The International School of Luxembourg (ISL) was buzzing with activity yesterday as students, both current and new, arrived for the first day of the new academic year.
ISL continues to grow following recent extensions to the infrastructure, with around 190 new students and 30 new staff members for the year 2015-16. Indeed, with over 1,330 students now attending ISL, the school is close to reaching its capacity of 1,400.
This has been made possible through the recent construction of a new building for the Lower School, which shared the original building with the Upper School, with "state-of-the-art classrooms for the Early Years programme", according to former Upper School Principal Nicki Crush, who is starting her first academic year as newly-appointed ISL Director.
Nicki Crush talked with The Luxembourg Chronicle and explained how the expansion has also allowed for the number of classrooms and science labs to be increased and programmes such as Design Technology, or 'Design Tech', to be established. DesignTech involves students creating an idea and pursuing it through the design and development process to bring it from prototype to production. Nicki Crush cited this concept of innovation, both in terms of expansion, teaching and learning, as a mainstay of ISL’s mission.
"We want to build an innovative school where we as teachers and educators are keeping as up-to-date as we can," she explained. "It's about an inspiring environment for students to learn in [...] it's about outstanding education. That's our core business".
The International Baccalaureate, which the ISL offers, differs from other Luxembourg school curriculae in its inclusion of the 'Creativity, Action, Service' (CAS) programme in the IB Diploma, which encourages students to get involved in a range of activities within the three fields, alongside their academic studies.
"We want [students] to develop the kind of skills that will make them successful and open-minded, [...] to be observant, to be critical thinkers, be reflective about what they do, and encourage them to be creative as well," said the ISL Director.
With non-nationals representing a significant amount of the student population, the "global environment" of the school is also necessary in helping new students acclimatise both to the school and the country. The ISL organises various orientation projects for Upper and Lower School families new to Luxembourg, such as scavenger hunts and the 'student ambassador' programme, which unites a new student with a current one to act as the former's guide around the school. The ISL also helps the family members of new students learn the languages of the Grand Duchy, by offering daytime language classes in French and Luxembourgish.
Further developments will continue into the 2015-16 academic year, with the planned improvement of the fitness centre as well as the redesigning of a playground for Grades Three to Eight.
Nicki Crush was enthusiastic about the changes to come, exclaiming "It's going to be an exciting year!"
Photos by Sarah Graham
