ISSHy competition
Over the Autumn break, we set a challenge for the ISSH Community. We asked them to take ISSHy along on their adventures and to snap a photo of the coolest spots they explored. This week we announced the winners and they received their prizes: Primary: a Grade 5 student won family tickets to Ticiland, theme park in Stein am Rhein
Secondary: a Grade 7 student won CHF30 worth of Procity vouchers to spend in Schaffhausen.
Early Years Centre
The ELC and ISCC have been very busy in the last few weeks.
Our Bears group have recently been on an outing, travelling via public transport to Jucker Farm, to explore the pumpkins. The whole trip was a true adventure for everyone with many highlights.
This week the Foxes went on their first field trip to the Strawberry Farm in Dachsen to put their own Christmas decorations on display as part of the Advent path.
The ISCC had a special Halloween week, with great activities and costumes. The toddlers were also invited to join the Halloween disco in the spooky assembly hall. More recently, they were busy crafting their own lanterns for the turnip parade on 23.11.
The ISCC and ELC had their annual turnip parade this Thursday and invited all the families for a get together with snacks, drinks, music and lanterns. The atmosphere created by the music, lanterns and carved turnips was just magical and made us all forget the cold but luckily dry weather.
A special highlight was the room move for the Foxes and Bears to their new classrooms in the Primary building. With great enthusiasm and creativity, they helped to set up their individual classrooms within record time; they wanted them to be ready to show them to their parents at the parents’ evening held on 16.11.
Primary School Scoop
As we returned after the autumn break we got spooky busy in Primary with a Halloween Disco. The kids had a blast and this was only possible due to our amazing parent support, so thank you! Our Grade 5 students participated in the Future Day on November 9, and their experiences provided them with a great understanding of what skills are needed when making bread, programming robots, driving tractors and building dental braces, just to mention a few.
On November 14, thanks to Mr. Luke Stevenson, some of our primary students participated in a cross country competition at the International School of Zurich North. This furthers our collaboration with Swiss international schools and provides an environment conducive to building our children’s understanding of international mindedness.
Middle School
October has been another eventful month. After returning from our exciting school trips and enjoying a well-deserved break, we unveiled our new third floor in the secondary building. Students slowly resumed the organisation of the upcoming House events, benefitted from Milk Day and had a costume parade on the 31st of October, all thanks to our Parents’ Association and Student Council coordinator, Mrs. Waterhouse.
Some students even won awards for the following categories:
Most Creative Costume: Yiannis (gr 9)
Funniest Costume: Alex (gr 6)
Scariest Costume: Katja (gr 8)
We also had Spirit Week, during which the students dressed for school following a particular theme. Some students were incredibly creative and went the extra mile in thinking out of the box! Even the teachers joined in on the fun!
Transition days for Grade 5
At ISSH, we strive to extend the learning experience beyond classroom walls. Just like all other milestones that accompany ageing, “moving up” from primary to secondary can be challenging. In order to fully immerse our grade 5 primary students in Middle School, we are aiming to extend our usual two-day experience into a monthly reunion this year, during which all of grade 5 will be introduced to their new peers, teachers, and building throughout the school year, bit by bit. Knowing what to expect will help facilitate their physical transitions in August 2024 and prepare them emotionally for Secondary.
High School
Since the October break a lot of events have taken place in our High school department. Students have a new and larger common room on the new third floor. This provides ample space for them to collaboratively study and work together outside of the classroom environment. Overall, having more space and having moved all but one science laboratories to the secondary building has made learning and teaching even more successful. At the end of October students had fun dressing up and celebrating Spirit Week and Halloween. All DP2 students have been registered for the upcoming May 2024 exams and are working on their internal assessments. Recently we had a successful outcome of English A oral examinations. The week culminated in a viewing of The Nightmare before Christmas, organised by our DP students for other secondary students with the help of Ms. Waterhouse and some of our lovely parents.
Evaluation visit by the IB and MSA
It is with great pleasure that we share the feedback from our recent International Baccalaureate (IB) and Middle States Association (MSA) evaluation visit. The feedback and insights gained from this visit were not only valuable, but also validated the efforts we put into our educational programmes.
One aspect that stood out to the visiting teams was the exceptional teaching and learning that takes place in our classrooms. They were impressed by the dynamic and engaging educational environment we have created. Our staff were particularly praised for being enthusiastic educators, deeply invested in the learning and development of our students. This recognition is testament to their dedication and skill in fostering a vibrant learning community.
In addition, the reviewers were particularly taken with the ‘family environment’ that pervades our school, a reflection of the nurturing and inclusive culture we have worked hard to create. Our staff’s commitment to creating a warm, age-appropriate learning environment where every child feels valued and recognised was highly praised.
On several occasions, the evaluation teams confirmed that we are ‘an international school with a Swiss heart’. This phrase beautifully captures our aim to combine a global outlook with our local values, an aspect of our identity of which we are incredibly proud.
The active participation of our students and parents in the evaluation process was a highlight. Their involvement and the positive feedback we received is testament to the dedication of our staff and the strength of our close-knit, caring community.
These comments from the IB and MSA teams reinforce our confidence that we are on the right track in providing an exceptional educational experience for all our students.
