Next week sees the transitional return of in-person classes at ISY. We are very excited to welcome students back to campus.

2022 is off to a good start here at ISY. It was such a lift to have our returning teachers arrive in Yangon last Saturday.

On behalf of our Elementary School team, we wish you a safe and enjoyable holiday and we look forward to seeing you in 2022.

Our assemblies are an excellent example of how we can make an imperfect situation work for us if we are purposeful in what we want to achieve.

A very smart person a long time ago is supposed to have said that knowledge is a belief tied down by understanding. 

In this complicated time I am very grateful for the uncomplicated wisdom of our students: CHARACTER + EXPERIENCE = ME

Every lesson needs to start somewhere but it does not need to end there. By using one culture or history as a starting point, a lesson can still be inclusive of all of the cultures and histories in a class.

We trust that you were able to meet with your child(ren)’s teachers to discuss their progress at this halfway point in our first semester.

Today you will be able to access your child(ren)’s Quarter 1 Progress Report on Powerschool following the instructions in this blog.

It is good for young people to have a break from schedules and structured activities – even if they say they are bored from time to time. 

Tuesday was World Teachers Day. I had not realized until a student emailed me an apple!

It is a good feeling to work with teachers who believe that they can cause learning and are committed to reflecting and acting on evidence to make sure that every single student is learning.

All cultures have big stories like The Odyssey that students can read and think about big ideas. The more big stories they read the better!

Emma Raducanu, this year’s US Open tennis champion, has proven that a wise and humble young person can be very, very strong.

All students will be able to apply their knowledge and skills to adapt and contribute to an uncertain or unknown future.

Self-efficacy is the belief we have in our own abilities, specifically our ability to meet the challenges ahead of us and complete a task successfully. 

It is very important to believe that our children can still thrive when times are tough. Supporting a child to work through challenges and experience success builds that child’s belief in themselves

Every Friday, this blog will update you on what is going on in the Elementary School. It is wonderful to have you all with us.

This was always going to be a year like no other but no one could have predicted just how ‘like no other’ it was going to be. 

It goes without saying that this has been a very challenging year. We did a lot of things right. We also discovered that we could do a lot of things differently. 

This week, I thought that I would share with you a fun resource that some of our students are enjoying. It is called Freerice.

A New Zealand story about an 82 year old retiree earning his PhD 60 years after graduating with his first degree got me thinking last week.

Students need to know that comparing their lives to others will not bring as much happiness as contributing to the lives of others.

Even reputable and more traditional media outlets seem to focus more on the mistakes people make rather than what people achieve. Why?

This week we celebrated Ms. Delphine’s 40+ year connection with ISY. You will know Ms. Delphine from the Elementary School office where she has served our community for 26 years.

The final quarter of any school year is important. This is often the quarter that students make the deepest connections and most progress.

Further to Dr. Hedger’s Tuesday update on the majority of our faculty departing Yangon the weekend before Thingyan, we would like to update you on how you can expect school to operate after Thingyan.

Our children are wonderful models of how effective a beginner’s mindset can be when nothing is certain and every challenge seems new.

Sometimes it is difficult to look on the bright side. But research shows that in difficult times, it is important for our mental health to allow ourselves to acknowledge that times are difficult and to feel rather than suppress negative emotions.

We have long term, yearly, quarterly, monthly, and weekly plans but our planning and preparation has now taken more of a day by day focus.

It is very comforting to know that as technology continues to provide us with new ways to communicate and work together, we have students who understand that simple human actions and gestures like good manners still make the world go round.

Children themselves are usually in the best position to let us know what their needs are and how we can meet them.

Over the last two weeks, our Early Elementary team has been working with Dr. Linda Henke. Dr. Henke has a wealth of experience in many school settings and has a particular interest and expertise in developing a capability and love for deeper learning in our youngest children.

Even in the context of 2020-2021, this week has been a particularly challenging one. But we got through it.

Today marks the end of our second semester. We are halfway through this academic year and the first year of our SDG-inspired interdisciplinary approach to learning.

It is challenging work at times but it is exciting for us to be working alongside our students as we create a new normal.