This week, we spotlight our talented musician Andiego, who is currently in grade 3 and joined ISR in kindergarten. Aniego loves to learn, always has many questions during lessons and helps everyone to think in new and different ways. He is also passionate about reading, music, and computers. He always has a smile on his face and a helping hand for anyone who may need it. In addition, he is very family-orientated. If he sees his little brother somewhere, he always hugs him whenever their paths cross during the school day.

His great passion is music, in which he is incredibly talented. His music teacher at ISR, Ms. Bucher,  describes him like this “Aniego is a very hardworking, talented musician. He has just won 1st prize in piano for his age group at the Regional level of the Jugend Musiziert competition, earning 24 of 25 points! Aniego is a multi-instrumentalist who has said he wants to learn how to play every instrument. But what thrills me most of all about Aniego is how kind and considerate he is to his teachers and classmates. He is very socially competent, greeting even the staff members he doesn’t know with a friendly smile. Aniego’s star shines bright! I can’t wait to see the places this wonderful kid will go in life!”

This week, we spotlight our fourth grader Leonard, who joined ISR in kindergarten. Leonard is an exemplary student who is passionate about playing football during his breaks. Not only that, but he is also a caring and responsible eldest sibling at ISR, looking after his younger family members and serving as an admirable role model. His enthusiasm for learning and his great sense of humor make him stand out even more.

His teacher Mr. Cloke was quickly convinced by Leonard and his special character traits, and he says about him,“Leo is an outstanding student that exceeds expectations in everything he does. He challenges himself to always be the best version of himself. As well as a great athlete, he is a role model to those around him, both in and out of the classroom. Keep up the excellent work, Leo!

This week, we spotlight our twelve-grade Max, who joined ISR in grade 8. Max is a polite, friendly, and very positive student who wants to gain practical professional experience after his graduation from ISR. Ms. McLeod, Head of Middle School, remembers Max well and adds “I had the pleasure of meeting Max when he first joined ISR in Grade 8. I am so impressed by the kind and caring young man that he has developed into during his time at ISR. He is a role model to the younger students and is always willing to give his time to support students in Middle School either as a Big Brother or a Peer Tutor.”

As part of his IB program, Max is very engaged in CAS and actively supports the organization “SOS Kinderdörfer”. Max puts a lot of effort into generating donations for the organization and has attended numerous ISR events to spread awareness through his information booth. He deeply cares about the project and has stated “Working with the SOS-Kinderdörfer organization has been an honour, it enabled me to expand their platform and support children in need of shelter, food and education. Thanks to the incredible ISR community, I was able to raise a total of close to 1000€ on two occasions.  I believe this work has provided me with the opportunity to demonstrate our self-awareness and the appreciation we have towards our privilege to attend such a developed educational institution.” We are very proud of his exemplary sense of responsibility and care for others – he is a wonderful example of our guiding principle: We Enable Great Minds & Strong Characters.

This week, we spotlight our twelfth grader Ye Jun, who joined ISR in grade 5. Ye Jun is currently in his last year at ISR on the IB diploma program and plans to study Computer Science after his graduation. He stands out as a well-mannered and considerate student. Ye Jun’s enthusiasm for learning and his exceptional social skills made him an exemplary student. His teacher, Mr. McGee, has known Ye Jun for several years now and adds “I have known Ye Jun since he was in sixth grade, when he became one of the founding students of the ISR Baseball Club I supervised and coached. I witnessed first-hand the kindness and helpful spirit he brought to the club, as he was one of the more naturally gifted players on the team, but always quick to help teach some of the more rookie members. He will be remembered positively at ISR because the baseball club is still active and adds important value to our students’ activity program.”

As part of his IB program and CAS classes, he is part of the MUN Executive Team. They organize internal MUN simulations for their classmates, where they act as delegates for countries. He also shows a lot of responsibility and sense of duty in his role as a “Big Brother”. As part of the “Big Brother/Big Sister” project, upper school students actively support younger ISR students in their everyday school life and regularly spend time together. Ms. Herda finally adds, “Ye Jun is in my German B HL class and I have known him since Grade 7, my first year teaching at ISR. I have taught him every year – with one exception. And I am definitely happy about this. Ye Jun is a very polite, nice, and funny student I really enjoy teaching. Being able to accompany him through middle and upper school has been great. I have seen a huge development – not only in his German language skills, but also as a person. I wish him all the best and will miss him and his classmates.”

This week, we spotlight our twelfth-grader Justus, who joined ISR in Kindergarten. Justus has an all-round aptitude which allows him to succeed at whatever he puts his mind to. This doesn’t happen without the tremendous amount of work he puts into his own learning and development. He has a great sense of humor and a positive outlook on life. Justus is a positive, enthusiastic, respectful and hardworking student. “I first taught Justus as his sixth grade English teacher, where he introduced himself as a cheerful, bright, funny, and helpful young man.  I’m happy to say as his grade 12 homeroom teacher that he has maintained and honed those qualities over those six years at ISR. He is the definition of a well-rounded student, a renaissance man who excels in and out of the classroom, whether doing complex math and physics equations or on the football pitch.  I’m happy to have taught him and enjoy the morning conversations in homeroom where he always brings a positive vibe to the environment.”, as his teacher Mr. McGee adds.

In addition, he has always impressed with his impeccable manners and great sense of humor. He is motivated and very focused on success, but never forgets to be kind and generous to those around him, as his teacher Ms. Leach, who knows him since grade 9, confirmed. Justus also has been involved in CAS and his program was designed around sports activities as it is his passion. He also took part in tutoring projects and the “Big Brother/Big Sister” project. There he supported younger students in their daily life at ISR. “I´ve been with him on a million class trips, and it is a pleasure working with him ever since middle school and see him grow into what he is today.” as his CAS teacher Mr. Urban adds. His teacher Mr. Lysewycz says in conclusion, “Justus’s growth and development as a student of language and literature has been nothing short of exponential. I think that Grade 12 marked a considerable shift in his commitment to academic excellence, and his latest results in English herald new heights of achievement. It has been exciting to witness this development and I look forward to seeing how far he’ll go.”