Head of School Weekly Notes

The springtime is one of the most exciting times in our school. The season brings with it the cherry blossom "Hanami" - an appreciation of the beauty in life, and optimism for the new life ahead as the world becomes warm, sunny, and green (or pink, as is the case with the sakura!). At the same time, we are coming into the final part of the academic year and so it is a time when we reap the harvest of learning from the seeds that were planted back in August. 

This week in our Student-Led Conferences, parents were able to hear from their children the outcomes of the year's learning. When I was at school - and I suspect most of our parents - we would have perhaps one or possibly two parent conferences at most each year, both of which were the same, and both of which involved the teacher telling the parents what they thought was best for the child. In good schools today, the model is different - with the child at the center of a partnership for learning. 

At NIS we hold four conferences. The first of these is led by the child and the family, and results in goals being agreed for the year. The second is led by the teacher in a more traditional way. The third is a shared three-way conference reflecting on progress made so far. And the fourth is what we had this week - student-led meeting in which the learner shares their learning with their family - i.e. a celebration of learning!

This celebration is perhaps even a little more profound in Grades 5 and 10 since these grades form the ending-point of their PYP and MYP journeys. This week we were able to celebrate the MYP Gr. 10 "Personal Project" exhibition. This is the culminating task of the MYP in which students take an area of passion and evolve the learning necessary to achieve their goal through an extended project-based learning experience. From creating AI, to producing magazines and books to creating a small business - the creativity and real-world learning was palpable. Next week it is the turn of our Gr. 5s who will be showcasing their learning through action in the PYP Exhibition. 

We know that sadly we were not able to schedule this on a national holiday this year and we are grateful to the many parents who were able to adjust their schedule to attend on Wednesday. The partnership between the school, family and the student is so important as we endeavor together as a community to ensure that each of our students are able to achieve our mission. 

We look forward to finding more ways to celebrate the learning in our community and thank you for playing such an important and supportive part in that process!
 

- M. Parr, Head of School