SECONDARY NEWS

Dear Secondary Parents,

Like him or loathe him one thing that can be said about US motivation guru Tony Robbins is that he comes up with some killer quotes.

“Complexity is the enemy of execution”

I love this. In fact it pops into my mind almost daily. Schools try to execute something that sounds so straightforward. That being to ensure students learn well, make excellent academic progress and flourish as human beings. Seems simple enough.

The challenge of course is that schools are incredibly complex places.In trying to execute this overarching goal they have to execute hundreds (if not thousands) of smaller goals. Each one of which can be made more complex than perhaps it needs to be. The enemy of execution can easily then compound problems and prevent progress.

To add further complexity everyone in a school has knowledge and experience of school. Teachers trained to be teachers and work there everyday. Students' lives are dominated by school and parents once went to school themselves. This is further complicated in international schools by the cultural complexity. The experience and expectations that might exist within one country's system may be very different from others. If we place a British, French and Finnish family in the same room to discuss education we might be right to expect a lively debate. These views are often driven by the same, seemingly simple motive “we just want the best for the kids”. And we do. All of us. We just usually want to do it the way we know or have experienced. This makes the whole thing astonishingly complicated.

You may or may not know that we are currently undergoing a full curriculum review in the school. The curriculum essentially refers to what we teach and when we teach it. It runs from kindergarten to Year 13 and over time it becomes more complex as things are added, subtracted and amended by multiple people year on year. The purpose of the curriculum review is to try and remove some of this complexity to better execute learning and teaching in the school.

This is a truly exciting and important project. It aims to develop more educational pathways for our students and is driven by a goal of being genuinely future focused. It is part of our strategic plan and a real keystone in the future development of the school.

So watch this space as the review bears fruit and the curriculum develops. It will be whole school, aligned and hopefully free from unnecessary complexity. It should provide options for our students to pursue their passions and to transition through the school more easily and efficiently. Perhaps most notably you will see approaches, systems and processes becoming more aligned across the different sections of the school.

To move from the abstract to the concrete a good example of this is within maths. Currently our provision across the schools is more complex than it needs to be. It has different approaches and language attached to it in different parts of the school. This has an impact on execution. The maths teams have been doing a lot of work on aligning the curriculum into a coherent and effective through school approach. They are already a long way down that road and the new school year will bring a less complex approach that will undoubtedly improve execution.

Thanks Tony.

Have a good weekend everyone.

James Wellings

IGCSE SPRING BREAK “BOOT CAMP” - MAY/JUNE 2021 EXAM SESSION

We are delighted to share THIS SCHEDULE for our IGCSE revision programme taking place during the Spring Break holiday. Every day there are up to 6 different sessions that students can pick from covering 15 different subject areas. Physical attendance at school for these sessions is HIGHLY recommended, but if this is absolutely impossible (due to travel or COVID reasons), students will be allowed access online. Students are welcome to sign up to any session (even if it is not their normal class teacher). The sign-up form for the programme can be found at the bottom of the schedule.

YEAR 13 ELECTIVES

As our Year 13s return from the Spring Break, they would normally be gearing up to start their exam session. This year, in place of the exam session we want to provide an enriching programme of pre-university and life-skills electives for students to participate in. This programme will run for the full 4 weeks that would normally have taken for the exam session (19th April - 14th May). HERE you will find the electives programme and course descriptions, at the end of the brochure you will find the link to the sign-up form. We encourage students to sign up to as many electives as possible.

UPDATED IGCSE INFORMATION - MAY/JUNE 2021 EXAM SESSION

To see the latest details about the May/June IGCSE exam session including the exam timetable and instructions to students, please visit the Parent Room Website > Learning Page > Cambridge IGCSE. This is the location for all up-to-date details about exams.

YEAR 11 PARENTS: NOVEMBER 2020 IGCSE EXAM CERTIFICATES

Parents of Year 11 are invited to collect their child’s IGCSE certificates from the November 2020 exam session. These are now available for collection at the secondary reception. Parental signatures are required in order for the certificates to be released.

CONGRATULATIONS - UNIVERSITY OFFERS SO FAR…

Our list keeps growing! We currently have 30 offers from Russell Groups, and merit awards in the USA/Europe valued at over 110,000 dollars, well done class of 2021!

University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath, University of Southampton, University of East London, CASS Business School, University of Oregon, University of Texas Austin, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, Buckingham University, Hult International Business School, University of Manchester, Istituto Marangoni, University of Westminster, New York University, University of Southern California, Cardiff University, University of San Francisco, University of Bristol, London South Bank University, SOAS University of London, University of Reading, University of Edinburgh, American University, Northeastern University, Hamilton College, Harvey Mudd College, University of British Columbia, Bates College, London Metropolitan University, University of East London

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Year 12

If you missed the Year 12 meeting, please see the slides on the Parent Room page.

All year 12 parents and students are invited to make an appointment with Ms. Nuñez to discuss post ISM plans.

Years 10-12

March 31st 9:00 am Eastern Time/Monaco 3pm

USA Webinar hosted by: Brandeis, Wash U in St. Louis, George Washington, Case Western, University of Rochester and Emory University. Register here

YEAR 9 GEOGRAPHY TRIP

Year 9 students will be going to the Oceanographic Museum on Tuesday, March 30th at 10:45 for a workshop on coral reefs. They will discuss how to manage the reefs sustainably. This will help support the work they have been doing in school on their own research questions about coral reefs.

IBCP - International L3 Diploma Enterprise and Entrepreneurship In focus

This week I would like to start a series of ‘in focus’ mini articles looking a little more closely at some of the elements within the Careers Programme. Each week we will focus on a specific area and some of the student achievements and success stories. This week it is the International L3 Diploma Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and the first of 7 student businesses.

SMART 4 is a business currently in its development stages, started by budding entrepreneur Edward. The idea behind his venture is to supply environmentally friendly solar charged portable power units for outside events, remote construction or in fact any location where traditional power connections are difficult or unavailable. Edward is using the skills he learns in the classroom to build a business plan, create a marketing campaign, make financial decisions and create a brand identity. He is aware of the competitive nature of the market but truly believes that SMART 4 is the future of portable power solutions as we move away from traditional fuel driven generators and towards clean sustainable energy solutions. Take a look at his website to find out more.

https://www.smart4online.co.uk/#about

For further information on the exciting opportunities available to your child in the International baccalaureate careers programme, please take a look at the school website or contact me, tania.leyland@ismonaco.com

Friday 19th March

MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SECONDARY

Dear Secondary Parents,

I hope this finds you all well. It’s time to explore another one of our Learning Principles.

“Learning is deepened through effective and formative

feedback on both the process and outcome”

Feedback is perhaps the most powerful tool that we teachers have. When done well it allows students to correct or refine their knowledge, broaden or deepen their understanding and develop and hone their skills. In short, it moves learning forward. I’ve written about the difference between formative and summative feedback a number of times before and I hope it is now part of your lexicon. As a reminder, summative generally refers to feedback given at the end of something (a unit, course etc) whilst formative tends to refer to methods of feedback that are ongoing and can be actioned.

Note that our learning principle only uses one of these words, formative. This means that we want all feedback students receive to be formative and effective in helping students to move their learning forward.

This sounds simple but it is one of the most researched and discussed themes in education. What makes for great feedback has been the subject of many debates and there remain strong opinions and differing opinions about how it should be done.

It may surprise you to know that one of the biggest debates currently exists around whether students should be given marks or grades. Some schools and even national systems have decided that grading is counter productive and distracts from truly formative feedback. Of course, others believe that grades are essential for a student to understand where they are at and what they need to do to get to the next level. No doubt you will have had an initial reaction, and perhaps quite a strong one, to these ideas

At ISM we do have grades and levels but we are thinking very carefully about how we provide effective and formative feedback. We want it to be both intentional and meaningful. When students receive feedback they should have the time and space to do something with it. Reading a comment or looking at a grade is fairly useless unless you can take some actions to implement change and aim for improvement based on that feedback. In this spirit we should value the power of the redo! If my history student gets an essay back and I have provided specific areas for improvement it does seem a little mad not to give them some time and space to improve it. By doing so the feedback has become formative and allows the student to take action. It will therefore be more effective.

The final part of this principle talks about the importance of process. This comes from the work of Professor Carol Dweck who’s research has shown that providing feedback on how a student arrived at an outcome is just as important (if not more important) than the outcome itself.

Imagine my history student again. They submit an essay which I have marked and I am giving feedback on. Look at the difference between the two statements below:

1. Well done Anna. You have achieved a level 6 with a strong

conclusion and some good factual information. You should try and outline your argument more concisely in your introduction...

B) Anna, over the last 4 weeks you have struggled to write a good conclusion but because you have stuck with it, drafted it and come to get advice this conclusion is excellent. Your effort has paid off. Very well done! Your introduction is the next bit we need to improve. Let's look at making it more focused and concise....

Hopefully you get the idea. The first is an example of standard feedback we would expect to see. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with it. The second gives the same information but praises and discusses the journey that the student has been on. This is what we mean by process and it has been shown to make a big difference to student progress.

Notice also that I did not provide the student with a grade in the second example. This was deliberate. Should I have done so?

I’ll let you debate that.

Have a lovely weekend.

James Wellings

YEAR 13 ELECTIVES

As our Year 13s return from the Spring Break, they would normally be gearing up to start their exam session. This year, in place of the exam session we want to provide an enriching programme of pre-university and life-skills electives for students to participate in. This programme will run for the full 4 weeks that would normally have taken for the exam session (19th April - 14th May). HERE you will find the electives programme and course descriptions, at the end of the brochure you will find the link to the sign-up form. We encourage students to sign up to as many electives as possible.

IGCSE REVISION PROGRAMME - MAY/JUNE 2021 EXAM SESSION

There are a huge range of IGCSE revision classes happening during lunch times and after school that we highly encourage Year 11 students to sign up to. To see the full list CLICK HERE.

We are also planning to run a schedule of focussed revision sessions during the Spring Break. These will be advertised in next week’s pulse and available for students and parents to sign up to attend in person or online.

UPDATED IGCSE INFORMATION - MAY/JUNE 2021 EXAM SESSION

To see the latest details about the May/June IGCSE exam session including the exam timetable and instructions to students, please visit the Parent Room Website > Learning Page > Cambridge IGCSE. This is the location for all up-to-date details about exams.

YEAR 11 PARENTS: NOVEMBER 2020 IGCSE EXAM CERTIFICATES

Parents of Year 11 are invited to collect their child’s IGCSE certificates from the November 2020 exam session. These are now available for collection at the secondary reception. Parental signatures are required in order for the certificates to be released.

CLASS 9 INTO 10 IGCSE VIDEO

The video of the Class 9 assembly on options choices at IGCSE can be found under the Class 9 to 10 Transition tab, within the IGCSE section on the parent room website. Students have already started having conversations with Homeroom teachers and subject teachers about the different subjects at IGCSE, gathering information so they can make informed options choices by next Friday(26th March). The google form for the option choices will be sent to Year 9 parents at the start of next week.

TEDxYOUTH VIDEO

The Video from the TEDxYouth performance is now available to watch on the TEDxYouth website. The individual speaker videos will shortly be available on the TEDx Library which is accessible through Youtube.

INVEST IN EDUCATION - LIVE WEBINAR ABOUT SUMMER INTERNSHIPS

InvestIn Education is holding a live webinar for parents and students on Wednesday 24th March from 19:00 - 20:30 (GMT) To register click HERE

CONGRATULATIONS - UNIVERSITY OFFERS SO FAR:

Our list keeps growing! We currently have 29 offers from Russell Groups, and merit awards in the USA/Europe valued at over 110,000 dollars, well done class of 2021!

University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath, University of Southampton, University of East London, CASS Business School, University of Oregon, University of Texas - Austin, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, Buckingham University, Hult International Business School, University of Manchester, Istituto Marangoni, University of Westminster, New York University, University of Southern California, Cardiff University, University of San Francisco, University of Bristol, London South Bank University, SOAS University of London, New York University, University of Westminster, University of Reading, University of Southern California, Cardiff University, University of San Francisco, University of Bristol, London South Bank University, SOAS University of London, University of Edinburgh, American University, Northeastern University

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Year 12

If you missed the Year 12 meeting, please see the slides on the Parent Room page.

All year 12 parents and students are invited to make an appointment with Ms. Nuñez to discuss post ISM plans.

Years 10-12

March 24^th: PLEASE JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL SESSION hosted by: University of Bath, University of East Anglia (UEA),Goldsmiths, University of London, University of Kent, University of Leeds, SOAS, University of London, University of Southampton, University of Surrey, University of Warwick, York St. John University.

To join the session students (and parents) will need to register individually via this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uk-university-virtual-tour-tickets-143425785385.

The agenda for the session is below, students are encouraged to attend the presentations and to also visit us on our booths in the Arena. University reps will be on their booth to answer any questions and students can choose, if they wish, to turn on their cameras for the booth conversations.

13:00 GMT / 14:00 CET – UK University Introductions

13:15 GMT / 14:15 CET – Study in the UK Presentation with a Q&A

The same presentations will also be repeated at 14:00 GMT / 15:00 CET and 14:15 GMT / 15:15 CET.

Upon registration, students will be asked to agree to a Code of Conduct when using the platform. They will also be asked to opt in or out to post-event communications from the university booths they visit. The Privacy Agreement and Code of Conduct can be viewed using the EventBrite link above.

Summer Programmes

Many Prestigious summer programs will be offered virtually this year. They are filling up and do have earlier deadlines. Please see Ms. Nuñez if this is something you are interested in pursuing.

Examples:

• STEM Imperial College London https://www.imperial.ac.uk/be-inspired/global-summer-school/

• 62nd London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF), which will be held this summer on-campus and online for students aged 16-21 years old. Each summer we welcome 500 students from 70 countries and I would like to invite you to send students to attend the 62nd LIYSF – 28th July to 11th August 2021.

• Humanities John Locke Institute Oxford https://www.johnlockeinstitute.com/

• Economics, Business and Law Bocconi University https://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/Bocconi/SitoPubblico_EN/Navigation+Tree/Home/programs/summer+school/

Dear Secondary Parents,

I hope this finds you all well. It’s time to explore another one of our Learning Principles.

“Learning is deepened through effective and formative

feedback on both the process and outcome”

Feedback is perhaps the most powerful tool that we teachers have. When done well it allows students to correct or refine their knowledge, broaden or deepen their understanding and develop and hone their skills. In short, it moves learning forward. I’ve written about the difference between formative and summative feedback a number of times before and I hope it is now part of your lexicon. As a reminder, summative generally refers to feedback given at the end of something (a unit, course etc) whilst formative tends to refer to methods of feedback that are ongoing and can be actioned.

Note that our learning principle only uses one of these words, formative. This means that we want all feedback students receive to be formative and effective in helping students to move their learning forward.

This sounds simple but it is one of the most researched and discussed themes in education. What makes for great feedback has been the subject of many debates and there remain strong opinions and differing opinions about how it should be done.

It may surprise you to know that one of the biggest debates currently exists around whether students should be given marks or grades. Some schools and even national systems have decided that grading is counter productive and distracts from truly formative feedback. Of course, others believe that grades are essential for a student to understand where they are at and what they need to do to get to the next level. No doubt you will have had an initial reaction, and perhaps quite a strong one, to these ideas

At ISM we do have grades and levels but we are thinking very carefully about how we provide effective and formative feedback. We want it to be both intentional and meaningful. When students receive feedback they should have the time and space to do something with it. Reading a comment or looking at a grade is fairly useless unless you can take some actions to implement change and aim for improvement based on that feedback. In this spirit we should value the power of the redo! If my history student gets an essay back and I have provided specific areas for improvement it does seem a little mad not to give them some time and space to improve it. By doing so the feedback has become formative and allows the student to take action. It will therefore be more effective.

The final part of this principle talks about the importance of process. This comes from the work of Professor Carol Dweck who’s research has shown that providing feedback on how a student arrived at an outcome is just as important (if not more important) than the outcome itself.

Imagine my history student again. They submit an essay which I have marked and I am giving feedback on. Look at the difference between the two statements below:

A) Well done Anna. You have achieved a level 6 with a strong conclusion and some good factual information. You should try and outline your argument more concisely in your introduction...

B) Anna, over the last 4 weeks you have struggled to write a good conclusion but because you have stuck with it, drafted it and come to get advice this conclusion is excellent. Your effort has paid off. Very well done! Your introduction is the next bit we need to improve. Let's look at making it more focused and concise....

Hopefully you get the idea. The first is an example of standard feedback we would expect to see. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with it. The second gives the same information but praises and discusses the journey that the student has been on. This is what we mean by process and it has been shown to make a big difference to student progress.

Notice also that I did not provide the student with a grade in the second example. This was deliberate. Should I have done so?

I’ll let you debate that.

Have a lovely weekend.

James Wellings

Distance Learning Program

We would like to take the opportunity to remind parents that the Distance Learning approved register will be reset this holiday. This means that all families who feel they need distance learning provision will have to reapply. This can be done by contacting Emilie de Bruyne who will provide an application form. Please note that approval will only be granted for the following reasons:

• Students cannot return to Monaco because of border closures mandated by government

• School mandated PCR and quarantine

• Medically mandated (with certificate) PCR test and quarantine

• Shieling a vulnerable person living in the same household

We are proud of the support we have offered families throughout the pandemic but feel that it is very much in the students best interests to be back in school. If the situation remains as it currently is the following will not be approved:

• Distance learning requests based on individual families confidence with the current situation.

• Students waiting for PCR test results where the test has not been medically mandated due to COVID risk

• Non COVID illnesses that prevent students from attending school

We thank you for your support with this. We will continue to watch the situation carefully and make necessary adaptations as may be necessary.

IGCSE REVISION PROGRAMME

There are a huge range of IGCSE revision classes happening during lunch times and after school that we highly encourage Year 11 students to sign up to. To see the full list CLICK HERE.

UPDATED IGCSE INFORMATION

To see the latest details about the May/June IGCSE exam session including the exam timetable and instructions to students, please visit the Parent Room Website > Learning Page > Cambridge IGCSE. This is the location for all up-to-date details about exams.

Class 9 into 10 IGCSE VIDEO

The video of the Class 9 assembly on options choices at IGCSE can be found under the Class 9 to 10 Transition tab, within the IGCSE section on the parent room website. Students have already started having conversations with Homeroom teachers and subject teachers about the different subjects at IGCSE, gathering information so they can make informed options choices by next Friday(26th March). The google form for the option choices will be sent to Year 9 parents at the start of next week.

TEDxYOUTH VIDEO

The Video from the TEDxYouth performance is now available to watch on the TEDxYouth website. The individual speaker videos will shortly be available on the TEDx Library which is accessible through Youtube.

INVEST IN EDUCATION - LIVE WEBINAR ABOUT SUMMER INTERNSHIPS

InvestIn Education is holding a live webinar for parents and students on Wednesday 24th March from 19:00 - 20:30 (GMT) To register click HERE

CONGRATULATIONS - UNIVERSITY OFFERS SO FAR:

Our list keeps growing! We currently have 29 offers from Russell Groups, and merit awards in the USA/Europe valued at over 110,000 dollars, well done class of 2021!

University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath, University of Southampton, University of East London, CASS Business School, University of Oregon, University of Texas - Austin, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, Buckingham University, Hult International Business School, University of Manchester, Istituto Marangoni, University of Westminster, New York University, University of Southern California, Cardiff University, University of San Francisco, University of Bristol, London South Bank University, SOAS University of London, New York University, University of Westminster, University of Reading, University of Southern California, Cardiff University, University of San Francisco, University of Bristol, London South Bank University, SOAS University of London, University of Edinburgh, American University, Northeastern University

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Year 12

If you missed the Year 12 meeting, please see the slides on the Parent Room page.

All year 12 parents and students are invited to make an appointment with Ms. Nuñez to discuss post ISM plans.

Years 10-12

March 24^th: PLEASE JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL SESSION hosted by: University of Bath, University of East Anglia (UEA),Goldsmiths, University of London, University of Kent, University of Leeds, SOAS, University of London, University of Southampton, University of Surrey, University of Warwick, York St. John University.

To join the session students (and parents) will need to register individually via this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uk-university-virtual-tour-tickets-143425785385.

The agenda for the session is below, students are encouraged to attend the presentations and to also visit us on our booths in the Arena. University reps will be on their booth to answer any questions and students can choose, if they wish, to turn on their cameras for the booth conversations.

13:00 GMT / 14:00 CET – UK University Introductions

13:15 GMT / 14:15 CET – Study in the UK Presentation with a Q&A

The same presentations will also be repeated at 14:00 GMT / 15:00 CET and 14:15 GMT / 15:15 CET.

Upon registration, students will be asked to agree to a Code of Conduct when using the platform. They will also be asked to opt in or out to post-event communications from the university booths they visit. The Privacy Agreement and Code of Conduct can be viewed using the EventBrite link above.

Summer Programmes

Many Prestigious summer programs will be offered virtually this year. They are filling up and do have earlier deadlines. Please see Ms. Nuñez if this is something you are interested in pursuing.

Examples:

• STEM Imperial College London https://www.imperial.ac.uk/be-inspired/global-summer-school/

• 62nd London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF), which will be held this summer on-campus and online for students aged 16-21 years old. Each summer we welcome 500 students from 70 countries and I would like to invite you to send students to attend the 62nd LIYSF – 28th July to 11th August 2021.

• Humanities John Locke Institute Oxford https://www.johnlockeinstitute.com/

• Economics, Business and Law Bocconi University https://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/Bocconi/SitoPubblico_EN/Navigation+Tree/Home/programs/summer+school/

Friday 12th March

MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SECONDARY

Dear Secondary Parents,

Transition is a word that we use a lot in education. Transition from one year or phase to the next. Transition into an examination curriculum, transition into new stages of a strategic plan. It is a word that we are using quite a lot at the moment as we transition into a new structure for the leadership of the secondary school.

If we were to look for a textbook version of how not to transition effectively we need search no further than the recent Trump to Biden handover. Both sides are unwilling to deal with the other which essentially makes everyone in the government and the country at large the loser.

Thankfully we are not in a “Triden” (copyright J wellings 2021) situation here at ISM and the transition into the new structure is going well. It’s important for students and parents to have confidence that systems, structures and approaches will both continue and improve as we move forward. They most certainly will. Ms Gettel will be taking on the Director of Studies role allowing her time to focus on and develop the work we have been doing on improved assessment, reporting and tracking. She will work closely alongside with Mrs Furey who leads learning and teaching and Mrs Mckenzie-Wright who heads up the pastoral and wellbeing aspects of the school. This is a strong team with clearly delineated roles. They will be supported by Ms Dupont who heads up the day to day running of 7 - 9 and there will be some additional roles that will further strengthen the team announced in the next few weeks. All of this will of course be headed by Mr Thomas followed by the new Director from August.

it should be comforting to know that the school is in extremely safe hands.

We’ll send some notes to Triden.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mr Wellings

Distance Learning Program

A reminder that the Distance Learning Program is reserved for those students who have been approved by the Head of School. Approval is based on the following criteria:

• Students with underlying health condition that puts them at a higher level of risk (medical certificate required)

• Shielding a vulnerable adult in the same household (medical certificate required)

• Awaiting PCR test following a school or doctor mandated test

• COVID Positive student or household member

• Close contact case as determined by the school and Monaco protocols

• Abroad and unable to return (government mandated restrictions). We will also require

ACADEMIC QUOTIENT(AQ) COMPETITION

Well done to Etienne, Janibek, Logan, Oleksandr, Anna, Arabella and Mirela who participated in the AQ Winter competition against other schools from around the world. Our team competed individually in 4 rounds on Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Sciences. Some of these questions were more challenging than others as they had a particular American focus and our curriculum does not necessarily cover this content so huge congratulations to our participants as together we finished second overall!!!

Special mention goes to Arabella in Year 7 who achieved first place overall in Language Arts and second in Social Studies and to Janibek in Year 8 who scored second place overall for his Science round. This is particularly noteworthy as all teams were allowed to enter up to 30 competitors from any of the three lower secondary year groups.

Y 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12 TERM 2 REPORTS

Trimester 2 Reports will go live on Engage on Friday 19th March. If you are having problems logging into Engage please contact emilie.debruyne@ismonaco.com

CONGRATULATIONS - UNIVERSITY OFFERS SO FAR:

Our list keeps growing! We currently have 29 offers from Russell Groups, and a merit award in the USA valued at over 50,000 dollars, well done class of 2021!

University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath, University of Southampton, University of East London, CASS Business School, University of Oregon University of Texas, Austin, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, Buckingham University, Hult International Business School, University of Manchester, Istituto Marangoni, University of Westminster, New York University, University of Southern California, Cardiff University, University of San Francisco, University of Bristol, London South Bank University, SOAS University of London, New York University, University of Westminster, University of Reading, University of Southern California, Cardiff University, University of San Francisco, University of Bristol, London South Bank University, SOAS University of London, University of Edinburgh

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Year 12

If you missed the Year 12 meeting, please see the slides on the Parent Room page.

All year 12 parents and students are invited to make an appointment with Ms. Nuñez to discuss post ISM plans.

Year 10-12

We have some exciting University Webinars coming up:

March 17^th Study in the UK event for students aged 15-19, will feature over 100 exhibitors and a range of vital webinars. We have also now added an exciting new feature which enables users to view virtual tours of university campuses. Some of the presenters listed here, the full list can be viewed at: https://ukunisearch.vfairs.com/

Register here.

March 17^th/18^th Study in Scotland, with participation from University of Aberdeen, Abertay, Dundee, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian, Glasgow School of Art, Robert Gordon, St. Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde! Hosted by David Hawkins from the University Guys. Register here.

March 24^th We will have special invite with the International School of Toulouse to attend a webinar hosted by: University of Bath, University of East Anglia (UEA),Goldsmiths, University of London, University of Kent, University of Leeds, SOAS, University of London, University of Southampton, University of Surrey, University of Warwick, York St. John University. Registration link coming soon.

Many Prestigious summer programs will be offered virtually this year. They are filling up and do have earlier deadlines. Please see Ms. Nuñez if this is something you are interested in pursuing. Examples:

• STEM Imperial College London https://www.imperial.ac.uk/be-inspired/global-summer-school/

• Humanities John Locke Institute Oxford https://www.johnlockeinstitute.com/

• Economics, Business and Law Bocconi University https://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/Bocconi/SitoPubblico_EN/Navigation+Tree/Home/programs/summer+school/

Dear Secondary Parents,

Transition is a word that we use a lot in education. Transition from one year or phase to the next. Transition into an examination curriculum, transition into new stages of a strategic plan. It is a word that we are using quite a lot at the moment as we transition into a new structure for the leadership of the secondary school.

If we were to look for a textbook version of how not to transition effectively we need search no further than the recent Trump to Biden handover. Both sides are unwilling to deal with the other which essentially makes everyone in the government and the country at large the loser.

Thankfully we are not in a “Triden” (copyright J wellings 2021) situation here at ISM and the transition into the new structure is going well. It’s important for students and parents to have confidence that systems, structures and approaches will both continue and improve as we move forward. They most certainly will. Ms Gettel will be taking on the Director of Studies role allowing her time to focus on and develop the work we have been doing on improved assessment, reporting and tracking. She will work closely alongside with Mrs Furey who leads learning and teaching and Mrs Mckenzie-Wright who heads up the pastoral and wellbeing aspects of the school. This is a strong team with clearly delineated roles. They will be supported by Ms Dupont who heads up the day to day running of 7 - 9 and there will be some additional roles that will further strengthen the team announced in the next few weeks. All of this will of course be headed by Mr Thomas followed by the new Director from August.

it should be comforting to know that the school is in extremely safe hands.

We’ll send some notes to Triden.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mr Wellings

Distance Learning Program

A reminder that the Distance Learning Program is reserved for those students who have been approved by the Head of School. Approval is based on the following criteria:

• Students with underlying health condition that puts them at a higher level of risk (medical certificate required)

• Shielding a vulnerable adult in the same household (medical certificate required)

• Awaiting PCR test following a school or doctor mandated test

• COVID Positive student or household member

• Close contact case as determined by the school and Monaco protocols

• Abroad and unable to return (government mandated restrictions). We will also require

ACADEMIC QUOTIENT(AQ) COMPETITION

Well done to Etienne, Janibek, Logan, Oleksandr, Anna, Arabella and Mirela who participated in the AQ Winter competition against other schools from around the world. Our team competed individually in 4 rounds on Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Sciences. Some of these questions were more challenging than others as they had a particular American focus and our curriculum does not necessarily cover this content so huge congratulations to our participants as together we finished second overall!!!

Special mention goes to Arabella in Year 7 who achieved first place overall in Language Arts and second in Social Studies and to Janibek in Year 8 who scored second place overall for his Science round. This is particularly noteworthy as all teams were allowed to enter up to 30 competitors from any of the three lower secondary year groups.

Y 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12 TERM 2 REPORTS

Trimester 2 Reports will go live on Engage on Friday 19th March. If you are having problems logging into Engage please contact emilie.debruyne@ismonaco.com

CONGRATULATIONS - UNIVERSITY OFFERS SO FAR:

Our list keeps growing! We currently have 29 offers from Russell Groups, and a merit award in the USA valued at over 50,000 dollars, well done class of 2021!

University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath, University of Southampton, University of East London, CASS Business School, University of Oregon University of Texas, Austin, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, Buckingham University, Hult International Business School, University of Manchester, Istituto Marangoni, University of Westminster, New York University, University of Southern California, Cardiff University, University of San Francisco, University of Bristol, London South Bank University, SOAS University of London, New York University, University of Westminster, University of Reading, University of Southern California, Cardiff University, University of San Francisco, University of Bristol, London South Bank University, SOAS University of London, University of Edinburgh

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Year 12

If you missed the Year 12 meeting, please see the slides on the Parent Room page.

All year 12 parents and students are invited to make an appointment with Ms. Nuñez to discuss post ISM plans.

Year 10-12

We have some exciting University Webinars coming up:

March 17^th Study in the UK event for students aged 15-19, will feature over 100 exhibitors and a range of vital webinars. We have also now added an exciting new feature which enables users to view virtual tours of university campuses. Some of the presenters listed here, the full list can be viewed at: https://ukunisearch.vfairs.com/

Register here.

March 17^th/18^th Study in Scotland, with participation from University of Aberdeen, Abertay, Dundee, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian, Glasgow School of Art, Robert Gordon, St. Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde! Hosted by David Hawkins from the University Guys. Register here.

March 24^th We will have special invite with the International School of Toulouse to attend a webinar hosted by: University of Bath, University of East Anglia (UEA),Goldsmiths, University of London, University of Kent, University of Leeds, SOAS, University of London, University of Southampton, University of Surrey, University of Warwick, York St. John University. Registration link coming soon.

Many Prestigious summer programs will be offered virtually this year. They are filling up and do have earlier deadlines. Please see Ms. Nuñez if this is something you are interested in pursuing. Examples:

• STEM Imperial College London https://www.imperial.ac.uk/be-inspired/global-summer-school/

• Humanities John Locke Institute Oxford https://www.johnlockeinstitute.com/

• Economics, Business and Law Bocconi University https://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/Bocconi/SitoPubblico_EN/Navigation+Tree/Home/programs/summer+school/

Dear Secondary Parents,

We come to the end of the half term having been on something of a journey of ups and downs over these past six weeks. I’m proud to say that a common positive feature throughout the half term has been our students. They have continued to involve themselves in all aspects of the school and demonstrated real growth mindset tendencies throughout.

A truly wonderful example of this was the TEDx Youth event that we held last weekend. The theme was Mistakes that changed the world and we were treated to talks by students from Class 7 to Class 13 on topics such as the agricultural revolution and the invention of safety glass. We are all very proud of the students involved in the event who represented, not only the school, but the wider TED community quite brilliantly.

Speakers

Esther Goldblatt

Leila Cuinet-Wellings

Georgia Dennis

Katerina Matuzny

Sophia Zweegers

Ian Gancas

Margherita Sparaco

Natasha Newby

Ana Vlad

Salome Rameau

Student Committee Members

Emilie Rameau

Haley Gancas

Aidan Thompson

Diego Caumont

Henrik Roempke

Karolina Vanderkerkhove

Zoe Haramis

These events don’t run themselves and TEDx took over a year of planning. This was brilliantly led by Hannah Gettel, Alicia Sedgwick, Tanya Nalbantis, Amelia Keuning and Faith Haramis. Thank you and well done to you all. It was a really proud moment for ISM.

We were spoilt last week because we also saw the ISMUN take place. Organised by Mr Oxley and Mr Elliot ISM students led the annual Model United Nations. This year was hosted entirely online and involved schools from the local region and as far away as Australia. As with TEDx our students excelled and showed a high degree of skill and maturity throughout. The online experience was incredibly smooth and we even saw our students teaching those from other schools how to operate the software as well as how to effectively participate in the Model United Nations event. This is also testament to how well they were supported and prepared by Mr Oxley and Mr Elliot. Well done to the following:

Enzo Dias Ferreira, Mobhi McGinnity, Olivia Chisholm, Alice Colombo, Benoit Ughes, Martina Chiparo, Matteo Pointon Modiano, Vladimir Vladimirov, Alexander Haramis, Georgia Dennis, Amy Benson, Zara Baig Burns, Eva Lepekhova, Luca Karkutli, Natasha Newby, Sophie Robinson, Amael Anwar, Jacqueline Frederikson. Naomi Carne, Hayley Gancas, Zoe Haramis, Yasmin Baig Burns, Mila Ferragut, Charlotte McNish, Audrey Venturi, Etienne Franzi, Marie Le Bechec, Michelle Bui, Sophie Mitchell, Victoria Morelli, Anais Overbeek, Angelica Ghione, Flavia Pastor, Isaac Kapoor, Jessika Alanen, Ava Touboul, Ivan George, Lily-Rose Goeminne, Ludovica Villani

I hope that you will all be able to get some good rest and recuperation this week.

Take care,

James Wellings

Distance Learning Program

We would like to take the opportunity to remind parents that the Distance Learning approved register will be reset this holiday. This means that all families who feel they need distance learning provision will have to reapply. This can be done by contacting Emilie de Bruyne who will provide an application form. Please note that approval will only be granted for the following reasons:

• Students cannot return to Monaco because of border closures mandated by government

• School mandated PCR and quarantine

• Medically mandated (with certificate) PCR test and quarantine

• Shieling a vulnerable person living in the same household

We are proud of the support we have offered families throughout the pandemic but feel that it is very much in the students best interests to be back in school. If the situation remains as it currently is the following will not be approved:

• Distance learning requests based on individual families confidence with the current situation.

• Students waiting for PCR test results where the test has not been medically mandated due to COVID risk

• Non COVID illnesses that prevent students from attending school

We thank you for your support with this. We will continue to watch the situation carefully and make necessary adaptations as may be necessary.

YEAR 11 - IGCSE UPDATE

To see the IGCSE exam schedule for May/June 2021, please visit the IGCSE Exam information page on the Parent Room Website.

YEAR 13 - IMPORTANT: REQUEST FOR RESULTS SERVICE

Year 13 Students are all required to complete THIS google form to indicate which universities or higher education institutions should receive their IB results. Students can have their results sent to up to 6 different institutions worldwide (but only one in the USA). UCAS counts as 1 institution, and they can disseminate results to all universities applied to through UCAS. Universities do not accept results sent from the student or school which is why it is essential that students inform me which universities should receive their results before 1st May 2021.

10-13 PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES - YOUR CHANCE TO GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK

Thank you to all parents who participated in the 10-13 Parent-Teacher conferences last week. Your feedback is very valuable to us as we evaluate and improve these processes. Please complete this short feedback FORM to tell us about your experience.

CONGRATULATIONS Y13 ON UNIVERSITY OFFERS THUS FAR!

University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath, University of Southampton, University of East London, CASS Business School, University of Oregon University of Texas, Austin, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, Buckingham University, Hult International Business School, University of Manchester, Istituto Marangoni, University of Westminster, University of Reading, New York University, University of Southern California.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Year 12

If you missed the Year 12 meeting, please see the slides on the Parent Room page.

All year 12 parents and students are invited to make an appointment with Ms. Nuñez to discuss post ISM plans.

Years 11-12

If you have signed up for the SAT. Check out free SAT Test Preparation at KHAN academy

Sarah at Trio Prep is also offering a free online SAT Q & A on FEBRUARY 24th sign up here.

Years 10-13

Looking for something to do over the break? Try signing up for a MOOC, or check out Unifrog’s new tool "Read, Watch and Listen" which allows you to search a database of books, films, podcasts etc by subject or keyword. Unifrog.org

Whole Secondary Assembly

On Wednesday morning, the whole of secondary came together virtually for an assembly on the theme of “Mistakes” in line with our Learning Value:

“We are all learners who embrace challenges and strive to develop and improve”

We were able to enjoy Esther’s TEDx speech and both speeches, from Margherita and Anais, on the theme of “self”, from the international speech competition.

Y7, 8 and 9 student of the fortnight

We have been awarding the accolade of Student of the Fortnight to Students in Years 7, 8 and 9. Students are awarded this for going above and beyond throughout the 2 week period, exemplifying our values of Learning, Integrity, Caring and Respect in everything they do. The recipients of the award to date are:

Year 7

Constance Glenn

Arabella Reardon

Miguel Ethel Costa

Margherita Sparaco

Julia Likierman

Year 8

Oleksandr Vasiukov

Michelle Engstroem

Platon Belyalov

Alvaro Acuna Urien

Year 9

Charlotte Rebilly

Micol Cozzi

Lily-Rose Goeminne

Marie Le Bechec

Etienne Franzi

Sofia Pastorello

Well done to all recipients of the award - they are all very well deserved.

Dear Secondary Parents,

We reach the end of another week in good form and on track. We’ve had some challenges with COVID and decisions made by the IBO but we are dealing with all of them well.

I wanted to share a small but excellent insight from a book I am re- reading on learning and teaching. It's called “Why don’t students like school” by Daniel T Willingham. It’s something of a classic for those of us in education. In the book Willingham explores and explains how our brains work and how to get the best of them in a classroom or learning focused setting.

It’s full of golden insights but one that sticks is that us humans tend to only be able to comprehend a few things at a time. This will likely come as no surprise, especially to those of us who have tried and failed to multitask effectively. If we distil this down into a core idea it is this:

Learners will only learn something when they are

thinking about that thing.

This sounds obvious but it raises some great questions for parents and teachers to think about. For example I might create a wonderfully exciting and engaging activity on World War One trench warfare. I could set my room up so the tables and chairs are moved to create trenches and even give the students beanbags as replacements for machine guns. Students might get a little “taste” of what warfare was like because it’s fun, relevant and memorable.

...and indeed they might.

Willingham argues that these kinds of exercises can be good for learning but more often than not they only create an illusion of learning. This is because the students are not thinking about the right thing. In the given example there is a very good chance that they will be “thinking” about the beanbag or whether they managed to hit Harry in the head with it. The memory created is not what it was like to be in a World War One Trench but what it is like to accurately take out a classmate with a soft projectile. They are therefore “thinking” about the wrong thing.

Now we must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are ways of ensuring engaging games can be effectively linked to the thinking we want to promote but we have to be careful or we might just end up fooling ourselves.

This is just as useful for parents as it is for teachers. You too try to teach and explain things to your kids. So when you do, ask yourself “are they thinking about the right thing right now”. If not it is almost guaranteed that it will not end up in long term memory.

For teachers this is also a great question. Often we jump around and are less precise in what we want them to be thinking about than we could be.

So I reflect on a lesson I taught this week on the economic boom in the 1920s USA. We were exploring the stock market, the impact of speculation. It was a fun lesson and we talked a lot about shares and compound interest and how one can invest over the long term to create a secure financial future. I left feeling quite pleased with myself. However, that question “were they thinking about the right thing popped into my head within 30 minutes of the lesson ending. Honestly I don’t think they were. The lesson had value and maybe they’ll all become successful investors, but I am now convinced the lesson made them think more about their own future and wealth potential than the reason for 1920s economic prosperity. Even though it had value it was not the aim of the lesson.

So next lesson I need to make sure they are thinking about that link. I need to check that they are thinking about the 20’s and the economy if that is my desired teaching goal. I will think carefully about how to do that.

I hope that got you all thinking about thinking

Have a great weekend,

James Wellings

YEAR 13 - IMPORTANT: REQUEST FOR RESULTS SERVICE

Year 13 Students are all required to complete THIS google form to indicate which universities or higher education institutions should receive their IB results. Students can have their results sent to up to 6 different institutions worldwide (but only one in the USA). UCAS counts as 1 institution, and they can disseminate results to all universities applied to through UCAS. Universities do not accept results sent from the student or school which is why it is essential that students inform me which universities should receive their results before 1st May 2021.

10-13 PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES - YOUR CHANCE TO GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK

Thank you to all parents who participated in the 10-13 Parent-Teacher conferences last week. Your feedback is very valuable to us as we evaluate and improve these processes. Please complete this short feedback FORM to tell us about your experience.

CONGRATULATIONS Y13 ON UNIVERSITY OFFERS THUS FAR!

University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath, University of Southampton, University of East London, CASS Business School, University of Oregon, University of Texas - Austin, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, Buckingham University, Hult International Business School, University of Manchester

REGISTER NOW FOR TEDxYOUTH@ISMONACO

The first ever TEDxYouth event in the principality will be taking place at ISM and broadcast live online on Saturday 13th February from 2.00pm. We have 10 speakers from across the Secondary school who will share their thoughts on our theme “Mistakes that change(d) the world”. To register to receive a live link for this online event, please visit the TEDxYouth Website.

STUDENT WORKSHOP - STRESS & ANXIETY

On Wednesday 10th February Julie Johnson, a consultant in the area of Wellbeing and Mental Health, ran a student workshop on stress and anxiety for the class 13 students. It was an online, interactive workshop which will be repeated for the class 11 students in March.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Year 12

If you missed the University pathways webinar, please see the slides on the Parent Room page. All year 12 parents and students are invited to make an appointment with Ms. Nuñez to discuss post ISM plans.

Years 10-12 - IMPORTANT SAT INFORMATION

The final SAT being offered at ISM for this academic year is March 13th. February 12th is the deadline for registration Deadlines expire at 11:59 p.m. ET, U.S 5:59 am (February 13th) Monaco time.

Albert 1er is scheduled at this time to administer the SAT on June 5th. Please be aware the SAT subject tests will be discontinued after June 2021. Register at collegeboard.org

Year 9 Geography Field Trip

Year 9 Geography students had the opportunity to allow their classroom learning about coral reefs to come alive through a hands-on workshop at the Oceanographic Museum this week. They will be going back in March for a closer look at how we can help conserve our coral reefs globally.

Dear Secondary Parents,

I hope this finds you all well. It is becoming a little repetitive to say that this last year has been a challenge but nevertheless it remains true. Whether it be in SLT meetings, Board Education Committees, Staff Meetings or Middle Leader data triangulation sessions I have, this week asked everyone to pause and take a look at what the school has achieved despite the challenges faced during this time. As we plough on it it easy to forget progress made and the effort and work that has gone into it. It is easy to always ask “what next” before celebrating and being grateful for what has gone before.

So I ask us to pause. Just for a second. Reflect on the support provided, the develops in hybrid learning, the infrastructure improvements, the curriculum development, improved learning and teaching, collaboration with Kings, website development, new IB programs, effective timetable changes, clear procedures around COVID, ever improving use of technology, improved communication streamlined admissions, continuing teacher professional development… honestly I could go on.

This should not be confused with resting on our laurels. Just a momentary pause. A well done and a thank you. This is so important and so easy to forget.

Then we will move forward again.

Have a lovely weekend,

James Wellings

YEAR 13 - IMPORTANT EXAMS UPDATE

Year 13 students and parents are invited to join a live online session on Monday 8th Feb from 7.00pm. In this session we will explain what we know at this point regarding the details of the IB decision over the May 2021 exam session. To join the live session CLICK HERE

YEAR 13 - IMPORTANT: REQUEST FOR RESULTS SERVICE

Year 13 Students are all required to complete THIS google form to indicate which universities or higher education institutions should receive their IB results. Students can have their results sent to up to 6 different institutions worldwide (but only one in the USA). UCAS counts as 1 institution, and they can disseminate results to all universities applied to through UCAS. Universities do not accept results sent from the student or school which is why it is essential that students inform me which universities should receive their results before 1st May 2021.

IB PATHWAYS FAIR - Year 10 & 11

Class 10 & 11 parents and students are invited to attend our virtual IB Pathways fair on Wednesday 10th February from 2.00pm - 3.00pm. The purpose of this online event is to discuss the main differences between our two IB pathway options, the IBDP and the IBCP to help prepare students for making their post-16 decisions. Click HERE to join the event.

10-13 PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

The Y10-13 conferences are scheduled to take place on 9th Feb from 14:00 - 18:00. To find out everything you need to know about the organisation of the events and to book appointments view THIS LETTER.

Many of our teachers are assigned to multiple classes in each part of the school, and so it is possible that appointments will be booked very quickly. If you are unable to reserve an appointment with a member of staff that you would like to speak with about your child’s progress, please email them directly to arrange an alternative time. HERE is a list of all teacher’s email addresses.

Parents will receive the list of Google Meet links for each teacher to join the relevant meeting on Monday 8th Feb.

A reminder for Year 7-13 Lessons during the 10-13 Parent-Teacher Conferences

As you will be aware from the parent diary, to give as much time as possible to these parents conferences, there will be no lessons in the secondary school (7-13) on the afternoon of 9th Feb. If you would like your child to stay in school to be supervised during independent study, please inform their homeroom teacher, otherwise students have permission to leave from 1315.

Students in Year 10 - 13 are expected to attend the conferences with their parents so they can be actively involved in the discussion about their progress.

CONGRATULATIONS Y13 ON UNIVERSITY OFFERS THUS FAR!

University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath, University of Southampton, University of East London, CASS Business School.

REGISTER NOW FOR TEDxYOUTH@ISMONACO

The first ever TEDxYouth event in the principality will be taking place at ISM and broadcast live online on Saturday 13th February from 2.00pm. We have 10 speakers from across the Secondary school who will share their thoughts on our theme “Mistakes that change(d) the world”. To register to receive a live link for this online event, please visit the TEDxYouth Website.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Year 12

If you missed the webinar about the university application process, please see the slides in the Parent Room. All year 12 parents and students are invited to make an appointment with Ms. Nuñez to discuss post ISM plans.

Years 10-12

IMPORTANT SAT INFORMATION

The final SAT being offered at ISM for this academic year is March 13^th. February 12^th is the deadline for registration. Albert 1er is scheduled at this time to administer the SAT on June 5^th. Please be aware the SAT subject tests will be discontinued after June 2021. Register at collegeboard.org

Virtual Fairs continue into 2021:

Meet the Russell Group Virtual Event - Wednesday 10 February

Our joint event with the Russell Group Universities will also be returning on the 10th February from 12 to 7pm. This spring's event will see all 24 universities once again, as well as a new line-up of webinars and virtual tours from each university. You can find out more and sign up here, and please see the email below for the warm-up webinars which will accompany the event on Weds 3rd and Mon 8th February.

Year 7 Homeroom (PSHE)

This week, Year 7 students had a split Homeroom lesson on Study Skills and strategies to combat stress and anxiety. Miss Farhan led a study skills session and Stephanie, our school counsellor, led a progressive muscle relaxation session. In the study skills session, students were able to reflect on how they learn best, find new ways to revise and be mindful that each person is different with what will work for them. We have had such positive feedback from the students and this will be offered to other year groups!

Year 7 to 9 Student Council: Box of Suggestions

The student council in Year 7 to 9 have created a Box of Suggestions. Every week, the Student Council will look at the ideas and see which ones are possible. We, as members of the student council, want to help you enjoy school more.

Dear Secondary Parents,

There have been a few questions raised by parents about the homeroom and global challenge lessons that appear on the timetables of students in Class 7 - 9. Following these conversations I thought it worthwhile to provide all parents with some more information regarding these important elements of our curriculum. I’ve tried to split it up for easy reading below:

The 4 Period Timetable

As you are aware we have been running a 4 period timetable since the start of the year as opposed to our normal 6 period timetable. This has turned out to be an extremely important innovation in the light of the challenges that COVID has thrown at us. We all remain very proud that we have been able to offer 100% of our students full (and “live”) educational provision throughout the pandemic. I’d also like to thank the many of you who have written to us in appreciation of the support we have been able to offer families in difficult and unpredictable situations.

With no end in sight to COVID we will be sticking with the 4 period day until the end of the year. This is an extraordinary solution to an extraordinary problem. It’s also worth noting that the allocated time of subject instruction across the school year equals out as very close to the time students receive on the 6 period day. The core subjects of Maths, Science and English are almost identical. It remains impossible to predict the future but for the 2021/22 school year it is our current intention to return to the 6 period day.

Homeroom

Students have a homeroom check in at the end of each day. This simply replaces the check in that was at the start of each day for the 6 period timetable because lessons currently start at 8.15 rather than 8:30. The 15 min session is, for now just at the other end of the day rather than the start (there are very good timetable reasons for this linked to break and lunch).

The Homeroom lesson on the timetable is actually a PSHE lesson and we are going to rename it as such to provide more clarity. PSHE stands for Personal, Health & Social Education and it is an incredibly important subject. In the UK it is a legal obligation. This covers topics such as relationships, age appropiate sex education, online safety and a range of other essential areas of personal learning for young people. We follow the renowned JIGSAW curriculum and more information can be found on the Parent room website.

Global Challenge

Built around the principals of the extended project (Pearson), the Global awareness project (Cambridge International) and the Personal Project (IBMYP) the new Global challenge project replaces the extra homeroom session that existed before the Christmas break. There will be more details about this in next week's PULSE but the project drives students to produce an academically rigorous research based project to answer a question related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We are going to make a change to the timetable name to better reflect this.

The second global challenge lesson is a focused physical education lesson that asks students to solve problems and develop team building skills. We adjusted the timetable so this could be done in small groups and not as a whole year group. This better allows for outside activity and more focused sessions. Something that we think is really important at this time. We named it Global Challenge on the timetable as we want students to explicitly reflect upon the skills they gain in these lessons and take them into the project. On reflection calling both sessions the same name is misleading and we will change this name on the timetable too.

Perhaps not my most philosophical of newsletters but I hope a useful one nevertheless. We really care about developing our students and have made significant changes to adapt to the situation we find ourselves in at the moment. These decisions are indicators that we never look for the easy route and as our learning value states “we strive to develop and improve”. I am very proud of this and of the team here who are flexible and innovative enough to ensure ISM students get the best provision possible. Students are not disadvantaged no matter if they are in school, stuck outside of the country, shielding vulnerable loved ones or awaiting test results and following protocols.

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

James Wellings

IMPORTANT PE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR CLASS 11

We recognise the need to offer opportunities for our students to maintain high levels of health and fitness at this challenging time. In order to meet all Government regulations, we kindly ask you to support us and ask your son/daughter to make one of the following choices for Monday afternoon PE lessons.

1. Stay in school for a supervised study session.

2. Go home at lunchtime and join the online lesson from home to participate in physical activity.

3. Work with a private coach to participate in an individual activity (tennis/fitness/horse riding etc). Please email us in advance so that we can authorise this request. Unfortunately group activities are not possible as these do not meet the current regulations.

In addition to the Monday afternoon lesson, please encourage your son/daughter to stay active and participate in the 'ISM in the great outdoors' fitness challenge happening throughout the month of February (please see The Pulse for details). We also encourage all students to participate in the ISM/King's strongest student competition happening next week.

Thanks again for your continued support.

Y7 CASTLE PROJECT

Year 7s have been creating models of castles from around the world as they explore the castle unit in History lessons. Here are 7B’s creations:

CONGRATULATIONS YEAR 13 - UNIVERSITY OFFERS

Congratulations on university offers thus far! University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath, University of Southampton.

YEAR 12 - INTRODUCTION TO UNIVERSITIES PARENT PRESENTATION

On Thursday 4th Feb from 4.30pm - 5.30pm, Miss Gettel & Miss Nunez will be hosting a live webinar for Year 12 parents on the introduction to the university application process. If you are interested, you can join the event by clicking HERE

IB PATHWAYS FAIR - Year 10 & 11

Class 10 & 11 parents and students are invited to attend our virtual IB Pathways fair on Wednesday 10th February from 2.00pm - 3.00pm. The purpose of this online event is to discuss the main differences between our two IB pathway options, the IBDP and the IBCP to help prepare students for making their post-16 decisions. Click HERE to join the event.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-12

IMPORTANT SAT INFORMATION

The final SAT being offered at ISM for this academic year is March 13th. February 12th is the deadline for registration. Albert 1er is scheduled at this time to administer the SAT on June 5th. Please be aware the SAT subject tests will be discontinued after June 2021. Register at collegeboard.org

Virtual Fairs continue into 2021

Meet the Russell Group Virtual Event - Wednesday 10 February

Our joint event with the Russell Group Universities will also be returning on the 10th February from 12 to 7pm. This spring's event will see all 24 universities once again, as well as a new line-up of webinars and virtual tours from each university. You can find out more and sign up here, and please see the email below for the warm-up webinars which will accompany the event on Weds 3rd and Mon 8th February.

7-9 PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES - YOUR CHANCE TO GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK

Thank you to all parents who participated in the 7-9 Parent-Teacher conferences last week. Your feedback is very valuable to us as we evaluate and improve these processes. Please complete this short feedback FORM to tell us about your experience.

Celia Dupont

10-13 PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

The Y10-13 conferences are scheduled to take place on 9th Feb from 14:00 - 18:00. To find out everything you need to know about the organisation of the events and to book appointments view THIS LETTER.

Many of our teachers are assigned to multiple classes in each part of the school, and so it is possible that appointments will be booked very quickly. If you are unable to reserve an appointment with a member of staff that you would like to speak with about your child’s progress, please email them directly to arrange an alternative time. HERE is a list of all teacher’s email addresses.

Parents will receive the list of Google Meet links for each teacher to join the relevant meeting on Monday 8th Feb.

REGISTER NOW FOR TEDxYOUTH@ISMONACO

The first ever TEDxYouth event in the principality will be taking place at ISM and broadcast live online on Saturday 13th February from 2.00pm. We have 10 speakers from across the Secondary school who will share their thoughts on our theme “Mistakes that change(d) the world”. To register to receive a live link for this online event, please visit the TEDxYouth Website.

ONLINE WORK EXPERIENCE

One of our partners, Invest In Education, is working with UCL to deliver online work experience opportunities for students aged 12-18. There is a huge range of courses that students can sign up to, and they are all planned to take place over a weekend between the end of January and mid April. ISM students have participated in these courses in the past with very positive feedback. The cost of these courses is £95 for a one-day option and £165 for a two-day option. If you are interested in registering for your child to access one of these online courses, we invite you to sign up independently at THIS WEBSITE.

Additionally, Unifrog is offering a great set of careers and university information webinars. Please sign up at unifrog.org to attend live. Past webinars can also be watched at unifrog.

Meet the Russell Group - hosted by Dr Tim Bradshaw (CEO of the Russell Group)

Learn which universities make up the Russell Group and find out about the common characteristics of the learning experience and student life. Join us to ask questions and decide whether a Russell Group university is a good fit for you! Monday 1 February @ 17:00 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Skills & Enterprise Week - Communication and Presenting Skills Development

The ability to communicate effectively and present your ideas in a compelling way are key to any successful career. Find out what activities you can be doing now to build these essential skills. Tuesday 2 February @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Dear Secondary Parents,

The upcoming TEDx Youth event (see below for all the details) is built around the theme of “mistakes that changed the world”. This strikes me as a good newsletter topic! We hear a lot about the importance of mistakes and the value that can be found in effectively reflecting upon them. There are books written on the matter and the topic is a staple for memes on social media feeds everywhere.

This is something we all know is important, it amazes me how uncomfortable many people are in going through a process of reflection for improvement. This is true of both children and adults. Far too often the conversations we have are about the outcome, the grade, the score and not about what did or did not happen to get there. Learning is not linear and does not form a nice straight line on a graph of progress from bottom left to top right. It is full of ups and downs, false starts and false summits. We need to be more at peace with this.

So coming off the back of parent meetings yesterday afternoon I hope that you are able to celebrate success wherever it was to be found. I also hope that you were able to explore next steps for your children in their studies and that you can encourage them to see errors or misunderstandings as important milestones on the pathway to accuracy and understanding.

In a workshop at our first ISM professional learning conference a few weeks ago we explored the importance of providing students with time and space to understand and act upon pointed feedback. By taking action to correct and learn from errors those errors are much less likely to reoccur. This may need a little more time and a little more patience. I am certainly reflecting on my own teaching with this in mind.

Perhaps the old adage “more haste less speed” is relevant here. Rushing through content is counterproductive and leads to real problems down the road. The magic is often in the errors we make and more importantly, what we do about them.

Have a lovely weekend

James Wellings

7-9 PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES - YOUR CHANCE TO GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK

Thank you to all parents who participated in the 7-9 Parent-Teacher conferences this week. Your feedback is very valuable to us as we evaluate and improve these processes. Please complete this short feedback FORM to tell us about your experience.

Celia Dupont

10-13 PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

The Y10-13 conferences are scheduled to take place on 9th Feb from 14:00 - 18:00. To find out everything you need to know about the organisation of the events and to book appointments view THIS LETTER.

Many of our teachers are assigned to multiple classes in each part of the school, and so it is possible that appointments will be booked very quickly. If you are unable to reserve an appointment with a member of staff that you would like to speak with about your child’s progress, please email them directly to arrange an alternative time. HERE is a list of all teacher’s email addresses.

Parents will receive the list of Google Meet links for each teacher to join the relevant meeting on Monday 8th Feb.

REGISTER NOW FOR TEDxYOUTH@ISMONACO

The first ever TEDxYouth event in the principality will be taking place at ISM and broadcast live online on Saturday 13th February from 2.00pm. We have 10 speakers from across the Secondary school who will share their thoughts on our theme “Mistakes that change(d) the world”. To register to receive a live link for this online event, please visit the TEDxYouth Website.

ONLINE WORK EXPERIENCE

One of our partners, Invest In Education, is working with UCL to deliver online work experience opportunities for students aged 12-18. There is a huge range of courses that students can sign up to, and they are all planned to take place over a weekend between the end of January and mid April. ISM students have participated in these courses in the past with very positive feedback. The cost of these courses is £95 for a one-day option and £165 for a two-day option. If you are interested in registering for your child to access one of these online courses, we invite you to sign up independently at THIS WEBSITE.

Additionally, Unifrog is offering a great set of careers and university information webinars. Please sign up at unifrog.org to attend live. Past webinars can also be watched at unifrog.

Skills & Enterprise Week - Leadership Development

Do you think you have what it takes to be a good leader? Find out why employers believe that leadership is one of the most important skills to have in the workplace.

Monday 25 January @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Skills & Enterprise Week - Digital Skills Development

Have you been spending more time online than normal? Discover why this might not be such a bad thing and how strong digital skills can help you stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs! Tuesday 26 January @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Skills & Enterprise Week - Problem Solving Skills Development

We all know being able to solve problems is a useful skill to have, but how can you demonstrate it to employers? This webinar will give you top tips on how to showcase your problem solving skills to boost your employability. Wednesday 27 January @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Skills & Enterprise Week - Entrepreneurship Skills

Have you always fancied yourself as an entrepreneur? This webinar will explore the skills and competencies you need to make it as an entrepreneur and how you can start to develop them today. Thursday 28 January @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Meet the Russell Group - hosted by Dr Tim Bradshaw (CEO of the Russell Group)

Learn which universities make up the Russell Group and find out about the common characteristics of the learning experience and student life. Join us to ask questions and decide whether a Russell Group university is a good fit for you! Monday 1 February @ 17:00 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Skills & Enterprise Week - Communication and Presenting Skills Development

The ability to communicate effectively and present your ideas in a compelling way are key to any successful career. Find out what activities you can be doing now to build these essential skills. Tuesday 2 February @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

CONGRATULATIONS - YEAR 13 UNIVERSITY OFFERS

Congratulations on all of your offers thus far! University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University, Maastricht University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Bath.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-12

IMPORTANT SAT INFORMATION

The final SAT being offered at ISM for this academic year is March 13^th. February 12^th is the deadline for registration. Albert 1er is scheduled at this time to administer the SAT on June 5^th. Please be aware the SAT subject tests will be discontinued after June 2021.

Virtual Fairs continue into 2021

UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair - Wednesday 27 January

The first of these events will be the UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair which will take place between 12 and 6pm on the 27th January. This free virtual event for students aged 15-18 will feature a diverse range of exhibitors and vital webinars. Students, teachers and parents can find out more and sign up here.

Meet the Russell Group Virtual Event - Wednesday 10 February

Our joint event with the Russell Group Universities will also be returning on the 10th February from 12 to 7pm. This spring's event will see all 24 universities once again, as well as a new line-up of webinars and virtual tours from each university. You can find out more and sign up here, and please see the email below for the warm-up webinars which will accompany the event on Weds 3rd and Mon 8th February.

Dear Secondary Parents,

Happy new year to you all and I hope that this finds you well and in good spirits. It has been lovely to see the students back in school (or indeed online) this week. The three weeks holiday was most certainly needed but it feels like quite a long time ago that we were in school. The students have been in excellent spirits this week.

I will very quickly touch upon the news of my departure that was shared with you by Mr Thomas earlier in the week. Firstly, thank you for the many kind messages I have received. I am very sad to be leaving ISM and have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. It has been hard but rewarding work. No person is ever bigger than an organisation and the people, structures and systems that we have in school are robust and embedded. I have a dedicated and talented team around me and we will work very hard to ensure the final term of the year is smooth for the students. You have my word that my dedication to the ISM community will remain fully intact this term.

Ok, that’s more than enough about me.

We still remain in a difficult and unstable situation with COVID and its repercussions. I said to the secondary staff on Monday that we should feel a sense of confidence and security in the fact that we are ready and now experienced in dealing with these challenges. We have the timetable, systems and flexibility to adapt to the various situations that may arise in the next couple of months. I hope that this gives you confidence too.

Perhaps the most stress is felt by our Class 11 & 13 students who are faced with the uncertainty of examinations. Cambridge International and the IBO are still intending to run the summer examination session. This is, and must remain our current position until they tell us otherwise. However, it would be remiss of us not to consider the cancellation of the exams a strong possibility. We are well placed to adapt to this eventuality and are making precautionary preparations for it. As ever we will keep both you and the students fully informed.

Have a wonderful weekend

James Wellings

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for the coming weeks and will be taking place online through Google Meets. To find out everything you need to know about the organisation of the events and to book appointments view THIS LETTER. The dates for the conferences are as follows:

• Years 7-9: Thursday 21st Jan - 14:00 - 18:00

• Years 10-13: Tuesday 9th Feb - 14:00 - 18:00

Many of our teachers are assigned to multiple classes in each part of the school, and so it is possible that appointments will be booked very quickly. If you are unable to reserve an appointment with a member of staff that you would like to speak with about your child’s progress, please email them directly to arrange an alternative time. HERE is a list of all teacher’s email addresses.

Parents will receive the list of Google Meet links for each teacher to join the relevant meeting next week.

REGISTER NOW FOR TEDxYOUTH@ISMONACO

The first ever TEDxYouth event in the principality will be taking place at ISM and broadcast live online on Saturday 13th February from 2.00pm. We have 10 speakers from across the Secondary school who will share their thoughts on our theme “Mistakes that change(d) the world”. To register to receive a live link for this online event, please visit the TEDxYouth Website.

MOCK EXAMS & FEEDBACK

The Year 11 & 13 Mock exams have begun and will run until Friday 22nd January. Students will receive constructive feedback on strengths and areas for development in the week following the Mock exams - this feedback will precede the sharing of grades.

CONGRATULATIONS - YEAR 13 UNIVERSITY OFFERS

Congratulations on all of your offers thus far! University of Exeter, University of Leeds, Durham University, Royal Holloway University, King’s College London, Oxford Brookes University, University of Kent, Merrimack College (Boston), University of Toronto, University of Surrey, University of St. Andrews, Swansea University, Goldsmiths, Loughborough University, American University of Paris, Amsterdam University College, Bocconi University and Maastricht University

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-12

Virtual Fairs continue into 2021:

UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair - Wednesday 27 January

The first of these events will be the UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair which will take place between 12 and 6pm on the 27th January. This free virtual event for students aged 15-18 will feature a diverse range of exhibitors and vital webinars. Students, teachers and parents can find out more and sign up here.

Meet the Russell Group Virtual Event - Wednesday 10 February

Our joint event with the Russell Group Universities will also be returning on the 10th February from 12 to 7pm. This spring's event will see all 24 universities once again, as well as a new line-up of webinars and virtual tours from each university. You can find out more and sign up here, and please see the email below for the warm-up webinars which will accompany the event on Weds 3rd and Mon 8th February.

UNIFROG CAREER WEBINARS - Years 10-13

We highly encourage any students in Years 10-13 who are unsure about what they might want to do in the future to sign up to any number of Unifrog’s upcoming webinars:

Skills & Enterprise Week - Leadership Development

Do you think you have what it takes to be a good leader? Find out why employers believe that leadership is one of the most important skills to have in the workplace.

Monday 25 January @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Skills & Enterprise Week - Digital Skills Development

Have you been spending more time online than normal? Discover why this might not be such a bad thing and how strong digital skills can help you stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs!

Tuesday 26 January @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Skills & Enterprise Week - Problem Solving Skills Development

We all know being able to solve problems is a useful skill to have, but how can you demonstrate it to employers? This webinar will give you top tips on how to showcase your problem solving skills to boost your employability.

Wednesday 27 January @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Skills & Enterprise Week - Entrepreneurship Skills

Have you always fancied yourself as an entrepreneur? This webinar will explore the skills and competencies you need to make it as an entrepreneur and how you can start to develop them today.

Thursday 28 January @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Meet the Russell Group - hosted by Dr Tim Bradshaw (CEO of the Russell Group)

Learn which universities make up the Russell Group and find out about the common characteristics of the learning experience and student life. Join us to ask questions and decide whether a Russell Group university is a good fit for you!

Monday 1 February @ 17:00 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Skills & Enterprise Week - Communication and Presenting Skills Development

The ability to communicate effectively and present your ideas in a compelling way are key to any successful career. Find out what activities you can be doing now to build these essential skills.

Tuesday 2 February @ 17:30 (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris - sign up

Y7 to 9 PE

With the current restrictions in place in Monaco, students have been accessing PE either online, whilst physically participating at home, or in school where the classroom based activities have been created to cater for this location.

Friday morning saw Mr Arnoux running the online version with Year 7 (here he is warming up the students) and Ms Jones running the classroom activity using

Dear Secondary Parents (Class 7 - 13),

“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs”

The above is a butchered quote from the poem “IF” by Rudyard Kipling (I missed the next bit of sentence out on purpose) which seems to fit our times so well. Those who have kept their heads, whether in government, business, health or education over these past 12 months have managed to cope better with challenges that are unique to the current and previous generation (whilst being comparatively normal for those preceding us). So as we approach the end of this long first term I would reach out with a note of thanks. To all who have kept their heads.

To our health team who have kept their heads in dealing with challenges that have never really been faced before by schools. For coping when tired, stressed and often with conflicting information, opinion and advice.

Our admissions team, led by Angela Godfrey, who have increased the student roll in our school when most others around the world have decreased. They have done so with patience and humanity.

To our teachers, assistants and library staff who have adapted, swerved, adapted again, learnt, reflected and have still managed to develop and improve. Thanks for their support and care for your children and for upholding an incredible degree of professionalism. They have done so whilst facing personal challenges, missing loved ones and in the context of risk and trepidation that comes when dealing with large numbers of people in the midst of a pandemic.

To our cleaners, so often forgotten, who do the hard yards after hours to make sure the school is ready and safe to learn in.

To our admin team who have provided increible support. Thank you for dealing with supply issues, sports facilities, testing, masks and the thousand other things that you do and that we don’t see.

To our admin assistants on the front desks in all three schools who are the first point of contact for parents and students. Thank you for dealing with challenges that were most likely not created by you, with a smile and with patience.

To our board for providing the financial support needed to navigate these waters and for the many many hours of voluntary work that you do

To my colleagues in leadership who … well you know.

To our parents for patience, kind words, support and in one case a seemingly endless supply of millionaire shortbread.

… and of course to our students who will often feel powerless when the world around them is tackling big challenges, but who have kept their heads whilst in some moments having had to watch those older and more responsible losing theirs!

This is the last newsletter of 2020. A year in which we have kept our heads.

Thank you everyone for that and a very happy holidays to you all.

James Wellings

TEDxYOUTH COMMUNITY COOKBOOK ON SALE

Thank you to all the parents, teachers and students who have contributed to our TEDxYouth Community cookbook. These are on sale now. Parents can send €10 into school in an envelope labelled “TEDxCookbook - Miss Gettel” or purchase in person at the entrance to the EY building during pick up and drop off times. Cookbooks cost €10 each and all proceeds contribute towards sponsorship for the TEDxYouth@ISMonaco event.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 13

Dear students and parents/guardians, we are in the final push towards UCAS and USA deadlines. Please be aware of both external and internal counselling office deadlines.

It is extremely important during this time to check your email consistently for messages from universities. To communicate with me if any of your university application plans have changed. To stay up to date with your Unifrog applications list. Any concerns please reach out to Ms Nunez as soon as possible. Thank you and best of luck!

• NOW Final Application list past due in Unifrog. These are the universities that you will definitely be applying to with any deadlines by February 15^th 2021.

• December 11^th Internal deadline to have any personal statement or common app essay reviewed by December 17^th.

• December 18^th the counselling office closes until January 7^th.

• January 1^st deadline for most USA universities.

• January 11th Students return

• January 15^th UCAS deadline for equal consideration. Please be aware that this falls during mocks. It would be best to submit your application before.

Years 10-13

October 2020 PSAT test takers. You should have received an email from collegeboard with your results. If you have not please see Ms. Nuñez.

CLASS 11 & 13 REVISION SESSIONS

IGCSE and IB revision sessions have been organised for our Class 11 and Class 13 students. They will be informed of session timings via their homeroom and the details are also set out below:

Subject iGCSE and IB revision help

English:

For IGCSE: Tuesday lunchtimes (GH) and Tuesday end of day (HW) as well as Wednesday 2-3 (GH or KO).

Wednesday break times

Monday 14th December Period 4 (PE private study time)

For IB: Tuesday after school (GH) and Wednesday 2-3pm (GH or KO).

Humanities:

Geography:

Monday 14th December Period 4 (PE private study time)

Languages:

German:

Monday 14th December Period 4 (PE private study time)

Maths:

iGCSE Tuesday S23 - 4-5pm

PE:

Monday 14th December Period 4 (PE private study time)

Science

Wednesday 2 - 3 pm (until Christmas)

Art

Monday 14th December Period 4 (PE private study time)

General:

Revision skills with Mme Prodhomme -

Monday 14th December Period 4 (PE private study time)

Final Day plans(Years 7 to 13)

08:15 - Lesson 1 as normal

09:45 - 10:15 - Break time

10:15 - 11:15 - Homeroom including Christmas Quiz

11:15 - 12:00 - Virtual Secondary Assembly

12 noon - End of the Day.

Homeroom Decoration

Homerooms around the school have started to glitter and shine in the House Homeroom decorating competition. Deadline for this is Monday 14th December with Judging taking place next week. Here’s the link for more information.

As we rapidly approach the festive break many conversations in the playground, on the corridors, in the canteen and in the staffroom have revolved around the question “what are you doing for the holiday?”. Sadly, the answers are less exciting than usual and for many families and teachers the holiday will not be spent in the place that would have been chosen in different circumstances. It’s another challenge that we should remain sensitive to and ensure we help each other make the best of the holiday.

In terms of learning the question of what should be done during the holiday is also important. Three weeks is quite a long time. What should our students be doing? This is one of those questions where you will find that five different people give you five different responses. Usually quite passionate responses at that! So here is mine:

Students need to have a break. They need to recharge and they need to have some fun. It has been a long, stressful and highly challenging term. They do not need to be recreating the school day at home with tutors, holiday workbooks or other sharp instruments of extra homework. Holidays are there for a reason.

However, learning does not need to stop completely and there is nuance to be found in everything. For our younger students, we would encourage reading, discussion, creative pursuits, limited screen time and some short consolidatory practice in languages and number.

For our older students and in particular Class 11 and 13 the holiday precedes the mock exams. This means that for them the stakes are raised and a more equal balance needs to be found between work and play. If not the resulting stress will negate any gains made by a complete switch off.

Exams are analogous to team sports with teachers acting very much as the coach or manager. They set the training approach, create fitness plans, motivate individuals and work on tactics. The players (or students) must engage with the plan, run the laps, lift the weights and become comfortable with the tactics. If either part does not do their bit the team will lose. The players must also become comfortable with the reality that once they are on the pitch (in the exam hall) they are on their own.

We will be running some revision sessions for students in the next two weeks (details below). These will be useful but there will also be a need for our IB and IGCSE students to revise, practice and reflect over the break. This has to be well balanced with rest and recuperation but it most certainly needs to happen. Fitness can be lost in three weeks!

This is a message that we are giving at school and I will be writing personally to Class 11 and 13 next week to relay the above. I do worry that some of them are creating the false hope that like last year the exams will be cancelled. This is genuinely dangerous thinking. We must all prepare and work towards the much more likely scenario that they will go ahead as planned.

Have a lovely weekend

James Wellings

Dear Secondary Parents (Class 7 - 13),

Happy thanksgiving to all of our families who have been celebrating this week. There will be many of us who are unfamiliar with this North American holiday celebrating the 1621 autumn harvest between the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans but there are some elements of this tradition that ring true across cultures. Part of the celebrations include the saying of the thanksgiving wishes which include the following quote:

“We gather on this day to be thankful for what we have”

This has been a cause for reflection this week with me asking the question of what we are thankful for here at school. Of course this list could be a long one. We are thankful that we can continue the education for our students in these difficult times and for the health and wellbeing of our community but these are not the focus of this week's note.

Over the past week I have been working with students on creating video and audio content for our new website (coming soon). We have been focusing on the themes of intellectualism, dynamism, internationalism and multilingualism. The approach has been to have discussions with individuals and groups, to gather their thoughts and ideas as they are and unscripted. This has been brilliant. Our students have been a pleasure to talk to. Witty, insightful, intelligent, curious, kind and ambitious they have been a true demonstration of the kind of young people we want to develop at ISM. I hope this will come through in the videos we produce.

So to Daniella, Enya, Yulia, Bram, Esther, Zoe, Eva, Lucas, Adam, Amy, Salomé, Emilie, Nour, Sultan, Edmond, Riccardo, Lorenzo, Arabella, Leila, Etienne, Alex and Ilya I am thankful for you this week and for the wider student body that you represent. We really do have wonderful young people here.

It’s nice to finish a week with this reflection. Teaching can be a tough job, there are many moving parts to it but the reason that all of us came into this profession is that we get to work with students like ours. They surprise, frustrate, teach and impress us weekly. They are never boring and everyday is different.

There is much to be thankful for.

James Wellings

UP-TO-DATE IGCSE & IB EXAM INFORMATION (CLASSES 10-13)

Any parents of students in Years 10 & 11 who are looking for up-to-date information about the upcoming IGCSE Mock exams in January and the real exam session in April/May/June please CLICK HERE to see our new “Exam Information” section of the Parent Room Website. This can be found under: Learning > IGCSE.

Any parents of students in Years 12 & 13 who are looking for up-to-date information about the upcoming IB Mock exams in January and the real exam session in May please CLICK HERE to see our new “Exam Information” section of the Parent Room Website. This can be found under: Learning > IB.

CONGRATULATIONS TO STUDENTS WITH OUR FIRST UNIVERSITY OFFERS & INTERVIEWS

As the University applications process heats up, our students have started receiving conditional offers from their early entry applications. A huge congratulations to all those students who applied to both Exeter and Durham University (Both part of the Russell Group of Schools). All students who applied early entry to these institutions have received their conditional offers! Well Done!

Another huge congratulations to Nour who has secured an interview to study Psychology at Cambridge. Best of luck for your interview Nour!

FREE ONLINE WEBINAR FOR PARENTS - “SUCCESS BEYOND SCHOOL”

InvestIN Education is a company who we have worked with on many projects including the online work experience which was offered to all students from class 10-13 in May 2020. This organisation is now extending an invitation to our parents to participate in an online webinar on the theme of how to best support your children to enable them to have a successful career in the future. The webinar will take place on 10th December 2020 from 8.30pm (Monaco Time). To register CLICK HERE.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-13

Esade is a global institution structured as a Business School, a Law School, and an Executive Education area in Barcelona. Popular with the ISM class of 2020, they will be offering 3 online information session in the coming weeks:

https://www.esade.edu/en/programmes/undergraduate/upcoming-events/eventos-informativos-online

Virtual work experience has been added to UNIFROG!

Lots of you have told us how difficult it is for students to find work experience at the moment. We wanted to make it easier so we've added over 110 (and counting) virtual work experience placements to the Special opportunities tool. FREE opportunities include:

• JPMorgan Chase Investment Banking Virtual Experience

• Clifford Chance Business and Human Rights Global Virtual Internship

• Grant Thornton Australia Audit Virtual Experience

• Commonwealth Bank Careers in Tech

• Deloitte Tech Consulting Virtual Internship

Students can also find paid-for programmes such as InvestIN's Future Doctor Programme.

How do I find them?

The virtual WEX placements are all on the Special opportunities tool. This sits in the 'Searching for opportunities' section of the Student homepage:

Once you've selected which country you're from, the tool asks which country you're interested in opportunities from. To find all the virtual WEX opportunities, select 'Online/ Worldwide':

Year 13

Upcoming Counseling office deadlines include:

• December 4^th-Final Application list in Unifrog

• December 11^th deadline for all UK personal statements and commonapp essays to be given full review and feedback.

AQ by AQademic competition for Y7 to 9

ISM have been invited to participate in the AQ competition this academic year in April, competing online against other Y7 to 9 students from around the world. Students will compete individually, with the time to answer the question correctly dictating their score and their scores will contribute towards the ISM team score with individual successes being recognised.

The questions will cover 4 areas of knowledge: Maths, Science, ELA(English, Language and Arts) and Social Studies.

Students should indicate their interest by speaking to Miss Dupont.

Watch this space for Y7 to 9 Festive activities led by the Student Council…

...More information in next week’s newsletter

Y7 to 9 Speech Contest

Years 7 to 9 will be competing virtually in their respective Year Group rounds at the beginning of December. Student have been preparing their speeches in English lessons and are focussing on the theme of:

“If you could live in a different time and place, where and when would you choose and why?”

Dear Secondary Parents (Class 7-13),

I write this following Monaco National Day and I hope that you were able to enjoy the sunshine and the muted celebrations. I have been fortunate to live all around the world and whether it be in the Middle East, Asia or Africa all of the countries I have lived in have had National Days. Curiously, the only exception to this is my country of birth - England.

Nationalism is generally not seen as a positive word. Internationalism always is. This too is interesting. Patriotism is generally viewed as positive and cosmopolitan (to be a citizen of the world or cosmos) is very positive but perhaps surprisingly it is rarely used.

These words are important and are great for starting conversations with children. Monaco National Day is a chance to celebrate the history, traditions and culture of the place that we live and work. It is a positive day that helps us to identify with and understand the place we call home. It’s fair to say that Monaco National Day is not a symptom of Nationalism. Young people should understand this difference. Nationalism is when a country looks inwards at the expense and exclusion of non nationals. This is dangerous.

Exploring this language and these ideas with children helps them to understand the true value of being internationally minded or cosmopolitan. The importance of understanding and celebrating our own national cultures, experiences and backgrounds whilst also looking outward and seeking to understand and celebrate the richness that comes with embracing other national identities. This leads us towards the ultimate goal of helping our children to become interculturally competent. We need more people in the world who are.

Have a lovely weekend,

James Wellings

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-13

• Wednesday 25 November 2020 - 14:00 - 15:00 - Lisa Mortini our New York University Admissions representative will be providing a session just for ISM students.

• Meet NYU – Virtual Session: In one click, you can meet with NYU! In this session, we’ll discuss our three campuses in NYC, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai, the academic and experiential strength of our global network, and how to put in a great application. We’ll have a Q&A at the end so you can ask any question you may have. Looking forward to “e-meeting” you then! Zoom meeting: https://nyu.zoom.us/j/98364327998

• Via this registration link, students planning to attend can indicate their interest by filling in a short online form. This is incredibly useful for us as we can not only monitor attendance but also plan our session according to the expected size of the group. Registration: https://connect.nyu.edu/register/ismonaco

Year 13

Please be aware that updated predicted grades will be available November 26^th.

Other counseling office deadlines include:

• December 4^th Final Application list in Unifrog

• December 11^th deadline for all UK personal statements and commonapp essays to be given full review and feedback.

COLLECTION OF IGCSE & IB EXAMINATION CERTIFICATES

IGCSE certificates and IB certificates from May/June 2020 have arrived and are ready for collection at the Secondary reception. We also have several IGCSE certificates that are yet to be collected from the previous years. In order to release the certificates, we do require a parental signature. Please arrange to collect certificates from the secondary reception after 4.00pm any day to reduce the number of external persons on site during the school day.

NEW: YR 11-13 COFFEE BAR

During break times on Mondays, Wednesdays & Friday (between 09:45 - 10:15) students in Years 11, 12 & 13 are invited to attend a ‘pop-up’ coffee bar in sponsorship of the TEDxYouth@ISMonaco event.

Students will have the chance to purchase tea, coffee and refreshments while supporting an excellent whole-school event and remaining safe and socially distanced.

The school cafeteria will be set up with socially distanced tables equipped with screens between the people sat opposite to enable students in Years 11-13 to enjoy their break time safely.

Hot off the Press: Y7 to 9 Maths Clinic

Miss Dupont is offering a Y7 to 9 Maths clinic every Friday during morning break(0945-1015).

Interested students should sign up on the list outside Miss Dupont’s office which is there from Monday morning until 0815 on Friday.

HUB opening to Y7 to 9 students.

Good news for our y7-9 students! We have decided to open up the hub at morning break on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to our y9 students for study and reading and have received a very positive response from them further to this announcement. Wednesday will be reserved for y7/8 students for silent reading. However we intend to open up afternoon hub passes to y7 and y8 very soon.

Victoria

ISM Red and White Day goes on tour with Year 7 Geography

Today was the turn of 7A to learn mapping skills in Geography during a visit to the Rocher.

Dear Secondary Parents (Class 7-13),

I hope this finds you all well. A short but important message from me this week. We have been talking a lot about assessment over the last two weeks. Fans of PULSE will have read my newsletter item on formative assessment earlier in the year and will know how important we believe this to be. For the few of you who missed that article, formative assessment refers to the deliberate plans and actions that a teacher makes to assess student progress as learning is happening and to inform next steps. It is ongoing, informal and often implicit.

This is different to summative assessment (much more commonly understood) which generally refers to explicit and official tests and exams at the end of a unit, term or year. Both of these have their place within school and both are important. In keeping with this we do both throughout the Secondary School and they help us to make judgements on the progress any student is making at a given point in time. You can find out more about this on the assessment page of THE PARENT ROOM WEBSITE

With all of this in mind it is worth us as parents thinking about the value of both of these methods and the challenges of the latter. Something that I have heard a lot from ISM students since my arrival at the school are questions such as:

Does this count?

Will this be on the test?

Am I going to be graded on this?

These questions are valid and they are understandable. Good students want to do well and this is to be admired. However, danger lurks behind these questions too. Learning is more than a summative test and progress is not always perfectly illustrated by a number or a grade. A child is more than the sum of a spreadsheet column. Focusing too much on the summative assessment can lead to an engrained fixed mindset culture (something I’ve written about many times). The gold is to be found in ongoing questions and dialogue such as:

What can I do better?

Can I do the same thing with a different problem?

What feedback do I need to improve?

What is my next step?

Why did I not get that quite right?

If we spend time and effort looking a growth, development and next steps we are much more likely to see progress. When done well this also means that the summative assessments will take care of themselves.

Have a lovely weekend.

James Wellings

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-13

Register for Sciences Po open house and learn about all of their regional programs as well as dual degrees with renowned universities around the world.

http://www.sciencespo.fr/jpo-open-house-day-bachelor/en/

Remember our Careers and University search tool UNIFROG. The sign in code for parents is parentsismonaco. A sign in tutorial is available on the parent room. Unifrog provides an incredible amount of information on careers as well as tools to search universities world wide.

Year 13

All year 13 should be well underway in their university application process. A reminder that the USA deadline is November 30^th for the University of California, January 1^st for commonapp, and the UCAS/UK deadline is January 15^th. The counselling office’s internal deadline to review all applications and provide timely feedback is December 11^th. If you have questions please email me or schedule a meeting.

NEW: YR 11-13 COFFEE BAR

During break times on Mondays, Wednesdays & Friday (between 09:45 - 10:15) students in Years 11, 12 & 13 are invited to attend a ‘pop-up’ coffee bar in sponsorship of the TEDxYouth@ISMonaco event.

Students will have the chance to purchase tea, coffee and refreshments while supporting an excellent whole-school event and remaining safe and socially distanced.

The school cafeteria will be set up with socially distanced tables equipped with screens between the people sat opposite to enable students in Years 11-13 to enjoy their break time safely.

COLLECTION OF EXAMINATION CERTIFICATES

IGCSE certificates and IB certificates from May/June 2020 have arrived and are ready for collection at the Secondary reception. We also have several IGCSE certificates that are yet to be collected from the previous years. In order to release the certificates, we do require a parental signature. Please arrange to collect certificates from the secondary reception after 4.00pm any day to reduce the number of external persons on site during the school day.

IBCP - Learning through experience

How did you learn to ride a bicycle? Did you :

1. Read a book on riding a bicycle and take notes

2. Attend a ‘class’, with someone at the front showing you how to ride a bicycle

3. Get on a bicycle, fall off, get back on and keep trying until you could do it

I imagine that for the vast majority of us, option 3 was the most effective way. This is because we often learn better through experience. We attempt something, reflect on what went well and what needs to be improved and then we have another go.

We have designed our IBCP around this ethos of experiential learning. We encourage our students to try things, take risks, be creative and more importantly, to be resilient and not give up when things do not go quite so well the first time. Our students had the opportunity to participate in one such unique learning experience this week when we visited Iris Games in Monaco. They were split into two teams, with each team taking it in turns to work together, communicate and solve problems in one of Iris Games fantastic ‘escape rooms’. We chose the ‘Body in the trunk’ room. The room is based on events that took place in Monaco in 1907.

Through this experience, students were able to understand the importance of team-work and communication in a problem solving situation. They were also able to develop their understanding of the value of intrapreneurship and innovation in the success of an enterprise venture. This is the topic of their current BTEC unit of study and will provide them with a real life opportunity to use their creativity in the development of a new ‘escape room’ which they will present to Iris Games at the end of this Term.

If you are involved in a Monaco based organisation and would like to discuss how we can work in partnership to provide outstanding learning opportunities for our students, please contact me and we can have a chat tania.leyland@ismonaco.com

Tania Leyland - IBCP Coordinator

Port Clean up - The environment club

The week of the 23rd of November until the 29th will be waste reduction week, So as part of the environment club one of our first events is a port clean up! If you want to participate with us and the Stars n bars team, join us at 3 PM on the 28th November! We would love to have as many volunteers as possible as the clean up can be a bit challenging especially with the collection of cigarette buds. Please contact katerinamatuzny@gmail.com to sign up.

Kate Powers, the owner of Stars N Bars has also recently become an ambassador of a very inspiring initiative in Monaco, a pact encouraging us to reduce our carbon footprint. Please take a few minutes to complete this pact on https://pacte-coachcarbone.mc as a development of your environmental awareness. Kate would love to see students from our school participate and we would love to have you guys participate to bring our community together. If you complete it, please state Kate Powers as your ambassador.

Therefore, the environment group is launching a competition with a winner that manages to sign the most people up for this pact (family, friends…). The prize will be a voucher from Stars N Bars, specified a bit further. Once you manage to encourage others to sign up, simply send us (same email as above) screenshots of their final results once you are ready to submit your participation. Good luck!

Remember, any volunteers are welcome and all participation is very meaningful to us. There will be plenty of other activities that might suit you better throughout the year, and if you would like to join the environment group pls contact us!

Year 7 to 9 House Activities

This week saw the Year 7 to 9 working together in student led activities in their respective houses. The activities range from creating a House Website where future information about events can be shared to “Entrepreneurship”, where students are researching or creating a product linked to travelling or adventure to sell in a “Dragons Den” style forum

These student led tasks enable students to display leadership, communication and teamwork skills and the activities will continue over the next two House Wednesday sessions.

Y7 Geography Fieldwork

Students journeyed to the Rocher to develop their mapping skills with the outcome being the creation of their first sketch map.

Dear Secondary Parents (Class 7-13),

I sincerely hope that you had a restful time last week and were able to see some friends and family for the first time in a while. For many this is still not possible and our best wishes go out to all ISM families who have loved ones around the world who they are not yet able to see.

During the latter stages of the last century I was a kid growing up in England. A big part of my childhood was being a member of the Scouts. For anybody unfamiliar with this organisation the scouts are a group that work with kids to develop a love for the outdoors, to foster teamwork and to inculcate a thirst for adventure. I feel a little nostalgic thinking about it now! The reason I include this here is that the motto of the scouts is:

“Be prepared”

Earlier this week a parent asked me if we were ready for another lockdown and the above motto came racing back to me. Are we prepared for a lockdown? A partial closure? Exam challenges? Rotations? Or any other variation of problems this COVID world might throw at us?

These are valid and important questions that no doubt take up some of your headspace from time to time. They take up a lot of mine, almost all of the time! It is worthwhile then to explore some of the ways in which we have been getting ready for what may come.

Our current 4 period day was brought in to allow us to teach effective hybrid classes meaning that students who cannot be in school, and who have been fully authorised for distance learning, have full access to live lessons. We’ve also completed the installation of new video conferencing systems in each classroom to improve this experience for both those at home and those in school. These systems mean that we can confidently and effectively continue learning during any kind of partial lockdown or rotation. Importantly, the school day for the students in any of these scenarios would essentially look the same even though a child's physical location might be different. A full lockdown would mean that students would still follow the same timetable, but from home.

We wrote the 4 period timetable in August in anticipation of what has happened, what is happening, and what might happen in the future.

It’s impossible for me or anyone in school to accurately predict what might happen in the coming months. We can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst. With that comes a sense of confidence and strength and whatever happens over the rest of this year we will continue to provide quality learning experiences, we will make sure our examination years students get the best outcomes possible and we will ensure that the wellbeing of the children in our care remains at the forefront of our minds.

So, does ISM make a good scout troop? Are we prepared?

My answer. Yes, but complacency must not creep in. Being prepared is also a mindset, it’s being ready to deal with the unpredictable as well as the predictable.

So like any good scout I believe we have the tools we need, we will keep an eye on the path ahead and we will carry a compass as well as a map. Just in case.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

James Wellings

During break times on Mondays, Wednesdays & Friday (between 09:45 - 10:15) students in Years 11, 12 & 13 are invited to attend a ‘pop-up’ coffee bar in sponsorship of the TEDxYouth@ISMonaco event.

Students will have the chance to purchase tea, coffee and refreshments while supporting an excellent whole-school event and remaining safe and socially distanced.

The school cafeteria will be set up with socially distanced tables equipped with screens between the people sat opposite to enable students in Years 11-13 to enjoy their break time safely.

COLLECTION OF EXAMINATION CERTIFICATES

IGCSE certificates and IB certificates from May/June 2020 have arrived and are ready for collection at the Secondary reception. We also have several IGCSE certificates that are yet to be collected from the previous years. In order to release the certificates, we do require a parental signature. Please arrange to collect certificates from the secondary reception after 4.00pm any day to reduce the number of external persons on site during the school day.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-13

Online events continue through the fall:

• Nov. 25^th American Universities Abroad Information Sessions, please CLICK HERE to register with the QR code.

• November 8^th, Virtually Orange, Study in the Netherlands https://www.ubivent.com/register/11/Virtually_Orange

• November 21^st - 27^th University of Edinburgh online open days https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/open-days-events-visits/open-day

• SPECIAL EVENT BOSTON AREA UNIVERSITIES

For students in France and Spain only, our regional admissions representative Courtney Kipp assistant director of international admissions at Northeastern will be holding a zoom meet for 4 Boston schools on Tuesday, November 10^th from 7-8 PM (19.00-20.00). Boston College, Northeastern, Tufts and Babson College Please register in advance for this meeting: https://northeastern.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsde6urTosGtE8zbavXRXxE_azefN8soml

ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT - FOR IB & IGCSE STUDENTS

• Have you ever asked yourself what it all means?

• What can Ancient Greek and Chinese philosophers teach us about living in the 21^st Century?

• Are Dada, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism just a bunch of confusing words?

• Is the mind the same as the brain?

Mr Thom will be offering an academic enrichment activity to small groups of students interested in broadening their understanding of philosophy, culture and the history of ideas. This will involve an introduction to philosophy (‘Doing Philosophy’) and, depending on your particular interests, an exploration of significant cultural, artistic, philosophical and political movements and individuals. The activity will be scheduled for Tuesday at 4.00pm in room S22 but additional sessions can be arranged at other times for small groups or individual students. For more information contact simon.thom@ismonaco.com. IB and IGCSE students who are interested can speak with Mr Thom directly.

Dear Secondary Parents,

I hope this finds you well and you are looking forward to the break. I’m sure you will have noted with interest our new house names Grimaldi, Baret, Shackleton and Earhart, great adventurers who faced the unexpected and went beyond the normal limits of human endeavour.

Whilst we cannot compare ourselves to these four we can look back at the last 7 weeks with pride in how we have shown resilience in tough times, adapted to challenges, forged new ground and even tackled the natural elements. I said to my team this morning that we may well look back on this period as one of the most difficult of our careers but we should have pride in how we have dealt with it.

This is just as true for you and your children too. Kids have not had to do this before. They are exploring new territory, dealing with scary grown up things and doing so with grace, humour and bravery. Traits that our four intrepid explorers all held.

I hope that you get the time to rest and reflect over the holiday and that your family and friends stay safe and well. I am sure you will wish the same for all of our teachers who have done an outstanding job whilst standing on shifting sands.

Have a lovely break

James Wellings

NOTICES

'The Best Night of Our Lives'

Arts Festival 2021

ACTORS NEEDED!

We have had quite a bit of interest and there are still some students who have informed us they are yet to submit their auditions. IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO AUDITION! We are in need of older actors from the Secondary School - class 12/13 that DOES mean CAS hours!

You will find all of the audition materials and information on your Homeroom Google Classroom page.

Deadline: Friday 30th October 2020

Rehearsals starting after the break.

NEW SCHOOL BAGS

Thank you to the PTA who have provided all of our students with ISM school bags. These will be handed out to Secondary students this afternoon (Friday).

Please note that the use of these bags is compulsory for Class 7 - 9

We recommend the use of the bags for Class 10 - 13 but will allow it to be a choice. However, this is an opportune moment to remind all students and families that their choice of bag should be appropriate for school and should not be a small handbag (designer or otherwise). Thank you for your support with this.

REPORT CARDS

Mid-Term 1 reports cards have now been published to parents. Please be aware, you must access these reports through the Engage portal. If you are having difficulties accessing Engage, please email hannah.gettel@ismonaco.com

For more information about how to read and understand your child’s report card please CLICK HERE

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-13

Online events continue through the fall:

• Oct 28^th, Nov. 25^th American Universities Abroad Information Sessions, please CLICK HERE to register with the QR code.

• November 8^th, Virtually Orange, Study in the Netherlands https://www.ubivent.com/register/11/Virtually_Orange

• November 21^st. 27^th University of Edinburgh online open days https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/open-days-events-visits/open-day

• November 3^rd 4:30pm Boston University LIVE zoom meet with Julie Binda Assistant Director of International Admissions. Julie Binda is our regional admissions representative, if you are applying to BU this year or plan to in the future it is imperative that you attend this meeting. Other schools from the area will be invited as well. Please register with the link below.

https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsdemprDsiEt23oVKl6sxPn_I6tOLiUoL8

Year 11/12

ISM will offer the December 5^th SAT. The registration deadline is November 5^th at collegboard.org - THIS IS THE LAST SAT OFFERED AT ISM IN 2020. LATE REGISTRATION IS NOT POSSIBLE. The next SAT at ISM is March 26th 2021.

Class 10 IGCSE Drama Performance Exam

'The 39 Steps'

Wednesday 4th November 11:45 - 14:45

The class 10 Drama students have been working incredibly hard to bring to life their first piece of IGCSE Drama performance coursework. You may have heard some rather dashing British accents over the last few weeks and random requests for moustaches and milk bottles. The students will be performing their exam piece on Wednesday 4th November from 11:45. Unfortunately, we are not able to have an audience, but I will put a copy of the video taken onto the Google Classroom as students will need to evaluate their performance. A big thanks goes to you for all of your support throughout this process.

The IBCP Core - Language Development

Language Development (LD) is one of the four elements that make up the IBCP Core. Through our ISM Spanish Language Development course, IBCP students go beyond the confines of their classroom and expand their awareness of the world as well as their international and intercultural understanding. Whether beginners, emergent or intermediate students, all IBCP students have to complete a digital LD portfolio in which they reflect on their learning and chart their progress in developing their Spanish language skills and intercultural experiences.

Our weekly Spanish LD sessions are based on blended learning (a mixture of online educational materials with traditional classroom methods) during which students are very much encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning, setting their own goals and ensuring regular progress towards their individual targets. In recent weeks, students have worked on a cultural project called “Imágenes del español” where they explored and chose different symbols of the Spanish Language across the world.

Alexandra Prodhomme - IBCP Language teacher (French & Language Development Core)

New House presentation for Pulse.

The school house system is a proven way to foster vertical links & a greater sense of community between students, staff and parents. All students and staff are assigned to one of 4 houses upon entry, where they stay for the entire time they remain at ISM.

At this socially distanced time, it is more important than ever for everyone to feel connected. So it was decided to revamp & rebrand our existing house system to make it more engaging & meaningful.

After a whole school naming competition & much deliberation, the new theme for our 4 houses will be ‘Exploration & Discovery’.

As a community, we encourage students to push the boundaries of knowledge and learning, stepping out of their comfort zone and embracing new ideas & experiences.

We have therefore chosen the following names for their incredible contribution to society.

SHACKLETON

GRIMALDI

BARET

EARHART

See information slides HERE

Now we have our new identities, There are some wonderful plans emerging for the future. Including sports competitions, project based art & technology challenges, entrepreneurship, & more. Strengthening our collaboration with King's, we are also planning House events & challenges to be held across the two schools.

Watch this space for more information, updates and results.

See HERE for Secondary House Point totals for this year.

Celia Dupont

Dear Secondary Parents,

As we approach the end of this half term you will soon be receiving the first report of the school year. These reports are designed to help you to understand the progress that your child is making across all areas of their learning. Secondary reports are quite rich in terms of the amount of data that you receive and we have tried to make them as easy as possible for you to understand and access. You can access everything you need to interpret the report within the Learning Section of the Parent Room Website. Simply select the area of the school that your child is in and scroll down.

The most relevant of our Learning Principles for this topic is:

Learning is deepened through effective and formative

feedback on both the process and outcome.

The reports are an example of formative feedback. The key word here is formative. The numbers and comments on the report should be used to help inform future progress. This is a much more powerful way of looking at them than taking the view that they are purely a summation of achievement. They should be a tool for discussion around next steps, a chance to celebrate and fix goals and to recognise milestones on a longer journey. When viewed only through the summative lens they can be often be limited to the celebration of an outcome with the view that the work is done and finished. It can also lead to a negative and fixed belief that a grade defines individual worth or that it is not valid because of some external factor that removes the need for self reflection.

The attainment grades represent the “outcome” stated in the above principle. It is what students have demonstrated so far. We are generally quite good at praising outcomes. They are solid and easy to grab hold of. Praising or exploring the “process” is more difficult but more important. Here are some great questions:

• How was that attainment level achieved?

• What effort was demonstrated or what problems were overcome?

• How can the learning that got a student to this point help them to go further?

I would urge you then to spend as much time discussing the effort and journey that has taken place to get to these outcomes as you do on the attainment outcomes themselves.

There is a nice quote on a poster outside my office that is worth remembering. It is equally relevant to students, teachers and parents

“Attainment is not about who you are, it’s about where you are”

Have a lovely weekend.

James Wellings

REPORT CARDS

Mid-Term 1 reports cards will shortly be published to parents. Please be aware, you must access these reports through the Engage portal. If you are having difficulties accessing Engage, please email hannah.gettel@ismonaco.com

The publishing dates and times are as follows:

• Year 11 & 13 mid-term 1 reports - Friday 16th October before 5.30pm

• Years 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12 mid-term reports - Wednesday 21st October before 5.30pm

For more information about how to read and understand your child’s report card please CLICK HERE

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-13

Upcoming online events continue through the fall:

• October 12^th-17^th, Virtual Study in the UK week, events and registration here.

• Oct 28^th, Nov. 25^th American Universities Abroad Information Sessions, please see the attached flyer to register with the QR code.

• November 8^th, Virtually Orange, Study in the Netherlands https://www.ubivent.com/register/11/Virtually_Orange

• November 21^st. 27^th University of Edinburgh online open days https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/open-days-events-visits/open-day

• NOVEMBER Boston University LIVE google meet with Julie Binda Assistant Director of International Admissions, please stay tuned for date and time

Year 11/12

SAT. ISM will offer the December 5^th SAT registration deadline is November 5^th at collegboard.org.

Whole school: TEDxYouth Event

The first ever TEDxYouth event in Monaco is still scheduled to happen at ISM with a new date planned for February 2021.

In order to help raise awareness and funds for this event, the organising committee are producing an 'ISM Cultural Cook Book' to sell to parents and our community this Christmas. Therefore, we would ask students and parents to share their favourite recipes from their home countries to include in our compilation.

The format of the recipes should include:

• Name of the dish

• Category (starter / main / dessert)

• Ingredients with quantities (preferably in grams)

• Method & timings

• Name of the person or family sharing the recipe

• Country or region of origin

These should be emailed to tanya@nalbantis.co.uk and tedxyouth@ismonaco.com by Friday 23rd October 2020.

Year 7 Bags

Dear Parents of Year 7,

A list of books needed for each lesson has been collected and posted on the Homeroom pages in classwork on Google Classroom. The list includes which textbooks are available online to reduce the weight of your child’s bag as their “master copy” can be left at home and the online version used in the lesson. This is a working document and will be updated as the year progresses.

Celia Dupont

Dear Secondary Parents (Class 7 - 13),

I hope this finds you all well and that you have had a good week. Firstly, could I ask that if you have not yet completed the school Parent Survey that you take a few minutes to do so today. It will take around 2 minutes per child and is an important part of our self evaluation process. Your time is appreciated.

ISM PARENT SURVEY

Although we will not be able to run the event live this year we still intend to hold a virtual Secondary Curriculum Evening on Monday (5th Oct) evening at 17:30. This is a chance for you to learn about the curriculum we offer through the school and ask questions to Heads of Departments about individual subject areas. Further details are below and all of the details will be posted on the HOMEPAGE OF THE PARENT ROOM WEBSITE THIS AFTERNOON. We will also record the meeting for those of you who are unable to attend.

With the risk of this week's note becoming too long I am going to pause our exploration of the next learning principle until next week. Instead, and following on from this week's Directors Chair blog I would like to look once again at last week's principle in relation to the issue of bullying.

“Learners feel safe and valued as part of a

learning focused environment”

Bullying is unacceptable in any school or any other environment for that matter. If young people do not feel safe in school the effect will be substantial on their wellbeing and on their learning. As a community all of us have a responsibility to be vigilant and take on this issue everywhere we find it. The anti bullying ambassadors program is an important part of our school’s approach and this will continue to be embedded in the day to day rhythms of the school.

At home this issue generates the possibility of a good family conversation around our value of caring.

We nurture and care for the physical, emotional and social

wellbeing of ourselves and others

Explicitly exploring what this looks, sounds and feels like is an excellent conversation and may bring up some surprising things. It’s also a good chance to ask questions around what to do when we see others not upholding this value.

Have a lovely weekend

James Wellings

Head of Secondary

SECONDARY CURRICULUM EVENING

On Monday 5th October, we invite all parents of our Secondary 7-13 students to participate in a virtual curriculum evening. The event will begin with a live Google Meet presentation starting at 5.30pm CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MEETING.. All joining info will also be available on the Parent Room Homepage from Friday afternoon.

There will also be pre-recorded presentations from each department and a set of links for you to ‘drop-in’ to ask any questions of the Head of Department related to the curriculum at ISM. The purpose of this meeting is to help parents to better understand the areas of knowledge, skills and understanding that your child is developing across their subjects, the event will not address individual issues related to your child’s progress.

DRESS CODE - PE

Please note that all students are expected to wear a full ISM PE kit for sport. This includes the ISM jacket. Hoodies can not be accepted and will be confiscated. Please help us with this (and the wider dress code) as it creates a sense of community and publicly shows the high standards of the school.

Should students not come to school in dress code we will be in touch for appropriate clothes to be brought in or we will not allow entry.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-13

There are some wonderful university online university events this fall.

They are posted on google homeroom classrooms as well as on the ISM parent room.

Upcoming:

• October 5^th UCLA Virtual Campus day and other events register here.

• October 5^th, Universities from all over the world, sponsored by CIS, register here.

• October 7^th, Meet the Russell Group, sponsored by the Russell Group universities, register here.

• October 12^th-17^th, Virtual Study in the UK week, events and registration here.

• November 8th, Virtually Orange, Study in the Netherlands! register here.

Year 11/12

The PSAT will be offered at ISM on October 14^th. The PSAT is a practice for the SAT which is a mandatory entrance exam at many American universities. Several European schools (Bocconi and IE) are also accepting the SAT in lieu of their own tests. The PSAT is a private score and will not be sent to any universities. The test fee is 25 euros. This test is strongly encouraged in year 11 if you think you would like to apply to the USA and in year 12 if you are applying to the US and did not take it last year. Please sign up with Ms. Nuñez by October 7th.

Years 12/13

SAT. ISM will offer the December 5^th SAT registration deadline is November 5^th at collegboard.org.

Year 13

Our slides and Google Meet recording for all year 13 parents is now on the parent room website following the Universities Presentation last week.

The IBCP Core - Personal & Professional Skills

Personal and Professional Skills (PPS) is one of four elements that make up the IBCP Core with skills organised into five themes. Thinking Processes; Applied Ethics; Intercultural Understanding; Effective Communication; Personal Development. Here at ISM, we have decided to deliver PPS through six inquiry projects. With each project lasting ten weeks and incorporating elements of each theme. The projects are linked to the academic study and work related learning parts of the course to provide the students with a holistic and meaningful learning experience.

The current project is ‘Who am I?’, an inquiry project that provides opportunities for our students to have a better understanding of their strengths and areas for development; their personal knowledge base and how their socialisation influences that way they approach problems and decision making. This week we have been exploring emotional intelligence and how there is often a conflict between emotion and reason in some situations. Using the AwkwardYetti https://twitter.com/theawkwardyeti/status/1299033969921581056/photo/1 as an inspiration, students created a cartoon strip exploring this conflict in either a personal or professional situation.

If you would like to find out more about how the IBCP at ISM can meet the needs and aspirations of your child, please join our curriculum evening on Monday 5th October or contact me at tania.leyland@ismonaco.com

Tania Leyland - International Baccalaureate Careers Programme Coordinator

CLASS 7 - 9 - IPAD SETTINGS

Parents can find detailed information on the expectations we have with regard to student iPads on the tech page of the Parent Room site. At present we run a bring your own device model have the following expectations:

There should be NO social media apps, inappropriate games, SIM card or VPN's enabled during school hours. If these are found we will ask them to be removed or disabled.

A note on other games and apps

• Some apps and games have educational value and are appropriate in school. It is impossible to list all of these but we are happy to make sensible concessions.

• Some apps and games have educational value but are a distraction in school. An example might be Minecraft. We recognise that these should stay on a personal device but should be locked during school ours using the Screen Time feature in iOS

• Some apps and games have limited educational value but do have entertainment value and families may wish them to remain on the device. Netflix would be a good example. Again these types of apps should be locked during school hours. We use our filter and internal security to block when possible.

We believe that under a BYOD system these are both sensible and reasonable requests for the safe and focused use of devices in school. It is important that we are consistent. The most effective way of ensuring the above is through the use of the screentime feature and iCloud Family sharing. Should anybody need help in setting this up please contact vipula.sharma@ismonaco.com

We are currently reviewing the BYOD approach.

Dear Secondary Parents (Class 7 - 13),

I hope this finds you all well and that you have had a good week. Firstly, could I ask that if you have not yet completed the school Parent Survey that you take a few minutes to do so today. It will take around 2 minutes per child and is an important part of our self evaluation process. Your time is appreciated.

ISM PARENT SURVEY

Although we will not be able to run the event live this year we still intend to hold a virtual Secondary Curriculum Evening on Monday (5th Oct) evening at 17:30. This is a chance for you to learn about the curriculum we offer through the school and ask questions to Heads of Departments about individual subject areas. Further details are below and all of the details will be posted on the HOMEPAGE OF THE PARENT ROOM WEBSITE THIS AFTERNOON. We will also record the meeting for those of you who are unable to attend.

With the risk of this week's note becoming too long I am going to pause our exploration of the next learning principle until next week. Instead, and following on from this week's Directors Chair blog I would like to look once again at last week's principle in relation to the issue of bullying.

“Learners feel safe and valued as part of a

learning focused environment”

Bullying is unacceptable in any school or any other environment for that matter. If young people do not feel safe in school the effect will be substantial on their wellbeing and on their learning. As a community all of us have a responsibility to be vigilant and take on this issue everywhere we find it. The anti bullying ambassadors program is an important part of our school’s approach and this will continue to be embedded in the day to day rhythms of the school.

At home this issue generates the possibility of a good family conversation around our value of caring.

We nurture and care for the physical, emotional and social

wellbeing of ourselves and others

Explicitly exploring what this looks, sounds and feels like is an excellent conversation and may bring up some surprising things. It’s also a good chance to ask questions around what to do when we see others not upholding this value.

Have a lovely weekend

James Wellings

Head of Secondary

SECONDARY CURRICULUM EVENING

On Monday 5th October, we invite all parents of our Secondary 7-13 students to participate in a virtual curriculum evening. The event will begin with a live Google Meet presentation starting at 5.30pm CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MEETING.. All joining info will also be available on the Parent Room Homepage from Friday afternoon.

There will also be pre-recorded presentations from each department and a set of links for you to ‘drop-in’ to ask any questions of the Head of Department related to the curriculum at ISM. The purpose of this meeting is to help parents to better understand the areas of knowledge, skills and understanding that your child is developing across their subjects, the event will not address individual issues related to your child’s progress.

DRESS CODE - PE

Please note that all students are expected to wear a full ISM PE kit for sport. This includes the ISM jacket. Hoodies can not be accepted and will be confiscated. Please help us with this (and the wider dress code) as it creates a sense of community and publicly shows the high standards of the school.

Should students not come to school in dresscode we will be in touch for appropriate clothes to be brought in or we will not allow entry.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Years 10-13

There are some wonderful university online university events this fall.

They are posted on google homeroom classrooms as well as on the ISM parent room.

Upcoming:

• October 5^th UCLA Virtual Campus day and other events register here.

• October 5^th, Universities from all over the world, sponsored by CIS, register here.

• October 7^th, Meet the Russell Group, sponsored by the Russell Group universities, register here.

• October 12^th-17^th, Virtual Study in the UK week, events and registration here.

• November 8th, Virtually Orange, Study in the Netherlands! register here.

Year 11/12

The PSAT will be offered at ISM on October 14^th. The PSAT is a practice for the SAT which is a mandatory entrance exam at many American universities. Several European schools (Bocconi and IE) are also accepting the SAT in lieu of their own tests. The PSAT is a private score and will not be sent to any universities. The test fee is 25 euros. This test is strongly encouraged in year 11 if you think you would like to apply to the USA and in year 12 if you are applying to the US and did not take it last year. Please sign up with Ms. Nuñez by October 7th.

Years 12/13

SAT. ISM will offer the December 5^th SAT registration deadline is November 5^th at collegboard.org.

Year 13

Our slides and Google Meet recording for all year 13 parents is now on the parent room website following the Universities Presentation last week.

The IBCP Core - Personal & Professional Skills

Personal and Professional Skills (PPS) is one of four elements that make up the IBCP Core with skills organised into five themes. Thinking Processes; Applied Ethics; Intercultural Understanding; Effective Communication; Personal Development. Here at ISM, we have decided to deliver PPS through six inquiry projects. With each project lasting ten weeks and incorporating elements of each theme. The projects are linked to the academic study and work related learning parts of the course to provide the students with a holistic and meaningful learning experience.

The current project is ‘Who am I?’, an inquiry project that provides opportunities for our students to have a better understanding of their strengths and areas for development; their personal knowledge base and how their socialisation influences that way they approach problems and decision making. This week we have been exploring emotional intelligence and how there is often a conflict between emotion and reason in some situations. Using the AwkwardYetti https://twitter.com/theawkwardyeti/status/1299033969921581056/photo/1 as an inspiration, students created a cartoon strip exploring this conflict in either a personal or professional situation.

If you would like to find out more about how the IBCP at ISM can meet the needs and aspirations of your child, please join our curriculum evening on Monday 5th October or contact me at tania.leyland@ismonaco.com

Tania Leyland - International Baccalaureate Careers Programme Coordinator

CLASS 7 - 9 - IPAD SETTINGS

Parents can find detailed information on the expectations we have with regard to student iPads on the tech page of the Parent Room site. At present we run a bring your own device model have the following expectations:

There should be NO social media apps, inappropriate games, SIM card or VPN's enabled during school hours. If these are found we will ask them to be removed or disabled.

A note on other games and apps

• Some apps and games have educational value and are appropriate in school. It is impossible to list all of these but we are happy to make sensible concessions.

• Some apps and games have educational value but are a distraction in school. An example might be Minecraft. We recognise that these should stay on a personal device but should be locked during school ours using the Screen Time feature in iOS

• Some apps and games have limited educational value but do have entertainment value and families may wish them to remain on the device. Netflix would be a good example. Again these types of apps should be locked during school hours. We use our filter and internal security to block when possible.

We believe that under a BYOD system these are both sensible and reasonable requests for the safe and focused use of devices in school. It is important that we are consistent. The most effective way of ensuring the above is through the use of the screentime feature and iCloud Family sharing. Should anybody need help in setting this up please contact vipula.sharma@ismonaco.com

We are currently reviewing the BYOD approach.

Dear Secondary Parents (Class 7-13),

It’s been great to have another relatively settled week and to see students enjoying their learning in classes and during events such as the community sports events.

I have received a number of curriculum based questions from parents over the last few weeks. This is a good thing and demonstrative of the care and attention parents are devoting to their children's pathway through school. It is sometimes the case that these questions are based on misunderstanding or inaccurate information circulated in discussions. This is normal enough and part of any community as large as ours. A good recent example of this is a parent who strongly believed that students could not study both History and Geography at IGCSE level - they can.

The SECONDARY PARENT ROOM website is there to help you quickly find accurate and useful information. The LEARNING SECTION is a good place to start as it provides information on all of the pathways and subjects available. In the STUDENT EXPECTATIONS section you will find information on behaviours, sanctions and rewards.

Enjoy exploring!

This weeks Learning Principle:

It’s been great to have another relatively settled week and to see students enjoying their learning in classes and during events such as the community sports events.

“Learners feel safe and valued as part of a

learning focused environment”

This principle represents the first job of any school. Creating the right environment for students to learn and to feel happy and comfortable in school. The safety refers to both the physical safety of students in the building and perhaps the more challenging area of mental health and safety. The COVID pandemic has tested our ability and agility across all of the principles but perhaps this one more than any other. Staying physically safe in schools has become a major focus of schools all over the world and the possible consequences of safety measures on the mental wellbeing of young people cannot be ignored.

Feeling valued is tremendously important to all of us and for students in school this means having the opportunity to be heard. That might be sharing a thought in class right through to leading a whole school change project. This principle asks teachers to seek opportunities for this to happen. Alongside this runs the importance we must place on the use of praise. Being recognised for doing something well or trying really hard can make a big difference in the day of a child. Our merit system aims to celebrate this.

The final part of the principle asks us to keep student learning at the front and centre of our minds. To create a physical and emotional environment that fosters learning in all its forms. This can range from a thought provoking display in a corridor through to a teacher student conversation on an engaging topic. Lot’s of little interactions and experiences added together create an environment that places leaning in all its forms at the forefront of life at ISM

Have a lovely weekend

James Wellings

Dear Secondary Parents (Class 7 - 13) ,

Whilst we are yet able to describe the days and weeks as normal, the last 5 days have at least seen some normal rhythms of the school return. The extra-curricular program is underway and students have now gone through the full cycle of lessons. This is a relief to us all. We will remain on our temporary 4 period timetable for the near future with the hope that some normality and stability will allow us to reevaluate. The students have once again impressed me with their patience and resilience.

This week I would like to take a closer look at the second of our Learning principles:

“Learners are highly engaged, genuinely curious and reflect in a meaningful way”

Engagement is the cornerstone of any good learning experience. You know from your own experience that when you are engrossed, interested or inspired, you are more likely to have learning transfer from short term to long term memory making it much more meaningful. Sometimes engagement can get confused with simple fun and this is something to be wary of. Learning can of course be fun, but fun is not a necessary component of learning. To quote the psychologist Daniel Willingham, engagement is actually much more closely linked to us thinking about the right things at the right time. In other words for us to learn well we must be fully focused on the thing that we are trying to learn. It’s a great challenge for teachers to think about planning lessons this way.

Curiosity is very much linked to this. You can learn a set of facts to pass this week's science test but without curiosity, the facts are unlikely to stick. This demands us to consider what questions, problems, tasks or stories can promote curiosity in young people.

Reflection is our correction tool. We need to make time for it and we need to do it deliberately and honestly. This can be reflecting on why we were unable to grasp something or how we can use formative feedback to improve on a next attempt. Young people who can reflect effectively will become better learners. This might sometimes mean slowing down, revisiting ideas and knowledge again before moving on. This is ok. In fact, it should be encouraged.

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend. Find something you are curious about and take some time to reflect. It’s an engaging process.

James Wellings

Head of Secondary

DISTANCE LEARNING

We are offering a Distance Learning program for families who are unable to return to school for reasons clearly linked to the COVID pandemic. This is by application and only approved students will be given access to the program. If you need to apply please write directly to Mr Wellings.

YEAR 13 MOCK EXAMS

All class 13 students will be sitting mock exams from 23rd - 30th September. These mock exams have been scheduled into their normal timetable. The schedule can be viewed HERE. All students are expected to be in school throughout the Mock exam schedule, even when they do not have a test. supervised independent study has been arranged. There will be no approved study leave.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Class 11/12

The PSAT will be offered at ISM on October 14th.

The PSAT is a practice for the SAT which is a mandatory entrance exam at many American universities. Several European schools (Bocconi and IE) are also accepting the SAT in lieu of their own tests. The PSAT is a private score and will not be sent to any universities. The test fee is 25 euros. This test is strongly encouraged in year 11 if you think you would like to apply to the USA and in year 12 if you are applying to the US and did not take it last year. Please sign up with Ms. Nuñez by September 25th.

Class 10/13

The majority of online university events have moved online this fall. They are posted on google classroom through homerooms as well as on the ISM Secondary Parents website.

Upcoming:

• October 5th, Universities from all over the world, sponsored by CIS,register here.

• October 7th, Meet the Russell Group, sponsored by the Russell Group universities, register here.

• October 12th-17th, Virtual Study in the UK week, events and registration here. (this link may not work inside the ismonaco domain)

Class 13

Parents and students are invited to a google meet university informational meeting regarding deadlines and the application timeline process on September 24th

at 4:30pm. Google meet code here: meet.google.com/ogv-kihh-pqu

IB CAREERS PROGRAMME UPDATE:

This year we have introduced a brand new learning pathway for students entering Year 12. The IBCP is for students who have a clear career goal in mind and do not need to study the six subjects required for the Diploma Programme pathway. The IBCP combines rigorous academic study with work related learning and the development of core competencies through Personal & Professional Skills, Service Learning, Language Development and the Reflective Project. I will explore each of these over the coming weeks.

The work related learning element of the programme includes the BTEC L3 International Diploma in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and enables students to go through the process of starting and running their own enterprise in a safe and supportive environment. I am sure they will make mistakes along the way, but will no doubt reflect on the experience and develop skills for success along the way.

The first cohort are really settling into their learning and have been exploring the risks and opportunities associated with being an entrepreneur. They have made excellent links to the ISM learner profile and are starting to know what we mean when we talk about ‘entrepreneurial mindsets’.

If you would like to know more about the IBCP and how this pathway may meet the needs and aspirations of your child or you would like to offer support to our students on their journey, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. tania.leyland@ismonaco.com

Tania Leyland - IBCP Coordinator

Class 13 Homeroom Rotation of Activities

This week class 13 were able to focus on themselves during Homeroom with workshops on Anti-Stress, led by the school counsellor Stephanie Woollacott. The students very much enjoyed this time to reflect upon how they can de-stress in the build up to their final exams and deadlines.

Ms Nunez led a workshop on writing a UCAS personal statement and the Homeroom teachers (Mme Pizzorni, Ms Ridley and Mr Thom) led sessions on study skills and effective revision.

Class 13 Anti-Stress Workshop with Stephanie Woollacott (School Counsellor)

Whole school: TEDxYouth Event

The first ever TEDxYouth event in Monaco is still scheduled to happen at ISM with a new date planned for February 2021.

In order to help raise awareness and funds for this event, the organising committee are producing an 'ISM Cultural Cook Book' to sell to parents and our community this Christmas. Therefore, we would ask students and parents to share their favourite recipes from their home countries to include in our compilation.

The format of the recipes should include:

• Name of the dish

• Category (starter / main / dessert)

• Ingredients with quantities (preferably in grams)

• Method & timings

• Name of the person or family sharing the recipe

• Country or region of origin

These should be emailed to tanya@nalbantis.co.uk and tedxyouth@ismonaco.com by Friday 16th October 2020.