SU M M E R 2015
CONNECTIONS
1960
inter-community school
zurich
Connections Summer 2015
1
table of contents
4-5 Goodbye ICS,
hello world. Our class
of 2015 graduates
6 Learning about wind
Early Years students explored the
mystery and science of wind.
We have been celebrating with our
Grade 12s and their families as they
graduate from ICS and prepare for the
next stage of their lives.
12-13 A passage to
India
A group of Grade 10 students visited
south India during the spring holiday
to meet a community that ICS has had
links with for nearly 40 years.
23-26
2
15
A ‘Special
Someone’ comes to
breakfast
“On the ICS rollercoaster, there are
no height restrictions.” We look back
at the 2015-16 school year.
8-9
Community
engagement
Since returning from their trip to
Nepal, Grade 9 students have been
helping to raise awareness about the
problems created by the devastating
earthquakes there.
16-19 Spring
sports
Sports reports from the spring
season, plus coverage of the ICS
Sports Awards.
Visual &
Performing Arts
30-31
Exhibiting
their learning
Also in this issue:
We report on the Spring Concert
and the Performing Arts Awards. We
also showcase the cooperative and
collaborative learning that took place
during the biennial ICS Arts Fest.
Grade 5 students shared their
learning at the annual Primary Years
Programme Exhibition.
Grade 6 Brain Day page 14
What makes a good school page 27
Grade 7 MUN page 28
Learning about Ebola page 29
International Festival
page 32
From the PA page 34
School Calendar 2015-16 page 35
Connections Summer 2015
news in brief
Presentations full of energy
Spring into
learning
Connections offers a snapshot of life
at ICS. As this issue shows, it is a life
full of learning opportunities.
In the following pages we feature
students from Early Years up to Grade
12 across units of inquiry ranging
from digestion to energy, English
as an Additional Language and
neuroscience. We feature the Grade
5 Exhibition, Grade 12 Graduation
and the biennial Arts Fest. We also
report on student participation in
athletics and the Performing Arts.
Millions of Swiss francs changed hands
at the Grade 8 Energy Symposium this
spring - though sadly, not real ones!
Visiting parents and teachers were cast
as potential investors at this annual event,
which showcases student learning about
climate change, fossil fuel use and energy
supply and sustainability.
The investors each had 20 million ‘francs’
to invest. They found themselves listening
to some very persuasive presentations from
student energy consultants, who eagerly
pitched sustainable energy solutions for
a country they had chosen to research.
The students had to consider their chosen
country’s current and future energy needs
and explain the rationale and viability
of their solutions. It was then up to the
investors to decide which consultants had
been most convincing - and who would win
their backing.
In addition, this issue showcases
some of the extraordinary community
engagement that has taken place
this term. Grade 10 students had
the opportunity to go and meet a
community in India with whom the
school has had a relationship for 40
years. And Grade 9 students were
able to visit SMD, our partner school
in Nepal. When a major earthquake
struck the country not long after their
return, it galvanised them - like many
across the ICS community - into
wanting to help. You can read their
report in this issue and see photos
from the International Festival, which
this year was dedicated to raising
funds for SMD School.
We hope you enjoy looking through
these pages to get a flavour of what’s
been going on at ICS this term. This
is the final Connections of the school
year. The next issue will be out in the
autumn.
The ICS Connections team:
[email protected]
Connections Summer 2015
3
student achievement:
Goodbye ICS, hello world: our Class
of 2015 graduates
We have been celebrating with our Grade 12 students as they finish their schooling and prepare
for life beyond ICS.
“What lies ahead of us is life’s rich pageant.
We can make of it what we will. We have
the rest of our lives ahead of us to be
businessmen and businesswomen, to travel
the world, to heal people, maybe even find
the cure for a disease. So go out, enjoy
yourselves and change the world if you can.”
These were the uplifting words of Harrison
H, a student speaker at our Graduation
Ceremony for the Class of 2015. Our
departing Grade 12s finished their
International Baccalaureate Diploma exams
in May and will receive their IB results
and certificates later this summer. At the
Ceremony on 30 May, they received their
School Diplomas and we formally marked
the end of their time at ICS and celebrated
everything they have achieved so far.
4
Connections Summer 2015
Some students are now fulfilling national
service obligations, while others take a gap
year and do internships, travel and gain
other experiences. Many of our graduates
are heading into higher education and plan
to study subjects ranging from English,
engineering and economics to medicine,
marketing and management. Their choice of
subjects this year is broad; it encompasses
everything from computer science to sports
science, geography to radiography and
international relations to liberal arts.
Sciences Po University in France. (See
the full list of this years’ university offers at:
www.icsz.ch/university-offers)
Our students have received offers
from, among others, the Universities of
Cambridge, Durham, Warwick, Bath, York,
Bristol and Exeter in the UK; UCLA and Tufts,
Northeastern and New York Universities in
the US; McGill University in Canada; and
In her speech, student speaker Annika S
thanked teachers, on behalf of the class, for
all their help. “You have played a big role
in making sure that we stand on this stage
today. You have given us the knowledge,
support and help we needed in any
ICS is not academically selective, does not
have entrance exams and takes students
from all corners of the world. The fact that
many of our graduates are going into higher
education bears out our belief that, in the
right environment and supported in the right
ways, when we are challenged to achieve,
we can all do better than we think we can.
Grade 12 Graduation
Our Award Winners
Graduation
celebrates
the
achievements of all our graduates.
And there were also special awards
for students who have gone above
and beyond in a range of fields.
Annika S received the Academic
Achievement award. This goes
to the student who maintains
the highest academic standards
throughout the Diploma Programme,
consistently scoring at a high level
in all six academic subjects as well
as in Theory of Knowledge and the
Extended Essay.
The Creativity Award went to
Freya O. This award commends a
student’s outstanding involvement
and commitment in the Arts and
their ability to inspire, lead and
encourage others.
Facing page: the ICS Graduating Class of 2015. Top of this page: Greg T provides
musical entertainment; Pippa J and Lauren O receive their Service Awards. Above
left, student speaker Harrison H. Above right, Annika S with Chair of the ICS Board
of Trustees Sanjeev Premchand and IB Diploma Programme Coordinator Phil
Marchetti.
situation, whether it was differentiation in
Maths, understanding Faust in German, or
Genetics in Biology.”
Team effort was also the theme of the speech
by our guest speaker, Lord Holmes. He
talked inspiringly about the determination to
compete for his country that led him to win
nine Paralympic gold medals. He revealed
that the same determination helped him
when, as Director for the London 2012
Paralympic Games, he and his team made
it a sell-out event. “When we started out,
research said that zero per cent of people
were ‘very likely’ to buy any of the 2.8
million tickets! Despite this, I thought we
had a great opportunity: I had a vision and
I wanted all 8,000 staff, 7,000 volunteers
and 100,000 contractors to share it. So
we held an International Paralympic Day
in London. All 20 sports were represented
and the Prime Minister and the Mayor of
London played wheelchair tennis in front of
the world’s media. The picture went round
the world and we sold one million tickets in
the next fortnight. Then we asked Professor
Stephen Hawking to come and talk at the
opening ceremony, about the possibilities
not only beyond ourselves but beyond our
universe. The Paralympic Games went on
to be a sell-out event, with people even
turning up to spectate at sports they had
never heard of before. It was great - not for
me, but for the thousands of people who
had made it happen because they believed.
And that’s what it boils down to: having a
vision of what is possible and getting others
to believe it and come on that journey
with you. So I am honoured to share your
Graduation day with you and I congratulate
you graduates, your parents and ICS staff.
And just remember what results can be
achieved when there is a team with belief
and drive and a vision all working together.”
The Action Award went to Emil
P in recognition of his outstanding
contribution to the sporting and
athletic life of ICS, his sports skills
and leadership and fair sporting
spirit.
The Service Award went to
Philippa
J and Lauren O for
providing outstanding service to
the school, local and international
communities,
interacting
with
genuine needs, raising awareness
of global issues such as Alzheimer’s
Disease and AIDS and improving
community
cohesion
through
involvement and understanding.
Ellen B received the European
Council
of
International
Schools’ Award. This is given
to a student who is a contributing
force in the life of the school, with
the ability to bring differing people
together into a sense of community,
thus furthering the cause of
international understanding.
Connections Summer 2015
5
primary learning
How do we know the wind is there?
Early Years students
enthusiastically explored the
science and the mystery of the
wind.
Frequently perceptible yet often invisible, the
wind is a fascinating weather phenomenon.
Its mysterious nature brings the languages
of science and imagination together as we
discovered when exploring the question,
‘How do you know the wind is there?’, write
Early Years teachers Heidi Harman and
Andrea Mills.
We read fictional books about the wind.
Our favourite was Millicent and the Wind in
which the wind adopts a human persona and
becomes Millicent’s friend. We all enjoyed
the stories where the wind is portrayed
as a living being with its own personality
and thoughts. Some of the children were
motivated to create their own fantasy tales
and story pictures about the wind. A strong
thread running through many of these
stories was the power of the wind.
Feeling the power of the wind
To begin learning about the wind’s
power, we experimented with wind in the
classroom. We observed how the fastmoving blades in electric fans generate
wind, and how we could produce a gentle
current of air by blowing through straws. We
then tried to paint using wind from different
sizes of fans and hairdryers, and by blowing
through straws. The children quickly learned
how to gain a certain amount of control of
these different types of wind forces either
by pointing the equipment in the desired
direction or by holding them closer or further
away from the paint.
successful than the strong wind from
the fans in blowing the paints across the
paper?’ Thomas’s theory was: “It‘s easier to
hold the hairdryer close to the paint.” Jack
said, “The hairdryer wind is stronger”, while
Wille thought, “It‘s smaller, that‘s why it‘s
better.” We acquired an anemometer to use
to measure the speed of wind.
Our experiments led to the question ‘Why
is the strong wind from the hairdryer more
Making wind chimes
To continue our wind inquiry, we constructed
6
Connections Summer 2015
Top: Early Years students feel the wind generated by an electric fan. Below left,
measuring the speed of wind from the fan with an anemometer. Below right,
painting the wind by blowing paint across the paper with a straw.
wind chimes to hang outside in our Early
Years courtyard so we could observe and
hear whether there is a wind causing them to
move and make different sounds. Everyone
brought in recycled materials from home to
make our wind chimes. They chose objects
for their beauty, their interesting form or for
their ability to make a sound when moving
or knocking against another object. Our
outdoor wind chimes were a perfect way to
help us know whether the wind was present.
Kindergarten scientists
look for answers
Researching wind sounds
After reading information books about the
wind and the forms it can take, we did some
research online - and particularly enjoyed
listening to the range of sounds made by
different types of wind: a strong wind, a
hurricane, a gentle breeze and a tornado.
While listening to the sounds, we each had
ideas about how the winds look and make us
feel. Letizia said that, “The hurricane sounds
like a dragon screaming. The tornado is a bit
like a train.” Pippa liked the gentle breeze: “It
makes me rest.”
Building on the children’s interest and their
reflections about wind sounds, we took it
a step further during a music session. The
proposal was to create wind stories with
musical instruments. Our hope was that
musical materials would provide another
way for the children to express their
understandings. A group was invited to
explore different types of sound-makers and
share ideas about how the wind might tell
a story. The children shared and developed
their ideas with each other.
A graph in the classroom was used
to document and display which wind
noises students liked best.
Ellen chose scarves and shared, “I’m doing
ballet wind.” She then elaborated by adding,
“The day the wind was really strong she
pushed us away.” Jacob chose a black scarf
and used it to represent “a scary black wind.”
He then blew into a tube and suggested this
sound could be the “hurricane roaring like a
dragon.” Lily chose some triangles and told
us, “That’s a gentle breeze. It’s only winding.”
When discussing the different wind noises,
some children preferred the calmness of
the gentle breeze rustling the leaves, while
others loved the excitement of the roaring
tornado or the screeching hurricane. We put
up a graph in our classroom to document
and display which wind noise we each liked
the best. We recorded each wind sound on
separate recording devices, so that visitors
to our room could also listen and then add
their preference to our graph.
Exploring the science of tornadoes
Jacob chose to explore the science of
tornados further. He read some information
books about how tornadoes are formed
and then drew a picture representing this.
On discovering that both hot air and cold
air are involved when a tornado forms,
Jacob wondered whether he could make
his picture turn into a tornado! Jacob placed
part of his drawing on the warm light of the
overhead projector (in ‘hot air’) and left the
remaining part off (in ‘cold air‘). “Look! My
picture will turn into a tornado!”Jacob cried.
Listening to children’s theories is
embedded in the inquiry-driven, playbased practice in the Early Years Centre.
So when student Nicky W asked a
question in Ms Mills’s Kindergarten class
about how a Venus Flytrap digests its
food, he was able to call on experts in the
school community to support his research.
In pursuit of greater understanding, he
and his classmates visited the Secondary
Science Lab. They worked with Science
teacher Ms Fletcher and Grade 11
students on an experiment showcasing
the digestive system of a Venus Flytrap.
The children put model protein ‘flies’ in
an enzyme solution. Over the space of
a few days they observed that the ‘flies’
disappeared.
The Kindergarteners excitedly shared
their findings with Ms Fletcher that “the
flytraps have a special oil in their mouth
that turns the fly into tiny tiny pieces, small
like bacteria, that it can then drink”.
Even after our class inquiry into the science
and mystery of wind, we observed the
children continuing to choose to look at
wind-related books and including the idea
of wind in their imaginative role play games.
Unexpectedly the concept of feelings was
explored fairly deeply during this project.
This was particularly evident when we
considered the different emotions wind
sounds can evoke and when the wind
assumed a character in our fictional stories.
Connections Summer 2015
7
focus on nepal:
‘Our Nepal trip has motivated us to
Grade 9 students who went on
a trip to Nepal in March have
been helping the earthquakeaffected country.
By Andrea V-B, Ana P, Leoni S, Harry D,
Zofia P, Paul O, Emilie E, Anna-Lena B,
Tobie B and Mathijs W.
Visiting SMD School
In late March, we flew to Nepal for two
weeks for the Grade 9 Service Learning
Trip. Our first week was spent at our partner
school, Shree Mangal Dvip in Kathmandu,
which provides education for students
from remote Himalayan villages. Four SMD
students are studying at ICS at the moment.
We spent time with the younger children
(4 to 8 years old) in their classrooms and
taught them games and rhymes, such as
‘Butterfly, butterfly’ and ‘Duck duck goose’,
which was soon very popular throughout the
whole school. They also taught us to say a
few things in Nepali and we had to practise
while playing pictionary.
The children, many of whom live at the
school, were very welcoming and friendly
and made us smile constantly. We were
very impressed with how calm and peaceful
they were - never seeming to fight with one
another or throw tantrums. Even 4-year-olds
knew to keep their shoes outside and fold
their sweaters neatly in the classroom.
One of the highlights of our stay was visiting
study period in the evenings where we were
able to interact with the older students who
were in the middle of their exams. It was
very nice to see the older students work
with the younger ones. SMD students have
study periods three times a day, along with
meditation time. We also worked on the
garden outside the dormitories - weeding
8
Connections Summer 2015
Grade 9 students, with ICS teachers and local guides, hiking in Nepal.
and preparing the soil for planting. People
from SMD were excited to help too.
Kathmandu is a vibrant and chaotic city filled
with life and religious diversity. Buddhism is
omnipresent in the area where we stayed
near to SMD, called Boudhanath - home
to one of the largest stupas (Buddhist
monuments) in the world. On the last two
days of our stay at SMD, Thrangu Rinpoche
(the founder of the school and a prominent
Tibetan lama or teacher) held a seminar
attended by many people from all around the
Ana in an SMD classroom
world. We were encouraged to participate
in a 45-minute meditation before the
seminar, which was very challenging. Then
Rinpoche gave an overview of Buddhism
because he knew we were visiting and did
not know much about it. Buddhism teaches
compassion and kindness.
Trekking in Annapurna
On the second part of the trip, we did a trek
in the Annapurna Conservation Area. Our
first campsite was in a small town called
Ghandruk. It was cold and rainy and we
tried to have some fun while
trekking. We thought of
games to play and generally
tried to stay in a positive
mood. The view from our
campsite cleared during
the evening and the sight
of Annapurna South and
Fishtail made the hard day
seem worth it. Luckily no
one got altitude sickness
and we adjusted very well.
The views from all our
campsites in the towns of
after the earthquake
find ways of helping’
ICS students Tobie (top, in circle), Zofia (above left) and Philip (above right), with students at SMD School.
Tadapani, Ghorepani and Hile were all very
impressive.
At one point we woke up at dawn to hike up
to Poon Hill, a famous viewpoint from where
we watched the sunrise. We were fortunate
not to have to carry everything since we had
a great team, including a very experienced
guide and helpful sherpas. The sherpas
were very experienced as well and some
A mountain village viewed on the hike
of them had even hiked the Mount Everest.
We became much closer as a group and got
to know each other better - often having to
support each other through the challenges
of the trek. Being in the mountains and in the
villages gave us an insight into the lives of
the Himalayan students before joining SMD.
Their villages are very remote and most of
them come from villages even further away
than where we were hiking.
The Nepal trip was a truly exciting,
interesting and memorable experience. The
entire group feels like they have taken away
so much from the experience of having the
privilege to see a special country.
Earthquake and Fundraising
On 25th April the Gorkha Earthquake
(named after the Gorkha District that lies
between Kathmandu and Pokhara) struck
Nepal killing more than 8,000 people and
injuring 19,000. With its magnitude of 7.8
on the Richter Scale, the Gorkha Earthquake
was one of the deadliest in the past 80 years
in the country. The aftershocks that followed
made sure that much of Nepal’s cities were
left in rubble. Nepal is in need of help, now
more than ever. Our time in Nepal, along
with ICS’s strong relationship with SMD,
has motivated us to find ways of helping.
The ICS community is working on spreading
awareness and is trying to collect money to
be sent for relief. The Grade 6 - 8 Round
Square have organized several bake sales
to raise money to send to SMD. There
was an assembly for Grades 6-8 and the
community has been donating generously.
We were involved in the International
Festival, which included several events to
support Nepal and to encourage everyone
to raise awareness and donate funds. Raffle
tickets were sold and there was traditional
food cooked by our Nepalese scholarship
students, Pemba, Tenzin, Damzik and
Chhimi. We also created arts and crafts and
had prayer flags to decorate to hang around
the school after the event.
“Our time in Nepal, along
with ICS’s strong relationship
with SMD, has motivated
us to find ways of helping.”
Connections Summer 2015
Grade 9 students.
9
reflections and highlights on the
A year in the life of ICS
“On the ICS Rollercoaster,
there are no height
restrictions.” Grade 12s reflect
on their life at ICS and school
photographers capture some
highlights of this school year.
“Thank you ICS for the last four years! There
are so many things that I am grateful to this
school for and I have countless memories
ranging from manic rehearsals for The
Sound of Music to travelling to Tanzania to
help out at our sister school.” Manisha S
“The ICS community gave me the
opportunity to fulfil my passions and achieve
my potential. I am very thankful to have had
this experience.” Vincent L
Above, thumbs up from Grade 2s on the first day of school in August. Below
left, Primary students chill in the playground with Mr Snowman in January.
Below right, a student gets stuck into a good book during ‘Drop Everything &
Read’ in February. Foot of the page: a Visual Art class in December.
“Whenever I think back to these three years
[at ICS] it makes me smile. I’ve had a great
time and I will miss ICS and the people a lot.
I want to thank my teachers for supporting
me in the IB. I appreciate the help and
challenges you have offered me throughout
the last 3 years.” Annika S
“From playing football on the red top to
trekking in Bolivia, my 8 years at ICS have
been great.” Tom D
“The time I have had here has been amazing.
It is such an educating environment and the
school really lets you express yourself, and
there are so many opportunities to explore
“From joining this school in 10th
Grade all the way to the end, I can
say with pleasure that ICS has
really changed me as an individual.”
Arsal C, Grade 12.
10
Connections Summer 2015
interests. I feel so lucky to have had the
chance to be here.” Ann Sofie R
“On the ICS Rollercoaster there are no
height restrictions.” Harry H
“Thank you ICS for the thrills and the spills,
you will be missed by many.” Henry S
school year 2014-15
Above: Grade 12s snap a ‘selfie’ on their last day of classes in April. Right, top: a science experiment in September.
Middle, an ICS team wins the ‘Battle of the Books’ in February. Bottom: enjoying the solar eclipse in March 2015.
Above: a determined tackle by ICS as our Varsity Boys’
Football Team takes on International School Basel in
October. Above right: performers at the Secondary Spring
Concert in May. Below right: Grade 10 students at the ICS
Career Fair in December.
Connections Summer 2015
11
community engagement
A passage to India
Continuing a 40-year
relationship, Grade 10s visited
a community in India in April.
When a group of Grade 10 students
went to visit south India in April, they were
continuing a relationship with a community
that has lasted nearly 40 years, as Clive
Greaves explains.
“The relationship was started by former
ICS teacher Walter Ebnother, a keen
traveller. He visited Tamil Nadu in the
1970s and stumbled across a clinic called
Seva Nilayam. When he returned to ICS,
he wanted to maintain a relationship with
the clinic so ICS began offering it some
support, along with Arogya Agam clinic.
‘Arogya Agam’ means ‘a place of healing’;
it had been founded to treat leprosy and
tuberculosis patients in the area by a
traveller called John Dalton, who had himself
happened upon Seva Nilayam and seen the
need for medical help for the very poor in an
area which had precious few doctors and
medical facilities. He took himself off to be
trained at the Damien Institute in Belgium,
which had experience of leprosy patients,
and set up the clinic.
Helping an area with few doctors
ICS gave support to the two clinics
throughout the 1980s and ‘90s for
projects such as buying two water buffalo
for ploughing the rice paddies in the Seva
Nilayam estate; buying materials to make
puppets so that cautionary tales based on
health issues could be acted out in villages;
and buying materials to build a machine to
separate the seeds from kapok, used to
stuff mattresses, cushions and toys.
During the ‘80s and ‘90s, the demands on
Arogya Agam changed as the spread of
AIDS brought related sicknesses and social
problems: social exclusion, persecution
12
Connections Summer 2015
Martha, Sabrina, Cedric, William and Georgina meeting Dalit children and
adults in southern India.
and a growing number of HIV-positive
orphans. John Dalton and the clinic rose
to the challenges and gradually the role of
the clinic changed to social outreach and
community support.
for housing, clean water and electricity.
Women’s Federations, Self Help Groups,
were supported: these agitate against
domestic violence and sales of alcohol, and
advocate for the further rights of women.
Championing forgotten peoples
They began working with forgotten people
like the Dalits (previously known as
‘untouchables’, a term banned by Gandhi)
and the Palliyar hill tribes - rain forest
gatherers so remote that few knew of their
existence. Arogya Agam began helping
these people, who were at the bottom of
the social hierarchy, to find a voice, first
of all by registration and then by petitions
Since 2008, Jags Myanger and I have
organised four trips to Arogya Agam for
small numbers of older ICS students to
see and experience life in south India for
a short period and to talk and listen to the
groups supported by Arogya Agam. These
trips have made a great impression on most
students: some have returned for a second
trip. And John Dalton remains one of the
great, unsung heroes of community service.”
Above left, Georgina gives an ICS t-shirt to a tribal villager. Above right, Sabrina making new friends. Below: William and
Cedric playing games with some of the HIV-positive children at the Arogya Agam clinic.
Students’ reflections
While visiting Arogya Agam, the Grade 10s
had the chance to meet children infected
with HIV/AIDS. They were horrified by what
they heard about the children’s daily lives as
William, Martha and Georgina report.
a translator we asked each other questions
about our respective lifestyles and cultures.
“It was shocking when three of the infected
children told us their stories about being
discriminated. For example they were forced
to sit outside and if they had a cut, they were
sent home. It showed how difficult life is for
them, and how uneducated the rest of the
villagers are about the disease. A shocking
number of children raised their hands when
we asked which of them were no longer
living with their parents. One child had lost
both parents at the age of one. Our meeting
showed us how strong these children seem
to be and how easy our lives are.”
I was astounded by the stark differences in
everything from our education to the way we
ate. They told us of how they were bullied
and discriminated in school because of
the disease they had inherited from their
mothers and their economic status. But
because of the Arogya Agam clinic, they
have been given a second chance at life.
According to its founder John Dalton, ‘20
years ago most of these children would
not have survived past the age of seven.
Now many of them are graduating, going to
college and getting jobs.’ The work that this
clinic is doing to give the children of India
a brighter future is immeasurable, for they
are giving the gift of hope and life to these
helpless victims of this cruel disease.”
Report by Alexandra:
“When I walked into the Arogya Agam clinic,
I was greeted by 28 smiling faces. All these
children were HIV-positive and many had
lost parents and relatives to the disease.
They mostly lived in small huts in some of
the poorest villages in the area. Despite
this, they laughed and danced around and
seemed truly happy. I was inspired by their
ability to set aside their difficulties and
maintain a positive outlook. Talking through
Visiting tribal villages
By Sabrina, Cedric, David and Alex: “We
visited two tribal villages near the small town
of Palani. The first had a population of 110.
We sat with them to get a sense of how they
lived. They were a small group who, several
years ago had resided in cave systems in the
mountains and hills of rural India. They had
had a simple life, living off berries, honey,
leaves and game that they hunted with bow
and arrow. There was no school or medical
facilities and almost all of the women had
delivered their children upon the mountain.
Unfortunately, the government drove them
out of these villages. (We were told that this
was so that NGOs operating in the region
could exploit the rich natural resources that
the mountain had to offer.) On the bright
side, they were offered more modern houses
plus access to schools and medical care.
But moving also meant losing a traditional
way of life and culture that had been passed
down through the generations.”
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13
secondary learning fair
Unravelling the mysteries of the
human brain
The enigma of the brain has been puzzling scientists for centuries. There are over 10,000 science labs around the world today trying
to unlock its secrets but - as neuroscientists told delegates at the Brain Forum in Lausanne in April - it will require collaboration across
disciplines to do so. Grade 6 teachers responded to this call. They developed several units of inquiry into The Brain and the Senses and
on Brain Fair Day in June, students showcased their experiments and the results of their inquiries. They also had the opportunity to talk to
neurosurgeon Dr Timothy Killeen from Uniklink Balgrist, Zurich. The students were interested in his recent work removing tumours from
the spinal cord of his patients. “Dr Killeen taught us about many new parts of the brain, such as the forenum magnum, and about being a
neurosurgeon”, said Alicia, Tierney, Karoline and Malti. The students learned a lot from their inquiries and experiments. “I learnt that if you
have monocular vision, it makes it harder to tell the distance”, said Will. “We learnt about many things from illusions to mazes and got to test
our senses”, said Zach. “In my experiment you got to watch a cockroach complete a maze”, said Phillip. “My question was ‘Can a human
tell apart a food that has been adulterated with a different scent?’ ” said Lara. “After testing out my experiment, I found out that only 10 per
cent of the people I tested could match the correct taste to the smell.”
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Primary breakfast
A ‘Special Someone’
comes to breakfast
Mums, aunts and grandmothers enjoyed a morning at school when Primary held a ‘Special Someone’ Breakfast in May. This annual event
coincides with Mothers’ Day in Switzerland and in the past, this has been a breakfast to thank mothers for all that they do. But this year, to
honour students’ parents and their extended families, the invitation changed and students were allowed to invite a ‘Special Someone’. Each
Primary child was asked to bring to school a mother, grandmother, aunt, guardian or another adult who is important to them.
Some brought mums, some brought dads or grandads into ICS. The Special Someones were given a sit-down breakfast at tables decorated
with placemats individually made by the students. Then they were serenaded by the ICS Singers before going into Primary classrooms
to enjoy some time with the children. There were special activities to do - such as drawing ‘Mom and Me’ portraits or taking part in word
puzzles - before it was all over. And how did it go? We think the smiles on the students’ and adults’ faces say it all.
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15
spring sports season
Tennis triumph for ICS
It was a triumphant time for the ICS Tennis Team at the SCIS (Sports
Council of International Schools) Tournament. At the ICS-hosted
event in May, our players came away with successes and medals
galore. Our girls took the girls' championship and our team won the
silver medal in the overall team competition. Sabrina and Julia were
named the champions in the girls' Category A event, while Eline and
Bodicea came second in Category B. And Desiree took the silver
medal in the girls' singles competition.
In the boys' competition, the ICS boys finished fourth overall. And
there were additional successes. There were silver medals for
Denis and Robert in the boys' Category A doubles category, and
also for Alex and Kevin in Category B. Team coach Rob McHarg
says: "Please congratulate our players on their great results."
Tip-top on track and field
Fourteen Primary students competed at a Track
& Field Meet in Zug - and won 20 medals between
them! They represented ICS with pride and showed
excellent sportsmanship. We congratulate them on
their success:
• First-place winners: Abi F, Alex M, Hjalte T, Isabel
L, Mattias N, Laerke M and Jacob F.
• Second-place winners: Owen H, Maggie P,
Nicolas N, Mattias N, Jacob F and the Grade 5
Boys’ Relay Team.
• Third-place winners: Alex M, Grade 4 Boys’ Relay
Team and Grade 4 Girls’ Relay Team.
The photo taken on the podium symbolises the ICS
Primary Athletics Team philosophy. Coaches Anna
Hasic, Vickie Malcolm and Victoria Newman.
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Success on the Badminton court
The High School Badminton Team helped ICS finish off the winter
season in winning style and gave us a positive push into the spring
sports season. The team brought home the Championship title and
a clutch of individual medals when they competed at the SGIS
(Swiss Group of International Schools) Tournament in Lausanne at
the end of March.
ICS Athletics Director Michael Findlay writes: “The ICS Boys came
first and were crowned champions in the overall team competition,
while the Girls’ Team finished in an impressive third place overall.
“Additionally, ICS players picked up individual awards – Andreas A
(Grade 12) came in first place to be named the 2015 SGIS boys’
champion. Desiree H (Grade 11) won the bronze medal, finishing
in 3rd place overall in the girls’ category.
“This was an excellent and impressive ending to a strong season for
HS badminton team. We congratulate the whole team.”
The ICS Badminton Team on court.
Spring into sports: girls’ softball
Above, far left: fans and followers still smiling, despite the rain. Centre: undeterred by the weather, a player squares up
to bat against the International School of Zug & Luzern, left. Right: Our girls take on Basel in their final game.
Though they did not always get either the results - or the weather!
- that they were hoping for, the ICS Girls’ Softball Team enjoyed a
great season.
ICS students and families turned out in force, sent messages of
support and cheered the girls on particularly in their last two games,
against International School of Zug & Luzern and International
School Basel. This despite the fact that the team’s fans had to stand
and watch in the unseasonal driving rain!
Coaches Nadia Mills, David Horton and Andrew Grover were
philosophical: “We didn’t necessarily get the results we wanted,
but we know we had a blast!”
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spring sports season
Spring into sports: netball
ICS netball moved up from
club to team sport this year.
ICS Netball has gone from a club to a
competitive team sport this year. The Middle
School Girls Team’s first match was against
International School of Zug & Luzern.
Despite losing a hard-fought game, the team
took away positives as Grade 7’s Sacha L
reports: ‘ “Even though we lost, we played
a really good game”, said wing defender
Katherine B. Listening to her, I could tell
the team was happy about their progress. “I
think the goal attack and I cooperated well
together at the end of the match and were
able to find many open spaces”, said goal
shooter Mathea I. Many other players agree
and enjoy working together as a team. The
team is looking forward to improving and
playing once more.’
ICS then hosted the Swiss Group of
International Schools (SGIS) tournament
in late April. Rose Harrison, netball coach
at the International School of Luxembourg
said: “The standard of netball continues
to improve and the tournament was
fantastically well organized.” Grade 9
player Leonie S writes: “At the ICS-hosted
tournament in April, both the Category B and
C teams played very advanced and strong
matches. Throughout this tournament huge
improvements could be seen from every
player. Even though both teams struggled
to win their games they stayed strong and
stayed positive.”
“In May the Netball Category B and C
teams traveled to Basel. Both teams
played a strong match showing huge
individual improvements as well as team
improvements. After a hard game Category
B finished their season with their first win,
they played hard and had control over the
ball for 90% of the whole game. Both teams
had a successful season.”
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sports awards
Celebrating sporting participation
The 2015 Sports Awards celebrated tenacity and effort as well as success
Above: left, ICS athletes listening to guest speaker Alex Taugwalder. Right, some of the many award winners.
Well over 400 students have taken part
in the ICS sports programme this year.
So the Main Hall was packed on 11 June
when the ICS Sports Awards took place.
The evening was about celebrating success
and recognising effort, as Head of School
Mary-Lyn Campbell told the athletes
and their families. “This Awards evening
recognises our athletes for the tenacity and
enthusiasm you have consistently displayed
on the playing field, in the gym and pool.
It takes practice to get things right and –
as all successful athletes know – it also
takes sacrifice to help you meet your goals
and achieve success. So this evening we
recognise the practice and the sacrifice our
athletes have given to improve their game.”
As he went on to say, sport is not only
integral to ICS but also vital. “Sport can
instil many good values in children such as
commitment, organisation, trust, team work
and many other important skills that they can
take with them into the outside world. Sport
helps foster stronger relationships between
students and teachers when they meet in
an environment outside the classroom and
discover a shared interest. They develop
greater understanding, respect and trust
and that can lead to success not only
on the field but in the classroom. Many
studies show that a strong and supportive
relationship between a teacher and a
student is fundamental to students’ social,
emotional and academic development.”
When Athletics Director Mike Findlay took
to the stage, he revealed that this year
“there were competitive sports teams
from Grade 2 to Grade 12, involving 444
athletes - a 61 per cent participation rate in
our competitive sports, which shows what
an integral part of the school the athletics
programme is.”
Mr Findlay then introduced our guest
speaker. Alex Taugwalder has been the
International Ski Instructor Association
World Champion in Giant Slalom. He has
also been Swiss Ski Instructor Champion in
Giant Slalom three times and in Ski Cross
twice. He went on to develop the sport
he loves into a successful business: he is
now the managing director of a Swiss ski &
snowboard school as well as an instructor
to the ICS Ski Team. He told the students
that to be successful in life, you have to set
priorities and sacrifice your time in order to
reach your goals. These were lessons he
learned, he said, from skiing. At the age of
14, he went to a special boarding school for
budding skiers. “I was skiing about 200 days
a year. This involved sacrifice: sometimes I
didn’t see my family for a month at a time. It
also taught me how to organise myself, how
to develop endurance, how to handle a bad
result in a race and how to pick myself up
again afterwards. It taught me to look after
myself physically and psychologically.”
Life lessons from sport
And these were all transferable skills, he
revealed. When he moved from skiing into
running a ski school, “all those virtues were
important in my business life. Sport gives
you essential life skills that you can profit
from throughout your whole life. I can
tell you that without my past as a skier, I
wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
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19
community engagement - secondary
Toiletries for the homeless
Secondary Round Square
committees led a successful
drive to collect toiletries for
the homeless.
A drive by some of our older students
to collect toiletries for users of a local
shelter for the homeless generated a huge
response. Earlier this year, the Grade 10
& 11 Round Square Committee appealed
to ICS families to donate toiletries - from
shampoo and soap to toothbrushes and
deodorant - for use at a shelter run by the
Pfarrer Sieber Foundation, SWS (www.
sieber.ch).
This organisation supports the homeless
population in Zurich. The students have
been working in cooperation with SWS
to collect toiletries and cosmetics. They
collected dental care products, hygiene
items like deodorant and soaps, sewing
kits and also warm clothing items like socks
and hats. At the end of the Toiletries Drive,
Elise N and Valentina W-H (pictured above,
sorting through the donated toiletries)
wrote to families to say: “You have all been
amazing, this has been the most successful
drive ever and SWS is really grateful for
your contributions. Thank you!”
Young leaders take on a challenge
“Face the challenges, make a difference!”
That was the theme when six Grade 7
students attended a Round Square camp
for young leaders in May at Transylvania
College, Romania. The activities ranged
from service - handing out drinks of water
and cheering on competitors in a local
running race - to the physical challenges
of rock climbing and caving in Romania’s
largest cave, Pestera Vântului (Wind Cave),
which has 52 km of underground passages.
As participant Ayush P put it: "I really enjoyed
it because I was given the opportunity to
make many new friends and to try many new
activities, proving a quote from a teacher at
our host school who said: ‘Don’t limit your
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Connections Summer 2015
Caroline F rock climbing and Luc S about to enter the Wind Cave.
challenges, challenge your limits!’” Katie
N said: “I participated in an exciting camp
where I hiked and also handed out drinks to
Marathon runners. I met so many amazing
people and learned more about myself as
well. I had so much fun and by the end, I
was so sad to be leaving Romania.”
community engagement - primary
Collecting bottle tops for Bruno
The ICS community collected over one million bottle tops in response to the Primary Round
Square ‘Bottle Tops for Bruno’ campaign! This was an initiative to collect plastic bottle tops
for an organisation - Caminheiras de Maria - that swaps them for a wheelchair for a needy
child. The organisation is hoping to collect enough bottle tops to obtain a new wheelchair
for an Italian boy called Bruno.
ICS families collected bottle tops during April and May and students brought them to
school at the end of May. Students and teachers with weighing scales and willing hands
sorted and counted them all, while Primary Principal Mr Crocker came along to keep an
eye on the rising total (right). On behalf of Primary Round Square, Mr Grover was delighted
to announce that - helped by a donation of around 500,000 bottle tops from Packsys
Global, coordinated by Emma L in class 5NBM - ICS collected over a million bottle tops.
(See Emma sitting on the bags of bottle tops, below.) Between them all the tops weigh
over 1500 kg. The ICS collection has taken Caminheiras de Maria over a third of the way
towards their goal. Mr Grover says: “Great work! Thanks again, ICS.”
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21
Celebrating
Earth Day
Grade 2s turned off lights, recycled rubbish and gave fellow
students seeds to plant to celebrate ‘Earth Day’.
“Grade 2 has been learning about sustaining
and maintaining Earth’s resources,” writes
class teacher Karen Lewis. “As part of this
unit, 2KL decided to celebrate Earth Day
in April. The students wanted to involve
the school community so they wrote a
persuasive letter (their genre in writing
lessons) to all staff about their plans.
Above, Grade 2 students on Earth Day
helping to clean up the playground and
organise the rubbish for recycling. “We
found lots of rubbish,” writes Oskar.
They wanted to have some fun break-time
activities that would involve their peers.
They came up with the idea of a fun game
of sorting recyclable materials and some
piñata games. After some discussions about
what to put inside the piñatas, the students
decided the materials should be natural
and should be good for the planet. Rodrigo
came up with the idea of buying vegetable
and flower seeds and putting them in.
We received many letters of support from
teachers who were excited to share Earth
Day with their students too.”
By Regina H: “On 22nd April people around
the world celebrated Earth Day to help the
planet. At ICS Grade 2 wanted to celebrate
Earth Day and 2KL wanted to save electricity
so we switched off electricity and energy.
We had to buy the flour to make glue to
make our piñatas, so we went to Migros.
Inside the piñatas we put seeds, leaves and
flowers then we bashed them in the play
ground. Many kids at ICS had fun on Earth
Day!!!”
Grade 2 planned Earth Day games
for fellow students including making
Earth-shaped Piñatas. Inside were
vegetable and flower seeds to plant.
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Connections Summer 2015
By Oskar V: “On Earth Day, Earth’s birthday
happened and Earth grew. 2KL put lights off
for 1 hour from 9:00 to 10:00. After break
we cleaned up the playground. We found
lots of rubbish. Mr Gardner asked us to sort
rubbish into groups. You should help Earth
not only on Earth Day you should help Earth
everyday. Earth day is fun.”
By Luiza D: “Earth Day is a day in which
you save electricity. 2KL decided to write
letters to all the ICS teachers to ask if they
wanted to turn the electricity off, and most
of the teachers did so. Then 2KL started
making games and piñatas. In the piñatas
there were carrot and flower seeds, flowers,
and leaves. The piñatas were painted as
the earth and you smacked them with your
hands. Luiza and Rose made a sorting
recycling game. Well done ICS for saving
our planet!”
By Aneesh M: “2KL wrote letters to
teachers about how they could save energy
on Earth Day. We also made piñatas for
break time that were shaped like the planet
earth. Inside we put seeds of vegetables
and flowers that people can plant. After play
time we helped the caretakers organize the
rubbish which the caretakers will recycle.”
performing arts
An evening of musical
diversity
This year’s Spring Concert in May showcased
the diversity of musical talent at ICS,
writes Melanie Ward, Head of Performing
Arts. There was everything from classical
music to Broadway favourites to current
chart hits - plus original compositions by
several students. And seasoned performers
mingled with those performing on the large
ICS stage for the first time.
The ICS Wind Band opened the concert
with crowd-pleasers like ‘Can-Can’, ‘Dr
Who’ and ‘The Best of Queen’. The Big
Sing strutted their stuff with a rendition
of Irving Berlin’s ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’. ICS
Strings presented an accomplished
performance of ‘Danse Macabre’ by SaintSaens while the ICS Stage Band gave
energetic performances of ‘Crazy Train’ and
‘Feelin’ Good’. Meanwhile the newly-formed
Vocal Quartet delighted listeners with their
close-harmonies in the Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’.
Student soloists and small groups
included Madeleine S (viola), Abby C
(voice), Sacha L (voice & guitar), Jan D
(voice), Marie M (voice & piano), William S
(voice & piano), Aneeq A (voice & guitar),
Brendan M (violin), and Gregory T (voice &
guitar).
Original compositions were presented
by Sophie G (voice & guitar) and Aryush
G (music technology), while musical duets
were performed by Caitlin Y (voice) & Luis M
(ukulele) and Bianca M (bass & voice) & Noa
M (piano & voice). Rock bands ‘Paroxysm’
and newly-formed ‘The Properties of NonMetals’ enthusiastically rocked the stage.
From voice to violin, from strings to
wind, from classical to rock, there was
something to suit every musical taste
at the Spring Concert. Even a ukulele...
Thanks to all musicians for sharing your
music with the ICS community. Hear the
recordings on our ‘ICS Records’ record
label on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.
com/ics-records
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23
learning through the arts
Collaboration and cooperation at
Students explored Humanities through Music, Langage through Visual Art, and Science through
Dance at the school-wide, interdisciplinary Arts Fest.
Putting on a play about physics; performing
a song about politics; photographing
scenes from nature; painting words from
different languages; protesting about
global warming and participating in a
mother tongue exercise. These were some
of the many workshops students took
part in during the two-day, school-wide
Arts Fest 2015. The theme this year was
‘Synergy’; collaborating with each other,
students were challenged to create an
artistic product about their subject area,
from a dance inspired by Science to a
concert about Geography.
ICS holds an Arts Fest every two years.
It offers students an opportunity to learn
in very different ways. They work across
disciplines - learning about Maths through
Drama or Humanities through Music - and
they work with different age groups.
Machine dance
“My Grade 2s worked with Grade 7
students,” says classroom teacher Trina
Arsenault. “They studied the way Simple
Machines work and then they performed
the machines’ movements in a dance. It
was really very impressive.” Other Grade 2
students also used Dance as a way to study
Science. They looked at forces from push
and pull to wave energy and centrifugal
force and modelled them in dance moves.
Meanwhile Grade 4 students worked
with Grade 9s. In one workshop, to marry
Visual Arts with Language, they created a
comic strip about a day in the life of an ICS
student. The students were challenged to
include an element of every participant’s
culture, so it changed language often, from
English to Spanish to German to Swedish.
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Connections Summer 2015
Humanities and Music
In other workshops, students were learning
Humanities through Music. One group of
students picked a country at random and
researched which musical instruments
are typical of that country. They then had
to make the instruments out of recycled
materials. The proof of their success was
when they were able to give a performance
on the final afternoon in front of a crowd of
fellow students.
Parents and visiting teachers were
impressed with the learning and creativity.
As Primary Principal Tim Crocker said:
“Each area I have visited has its own
special feel: the energy and the ambience
around the school is quite incredible.”
the 2015 Arts Fest
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performing arts
Celebrating Performing Arts
We celebrated student
participation in the Performing
Arts at an Awards Evening in
May.
The ICS Arts Awards celebrate extracurricular Performing and Visual Arts. The
Awards recognise student participation
in music ensembles, theatre productions
(both as performers and backstage crew)
and/or festivals such as those run by AMIS
(the Association for Music in International
Schools) and ISTA (the International
Schools Theatre Association).
There are many students across the
ICS Secondary school who seize these
opportunities to pursue their passion for
Performing and Visual Arts. Over 120
students received an Arts Award this year,
testament to the thriving Arts programmes
here at ICS, writes Olivia C, Grade 11.
The Arts Awards ceremony consisted of
students being called up to accept their
awards based on how many activities
they had participated in. Those who had
participated in activities in more than one
discipline (for example, music and theatre)
got a distinction certificate.
The event was interspersed with student
performances including an original song
composed by Grade 10 student Luis M,
and performed piece by Luis and Sophie
G. There was a vocal performance by
Monica C, an original music technology
composition by Aryush G, a performance
by rock band Paroxysm and a monologue
from Antony and Cleopatra performed by
Grade 10 student David J.
He said afterwards: “I loved performing
and I think it was great that there were
performances as it gave a sort of sample
of the Arts of the whole year”. Ms Ward
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Connections Summer 2015
Top: Secondary musical Beauty & the Beast. Below left, Grade 12 Theatre
students performing on stage; right, student band Paroxysm.
said, “The extra-curricular Arts at ICS are
about pursuing your passion in performing
and behind the scenes, fulfilling your
responsibilities
through
CAS-related
activities, and achieving your potential
outside the classroom.”
Aleenah A, Grade 11, was one of many who
received an award. She said: “Obviously
getting the award does make you feel
special but the main thing that I took away
from all the arts activities at ICS was all the
new friends I made in the younger grades,
all of whom you get to see again at this
event.”
coffee with the leadership team
What makes a good school?
Parents discussed what
makes a good school with the
Leadership Team in April.
ICS is preparing for its next accreditation.
At the end of 2016, we will be visited by a
joint team from the Council of International
Schools and the New England Association
of Schools & Colleges. They will talk to
staff, students and parents and evaluate
everything from teaching and learning to
health and safety. They will gauge how we
measure up to our Mission Statement, how
our school is governed and led, and how
we operate.
It is a rigorous process: the current
accreditation document contains 137
standards, each with different indicators.
There has already been a preliminary visit
to start us off and staff will shortly embark
on 18 months of preparation for the full
accreditation. We will analyse how we
perform in each area and consider what
we can do to improve. As the Leadership
Team told parents at April’s Coffee
Morning, “It’s really rigorous. We need to
make sure that we answer to each one of
those indicators and standards. It’s a very
detailed compliance list.” It was a surprise,
then, when the Leadership Team added:
“But this is not enough”.
“This list is just a foundation. Accreditations
and quality assurance processes are
important to a school, but meeting this list
of standards on its own doesn’t make us a
great or innovative school,” they explained.
“ICS complies with all of this, but we want
to go further. We want to have accreditation
that recognises that we are not just good,
but exemplary at certain levels.”
The Leadership Team told parents that
research has identified a set of qualities
common to high-performing schools. They
include a clear and common focus, and
high standards and expectations. They also
include community involvement: schools
working with students and families.
Hearing students’ voice
And this is right, says the Leadership Team.
“We should always start our conversations
about what are good schools by listening to
the student voice. We work with students
who are conscious of their own learning
process and pathway and often ask us
challenging questions about it.
very much the case at ICS. “This has
always been a community school, based
on relationships with a group of people
supporting children as they learn. (See the
illustration.) That’s why it is important that
what is happening in the home supports
what we are doing at school. So whenever
there are tensions, we need to try and
overcome them. We want parents to feel
comfortable that they can come in and tell
us if there is an issue and we can then work
through it together.”
ICS also uses that collaborative approach
with organisations beyond school. It is
forging links with research groups and think
tanks, bringing school staff together with
outside experts. In this way, we are looking
at how we enrich and extend students’
learning; we are consulting the European
Council of International Schools as we
develop our Road Map for improvement;
and we collaborated with schools
worldwide when we recently upgraded our
Child Protection Policy. “A lot of school
improvement activity goes on beyond just
our accreditation and affiliation processes,”
the Leadership Team told parents.
A good school
should facilitate
them in asking these questions - like the
Grade 12 students who ask us if one
summative result at the end of the IB
Diploma Programme is the best way to
reflect their learning. Our answer is that we
can value all elements of their learning. The
Diploma is important and we want them to
do well. But we also value their involvement
in creativity, action and service since these
enable them to learn such important
qualities as resilience, commitment and
persistence.”
Parents’ voices too are important. The
Leadership Team shared research showing
that ‘in high-performing schools, parents
help develop, understand, and support a
clear and common focus on core academic,
social, and personal goals contributing to
improved student performance.’
ICS is also collaborating with the
accreditation
organisations.
“The
accreditation process takes a lot of energy
and time. We want to use it to help us
focus on where we are going and how
we are going to get there,” they explained.
“We are very happy that our accreditation
agencies are implementing a new take on
accreditation. In future they want to look
beyond foundation-level standards and
include issues like learner engagement and
autonomy and students’ learning goals.
The accreditation agencies want to focus
in future on how we provide this kind of
environment. We have volunteered to be
a pilot school for this new accreditation
process. We want to go to the next level:
we want to position ourselves as a thought
leader in exemplary schools. We feel we
are setting the bar high and we want to be
recognised for that in our accreditation.”
As the Leadership Team said, this is
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27
secondary learning
Grade 7 models the United Nations
ICS turned into the United
Nations for a day in April.
ICS turned into the United Nations for a day
in April - at least for Grade 7 students. They
spent the day at a ‘Model United Nations’,
acting as delegates from UN countries and
debating topics ranging from human rights
to the elimination of extreme poverty.
This is an annual event at ICS run by
the Individuals & Societies (Humanities)
Department. Students are assigned a
country and then have to take on the
persona of a delegate to the UN for that
country. They must put their personal
opinions to one side and instead adopt
the views of their assigned country as they
prepare position papers, speeches and
clauses for resolutions on global issues
that they will debate in committees.
“The guest speaker changed
what I want to do in the future.”
Students listening to the guest speaker during the General Assembly that
kicked off this year’s Grade 7 Model United Nations.
countries in areas where sanitation facilities
are non-existent. The students found her
talk fascinating. In one group reflection
after the event, they said: “She was very
inspirational and we were surprised how
her talk on sanitation linked to every issue
and we realised how big the topic really is.”
Albert V, Grade 7.
The day opened with a General Assembly
where all delegates gathered to hear
guest speaker Elizabeth Tilley, a Canadian
engineer who works in international
development. Elizabeth talked about her
work in building toilets in developing
Debating global issues
The student delegates then moved on to
a series of committees debating issues
from Human Rights, access to fresh water
and access to education for girls to the
elimination of extreme poverty.
Beatriz P said: “The part I liked the most
was when we were in our separate
committees and discussed ways to solve
the problems. Time in the committees went
by very quickly.” In his reflection, Simon L
wrote that: “I really liked debating my own
issue. I wish I would have talked a bit more
when I had the chance but my nerves were
holding me back.”
Student participation and commitment
The General Assemblies were chaired by
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Grade 11 students. One of them, Amanda
M, said: “I found the Grade 7 students were
incredibly engaged as well as genuinely
interested in learning and being a part of
the MUN process. As a student who had
previously done this activity, I was very
impressed with the level of commitment
and participation that these students had
throughout the whole day.”
In their second group reflection, the
students said: “We think M.U.N was fun
because you got to know more about the
world and the problems we are facing
today. Our advice to future MUNers is to be
confident when debating and be prepared
to argue your clauses.”
secondary learning
Learning the truth about Ebola
An ICS alumna who has
worked with Ebola patients
in Liberia came to share her
experience with students.
An ICS alumna who volunteered in Liberia
last year, treating patients with the Ebola
virus, came to talk to students in May about
her work. Dr Nathalie MacDermott, who
graduated from ICS in 1999, discussed
ethical issues surrounding Ebola during a
Grade 11 Theory of Knowledge class. She
spoke to Grade 10 students, who earlier in
the year had studied infectious diseases,
about the importance of local knowledge in
preventing the spread of disease. She had
a similar message for Grade 7 students
she met. She talked to them
about her experiences of
working with Ebola patients
and the difficulties of treating a
disease like Ebola in a country
where superstition sometimes
affected people’s willingness
to seek help.
They were fascinated to
meet her. Nicholas S said
afterwards: “I didn’t realise that
many people didn’t think that
Ebola was real, even though
many died.” He added: “I had
heard about experimental drugs but I never
knew some of them have cured patients.”
Sebastian V added: “The most shocking
thing I learned was that people outside the
affected countries refused to believe that
Ebola had started an epidemic. I heard a lot
about Ebola in the news and thought there
was an instant response. However that
was not what happened.” Emilia G said:
“I learned that Ebola is easily transmitted
from person to person. I also learned that
survivors have a smaller chance to get it
[again] and can help.”
Sharing best practice
“Thank you to the EAL team
for opening our eyes to what is
possible!”
“Thank you to the ICS English as an
Additional Language team for opening our
eyes to what is possible!”
That was the compliment paid to ICS after
the Secondary EAL teachers here hosted
two visitors from the International School of
Schaffhausen.
They were invited by Lydia Eckstein, Head
of Secondary EAL, to come and visit the
school to see how the EAL programme is
structured and to discover first-hand how
it works with students. Allison Greer,
Schaffhausen’s EAL Coordinator, and EAL
Specialist Sharon Longaker Vibert, said:
“We had many questions for Lydia and the
team as we are just in the process of setting
up our own EAL programme.
We knew we could learn a lot from them and
wow! We were certainly not disappointed.
They gave up their entire morning to
share with us how to effectively support
EAL students in the IB Middle Years and
Diploma Programme.”
The visitors were first invited to observe
a Grade 9 Individuals & Societies
(Humanities) class where Tom Matthews
and Lyndi Readdean were co-teaching. The
visitors said: “We were very impressed by
how two teachers could work the room to
bring their lesson alive! We then met up
with Lydia who explained to us in detail
how the ICS EAL programme is structured,
everything from the entrance placement
procedure, to how to communicate with
parents, to how the programme is structured
by Grade-level.
We came away knowing that we are
certainly nowhere near implementing such a
well-planned programme to reach the level
of student support that Lydia introduced us
to.
“But it was sure great for the ICS team to
open our eyes to what is possible! Thank
you Lydia and your team, the experience
was amazing!”
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29
Grade 5: the culmination of the primary
Exhibiting their learning
“I didn’t think I would learn from taking action
but I did - it was a great experience”. Grade 5
students tell us what it was like working on this
year’s PYP Exhibition.
The annual Exhibition is the culmination of the Primary Years
Programme (PYP), writes PYP Coordinator MaryAnn Van de
Weerd. It is a celebration of learning and an opportunity to
demonstrate what it means to be a PYP student. Students complete
an in-depth, collaborative inquiry where they explore a variety of
perspectives on their chosen issue. In the process, they apply what
they have learned during their journey through the PYP and exhibit
the attitudes and learner profile they have been developing. They
demonstrate understanding, and take action as a result of their
learning with the guidance of their teachers and mentors.
Below, Grade 11 student Olivia C interviews Grade 5 students
about their Exhibition projects.
Promoting equal opportunities for the disabled
Taking to a wheelchair and crutches for a day, Evita J, Georgia L and
Meret S learned about life for disabled people, particularly those
with mobility issues and blindness. It was part of their research into
disability and, Evita said, “it was really difficult, and we constantly
needed someone with us.”
Georgia L and Evita J spent a day finding out what life is
like for people with disabilities.
Their research led to some unexpected findings - for example that
blind people have more nightmares than sighted people because,
as Meret said, “they have more to be afraid of.” For the Exhibition,
the girls created ‘The Feeling Test’, a game where participants had
to handle objects without seeing them and try and guess what
they were. The aim was to give an idea of what it would be like
to be blind. The students researched different disability awareness
days and the ribbons and wrist-bands that can be worn to promote
awareness. As their action, they also lobbied for a push-button
mechanism to open the school doors so disabled visitors can get
in more easily.
technology and how addictive it can be. A group of boys in 5AG
worked on sending out a message that “there are ways to have fun
in the real world, not just the virtual one”. For the Exhibition, Thomas
B, Oliver K, Niilo T and Leo N decided to present an activity that
you can do instead of sitting in front of a screen, such as dodgeball.
The boys wanted to show that it is “important to balance your time
and concentrate on different things.” Thomas said he found the
research “fun and interesting.” Thomas presented to Grades 1 and
2 about their project. He said they “listened very well and definitely
learnt.” He was pleased when one of boys came up at the end and
told him that he had really enjoyed the presentation and learnt a lot.
Georgia said, “A lot of people don’t consider disabled people as
normal, like they are a different species and don’t understand that
a person is still a person.” Meret concluded that disabled people
don’t want to be pitied. “They want to be accepted.”
Meanwhile another group of Grade 5 students (Hjalte T, Tudor R,
Oliver T and Peter S) researched the use of electronics over time.
They created a big poster and a few videos to show how people react
to different video games. Hjalte said, “It was surprising researching
how technology has developed.” The group took many surveys
and through their research found that many people got addicted,
spending an average of five hours a day in front of a screen. Hjalte
Exploring addiction to technology
Two groups of students considered the evolution of electronics and
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Connections Summer 2015
years programme
hormones, acne and emotions during puberty. They wanted to look
at how bodies change during puberty and what emotions people
experience. After a relative of hers developed acne, Karen wanted
to know more about what is happening so that she is “prepared
for the future.” The students created a PowerPoint presentation,
a flow chart and two consequence wheels for their topics as well
as a video of them speaking on the topic. The girls learnt through
their research that acne could happen not just on the face but on
other parts of the body too. “You need to wash to reduce this,”
said Charlotte. The girls felt they learnt a lot through research like
performing a facial massage and reading books on the topic. Karen
said, “I now know what to expect during puberty, especially about
emotions and acne.”
Above: Leo, Oliver, Thomas and Niilo promoted having fun
in the real, not just the virtual, world. Below: Jacob F and
Luke A explored the Arts as a solution to social problems.
Expressing yourself with confidence
Grade 5 students Jacob F, Tara P, Luke A and Philippe G looked at
the theme of ‘How We Express Ourselves’ and studied why some
people aren’t confident to express themselves through the Arts. The
students conducted interviews with ICS teachers and a local artist
in Egg. Art teacher Ida is from South Africa and first started using
her art to express her emotions about missing her home. Jacob said
her story “shows how Art helps solve problems in social life.”
The group created two videos and, for their action, demonstrated
music and dance to the Kindergarten classes to show they were
confident to express themselves. Jacob plays guitar, clarinet, and
piano and so was able to perform music with the Kindergarteners.
He said, “One of the students was afraid to sing, but once we
showed him there was nothing to be afraid of, he sang. I didn’t
think I would learn from the action part, but I really did. It was a
great experience.”
At this year’s Exhibition, students’ projects ranged from
Freedom of Expression to Endangered Species.
had the opportunity to present pictures to younger grades. He was
promoting the “Hour a Day” idea, which encourages people to shut
off all their devices for an hour per day. The group made bracelets
to remind people of this promise.
Hormones and emotions during puberty
For their project, Charlotte K and Karen R in 5KO looked at
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31
from the parents’ association:
All together for Nepal: our
community reaches out
We reached out to our partner
school in Nepal with a fundraising International Festival
and parents’ lunch.
By Rachel Dale, President, ICS Parents’
Association: The 2015 International
Festival was a fantastic success, with a
record number of countries represented. A
huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who took part,
volunteered, made food, entertained, sold
books, ran the games, crafts, photo booth,
Dunk Tank, tombola and flea market, served
at the bar and more. For many it was a very
memorable and happy day.
We are still counting the takings.
However all indications are that we will be
able to make a substantial donation to our
partner school, Shree Mangal Dvip School
in Nepal, to help with their earthquake relief
and recovery efforts.
Particular thanks to the two
Festival Co-Chairs, Jen and Mini, who made
it happen with their enthusiasm, weeks of
hard work and a lot of organisation. Thank
you to them for pulling it all together so
successfully and smoothly. Finally, for all
the hard work in the hot sun by the student
helpers and the ICS caretakers, thank you.
We could not hold this event without you.
Also in support of SMD School,
the PA held a fundraising lunch in May.
Over 50 parents took part. A big ‘thank you’
to Susan Moore Brown who opened her
home for the event and catered the lunch
together with Lorraine O’Sullivan. It was
the powerful feeling of such a supportive
community, as well as delicious food, that
made the day such a success. We were
delighted to raise 4,000 CHF.
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Above, all sunshine and smiles at the International Festival 2015. Below, ICS
Scholarship students Pemba, Karma, Chhimi and Tenzin take a break from
serving at the Nepal stand. Facing page, an ‘ABC’ of the event: A = Audience,
B = Bouncy castle, C = Chess, D = Dunk Tank, E = Entertainment, F =
(Fantastic) Food. And G = a Great time for all, all in a Good cause.
community events
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33
from the parents’ association
‘Thank you’ from us
From the Parents’ Association Executive Board:
The school year is coming to an end, and we want to express our profound appreciation
to the ICS community. It has been a great privilege to work with so many supportive,
enthusiastic and capable parents. Thank you for all the support, excellent work and for
trusting us to represent you. Thank you also to the school leadership team and staff who are
so hard-working and dedicated to our children's education. We have enjoyed the powerful
cooperation between ICS staff and parents, focusing on what is best for the students.
A great strength of ICS is its welcoming and supportive school community. We are lucky
and grateful to be a part of this tradition. As families come and go, what withstands are
the friendships and relationships we build while we are here. All our best wishes to all who
are leaving ICS this year. We hope you take with you many good memories of this unique
community. For those returning next year and for new families arriving, we look forward to
another year of making many more memories and friends along the way. In the meantime we
wish you a very relaxing, happy and well deserved summer break.
Cheri Haas and her family are also leaving.
She says that what she has found best
about ICS is “the camaraderie of the
parents, the willingness of teachers to
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AUGUST
Wednesday 19:
Welcome Coffee
14:00-15:00, Treffpunkt
SEPTEMBER
Wednesday 2:
Community Information Morning
08:30-10:30, Treffpunkt
October 31:
Primary Halloween Party
ICS school and grounds
December 3:
PA Christmas Lunch and Market
Details to be confirmed
A farewell to ICS
Two mums who are leaving ICS to return to
their native USA here share some of their
experiences of living in Switzerland and
being part of the ICS community.
Jane Haynor says: “One of the most
important things our family did to make our
experience successful was just jumping
right into the community and embracing it
all... The ICS community and the expat life
are both quite special and extraordinary. I
suggest to jump right in and embrace this
‘new chapter/adventure, memory-making,
and life-building experience’. The people,
the new friends and families that come into
your lives, the bonds that are made are very
special and quite unique from any other
relationships made back home. Life is truly
a journey and enjoy the ride! Also, know
that you are not alone. Through the Parents’
Association and the ICS family, there will be
people more than happy to help, hold your
hand, offer advice, and show you the way
to overcome any hurdle, smile and be there
for you...”
UPCOMING EVENTS
For the most up-to-date calendar of
events, please visit www.icsz.ch
Contact the PA Board:
meet with students and parents, the holistic
approach to teaching in middle years and
the focus on independent thinkers.” She
adds that her family’s experiences here have
“opened their eyes to an international world
and made them more globally aware.” She
advises that the most important things you
can do to make your experience successful
are “getting involved in school activities
as well as the parent clubs! Getting out of
Zurich when it is foggy - go find the sun! Try
and play on some local sport teams... Also,
be prepared to make mistakes and laugh at
yourself. Write down all of the funny things
that happen to you as they will make great
stories. And avoid using the term “In my
country…”
• Read more from Cheri and Jane
in the PA section of the school
website.
If you have questions, or want to get
more involved with the PA, please
contact a member of the Executive
Board:
Rachel Dale:
[email protected]
Silje Sigernes:
[email protected]
Barbara Curtin:
[email protected]
Ingrid Indahl:
[email protected]
Ellen Lederman:
[email protected]
Maria Rinaldi
[email protected]
school calendar 2015-16
Calendar
School Year 2015-2016
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
Su
Mo
Tu
We
Th
Fr
Sa
2
9
16
23
30
6
13
20
27
4
11
18
26
1
8
15
22
29
6
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27
3
10
17
24
31
7
14
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28
6
13
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27
3
10
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24
1
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29
5
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3
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31
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5
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4
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25
1 August Swiss National Day
6 August: New Teachers’ HR day
7 August: New teachers & senior teachers
11 August: Lead teachers
12 August: Teachers & teaching assistants return
12-18 August: In-service/preparation
17 August: New students' orientation
19 August: First day of classes
12-16 October: Autumn Vacation
19-20 November In-Service, no students
18 December: Classes finish (at 12:00)
21 December - 8 January: Winter Vacation
15-20 February: Ski Vacation
25 March: Good Friday
28 March: Easter Monday
29 March - 8 April Spring Vacation
18 April Sechseläuten In-Service (No students)
1 May: May Day
5 & 6 May: Ascension Vacation
16 May: Whit Monday
23 June: Last day of classes (finish at 12:00)
24 June: In-Service Day
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The Inter-Community School is committed to
providing a supportive and enabling learning
environment in which all members of the
community are challenged to achieve their
individual potential, encouraged to pursue
their passions, and expected to fulfil their
responsibilities.
ICS Inter-Community School Zurich
Strubenacher 3
8126 Zumikon
Switzerland
Tel: +41 44 919 8300
Website: www.icsz.ch
ICS is fully accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) as well as the New
England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
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