International School Parent Magazine - Spring 2024
Welcome to the first edition of the International School Parent Magazine for 2024. We hope that you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Spring is a wonderful time – the weather is warmer, and the longer days help to boost our motivation. It is also the perfect time to start thinking about summer camps. We have curated a list of inspiring and interesting programmes and have presented them to you in a special feature beginning on page 40. In this edition we had the pleasure of interviewing both Nicola Sparrow, School Director of Aiglon College, and Andrea Spielmann, the Principal of the new SIS Basel-Allschwil school. In these articles, both these accomplished women share their passion for education and provide insight into the culture and ethos of their respective schools. We also continue our discussion of children’s mental health, drug use, communication, travel, and present many more interesting and topical articles and commentary. Check out the articles about the family activities in Lichtenstein, as well as unusual and exciting things to do in Switzerland, and an introduction to Basel the Swiss capital of culture and architecture. Once again, we are thrilled to present to you a magazine filled with interesting and informative articles, exciting experiences, and practical tips for parents. Have a wonderful spring and we look forward to bringing you more content again in summer.
Welcome to the first edition of the International School Parent Magazine for 2024. We hope that you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
Spring is a wonderful time – the weather is warmer, and the longer days help to boost our motivation. It is also the perfect time to start thinking about summer camps. We have curated a list of inspiring and interesting programmes and have presented them to you in a special feature beginning on page 40.
In this edition we had the pleasure of interviewing both Nicola Sparrow, School Director of Aiglon College, and Andrea Spielmann, the Principal of the new SIS Basel-Allschwil school. In these articles, both these accomplished women share their passion for education and provide insight into the culture and ethos of their respective schools.
We also continue our discussion of children’s mental health, drug use, communication, travel, and present many more interesting and topical articles and commentary.
Check out the articles about the family activities in Lichtenstein, as well as unusual and exciting things to do in Switzerland, and an introduction to Basel the Swiss capital of culture and architecture.
Once again, we are thrilled to present to you a magazine filled with interesting and informative articles, exciting experiences, and practical tips for parents. Have a wonderful spring and we look forward to bringing you more content again in summer.
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Contributors<br />
Cath Brew<br />
Cath Brew is a global LGBTQ+ inclusion consultant<br />
who helps parents, schools, and businesses to see<br />
queerly, and get confident with navigating diverse genders and<br />
sexualities cross culturally.<br />
Martin Coul<br />
Martin is an expert on evidence-based prevention<br />
in the worlds of learning and the workplace. He is<br />
a qualified Mental Health First Aider and equipped to provide<br />
immediate support to those experiencing mental health issues,<br />
whilst his lived experience of witnessing his mother being sectioned<br />
as a child drives his dedication to mental health prevention and<br />
advocacy.<br />
Mariann Csoma<br />
Mariann is a child psychologist with a decade of<br />
practice specialising in children and adolescents.<br />
With an international background, she has pursued studies and<br />
professional work in three different countries. Currently, she holds<br />
the positions of Safeguarding Lead and Head of Pastoral Care<br />
at the British <strong>School</strong> of Geneva. Additionally, she contributes her<br />
expertise to a therapeutic centre dedicated to young people. She<br />
created Metafora®, a communication and therapeutic tool for<br />
mental health practitioners.<br />
Angus Gibson<br />
Angus Gibson leads Carfax Tutors and their renowned<br />
private tutoring programmes. He manages the global<br />
tuition team based in Monaco, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London,<br />
Moscow, and Hong Kong.<br />
Angus actively contributes to education associations and media<br />
publications, including a recent feature in Robb Report - sharing<br />
his insights and shaping the future of learning.<br />
His dedication goes beyond the boardroom, aiming to make<br />
quality education accessible globally.<br />
Katie Greeley, LCSW<br />
Katie is a Licensed Therapist and Certified Addiction<br />
Counsellor, a trained Alcohol and Other Drug<br />
Prevention Specialist, and the founder of Weedwise, a service<br />
provided by the global substance use prevention organisation,<br />
Prevention Education Solutions. This organisation adopts a<br />
modern, evidence-based approach to alcohol and other drug<br />
prevention, delivering education to schools globally.<br />
Claire Holmes<br />
Claire is Head of <strong>School</strong> Counselling at Tanglin<br />
Trust <strong>School</strong>, Singapore. Her approach is traumainformed<br />
and strength-based, empowering others to access their<br />
inner wisdom and knowing. As a mindfulness teacher, she weaves<br />
meditation into her work, alongside expressive therapies, and<br />
solution-focused interventions. Having been an Expat for over two<br />
decades, she is passionate about positive transitions and supporting<br />
children and their families in global transition. Her work inspired<br />
the Moving On Series and the forthcoming Staying Well books<br />
to support children with leaving, arriving, and staying when their<br />
close friend leaves. Claire delights in spending time in The Great<br />
Outdoors and is a Nature and Forest Therapy Guide in training.<br />
Mette Theilmann<br />
Mette is a <strong>Parent</strong> Consultant who has supported<br />
parents for over 19 years. Mette helps navigate<br />
parenting with confidence so parents can raise independent and<br />
resilient children who can grow up to become well-adjusted adults.<br />
Mette is also the founder of Predictable <strong>Parent</strong>ing, and the<br />
creator of the <strong>Parent</strong>ing Community app. Her main area of<br />
expertise is consulting schools to create a confident parenting<br />
community based on the school’s budget, values, needs and<br />
challenges, and offering intervention plans for families and parents.<br />
Dr Michelle Wright<br />
Dr Michelle Wright is a British-trained General<br />
Practitioner. Before moving to Switzerland in 2004,<br />
she worked in a busy general practice in London. She continues<br />
her patient contact today, working part-time in the Staff Medical<br />
Service of the <strong>International</strong> Labour Organisation, Geneva.<br />
Passionate about health education, Michelle was one of the<br />
founders of HealthFirst, and now leads the company in delivering<br />
evidence-based health and well-being services meeting Swiss and<br />
international guidelines.<br />
Utilising her skill of making health information easy to<br />
understand and accessible for all, for over 15 years, she has had a<br />
weekly radio show, Health Matters, on World Radio Switzerland. A<br />
believer in health promotion and disease prevention, Michelle has a<br />
diploma in Lifestyle Medicine from the British Society of Lifestyle<br />
Medicine.<br />
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PARENT SPRING <strong>2024</strong> | 6
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