Grade 5 builds bridges of trust!

Grade 5 students travelled to Monschau for an adventure in the Eifel National Park. They arrived to find instructors from Flowventure: Hannah, Nadia, Tom and Moritz. The students played in the wonderful outdoors and learned VERY SERIOUS team-building games like: Alaskan Baseball, Zombieball, and Where’s the Pig?

Saturday morning everyone was up EARLY (We mean EARLY!! Did we mention they were up early???) ready to go!!  Grade 5 students worked in teams and learned to build bridges in just a couple of hours.  After a walk that lasted F-O-R-E-V-E-R (so the kids will lead you to believe),  they set up their bridges and everyone got a chance to walk on the new 'construction'.  The bridges were so cool!  In fact, they were sooo good they even held up for Mr. Michaud and Ms. Dickson. Wow!

On the way back to the hostel, everyone stopped for ice cream cones, thanks to a donation from ISR's Parent Network!  This gave everyone enough energy to make it back for a yummy BBQ dinner!  One would think everyone would be exhausted, but they played outside late into the evening.  ISR is so proud of its G5 students for their success.  Mr. Michaud, Mr. Urban and Ms. Dickson were impressed by the skills and teamwork they displayed. G5 rocks!

Best in All of Germany!

ISR is proud to announce that two students, Sven K. and Doga B., received the top score in all of Germany in their International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) exams in Mathematics and Business Studies respectively.  Both boys, now in Grade 11, took the exams in June 2010.

Since 2008, ISR has been doing IGCSE exams.  And, this is the second time that ISR received the top score in Germany in Mathematics!  Congratulations to the students and teachers Mr. Ayre and Mr. Bates.  The exams are issued by the University of Cambridge.

ISR also congratulates its sister school, ISF Internationale Schule Frankfurt-Rhein-Main, who is celebrating the top score in the world in Foreign Language Spanish and in Germany the highest mark for English as a Foreign Language, Foreign Language German, Physics and Chemistry!  ISR and ISF are the only two SABIS^® schools in Germany and have practically made a clean sweep of all the top scores in their host country.

 

 

 

 

Grade 1 & 2 Soccer vs. DJK Rheinkraft

On Wednesday 13th April after a long and arduous trip to get to the DJK Rheinkraft football stadium, the Grade 1 & 2 football team went through their warm-up routine in the knowledge that they were a much improved team from the one that played earlier academic year. After a steady start, with both sides coming close to scoring, ISR players began to dominate possession and the pressure eventually told when they scored after some slick passing down the right-hand wing and a tremendous right foot volley. The goal inspired them further and DJK Rheinkraft struggled to keep possession of the ball, shortly before halftime ISR players scored their second goal. During the half time break ISR made some substitutions and positional changes to the team and it was not long before a third goal was added after a quick passage of passing.

Having gone 3 – 0 the ISR team began to lose concentration and allowed DJK back into the game, and to
their credit DJK took this advantage and scored a great goal, which gave the goalkeeper no chance. This was the wake-up call that ISR players needed and they finished the game the stronger team and scored a fourth goal!  Final Score: ISR vs. DJK Rheinkraft 4: 1.

Making up the ISR Team: Kiran Z., Alex T., Gleb M., Liam N, Martijn L., Elliot M., Tom F., Max M., Jiacheng X., and Hendrik S.  Team Trainer: Ms. Schneider

 

Kindergarten starts weekly Guest Reader program

The ISR Kindergarten started a weekly Guest Reader program and will invite a Guest Reader to visit the classroom every Thursday. The teachers have allotted 20 minutes so there will be time to "interview" the Guest Reader.

As a Guest Reader, one may choose to read in their native language. The children really enjoy listening to
different languages and are eager to learn. Guest Readers either bring a book from home or check one out from the ISR Library.

In its first week, the KG1 kindergartners heard Mrs. Inai read in her native language of Japanese to the students in KG1 and the KG2 kids heard Mrs. Luthien read in German. The children enjoyed it immensely!  (They are pictured with some flower pots they decorated to welcome spring.)

 

 

 

Grade 4 excursion to Garzweiler

On 01 April, ISR's Grade 4 classes had the great opportunity to visit the coal mines in Garzweiler.  As part of the German curriculum, the students discussed the development of coal and Open Cat Mining in class. The tour guide was impressed by how much ISR students already knew. After a short introduction, they went on a guided bus tour through the mines. Students were deeply the impressed by the size of the bucket-wheel excavators!  It was an exciting trip enjoyed by all.

Tribute to Japan via 'Schreibtalente' competition

Some ISR students submitted work to the writing competition “Schreibtalente” (writing talents) on the topic "FLUSS" (river).  One of ISR's Grade 4 students handed in a “Haiku” traditional Japanese poem as a tribute to the victims of the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan.  A traditional haiku consists of 17 morae (similar to syllables) which are distributed among three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 morae respectively. Here is Jan’s Haiku:

FLUSS

schimmerndes Wasser
ein paar silbrige Fische
alles ist friedlich
 
------

RIVER

shimmering water
a couple of silver fish
ev'rything peaceful

 

His letter to the jury and the poem can be viewed on the “Help Japan” pin board in the school foyer.   As we all aware of the devastation that the earthquake, aftershocks and tsunami have caused to Japan, ISR is kindly asking for all members of the ISR community to be generous! A donation box is available in the school foyer! Any amount is accepted and all proceeds will be sent through the German Red Cross; they are offering psychological and practical support to children effected by the tragedy advance for your support to this worthy cause In addition, the grade 9B students organized a bake sale on 08 April. All proceeds also went  to this cause.

 

Sister Parent Networks have informal exchange at ISR

The Parent Network (PN) of ISF visited their sister PN at ISR on Thursday 07 April. The ISF troupe was invited to join the open PN Meeting as well as having an informal exchange with the PN Board. PN President Hong Heinen, wrote ISF to share her impressions of the visit: “On behalf of the ISR PN board and the parents of ISR, we thank you for your visit. It was exhilarating for many of us here in Neuss to have you all here. As I returned to school to pick up my kids today, many parents have approached me and commented on how exciting it was to have our sister counterpart here and to learn that we have a 'partner' out there.

"Your visit has helped shed some light on our experiences here. We are impressed by the dedication and the commitment you and your team has put into ISF, and we are motivated to replicate some of your wonderful ideas. We are also comforted to know that our hardships and roadblocks are shared by you as well which have inspired us to continue onward to achieve our goals. We envy your growth but yet are enthusiastic to be given the opportunity to experience, ourselves, the growth at our school. Your visit today was a start of a wonderful partnership that we look forward to foster, and we are confident that together we can accomplish the same goal. Thank you again for your initiative, your enthusiasm and your effort to bring forth this unity.”

 

 

 

 

 

ISR hosts its first GISST Boys U14 Basketball tournament

From Thursday 31 March - 2 April, ISR hosted the GISST (German International School Sports Tournament) Boys U14 Basketball Tournament. Schools from all around Germany arrived Thursday afternoon and were housed either by parents of ISR or in a youth hostel. The tournament was very enjoyable and although the ISR U14 boys team did not win a game they learnt a lot from their first experience of a basketball tournament. The eventual winners of the tournament were Berlin Brandenburg International School, 2nd place went to Berlin International School and 3rd place to ISR's sister school, ISF International School Frankfurt.

Playing for the ISR team:  Leonard and Christopher S., Kevin K., Tim S., Robert V., Julien F., Leon S., Stefan L., and Taha M.  Coaches for ISR: Mr. Cottingham and Doga B.

A MASSIVE thank you must go to all the parents and staff that hosted students from the other schools, the students you hosted had a great time and really enjoyed their time with you. THANK YOU! A particular big thank you must go to Mrs. Naumann organising the housing this year. This is a very difficult job and this was the first year that Mrs. Naumann did this.  Good job!!!

Thank you also to Ms. Schneider and Mr. Cottingham for their support and time in organising the event and to Gr. 10s Lukas P., David K., Johannes F., Areeb K., as well as to Gr. 11s Doga B., Laura R., Alexandra S. for their work on the score tables.

And if hosting the GISST tournament wasn't enough, ISR was very excited and honored to welcome US Ambassador to Germany Mr. and Mrs. Murphy who came to watch their son play (pictured with Head of Marketing & Admissions Ms. Terhune and School Director Ms. Lyons).

 

  

 

On the very same weekend, ISR GISST Girls U14 Basketball team participated in their own competition in Hannover.  It was clear from the start of the tournament that our U14 girls team was the youngest and least experienced; however, the girls remained positive and their crowning moment was winning the Most Sporting Team award as voted by 6 other schools!  A big thank you goes to Ms. Robinson for chaperoning the girls to the tournament.

Congratulations girls!! We look forward to seeing more girls on the court next year as our young team grows in number, height and skill. Playing for the ISR team:  Laura B., Lea B., Helin B., Marlene W., Franca and Janna L., and Antonia S.

  

 

 

Kindergarten starts welcoming spring!

The staff and the children of the Kindergarten provide a good reminder about the simplicity and beauty of life and to stop and smell the roses every once and a while.  The week of 28 March, Kindergarten students started decorating spring pots for their flowers. The staff will keep us informed of how pretty they turned out.

Everything grows in the KG!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open Meeting with Mr. Bistany 2011

On Wednesday, 30th March, ISR hosted its Annual Open Meeting with Mr. Bistany and Mr. Ayche. In addition to the presentations given by Mr. Bistany on how and why the SABIS^® School Network remains non-selective, Ms. Lyons presented school objectives looking forward and ISR successes with not only external exams but also on university applications and offers.  Ms. Terhune continued with results from the parent satisfaction survey and ISR's social media presence.  Mr. Michaud informed the community about ISR's SABIS^® Student Life Organization's growth and development this year, and Grade 11 Sven K. (SLO^® deputy prefect) made a heartfelt call to action as to why SLO is so important and can change your life at the developmental age.  His speech brought Mr. Bistany to his feet!

Following the presentations, there was a brief reception and and ISR Art Teacher Ms. Henebry welcomed staff and parents to an Art Exhibition showcasing selected pieces created by ISR IB students. To see their INCREDIBLY TALENTED work, visit ISR's Facebook Fan Page.  Thank you to everyone who attended. As a supplement to the Open Meeting, the first-ever publication of the “ISR Report Card 2010” was distributed and extra copies are available at Reception.

 

 

Near-perfect results on the DELF certificate exams

For the second year at ISR, students participated this past January and February in the French DELF-test. This year 17 students participated in the written examination. We are happy to announce that all students who took part in this examination succeeded.

The DELF is an examination (listening and reading understanding, oral and composition) recognized by French-speaking universities in France, French-speaking Canada, Belgium, Switzerland as well as by enterprises who look for people with basic to very good French skills.

There are 6 levels from the common European Framework of Reference for Languages: A1 (Breakthrough), A2 (Waystage), B1 (Threshold), B2 (Vantage), C1 (Effective Operational Proficiency) and C2 (Mastery). A1 and A2 are for basic speakers; B1 and B2 are for independent speakers; and C1-C2 are for proficient speakers. A1 to B1 test the ability to discuss, understand, read, and write about everyday topics, and B2 to C2 test the ability to discuss, understand, read, and write about more specialised and academic topics (e.g. literature, sciences).

This year, 4 of 4 ISR students passed the A1 level, 11 of 12 students passed the A2 level and 1 of 1 student passed the B1 level. Over half of all participating ISR students scored above 80%!  French teacher Mr. Besançon would like to congratulate all the students for their hard work: Gesine, Philipp, Alexander, Vesselina, Heiko, Celina, Leon, Felix, Anne, Carlotta, Ana, Sophie, Charlotte, Laura, Nils, Thomas, and Charles-Henri.

ISR vs. Freies Christliches Gymnasium Tuesday 15th March

Congratulations to the ISR U14 boys/girls basketball team on their first-ever victory against the Freies Christliches Gymnasium in the Gloria Giants League on Tuesday 15th March. In an exciting game the ISR team trailed by 2 points going into the final quarter but managed to pull out a 24-18 victory.

Team: Aarthy N., Janna and Franca L., Hannah D., Kira O., Pia H., Vivian K., Chiara S., Kasper U., Robert V.  Come and support our next game which is at home in the ISR Sports hall Monday the 21st March at 16:00.

Outreach and Discipline from SLO®

FROM THE SLO^® LOVE HELP SAVE EARTH TEAM

We are the Love Help Save EARTH Team. Maybe you have heard of us. We are 7th graders who want to make ISR a greener place. Due to our engagement, ISR now uses recycled paper for official documents as well as for nearly every other issue in which paper is needed. For this, we collected over 800€ during Family Fun Day and International Day.

First, we wanted to install solar panels but this would be too time-consuming. So we chose Recycle Paper. We started this project in Autumn 2009 and successfully finished it a few months ago. Also we created an Activity on Thursday, 6th Period. There, we can discuss what to do next and how to do it. We hope that we can do many other projects which help nature. A big thank you to all who donated money!!!

 

 

 

 

 

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

The SLO^® Discipline Department has created a new program at ISR called the ‘Random Act of Kindness’. This program is designed to inspire the entire ISR community to practice kindness and pass it on to others. Please find "RAK" cards at reception and SLO^® office.

 

 

 

 

 

ISR vs. VFL Weissenberg 3:1

A very competent display by ISR Grade 3-4 football team resulted in fine win for the home team. ISR’s fluent passing game proved to be too much for the talented Weissenberg team. Despite equalizing Leonard opening goal the opposition was never really in contention to win this game. Leon and Max were safe in goal and the defense was well marshalled by Ben. Julius’s surging runs caused problems for the away defence, and Leonard and Johann had numerous scoring opportunities.

ISR Team: Max B., Leonard F., Aaron G., Florian K., Alexander K., Mel L., Adrian M., Johann N., Leon P., Ben P., and Julius R.  Goals: Leonard F., Johann N.  Well done, lads!

Now is the time to register for Summer School

This year, the ISR Summer School will take place from 11 July through 05 August.  The last two week coincide with NRW.  Summer School at ISR is for ISR and non-ISR students in Kindergarten (age 3) up through Grade 6 (and Grade 7 – 8 for ISR students only, half-day).  This unique experience is both educational and fun. 

Students learn and play in a safe and stimulating environment either for half days from 09:00-12:30 hrs or full days from 09:00-16:00.  For more information, here is a packet detailing everything you need to know!

Students have run of the building all night long!

The SLO^® Event Department hosted a Grade 5 and above Lock-In which took place Friday, 4-5th February from 20:00-08:00 hrs!  Over 100 students had the run of the building--supervised, of course--filled  with  music,  sports  activities,  games, movies, pizza, snacks (even fruit) and much more!!!  The gym was used for a variety of fungames and activities and music in the cafeteria played all night long!

The kids also watched various movies overnight. Some students also had the opportunity to take a walk in the forest with no lights… what an experience.

A BIG thanks goes to Mr. Michaud for his leadership and experience as well as to Michael B in Grade 10 who continues to gain valuable experience as the SLO^® Deputy Prefect of Events.  Thank you also to ISR staff who worked a straight 24 hours (incl. Mr. Michaud)!!!  And, thank you to the Parent Network for providing the breakfast on Saturday morning.

 

 

Repeat the sounding joy!

ISR Winter Concerts which took place on 15 and 16 December were once again a resounding success thanks to the extraordinary work of our music teacher, Paula Swartz and her team. Their hard work lead to three wonderfully enjoyable shows.

Thank you to all those who contributed to and supported the event, including PN Reps, SLO Prefects and our ever-helpful maintenance team.  Well done also to the Student's Initiative Programme (SIP) who had scheduled quite a lovely Winter Market for the foyer which was unfortunately cancelled along with that day's concert due to inclement weather. 

The Winter Concert for Grades 3, 4 and 5 took place on 07 January which, Head of Music Dr. Swartz reminded us, is Christmas Day in most Eastern Orthodox and some Oriental Orthodox Churches not to mention other worldwide traditions which take place on 06 January. 

(Photos taken by Ms. Hutchins' Grade 6 students.) 

 

Every day at ISR is a snowflake

December is a busy time at ISR with many things for the children, parents and staff to look forward to!  This year's Winter Concerts will be held on 15 and 16 December featuring Kindergarten through Grade 5 students. 

This year, the Parent Network (PN) will add a bit of festivity to the performances by inviting parents, guests, students and staff for a cup of non-alcoholic Glühwein (hot spiced wine) and hot choclate in the foyer after the concert.  Students take Initiative Project (SIP) is planning a Winter Market also to be held in the foyer.  Sixty-six percent of the proceeds will go to help ISR's chosen charity, Cambodia's Hope Palm Tree Orphanage. 

At the beginning of December, the PN also organized a wish garland.  Each star on the garland named a needy childen in the region, their age and their Christmas wish.  Ninety wishes came true (see 'Thank You' above).  At the same time, the Junior Chamber of Commerce in Cologne made a call for donations for Sudanese children with the theme, "We are donating education!"  Of the 100kg sent on the evening of 01 December, the ISR family donated 80kg of school supplies.  If that wasn't enough, more donations arrived two days later, enough to send 50kg more including 2 old laptops.

All of this generosity at ISR comes after the PN delivered three busloads of children's clothing, supplies and toys for the Weckhoven Family Center and having an extremely successful silent auction at International Day.

ISR recognizes that its expatriate children embrace this moment to celebrate local traditions, so on Friday, December 17th, Father Christmas and his angel will visit ISR. He will meet G1-G2 students in the library between 13:45 - 14:15 and G3 at 14:30 - 15:00 to read "'Twas the Night before Christmas" to the students. Afterwards the students will sing a song and recite a holiday poem.

ISR wishes everyone a happy, safe and warm holiday season!

'Die Mimosen' perform at ISR

If you had walked into the ISR Library on Friday, December 10th between 10:00-11:00h, it would have been extremely quiet.  That is, until you heard a BURST of giggling.  "Die Mimosen" performed their drama "Der Weihnachtstraum des Tannenbaums" ("The Christmas Wish of the Pine Tree"). Students from Grades 1-3 were captivated—literally captivated—by this hour-long musical skit and enjoyed the witty dialogues of the talented performers.

The kids were so giggly, that they made their teachers giggly, too. Thanks to German Primary Coordinator Ms. Hietel for bringing all this joy and laughter to us!

  

Gloria Giants Basketball League

On Wednesday 8th December, ISR Under 14 Boys and Girls (mixed team) took part in their first league game vs. Griechische Schule Düsseldorf.

This is an exiting opportunity for our students to take part in a friendly beginners basketball league, and we wish the team good luck with all their fixtures over the next few months.

Thank you to Mr. Saunders for coordinating this event on behalf of ISR.