Skip To Main Content

Close trigger

Head of School Weekly Notes

Engaged, Committed and Confident

As we come to the end of another successful quarter, I would like to thank everyone for so many positive community-building experiences. Last night was just one example – the International Food Fair (imagined and implemented by a student!) and the middle school musical made the campus feel alive with community spirit. Last Friday the Commons was abuzz with the Ramadan/Shabbat celebration, last Saturday it was wonderful to see so many parents here cheering on the soccer team and of course, all the parent coffees that have been held have been so nice to see. We seem to finally be leaving the shadow of covid and back to a campus that is active, open and engaging. Thank you all!
 
The quality of an NIS education was also recognized by our visitors from the IB, CIS, and WASC this week. They spent five intensive days (Sunday-Thursday) looking into the heart of our school and seeking out the ways in which we are working to deliver the mission and implement the IB programs with quality and fidelity. 


We do not yet know the final result or the final details, as these will come in due course from the respective agencies, yet we are hopeful of a positive outcome. In verbal debriefs from the visiting team we were delighted to hear many affirming messages about the quality of our mission-aligned teaching and learning, the quality of our staff, the conviction in our desire to continue to be an inclusive and supportive mission-driven community, our intentional focus on bringing equity in access to learning, and on the integrity of the school in delivering its mission with fidelity and commitment. We were congratulated on our commitment to the four projects which they said was clearly laying a strong foundation for impact as the school moves forward. 


Of course, there will be areas that they will recommend for consideration too. We know one will include planning for the sustainability of school improvement through investing in enhancing the scope, range, and quality of each program, and the sustainability of the structures necessary to support those efforts in terms of staffing, resourcing and time allocation. Through the five-year budget approach that we announced to the community this week, I am confident that we have a strong plan to address these needs, and I truly appreciate the support of our community as we strive to do so.
 
I would like to especially thank Ms. Maia Bassett, our accreditation coordinator as well as our IB coordinators Sarah Rodgers, Pete Goodman and Peter Sagun, as well as other coordinators and team leaders for our four school improvement projects (A. Ghorai, D. Graeber, M. Hayashida, T. Hutton, L. Porter, S. Prosek, R. Schnell) for their effort and commitment to our accreditation process. Their hard work, along with the support of the wider staff, students and parents, mean this is a moment to celebrate all we have achieved. Thanks to their work, I am hopeful that we can look forward to a positive accreditation outcome from CIS/WASC and the IB in the coming months.
 
I wish all our families quality time with your children as you enjoy their spring vacation and look forward to welcoming you back in a week’s time!


 - M. Parr, Head of School