The ISE

Guiding Statements

The ISE provides a caring and challenging learning environment which fosters international mindedness. We educate and inspire our students to become creative, resilient and responsible citizens who will thrive and be happy within an ever-changing world.

Our Guiding Statements in Action

There are three key strategic directions embedded within our Guiding Statements, which will be central to our success going forward as a school, and which will therefore guide key decision making and action.

Within this context we believe that:

A. Our internationally-minded community is committed to being responsible citizens.  

In this regard, we are expected to:

• Demonstrate respect for human rights
• Understand the relationship between rights and responsibilities within society
• Be PRINCIPLED by interacting with honesty, fairness and OPEN-MINDEDNESS
• Encourage our community members to appreciate and express BALANCED views
• Act in a CARING, responsible, and supportive manner
• COMMUNICATE in a respectful, courteous and thoughtful manner.
• Develop international mindedness
• Value the language and culture of the Netherlands
• Celebrate and respect our cultural identities
• Foster linguistic development for cultural understanding
• Contribute to and collaborate with the school, Brainport, national and global communities

B. Our learning environment ensures that students are KNOWLEDGEABLE, cared for and sufficiently challenged. 

In this regard, the ISE offers nationally and internationally recognized curriculums to support the diverse educational needs of our students.

Students are expected to:

• Discover the joy of learning
• Learn how to learn, and how they learn best
• Maintain the fluency of their home languages while valuing the acquisition of others
• Attain depth and breadth of academic knowledge and understanding
• Develop the skills that support intellectual and academic success
• Solve problems independently and in cooperation with others
• Understand modern technologies and be able to use them wisely and effectively
• Prepare for the demands of further education
• Learn how knowledge is acquired and justified in each subject area, and what problems there may be with such justifications and the certainty of our knowledge

Staff are expected to:

• Deliver the curriculum with an international perspective
• Respond sensitively to the full range of students’ individual needs
• Challenge and support students to achieve academic potential
• Create opportunities to enable students to develop their talents, skills and discover their passion
• Involve students, staff and parents, as partners in the educational process
• Provide an environment which allows new members to quickly settle and develop a sense of belonging

Parents are expected to:

• Work in partnership to support student learning
• Share their knowledge of their child’s interest, achievements, and special skills
• Be knowledgeable of the ISE’s curriculum and opportunities to support and challenge their child
• Act in a manner consistent with the ISE Code of Conduct
• Take part in electing parent representatives to the School Participating Council (MR)

C. The ISE community prepares students for an ever-changing world by developing their capacity for creativity. 

We will support the development of student’s creativity by:

Teaching for Creativity   

• Value, acquire and utilize a variety of tools for learning and teaching which promote inquiry, comprehension and the relationship between concepts
• Provide regular feedback to students which praises and thereby promotes creativity
• Develop critical, reflective thinkers who have the ability to make responsible choices
• Utilise strategies which require collaboration, and focus on creative problem solving, design thinking, and the application and understanding  of technologies
• Provide opportunities for the students to take responsibility for their own learning using a variety of strategies.
• Offer a range of disciplines including those associated with activities outside the classroom and extracurricular opportunities.

A Culture for Creativity 

• As educators, value the input of others, be accepting of constructive criticism, and recognize that lesson planning, strategic planning, and problem solving will benefit from  the positive exchange of ideas;
• Demonstrate flexibility in working with others and in the use of space, and resources;
• Demonstrate the willingness to share ideas, expertise, and knowledge to inspire students to learn, accept challenges, develop greater depth in their understanding, and to take risks in offering their own views, opinions, strategies, and efforts.
• Create an atmosphere in which students value creativity, reflection and the positive exchange of ideas, and which promote a growth mindset.

International mindedness

International mindedness is a way of thinking and acting that leads to a deeper and broader understanding of our world.

In order to become responsible members of our community, we provide opportunities for our students to:

• develop an awareness of their own identity in relation to others
• be confident and happy in their own identity
• develop intercultural understanding
• be open to different perspectives and viewpoints and embrace diversity
• demonstrate respect
• show empathy and compassion

In order to promote international mindedness, the ISE is committed to:

• Building and reinforcing a student’s sense of identity while gaining an understanding and respect for their own and other cultures and peoples
• Providing a school environment that welcomes new individuals to the community
• Encouraging and celebrating diversity within the curriculum
• Using teaching and learning opportunities to acknowledge students’ cultural backgrounds and experience
• Ensuring that students can communicate effectively, and maintain the fluency of their home language while valuing the acquisition of other languages
• Providing opportunities for students to think critically and open mindedly about the viewpoint of others
• Encouraging students to engage positively, productively and enjoyably with each other
• Promoting a community that collaborates, connects, interacts and communicates effectively
• Ensuring that students are familiar with local, international and global concerns
• Raising the awareness that individuals can make a positive difference to the world and an accompanying acceptance of the responsibility to take action to do so
• Developing caring individuals who recognize universal human rights

Council of International Schools

The ISE has been accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS). As a CIS accredited school, it demonstrates that the school has achieved high standards of professional performance in international education and has a commitment to continuous improvement. In particular, the award of accreditation shows that the school: is devoted to its mission and vision for students.

The International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is highly regarded worldwide for its academic rigor and holistic nature of learning that challenges students to excel in their studies and personal growth. The IB aims to inspire lifelong learning that is marked by enthusiasm and empathy.

The IB aspires to help schools develop well-rounded students who respond to challenges with optimism and an open mind, are confident in their own identities, make ethical decisions, join with others in celebrating and sharing our common humanity and are prepared to apply what they learn in real-world, complex and unpredictable situations.

The IB offers high-quality programmes of international education that share a powerful vision. An IB education:

• focuses on learners
• develops effective approaches to teaching and learning
• works within global contexts
• explores significant content
• develops global citizenship

The IB Learner Profile

The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally-minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. IB learners strive to be:

• Inquirers
• Open-minded
• Knowledgeable
• Caring
• Thinkers
• Risk-takers
• Communicators
• Balanced
• Principled
• Reflective

Secondary

High Quality Learning at the ISE

Our high-quality learning educates and inspires students through authentic and inclusive practices that use the knowledge and experiences of our global community.

To reach this aim, we value an inquiry-based, collaborative approach to learning in a challenging environment in order to nurture responsible, reflective, and active lifelong learners.

For more information on the expectations for learners, educators, and the ISE community, please see our Guiding Statements on the school website.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice

The ISE’s mission is to “provide a caring and challenging learning environment which fosters international mindedness” and to “educate and inspire our students to become creative, resilient and responsible citizens who will thrive and be happy within an ever-changing world.” To that end, we are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in our practice in order to support this mission.

The school’s aims are to:

• Foster a sense of belonging taking into account our students’ multiple and intersecting identities.
• Empower teachers to model inclusive, democratic, and anti-oppressive learning environments through their teaching and learning practices.
• Support students of all backgrounds and contexts to develop healthily and safely so that they can thrive at the ISE.
• Empower our community to speak out about issues of JEDI for the betterment of the ISE.
• Promote an environment where our community feels welcome, respected, and represented.
• Encourage ongoing education and development related to issues of JEDI for our entire community.

The school’s full DEIJ policy is available on the school’s website. This policy is a living document that both students and staff are expected to embody in their daily practice. Treating each other with respect in every interaction.

Eco Schools

In January 2021, the ISE primary and secondary departments, together with the Kinderstad daycare centre and the facility company Yask, started a project called “Eco schools”. Eco-Schools is a global program to encourage students to think and act in a more sustainable manner. Using seven steps, students consider the school environment and work on actions to make it more sustainable. Students, for example, can design projects for saving energy, reducing waste or cleaning up the school yard.

The school achieved the ‘Green Flag’, which is the international quality mark for sustainable schools.

Alumni

Alumni and ISE students gather on LinkedIn, where they have the opportunity to :

• engage in discussions about shared interests or related to a chosen specialist/niche area
• reach out for advice or feedback on university programs, job opportunities
• learn from others in specific subject groups

The ISE alumni/students can be a valuable part of your professional network!

https://www.linkedin.com/school/international-school-eindhoven/