AISC Community and interested readers…

Welcome to the Director's blog page!

For feedback on Michelle’s Blog, email: mkleiss@aisc.ac.cy

So, What Exactly Does It Mean To Be An International School...

April 23rd, 2012

What does it mean to be an international school? How is AISC international? These are great questions and they have been brought up recently by our Parent Advisory Committee, prompting me to write a piece for my blog. The quest to better fully understand what an international school is, and how AISC is committed to developing the international mindset to support its Mission Statement, Beliefs and Graduate Profile, is quintessential to how we operate as a school.

The European Council of International Schools defines an international school as one that promotes and cultivates internationally-minded attitudes regardless of the national or cultural make-up of its school community www.ecis.org. These internationally-minded attitudes include openness to and willingness to learn about various perspectives and other cultures, while continuing to value and appreciate one’s own culture. An appreciation for and intent to teach and provide opportunities for multilingualism, diversity, cooperative learning, conflict mediation skills and cross cultural awareness are at the heart of an international school.

... and, how is the American International School an International School?

First things first… at the American International School in Cyprus we are committed to a number of internationally-minded governing statements and beliefs which shape our approaches, outlook, policies and day to day interactions with each other. Our AISC Mission Statement, Set of Beliefs and Graduate Profile highlight an appreciation for cultural diversity, social responsibility in a global context, and openness to other cultures, while respecting one’s own set of values. We promote a sense of individuality and a concept of teamwork while striving to ensure that everyone’s opinion is respected and heard. Let me share with you some pieces of evidence which can be found in our school to demonstrate our international-minded approach...

Our AISC Human Rights Policy http://www.aisc.ac.cy/page.cfm?p=389 governs all interactions in our school including staff and students and the way we approach conflict and decisions around discipline.   In 2010, our Human Rights Policy was developed by parents, staff and students and particular attention was given to everyone’s freedom from being set apart or mocked because of national origin and accent, race, gender, religion, culture, social class, intelligence, sexuality, physical strength, handicap, size, features, friendship groups, and age. Our Human Rights Policy aims to ensure that everyone at AISC has a right to safety and security and our community values the importance of not making any one sector of the school to feel undervalued or underrepresented.

We strive to incorporate the values of cooperative learning throughout our school’s social and academic, programs so students learn to communicate and listen to different points of view. A 2010 AISC graduate came back last fall to share a story about her ability to work with a group of students in her university. Her classmates were divided into study groups. Her study group consisted of a mixture of students with international backgrounds and a number of students who appeared to have had little exposure to the international demographic. She had commented on her own comfort level in working with students from different backgrounds, and how uncomfortable the other students appeared in the group when they were faced with people who didn’t look or think like them. She had shared that AISC had prepared her well in working with others with different perspectives and opinions and that she felt she had the skillset and mindset to operate very well in a team-like global environment where people have different world views.

Our student council leadership programs, clubs, athletic teams, and community service activities strive to develop participatory and team building skills. Our Student Councils develop their collaborative decision making skills and learn how to operate as an effective team, where everyone is listened to and considered, for the benefit of doing something for others. AISC supports many local and global programs and charities and responds with empathy and action towards international events. Our students initiate drives and organize charities, invite local disadvantaged youth to the school, or conduct action-service in the homes of local families. Our students in Middle and High School actively attend and support local and international tournaments. Our teams participate in both competitive and friendly events and as a result our students have opportunities to further refine their team-building and sportsmanship skills with other students from all over the world. When our teams and clubs travel, our students are regularly hosted (billeted) by international families offering AISC students further exposure to different family traditions, ways of life, and cultures in settings unfamiliar to them.

Our curriculum covers world religions using a comparative methodology so that our students understand and learn about different values, beliefs and view points and are able to communicate perspectives confidently and sensitively. AISC does not teach a religion, rather we teach about religions. We start our comparative religion education as early as the elementary with our parent invitations to come into the classrooms to share traditions and celebrations from all over the world, but more formally in Grade 6 in our World Cultural Humanities Program. From Grades 6-10 each year in social studies, the birth of religions are discussed and critically compared including reasons why some religions became more prevalent than others. We believe that international students need to be knowledgeable about how others think, believe, and operate in the world around them.

AISC aims to connect concepts and skills to the international arena where they naturally fit. In each K-12 curriculum unit we design, from math and science to humanities and from physical education to art and music, we strive to find a connection to the larger global society and question how others from different cultures would think. Our IB students in Grades 11 and 12 take a Theory of Knowledge Class which is an evaluation and critique of how we assimilate knowledge in life.

Multilingualism is valued and viewed positively, and in September 2012, this appreciation will be more formally expanded with the implementation of 25 foreign languages across the AISC school program for all students K-12. AISC knows that in order to be truly internationally-minded, and to prepare students for the future, it must support multilingualism. As a result, the school is committed to an international language program from the elementary level to Grade 12 where everyone has access to learning languages.

AISC is committed to developing our PASNET, our School’s Parent and Student Network, to help build a community spirit of cultural diversity under the umbrella of the School’s Mission Statement. As part of our Strategic Plan, the PASNET has been actively involved in creating events which celebrate cultures and cultural differences to enhance our students’ experiences at school. For the past few weeks a recent PASNET diversity chain activity has been proudly displayed in the school’s foyer. AISC students were asked a simple question: Where do you come from? Our student responses generated 52 nationalities! This number is well beyond the 36 nationalities registered in our admissions office telling us something very important: our students value and wish to communicate their varied multi-national and multi-ethnic backgrounds and are proud to display them for all to see.   Spend a minute viewing our new video on our media page on our website celebrating Mother Tongue Language Day on February 21^st and quickly you will get a feel for all the languages heard in the hallways.

Beyond the school, families also have a responsibility to develop children’s international mindsets and openness to differences. The family is a child’s first education, and children will develop their values based on the family’s beliefs and traditions. Growing up in an international family with a father who was Dutch, and a mother with an Eastern European/French Canadian background, the conversations around the dinner table were abundantly prolific. I thank my father for showing me how he valued other cultures, how he took an interest in people from all over the world and wanted to read about what they thought, how they felt and lived life, spoke languages, celebrated traditions, expressed faith and communicated their perspectives. From an early age my father shaped my decision to be a contributing member of an international community, and beyond that, my own international family.  Now as a mother, I love doing the same thing that my father did with me. I exuberantly convey to my 5 year old the beauty found in differences and how wonderful it is to be with others with different hair color, skin color, languages, ideas and customs. I try not to miss any opportunities to communicate to him how I value the differences found around me.

As a member of the AISC family, I relish being in an environment where I can foster and participate in shaping our students’ internationally-minded attitudes and mindsets.

Michelle Kleiss, Ed. D

Missions and Beliefs of AISC

OUR MISSION

The American International School in Cyprus inspires students to become enthusiastic life-long learners who value integrity, cultural diversity, and the pursuit of excellence.  Using an American and international curriculum, our qualified professionals work with the school community to prepare students to be creative, critical thinkers, and socially responsible world citizens.

OUR BELIEFS

We believe:

• Everyone must be valued as a unique individual.
• Everyone deserves an education, which respects his or her differences.
• Understanding and appreciation of diversity are critical to peace and harmony.
• The development of all aspects of the individual is essential.
• Critical thinking and problem solving are vital in a changing world.
• Participation in activities and service learning fosters a sense of self worth, community, and school ethos.
• Technology must be an integral part of the education process.
• Learning must be a life-long process for everyone.
• Everyone is entitled to have his/her opinion heard and considered.
• Everyone has a right to safety, love, and learning.

AISC Community and interested readers…

Welcome to my new page!

For feedback on Michelle’s Blog, email: mkleiss@aisc.ac.cy

Everyday Leadership

March 18th, 2012

I recently watched a Ted Talk’s video by Drew Dudley on the topic of “Everyday Leadership.” http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership.html His short six minute talk was very inspiring. Drew Dudley’s message was so doable that I wanted to share it with everyone in our school community. In a nutshell, everyone has the ability to be a leader every single day in any kind of little way. The little things count.

We’ve often heard the saying “don’t sweat the small stuff” but on the contrary, the small things are what we ought to paying more attention to. I have recently been reminded myself of how important every little interaction means and how we can be a more powerful agent to change when we slow down for a minute and make our interactions more meaningful by attending to others more fully and with greater intent.

Leadership doesn’t need arrive in a stately manner, and it doesn’t need to be perceived as larger than life. When that happens, as Dudley communicates, we start to see leadership as an impossible or insurmountable mark to achieve. When we see leadership as bigger than ourselves and view it as something we are not capable of doing, we tend not to try to lead, tend not to risk, and often do very little. We say to ourselves, I have not been given a leadership role and therefore I do not lead. True leadership is not defined by age, status, label, or professional title; rather it is defined each day within the possibility of every interaction.

We can all be leaders. We are all agents of change and we have the ability to change each other’s lives with defining moments. Dudley calls this the “lollipop moment”… haven’t we all had them? It is when we take a minute for someone else, and pass them the lollipop. We could be recognizing their accomplishments, their perspective, their differences, or their place in this world. We could simply be paying attention to them for longer than a second and saying something that really matters.

Let’s also think how we can build on each other’s strengths, to celebrate what we see in each other and to cultivate the positives. Building up, rather than tearing down, is a great way to operate and an effective way to spread, multiply and celebrate leadership every day in every way.   If you see someone doing something well, tell them!

The only thing I would change to Dudley’s talk is to call it “Everybody Leadership.” Every person has the potential to make a difference.

It is the little stuff that we do for one another that really matters.

Come on AISC students, staff and parents, let’s pay it forward.

Michelle Kleiss, Ed. D

Missions and Beliefs of AISC

OUR MISSION

The American International School in Cyprus inspires students to become enthusiastic life-long learners who value integrity, cultural diversity, and the pursuit of excellence.  Using an American and international curriculum, our qualified professionals work with the school community to prepare students to be creative, critical thinkers, and socially responsible world citizens.

OUR BELIEFS

We believe:

• Everyone must be valued as a unique individual.
• Everyone deserves an education, which respects his or her differences.
• Understanding and appreciation of diversity are critical to peace and harmony.
• The development of all aspects of the individual is essential.
• Critical thinking and problem solving are vital in a changing world.
• Participation in activities and service learning fosters a sense of self worth, community, and school ethos.
• Technology must be an integral part of the education process.
• Learning must be a life-long process for everyone.
• Everyone is entitled to have his/her opinion heard and considered.
• Everyone has a right to safety, love, and learning.

Welcome to my blog page!

For feedback on Michelle’s Blog, email: mkleiss@aisc.ac.cy

What Makes a Good International Teacher?

February 20th, 2012

Two weeks ago I attended the 36^th annual University of Northern Iowa sponsored recruitment fair for international schools. The Midwestern town of Waterloo, Iowa, is home to the first and probably one of the largest recruitment fairs for teachers in the United States. Teachers who are registered for the fair are searching for international school teaching placements all over the world. The University of Northern Iowa helps to facilitate this fair by hosting and coordinating placements for teachers and schools by bringing everyone together under one roof for a period of three to four days. 700 teachers registered for the fair, providing international schools from every corner of the world, an opportunity to meet and interview selected teacher candidates for their respective schools.

While I was en route on the last leg somewhere in the skyline between St. Paul, MN and Waterloo, I met an inquisitive woman. It was a small plane so we were all sitting rather closely to one another and as many people tend to do in airplanes, she asked why I was heading to my destination. A recruitment fair for international schools, I said. After giving her a proud introduction of AISC, my best overview of Cyprus, as well as a sketch of the international school circuit, she asked me a very good question. But what makes a good international school teacher?

No one word answer for this one, nor could I keep it short and simple because after all a good international school teacher is comprised of many elements. So instead of closing my eyes and attempting a quick snooze, I ended up having a fruitful discussion with a stranger aboard a plane – an opportunity to discuss what international teaching is all about, based on my own opinions and experiences, which I have tried to capture (and have since elaborated on) below.

A good international teacher is someone who has a wide-variety of instructional and assessment practices at their fingertips. A repertoire of instructional practices allows teachers to differentiate, to remediate and to challenge given students’ language abilities, and proficiency levels, as well as background knowledge and personal interests and strengths. A wide range of assessment practices including formative activities to diagnose what students already know and how much they have learned in order to guide further teaching is invaluable. The use of qualitative assessments along with performance-based and traditional forms of summative assessments keeps it all balanced, empowering students to demonstrate and take control of their learning.

A good international teacher is knowledgeable about different cultures. This doesn’t mean “knowing it all.” Instead, I refer to teachers who are not largely ethnocentric of any culture, host-country or adopted-country culture included. These teachers personally view the merits and strengths of outside cultures and can make fair and non-judgmental comparisons to their own upbringing.

A good international teacher can help students make connections. Cross cultural and cross-disciplinary connections are invaluable to students. Teaching students how to make global and universal connections in science, math, literacy, humanities, fine arts and sport creates highly prepared and well-developed learners ready to take on a world of possibilities.

 A good international teacher teaches in the context of global citizenship. What can you do for others? What service can you provide others less fortunate than yourselves? How can you, given your abilities, talents and strengths, serve others to make this a better world?

A good international teacher is collaborative. Seeking ways to cooperate, not isolate, promotes teaming and models for students how to keep an open mind and to know that you can gain valuable insights from working with and learning from others. Collaboration teaches students that together we are better.

A good international teacher is compassionate and caring. These are teachers who genuinely care about their students and the families and colleagues with whom they work – these are teachers who take the time to get to know others, to relate to students, and to show them how caring about others makes a remarkable difference in their lives.

A good international teacher can teach kids how to question, listen and empathize. They look for opportunities to teach students how to stand in another’s shoes. They teach students how to take someone else’s perspective, and point of view, they model the acceptance of differing viewpoints - they understand the concept of perception.

A good international teacher is flexible and creative and can roll with the punches. It is important to be resourceful and good spirited when teaching in an international school as you never know what may happen next. You may find yourself without materials, in a revolution, or without electricity in the middle of a lesson. I remember one year in Saudi Arabia when we successfully opened the school without any Grade 1-10 teachers because the visas didn’t get approved on time, making those of us left behind very creative for the first day of school! Humor is not a bad thing to have either, given these circumstances…

And finally, I think a good international teacher has the ability to “mindfully reframe”. In this case, good international teachers are culturally sensitive and humble and can pay attention to their own, and others’, assumptions and perceptions, cognitions, and emotions, in order to interact positively and appropriately in an unfamiliar situation. It is almost as if they have an innate ability to “park their personal assumptions in a given moment” and see the situation as freshly as possible.

So, you may be wondering if I actually said all these things to the woman sitting next to me on the plane…. of course not.   I did, however, mention a few that came to mind, particularly the one about flexibility and rolling with the punches. After flying over the Atlantic I wasn’t entirely clear-headed but I do want to thank her, whoever she is, for opening me up to the question and the range of possibilities found in the answers. It reminds me how dedicated our AISC faculty is and how hard they work to engage our learners. An international school education is rich with outcomes that are not so easily measured, but are ever-so-highly sought after. Since that flight I haven’t stopped thinking about what makes a good international teacher.

Michelle Kleiss, Ed. D

Missions and Beliefs of AISC

OUR MISSION

The American International School in Cyprus inspires students to become enthusiastic life-long learners who value integrity, cultural diversity, and the pursuit of excellence.  Using an American and international curriculum, our qualified professionals work with the school community to prepare students to be creative, critical thinkers, and socially responsible world citizens.

OUR BELIEFS

We believe:

• Everyone must be valued as a unique individual.
• Everyone deserves an education, which respects his or her differences.
• Understanding and appreciation of diversity are critical to peace and harmony.
• The development of all aspects of the individual is essential.
• Critical thinking and problem solving are vital in a changing world.
• Participation in activities and service learning fosters a sense of self worth, community, and school ethos.
• Technology must be an integral part of the education process.
• Learning must be a life-long process for everyone.
• Everyone is entitled to have his/her opinion heard and considered.
• Everyone has a right to safety, love, and learning.

For feedback on Michelle’s Blog, email: mkleiss@aisc.ac.cy

Satisfied from Within

February 1st, 2012

As I sat back last Thursday night and watched our seniors reveal their extended essay research questions and findings to their selected audience, I felt a real sense of satisfaction knowing our students accomplished a very challenging assignment which will serve them well in their post-secondary academic careers, and quite frankly, I believe, their life.

No doubt each senior felt some kind of relief with one more project off their “IB To-Do List”. Of course for now that is the short-term feeling and we all know what a good feeling that is. They are now well-seated to handle any research study coming their way.

The IB’s extended essay process takes students on a journey through a self-selected topic under the mentorship of a teacher advisor who has content knowledge in their particular topic. The students design a study guided by a complex research question. They are informed by readings and current or historical scholars in the field. They analyze pre-existing texts or data, or in some cases even gather new data. At the end of it all they come up with their own analysis and conclusion and become in their very own right, mini-experts on their topics. Universities all over the world put a lot of value on the extended essay. They know if high school students complete a successful project to this magnitude, they will be ready for the demands of scholarly writing at university. Next week I will be sure to publish our IB seniors’ extended essay research questions in the Islander so our community can get a sense of the rigor and complexity this task brings.

But the one thing which struck me the most on Thursday night was what our students shared when they communicated what they did to successfully complete their projects. First, they offered sound advice to the 11^th grade students sitting in the audience. For example, they were sure to share the importance of meeting regularly with the advisor and not waiting until the last minute. You can’t write 4000 words in one night. And, to listen to the teacher advisors - they know a lot about the topic.

However, a third more powerful theme resonated with me, one which I would like to capitalize on. It was their wise (if I may say so) decision to choose topics that they found a personal connection with, something they found personally interesting. Such topics were those that they had a natural curiosity for, a strong interest in, or areas which were simply amusing to them. While sitting in the audience it was wonderful to see a glimmer of individuality flickering from each senior’s presentation at a time where they could have easily have just completed it for the sake of one more thing of their “IB To-Do List.” Instead, it was clear that for many of them they had fun learning about the topic while making it relevant to their personal lives.

For it wasn’t just the fact that they learned how to write a research study which made me feel so satisfied from within, it was that they were able to communicate what they had learned along the journey. They came to understand the connection between being passionate about what you do and being successful in doing it... For when you love what you do, it’s all you want to do, and everything in your life falls into place. The journey becomes effortless.  A great way to live your life, don’t you think?

Michelle Kleiss, Ed. D

Welcome to my new blog page!

One of my New Year resolutions for 2012 is to create a greater AISC web 2.0 presence! So, I thought, why not start a Director’s blog? Blogs are an engaging way to promote activities and programs happening in our school while sharing my own perspectives and thoughts on a variety of interesting topics. So here I am trying it out … and looking forward to hearing what you think about it. My first blog of the year is: Creating a New Web 2.0 Presence at AISC.

For feedback on Michelle’s Blog, email: mkleiss@aisc.ac.cy

Creating a new Web 2.0 Presence

January 20, 2012

The buzz around the AISC school community lately is about the new technologies we have purchased: our new Portal and Website, Student Management System, online grading programs and homework calendar and indoor and outdoor wireless services for all members of the AISC school community, to mention a few... We are very excited to have these new IT resources to support contemporary learning and promote students and activities in our school. Now we have to develop them. Developing better media pages and a Web 2.0 presence means AISC is using its software to its maximum capacity and uses social networking tools to communicate and promote activities.

One of the areas of education that interests me greatly is learning about the different ways to engage students in the learning process using technology rich environments. Since research tells us that engagement is positively linked to increased student achievement and learning outcomes, I think it is essential that we take some steps and sometimes even risks…. to learn, model and use technologies that are exciting, stimulating and complimentary to lessons and units in the classroom. Use of Web 2.0 Tools is viewed as one of the connections that help our students become more engaged.

I am no expert… but I have a keen interest and I am really good learner, so I have asked AISC’s newest High School IT teacher, Mr. Pantelis Charalambous, to help me with this exciting new task. Mr. Pantelis Charalambous’s background and personal passion is Educational Technology. He was a Fulbright Scholar and recently graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. Together we are brainstorming some great ideas on how to integrate more Web 2.0 Tools on the website and portal for our community.  

The idea is to start with the Director’s blog, then maybe the Principal’s blog… and then create individual pages for each class within the portal and have teacher and student blogs.  We will eventually link these to RSS feeds so they continue onwards to Twitter, and followers can have updates sent by tweets.

We also plan to create a separate media page on the website where we can integrate all the media (photo galleries for all the classes and more videos) as well as create some new introductory school videos and imovies. We have created an AISC YouTube account to support us as our website provider gives us the ability to embed High Definition videos from YouTube.  Soon we will have separate pages for each class within the portal and showcase student work. This can be in the format of a text, image or video. This is an engaging way for parents to see their child’s work.

Where would any school be without an alumni page? Spotlights of our past students will describe their post-secondary experiences and detail the universities they have attended and what they are accomplishing in their lives.

We are also entertaining the thought of building Teacher and Parent Discussion Forums with the ability to create separate Forums for teachers to have different discussion topics. This can be a great communication tool for teachers to share articles, links and/or teaching materials.

Other ideas are on the horizon… but isn’t this stuff exciting?

Michelle Kleiss, Ed. D.