Dear ISB Community,
On behalf of all of us at ISB, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to both new and returning parents as we begin the 2018/19 school year. I hope you all had enjoyable and restful summers and are ready for another school year full of great learning and enjoyment.
This week, ISB has felt like a school again as we welcomed 1700 happy students. There is something magical when you see friends reconnect and new friendships being made. Each division has very engaging programs in place to help new students transition to ISB and we hope all of our new students have felt very supported and cared for.
We have also welcomed 13 new teachers to ISB (out of 219) and I know they are very excited to be working with your children.
Additionally, Debi Caskey has joined the ISB family as our new Deputy Head of Learning. Debi was most recently Assistant Superintendent for the Douglas School District in South Dakota (USA). Prior to this position, Ms. Caskey has served as the Director of Curriculum/PYP Coordinator at Academia Cotopaxi (Ecuador), the Elementary Principal/Interim Superintendent at the American International School of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), the Elementary Vice Principal at the American School of Dubai (UAE), and as a teacher in Wyoming (USA). Welcome Debi!
As with every summer, our wonderful staff and various contractors have been busy improving the campus and making sure all facilities are in top condition. This summer we have been able to:
- Refurbish the 25m pool
- Install a state of the art sound system in the Chevrom Theatre
- Create a new space in the center of the school as a home for the Community Activities Office and Arts & Activities Office
- Relocate photography into a new and very modern facility
- Build a new home for our Booster Club
- Install awnings at the front of school to provide some shelter from the rain when dropping off students
- Install sound proofing and a new screen into Rajendra Hall
- Install sound proofing and a new dome into the ES cafeteria
- Install new scoreboards on Albert Field and the Reinsch Field
- Install a new sound system on Field A (with the help of a PTA donation)
Please join me in recognizing the hard and creative work of our Facilities and Building and Grounds Teams – they take great pride on the condition of our school.
Also this summer we received the IB results for our departing seniors and would like to congratulate all students and their teachers on these results that are way above international norms. Highlights are as follows:
- 114 IB Diplomas awarded – a pass rate of 97% (world average is typically 80%)
- Average subject grade of 5.51
- Mean Diploma score of 35
- Two students scored the highest IB Diploma score of 45 (very few students received perfect scores worldwide)
- 18 students scored at least 40 points
Finally, please know that we are a listening school that understands that we have parents with experiences in schools all over the world. If you think there are aspects of ISB we can improve, or you have ideas for improvement, please feel free to talk to any of our administrators or counselors.
At the beginning of each month, I hold an open meeting for parents – First Friday with Andy – and all parents are welcome to come with questions or suggestions. Dates for the year can be found on the ISB calendar and we meet in the Orange Room near the admissions area. The first meeting of the year will be on 7th September at 8:00am
I am looking forward to working with you all and getting to know you better.
All the best.
Andy