May – July 2024
Dear returning and new families,
Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! We are excited to welcome our new community members and we hope you enjoy ISPP as much as we do! If you are returning, welcome home – to the land of the ISPP Falcons!
Vibrant is a great word to use to describe learning at ISPP in the 2023-24 school year. Teachers focused on our Learning Principles which describe our important beliefs about what makes for high-quality learning experiences. Inside and outside of the classroom, these principles were seen in units of study from the Early Years through Grade 12. I hope parents have also been able to witness how their children are involved in inspiring, inquiry-based learning that is transferable and authentic. We structure learning to create safe and social environments in which learning is personalised and has relevance for each learner.
This type of learning is visible in formal settings in classrooms but also in our expanding complementary programmes including Outdoor Education, Sports and the Arts as well as through Global Citizenship activities. This has been an incredible year for our Falcons and the schedule has certainly been full of opportunities for students to be empowered through growth and leadership. Personal and Academic excellence shines through in MRISA and ISSAPP competitions, in theatre performances, in assemblies and through milestone events like the PYP Exhibition, the MYP Personal Project, the TOK exhibition and so many more assessments of learning.
ISPP has strongly held values around community, diversity, internationalism and global citizenship. Some of these values are exemplified in our composition – with more than 50 nationalities represented in our student body and 29 nationalities in our faculty, we are a microcosm of a wider humanity. This year’s International Day as well as the Khmer New Year celebrations are some of the most visible ways in which we celebrate diversity. I would like to thank our Parent-Community Organisation (PCO) for doing so much this year to bring our community together, to welcome new families and to support school events.
As many of you will already know, we have been involved in a year-long study and review of our facilities, emerging needs and improvements that can be made. This started with an energy audit which examined our overall consumption and proposed many interventions that can reduce our consumption of electricity and hence our carbon footprint. ISPP has a strong value around environmental sustainability and this study enables informed decision-making going forward. Also in the realm of sustainability, we were able to re-start solar production after facing some regulatory challenges. We are now producing at least half of our electricity demand with clean energy. We are excited about how this is reducing our carbon footprint as well as the cost savings it is representing.
The review of facilities then proceeded in a Master Planning process. This study provides a roadmap for future developments and a logic around how we use our facilities. At the same time, this review confirmed our need to expand certain facilities and led to the launch of a new building project that is now underway. We anticipate opening that facility in about 12 months’ time, if all goes well. This will also free up some other spaces for future developments in key areas of need.
There are many more achievements that I would like to highlight from this past academic year, but space is short. I would like to express my gratitude to our ISPP Board of Trustees for their dedication and volunteerism. Your service is appreciated and essential to ensure the stewardship of ISPP! A special note of appreciation goes to both Lee Hole and Chris Scott who led the Secondary School in times of rapid transition, moving through and out of the pandemic. We wish all of our departing teachers and staff all the best as they transition into new challenges and opportunities.
At the same time, we are welcoming a new cohort of teachers and a new Secondary leadership team. Welcome aboard to all of you! Let the 2024-25 school year begin!
Eileen Niedermann
Director
