ISR Welcomes the Liebfrauenschule - Bensheim to the ISR Education Group
ISR Welcomes the Liebfrauenschule – Bensheim to the ISR Education Group
Friday, March 26, 2021
Following on from the successful acquisition of our sister school and partner Franziskus Gymnasium Nonnenwerth in August 2020, we are particularly pleased to announce another milestone in ISR’s history today:
Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, we welcome the Liebfrauenschule in Bensheim to our ISR Education Group and are pleased to add another renowned and unique school to our institution.
The Liebfrauenschule in Bensheim is a Catholic girls’ high school with a secondary school branch that is committed to providing young girls with a comprehensive and values-oriented school education. The girls’ school, which was run by the English Maria Ward Order for a long time, was founded in 1858. As such, the school looks back on a long and traditional history and a well-founded value system, which still shapes the foundation of the school today.
In the search for another educational partner, ISR and the Liebfrauenschule have found each other and are now striving from both sides to preserve the character of the school as a place of value-based girls’ education and to advance a careful, positive further development of the Liebfrauenschule, together with the families, the church as well as the teaching staff.
“We see the school’s well-founded value system as well as the Liebfrauenschule’s own identity as a great added value and important foundation on which to build in the future,” emphasizes Peter Soliman. “The promotion of girls and young women is the focus here: the school plays a very important role for their future. The strengths and the uniqueness of the school must be preserved, communicated to the outside world and the existing foundation positively developed further.”
We would like to thank the Church for the negotiations and discussions, which were characterized by deep respect and moral esteem, the Maria Ward Order, which will soon pass on the future of the Liebfrauenschule in a spirit of trust, as well as the parents’ representatives, with whom it was possible to get to know each other in advance.
Following the motto, “See, Judge, Act,” the careful transition to the takeover of the Liebfrauenschule in Bensheim will now be initiated. The coming months will be used for planning and preparation in order to work towards a positive new beginning in the school year 2022-2023, together with the parents, the students, the church and the teaching staff.
Statement from Peter Soliman:
Values remain as important as academic achievement
“I have the greatest respect for the Diocese of Mainz and the Sisters of the Order of Mary Ward. Both have made the Liebfrauenschule a success story that is recognized beyond the region, and in the process maneuvered the girls’ high school through many a difficult phase. In the future, ISR wants to help maintain and further improve the unique offering. There will definitely be a gentle transition: We want to see, judge and act together in the spirit of a long-term partnership. The coming months will be dedicated to planning and preparation. Together with parents, students, the church and the college, we want to work sustainably towards a positive new beginning in the 2022/2023 school year.
There is no doubt that in the future, values and personality will continue to be just as important as academic achievement. The Liebfrauenschule, therefore, retains its Christian orientation. Linked to this, honesty, sincerity, respect and trust remain the basis of education and upbringing. Especially in a time of change and uncertainty, the teaching of such values cannot be valued highly enough.
I am convinced that the modernity and flexibility of ISR and the tradition and values of the Liebfrauenschule will complement each other perfectly. Our experience shows: in such a situation, 1 + 1 makes more than 2! For example, we will contribute to make the Lieb-frauenschule fit for the future in the areas of digital infrastructure and equipment with modern communication technology. We attach great importance to mathematics and science education in the so-called STEM (MINT) subjects. In our digital and technological world, this is really effective support for girls.
Allow me to add a personal note: I have two daughters, one is in her second year of university and the other is in 10th grade. From discussions with them – including on concerns and hardships – I know first-hand what is on girls’ minds as they seek their place in careers and society. Both want to be in leadership positions helping to make our world a better place. In fact, these years of personal insight may be the most important prerequisite for my role at Liebfrauenschule, which I am very much looking forward to,” explains Peter Soliman.
Virtual Jura Career Talk with Dr. Schröder-Frerkes
Jura Career Talk with Dr. Schröder-Frerkes
Tuesday, 23 March 2021
Today, we had the great honor of introducing our students to Dr. Schröder-Frerkes, a distinguished lawyer and partner at Bird & Bird, an international operating law firm. Within the framework of a virtual discussion, our middle and upper school students had the opportunity to ask specific questions relating to law, Dr. Schröder-Frerkes’ professional profile as well as his experience in practicing law. During that discussion, our students gained insight into the complex everyday life of a lawyer in a lively Q&A round. We were also pleased to welcome two students from our sister school, the Franziskus Gymnasium Nonnenwerth, to this event.
Dr. Schröder-Frerkes has more than 25 years of professional experience as a corporate and M&A lawyer and offers his domestic and foreign clients extensive expertise in the areas of M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions, MBOs, group valuations, restructurings, and re-organizations as well as joint ventures. In the course of his career, he has achieved numerous notable successes and was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit by the former German Federal President, Mr. Horst Köhler, for his commitment to the development of German-American relations. Since 2008, Dr. Schröder-Frerkes has also served as Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (NRW) and on various advisory boards, including ISR.
We are pleased to be able to offer our students the opportunity to have extensive interactions with highly qualified and inspiring individuals. These opportunities have far-reaching benefits to our students as they can learn from their experiences and successes and focus on their future plans.
We would like to thank Dr. Schröder-Frerkes for taking the time to show our students exclusive insights into the work of a lawyer. Interactive lectures like these create considerable added value for our students at both schools!
Enriching Learning Concept in Our Kindergartens
Enriching Learning Concept in Our Kindergartens
Monday, 22 March 2021
Our Kindergartens in Neuss and Düsseldorf are governed by a unique concept that promotes learning through play from an early age, thus successfully preparing children for Primary School. It is important for ISR that play and fun are not neglected and that the children at ISR are introduced to learning content in a playful way. We are convinced that learning content with fun is worth much more than pure theory!
A few impressions of the last weeks from our Düsseldorf location:
Another Amazing CAS Project
Another Amazing CAS Project:
socializing in a virtual way with people in an elderly home
Friday, 26 February 2021
One of our Grade 11 IB students, Chiranan, has come up with a wonderful idea as part of her community service CAS project. Because of the pandemic, she tried to find a way for elderly people to keep in contact with others, be able to have conversations and getting a distraction from their daily routine. Under normal conditions, she would have been able to go and visit them but due to the current situation with COVID-19, she was not able to. However, that didn’t stop her from carrying out this project! Chiranan installed an iPad in a community room in the home in order to call and video chat several times a week with the elderly people there. This gives everyone the great opportunity to meet and socialize, at least virtually.
Chiranan states, that usually the elderly people are always excited to talk to her and in particular those with dementia love to ask her many questions. “Personally I find this very important because they don’t get to talk to a lot of different people during these times and it makes them very happy!” In this photo, you can see her showing her dog to one of the residents.
We are immensely proud of our students, who never let anything get in the way of making a positive impact.
Well done, Chiranan!
German University Acceptance
German University Acceptance
Friday, 19 February 2021
ISR signed an agreement to offer an additional 16-hour module in vector calculus to complement and extend our IB Mathematics Standard Level (SL) course. This addition will enable ISR’s IB Standard Level Math students to access German university technical studies, such as Mathematics, Engineering, and Natural Sciences. Students who complete the Mathematics High Level (HL) course remain qualified to study any subject at German universities.
The IBO recognition agreement was signed earlier this year so that the current IB diploma graduates can already benefit from this additional study and career opportunity.
A detailed FAQ with regard to this topic can be found here:
https://www.ibo.org/
Happy Valentine´s Day!
Happy Valentine´s Day from ISR!
Sunday, 14 February 2021
Dear ISR Family,
It’s been almost a year now since the pandemic started affecting Germany, and since then, much of our familiar way of living has been altered. Our regular “in-person” interactions, such as our events, our conferences, and one-on-one meetings with you have all been missing during the last year. Despite these circumstances, our ISR Community is as strong as ever and we can look confidently into the future, knowing that if anything, the pandemic has drawn us much closer as a community.
Our love for education is the appropriate theme for today because excellent education enriches the lives of people around the world. For 18 years, this has been our mission – to provide the best education for our students.
Happy Valentine´s Day!
Valentine's Day Cards
Our Primary Team has come up with a lovely project for Valentine´s Day to spread a little happiness to children all over the world.
Our students put a lot of effort into designing individual virtual cards to wish everyone a happy Valentine’s Day. With these lovingly designed cards, they want to put a smile on the faces of everyone who sees them.
We thank our Primary Team for organizing this creative project and of course our students for their time and effort. The cards turned out wonderfully!
International Day of Education
International Day of Education
Sunday, 24 January 2021
Is there a deeper purpose to education, beyond simply a degree or a grade?
Not only students seek to answer this century-old question – also educators, school staff, and parents consider the purpose of their efforts. Given that today is “International Day of Education”, we posed this question to members of the ISR staff. Over the past 20 years, our team at ISR continues to be dedicated to providing the best possible education, to challenge and encourage our students, and to pave the way for a successful and happy future. For each of us, education means something different – but we all agree on one thing: education is the most important asset we have, it is our drive, and our passion at ISR.
As Ms. McGee says: “A good school will give students knowledge, a great school will make students lifelong learners”
And this is the education that we strive for at ISR.
Our ISR Community: Strong cohesion despite physical distance
Our ISR Community: Strong cohesion despite physical distance
Tuesday, 12 January 2021
At ISR, we are especially proud of the strong parent community that helps shape and enrich our school life. During these times, it is especially important to maintain a constant exchange with our ISR Parent Network! For this reason, all Parent Network meetings with our ISR Management Team take place virtually. This allows families to interact with school leadership, exchange ideas, and for the ISR community to come together virtually. We thank all Class Reps for their participation and are grateful for the positive meeting yesterday.
Face-to-face contact with students is also especially important during this time. In addition to our virtual meetings as well as virtual classes at ISR, our committed Academic Coordinators offer a Zoom Session each day where parents or students can dial in to discuss questions, exchange thoughts, make appointments with class teachers, or simply to meet again virtually after the long time.
All this to say – we miss our parents and students, but we are happy and thankful to be able to keep up the communication virtually!
ZDF Interview with Mr. Soliman, Ms. Vrem and Ms. McGee
ZDF Interview with Mr. Soliman, Ms. Vrem and Ms. McGee
Thursday, 7 January 2021
Today, ZDF visited us to interview three of our American staff members about yesterday’s riots in Washington D.C.
ZDF is the main program of the broadcasting company Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen and the second public national television program in Germany.
The interviewees included our Executive Director Peter Soliman, our Head of Kindergarten Alex Vrem, and our Upper School Director Samatha McGee. “It’s a shame, a sad day for the U.S.,” Peter Soliman said of the events in Washington. “It is very right that the Senate and Congress came back to the Capitol to finish their work. That was highly professional.”
Dr. Alexander Schröder-Frerkes, a member of ISR’s Advisory Board and Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in NRW, was also interviewed in this context. As a representative of American interests in Germany, Dr. Schröder-Frerkes is an indispensable advisor at our international school. In 2010, he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his services to the development of German-American relations. The interview was broadcast this afternoon on the Mittagsmagazin.
SLOⓇ Activity - Creative Minds
SLOⓇ Activity – Creative Minds
Wednesday, 23 December 2020
Creative Minds is an SLOⓇ activity teaching children through hands-on activities to expand their creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills using STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) and Design Thinking Methodologies. Creative Minds allows children from KG through Grade 10 to understand issues and find solutions whilst allowing the students to grow outside of the daily school curriculum.
Our Creative Minds students have been very busy making gifts for others this holiday season.
Last year, our Inspiring Girls, a class of 5th and 6th Grade girls learning about women who excelled in their field of work, visited the St. Augustinus Memory Zentrum with homemade gifts and a show featuring their many musical talents. Due to COVID-19, we could not visit the center this year. Instead, our girls took warm socks and creatively packaged them up as cupcakes for the residents. The socks were delivered on Tuesday, December 15th to the Memory Zentrum in Neuss for the residents to enjoy!
On Saturday, December 12th, Creative Minds held it’s first online zoom session! Students joined the session to make their parents a surprise holiday present! The children enjoyed the session and look forward to surprising their parents this week.
Many thanks to Creative Minds Leader and ISR Mom, Susie Seum!
