us, the School no longer needs egg cartons for sound-proofing – though a good supply can usually be found in the Junior School for all manner of fun and learning!

As John Kaighin’s account and countless other similar stories reveal, the role of parent volunteers is a constant thread running through MIS’ history, most recently and magnificently evidenced by the work of the current Parent Teacher Verein (PTV) for our 50th Anniversary Frühlingsfest. Indeed, one faculty member of 40+ years declared this year’s Frühlingsfest ‘the best ever’. It was also wonderful to note during recent celebrations, that not only former students chose to travel back to mark our 50th Anniversary, but also former parents and family members, many of whom had been active members of the PTV, Sportverein and the Board.

My fondest memories of MIS begin with teachers; excellent, caring teachers who shaped lives and instilled a passion for lifelong learning, teachers like Debbie Dressel, Fritz Tietze, Sarah Hannah, Michael Webster, Bill York and George Feeney. Parents become involved with MIS to a level that is unique in my experience, demonstrating total commitment to the community and to the school’s success. This all works because of outstanding leadership. MIS creates life experiences for students. How can I ever forget the Model United Nations, Ski Week, the Heinrich Harrer Cup, Senior Follies, and falling in love with music? Andrew McCasker 1974-1980 In earlier, more modest times in the School’s history, as well as at the recent ceremony for this year’s Grade 12 graduates, it is teaching staff who continue to feature in students’ fondest memories of MIS. It was particularly wonderful to note the loud, spontaneous applause for former teachers who were involved in planning for our 50th Anniversary Frühlingsfest weekend at the recent alumni and friends dinner at Königlicher Hirshgarten. Even 20 or more years since their retirement, the affection and appreciation of former students for faculty and

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staff was palpable. During a recent visit to enquire about enrolling his newborn daughter, an MIS alumnus also spoke fondly of a teacher who continues to be connected with the School after more than 40 years. This alumnus had only studied at MIS up until Grade 4, but nevertheless immediately recalled the name of his favourite teacher.

In its early days, MIS was the place for me: spontaneous and flexible, built on a strong community of children, teachers and parents – what a contrast to the oppressive school system of Communist Poland I had just come from. Those were the beginnings of international education, so there was little standardization and pressure. The school encouraged students to explore the world and think for themselves. There were great friendships and today, when I meet people who went to MIS, whether at a different time or several grades away, there is an easy, warm connection. Maya Latynski (Class of ’74) To echo the words of the current Board Chair earlier in this issue, and notwithstanding the good efforts on the part of many dedicated people throughout the School’s history, there is indeed so much more that the School needs and wants to do to improve its information systems; to enable it to more readily connect and reconnect with alumni and friends and to help alumni and friends connect with each other. It is nevertheless wonderful to note that the emotional connections amongst alumni and friends and all those whose lives have been touched by MIS, are as strong today as they have always been.

MIS sincerely thanks Katie Brown (nee Groom), John Kaighin, Maya Latynski, Andrew McCasker and Dee Pattee for their contributions, and not least for being part of the School’s recent 50th Anniversary Frühlingsfest weekend.

For more information about MIS Alumni and Friends, forthcoming 50th Anniversary celebrations and to register or update your contact details, please visit the MIS website at www.mis-munich.de.

MIS Alumni & Friends at Frühlingsfest

MIS really equated to a very happy childhood and some wonderful memories and experiences for me. Special memories of mine are the incredible teachers, amazing school trips (East Berlin just before the wall came down), that view of the mountains from the Schloss, and a sleepover to guard the Maypole – just to name a few! MIS certainly helped shaped the adult I became. After living and working in advertising in London for some years I married an Australian and we moved to Hong Kong for 10 years where we had 2 daughters. We have now relocated back to the UK. Katie Brown (nee Groom) 1984-93 (Class of ’93)

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Mosaic of Cultures Day

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osaic of Cultures Day represents intercultural understanding, competence and appreciation at Munich International School. In March, the School participated in showcasing these themes with games and a parade across campus that began in Junior School and then finished at the LADC. Junior School students wore t-shirts, jerseys or wrapped themselves in flags of their nationality and demonstrated how over 64+ nationalities cannot only co-exist in a positive manner, but also appreciate their differences and similarities.

PYP Exhibition

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he PYP exhibition represents a significant event in the life of a PYP school and student, synthesizing the essential elements of the PYP and sharing them with the whole MIS community. Students are required to engage in an in-depth collaborative, transdisciplinary inquiry process that involves them in identifying, investigating and offering solutions to real-life issues or problems. For eight weeks, students interviewed members of the community, conducted surveys, created questionnaires, researched them from books and the Internet. They analyzed the data, sorted out information and found interesting and creative ways to share their understanding. The exhibition culminated in a presentation of the students’ work in May and represented their learning journey since they have arrived at MIS.

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Academic News

Student Council During the 2015-16 school year, the Junior School Student Council made an impact through actions in our School, local communities and across the globe. They organized popular Spirit Days including Pajama Day, Appreciation Day, Favorite Storybook Character Day, Twin Day, Crazy Hair Day and Crazy Hat Day. They also created the Appreciation Tree at the Holidays and started a Kindness Campaign in the Junior School, teaching other students how to prevent behavior and words that are rude, mean or reflect bullying.

Student Council did not stop there and continued by donating bath towels for the Munich Frauenhaus and collected coats in the winter and stationery in the spring for the local refugee communities. Fundraising support continued for those in need, as they purchased drought-resistant crops for families in Tanzania and finished off the year by supporting the first Story Collection campaign by Grade 4 Student Council member, Carmen Nova who will be publishing stories from Junior School writers in the JS Library.

It’s been an incredible year and this year’s JS Student Council has collectively shown commitment, creativity and incredible leadership. It’s been a privilege to work with these bright and talented students! –Ms. Riley

Service as Action The second half of the year saw students in Grades 6-8 focusing on their Individual Projects and Grade 5 classes running a bake sale and activity each to raise money and awareness for their chosen cause. Great creativity has been shown this year with students either helping others “hands-on” or running a wonderful variety of fundraisers, collections and advocacy drives.

Water, water everywhere Living in lush and green Bavaria and having just endured a particularly wet weekend, we can easily overlook the fact that many parts of the world experience water shortages. In the Grade 5 Science Matters unit, students were introduced to the fact that while the earth is 70% water, over 96% of that is saline. To make matters worse the vast majority of fresh water is either locked up in ice sheets or is underground leaving a mere 0.007% of the earth’s water available for farming and drinking. The students were horrified to learn about the challenges many people face to collect enough clean water to survive.

Fast forward a couple of months and the fifth graders were each asked to present on a potential good cause to support for their class Service as Action project. When Emilia Welte advocated for Clearwater, a charity dedicated to helping the people of northern Ecuador filter water poisoned by oil drilling and rapid industrial growth, there was only ever going to be one winner of the class vote. 5C then split into groups, each tasked with planning one element of the fundraising project to ensure that in addition to raising over 350 euros for Clearwater through a fun water carrying challenge, raffle and bake sale awareness for the issue was raised through information posters. The stated intent of the IB Middle Years Service

as Action programme is to inspire students through what they have covered in the curriculum into taking action in a related field. Thank you to 5C for providing such a fine example of putting IBO principles into practice.

Thank you to all members of our community for your support for Service as Action.

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Academic News

Visual arts exhibition MIS Diploma Visual Arts Exhibition 2016 was held this year in the expansive new space of the LADC. Fifteen students exhibited their work from Monday 21 March until Thursday 24 March. It was the perfect location to display the culmination of their two-year course. Their chosen Art text was inspired from Oscar Wilde’s “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.”

On-screen eAssessments On-screen examinations are two-hour long, computer-based examinations for courses in language and literature, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, and interdisciplinary learning. These examinations are designed to assess students’ level of conceptual understanding within the subject area. The onscreen examinations were held over a two-week period in May 2016.

We are excited about eAssessments because it provides our students with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding through the application of skills and concepts. The eAssessment was designed by IB examiners to provide students with a comprehensive summative assessment that requires a deep understanding of the learning experienced throughout the students’ time in the MYP. Students will learn equally from the eAssessment components as they do for them.

The Glass Box Project: ‘Studio 258’ The Glass Box Project sponsored two visiting alumni: Dimitri Abold who is currently studying at Tisch School of Arts in New York, and Lizzie Manwaring who is studying at Queen Mary in London. Both helped in creating Studio 258.

Study 258 was performed for Senior School students and teachers as well as parents and teachers in May. The piece was entirely devised and created by the ensemble and addressed issues of identity, life choices and pressure. The project brought an unusual mix of students together due to the intensive nature of the rehearsal time (short and sweet) and the inspiration provided by the two alumni. The project was not driven by a teacher, and so the students felt they had been given a voice.

The impact on the students who attended was huge. There was excitement about using an unusual space; curiosity about the message, and many asked if they could join next year.

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Community News

Time capsule competition 19 September 2016 will mark 50 years since the first day of classes at Munich International School. We will celebrate this momentous occasion with many activities for students and teachers that will assist us in reflecting on the value that MIS has brought to the lives of generations of students and community members over the last five decades. Among those activities will be the sealing and dedication of a time capsule and a steel vault, in which several objects that represent MIS in 2016 will be preserved.

MIS Foundation – Deborah Ellis Deborah Ellis is a well-loved Canadian author whose Breadwinner series has captivated young people all over the world. Her stories develop empathy and awareness regarding the plight of those in war-torn countries. She is an award-winning writer, a feminist, and a peace activist.

When Deborah visited Munich International School in March 2016, students had read books and were eager to meet her.

Speaking to Grades 4, 5, and 9, Deborah discussed her work and the challenging issues she writes about. Afterwards, Deborah held a creative writing session with Middle School students at lunch time, and spoke with attending parents and teachers as well.

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Community

Frühlingsfest 50th Anniversary Celebrations F

rühlingsfest 2016 was an extraordinary weekend of extra special of events for alumni and friends and the MIS community as we celebrated our

50th Anniversary.

Munich International School was delighted to welcome back more than 400 alumni and friends and thousands of other guests including current families, staff and faculty and local community members from the greater Munich area for MIS’ 50th Anniversary Frühlingsfest weekend, 20-22 May 2016. Events and activities were geared particularly towards the current school community, alumni and friends of MIS. Alumni festivities informally began on Friday 20 May for reunions of former graduating classes, and other year groups, staff and parents.

MIS’ traditional Frühlingsfest with extended 50th Anniversary celebrations were held on Saturday 21 May with musical performances and entertainment, alumni football, food and much more extending into the evening. An alumni and friends boat trip on Lake Starnberg wrapped up the weekend on Sunday 22 May.

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Alumni Alumni & Friends

Australian Alumna Milly ‘Amelia’ Clark to compete in 2016 Rio Olympics

MIS Alumnae Milly Clark and Hailey Meyer, a current Early Childhood teacher in the MIS Junior School.

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unich International School heartily congratulates Alumna Milly Clark who has been selected to represent Australia in the marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

During her time at MIS from 2000-2002, Milly was known as ‘Amelia’ and attended Grades 6 and 7. She ran for the MIS Wildcats Cross Country team, winning gold at the SCIS midseason championships. As a seventh grader, she also ran for MIS at the ISST Track & Field championships, winning gold medals in the long jump, hurdles and sprints and beating competitors much older than herself. For more than 15 years, Milly has continued to hold the School record at MIS for the 100-meter Dash, 200-meter Dash and Long Jump.

Milly’s family left Munich in June 2002 and she continued to run for the Track & Field team at Jakarta International School (JIS) in the IASAS League from 2003 to 2007. She still holds nine school records and three IASAS records at JIS. In 2007 Milly won a Track Scholarship to Drake University in Iowa, USA where she ran cross country and middle distance and in 2010 she returned to Australia to attend Sydney University where she ran middle distance and won the Australian 3000-meter Steeplechase Title in March 2012.

Her incredible achievement in Amsterdam also qualified Milly for the Olympics. Soon after in March 2016, Milly earned twelfth place at the World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff and in April 2016 she was named a place on the Australian Team for the Rio Olympics to run the marathon.

According to MIS coaching staff, Milly’s reputation as a determined spirit and energetic athlete continues to motivate students, even years after her family left MIS. “She was known at MIS for her sprint times with corresponding school records. It is interesting that she now is a marathon runner. Success in sport is largely in the mind. I think we are all excited to hear this news and show our support as a school,” commented long-standing MIS faculty member, Dan Glover, who was also Milly’s coach during her time at MIS. On behalf of Munich International School and all MIS Alumni and Friends, we wish Milly great success at the Rio Olympics this summer.

Thereafter, Milly switched to longer distances and in July 2014 she won the Gold Coast Half Marathon. In 2015 she received a Master’s degree in Sports Exercise & Nutrition. She also ran her first marathon in Amsterdam in October 2015, amazing the crowds as she won third place with the fastest time ever achieved by an Australian woman on debut. “Amsterdam was pretty crazy, I don’t think it really hit me until I was standing up on the dais and we were getting our medals,” Milly told the Daily Telegraph.

According to an interview with News.com/au, “[Milly] has it in her genes. Her mother was a gymnast and her father a sprinter, and she used to run with her brother. She’s looking forward to preparing for the Olympics by racing alongside other women of all ages and backgrounds.”

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Alumni & Friends

Farewell to long-standing MIS Faculty & Staff Hans Adamzcak

Lorraine Bonfield

In summer 2016, we will say farewell to one of the longest-serving and most valued members of the MIS community and of the Betriebsrat. Since 1984 Hans Adamzcak, MIS Systems Manager, has served on the Betriebsrat. Even in the days before everyone had a laptop, he was our best consultant on legal matters. His knowledge and interpretation of German Labor Law and various court cases are one of his many strengths.

Lorraine Bonfield joined MIS in 1991 and has been a devoted Junior School Teaching Assistant for Early Childhood and Grade 1 for the past 25 years. Her experience as both parent and staff member has made her a compassionate, committed and inspirational member of the community. Munich International School expresses its sincere thanks and appreciation to Lorraine, whose enthusiasm and constant smile will be sorely missed.

ASA After School Activities & Co-curricular Arts

The ASA and Co-curricular Arts team have wrapped up another great year of non-competitive sports, innovative clubs, and inspiring music, theatre and visual arts activities. Please join us in thanking the activity leaders and students who made the year so successful.

A number of new activities enriched the programme this year, each bringing unique opportunities for fun and learning.

A few highlights among the new activities were Fencing Club, Contemporary Dance & Hip Hop, Creative Writing Club, Robotics LEGO Mindstorm and Raspberry Pi Club.

Fencing Club, taught by Hungarian Fencing Champion Gabor Kuti, offered both Junior and Middle School students an introduction to the athletic and graceful world of fencing. Lisa Lugo, an inspiring Tanz & Schule dance teacher, brought new energy and talent to MIS dance with her Contemporary Dance & Hip Hop groups in the Junior and Middle Schools. Vanessa Westermann, MIS alumna and writer, introduced the Creative Writing Club, with strong support from the English Department, and the group published its first anthology this spring. Thanks to generous support from the Science Inspiration Fund, we introduced Robotics LEGO Mindstorm and Raspberry Pi Club, building on the programming and robotics aspects of the ASA programme. All will continue in the 2016/17 school year.

We look forward to introducing several brand new activities during the 2016/17 School year. 3D CAD Design, Gardening, Gaelic Football, JS Coding Club, Sewing & Felting, Intermediate Fencing and a Student Newspaper are a few of the exciting activities planned for the Fall Season.

Raspberry Pi Club – ‘Hello world’ Highlights from Raspberry Pi Club in 2016 included setting up a Raspberry Pi wifi network in the new workshop. The students learnt how to solder, wire switches and LEDs, how to use a prototype ‘bread board’ and how to check voltages and continuity with a multimeter. They used their Macs as a terminal to write simple python programmes. These were then uploaded onto a Raspberry Pi using the wireless network.

The students then designed and built a loudspeaker or “beat box” housing out of plywood, soldered and tested a 3W battery driven amplifier and configured one of the Pi’s by downloading freeware linux programme components/code. The system worked really well, although it took a couple of sessions to iron out the problems- real engineering!

It was a great start for the new club in 2016, and we look forward to welcoming new students next year!

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After School Activities & Co-curricular Arts

World Choir’s WILKOMMEN concert Co-curricular Arts finished up the school year with several performances, including the World Choir’s WILKOMMEN concert on Thursday 2 June in the PAC. Performers showcased the variety of vocal talents, as well as the colourful stage production and costumes the World Choir wore during the evening.

Performances continued in June, as renowned Cellist, Sebastien Hess, returned to Munich International School and performed with Pamela Stout for their concert entitled: Mixing Modern Technology and the Classics.

Guest cellist Sebastien Hess returns

Athletics

Congratulations to MIS Athletics The final season of MIS Athletics finished in May with a variety of SCIS and ISST tournaments in various locations throughout Europe.

their division. Congratulations to the following athletes who all won individual gold medals: William Exner, Sigi Einarson, Rachel Delrosso, Cole Ronna and Jill Butz.

In Vienna, eighth grader Shama Raghavan - one of our younger athletes- together with 15 other tennis players represented the School at the Division 1 ISST Tennis Championships.

Shama returned home with the Girls’ Singles overall gold medal after winning her games against high school girls who were three to four years older than herself. Alex Mittendorfer and Angel Munoz-Miranda paired up for the Boys’ Doubles, also winning gold as ninth graders. The Boys’ team finished in third place and the position of the overall team was fourth.

They garnered very respectable results considering this was the first year in Division 1 for our MIS tennis players. A young group of MIS golfers also competed in Vienna last weekend at the ISST Golf Championships, finishing in fourth place.

Munich was the location for the ISST Varsity Girls’ Division 2 softball tournament. With a lucky three days of sun, the event ran smoothly here on our campus. Our Girls finished in third place, only losing to the Zurich champions by three runs with plenty of home runs to keep the crowds excited.

In London, our Junior and Senior Varsity Track & Field athletes competed against 12 of the top European schools at the ISST Championships. The Junior Boys team missed the overall championship by one and a half points, completing the event in a frustrating, yet proud second place. Second day injuries from two talented athletes clearly prevented the team from winning the Championship. Our Varsity Boys also finished with the silver trophy in

For a summary of our Spring season tournament results, please go to www.mis-munich.de.

At this time, a huge thank you goes to all MIS families who opened up their homes to provide the beds for the many student athletes participating in sporting events this year.

A special thank you goes to our Sportverein Treasurer and Imbiss Coordinator, Anne Glaser who is leaving us at the end of the year. Anne has been a great supporter of MIS Athletics for many years. Congratulations to all athletes who have represented the School this year and we are looking forward to seeing all returning athletes again next School Year.

13 | CONTACT | SUMMER 2016

Athletics

Junior School Sports Day The 2016 Grade1-2 Sports Day had a shaky start due to the unpredictable weather in Starnberg. An early morning storm and purple sky called the original day off, pushing the event to a Friday with beautiful sunshine. Students came coloured up and buzzing about competing in their mixed groups that started with a 70m dash, and then challenging friends in a ten-station course. MIS athletes answered the challenge with positive spirits with each team striving for the much-desired Spirit Award. They all demonstrated competitiveness under the rainbow-colored umbrella of fair play, teamwork and good sportsmanship. These values were reflected across all students, parents and teachers involved and made the Junior School Sports Day a winner.

14 | CONTACT | SUMMER 2016

Athletics

Middle School Olympics With another successful year, the PE department hosted the Middle School Olympics on campus and with the sun finally shining over the MIS campus, the Yellow Lion Simba, Red Elephant Tempo, Blue Buffalo Nyati, Orange Leopard Chui and White Rhino Kifano teams made the day even brighter. The enthusiasm and team spirit of the day was undeniable, especially at the end of the day when each of the teams took their team banners and embarked on victory laps around the track. Records were broken and students attempted and succeeded at new events, creating lasting memories.

The MIS Community looks forward to the event next year.

15 | CONTACT | SUMMER 2016

Giving at MIS

When you give, MIS blooms

While income from fees covers running costs, and volunteers and other in-kind support enrich so many facets of the School, the generosity of donors enables MIS to do so much more.

Philanthropic gifts contribute to excellence at Munich International School in very special ways: • Stefan Engelhorn Lecture Series: Inspiring and engaging our students through visits from artists and guest lecturers.

• MIS Foundation: Funding community initiatives such as the School wide Arts Day project.

• Science Inspiration Fund: Fostering innovation in the areas of science, robotics and computer coding • Building Projects: Constructing state-of-the-art facilities for our learners (e.g., Language, Arts & Design Centre (LADC) and Athletics Track & Field).

How can I make a gift to MIS? For more information about current philanthropic initiatives or to discuss any other ideas you might have for making a gift to Munich International School, please do not hesitate to contact giving@mis-munich.de.

50th Anniversary

Winter Gala

will be an extra special event for Munich International School as we join in celebrating our 50th Anniversary at the Bayerischer Hof in Munich.

SAVE THE DATE

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SATURDAY

November

Important calendar events More details can be found online by visiting www.mis-munich.de/calendar JUNE Last Day of School – Classes end at 12 noon JULY Summer Break begins

30 1

AUGUST Assumption Day (Holiday) 15 Math & EAL Testing Day for new students 17 Orientation Day for New Families 19 Classes Begin for 2016/17 School Year 22 No classes for EC students 22-23 EC students finish at 12:20 24-26 PTV Welcome event 26 Back to School BBQ 28 Grade 8 Ahrntal Trip 28 Aug - 2 Sept ASA Fall Season Starts 29 EC students finish at 12:20 29 EC 5/6 students first day of school 30 Junior School EAL Parent Orientation 30 EC 4/5 students first day of school 31 SrS ‘Back to School Night’ 31 SEPTEMBER JS ‘Back to School Night’ 6th Annual PTV Golf event Middle School Back to School Night 50 years since the first day of classes at MIS College Day Grade 5 Berchtesgaden Trip JS Parent Principal Forum

1 3 13 19 22 27 - 30 27

OCTOBER SAT Testing Unification Day (School Closed) Ski Swap Fall Break ( No Classes) Classes Resume

1 3 15 22 - 30 31

NOVEMBER All Saints Day (Holiday) - School Closed SAT Testing JS Principal Forum Winter Gala Winterfest ASA Winter Season Starts

1 5 8 26 27 28

How do I become a part of the Munich International School Community?

How do I stay in touch with Munich International School?

Student Admissions: admissions@mis-munich.de

Munich International School Alumni & Friends: alumni@mis-munich.de

Employment Opportunities: employment@mis-munich.de

Giving at Munich International School: giving@mis-munich.de

www.mis-munich.de