LLISIS OOBSERVERBSERVER - Leipzig International … · Liane Lindenlaub Parent Community Coordinator Dear parents and students, ... different world. On the other, it seems like only

www .intschool-leipzig.com LIS OBSERVER 1

Newsletter of the Leipzig International School e. V. · IB World School

OBSERVEROBSERVERLISLISNovember 2011November 2011

Content

2 From the HeadmasterFrom the Elected Parents

3 Message from the Board

4 October Break in Holiday HortCooking in French Class

5 A Tribute to Elke Urban

6 Strategic Goals 2012–2016

8 New Drop-off Regulations

9 Sponsoring Child in GhanaCounsellor's Corner

10 World AIDS Day 2011Theaterbesuch in Berlin

11 Dynamics of the Earth: JapanInformation on Pilot Group

12 Living in Leipzig

1. International Family Picnic

We are already far into the 2011–12 school year and I hope you

have been enjoying this LIS year so far.

In the last issue we presented our new members of

staff – and I trust that you have all had the opportunity

to get to know them. They have all made a great start

and are a real enrichment to our school. All of these

colleagues are working hard every day to give your

child the best possible international education and the

best possible preparation for their future lives.

In this issue we are proud to publish our strategic goals

2012 – 2016 as our Board presented at the Open

Forum last week. The Strategic Goals focus on a variety

of subjects such as education, facilities, organisation,

staffing, finance and community life.

This issue also reports on founding member Elke Urban

who retires from LIS Board after 20 years of service to

LIS. Our thanks and appreciation go to Elke Urban, who

has contributed so much to our school. She definitely

will be missed.

Of course there are further things to point out:

Following interest from LIS parents, we would like to

propose that you come and help develop several

activities within the LIS community. Whether you have

a lot or little spare time, your input is important. Parents

choose to get involved in different areas here at LIS.

Others volunteer by helping with LIS gatherings. Some

parents have suggested the following ideas such as a

cooking club, an international cookbook, a student &

parent friendly competition, an International Day, a

Teachers´ Appreciation Luncheon etc. Additional ideas

involving sport, art, music are most welcome too. In

order to develop these ideas we would need your

collaboration, suggestions, experience and

participation. So why not come, join and form one of

the Event Committees to get these activities going. A

launch and information meeting will be set for 21

November, please see the notice board at the entrance

of the school for further details.

Finally – even if it seems to be quite early – I would like

to wish you all the greetings of the season, a relaxing

family break in December and a successful Year 2012.

Liane Lindenlaub

Parent Community Coordinator

Dear parents and students,

Having a picnic during the summer

months can be entertaining and a

blast for the entire family. On a

Sunday in mid-September family

members of LIS gathered at Clara-

Zetkin Park to enjoy this day of

family fun. Many LIS families

took the opportunity to get

together, eat some delicious

food and spend some

quality time together.

And of course, the kids

had fun as well. They were

playing fun games, looking for a little

adventure at the playground and enjoying the

outstanding food. Thank you all for that

wonderful day of fun!

This holiday was a really productive one – we

produced many different pieces of art – we

created colourful prints in the museum of

printing arts, crafted lanterns in the

Umweltgarten, did woodwork and made candles

in the Kindertischlerei. We also crafted kites and

tested them on the school yard. We even carved

our own spooky Halloween pumpkins!

Of course we didn’t spend all our time doing

handcrafts. There was also plenty of time for

relaxing and playing inside and outside. We

went to the Zoo and did a boat trip on the

jungle river in Gondwanaland. The Sterntaler

puppet theatre told us the story of the

princess and the pea. On Fridays after lunch

the Auditorium turned into a cinema where

we watched funny movies.

A big thank you to all kids and colleagues

who made Holiday Hort such a great time!

Miss Janka

Pumpkins for everybody!

REVRVRESSBSOOS OS OSLIS OBSERVERRRVERVESSBOOSSILIS OBSERVER REVRVRESSBSOOS OS OSLIS OBSERVERRRVERVESSBOOSSILIS OBSERVERMessage from the BoardFrom the Headmaster

By the time you read this Observer we will be looking back on both

the accreditation team visit from 6–11 November and the Open

Forum on 14 November. From the team visit we hope to get positive

advice from the two accrediting bodies. At the Open Forum we look

forward to discussing with all who are interested our newly

articulated Strategic Goals 2012–16.


People who, more than 20 years

ago, experienced German re-

unification at close quarters tend

to sense a sort of time warp.

On the one hand, it was a long time ago and a

different world. On the other, it seems like only

yesterday. And that’s how we regard Elke Urban’s

term of office on the School Board. Elke was a

prime mover behind the founding of the School,

one of the original members and a Board member

since inception. On the one hand, two decades ago,

and on the other, just yesterday. All of us, students,

parents, staff and we as her Board colleagues, owe

Elke an enormous debt of gratitude for her services.

If there is one person to whom we owe the

existence of the School, then it is her. Elke has now

decided that the time has come to step down from

the Board in order to give her more time to pursue

her many other causes and initiatives. Thankfully

however, she remains a member of the Association,

and a good friend, and someone we can always

turn to for advice and support.

Our sadness at Elke’s departure has been tempered

by the willingness of Skadi Beblo to take her place.

Many of you will know Skadi as a parent, a room

parent, a parent representative until recently, and a

friend. We value Skadi’s commitment to the ideals

of our school, her balanced view and her willingness

to contribute. She has assumed Elke’s responsibility

on the Board for educational matters.

The Strategic Goals address a whole range of

issues including education, facilities,

organisation, staffing and finance. Our

educational goals for 2016 are simple: achieve

a first class international curriculum unified by

the IB Learner Profile.

The Learner Profile was introduced by the

International Baccalaureate Organisation in

2006 to articulate the pedagogical goals of the

IB for every learner from ages 3–18. We liked

this learner profile so much that we used some

of its language in our own Statement of

Principles (2010) and we have now officially

adopted the IB Learner Profile itself as one of

our Strategic Goals.

Of these 10, the one that always draws the

most questions is the one about the “risk

taking”, which in IB pedagogy means:

approaching unfamiliar situations with courage

and forethought. Raising a hand to say

something in class can be a form of risk taking

if you don’t know how others will react to you.

Generational changes at the Board level are a sign of

the school’s growing maturity, and that is one of the

themes of the school’s newly formulated Strategic

Goals. As you know, the Board hosted a highly

productive Strategy Day at the beginning of October

to brainstorm our strategy for the next 5 years. The

meeting was attended by the Headmaster, the school

principals, representatives of the staff and the

parents, and of course by the Board itself.

Fortunately, setting strategy for our

school is not rocket science. We

are a successful organisation,

and we don’t need to make

radical corrections to our

course. But we do need to

keep on improving what we

do, in many cases

significantly, in order to

achieve our aim of becoming

a truly leading school. Our

progress will result from

committing our goals to paper,

agreeing on the measures we need to

take in order to pursue those goals, and then

formalising the mechanisms for checking the

progress we are making towards achieving them. The

article in this edition setting out the Strategic Goals

2012–2016 will tell you more. We appreciate the

participation in the Open Forum on 14 November

where we presented these goals.

As we write, we are preparing for the visit by the

accreditation teams from the NEASC and the CIS

from 5 to 11 November. The school has already

profited enormously from the accreditation

process, on the one hand forcing us to formalise

a multitude of procedures and rules which were

known but as yet unwritten, but more

importantly demanding that we analyse our

strengths and weaknesses and establish plans

for building on the former and rectifying the

latter. Whilst we await the results of

the team’s examination, let us

take this opportunity to thank

all of the school community

who have put in such a

huge effort to make the

necessary preparations.

That applies to a number

of parents, but in

particular to the staff

who have taken on

responsibilities in

addition to their

normal teaching

duties. Your

commitment is

recognised and

appreciated. Because of your

efforts, we can look forward with

confidence to the results of the accreditation

team’s visit.

Jana Näther, Dr. Nikolaus Petersen,

Christopher Smith, Dr. Skadi Beblo

We see the learner profile as an inspiring

framework to unite what we do all the way from

Early Childhood to University Applications.

We are starting to articulate, as a school, how

each of the ten characteristics are addressed at

different age levels, and in the different subject

areas of science, literacy, mathematics, social

studies, languages, physical education and fine

arts. By the end of the 2011-12 school year we

expect to start adjusting some of our curriculum

in order to better promote the learner profile.

Eight of us have now signed up for an online

course titled “Inquiry into the Learner Profile”.

We will be deepening our understanding of the

learner profile from 2 November – 20 December

2011. This course will be a success for me if all

eight of us come out of it with inspiration and

resolve to put all of this into meaningful

practice.

I have been involved with designing and using

online courses as a teacher, but this will be my

first experience of an online course as a student.

I look forward to a stimulating seven weeks!

As this is the last Observer to reach you before

the holiday season I wish you and your loved

ones a wonderful time during Christmas,

Hanukah, St. Nicholas and other cultural

highlights towards the end of this calendar

year.

Roel Scheepens, Headmaster

2 LIS OBSERVER www .intschool-leipzig.com

The new cohort of elected parent

representatives would like to open

with a quick quiz.a) Can you name the school your child is currently

attending? Can you name your child’s class

teacher and that teacher’s country of birth?

b) Did you realise that the first quarter of this

school year has already passed?

c) Do you know the outcome of this year’s Parent

Representative Election?

d) Do you know what the LIS Parent Representatives

do?

Compare your answers with the ones below.

a) LIS.

Hopefully you will agree that this was the

easiest of above questions. However, if you

got stuck on the next question, maybe it is

time to come to school and update your

knowledge. And while you are there, why

don’t you get involved in some of the class or

school activities?

b) True. The first quarter of the school year is over.

Some parents and children had to settle in,

find new friends, get to know new places,

new people, new rules, etc. Hopefully each of

us has enjoyed this first quarter and will look

forward to the upcoming terms of the school

year.

c) Alya Pender, Fabrizia Curti, Wolf-Dieter Meier,

Michael Hartwig

Votes were tallied shortly after the mid-

September “Meet the Candidate” evening on

27 September the group met for the first

time. As you can see, the group is quite

diverse -- 50% expats and 50% German

parents, 50% females and 50% males. Not

bad, eh? These are the parents who will be

serving as elected representatives until

September 2013.

d) There are multiple possible answers to this

question.

This is what parent representatives CAN do:

Bake cookies, organise parties, buy drinks for

a summer evening in the park, paint

balloons, sing a song to make other parents

happy … And when they do these things they

are enjoying being LIS parents, but not

acting in their role as representatives.

This is what parent representatives SHOULD

do: Serve as a communication link between

parents and school management. Talk to the

school management about the feelings and

needs of the parent community. Find out,

what parents would want the school to

implement or change. Assist in finding of

solutions to urgent and not so urgent

matters and if needed, insist with the

implementation of those solutions. Here,

they act as parent representatives. This is

exciting work! The meetings we have

attended so far were full, lively and long!

This is what parent representatives WANT to

do: Engage with the full parent community!

Please contact the parent representatives via:

If you prefer to speak to us directly, contact

us via phone or email and schedule an

appointment!

Leaving the questions and answers of the quiz, we would also like to say the following …

Words of thanks: We wish to officially thank the

former parent representative group. The school has

improved over the last years and the first cohort of

parent representatives actively contributed to that

improvement. Wherever we go, whoever we contact,

we learn that the former team has established

good relationships and defined the role of the

parent representatives well. This is great! Thank

you and please continue to be here for us in case

we need some advice and experience.

Words of understanding: Our work will only be as

good and important as you – the parents of this

school – want it to be. We need you to contact us.

A school is not something that you ever finish and

file it. It is an ongoing project, always a work in

progress. In order to be a truly great school, the

input of many countless people is required.

Help us to contribute to LIS's growth and

development! The list of topics we have begun

working on in our first month includes: catering

service, staff contact details, morning drop off

zone, curriculum issues, equipment, etc. We will

keep you informed from time to time about our

work. There is surely no guarantee that all of your

(or all of our) wishes will be implemented in the

future. But what we can guarantee is to take a

serious look at all those wishes and be a channel of

communication to the school.

Our Wish We want to hear from you. Contact us. Share your

thoughts and feelings. And, by the way, we look

forward to hearing when you are happy about

something. Everybody benefits from some positive

news now and again!

Wishing a pleasant second quarter of the year,

Your Elected Parent Representatives

Dear parents

The Learner Profi le articulates

that we aim to educate

our students to become:

1. inquirers

2. knowledgeable

3. thinkers

4. communicators

5. principled

6. open-minded

7. caring

8. risk takers

9. balanced

10. refl ective

Your Elected Parent Representatives: Alya Pender, Wolf-Dieter Meier, Michael Hartwig, Fabrizia Curti.

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REVRVRESSBSOOS OS OSLIS OBSERVERRRVERVESSBOOSSILIS OBSERVER

www.intschool-leipzig.com LIS OBSERVER 5


The next issue will be published in January

2012. Please send your articles and pictures

by 15 December by e-mail:

24 November, 12 am, 24 November, 12 am, Parents Lunch24 November, 18 pm, 24 November, 18 pm, Club International

Thanksgiving Dinner25 November, 18–20 pm, 25 November, 18–20 pm, LIS Auditorium

Wine & Cheese Evening

21–25 November,21–25 November, Mother Tongue Week

2 December, 2 December, Primary Reports5 December, 8:30 am5 December, 8:30 am cafeteria

Monthly coffee morning8 December 8 December in Primary School

Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences8 December, 17:30 pm, 8 December, 17:30 pm, Club International

St. Nicholas Party12–13 December, 12–13 December, LIS Auditorium

Secondary Christmas Show

12–16 December, 12–16 December, Primary Holiday Lunches

15 December, 15 December, Upper Primary Show

16 December, 16 December, Secondary Christmas Ball

19 December–1 January, 19 December–1 January, School Holidays21 December, 19:30 pm, 21 December, 19:30 pm, Bethanienkirche,

La Fiesta de la Posada

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Leipzig International Choir

Wednesday, 21 December 2011 at 19:30, Concert at Bethanienkirche, Stieglitzstraße 42, Leipzig-Schleußig

Leipzig International Choir will be

performing La Fiesta de la Posada, a

Christmas Oratorio composed by the well

known jazz musician Dave Brubeck. Please

note the concert date and come for an

evening of music on 21 December at 19:30.

The Leipzig International Choir was founded

in 2007 as a parent & teacher choir of LIS

under the guidance of conductor Howard

Arman, and has since then continually

developed into a well integrated part of

community life here in Schleußig. The

Bethanienkirche is well-known for its good

acoustics and is often used as a recording

venue. You will absolutely enjoy this concert.

Admission is free.

For more information, please check the

school website or contact

Founding Member Elke Urban Retires from LIS Board


Elke Urban had been living in Leipzig for twenty

years and had experienced the lack of freedom in

the GDR. During the time leading up to the

Peaceful Revolution, when people in Leipzig

started to protest against the system, Elke Urban

saw the chance for a new school: one, where

children wouldn’t be intimidated but be

encouraged to form their own opinion and express

it without fearing disadvantages; one that would

be diverse and also make room for different

perspectives on the world. A participant in

Leipzig’s famous Monday demonstrations, she

carried a sign that said “Wir wollen Freie Schulen”

and so leading the call for self-governing schools

in Leipzig.

When the fall of the Berlin wall suddenly

broadened the horizon and the country’s borders

were no longer a dead end but an entrance to the

world, founding an international school in Leipzig

was the obvious thing

to do.

Asked to describe the

time at the founding of

the school, Elke Urban

begins by describing

the time of transition in

Leipzig. One political

system had collapsed

and made room for new

ideas. The new system and all its bureaucracy had

not yet been fully established. Everything seemed

to be possible. “There had never been so much

freedom before and never has been since. It was

just the right time to found a school. The world

was now open and there should be a chance for

children in Leipzig to be educated in that sense.”

It all began on 29 October 1991 at 3.30 pm in

the office of the first democratically elected mayor

of Leipzig, Hinrich Lehmann-Grube. The mayor

introduced the American diplomat Todd Becker

and the former teacher Elke Urban to each other.

They had different backgrounds but the same

idea: an international school for Leipzig. In the

ensuing days, it was a trio of adventurers who

played the biggest role in the beginning of LIS:

Todd Becker, Elke Urban and the mayor’s wife

Ursula Lehmann-Grube. They not only met with

the many obstacles they would come across but

successfully broke through them.

Elke Urban consulted her friend Prof. Dr. Johann

Peter Vogel, who was a lawyer specialised in wor-

king with independent schools and advisor AGIS

(Association of German International Schools).

Also the Berlin Brandenburg International School

that had gone down the same path one year

before, supported the team in

Leipzig by generously sharing

their knowledge and experience.

The founders still needed money,

a school building, teachers and

most of all students. There

weren’t many buildings in

Leipzig in 1992 that qualified as

potential school buildings, and

these were generally in desperate

need of major renovations. One

of the facilities they had seen

was a run-down former Kinder-

garten in Kirschbergstraße in

Gohlis.

In spring 1992 they had major

doubts about their project. At a board meeting in

April they had to realise that they wouldn’t find

enough students to open the school in September

and had to wait at least for another year. They

still had hope, though, that they would be able to

start with a pre-school group. Elke

Urban inspired her teammates. In the

GDR she had learned to improvise

and she believed in miracles, at least

since she had experienced the

peaceful revolution and

the downfall of a system

that was meant to last.

She wouldn’t take no for an answer and always

kept faith.

In those days, being carrier of the vision meant

doing all sorts of practical things: the founders

and board members cleaned the school building

and helped with minor renovation that they

were able to do themselves. LIS relied on

donations or “begged and borrowed” as the

first teacher Jane Penson put it. With everyone’s

dedication to the project and the intense

personal, physical and financial investment, LIS

finally became reality and opened on 15

September 1992 in Kirschbergstr. 48 in

Leipzig/Gohlis with only three children and

their teacher Jane Penson. One year later, 8

October 1993, LIS officially opened as a school

with seven First Graders, one Fourth and one

Sixth Grader and a pre-school group.

…. fast forward to 2011. Elke Urban has not lost a

bit of her vision for independent education. She is

director of Leipzig’s school museum that she

founded in 2000 and built up and continues to

be a vibrant and active community leader. She

also continues to take risks in her work. Visiting

the museum, groups of school children can be led

by Elke Urban herself in a simulated lesson from a

GDR classroom.

They can feel

the pressure of

needing to say

yes to the

programme dictated

from above and

implemented by

the teacher. They

feel the need to

belong and under-

stand that be-

longing means ad-

opting a preset

system of values.

And they feel relief

as they debrief the

experience and understand what it means to have

freedom of opinion.

Freedom is precious. This is what Elke Urban

reminds us of time and again. This is what she

told the assembled audience in her keynote

speech to the Second Conference on Peace

organised by the Stiftung für die Freiheit (Institute

for Peace). And this is what she wants every child

to consciously understand through education.

Elke Urban was honoured in 1995 with the

Bundesverdienst Kreuz, Germany’s highest civilian

prize, for her work in founding independent schools.

LIS was one of them and expresses its gratitude for

20 years of visionary leadership that has led to a

school with now 680 students and 98 teachers.

Astrid Pietrus,

Secondary Parent Representative

After 20 years of service to Leipzig International School, founding member Elke Urban has announced

her resignation from the Board of Governors. Take yourself back in time to the Fall of 1989 and listen to

the story from the beginning …

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Elke Urban, 1995Cooking in French Class

On Thursday, the 6 October, our French class,

consisting of about a dozen students, decided

to cook some typical French food in the Hort

kitchen. Kindly, Madame Bludau bought all of

the ingredients beforehand, so we did not have

to worry about anything. Our group was going

to cook quiche, and other groups were doing an

apple cake (Tarte aux pommes), crepes, and

Croque Monsieur. It was really interesting to

read all of the recipes in French and to translate

them into English! After a few mishaps and

mini-disasters, we finally managed to bake a

quiche and an apple cake,

made some crepes and

delicious hot chocolate. We

all sat together at a big table

and ate everything, until our

stomachs were so full that we

could hardly breathe!

Tatjana Willms-Jones

and Cindy Haufe

La cuisine était très amusante.

Différents groupes ont dû faire

cuire différentes choses (des

crêpes, des tartes aux pommes ou

des quiche). En fi n le résultat

était suuuuuper et très délicieux.

Une expérience avec la cuisine

française! Merci beaucoup,

Madame Bludau

Charlotte Becker and

Judith Scholz

We had sport next and no one

could run or even move. However

at lunch we ate the tarte, which

was delicious. I think we should

repeat this, it was so much fun

and the food was great, never-

theless we should do it on a day

where we don’t have to move

anymore afterwards.

Lena Rössler

Benjamin et Daniel ont cuisiné des croque-monsieur

pour la classe de français. C’était très amusant et

tout le monde a aimé.

How Reception Children spent their

October Break in Holiday HortWe have been pretty active this October Holiday

Hort. Nearly everything was Halloween related:

We carved huge pumpkins, made jewellery out of

their seeds and made creepy looking cupcakes.

Now we can also scare our families with self-

made Halloween mobiles and pumpkin paper

masks. At the Umweltgarten we made

pumpkin lanterns to be well equipped

for trick-or-treating. We also enjoyed

sport activities in the gym or outside

on the football pitch and our time in

the woods to collect leaves, nuts and

sticks for our self-decorated autumn

baskets. After all we now have a lot of

experience in getting prepared for Halloween and

even learned to fly a kite – without wind.

Miss KrisTina

Board meeting on 17 August 1992 with the final decision

to open school in September (from left: Todd Becker, Elke

Urban, Ursula Lehman-Grube, Wolfgang Kunz).

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Strategic Goals 2012–16: Coming of AgeComplete the growth phase of the school and establish the structures of a mature organisation.

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77777777 Improve our interaction with the regional community

Supporting the regional community is an integral part of our

mission. We now want to strengthen our partnerships for

learning with parents, with alumni and with the local community.

a. Strengthen parent participation in their children’s education.

b. Reach out to the local community to explain our principles

and the way in which we put them into practice.

c. Establish the school as a centre for intercultural understanding

for the City and the region.

d. Establish strong relationships with local opinion-leaders and

stakeholders.

e. Establish a functioning alumni organisation.

f. Upgrade the website to state-of-the art.

Grow the provision of Student Support Services

At the heart of our mission is our openness to students of

varying academic, linguistic and financial backgrounds. We wish

to increase the opportunities for all students to access teaching

and learning at LIS. At the same time we need to adjust the

admissions process to ensure all students can profit from the

educational offerings and that no students are disadvantaged,

either by not having their own needs met, or by other students

not having their needs met.

a. Maintain an inclusive admissions policy.

b. Test extensively for students’ needs before and upon admission.

c. Extend ESL provision both before and after admission.

d. Extend the provision of Student Support Services, in particular

in the area of Learning Support.

e. Implement effective practices in each subject area to address

the needs of students of exceptionally high ability,

achievement and/or talent in that domain.

Become an employer of choice for teaching professionals

We want to make LIS an employer of choice for teaching

professionals who are motivated by more than just money. While

the salaries offered need to be competitive, the really unique

selling points for this school need to be the other aspects of job

satisfaction: the atmosphere, the quality of the working

environment, as well as room for personal growth and

professional development. We want to become a professional

learning community where working conditions are such that all

members of staff can develop their creativity and professionalism.

a. Maintain sufficiently competitive salary levels.

b. Improve the other working conditions for the faculty (IT

support, administrative support, office space, storage space,

teaching space, preparation time, professional development)

to a level which is clearly above average for international

schools.

c. Significantly increase the release time for positions of

responsibility.

d. Implement a staff appraisal procedure focused on quality as

well as on personal and professional development

Implement the recommendations resulting from the accreditation process

The accreditation process has surfaced and will surface a

number of recommendations for improving the quality of the

school and its operations. As part of that process, the core

objectives and values of the school were reformulated. The

recommendations now need to be implemented, and the school’s

statement of principles needs to permeate all aspects of the

school and its operations.

a. Maintain our commitment to admitting students from

different financial backgrounds even against a background of

possibly increasing tuition fees.

b. Formalise the admissions process to ensure that prospective

students fulfil the admission criteria and to ensure that the

school can meet the students’ needs

c. Devise metrics and reporting thereon to assess the degree to

which our core objectives and values are pervading the school

and its operations.

d. Put in place a monitoring system to oversee the

implementation of accreditation recommendations.

Improve the quality of the educational offering to a level which renders LIS a school of choice for parents and students

Many of our results on international benchmark tests and

international examinations are already very good. We now want

to further strengthen the quality of the educational programme

by achieving a clearly articulated international curriculum,

unified by the IB Learner Profile at all levels, and delivered

through a common approach in line with our Statement of

Principles. We want to expand curriculum offerings to cater for a

broader range of student needs. We want to expand our non-

classroom educational offerings.

a. Adopt the IB Learner Profile as the framework for all teaching,

learning and assessment at LIS.

b. Formalise and document the curriculum in terms of learning

outcomes, and introduce a system to ensure that the same

content is delivered at the same grade, irrespective of the

teacher from time to time.

c. Introduce the IB Career-Related Certificate for the more

vocationally talented students.

d. Introduce further foreign language options.

e. Support every student’s mother tongue development.

f. Expand offerings in the Arts subjects.

g. Articulate the developmental curriculum for the Early

Childhood Centre.

h. Significantly increase the quality and quantity of the

international and intercultural experiences for students.

i. Establish partnerships with local institutions to enrich student

learning beyond the classroom.

j. Place stronger emphasis on the development of personal skills.

Create an organisation strong enough to with-stand fl uctuations in personnel or the economic environment

For the past ten years we have enjoyed a favourable economic

development in the region and have benefited from consistent

personal leadership at Board and Management level. We now

need to create structures that ensure the school continues to

flourish even if there are changes at Board and school

management level and even if there is an economic downturn.

a. Establish a strong educational management structure, so that

changes at leadership level do not impair the continuity of

the school.

b. Prepare for a change in the chairmanship by 2016 by

recruiting new Board membership with the capacity to take

over the role.

c. Move to a constitutional model which a) enables the

accumulation of financial reserves which will protect the

school against future economic downturns, and b) ensures

continuity of governance.

d. Put LIS on a financial footing strong enough to withstand

short-term downturns in economic climate.

Ensure that staff, students, and parents are aware of the

procedures for giving input into decision-making at the relevant

level on matters which concern them.

Complete the growth phase of the school

By 2016, the school will have reached its final size. Over the

period we need to complete the programme of investment in the

premises and facilities typically associated with first-rate

International Schools.

a. Grow the school to its final size (around 950 children and

students)

b. Complete the building and facilities investment programme

(Early Childhood Centre, additional floor on multi-purpose

hall, sports fields)

c. Equip the school with the necessary resources, especially

i. Information technology

ii. Laboratories

iii. Expand the library into a resource centre at the heart of

the school

iv. Arts facilities (music, performance, visual arts)




REVRVRESSBSOOS OS OSLIS OBSERVERRRVERVESSBOOSSILIS OBSERVERNew Drop-Off Regulations and

Routine starting 23 November

A new procedure has been

developed collaboratively

between parent representatives

and administration. Cooperation

and courtesy are required to

make it work. Please read on.

If you can identify with the cartoon on this

page, you may be quite happy to learn that

starting on Wednesday, 23 November, the

morning routine in the parent drop-off area will

change.

Why the change?In the very few years since LIS moved back into

the school building at Könneritzstraße, the

student population has increased by 60%,

resulting in a much higher density of traffic at

drop-off time. Increasingly a “me first” attitude

and discourteous parkers – most significantly

those parked on the sidewalk – jeopardise the

safety of the students coming into and out of

the school. Others delay the teachers entering

the school grounds by blocking the gate or

inhibit the smooth operation of the trams by

double parking or by making “creative” turns in

the street.

By creating a steady, slow flow of cars in the

drop-off area and in front of the school, this

problem should be addressed as much as

possible within the limitations of our city

location.

What is new?Starting on 23 November, there is absolutely no

parking or standing in the drop-off area on the

school playground. A short Kiss & Go loop will

be created. To make it possible for all the cars

to proceed through this loop between 8:00 and

8:30, the time on site must be limited to Kiss

and Go.

This means:

do not turn off your engine,

do not leave your car,

do leave the spot for the next car as soon as

possible,

and do turn right when you exit the drop off

area. (If you need to travel away from the

city on Könneritzstraße, just drive around the

block as shown on the diagram.)

What stays the same?Two thirds of the area directly on

Könneritzstraße right in front of the school is a

drop-off zone. The area is marked by two official

“short stops only” traffic signs which indicate

that no parking is allowed during the indicated

times – morning and afternoon! Drivers may

make short stops in this area and may get out

of their car in order to help children safely onto

the sidewalk. However, drivers are expected to

remain with their car.

If you wish to bring your child into the building,

find parking in a neighbouring street and walk.

This is generally easily possible with a foot

journey of two blocks.

No car should be parked on the side-walk; it

endangers pedestrians and especially small

children not always visible to the driver when

manoeuvring the car on and off the side-walk.

Keep in mind that children do not expect to

watch out for cars where those are not supposed

to be. They believe rightfully that the side-walk

is a safe place to be! So please help us keep the

children safe!

„Wie soll mein Kind zur Schule gehen, wenn es keine

Parkplätze gibt?“ „Schon mal mit gehen versucht?“

Years ago, long before

“character education” was a

term on everyone’s lips and a

programme in the curriculum

of all the US schools, I came

across an article with a list of

traits that children should

ideally learn as they grow and

mature into adults.

Traits Teens Should Learn on Their Way to

Maturity:

Source: Growing Pains, Beth Winship, Los Angeles

Times

Responsibility:Responsibility: Realising your actions always have

consequences and making yourself accountable

for what they are.

Self-control:Self-control: Stopping to think what is a useful,

suitable response in a given situation instead of

just “popping off”.

Looking ahead:Looking ahead: Planning your life, not just

around today’s pleasures, but in terms of next

week, next month, and next year.

Understanding: Learning what others think and

feel and having concern for their welfare.

Motivation:Motivation: Developing goals in your life, as well

as the desire to work hard for them.

Decision-making: Learning to judge a situation

and make intelligent and appropriate choice by

evaluating both the positives and negatives,

including your own values.

Love:Love: Learning to give as well as receive love, and

to share closeness and true concern, tenderness

and loyalty.

Self-reliance:Self-reliance: When you have developed the other

traits, you will have enough faith in your own

judgment and ability to run your life well, without

dependence on your parents or other adults.

Confidence:Confidence: in one’s self as an individual. Mature

people value their own selves well enough to

believe strongly in their own values and goals.

They care what other people think, but not to the

point where they can be pressured into behaviour

they don’t truly approve of for themselves.

The tricky part about these traits is that they can

not be taught just as school through a character

education programme or by teachers. These are

the sorts of things that begin and end at home

and can only be enhanced and encouraged at

school. However, when a child becomes stuck in

any of these areas, a school counsellor can help

that child find his way through, helping him build

and develop these strengths and giving the

parents ideas on how to encourage this process

at home.

Susan McCullough, School Counsellor

Counsellor’s Corner

Plan International is a global

children’s charity which has been

operating since 1937 in 48

countries.

Plan international supports needy children by

investing in education, medical aid and

children’s rights. Not only does the organisation

improve the lives of the children, but also living

standard of their communities. The

organisation is funded with donations

and differentiates from UNICEF, since

the donator is assigned a child to

whom letter contact is held.

I have always felt strong about aiding

people and told my class about Plan

International. Together we have

organised cakes sales, a sponsoring

run and collected donations. We chose Ghana

since Africa is a continent which suffers greatly

from poverty. It was also clear that we would

support a girl, since girls are still seen as less

valuable. Since December 2008 my form group

has monthly supported Plan International by

donating 25 Euros each month. Out of this

money school, food and other things are paid

for.

Our sponsoring child is called Toibatu Issify and

is 15 years old. Toibatu lives together with her

parents who are both peasant farmers. She

attends primary school. The family lives in a

house made of unfired mud bricks with a

corrugated asbestos roof. She has access to

water from a well and a mobile toilet

van. In the area Plan International is

currently supporting the training of

farmers and strengthening children’s

rights.

I would like to thank everyone who has

donated money and especially the

business office for transferring the

money each month! Please support Toibatu!

Lena Huck, 11JS,

Sponsoring child coordinator

Toibatu 2009 Toibatu 2010 Toibatu 2011

Dear Parents,Dear Parents,

The 21–25 November is Mother Tongue week at LIS. Help us share and celebrate our

languages and cultures! There will be after-school events, similar to those that took place

last year. You can expect to see activities that encourage language and cultural awareness.

We’d also like to encourage the importance of First Language during the school day. We

welcome any parent volunteers who would like to come in and read or share stories about

their heritage during Mother Tongue week. If you are interested in being part of this project

please contact the Mother Tongue Co-ordinator, Andrea Ouimette at

Thank you for your support!

„There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all.“ „There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all.“ (anonymous)

share

Ex Grade 2

teacher for 4 years at LIS

Hannah Hall Hannah Hall

got married in USA during

October break. Mimi Gardner and

Paula Garnham attended and took

along best wishes from LIS staff

and students.

Dear Families,Dear Families,

We know how sometimes difficult it can be to

settle in a new place and find some punctual

help with children, for your convenience there is

a list of Secondary students at LIS who are

doing babysitting, the list mentions the areas of

Leipzig where they are available and the

languages they speak.

Contact details of babysitters are

only available upon personal

request to Liane Lindenlaub our

Parent community Coordinator.

Sponsoring Child in Ghana

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REVRVRESSBSOOS OS OSLIS OBSERVERRRVERVESSBOOSSILIS OBSERVER REVRVRESSBSOOS OS OSLIS OBSERVERRRVERVESSBOOSSILIS OBSERVER


World AIDS Day 2011

Orphans' Edu and Agri Sup-

port is an organisation which

supports educational oppor-

tunities and agricultural in-

centives in Zimbabwe. Sister

Mary Frances Kobes is the

Head of the organisation to-

gether with her staff mem-

bers she enables children a

life time opportunity. The or-

phans are enabled to attend

school, receive a school uni-

form and food. Without dona-

tions these children would

suffer immensely from malnu-

trition and their access to ed-

ucation would be denied. The

organisation has had a lot of

success with their pro-

gramme. Hence, the support

orphans have had the chance

to get jobs and escape pover-

ty. Please support this project

and bring money. Together

we can raise awareness and

support people with their

fight against AIDS!

Lena Huck, 11JS

On 1 December World AIDS

Day is held each year. World

AIDS Day raises awareness

and support for the victims

of AIDS. Many campaigns

inform people about the

horrible disease and fight

incorrect stigmas. Our

school has organised events

for this important day for

many years. By selling red

ribbons and holding

assemblies awareness has

been created.

A group of student

together with Mr. Osthof

will organise activities for

World AIDS Day this year.

Starting on 28 November

there will be a display

informing students and

the community about

AIDS. An assembly will be

held for Secondary. Red

ribbons will be sold and

the money will be donated.

This year a specific project

in Zimbabwe will be

supported.

„Jeder stirbt für sich allein“ – Theaterbesuch in Berlin

Um ins Theater zu gehen, fährt

man nicht alle Tage extra nach

Berlin. Die 11-Klässler des

Literaturkurses haben dies

zusammen mit Frau Selbach

und Frau Balsters getan. Hier

ein kurzer Bericht.

Am Dienstag, den 11 Oktober, sind wir mit dem

Zug nach Berlin gefahren, um die Theater-

adaption von Hans Falladas Roman “Jeder

stirbt für sich allein” im Maxim Gorki Theater

anzuschauen. Wir hatten gerade im Unterricht

den Roman behandelt und waren erfreut, dass

nun auch in Berlin das Werk als Theaterstück

aufgeführt wurde.

Das Maxim Gorki Theater ist relativ klein, hat-

te aber eine sehr angenehme Atmosphäre. Das

Publikum war sehr gemischt. Vertreter jedes

Alters und jeder Nationalität waren an diesem

Abend unter den Zuschauern.Im Saal wurde

Berlinerisch, Französisch, Englisch und Rus-

sisch gesprochen und es gab sogar eine eng-

lische Übersetzung links und rechts der Bühne.

In dem Theaterstück ging es um das Arbeiter-

ehepaar Quangel, die Widerstand gegen die

Nazi-Diktatur leisteten. Das Ehepaar schrieb

Karten, um gegen Hitler und den Krieg zu prote-

stieren. Die Geschichte basiert auf wahren Be-

gebenheiten, Fallada benutzte das Ehepaar

Hampel als Vorlage für seinen Roman. Dieses

Jahr ist der Roman wieder auf den Bestseller-

listen erschienen, da er neu aufgelegt wurde.

Der Roman feierte große Erfolge in den USA,

Frankreich und auch Israel. Das Theaterstück

behandelte den Ernst des Romans, lockerte

aber das Ganze durch lustige Einlagen auf.

Die Schauspieler waren sehr gut und man

Senior programme offi cer in Orphans' Education and

Agriculture Support, on right, chats with a teacher

while on a visit to an old farmhouse which is now

used as a primary school.

School Garden Chiundura with Sister

Mary Frances Kobes34 million people were living

with AIDS in 2010. Alone in

Germany 550 people died as a

result of the disease.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is

a disease of the human immune system to

which so far there is no cure. African countries

have the highest AIDS rates worldwide. AIDS

increases death rates, poverty and crime. Due

to AIDS many children have become orphans

and LEDCs struggle against the economic

problems due to a decrease in work force

caused by AIDS.


Dynamics of the Earth: Japan

The Earth’s surface is divided into

so-called continental plates –

plates on which water and land is

’transported’ and which are

continuously in motion.

These plates consist of the crust and the

lithosphere (which encloses the crust) and the

average thickness is around 100 km. The plates

move at a maximum speed of 17cm per year,

showing that the Earth is dynamic and the

surface is constantly changing. Seven large and

various other small plates as well as previously

unexplored plates make it possible to inhabit

the Earth. Japan borders four of these plates –

three large ones: the North American plate, the

Eurasian plate and the Pacific plate and one

small one: the Philippine Sea Plate.

Japan is the fourth largest insular state on

Earth. The island arc originated as two oceanic

plates – the Philippine and the Pacific – met

with the North American and Eurasian. The

sediments of the subducting plate were scraped

off and stowed on the edge of it. The

subducting plate is dehydrating on its way into

Earth’s mantle and therefore fluids are released.

The resulting fluids react chemically with the

top plate and newly formed magma develops.

As soon as the magma reaches the surface it

turns to lava and when this happens, a volcano

is created. The result of this happening many

times is an arched chain of volcanoes. Thus, a

new country is born. This happens all along the

plate boundaries and therefore several islands

are formed – Japan consists of four main

islands and 6800 other small islands. Japan

rose from the ocean and thus became a

habitable land mass although only 20% of the

land is used for industry, agriculture and

settlement – especially the coasts. The Japanese

islands are among the north western part of the

Pacific Rim which is famous for its many

volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

The most important tectonic plates. Japan is indicated by

the red circle.

Worldwide there are 1511 active volcanoes, 46 of them in Japan. An active volcano is defi ned as a volcano that has erupted in the Holocene (the last 10 000 years).

If one lives in earthquake, volcano or

tsunami hazard zones, one must be aware of

the risk that comes with it. It is impossible

for mankind to predict these threats.

Nevertheless, the risks can be reduced: the

people should always be ready for these

dangers and it is important that one thinks

before these catastrophes happen –

earthquake and tsunami resistant buildings

are important (for life, transport) as well as

the idea of medical care and food. If one is

well prepared for the danger, the risk of

damage is decreased.

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Theaterbesuch in Berlin

In Japan there are so-called subduction zone

volcanoes which are formed in the same way as

the island arcs (described above).

As Japan is situated on the border of four

tectonic plates which are developing friction,

earthquakes often take place. The last terrible

earthquake happened in March this year – it

had a magnitude of 9.0 (to 9.1), triggered a

huge tsunami and damaged the nuclear power

plant in Fukushima (north of the quake)

severely which lead to a nuclear accident. It is

estimated that around 600 people were

victimised by the earthquake and another

20 000 were killed due to the tsunami which

included a wave with a height of 30m.

Gina-Maria Geffers, 12DSmerkte, dass sie viel Freude hatten. Es gab nur

sieben Schauspieler, die mehrere Rollen

spielten. Verschiedene Kostüme und wandel-

bare Schauspieler ermöglichten ein gutes Um-

setzen der Romanvorlage.

Das Ende kam allerdings sehr überraschend

und einige Modernismen waren unpassend.

Der Einklang von Musik, Bühnenbild und das

Benutzen von Kreide überzeugten uns. Das

Stück endete mit einer Gesellschaftskritik: Wir

sind feige!

Insgesamt war es ein toller Abend.

Lena Huck, 11JS

More information on our pilot group: Mixed ages 3-5 in the Firefl ies

The Fireflies mixed age group started off at the

beginning of last school year 2010/11. We had

a somewhat rocky start. The group was very

challenging at the beginning having PS2

repeaters (starting their 3rd school year in Pre-

School) as well as PS1 children who came new

during the school year. The teachers were also

new to each other and a common ground for

teaching practices and expectations still had to

be found. After about half a year things started

to get smoother: the group started to come

together and also the older children became to

appreciate the younger children in the

group.

It was wonderful to see the

children interacting in different

situations. The older children

were so proud of their status and

being able to show off their

knowledge or using their skills

by leading the younger children.

The younger children enjoyed

being led by older, more experienced children and

were eager to copy them as much as possible.

In May, the Firefly teachers passed out a parents'

survey which came back with very positive

feedback. The parents acknowledged the benefits

of a mixed age group for the social and emotional

aspects of children’s development.

At the end of the school year we as teachers

were not able to make a decision whether a

mixed age group setting was the best set-up

for the Early Years. It was decided to extend

the pilot phase for another school year.

appreciate the younger children in the

group.

eedba

of a m

aspect

At th

we

m

fo

the

What the teachers do notice is

that since the beginning of the

new school year the children

have definitely come together

as a wonderful group enjoying

the variety of the children’s

abilities, knowledge and

maturity. The teachers do feel

that they keep on improving their practices, by

using their joined knowledge and experience, by

not being afraid of trying out new things, and by

keeping a close eye on what is happening in

class. In this sense we are truly experiencing a

very worthwhile ‘learning from each other’-

environment!

The drawing shows the working together of a

PS1 and PS2 child. Chiara and Anouk helped

each other and when Ms. Sus asked if Chiara

drew the picture she said: “Yes, but Anouk did

the unicorn, because she is so good at it.”

A picture from the children

working together.

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Leipzig Christmas market dates all the way back

to 1458. Open from 22 November through 22

December, its six areas are set in chime with the

fascinating historical scenery of the Leipzig city

centre. With more than 250 twinkling stalls

embedded harmoniously in the historic centre,

Leipzig Christmas market is not only one of the

oldest but also one of the most popular and

largest Christmas markets in Germany. Visitors

are offered a multitude of festive delights;

marvel at the world’s largest free-standing

Advent calendar; indulge in numerous culinary

delights or explore the city’s traditional

medieval market.

Traditionally, the main area of the Christmas

market is Marktplatz market square where

visitors can marvel at a Saxon spruce Christmas

tree as high as twenty meters, and enjoy a

wide variety of performances at the

market square stage. On

Augustusplatz square a

38-metre-high ferris wheel

offers seasonal views from a

lofty height. The Finnish

village on Augustusplatz has

become a classic over the

years. The enticing scent of

smoked salmon and fruity Glögi (a mulled wine

made from berries) draws visitors to the

Scandinavian tents and stalls.

Leipzig Christmas market is also valued

for the many pleasures

it holds for children.

Be it the Fairy Tale

Forest on Thomaswiese

(grassed area in front

of St. Thomas) with

its many scenes from

various fairy tales or

the market square

stage where kids can

meet Santa Claus for

a chat, little visitors

will definitely enjoy

being here. As for grown-ups, there is a

wide variety of traditional handcrafts and

local food on sale.

The world’s largest free-

standing Christmas calendar,

with its 857 square meters,

in Böttchergasse alleyway, is

designed by Leipzig schools

each year. Every day, one of

the huge windows, sized

three by two meters, will be opened in front of

the marvelling visitors at 4:30 pm from

December 1 to 23 (Dec. 24 at 11 am). The

historical Christmas Market of “Ancient

Leipzig“at the

Naschmarkt square

entices visitors with

local traditional crafts

and art.

Dainties such as oven-

fresh pretzels, Pulsnitz

gingerbread or the

very popular red wine

punch invite visitors to

stay just a little bit

longer. Other main

attractions include

handcrafted Christmas decorations from the

Erzgebirge or a large selection of toys,

earthenware or herbs. Equally, visitors may not

want to miss to listen to the traditional

performance of the trombonists staged at the

balcony of the Old Town Hall (daily at 6 pm, on

Saturdays and Sundays at 1 pm and at 6 pm).

Photo: Studio 80/Wolfgang Hanzl

Living in LeipzigOne of the largest Christmas markets in Germany invites you

for a stroll from 22 November through 22 December

Photo: Dirk Brozka

Photo: Dirk Brozka

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pre-schoolpre-school primary schoolprimary school secondary schoolsecondary school

staffstaff eventsevents

ImprintImprint

Published by

Leipzig International School

Telephone: +49 (0)341 337 558-0

e-mail:

Internet:

Design by

Westend. Public Relations GmbH

Internet: www.westend-pr.de

Photos by

LIS, LTM/Andreas Schmidt, Dirk Brozka, Studio 80/

Wolfgang Hanzl

Color scheme – every colour reperesents

a section of our school.

Mondays–Sundays from 10:00 to 21:00

22 November from 17:00 to 21:00

22 December from 10:00 to 20:00

S dOPENING HOURS

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LLISIS OOBSERVERBSERVER - Leipzig International … · Liane Lindenlaub Parent Community Coordinator Dear parents and students, ... different world. On the other, it seems like only