Secondary School

Head of Secondary School's Message 

Dear Parents & Guardians,

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all new families who officially joined GIS this week, and a special welcome back to our returning families. I trust that you had an enjoyable winter break catching up with family and friends, and that your sons and daughters returned to us refreshed and ready for a new term.

I would like to introduce Mr Conor O’Rourke to our community and welcome him to our great school. Mr Conor joins us from New Zealand as part of the I & S department, and we are delighted to have him on board. Conor has replaced Mr Nick Ryan who has embarked on a career change in recent weeks, and we wish him well in his future endeavors. Similarly, Ms Melanie had to take early maternity leave towards the end of last term. We have been very fortunate to secure Ms Laura Fabeiro Vilas as a replacement teacher while Ms Mel is on leave. Ms Laura is passionate about the arts, especially media. Welcome to GIS Conor and Laura!

We commenced our Class of 2026 transition process this week and I would like to thank Mr Ged and Ms Burcu for the Parent ConnetEd session held yesterday. The session which introduced the two pathways available in Grade 11 and 12, is the first of four sessions held this month. Next week the ConnectEd is dedicated to the Diploma Programme; the following week the focus is the Career-related Programme and the final session is conducted by Ms Meena which puts the spotlight on university admission process. These sessions precede the individual meetings with our team, and therefore it is very important that parents are aware of the requirements to move into Grade 11. Should you have missed this vital first session, the recording can be located in the ConnectEd tab.

Next week, our MYP students will participate in the annual Interdisciplinary (IDU) week. During this week, the timetable will be collapsed for students in Grade 6 to 10 and they will explore, research and engage in activities and learning that is directly linked to a particular theme. It is a compulsory school week and timings of the school day will remain the same. Parents are invited to visit the Secondary on Friday to experience this excellent example of IB learning. Thank you to Ms Sandy and the team for coordinating this event – I am very excited to see the outcomes next week.

Have a wonderful week ahead.

Kind regards

Amanda Murphy

Head of Secondary