International School of Munich (MIS)

www.mis-munich.de

Another 6 am start! If ever you need a very quick ‘wake up’ ride try driving from Oberstaufen to Munich in the rain with the work traffic. Some would call it exhilarating, others would say it was stupidity; for me it was a necessary step in getting to Munich International School about 2.5 hours away from where we are staying for the week.

Garmin managed to get us right to the school car park without any detours. Upon entering the car park and faced with the constant flow of cars and buses you could be forgiven for thinking you had arrived at a transfer station. However, upon closer examination we could see there was a circuit that buses followed as they let children for MIS off. Parents drew up in the huge and well laid out car park, parked their cars and either accompanied their children through the underground tunnel to the school or let them walk to 250 m or so by themselves. When we arrived just on 9 am the car park was about 60% full of cars – many I guess were staff.

Before entering the school grounds I surrendered my passport to the security station in return for a visitor’s tag to wear while I was on site.

I had a brief meeting with the Head of School, Dr Mary Seppala, before being introduced to Junior School Principal Gary Langenhuizen who hosted me so well for the morning. Gary is from the USA and is in his first year as principal.

MIS offers all three programmes accredited by the International Baccalaureate Organisation – Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme and the Diploma Programme. The school is a non profit educational primary and secondary day school for children aged 4-5 years through Grade 12 with English as the language of instruction. 1300 children from almost 50 countries attend the school. The school is set on 26 acres and consists of a Junior School (Early Childhood – Grade 4), a Middle school (Grades 5-8) and a senior school (Grades 9-12) and is located in Starnberg, approximately 20 km south of Munich.

The philosophy of the school incorporates student centred inquiry based learning and an appreciation of what it means to be part of a global community.

There are five classes at each grade level with maximum class sizes around 20-23 although some flexibility is exercised dependent upon circumstances. Each classroom has a teacher and a classroom teaching assistant making the climate in the classroom something many NZ teachers would envy. Resourcing the curriculum is not an issue with teachers having almost anything they need in order to implement the agreed programme. Every classroom has a data projector and screen and every teacher has a lap top.

The goals and aspirations held for learners are well displayed in all areas of the school. Classrooms are light, bright and replete with brilliant displays of children’s learning. The school offers several specialist services including guidance counsellors, a nurse, a full time professional learning coordinator, ESL support, learning support, mother tongue programme, art and physical education.

The Junior School shares some facilities such as, the gymnasium and some sports fields with the Middle and Secondary School.

Children assist with the development and maintenance of the school garden plot complete with orchard.

The school provides and extensive bus system to ensure students can attend the school. It offers 90 different bus routes with more than 700 stops. Students can also access a wide variety of food items at the school cafeteria.

Frankfurt International (FIS)

www.fis.edu

[Entrance to the FIS Primary School]

I had the pleasure of visiting with the principal of the Elementary School of FIS, Peter Baker, formerly principal at Enner Glynn School, Nelson. FIS is run by a not-for-profit board, the significance of this is that any surplus funds are reinvested in the school and do not go to shareholders. The school is registered to teach the International Baccalaureate Primary Years and Diploma Programmes. It is also accredited by the European Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges - no wonder it is the international school of choice in Frankfurt; there are several other international schools.

A familiar routine for me has been to check in with the school’s security staff at their office, swap a form of identification for a visitor badge and accompany an officer to the elementary school office. The reverse occurs at the end of the day. I noted that parents advancing beyond the front gate are also required to wear a visitor badge.

FIS is three schools on one campus; the primary campus caters for 250 children from 3 – 6 years of age. Peter is principal of the Elementary school, 460 children who make up grades 2-5. The Head of School is Mark Ulfers; the whole school has about 1800 children. The school is made up of children from many different cultures (USA, Germany, Korea, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, India, Canada and Italy) and its’ staff is also drawn from an international pool of teachers - several of whom are New Zealand and Australians.

FIS has a second campus located in Wiesbaden (300 children) also located outside of Frankfurt.

[Astroturf type surface for the field - very impressive]

Leadership at FIS believes ‘a well rounded, dynamic and challenging education is the best tool to give young people so that they may meet the diverse and ever-changing challenges of the 21^st century with confidence’. A healthy mix of general classroom teachers and specialists in sport, art, music and ICT contribute to fulfilling that belief. The school is very well resourced inside and out with all weather surfaces for field sports; two gymnasiums, specialist drama room, several ICT suites and at least one auditorium. Incidentally class sizes are limited to 20! I know that will interest many people I know.

It costs a lot of money to have a child attend FIS and while the companies of many people contribute in full or part to the costs, there are some people who meet the costs from their own resources.

The day I visited 2 elementary classes were on trips to other parts of Germany and Peter was preparing to visit a class at one venue later in the week. He was also handling introductory/orientation sessions for new board members. All this after recently completing recruitment fairs in the UK and USA.

At the end of the day I watched as a fleet of 8 large buses and many smaller buses transported children home to all parts of the larger Frankfurt area. The school operates ‘the largest private bus service in Germany, making more than 225 stops in the greater Frankfurt/Rhein-Main area’.

[Secondary section of the school in the background]

Wilbur at ANZAC Cove

Wilbur spent an afternoon visiting sites in Gallipoli. Here he is amongst some flowers at ANZAC Cove. Room 3, can you use the internet to find out more about ANZAC Cove?

Wilbur

Happily all Wilbur's friends have found new schools but sadly he is on his own now. To help cheer him up I took him to visit Ephesus - Room 3 you might like to find a web site with more pictures so you can learn something about Ephesus and you will see what kind of a day he had.

http://www.ephesus.us/

Istanbul International Community School (IICS)

www.iics.k12.tr

It was a 5:30 am start today since the trip to school involved a tram ride to Kabatas, a funicular journey from there to Taksin Square and a bus trip to the school. We had checked out the route and timing the day before - nothing like reducing the margin for error! Principal Sean Murphy and his wife Susan met me at Taksin Square just after 7 am since he had doubts about the reliability of the bus because of some problems they had been having. We were able to engage in professional and personal discussion on the 45 minute journey to the school.

IICS occupies two sites; the Hisar campus in Istanbul has 90 children (ages 3-9) and is under the day-to-day management of the vice principal; the Marmara campus is about 25 km from Istanbul and accommodates ages 3-18. I visited the Marmara campus and was hosted by Sean and his very friendly and helpful staff. I also had the good fortune to be able to spend some time with Jeremy Lewis, Head of School.

Founded in 1911, IICS is a private, non-profit, coeducational pre K-12 school serving Istanbul’s international community. Enrolment is open to holders of non Turkish passports.

The school is accredited to offer IBO programmes for PYP, MYP and Diploma. It is also accredited by the Council of International Schools (ICS) and the New England Association of schools and Colleges (NEASC).

In its primary student information handbook the school affirms that in its education policies and practices there will be nothing contrary to the interests of national security, to the activities of the Turkish Nation or to its national values.

All children are transported, mostly by bus, from the city. A few children live in an area near the campus. Travel from the city can add 1.5 to 2 hours to the school day for children. Most staff also live in Istanbul; a staff bus carries them to and from school each day; at the end of the day I rode back to Taksin Square with them.

The school has a rural setting and facilities are excellent with primary and secondary classrooms housed in separate wings of the 3 level building. While my interest was in the primary area, one could not help but notice how some facilities are shared by all students; e.g. gymnasium, cafeteria, library, auditorium, courts and fields.

The curriculum is organised within the framework provided by the IBO Primary Years programme. A high degree of collaboration within and across grade levels is expected in order to ensure a strong plan is achieved across the primary section of the school. This provides consistency and continuity for children who may very well continue in the school beyond the tenure of their teachers. Year 6 children’s exhibition work was interesting, colourful and well displayed in the ample corridors; it also showed some high quality thinking of which the children can be well pleased.

Our teachers would be envious of class sizes which were all less than 20 with some being as low as 15!

The visit to IICS was really worth the 5:30 am start!

This picture was taken from the gymnasium looking back at the school. The front entrance is on the other side.












The school has an international focus and this theme - same as our 2008 theme is illustrative of that.


Year 6 exhibition displays in the foyer.

American School In London

Michael Ehrhardt is the principal of the Middle School of the American School in London http://www.asl.org/. I had the privilege of learning from him a lot about his school and about the school as a whole.

ASL is a coeducational, independent school of more than 1,300 international students in Kindergarten through Grade 12. The Middle School is made up of about 460 children organised in single grade levels with no more than 20 students in each class. The school’s purpose is to “provide an American education of the highest quality in an international setting.” The School is owned by the American School in London Educational Trust and is registered as a charity in the UK and a non-profit in the US. It is governed by a board of trustees, made up of members of the School community and the head of school.

The issue of accreditation is important to ASL which is accredited by the Council of International Schools and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The school is also a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the Council of International Schools, the Council for the Advancement of Education and the College Board.

ASL is a non profit school which basically means that any money the school makes is put back into the school. This is evident in the quality of the buildings/facilities, staffing and programmes in particular. School assemblies are carried out in a most impressive, tiered auditorium – no excuses for fiddling and inattention! One could not but be impressed with the physical and resources aspects of the school.

Entrance to the Middle School Library.











A Middle School classroom.

When I was in the school Michael had several classes away on school trips including such places as Italy and Hadrian’s wall as well as more local visits within London. Staff turnover is low (around 15%) and the school does not appear to have problems attracting applicants when they advertise vacancies. Neither is the availability of short or long term relievers a problem.

The school cafeteria.

ICTPD

No pictures today - too busy reading reports from schools on progress with their ICTPD programmes. It's great to read these from a distance since one is able to take a more objective view than might otherwise be the case. As a result the impression I am gaining of progress within schools and across the cluster generally is a very positive one. When I read each report I think to myself, "Wow! That's fantastic - these teachers are really onto it!".

I hope to complete a draft Milestone report by the end of the weekend for sending on to other principals for reading, comment etc before submitting to our national facilitator. There, having stated my goal I'd better get on with it!

Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ)

Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ)

I had the privilege of visiting CHIJ Katong Primary School on Monday, a visit made possible by, Morag, one of the residents in the complex where Dionne and Duncan live. Morag is Scottish and her husband Singaporean. Their daughter had previously attended the school and Morag is a regular volunteer at the school.

For the last two years the school has been operating on temporary premises while their original site gets a complete ‘make-over’ – I was able to see briefly the work in progress. The principal, Margaret Tan is looking forward to setting up the remodelled school towards the end of the year.

CHIJ is a 1200+ student school for girls founded by a Roman Catholic priest. The school vision is, “From girls to women of grace and substance”. Although founded by a religious order, the school has children and teachers from all faiths. The emphasis is not on a specific religion but on values and principles of being and living that most of us would agree were relevant to all of us. The fact that the school ‘really lives its values’ is what attracted Morag to this school rather than an international school, which is what most expatriates would have chosen.

Several things were of interest at CHIJ – I am sure I will think of others as I reflect more fully on the experience over the next few weeks. Firstly, it operates under the auspices of the Singapore Ministry of Education and so follows the curriculum requirements set down by the government. Secondly, the school year, while it starts in early January, generally follows the calendar year with breaks every ten weeks. Thirdly, there were 40 children in each class. Fourthly, 800 children in the upper grades start school at 7:30 am and finish at around 12:30 pm while 400 or so children in the lower grades start at 1 pm – I don’t recall what time they finish. Teachers start and finish in line with children’s attendance.

While the school is operating out of temporary premises (the site had previously been occupied by another school which has since been relocated) it was interesting to see how ‘permanent’ everything was. Three computer labs, each with 40 computers (2 PC and 1 Mac), colour printers, servers and software were available for issue to children as we would do for any other library item.

While I was in the school I had an opportunity to attend a parent session on managing anger. The parent association organises and publicises a programme of educational events for the community. Today’s session was called ‘Breaking the anger Habit’. The next two are, ‘Parent talk for lone parents’ and following that, ‘The psychological impact of information technology’. The presenters are professional people paid for by the parent association – I didn’t find out how exactly how the funding for that works.

I was interested in the leadership model the school uses and will write more on that for our staff. The language may be different but there are similarities with the way we write up our strategic and annual goals. There are some differences in the detail that are worthy of reflection.

Cafeteria


While the school is operating out of temporary premises (the site had previously been occupied by another school which has since been relocated) it was interesting to see how ‘permanent’ everything was. Three computer labs, each with 40 computers (2 PC and 1 Mac), colour printers, servers and software were available for issue to children as we would do for any other library item.

Staff work room.

Singapore American School

The vision of the Singapore American School is to inspire a passion for learning, encourage emotional and intellectual vitality, and empower students with the confidence and courage to contribute to the global community and to achieve their dreams.


Principal Marian de Groot showed me around her [Elementary] section [Grades 4, 5, and 6] of SAS today. There are 850 children, 39 classrooms, 78 teachers and 43 support staff in the school.

Upon approaching the facility one is greeted by the guard house where an exchange of identity documentation and visitor card is made.

The school buildings house 5 schools – kindergarten, primary, intermediate, middle school and high school. This is the largest International School in the world with 3,800 students across its five schools.

http://www.sas.edu.sg/

One cannot but be impressed firstly, by the facilities and secondly the student focused approach to curriculum. You name it; this school probably has it – very well resourced library, auditorium, specialist teaching facilities for art, music and PE, computer labs, brilliant cafeteria, outdoor equipment/play areas with well cushioned fall areas and ample car parking. The intermediate section of the school also has at least two swimming pools – one with 6 lanes.

A wide range of specialist teachers support curriculum delivery and staff professional development. Teachers begin school at around 7:30 am and go through until about 4:30 pm. They do not have supervision duties; these being carried out by support staff but they are required to participate in scheduled, focused curriculum professional development activities including collaborative projects and ‘professional learning communities’ work.

Overseas Family School

Overseas Family School (OFS) http://www.ofs.edu.sg/ is made up of four schools - Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle and High School. OSF is a proprietary limited company led by a board of directors to whom each of the section leaders/principals report.

Principal, Aaron Nussbaum was kind enough to show me around the elementary section of the school.

There are 1300 students in the elementary section of the school and over 3000 in the whole school. In that total are 60 different cultures making it a truly multicultural school.
Students are organised into 60 classes of no more than 25 in each. The total faculty of 115 teachers includes specialists for PE, Art, ICT and some other curriculum areas.

The IBO PYP philosophy, programmes, learner profile and principles provide the basis of the curriculum.

The school is authorised K-12 by the International Baccalaureate Organisation, Geneva; accredited K-12 by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, California, USA. (WASC) and registered by the Singapore government.

Chatsworth

Today I visited Chatsworth (East) International School
http://chatsworth-east.com/ and enjoyed a tour of the school and a lengthy discussion with the principal - Jane Hollands.

Chatsworth East caters to the educational needs of students from a wide range of nationalities, aged 3 to 11 years.

Three years ago this campus didn't exist; you wouldn't know it because it looks and functions as well as any established school - testimony to Jane's hard work and dedication over this time.
The building is two storey's high and, in comparison with NZ schools, has limited outside play space but the children seem to be able to work successfully within the space available to them.

Classrooms are well presented and orderly; displays are colourful, vibrant and reflect the learning that is taking place. Evidence of seemingly unlimited colour photocopying is everywhere!

I visited every classroom and found the children friendly, polite and interested in my presence. I was most impressed with the Year 6 class I sat in on as they gave summary reports of their exhibition work. I was easily convinced they knew what they were doing; it was obvious they had put a lot of work into their inquiry unit. They were articulate, enthusiastic and demonstrated excellent attending and cooperative skills.

Saturday night out

Sin Hoi Sai Eating House on East Coast Road. A restaurant on the pavement might not be everyone's idea of a night out but looks can be deceiving - the food was absolutely to die for!!


Chilli Singapore crab - a local favourite.

BBQ sea bass - very scrumptious!

Shophouses

Prior to modern housing projects the definitive Singaporean building was the shophouse. A business operated on the lower floor while the family accommodation was situated on the upper floors. The first of these were constructed around the 1840s and several ‘periods’ followed; each with architectural features particular to that period. Columns, tiles and brightly painted surfaces are some of the main characteristics of the houses. These pictures were taken in the vicinity of Katong Gardens where most of these former shophouses are now sought after as modern residences - some going for in excess of $NZ1,500.00.

Foreign domestic workers

150,000 foreign domestic workers work in Singapore, often as ‘maids’ in expat households. They come from the Phillipines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka in an attempt to earn money to support their families in their country of origin. Their incomes are low in comparison with what New Zealanders earn at home but is considerably more than they could hope to earn in their home country.

While there is a level of ‘protection’ for them they live and work at the behest of their employers who seem to vary considerably with their expectations and rewards. For most it is a tolerable way of life but stories abound of employer abuse and blatant disregard for the human condition. The Singapore Lonely Planet has listed several instances of such abuse ranging from mental cruelty, to neglect, the withholding of wages and sexual abuse.

On the other hand there are stories of happiness including employers who pay bonuses, provide very good working conditions and who are generous with time off, payment of return fares home, support for family members and long periods of employment.

Our grand daughter is indeed fortunate to have a maid who takes excellent care of her despite her sometimes demanding behaviour!

Friends on tour

Riki from Room 5, and Kiki the Kiwi from Room 6, Wilbur from Room 3 and Kiwiana from Room 16 enjoy some time beside the pool at Katong Gardens, Singapore.

Here are our friends from Nelson Central School enjoying some of the local fruits - mangosteen and passion fruit.

Katong Gardens

Dionne and Duncan's complex is called Katong Gardens and is about a $S17.00 taxi ride from the airport. Reasonably modern, low rise, well laid out and with a swimming pool. Lynne has been here before but this is my first time to be impressed by the facility. As we walked around the grounds this morning with Quinn and Myrna (D&Ds live in maid) one could not but be impressed with the surroundings; gardener/grounds people keeping everything in order and looking great - wil try the pool later.

New terminal

Arrived in Singapore at the new Terminal 3; what a wonderful facility! Clean (well it is new!), spacious, very well laid out and so built to facilitate the easy and speedy movement of masses of people. It took us about 7 minutes to move from the immigration desk to the main arrivals hall; helped by the fact that our luggage was amongst the first ten or so bags.

The official who handled our entry not only smiled but offered us sweets as well - not a usual occurence at border controls I have to say!

I've had better starts!

It was not a great start to an extended trip - turning up to the flight counter, presenting documentation supplied by the travel agent (who will remain anonymous at this stage), to be told, "This isn't right". However the staff were very helpful in making sure we eventually (after 25 minutes of 'just a moment', several phone calls and back room discussions) got to Auckland. In the meantime I left a message on the agent's voice mail (thank goodness for mobile phones) and by the time we got to Auckland he was able to confirm that by the time we got to the Singapore Airlines check in counter everything would be 'okay'. I'm a 'believe it when I see it' person and felt a lot more comfortable when we had boarding passes in our hands!

Fortunately we still had time to ensure we made the mandatory duty free alcohol purchases!

Day Zero-1

Task one - set up traveling blog site - completed! Now for the real stuff!