March 10, 2008

Head of School’s ISI Update

Head of School’s ISI Update - March 2008

Welcome to my March Update! A lot has been happening at ISI since my last Update, so let me see if I can bring you up to speed.

Grade Level Parent Meetings
The busy round of informal grade level parent meetings that Sylvie and I have been enjoying in your homes came to an end with the 2nd Grade Dinner in early February at the Kleinmans’ beautiful residence. Thank you so much to the Kleinman family, and to all the other families who have hosted such events. They have not only been a wonderful way for us to get to know the unique ISI community, and for me to communicate my vision for the future of ISI, but they have also been fine occasions that allowed parents to meet each other.

Staff News
On the personnel side, we welcomed new High School mathematics teacher Mr Sam Ahmed in January, all the way from his home in Australia, despite a struggle with the US visa authorities. We said good-bye in the High School to our counselor Pam Flores, who has accepted a position with the local authorities. Many congratulations to Lucy Taylor-McMahan in the Elementary School on the birth of her twins, and Sonia Castilla-Hobbs in the High School for the birth of her daughter, Alba! And congratulations to our Elementary School librarian Lisa Engelhardt on the award of a Fullbright scholarship to spend a month in Paris this summer.

Congo Seminar
Our school has hosted all kinds of meetings and events, but I think an especially powerful one was the seminar on the Congo. Apart from learning about the importance of the Congo to the industrialized world, with its unique mineral wealth and natural resources, we also learned about the historical background and the challenges facing the country today. Many thanks to Faustin N'Tala and Don Boehm for their initiative in organizing this and, among others, to our parent and Board member Didier Gondola, for his authoritative talk. We very much hope to create a link with a school in the Congo.

Events in the Black Box
I can only marvel at the versatility of the Black Box Theater in the Taurel Building. Within a very short space of time it went from a regular theater for entertaining and skillful performances by our High School students, to a very stimulating Science and Engineering Fair exhibition, to an elegant dinner venue to celebrate our Senior students, and lastly but by no means least, it metamorphosed into a Monte Carlo style casino, for the Parent Association Casino Night, on February 23. Everyone who attended the latter had lots of fun, and Mr. Jeff Saturday proved to be much more than a Colts center as he dealt round after round of Blackjack and filled the bank’s coffers. I’m pleased to say that it was the school that was the winner at the end of the evening!

Grade 8 Information Sessions
We have held two information sessions for Grade 8 students. Grade 8 is a natural break in education in the US, with students expecting to move from their Middle School into an often separate 4-year High School. We hope our 8th Grade students will decide to stay with us, but we understand the tradition of considering other High Schools, and we well understand our students being flattered when other High Schools do their best to tempt them. We regret the loss of any of our students at the end of Grade 8, and hope that as many of them as possible will stay with us and help us continue the rapid growth and development of our own Grades 9-12. Early indications are that we will have the biggest freshman class so far in the short history of the ISI High School section.

International Baccalaureate Primary Years and Middle Years Programme Talks
I hope everyone knows that ISI will be introducing the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme in the coming years. I have given two information evenings on the PYP and MYP. We are still hoping to post a podcast of the presentation on our website, so that those of you who missed it will be able to listen to my talk and the ensuing discussion, but we are battling with the quality of the sound recording that was made. If we cannot achieve the right sound quality we will find another way to ensure you all have access to key parts of the discussion.

Two New Senior Leadership Positions at ISI
Linked with the introduction of PYP and MYP, and a general drive to improve the school, we are creating two new leadership positions for next year: a Principal of the lower school, including pre-elementary and Grades 1-5, and a principal of the Upper School, encompassing Grades 6-12. We have three candidates for interview on March 10 and 11. They all have strong academic credentials, excellent experience in either the PYP or the MYP, sound leadership experience, and a background of working in international schools around the world. The candidates represent three different nationalities, namely Canadian, Australian and New Zealand, and they are currently working in international schools in Austria, China and the Philippines as Principals or in other senior leadership positions. As you can see, we are determined to bring educational leaders from around the world to help move ISI to its next level of development.

Arts Week
We are just coming to the close of Arts Week with its focus on Discover China. I was pleased to open the week’s proceedings at 49th Street with a short assembly. It was particularly charming to see the beautiful costumes that so many of the children were wearing, and I thank our teachers and our parents for their extra effort and attention.
By the way, speaking of China, the 2008 Travel Auction will be going all the way to…China! If you would like to volunteer to help, or have any questions about the 2008 Travel Auction, you can contact the co-chairs, Dawn Zimmer and Connie Brown, or the Advancement office via auction@isind.org. 

Intercultural Understanding
One of the key understandings of an IB World School is intercultural understanding. This is a term that encompasses many qualities – being informed about and proud of one’s own heritage, in order to become informed about and respectful towards the heritage and cultural background of others. It includes a deep respect for the host country in which the school is located, tolerance, openness and a fundamental acceptance that others, with their different cultural backgrounds, beliefs, traditions and values, may also be right. It is vital that we see intercultural understanding as more than food, festivals and flags. As we introduce the PYP and the MYP, we shall be reviewing the attention we give to this crucial area. At its simplest level, we must do more to acknowledge and celebrate human diversity and achievement, whether these be in the form of religious or traditional festivals, special commemorations, world-wide special days and so on, or in-depth consideration of different peoples, cultures and areas of the globe. At a deeper level, we need to revisit different areas of our curriculum, and ensure that we encompass both the local and a world-wide perspective. I especially want us to increase our attention throughout the whole school to Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month. We all have much to learn from the selfless and principled leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and we cannot understand the present day USA or reasonably talk about human rights and discrimination elsewhere in the world, if we do not develop a sound appreciation of the struggle for dignity and equality here in the USA.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest Winners
By the way, congratulations to the following 9th and 10th grade students who composed winning entries for the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis 2008 Martin Luther King, JR Essay contest: Trishya Srinivasan, Rob Brown, Camille Allamel, Ryan Austin, Timo Gondola, Jehu Elliot, Hannah Klion, Maya Cooper, Ava Dickerson, and Ellie Chabraja. Well done to all!

Annual Fund Donations
By now you will have received the tuition charges for next year, along with the reenrollment forms. ISI continues to seek ways in which we can control and reduce costs, but this cannot be at the expense of the quality of the program that we offer. I think many, if not all, ISI parents appreciate now that ISI is committed to a far reaching process of improving the quality and caliber of the programs we offer. Unlike the longer established private schools in the vicinity, ISI lacks any significant endowment fund, and cannot yet rely on its alumni for material support. This means that we are funding our operation almost completely from the tuition payments that parents make. Many of you have contributed generously according to your means to our Annual Fund. Our Annual Fund will continue through June 30th, and we really do rely on this to supplement our tuition income and help to balance the books. If you have not already done so, please consider a contribution. Every amount helps. If you have any questions please contact Bob Brown at bbrown@isind.org or ext. 315.

Peru Medical Mission Trip
Junior student Marcos Paya Ten and his family are traveling to Peru on a mission trip over Spring Break. Marcos writes: 

"This spring, my family, and some other families from ISI will be travelling to Cusco, Peru to establish a medical mission in which we will provide medical aid (including internal medicine, allergy, infectious diseases, pediatrics, surgery, etc.) and as much medication and eyeglasses as we can. I have personally undertaken the mission of starting a campaign to collect medicines of any sort and will organize and package them for the trip, as well as being the pharmacy leader there. These are just some of the many things that are needed:
-Tylenol, Ibuprophen, Aspirin
-cough syrup, decongestants
-eye drops, nasal sprays, ear drops
-topical steroids (Hydrocortisone), topical antifungals, topical antibiotics -antiacids, antidiarrheal -vitamins -bandaids, gauze, tape, antiseptic solution -toothbrushes, toothpaste, small bottles of shampoo, soap, hygiene products. I will be setting up drop-off boxes at the entrance of all three buildings so that we can start collecting by the beginning of next week. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me."
Please help support Marcos and his fellow aid workers on this important project.

Botball
High School Physics teacher Kelly Cook leads our Botball team and is gearing up for their competition in St. Louis. In case you don’t know, Botball is about programming robots to achieve a task by negotiating a number of obstacles and hazards on a small court. Our Botball team recently received news that they have been awarded an $1800 scholarship from the KISS institute towards the $2300 entry fee, leaving only $500 to raise in order to participate in the competition, which is on April 26th.

It’s Over For the Brain Game Team!
Well done to our High School Brain Game team for reaching the State Quarterfinals on March 5th against Park Tudor. Sadly for ISI, Park Tudor beat us, although our team put up an excellent fight. Now we are focusing on next year’s competition.

Hundred Days Dinner
This year’s Hundred Days Dinner for the Seniors was held on Feb 21st. It celebrates the arrival of the final 100 days before our Seniors sit down to write their final examinations for the International Baccalaureate Diploma, and is an occasion for the Seniors to reflect (humorously) on their teachers, and bequest a treasured item to the class’s time capsule, which will be kept for posterity in the Principal’s office. Many thanks to those parents who organized this very pleasant and rather poignant occasion.

Advice to our Seniors
If I may add my own words of advice for the Seniors – use your time wisely between now and the beginning of May, when your written examinations start. You only have a few weeks left. Focus on revision, and practice using past examination papers. These examinations will be the toughest and most intense three weeks of your life up to now. They are much more about demonstrating your understanding, than coming up with the right answer. You cannot reasonably hope to revise frantically the night before one of these exams and do well. Make some kind of a revision plan. Build in some relaxation, but please avoid taking on anything new or demanding of your time and energy between now and the end of your exams.

ISI Family day
ISI Family day is Friday, March 14! I hope to see all of you for a relaxed day of open doors, when you can bring grandparents, uncles and aunts – and others - to see the school in action.

Les Petits Ecoliers Chantants de Bondy
Mr Eric Peschard, coordinator of Grades 1-3 at 49th Street, is organizing a visit by a French Choir (Les Petits Ecoliers Chantants de Bondy) from April 21 to 30. Watch out for further details!

Calling All Golf Fans
Here’s a timely heads-up for all golf fans. ISI’s Rangel-Thomas 5th Annual Golf Outing will be held on Monday, June 9.

US Visa Seminar
The Association of International Women has asked me to publicize a seminar being held this week on US immigration requirements, including green cards, visas and citizenship. It will be held on Thursday, March 13, 2008, with coffee from 9:00 to 9:30 am and the seminar from 9:30 to 11:30 am. It will be held in the Clay Township Community Room, 10701 N College Ave., North east corner of College Ave and 107th St. The seminar will be presented by Cathy Singleton, Attorney at Law. The following topic caught my eye: How minor transgressions by children can lead to deportation of expatriate families. Well, it’s best to be prepared!
RSVP for Seminar by Wednesday, March 12, 2008 to Rosaleen Crowley, Tel: (317) 574 0630 or email: rcrowley2136@att.net.

Spring Break March 21 to March 31
Let me finish this Update by wishing all of our students and their families a wonderful Spring Break.

 ~ David Garner

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