EDITION 02 / 18 SEP 2020
ALL THE NEWS...
From the Director's Chair
Inspiration
“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club” - Jack London
It would be easy to assume that inspiration is something that is given to us, something that comes to us as if by magic when we are least expecting it. However, this is not the way I see it. As American writer, Jack London, wrote, “You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club”.
This quote reminded me of a teenage student I used to encounter at the start of my teaching career. He was constantly late, completely disengaged and seemingly lazy. I once stopped him coming into school, late again, and asked him “why are you always late?” He paused, looked me in the eye, and said,
“Sir, I know I’m always late, but I make up for it by leaving early”.
I nodded as if somehow this was a reasonable answer and he was thirty metres down the corridor before I realised he’d got me! This student was not easy. He wanted to be anywhere else but in school and would try to shave off minutes at the start and end of the day in order to minimise his time there. I remember thinking that there was probably nothing we could do to turn him round.
I watched this student’s progress over the next three years with mounting interest and no little incredulity. He went through a transformation, becoming the first into school and the last to leave. What had changed? It was very simple. The school had introduced a kit car club in the extra-curricular programme. At the start of each year it would bring in the parts of a sports car and, overseen by one of the teachers, a small group of students would build the car from scratch to its drive-worthy completion. This student had discovered his passion, he committed time and energy and he became an outstanding car engineer. It gave him a reason to come to school and a direction for his future. He went on to study engineering at university.
That student fundamentally changed the way I look at education. I believe that there is no such thing as a lazy or disengaged student, only one that isn’t inspired or hasn’t found the right niche. It emphasises to me the importance of a rounded education where students are given the chance to discover and develop their passions, not just in the classroom but beyond.
This is the reason I am passionately committed to an outstanding extra-curricular programme at school, and am so thankful to the countless members of staff who give so generously of their time to make them happen. This year, it has been difficult with the restrictions placed on us all by the pandemic, but staff continue to find the energy and commitment to run a full programme. New activities are starting all the time as we find ways to adjust our programme to fit the regulations.
I ask two things of you. Firstly, to join me in thanking staff for their commitment, so freely given, outside of the classroom. Secondly, to ask you to encourage your children to become fully committed to activities outside the classroom. Lurking somewhere in the programme, there may be a new interest or passion that will remain with them for the rest of their life.
You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club!
Best wishes,
Julian Thomas
Director
From the Health Coordinators
Weekly Covid-19 Update
As you may be aware, following the two positive Covid cases brought to our attention last weekend, students in two different year groups, and a number of staff, underwent PCR testing on site. I am delighted to say that all of those students and staff have been cleared by the Monegasque health authorities to return to school and no further testing is required in those year groups.
Masks
We recommend that your child brings 2 masks to school, with the expectation being that students arrive at school with a clean mask, and with their second mask in a sealed plastic bag with the student’s name on the outside.
Students will be asked to change their mask after lunch break. It is important to state that students are required to take their masks off when doing physical activity.
Please do not send your child to school with a mask that has a valve as these are not recommended.
Communication
We will continue to update the school community with any Covid-19 related information.
For particular communications relating directly to a class, the information is only shared with parents once authorised by the Monaco Health Authorities, according to the strict protocols which we are following.
The school personnel who are currently overseeing the Covid-19 protocols are available during the school day, and during the weekend and evenings should you have any concerns or information which you need to share.
In addition to the school support, Monaco has a call centre (available in French and English) which you can call 7/7 days between the hours of 8.00am and 8.00pm starting from Monday 21st September.
Monaco also has a dedicated testing centre at L’Espace Leo Ferre in Fontvieille which is open Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 4.00pm. A prescription from your Doctor is obligatory and you must make an appointment by calling +377.92.05.55.00.
Further information can also be found on the dedicated Covid-19 website set up by the Monaco Government.
School Health Coordinators:
anna.koren@ismonaco.comcindy.hamon@ismonaco.comDeputy Director (Wellbeing):
lindsay.wright@ismonaco.comSymptoms to stay home for and alert the school for an absence COVID RELATED SYMPTOMS are:
- Cough, difficulty breathing, rapid breathing rate
- Temperature over 37.8C
- Loss of sense of smell and/or taste
- Diarrhea
If a PCR test has been ordered for your child, the child needs to stay home until the result has been received. Once you have the result, please forward it to the School Health Coordinators and await further instructions from them on when to come back to school.
Click below for all the news & information from your child's section of the school
From the Early Years
Dear Parents,
I can report that we have had a very satisfying and busy week in the Early Years! I have started to get into some classes and observe your children, buckling down to their learning and producing some lovely work, keen to be back once again in the classroom setting with their friends and teachers! Learning focused displays are ‘works in progress’ and it is good to see the bare classroom walls and corridors of the summer break starting to come alive again!
At a recent ‘Welcome’, I was asked by a parent how could an international education benefit his child? In the Early Years, your child is exposed to a high standard of education in a multilingual, multicultural, caring and loving learning environment. Students mix with nationalities from all over the world and this helps them to understand the world around them, know that they are similar in so many ways to their friends, at the same time embracing all the differences, becoming true global citizens in the process. Many opportunities arise, providing them with experiences allowing them to grow, adapt and problem solve with children from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Our Bilingual Programme, based on best practice, takes methodology and curriculum from well-established sources. It is balanced, with many hands-on experiences, supporting students to excel in their learning, enabling them to be curious and ask questions, acquiring oral skills to communicate successfully in both our languages of instruction, providing them with the life-long skills.
Our Extra-Curricular Programme will be ready to go out to parents at the end of next week. The quality and range of activities we have been able to offer has a focus on Sport activities and all clubs are done in year groups keeping our year ‘bubbles’ intact, as stipulated in our Covid 19 protocols. There is a separate After-school activities Programme for our younger children in the Transition Classes. Places are limited and you will be able to choose one activity at this time as we build up the range of activities on offer. Classroom teachers will not be offering an ECA at this time as from 15.15-16.30 they are preparing their Distance Learning work. Parents whose children need to join our homework clubs in Years 2 and 3, in English and in French will be notified next week.
You have now received Pre-recorded Curriculum Information meetings.
Here are the Curriculum guides for each year group:
Following on from this information, there will be ‘Meet the teachers’ online meetings scheduled, as follows:
Wednesday 23rd September Classes 1, 2 & 3 in the afternoon
Wednesday 30th September Transition and Kam Classes in the afternoon
This is exactly what we would normally host in school but due to Covid 19 protocols these meeting will now be done online. Times have been staggered so that parents can participate in all the meetings if you have several children in the Early Years, in different year groups. Your classroom teacher will be in touch to give you the specific time well in advance and then your class will receive a google meet invitation 10 minutes before the scheduled meeting.
This is the opportunity to ask your questions about your child’s learning and raise any concerns you may have.
We very much look forward to all parents joining us online!
This meeting is not to be confused with a Parent/Teacher conference that will take place, before we go on half-term break for new students and then in November for other students. This is when parents are invited in to meet their child’s teachers. You will receive a letter, well in advance, stating your allotted meeting time.
Please note that many parents who have not updated their pickup information for their children. Could you please liaise with Annabelle, on reception, and update the information (names, pictures) for your nannies, drivers, employees as well as family members that are authorized to pick-up your children. At the same time, please update your emergency contact information.
In order to improve the safety measures concerning COVID 19 in the Early Years, please be aware that we have set up a flow system when dropping and picking up students: READ MORE
As a reminder, please be also aware that Monaco law requires that all be masked within a 50m radius of the school.
This has been a very unique return to school and concerning our 70 new students in the Early Years, I would very much like to meet our new families. Please phone Annabelle, on EY reception ( +377 93 25 68 84), for a convenient meeting time and I can be available for a google meet, a phone call or meet you off school premises for a coffee. I look forward to it!
That’s it for now!
Wishing you and your families a restful and enjoyable weekend,
Mrs Ragi and the Early Years Team
From Primary
Dear Parents,
As we come to the end of our third week of the new school year things are progressing quickly as we look forward to starting extra-curricular activities and individual music lessons from next week.
Extra-Curricular Activities
This year’s extra-curricular programme will begin on Monday 23rd September. Today, your child will have been informed of all activities that they have been accepted for and you, as parents, will have received an email detailing this. With the exception of activities where demand exceeded the number of places available, we have been able to accommodate the wishes of all students.
We look forward to sharing with you, future photos, videos and reports about the extra-curricular activities through this publication and on the Primary School Parents’ Website.
Student Assessments
This week, all Primary School students have been sitting tests to enable us to ascertain their current levels of learning following an extended period of time following the distance learning programme. All written tests have now been completed and we will complete the testing with the CEMS Incas online tests in the week beginning Monday 28th September. These tests are designed to measure learning potential and test reading, spelling, mathematics, mental arithmetic, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
The cumulative results of all tests (written and online) will be used to inform teacher planning and to track the progress of all students across the course of the academic year.
Arrival and Departure from School
The morning arrival is running extremely smoothly with the Primary School open from 08:00. With the commencement of extra-curricular activities next week there will be some slight alterations to the end of the school day.
15:30 – Year 4 leave school
15:35 – Year 5 leave school
15:40 – Year 6 leave school
Any students who are participating in a Primary School extra-curricular activity that takes place outside of school (swimming, football and multi-sports) will be permitted to leave at 15:30, regardless of their year group, in order to provide them with ample time to arrive at their activity.
All students that are participating in extra-curricular activities that take place on school premises must wait in their classroom to be collected by the adult responsible for their activity.
Students who are collected from the Port Side of school, are not accompanied by a member of staff as they are considered to be authorised by their parents to leave school unaccompanied. If you wish your child to be accompanied by a member of staff, you must collect them from the back exit on Avenue de la Quarantaine or (for Year 4 students) come to their classroom to collect them. Should you wish to change your child’s pick up arrangements, please inform Anne-Charlotte Lopez, the Receptionist for the main reception and she will update our records accordingly: anne.lopez@ismonaco.com
Curriculum Information and “Meet the Teacher” Meetings
These presentations have now been added to the Primary Parents’ Website and can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
As a follow-up to these presentations, there will be a series of “Question and Answer” video conferences on Wednesday 23rd September. These meetings will take place at the following times:
Year 4 Curriculum Information Q&A session – 09:30-10:00
Year 5 Curriculum Information Q&A session – 10:30-11:00
Year 6 Curriculum Information Q&A session – 11:30-12:00
***
“Meet the Teacher” Q&A session 1 13:30-14:00
“Meet the Teacher” Q&A session 2 14:00-14:30
An invitation to these meetings will be sent to your child’s school Gmail account shortly before the meeting commences. Please ensure that you have access to your child’s account prior to these sessions. You will receive an invitation for each meeting that concerns your child(ren).
Kind Regards,
Chris Benson
Head of Primary School and Deputy Director
From Secondary
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. Please remember that you can find a wealth of information on the PARENT ROOM WEBSITE
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
CLICK FOR MORE NEWS FROM SECONDARY REGARDING:
DISTANCE LEARNING
MOCK EXAMS
UNIVERSITY NEWS
IB CARREER PROGRAMME UPDATE
CLASSROOM ROTATION ACTIVITIES
From the Head of Wellbeing
ISM remains fully committed to its Anti-Bullying programme, creating and building a culture of kindness and care throughout our whole school community. The Anti-Bullying programme is embedded in our everyday interactions and all staff at ISM are aware of the expectations we have of our students. Our students are also aware of the expectations we have of them.
Last academic year we launched our Anti-Bullying Ambassador programme which puts students at the forefront of making change.
This year ISM will continue to develop this programme and remains fully committed to making ISM a school where there is no tolerance of bullying in any form.
Please click this link to watch ISM’s Anti-Bullying promotional video which highlights all the important elements which our school is committed to. Anti-Bullying Video
Mrs Lindsay Mackenzie-Wright
Deputy Director - Wellbeing
From the PTA
Although this year is set to be different in so many ways, the PTA will be working closely with the school to keep our community together as best we can within the COVID restrictions.
Our class PTA representatives have all now been appointed, so each class has a parent point of contact to help you throughout the school year.
COVID restrictions mean it is unlikely we will be able to run our usual annual events such as Santa's Workshop, Gingerbread House decorating, Tea with the Easter Bunny and the Summer Fete, but we are working to find ways we can help organise special events for the children to enrich their experience throughout the year. We have also rolled out our branded water bottles to the ISM staff as a small token of our appreciation.
We are always looking for suggestions for activities for the benefit of our children and community so if you have any ideas please get in touch. Equally, if you would like to volunteer to help the PTA in any way please let us know at pta@ptaismonaco.com.
Ale - PTA President (On the right) and Felicity - PTA Secretary (Left)
From The Board of Trustees
Have you wondered how the Board and committees of the ISM Association work? Do you have skills and expertise that could help us at ISM? Have you thought that you might like to get involved more in the life of ISM?
The Board would like to invite parents who are interested in supporting one of our committees to put themselves forward. This is an important and fascinating role requiring high levels of commitment, capability, and the ability to work in a team. Parents can make an important contribution to the work of committees and bring additional expertise and key insights into our work at ISM as we work together to deliver the best educational outcomes for every student at ISM.
Please note that the Board and all of its committees are non-executive, providing oversight, support and strategic direction to the school. The running of the school remains entirely in the hands of the Director and the executive leadership team.
There are seven committees;
Education
Finance, Risk and Audit
Governance
Wellbeing and Safeguarding
Sports
Digital Learning
Facilities
Application process
Parents who may be interested in becoming members of committees should contact Eileen Barnes-Vachell, our Board Adviser eileen@barnesvachell.com. Eileen will tell you more about the committees and explain the role of a parent committee member. Interested parents will then be invited to apply by sending in their CV and a letter outlining why they would like to be a member.
Membership
Selection criteria for parents joining committees are as follows. They must:
have a child currently at ISM
have relevant qualifications and expertise in the committee that they are applying for
not have a conflict of interest
be willing to commit the time needed to carry out their duties as a committee member
sign up to the Board Code of Conduct
have integrity and understand the need to maintain confidentiality
From King's College School
Our partnership with King’s College School has started very positively with connections between our staff being made right across the age and subject ranges. The sharing of ideas and outstanding practice has begun in earnest. Some highlights include fourteen of our staff putting their names forward to take part in the bespoke middle and senior leadership programmes run by KCS. These courses, run by leadership experts at our sister school, take place throughout the year and involve both theoretical and practical elements. On the student front, our respective Heads of Sport have been busy planning a launch event, bringing our schools’ students together in a celebration of the partnership, along with some healthy competition. By necessity, this will be a virtual event but when we return to normal, we are looking forward to many “in person” events of this nature. Next week we will be visited by Ms Emma Geraghty, the Head of Education (Overseas Schools) at KCS. She will be with us for three weeks throughout this term, meeting staff and students, and looking at all aspects of ISM life. We will then work with our colleagues in the UK to address any areas requiring development as well as ensuring that we nurture and protect our many strengths. We are excited to welcome her. Three weeks into our partnership, the future is already looking exciting. Be assured that we will bring you regular updates as the year progresses.
HOT OFF THE PRESS
MEET THE LONGMANS: Our French and Biology Teachers
Six years ago, Pete and Karine decided to seek a new challenge by moving abroad to work in an International School in Spain. Having gained experience in the state system in the UK for nearly twenty years teaching Science and French, the move which included uprooting their young family in the process, proved to be exactly what they were looking for both professionally and personally
Once in Spain, Pete who had previously led both pastoral and academic teams in the UK, progressed to gain a place as a Senior Leader overseeing the leadership of the Secondary School. Karine, originally from La Réunion, ran the school’s Modern Foreign Languages department which quickly developed in both academic outcomes and popularity. Her passion for developing the use of digital technology initially in her teaching but then on a whole school level as a lead in the ‘Digital Transformation’ team, came just at the right time as the World was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic
This summer’s move to ISM will undoubtedly give the couple the opportunity to re-focus on what they consider to be the most important and rewarding aspect of the teaching profession, namely the work they do on a daily basis with the young people at the school. They have been warmly welcomed by students and staff alike and are looking forward to this exciting next step in their family’s adventure.
PARENTS SCHOOL BADGES: Coming soon
Two Parents/Chaperone badges will be remitted to the students beginning of next week.
Under normal times, we would ask you to show the badge upon entering the School and to keep it visible at all times. This will help us filter entries to the building and make sure that only authorized persons are in the premises.
When displaying the badge, you will not need to get a visitor’s badge any longer. However, should you remain in the School for an appointment, registration at the reception is still required.
TEDxYouth Event : SHARE YOUR BEST RECIPE
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
Relaunching Our School Communities
Communities (or Houses, as they are usually known) offer exceptional opportunities for healthy competition, team building and student leadership. Since the start of the school year we have been considering ways of rejuvenating and extending the role of our Communities at ISM and have been excited by many interesting ideas and possibilities for the future.
As a first step, and after much consideration, we have decided to relaunch our Communities to herald a fresh and innovative era for this important aspect of school life. As you may be aware, there are currently four communities: Amiko (Red), Nakama (Green), Rafiki (Blue) and Takoda (Yellow). Today, we launched a competition throughout the whole school to re-name the Communities. Students will be given the chance to choose four new names and to provide an explanation for their suggestions. The winning entry will be chosen by a select panel of judges and the winner will become part of ISM history as their entry will be used throughout the school as the names of the new “Houses”. We cannot wait to see what our students come up with.
More details were shared with students today.
In due course, I hope you will enjoy watching our new Houses flourish and develop.
Student Leadership
We are often astounded by the abilities of our students to lead large and small projects and teams and we want to ensure that they are all given ample opportunity to lead in a substantive way during their school careers. As a result, we intend to create a number of additional student leadership positions right across the school from Early Years right through to Class 13. We are currently working on the details and will update you further very soon.
Online Parents Survey
We are very keen to hear the views of parents about all aspects of school life. It is a vital element in helping us to identify areas of strength that require nurturing, as well as any areas which might require development. In next week’s edition of Pulse, we will be sending out a comprehensive and easy online survey for all parents, so watch this space, and we encourage you to participate so that we can hear your voice.
Our partnership with Tennis Padel Soleil
Both our Primary and Secondary school students benefited from lessons this week at Tennis Padel Soleil. The ISM PE staff and tennis coaches worked with students to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of the game. We look forward to developing our partnership with Tennis Padel Soleil, providing excellence in opportunities for our students.
