Student Spotlights: Spotlight On Our Student Kwaku

Student Spotlights: Spotlight On Our Student Kwaku

Friday, 28 August 2020

This week, we spotlight our second-grader Kwaku who joined ISR in Kindergarten. His former teacher, Ms. Stenning-Smith, describes Kwaku as a lovely and happy student. “Kwaku was a delight to have in my First Grade class last year. All of those who know him I am sure will agree that he has an incredibly friendly and welcoming face. One of his most favourite things to do was to make us laugh: he ensured each and every day that we had a good time whilst we were learning. His personality could be defined as bubbly and bright, there is never a dull moment when Kwaku is around.

“On top that all of he has a spectacular passion for learning. Kwaku deserves this week’s student spotlight as he is truly an all-rounded super star. He is truly missed in the First Grade corridor.”

Also his sports teacher, Mr. Johnstone, finds his personality fascinating and says about him “Kwaku is a wonderful student, and has an infectious positive personality. He is energetic, and simply loves to play sports. He is popular and well liked among his fellow classmates, and shows a kindness and helpfulness towards others, an excellent example of a great ISR student!”

We are very proud to spotlight Kwaku one of ISR’s many outstanding students!

Every Friday, our Student Spotlight Project aims to highlight one of our outstanding students who is in line with our school motto, “we enable great minds and strong characters”. No matter if it is academic success, special commitment or outstanding character traits – we look forward to sharing each of these success stories.


Student Spotlights: Spotlight On Our Student Ayssan

Student Spotlights: Spotlight On Our Student Ayssan

This week, we spotlight our committed seven grader student Ayssan, who joined ISR in Kindergarten.Ayssan is a multi-talented student and a very popular member of our school community. In the past years, Ayssan has grown beyond herself and has developed  a conscientious, purposeful and lovable personality.

Her friendly nature is not only appreciated by her fellow students, but also by her teachers. Ayssan’s versatile talents are admirable and she especially shines  in the sporting and musical field.Ayssan has been taking piano lessons at the in-house music school Musicbox Oxana for over five years and her talent speaks for itself. She participated twice in the music competition “Jugend Musiziert” and won first place in both competitions!

In addition to her musical talent, she also shows great enthusiasm for the sports of tennis and basketball. Her couch Ms. Schierl says about her, “There are only a few students that represent ISR in different sports – Ayssan is one of them.” Ms. Schierl continues, “She is part of our Tennis Team and the Junior Girls Basketball Team. Ayssan is a real team player. For example, when the girls’ tennis team was lacking one player, she was willing to start in the older age group even though she had to face a very strong opponent. During the match she never lost her smile and even won some points. I was so very proud of her. It was also a pleasure to coach Ayssan in our basketball training sessions as she is very eager to learn and to improve her performance: throughout the year she made huge progress. Well done!”

We are very happy that Ayssan belongs to our ISR community and look forward to follow her successes in future.

We are very proud to spotlight Ayssan one of ISR’s many outstanding students!

Every Friday, our Student Spotlight Project aims to highlight one of our outstanding students who, in line with this year’s theme, is striving for “extraordinary achievements” on a daily basis. No matter if it is academic success, special commitment or outstanding character traits – we look forward to sharing each of these success stories.


First Grade Ceremony At ISR

First Grade Ceremony At ISR

On 19th August 2020, our First Graders celebrated a very special event: their first day of school in Grade 1 at ISR!

In order to honour this special day, we invited close friends and families of our students to enjoy a morning of celebration in a safe, beautifully decorated open-air ceremony which took place on our school campus.
After the welcome speeches by the School Director, Ms. Lyons, and Mr. Soliman, the School Proprietor, the Academic Head for Primary School, Ms. Morris, invited third-grader, Hannan, to the stage to perform the ISR school song for those in attendance.
Following the performance, all first graders were invited to come on stage to receive their school cones, pick up their school bags and meet the other students in their new classes. The enthusiasm and excitement was palpable and students’ beaming faces could hardly be overlooked!

We are proud that our strong ISR community is continuing to grow and that we’ve enriched it with so many more nationalities.

We are very pleased that the first day of school was a complete success for our first graders and we welcome all our new students to ISR – where it’s cool to be good!


Festive Opening Ceremony of the new ISR Kindergarten in Düsseldorf

Festive Opening Ceremony of the new ISR Kindergarten in Düsseldorf

Monday, 17 August 2020

Another milestone in the history of ISR has been reached: On Friday, August 14, 2020, we celebrated the opening of our kindergarten branch in Düsseldorf-Niederkassel together with our new ISR families, invited guests, our advisory board and friends of ISR.

Among the guests were numerous representatives of the City of Düsseldorf, including Mayor Thomas Geisel, City Director Burkhard Hintzsche, Head of the Real Estate Office Ariane Künster, two representatives of the City District 4, Rolf Tups and Iris Bürger, as well as the Japanese Consul General in Düsseldorf, Kiminori Iwama and the Turkish Consul General in Düsseldorf, Ayşegül Gökçen Karaarslan.

After the ceremonial opening speeches by Mr. Soliman, Mayor Geisel, Consul General Iwama and City Director Hintzsche, a colourful children’s program, tours through the new kindergarten building and a lively get-together followed. The event was musically accompanied by a live band of our partner, Musicbox Oxana. Our school caterer Broich provided for the physical well-being with international finger food and drinks. And our longtime partner Hoffmanns Ballonshop enriched the Opening Ceremony with a colorful balloon decoration in our three ISR colors blue, red, and yellow!

We would like to thank all families, partners, supporters and friends of ISR for this successful opening, and we look forward to welcoming 60 new ISR families from 12 nations to our international community!

We would also like to thank the City of Düsseldorf, which has always supported ISR in its endeavors and has been instrumental in the successful implementation of the project.

The press release and some publications about the event can be found here.


Die internationale Schule ISR Neuss startet zum neuen Schuljahr den Unterricht an neuer Kindergarten-Dependance in Düsseldorf

Die internationale Schule ISR Neuss startet zum neuen Schuljahr den Unterricht an neuer Kindergarten-Dependance in Düsseldorf

Freitag, 14. August 2020

Zum Beginn des neuen Schuljahres hat die ISR International School on the Rhine in Neuss (ISR) die neuen Räumlichkeiten der Düsseldorfer Dependance fertiggestellt. Der Unterricht an der englischsprachigen Kita in dem modernen, halbrunden und lichtdurchfluteten Neubau beginnt für zunächst 60 Kinder zwischen 3 und 6 Jahren im Stadtteil Niederkassel, am Niederkasseler Kirchweg 36. „Für die ISR ist heute ein besonderer Tag. Dass die Schule jetzt einen zweiten Standort in Düsseldorf hat, ist eine wichtige Etappe ihrer seit Jahren andauernden positiven Entwicklung“, betont Peter Soliman, geschäftsführender Gesellschafter der ISR, im Rahmen der Eröffnungsfeier am heutigen Freitag. Inklusive der neuen Düsseldorfer Dependance hat sich die Zahl der Schülerinnen und Schüler an der ISR seit 2014 mehr als verdoppelt, auf mehr als 1.000.

Düsseldorfs Oberbürgermeister Thomas Geisel freut sich in seiner Begrüßungsrede über das zusätzliche Angebot in seiner Stadt. „Gute Bildungsangebote für unsere Kinder sind das wichtigste Fundament für die positive Entwicklung einer Gemeinschaft. In diesen besonderen Zeiten der Corona-Pandemie mit vielen anderen Herausforderungen gilt es umso mehr, dies nicht aus den Augen zu verlieren“, so Geisel. Der Neubau der ISR in Niederkassel entlastet ein Stück weit auch die städtischen Kindergärten Düsseldorfs bei der Erfüllung der Betreuungsgarantie für Kinder bis sechs Jahren. „Mit Verbesserungen in diesem Bereich machen wir die Stadt Düsseldorf vor allem für junge Familien attraktiv“, freut sich Burkhard Hintzsche, Stadtdirektor in Düsseldorf: „Und auch hiesige Unternehmen haben jetzt ein zusätzliches Argument, wenn sie qualifiziertes Personal anwerben wollen.“

Ausgangspunkt für die Errichtung eines zweiten Standorts der ISR war die steigende Nachfrage von Familien aus der Landeshauptstadt nach Kindergarten-Plätzen. „Als die entsprechenden Räumlichkeiten in Neuss trotz bereits zweier Erweiterungen nicht mehr ausreichten, mussten wir eine Entscheidung treffen“, berichtet Peter Soliman: „Da war es fast schon logische Konsequenz, unser internationales Ausbildungsangebot noch näher an unsere Familien heranzutragen und ihnen mit einer Dependance in Düsseldorf entgegenzukommen.“ Die Kapazität liegt hier bei maximal 110 Plätzen.

Bei der Entscheidung für einen zweiten ISR-Standort spielte auch die gute Immobilien-Gelegenheit am Niederkasseler Kirchweg eine wichtige Rolle. Die ehemalige Ballettschule der Deutschen Oper am Rhein gab diesen Standort 2018 auf. „Für die neue ISR-Dependance ist die Lage ideal“, betont Soliman. Beide künftigen ISR-Standorte sind über die A52 und die A57 gut miteinander verbunden. „Hinzu kommt die Nachbarschaft zur Japanischen Internationalen Schule“, betont Soliman. Mit dieser kooperiert die ISR bereits seit mehreren Jahren.

Dass die enge Partnerschaft der ISR zu der Japanischen Internationalen Schule Düsseldorf sowie auch der japanischen Gemeinde in Düsseldorf durch das neue Kindergartenangebot weiter gestärkt wird, erwartet auch Kiminori Iwama, japanischer Generalkonsul in Düsseldorf: „Insgesamt mehr als 7.500 Menschen umfasst die japanische Gemeinde in Düsseldorf. Bezogen auf das gesamte Rheinland kommen noch mehrere Hundert hinzu. Nach London und Paris ist das die größte Community meiner Landsleute in Europa. Damit sich die japanischen Familien hier in Deutschland wohlfühlen, ist ein hervorragendes internationales Bildungsangebot für die Kinder sehr wichtig. Ein weiterer essenzieller Baustein dafür ist der neue Kindergarten der ISR.“ An der Japanischen Internationalen Schule Düsseldorf beginnt der Unterricht erst für Kinder ab 6 Jahren. Somit können jüngere Kinder künftig bei Bedarf direkt nebenan schon eine internationale Vorschule besuchen. Viele Familien nutzen diese Möglichkeit bereits im jetzt startenden Schuljahr.

Die ISR-Dependance in Niederkassel wurde in enger Zusammenarbeit mit der Stadt Düsseldorf nach den höchsten pädagogischen Anforderungen errichtet. Fünf Kindergartengruppen – alle mit direktem Zugang zu dem geräumigen Außenspielplatz – können dort unterrichtet werden. Zusätzlich haben ein Bewegungs- sowie ein Elternraum und Spielemporen in dem Neubau Platz gefunden. Eine hausinterne Musikschule sowie das ausgewogene biologische Catering runden das Angebot für die Familien in Düsseldorf ab.

Bis auf die Tatsache, dass die Düsseldorfer Kindergarten-Dependance – unabhängig von den regulären Schulferien an der ISR Neuss – fast ganzjährig geöffnet sein wird, bestehen ansonsten wenige Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Standorten: Das pädagogische Konzept ist an den Unterricht im Kindergarten am ISR-Hauptstandort in Neuss angelehnt. Und auch die Corona-bedingten Abläufe sind die gleichen wie in Neuss. Vor dem Betreten des Kindergartengeländes wird bei den Kindern die Temperatur gemessen. Auch virtueller Unterricht wird durch die moderne technische Ausstattung am Düsseldorfer Standort bei Bedarf möglich sein. So bleiben die Kinder auch hier in ständigem Kontakt zu ihren Lehrern und Mitschülern. An beiden Standorten der ISR soll es, wie seit Anfang März durch das virtuelle Angebot gewährleistet, trotz Corona auch im nächsten Schuljahr keinen Unterrichtsausfall geben.

pdf Download this press release


Student Spotlights: Spotlight On Our Student Zoey

Spotlight On Our Student Zoey

This week, we spotlight our lovely Kindergarten student, Zoey. Zoey is a funny, brave and kind young girl who at the beginning of her time at ISR was quite shy. However, she quickly become confident and is eager to help the other children and teachers. Zoey is known for the smile on her face and is always ready for her next adventure together with her friends!

Her friends really appreciate her helpful and sociable nature. She is very caring and supports others in every respect. Her Kindergarten teacher Ms. Kim says about her, “I enjoy being silly with her and sharing a laugh or two whenever we get the chance. She likes to help and did a beautiful job in supporting her younger brother during his first days at ISR. She is a wonderful big sister which is not a surprise if you have met her other siblings. We are happy to have Zoey and her family as part of the ISR community”.

We are very proud to spotlight Zoey one of ISR’s many outstanding students!

Every Friday, our Student Spotlight Project aims to highlight one of our outstanding students who, in line with this year’s theme, is striving for “extraordinary achievements” on a daily basis. No matter if it is academic success, special commitment or outstanding character traits – we look forward to sharing each of these success stories.


Student Spotlights: Spotlight On Our Student Kiara

Spotlight On Our Student Kiara

This week, we spotlight our lovely kindergarten student Kiara. Kiara is a bright, friendly flower who loves to share a smile and a laugh. She has worked very hard this school year and also did an amazing job working virtually. She is always focused and enjoyed her Zoom sessions to catch up with her friends and her teachers. She distinguishes herself through her communicative manner and her classmates enjoy spending time with her.

Her teacher Ms. Rebecca says about her, “Well done, Kiara! We love having her in KG1M. She has a very open and friendly character and needless to say that she is here to help peers and teachers. She has a great sense of humor and is able to brighten up any sad mood.”

We are very proud to spotlight Kiara one of ISR’s many outstanding students!

Every Friday, our Student Spotlight Project aims to highlight one of our outstanding students who, in line with this year’s theme, is striving for “extraordinary achievements” on a daily basis. No matter if it is academic success, special commitment or outstanding character traits – we look forward to sharing each of these success stories.