The last few weeks leading up to the end of term 2 have been all about ISBe showcasing and celebrating the diverse abilities of our students, while also asking them to reflect on their own learning journey. We have had the privilege of seeing them share their talents individually and collectively; and we are forever amazed and proud of their achievements.
There was a huge celebration for Math and Science week where students were actively involved in a range of fun and challenging activities. They participated in house teams for an epic science quiz where many of the answers and scientific concepts were avidly debated and the Dragons ended up victorious. There was a math treasure hunt using QR codes to track clues and calculations across the school, with a very controversial end to the solution. The culminating activity involved all secondary students designing, constructing and testing a scientific contraption – catapults or “Pi” drops or motorised vehicles. A very creative and entertaining day!
We also had a special presentation by one of our senior students in class 10, Hari who has been building and testing model rockets. He walked us through the process, shared his learning experiences and successes by explanation and a video demonstration. So great to see a student pursuing their passions!
It was great to see so many families, existing and new, join us for Open Day. Students who were excited to show some of their learning in a whole range of subjects and activities eg. Dutch twister, marketing French speaking countries as a destination, explaining their spaceship consoles and mathematical patterns, planning cities of the future, the experimental process and of course we got to see those contraptions in action again.
A big highlight for me on Open Day was the finals on our Inter-house Speech competition where nine secondary students spoke about ‘What makes me happy’. Not only was the range of speeches engaging – from thoughtful and reflective to humorous and entertaining – but the standard was very high. Each student spoke confidently and drew the audience in. Congratulations to Rahul and Navya from C10, winner and runner-up respectively, and a special mention to the only middle school finalist, Jasmine from C7.
Last week we also hosted a music talent show where we watched seven great performances that showcased the musical abilities of some of our students. Well done to all participants who shared their skills with us. Three of the acts were selected to perform at the end of year show. Congratulations to Jordan in C11 for his piano solo, Shreyansh in C9 on guitar and our girl band from C7 Aadya, Shashwati and Jasmine.
Two other success stories for our students relate to two individuals in our senior school for their individual achievements. Congratulations to Joshua in C11 who was selected to play in the U/17 Belgian National team for rugby union and Meghna in C10 who was selected to participate in the European Youth Parliament conference.
Students have been preparing for the Student Led conferences. They will be presenting information about their learning journey so far, what they need to work on and what they are proud of. They have also created a self- generated reflection report about their term 2 performance that they have shared with you. We continue to encourage students to take charge of their learning and actively strategise about improving learning outcomes.
So important dates to remember:
March
Friday 31 – End of term 2
April
Monday 17 – School restarts for term 3.
— C10 and C12 students start study/exam leave.
Wednesday 19 – University fair for C9 &11
Karen Relf
Head of Secondary