Dear Students, Parents, and Staff,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the start of the school year 2025-2026. Each new
year brings with it fresh opportunities to grow, learn, and strengthen our community,
and I am glad to be on this journey together with all of you.

This year, we are guided by several important goals that will shape our collective
experience:

● Nurturing a Positive School Culture
We believe that a supportive and respectful culture is the foundation of a
thriving school. This year, we will continue to foster respect, collaboration and
belonging, ensuring that every student and staff member feels valued, safe
and empowered.

● Enhancing Assessment and Feedback
One of our priorities for this school year is refining how we measure and
communicate student progress. We are working towards more meaningful
assessments and timely feedback that not only reflect achievement but also
support growth, resilience, and a love for learning.

● Progress Towards the IB Continuum
Our school is steadily moving towards becoming a full IB Continuum
School, offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years
Programme (MYP), and Diploma Programme (DP). This journey will enrich
our students’ educational pathway with continuity, challenge, and
global-mindedness.

● Focusing on Student Well-being
Above all, the well-being of our students remains at the heart of everything
we do. Through academic, social, and emotional support, we aim to equip

students not only for success in school, but for balanced, fulfilling lives beyond
it.

As we begin this new academic year, I would like to encourage each of
you—students, parents, and staff—to embrace these goals with enthusiasm and
commitment. Together, we will create an environment where curiosity thrives,
achievements are celebrated, and every individual feels inspired to reach their
potential.

I look forward to the year ahead and to all that we will accomplish together.

Best regards,
Jan Švihálek

We had an exciting first week back, full of smiles, new friendships, and hands-on fun! The
kids jumped right into sensory play—squishing, splashing and exploring all kinds of textures
as they got to know each other and their new classroom. These playful activities sparked
curiosity and helped build important IB skills like communication, self-management, and
being open-minded.

By creating their own spaces and designing name tags that reflect their identity, students
demonstrated independence, took ownership of their learning environment, and expressed

their voice and choice, building a strong sense of belonging and community in the class room.

In Year 2, we created our essential agreement by drawing inspiration from the renowned
book "Our Class is a Family" and connecting the theme to our learner profile attributes:
communicator, principled, and caring. Starting the school year by reflecting on how we would like the school year to progress.

Year 6 showed great teamwork in the ‘Save Sammy’ STEM challenge. They were
risk-takers, thinkers, and communicators—using creativity and collaboration to solve the
problem together. During the first couple of days these key activities are fundamental for
creating a positive team environment amongst students.

We’re so happy to be back in the classroom and to welcome all the new students and
teachers to the school. The first days are all about coming together as a community to get to know each other and learn how to support each other in our growth and development. This year, we are focussing on thinking and communication skills as we aim to set students up to be successful in the world of Artificial Intelligence. This means making sure we focus on those skills that humans are especially good at.

We have so much going on beyond the classrooms, that we needed to create space in the
lesson schedule. We’ve introduced a new lesson this year called FLEX time. Every day,
students will have the chance to work together on all kinds of projects ranging from extra
music rehearsals, assemblies, Service as Action and more. FLEX time ensures that
students have the chance to participate in extra-curricular activities during the school day in
a way that doesn’t take away from valuable lesson time.

The high school students have resumed their role as student leaders for the year, promoting
the student-led clubs during an assembly. All Secondary students must participate in one of
the clubs, led by the High School students and this year, we’ve got some exciting new

opportunities on offer. STEM Club, Press Club, Model United Nations, Service Club,
Sustainability Club, Sports Club and more.

We’ve also made sure to schedule some fun this year. All classes will participate in the
Homeroom Showdown which allows students to get together in small groups to compete in
various contests that range from STEM-oriented to creative and artistic. The Year 10 girls
have decided to get crafty as they aim to win one of this month’s prizes, which also aim to
maximise the fun. One of the prizes is that the class gets to dress the Principal for a day.

What a fantastic first few weeks back at ISB! The energy in the halls has been full of
excitement as we set the stage for a year of growth, connection, and kindness. Students in
Years 2–11 have jumped into their biweekly Well-being lessons, starting with themes of
kindness and shared respect, two essentials for a thriving school community. Our Well-being
assemblies have been just as inspiring, giving us a chance to dream big, share our goals,
and remind ourselves of the power of mutual respect as we dive into the year ahead.

And well-being isn’t just for students! We’re thrilled to launch Community Connections during the third week of September; a space for parents to take a mindful pause, share experiences and build community, while navigating the adventures of parenthood. The more the merrier, so come along and connect! This year also brings some exciting new initiatives for students, including a Buddy Program and our monthly Digi Detox Day, where we go “old school” with no laptops in lessons. Thank you for being such a vital part of the ISB community, we can’t wait to see all the ways we’ll grow together this year!

• Back to School Nights
  

• Enrichment program
  

• Student Council Nominations
  

• Student-led Assemblies