From the Head of School

What Sticks Like most people I spent six or seven years in primary school: for me, this was quite a long time ago; it is hardly surprising that I don’t remember much about it. Two things stick but in different ways. First, the skills I repeatedly practiced - for my generation, this was reading, writing and arithmetic (what were called the 3 Rs). Second, special moments. School trips were very rare. In my last year of primary, the county council offered to show a small group of children their brand new computer system. I was one of the lucky ones. I can remember everything about that day: from walking to the offices, my classmates, the teacher, the large computers behind glass, even the door to the computer room (yes, it was that long ago, that computers had their own special room, and no-one imagined they would ever be carried in pockets). It is important to have these kinds of landmark memories, they form the narrative of our lives and our sense of identity. ISA provides plenty of opportunities for memorable moments. In the last few weeks, Grade 5 performed their poems at the poetry cafe, Grade 8 visited the Gordon Highland museum, Grade 7 were involved in a STEM event and a maths tech event, high schoolers took part in a Model United Nations conference, Grade 6 visited Aberdeen places of worship; there was a swim gala and basketball tournaments - and yesterday, the quite incredible World Book Day (see Morio Kajiwara’s blog for more details). These activities provide students with the sense that learning is a discovery, that school is an exciting community to be part of. They build a particular narrative of the worth of education which students may not see now, but will realise when they reflect in later years. The second take away from primary school years is a different type of memory - not of specific images, a sense of exact moments passed - but of an ability to do certain things. I don’t have specific memories of reading my first sentence, of learning the meaning of a particular word or how to write sentences. These are things I did day after day so now I can recall how to do it from something deeply embedded in me. It is important that schools choose these repeated tasks intentionally, and consider what they mean for students now in their lives and also in the future. As an IB school, we continue to value fundamental academic skills, but also realise that students live in a fast changing and multicultural world that requires flexibility of mind and high level social skills. Structured reflection and meaningful collaboration are as important a regular event as doing sums, reading a book or writing a journal. ISA is full of special moments. We love it when parents join us. If you do come in you will see our new community wall in The Street (see Stuart MacAlpine’s blog), and on our screens images of what our students are up to.