First Day of School at ISR

Wednesday, 21 August 2019

Today, we warmly welcomed all ISR First Graders to their first day of school! Students and their parents arrived on campus early for a photo session and the annual “Schultüte” ceremony where each child received a traditional school cone. Some children additionally brought their own very colorfully decorated school cones from home, a special tradition unique to Germany.

The Schultüte helps mark the special moment when a child leaves Kindergarten to go on to primary school to begin their official academic career. Parents fill the colorful cones with treats, school supplies, and small gifts and give them to their children the day they become first-graders. ISR is proud to keep this fun and inspiring tradition live for every ISR student.

We wish all our first graders all the best for their first year of school and welcome all students and parents (back) to our community!

SLO^® Leadership Team: Vision for the upcoming school year

Friday, 16 August 2019

Today, the 10 members of the SLO^® Leadership Team presented their ideas, goals, and objectives for the new school year to ISR staff members. Lead by Head Prefect Henning, the 9 Deputy Heads presented with poise, sophistication, and maturity in front of about 150 staff members. Their vision of the year is to make ISR’s Student Life Organization^® more interactive, impactful, and memorable for the entire ISR community.

We know without a doubt that these student leaders will shine this school year and we wish them the best of luck!

Outstanding IGCSE Results

Friday, 16 August 2019

We’re more than happy to announce this year’s outstanding IGCSE results:

Overall, 60% of our students earned a grade A or A*, and 30% Grade B. This year we were also able to offer a wider variety of subjects in the examinations than last year.

Congratulations to all our students for earning such high marks – Your hard work has paid off!

Find out more about IGCSE Exams and Certificates

University Visits from our Upper School in America

Wednesday, 24 July 2019

ISR prides itself on preparing students for life beyond ISR. Two full-time staff members are available to meet with students and their parents to make sure the appropriate course selections are made as Upper School students begin the path to university. In addition to in-school counseling, our University and Career Counselling (UCC) team also visits universities around the world with our students to help them get an on-the-spot impression of various universities.

For this reason, Dr. Dickers, our University and Career Councellor, and four ISR students from grades 9, 10 and 11 spent a week visiting universities and colleges in the US during their summer vacation. The students visited 10 institutions, including Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Pennsylvania, and New York University (NYU).

Each visit included a campus tour, guided by a current student or recent graduate who gave our students an insight into their experiences studying in the US. The students also attended presentations by university admissions staff who discussed the various academic courses offered, extracurricular life, and the application process. The tours and presentations helped the students learn about the unique features of each university and how to choose a university with the right ‘fit’. The ISR group also had the opportunity to stay for a night in a student residence at Boston University and to spend some free time in New York’s Times Square.

As the students were part of a larger tour group, they also had a chance to meet and share experiences with students from other countries including the US, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines and the UK. The tour guides, Ray and Ben, who are both college counsellor, led several workshops about the college admission process. They covered topics including: how to research and choose universities (finding the right ‘fit’), using in the US Common Application, and brainstorming and writing the all-important application essay.

All in all, after a week visiting all different types of university, the trip provide our ISR students insight into college life in the US and practical advice for writing successful applications and choosing the right school.

Opening of the ISR Kindergarten in Düsseldorf draws closer

Thursday, 04 July 2019

After two additions to the ISR Kindergarten in Neuss, the demand for Kindergarten places in our international and English-speaking community continues to grow. For this reason, ISR decided to open a new Kindergarten in Düsseldorf Niederkassel. This new Kindergarten branch will be an extension of the ISR Kindergarten in Neuss. As a result of this extension, we will be able to offer enrolment to around 100 boys and girls between the ages 3 – 6 years old.

The same successful learning system used in the Neuss Kindergarten will be offered at the Düsseldorf Niederkassel site as well. As the construction project steadily progresses, Jenna Davis, founder of the popular lifestyle blog “Life in Düsseldorf”, has taken a close look at our Kindergarten project in her new blog post: lifeinduesseldorf.com/isr-kindergarten.

See additionally here how a typical day in our Kindergarten runs:

https://youtu.be/ZT9UFA69xVY

Looking Back: Cooking & More Summer Camp

Wednesday, 03 July 2019

Last week, for the second time in a row, ISR hosted the Cooking & More Summer Camp led by Ms. Nicole Freitag. Everyday 14 ISR students prepared easy meals for breakfast and lunch and in the process, learnt something new about cooking. The students were shown how to prepare delicious smoothies, healthy lemonade, wraps and cupcakes. Students discovered how fun it was to cook using healthy, child-friendly recipes. Ms. Freitag took the students on excursions to local food markets and bakeries in order to teach them the benefits of eating healthy and to get the children interested in identifying fresh foods.

A highlight of the week was the visit to the Hinkel Bakery, where the students saw how bread was made from mixing the dough to baking it in an oven and then finally having a loaf of bread! After learning such an exciting process they were given an exclusive behind the scenes tour of the traditional Hinkel Bakery. These excursions and lessons were lots of fun and encouraged an amazing team spirit amongst the group!

On the last day of the camp, students invited their families to dinner at Broich Catering in Düsseldorf. There our young chefs demonstrated their skills and what they learned during the week. This included; setting the tables in a stylish manner and serving the food which they prepared together with Mrs Freitag. Mrs Broich-Bruester and her team, who are responsible for catering at ISR, were there to support them.

We would like to thank Nicole Freitag (www.die-kleinen-feinschmecker.de), Ursula Broich-Bruester, Carola Herold, Broich Catering & Locations, Claudia Trapp, Bäckerei Hinkel and Marc Müller for planning and supporting the Cooking & More Camp. We look forward to seeing more aspiring young chefs join the camp next year!