International School Parent Magazine - Spring 2022

Are your students passionate about
learning? How are you developing an
approach to it?
If there was one word to describe our
students, it would be - enthusiastic.
They enjoy coming to school and this is
something that you can feel when you walk
through our halls. Despite challenging
times, there’s joy!
The entire community is on board as
well. You feel the level of enthusiasm – and
you can also see that the students are ready
for a challenge and the teaching staff is
ready to deliver it.
Enthusiasm is really the tip of the
iceberg; there is also a strong sense of
personal responsibility and an openness
to other cultures, languages and ways of
thinking. It’s an independent and valuecentred
approach that might be best
summarised with the school’s expectations
of being respectful, being responsible, being
positive, being mindful and being resilient.
This is our rulebook and it’s literally written
all over the school.
What about extracurricular activities?
Are you developing any new programs or
areas for extracurricular engagement?
We’re always looking for new ideas! We
have a solid After School Care program,
special clubs on Wednesdays and an everexpanding
extracurricular program. There
are sports teams with a special trophy case
to prove it. Our girls’ basketball team won
first place in Switzerland several years
ago and we were so proud. We also have
activities like maths clubs, coding classes
and robotics. There really is something for
all tastes.
We’ve been working together with the
PEA (Parent Eltern Association) to come
up with new activities for the students and
there has been a lot of energy put into
this area. For example, the International
Community Music School comes to the SIS
Basel in the afternoons and has multiple
music lessons for the kids.
Our choir is now almost 100 students
strong, working with professional orchestras
to set up concerts in the city.
We try to make it as convenient as
possible for parents, we realize they are
busy, too. We want to make sure that our
extracurricular program is constantly
evolving.
What’s your vision or ambition for SIS
Graduates?
I think first and foremost happiness
and contentment. That said, the list of
universities that our graduates are attending
continues to grow each year with a good
number staying at local institutions like
the ETH and University of St. Gallen
and many more going back to the UK or
beyond.
As a participant at our graduation
ceremony each spring, I also feel such
a sense of pride when it comes to the
speeches made by students. They are all so
thankful and appreciative of the time they
spent at the SIS. The only advice I ever give
them is to live their dreams, and they do!
Our job is to fill their tool kits, their job is to
put the tools to use.
It’s always wonderful when our alumni
come back to visit the school to say hello.
It really enforces that feeling of community
that we try to foster here. They are all busy
either with school or careers, but they take
the time to come back and visit their roots.
It makes me happy.
What do the parents of the students at
SIS Basel value about the school?
There are a lot of things that come to mind:
bilingualism, friendships, a supportive
environment, caring teachers, but perhaps
most of all, a school that always tries to do
the best for their students.
One of the main expectations that
parents have is the gift of languages. Many
students will graduate not only with their
native or mother-tongue intact but also with
fluent English and German. French is also
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PARENT SPRING 2022 | 8