This month, our newsletter shines a spotlight on how we are extending student learning—both in the classroom and beyond. Across year levels, students are being encouraged to think more deeply, challenge themselves, and apply their skills in meaningful ways. We are also excited to introduce our brand-new Enrichment Program, which takes place once a month outside of school. Our first session was a baseball workshop led by Coach Jakub Hajtmar, where students explored not only the fundamentals of the sport but also powerful life skills such as leadership, humility, and team support. The impact was inspiring—students reflected on how these values extend into their everyday actions, building strong character and creating a positive ripple effect throughout our school community.

Little Hands, Big Progress! Our early years learners are extending their fine motor skills through engaging pre-writing tracing activities—building strong foundations for future writing success!

Our Year 1 mathematicians have been busy extending their thinking by sorting and comparing numbers in different ways. Through hands-on activities and collaborative learning, students are developing their number sense as well as exploring patterns. They are using mathematical language to explain their thinking and make connections to real-life situations. It’s wonderful to see their confidence growing as they take on new challenges and reflect on their learning journey!

Our Year 2 students have been extending their literacy skills by using the second 100 high-frequency words to build rich and meaningful sentences. After learning new phonics sounds, they challenged themselves to apply this knowledge in their writing, creating extended sentences that showed creativity, confidence, and growing independence. Students supported each other by sharing ideas and offering feedback—becoming both thinkers and communicators in the process. It’s exciting to see them take ownership of their learning and continue to develop into capable, curious writers.

Our budding mathematicians took on a range of place value challenge cards designed to stretch their thinking and deepen their understanding. As they worked through each task, students used math talk to explain their reasoning, justify their answers, and reflect on different strategies. Collaboration played a key role, with learners supporting each other and learning together. It was wonderful to see their confidence grow as they tackled new challenges with enthusiasm and curiosity!

Year 7s took their DNA knowledge to the next level with gel electrophoresis. Using charges to separate DNA fragments (physics + biology in action), they learned how scientists process genetic material in real investigations.

But they didn’t stop there... 
To bring their learning to life, they solved a “Who killed Squidward?” mystery with the help of Detective Sandy and other beloved SpongeBob characters.(Spoiler alert: Gary did it!)

A huge thank you to our amazing lab technician & resident biologist, Ms. Martina, for making this all possible! 💛⁩

The best learning in Math requires students to be both thinkers and communicators. Year 8 Math students discovered patterns to create their own shortcuts for solving integers questions. This allows students to reflect on how their mind works in relation to numbers so they can communicate their thinking more easily.  

Lab work is the best way to allow students to be inquirers during Science lessons. The Scientists in Year 11 explored how to tell exactly how much acid needs to be added to a base to make the solution neutral, by doing a titration experiment.    

The always-excellent Mind Matters Club did their first assembly of the year, setting great goals for the community. They do a very good job of leading our community to be a caring one and as always, they are excellent examples of principled student leadership at ISB.

This unit, our well-being lessons are centered around the core themes of equity, respect, cooperation, and kindness. These values run consistently across all grade levels, creating a shared language and focus for our students. At the same time, each class explores these themes in ways that are age-appropriate and meaningful to their developmental stage. This ensures that whether students are in lower primary or approaching graduation, they are learning to connect these important principles to their daily lives, relationships, and decision-making.

In the Primary School, we came together for our first Well-Being Assembly of the year. During this assembly, we highlighted and celebrated students who had been recognized for showing kindness in their everyday actions, small but meaningful choices that make a big difference in our school culture. Looking ahead, we are thrilled to announce that our PYP division is working toward becoming a Distinguished Kindness School through the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. This recognition reflects our commitment to embedding kindness into every aspect of school life, and we look forward to sharing more updates on this journey throughout the year.

In September, we launched our Community Connections Parent Well-Being Group with an excellent turnout from parents across our school community. We are so grateful for your participation and contributions, as your perspectives and experiences add real depth to these conversations. Together, we decided that our next meeting will be dedicated to the topic of Digital Citizenship and Cyber Safety. This is an increasingly important area for both schools and families, and the session will provide an opportunity to discuss how we approach digital well-being at ISB as well as share strategies to support students at home. Please keep an eye out for an announcement via Toddle with full details on the time, date, and location of our next meeting, as it’s never too late to join in.

As we step into the fall season, we are excited about the learning, growth, and community connections ahead. The months to come are full of opportunities for students to continue building their social and emotional skills while deepening their understanding of what it means to live with equity, respect, cooperation, and kindness. Thank you, as always, for your continued partnership and support in nurturing the well-being of our students and the ISB community.

• Wood Workshop Enrichment Program
  

• Afterschool Activities Begin