Joining the ISR Primary School is an exciting time for our students. Our Grade 1 students are proud to finally be there and are warmly welcomed at the traditional German “Erster Schultag” ceremony on the first day of the school year. Our older students enjoy returning every school year to their friends and teachers. They look forward to making new friends while adjusting to the expectations and rhythm of school life.
Our Primary School program emphasizes both academic development to enable great minds, as well as social, physical, and ethical growth to build strong characters. During these early years, children become more aware of themselves and the world around them, especially in relation to the bilingual/multilingual school environment in which they learn. They develop positive attitudes toward learning and a strong foundation for high academic achievement.
ISR prides itself on maintaining a positive school environment which makes it easy and fun for students to learn and grow. Our highly-qualified staff of dedicated teachers generates excitement and curiosity for learning. Students in ISR’s Primary School thrive in an atmosphere of high expectations, school involvement and on-going emotional and academic support.
The curriculum provides our diverse student body with a rich opportunity to appreciate commonalities while celebrating differences. Students at ISR have a unique opportunity to learn with other children who come from all over the world and to truly celebrate diversity every day. Our community also enjoys coming together and sharing our many different cultures, such as at our annual ISR International Spring Festival event.
What sets us apart
There are many things that set ISR apart as an exceptional school. Our exceptional teachers keep children at the center of everything that we do at school. Students learn through a variety of methodologies, including hands-on learning opportunities as well as time for partner and group work across all subjects. Our teachers have excellent classroom management, allowing students to learn at their own pace and ensuring that all children feel at home in their classrooms. Our diverse student population also sets us apart, allowing our students to work and play with children from around the world.
Our goal is to truly know your child well and use this knowledge to guide, support and motivate him or her. We believe that good teaching requires continual professional development, personal reflection and collaboration. We value parent involvement at every level and encourage you to partner with us to give your child the most powerful and joyous learning experience possible.
Ms. Bodner
Ms. Ghica
Transitioning to Primary School
Kindergarteners Entering First Grade
Kindergarteners entering the first grade will be warmly welcomed on the first day of school at the traditional German “Erster Schultag” ceremony. Parents, grandparents and students gather on the morning of the first day of school to congratulate their children and wish them good luck. Our wonderful first-grade teachers present each new first grader with a traditional and often hand-made cone-shaped “Schultute” filled with sweets, school supplies and other surprises. This ceremony on the first day of school gets the first graders off to a great start as they meet their teachers and are led to their new classrooms.
New Children Entering Primary Grades
When new children enter the primary grades, which can be any time of the year in an international school, they are welcomed into our ISR Community by an ambassador and a homeroom buddy who shows them around and will translate, if necessary. They will be placed in the right language level for English and German, based on their knowledge check results.
Adjustment Support
Most children adjust quickly in the friendly and positive environment that ISR provides. The Academic Head is on hand to assist and monitor our new students. For those children who might need a bit of extra support, students and parents are invited to contact the Head of Primary who works individually with each child and family to develop creative and effective solutions to help children adjust at their own pace and feel at home at ISR.
Mindfulness and Advising
In the Primary School, we believe it is hugely important to educate the students about the importance of mindfulness and to incorporate it into our classrooms. At the start of each school day, we have built “Mindfulness Minutes” into our schedule before the academic day begins. Mindfulness is not limited to the beginning of the day, but is also practiced throughout the school day with the students in order to create a calm and focused learning environment.
We also have Social Emotional lessons, called Advising, each week as part of the curriculum at ISR. Weekly Advising sessions are used to teach core values, such as honesty, respect, kindness, fairness, self-management, and resilience. In Grades 1 and 2, students learn about one topic per month, taking a deep dive by reading about and discussing each topic week by week. In Grades 3 and 4, students focus on building their resilience through learning about the importance of the Growth Mindset. Mindfulness and Advising are critical to the curriculum at ISR and help to promote whole child learning.
Positive Learning Environment
Our students adjust easily because we create a warm, friendly and helpful environment. A positive learning environment helps engage each student and makes learning fun!
At ISR, teachers and staff use creative ways to acknowledge and reward good grades, responsible behavior, and achievement that lay the foundation for us to realize our vision of “Enabling great minds and strong characters.”
Reward System
ISR Kindergarten and primary teachers develop systems of positive reinforcement for good behavior, such as stickers, positive points and a treasure chest with prizes for students who deserve them. Teachers may also recognize children for their efforts in front of their peers to encourage our students to be role models in the school.
Classroom Responsibilities
Each student will be given a classroom role, such as group leader, book distributor, door holder, or attendance taker. Through performing these roles, students develop a sense of responsibility for themselves and their environment.
Awards Ceremony
Students are recognized for their efforts through awards of certificates. At the end of each term, an Awards Ceremony is held where students are awarded certificates in areas such as “the most improved student” or the prestigious “citizenship award”. Certificates are also awarded to those students with the most reading points in the AR (Accelerated Reader) and Antolin programs.
Students’ Non-Academic Achievements
Acknowledging our students’ success in non-academic areas is also essential to promoting a positive school environment that values our students reaching their potential in all areas. Our ISR sports teams, music award winners, and budding artists showcase their talents during sports tournaments, music recitals and art exhibitions on our website, in a weekly newsletter to parents, and on our Facebook page.
Homework
Homework is an essential part of the ISR academic program. In Grades 1–3 students are only assigned oral homework such as reading. Written homework starts in Grade 4, term 1.
In Grade 4 students receive a “homework diary” in which they record the classwork and homework assignments at the beginning of every lesson.
Keeping accurate records in the diaries is important as students can refer to them when studying. Notes and comments are also written in the homework diary.
A daily check of the diary by parents is essential.
Assessments
In Grades 1–4 students take CATs (Continual Assessment Tests) in their own classrooms, plus term and final exams. From Grade 5, the CATs are replaced by periodic exams.
CAT is an age-appropriate assessment method. This series of short tests is administered over a period of one week each month and covers material taught during the 3 weeks leading up to the CAT. These tests help to monitor the student’s individual learning process and the results provide information to teachers and parents about the child’s academic progress.
The AMS is simply a short, weekly quiz that monitors students learning in English and Mathematics.
The tests are objective (multiple choice format), criterion-referenced, computer-marked tests that are administered on a weekly basis and cover material taught the previous week. They are designed to check students learning, mastery and long-term retention of essential concepts. This allows teachers to locate learning gaps quickly instead of having unpleasant surprises at the end of the term.
In Grade 3, the Math AMS is introduced and is taken in the classroom. In Grade 4, the English AMS is added and both the math and English AMS quizzes are taken in the exam hall, which helps prepare the students for the upper grades where the exams are taken in the exam hall and not the classroom. The English AMS includes the following sub-subjects: vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and class reader.
Students receive an AMS concept sheet at the beginning of every term, indicating which subject concepts will be assessed and when, and is intended to be used for preparing for the weekly AMS.
Final exams are given at the end of each term in all subjects to all students to determine mastery of concepts taught over a full term. Students are provided with revision lists to prepare for term exams and final exams, and the teachers review the material for each subject during the revision period 1–2 weeks before the exams.
Academic Support
A unique benefit that ISR offers its students is academic support for those students who need extra tutoring in certain subjects. These academic support groups are a positive experience for all students who attend.
Booster classes are offered when more than just a few students need extra help in a particular subject. Small groups meet during the SLC periods and a subject teacher will review or reteach certain concepts to make sure all the students have the opportunity to understand and master the material.
Study buddy support takes place after school for selected students in the core subjects of Math, English and German. Students are assigned in consultation with the Academic Head if it is thought that additional academic support is required. Each study buddy group is led by a subject teacher.
Communication with Parents
In Primary, teachers, and parents communicate in a variety of ways. In general, parents are encouraged to reach out to Academic Head with any questions or concerns, which can then be quickly and efficiently answered. You may also choose to write a note to your child’s teacher, which can be placed in the Home Folder.
On the Thursday before the first week of the new school year, families are invited to school to find out which classes the students have been placed in and meet the teachers for the new school year. This helps students, parents, and teachers get excited and prepared for the school year ahead. Students are also encouraged to bring their school supplies to this event, making the first day of school a bit easier for them without having to bring all their materials. A few weeks after the start of school, parents are invited to Back-To-School Night where they can meet the teachers and find out what material will be covered that school year.
The home folder is the key communication tool between the classroom and home. Weekly news bulletins and notes are sent home with students in Grades 1-4 using the home folder. You will also find finished assignments and/or artwork in this folder, as well as notes from your child’s teacher. Parents are encouraged to check their child’s home folder each evening.
In Grade 4, students receive a homework diary which they fill out on a daily basis and should be checked by both teachers and parents. Teachers and parents both may write comments, when applicable
Parent-teacher conferences are held twice a year. However, parents may make an appointment to speak with any teacher any time. Please contact the Head of Primary.
Digital Platform is ISR’s community login site where students’ homework and grades may be viewed as well as announcements specifically addressed to the ISR Community.
Report Cards
Report cards are issued three times a year at the end of each term. The report card includes the student’s numerical marks for each subject, attendance and behavior records, as well as an account of the student’s involvement in the Student Leadership Council. A report card is not a “Zeugnis” and should not be shared with third parties as it is not an official school document. The report card contains confidential student information such as absences and possible infractions. The official ISR “Zeugnis” is the ISR school transcript which is prepared for students upon request. In addition, the student progress overview report is available on Digital Platform.
Student Extracurricular Activities
The Student Leadership Council gives students the opportunity to assume real-life responsibilities. This is accomplished as the students learn how to organize and manage all aspects of their student society. In Kindergarten up to 4th grade, students choose SLC activities on a voluntary basis.
Preparation for 5th Grade
We offer multiple information sessions throughout the school year for our families to ensure a smooth transition into Grade 5. In addition to these sessions, which can help parents to understand their role in their child’s academic journey, we also schedule opportunities for Grade 4 students to visit Grade 5 classrooms and to speak with Grade 5 students about their experiences.
Student Achievements
At ISR, achievement is valued and acknowledged in many ways. In these ways, students, parents and teachers can all be proud of what we achieve together as a school and community!
- Award Ceremonies
- AR (Accelerated Reader) and Antolin (German) Reading Program awards
- Honor Roll
- Sport Competitions
- Art Exhibits
- Music Concerts
Events
ISR holds many fun events during the year, such as the Halloween party, St. Martin, winter and summer music concerts, ISR Family Fun & Sports Day, ISR Open House, ISR International Spring Festival, Spirit Days and much more. See our School Calendar for more information.
ISR International School on the Rhine
Our international school near Düsseldorf
There are many reasons to send your child to our international school. The ISR International School on the Rhine is an English-speaking private high school. The international school is located in the region Neuss/ Düsseldorf in North Rhein Westphalia (NRW). ISR is easy to reach by car or public transport. Our students (even Kindergarten children) have the opportunity to use the school bus service. The international private school has an international Kindergarten, an international elementary school, and an international grammar school. We opened a second international Kindergarten in Düsseldorf-Niederkassel and a German-speaking Kindergarten in Meerbusch-Büderich. After 12 years of school, our students can acquire the International and German recognized degree, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or further High School Diplomas. Due to a large number of subjects, students have the opportunity to learn many different topics. We are very proud to see that our graduates complete school with excellent grades. Our international staff comes from over 27 different countries. All staff members regularly attend training courses in which they train and deepen their leadership and organizational skills. The ISR International School on the Rhine near Düsseldorf stands for an excellent team of teachers and has state-of-the-art school equipment and classrooms. Our teachers are highly qualified, native, or near-native English speakers, and come from all over the world. They use different teaching methods to personalize their lessons and fit the need of their students. Under our motto „we enable great minds and strong characters“ our teachers bring out the best of each student, not only academically. Together with parents, we, as an International school are responsible to guide our students to become self-reliant and responsible people. ISR graduates get into top universities worldwide. The aim of the international school is to prepare the students for a successful future career and life.
The primary school at our international school
The curriculum of our elementary school focuses both on the academic development of our students as well as building strong characters. The multilingual environment which our international school offers teaches our student to be open-minded. The students also develop a positive view of learning and have fun doing it. This forms a foundation for academic and professional success. ISR Neuss is characterized by a positive school and learning environment. Our highly qualified teachers at the international primary school near Düsseldorf use different teaching methods to foster the children’s abilities. The educators stimulate the children’s excitement and curiosity for learning.
More information about our school
Are you interested in the ISR International School on the Rhine or in the International Kindergarten? Please contact us personally. We offer many opportunities to meet and receive information in person. Our school also organizes many different festivals and events throughout the school year. Visit us also on one of these days or on one of our info days. We would be more than happy to greet you at our international school campus. Applications are accepted year-round.
