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MAY NEWSLETTER

Message from the Head of School:

Dear Parents, Students and Colleagues

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support, cooperation and patience and to inform you about the current situation and the outlook for the coming weeks.

• As of Monday, April 20, the premises of the kindergarten and Year 1 have been reopened as a result of an amendment to the Brno City Council decision. At the same time, on-line education for these students has been canceled and many (hygiene) measures have been introduced. These will be adjusted as we become familiar with the needs of the situation.
• The tentative date announced by the government as a plan for reopening of Primary classes (Year 2 to Year 6 for us) is May 25th. The Ministry of Education should issue guidelines on how teaching should or could work and we will comply with them according to our actual situation.
• There are several scenarios being discussed for the reopening of secondary and high school; we will inform you about the situation.
• The visit of the IB Accreditation Team for Primary (PYP program), which was originally planned for April, is postponed to October 2020. We think that as a school we are well prepared for this visit.
• Our Diploma Programme students have now just about completed their studies. Although IB Diploma exams have been canceled this year, IB diplomas will still be issued based on coursework marks, predicted grades and subject grades.

Teaching at each level has its specific challenges and each age group is able to work independently in different ways. Our students have different needs when their learning is not under the direct supervision of teachers. Of course, we have had to fine-tune the program (and will continue to do so) to be as effective and motivating as possible.

Overall, I am extremely proud of how our school, our students, their parents and our teachers have dealt with the situation. I think it is clear that the responsible attitude of our students and teachers is absolutely exemplary and in line with the organization of online teaching in this crisis time of the best international schools in the world. The speed with which our teachers have adapted to such a fundamental and sudden change is admirable and I greatly appreciate their work.

Our students' families are also doing a great job. Parents, siblings, grandmothers and grandfathers are all involved in some form of online learning. We appreciate it very much. Thank you all for your time and energy spent teaching and learning at home, for supporting your children, our students. Without you and your support, this would not have been possible. We believe that in spite of all the disadvantages this time brings, the experience of online learning will be one of the more positive aspects.

THANK YOU for supporting us in this difficult time. Thank you for being positive, patient and loyal to the school. Thank you for alerting us to errors we cannot avoid and giving us feedback. For us all, it really means a lot. We think that it shows how stable the school is and that we are courageous. We look forward to returning to coming together again and further cooperation with you and your children.

Yours sincerely,

Jan Švihálek

SECONDARY AND HIGH SCHOOL

What does Distance Learning look like?

Secondary and High School students start their school day at 8:30am by participating in a 30-minute workout session with Mr. Chlapek, the PE teacher.  Lessons then begin at 9:00am via zoom or google hangouts and end at 3:00pm and during the 40-minute lessons, the teachers give out instructions, take any questions and lead class discussions so that the students can go on to complete the work. We have continued in all the subjects and we are using many online tools to help keep it organised, interesting and manageable. Teachers and students are also having homeroom and individual calls as this allows ISB to continue the practice of individualised learning even when school is closed.

Passion Projects

Students have been encouraged to use this time at home to try out some activities or develop some new skills.  Over the Easter break, we asked each student to choose a Passion Project that they would work on during the week off and then show off what they accomplished when school started again.  We are so proud of our students as they brought back pictures of some art they created, delicious looking food they cooked, videos of them performing music, sports and doing sign language.  Some of them developed some IT skills like exploring photoshop and coding.

Coding on “Scratch”

One of our students spent Easter break learning how to code using Scratch. The programme allows you to move your character through a maze by building a list of commands for movement and direction.

Using Photoshop

One student decided to learn how to become proficient in photoshop and superimpose

images.

Creativity Elements

As part of the IB program, Year 12 and 13 students need to include a creativity element in their studies. It should be something that they enjoy doing and develops their creative skills and expression. Usually students continue with creative endeavours that they were doing before they started the IB program, but they can also take up something completely new - like embroidery.

SECONDARY

Online Math

We have moved the math classes to Cambridge online Maths. This site is full of activities, instructions, tests and more that allow the Math teachers to make sure students have all the resources needed to make online learning easier and to ensure that students can finish off the year strongly.

Hyperdocs

An important part of distance learning is allowing students to have choice and flexibility in their prefered styles. To give students this flexibility, we have begun using hyperdocs as a strategy. A hyperdoc is a full learning experience, and it has different stages built into it, from engagement, exploration, application to reflection. Hyperdocs incorporate multiple routes, from articles to videos to online games, and students can choose which elements they would like to explore and at what pace. Finally, students are given the choice of how they want to express their understandings, allowing for a thoroughly student-centred experience.

HIGH SCHOOL

Creating Learning Resources

In the Czech program, students continue with their syllabus but are using more digital tools to develop Czech and IT skills at the same time.

• students created infographics on books they read like the Czech poetic play Manon Lescaut and The Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Marquez
• students created mind maps on the analysis of a poem that work well as essay outlines
• Y10 students created infographics on the rules of capitalization

Poetry Smackdown

English Literature students are participating in a poetry smackdown! Each week they will read different poems and analyze them with a certain feature of poetry in mind (imagery, form/structure, atmosphere, etc.). This will help them see just how complex and rich the language in poetry actually is. At the end, they will crown the most effective poem.

KINDERGARTEN

What did Distance Learning look like?

Every weekday, our Early Years students had a morning video lesson with their teachers and peers to talk about the activities that they were asked to complete for the day. Ms. Marketa entertained her students by introducing three puppet friends (Cookie, Bubble and Anuška) to assist her with the instructions and tasks. She turned her home office into a fun, engaging and entertaining atmosphere. Students enjoyed the opportunity to learn and chat with their friends while sharing their favourite toys and things they have at home. Our Early Years parents stepped up to the plate to assist and guide our young learners with their daily tasks. Thank you for your support!

Students are happy to be back at school!

On Monday April 20th, there were many happy Early Years students and teachers excited to be back at school. The students have had a good understanding about the importance of keeping their distance and washing their hands quite frequently. Our younger students do need the reminder from time to time, but they are grasping the new expectations. Teachers have continued their teaching methods, as well as adding new routines and health and safety procedures to their daily schedule. It has been a positive move forward during this situation and we appreciate your support.

PRIMARY

What does Distance Learning look like?

ISB students have been given the opportunity to showcase their self-management skills and online communication skills while working from home, thanks to our Continuity of Learning Program. Each class teacher and subject specialist teacher prepares daily lessons following the year level schedule including Math, Languages, Science, Art, Music and PE. Every morning the class teacher has a ‘check in’ with their students to review the daily lesson expectations for the day and answer any questions that the students may have. Each lesson indicates the instructions, task, plus the allotted amount of time that students are expected to complete the task. Throughout the day live video lessons are scheduled to engage the students in new learning experiences. Our students have risen to the challenge of distance learning and have displayed qualities of their learning style that have amazed our teachers over the last six weeks. Excellent effort from the entire ISB community. Thank you. 

Passion Projects

Over the Easter Holidays, students were motivated to inquire into a topic or concept that personally interested them. Some students researched: ‘why are ants so strong?’; ‘what are biomes and why are they different?’; ‘how do cats see in the dark?’; ‘the buoyancy of household objects’; ‘how to be a youtuber for a week’. Where other students developed their baking and cooking skills to help out around the house. Passion Projects “allow for the continuous integration and connection of prior and new knowledge and experiences in a meaningful way to broaden students’ understanding about the world around them.” (Personal Inquiries in the PYP, March 2020)

Weekly Reflections

Reflections are an integral part of the learning process. When a student reflects on their experiences, that is when growth occurs. Reflection allows students to learn more about themselves, their process of learning and also improve academic skills. For a teacher, a student's reflection is a valuable measure of their thinking and mindset, as well as provides insight into what students have retained and perhaps which topics need improvement.

Digital Grammar Lesson

The transition to studying via the Continuity of Learning Program has given Year 5 students the opportunity to learn in many new and exciting ways. When you hear the phrase 'Grammar Lesson,' you may not be expecting excitement, but think again!  During this video lesson, students learned about using quotation marks to show when someone is speaking. By using apps like Seesaw, students can then access their assignments easily at home and demonstrate their understanding by writing directly onto their tablets. This gives students new ways to show what they know while improving their digital literacy at the same time!