EIS «Heads Up!»
Dear EIS Community - Students, Faculty, Staff, and Parents,
Here comes the second issue of the HeadsUp! Newsletter. This time we are announcing new admin for the next academic year, celebrating more wins in the Olympiads, highlighting a reception at the president’s castle, recaping the Spring Welcoming events, and pondering on the new ways of managing stress in our busy lives. Enjoy and have a great week!
Here comes the second issue of the HeadsUp! Newsletter. This time we are announcing new admin for the next academic year, celebrating more wins in the Olympiads, highlighting a reception at the president’s castle, recaping the Spring Welcoming events, and pondering on the new ways of managing stress in our busy lives. Enjoy and have a great week!
Edition February 2023.II
Artūrs Piļkēvičs
New Academic Leaders in 2023-2024
As we had previously informed you, our current Preschool and Primary Principal and our PYP Coordinator, Ms Kristina Potapova, will be moving on to new adventures next academic year due to some positive changes in her personal life. After careful consideration, the School Board has divided the current role into two positions – a Preschool Principal and a Primary Principal/PYP Coordinator for the next academic year. The Board decided to offer the position of the Primary School Principal to Ms Kristine Atrens. Ms Atrens joined EIS in 2019 as a first-grade teacher and brings over 20 years of teaching experience from Australia and Latvia, and is currently serving as our Primary ELL Program and Curriculum Coordinator.
We have also offered Ms Olga Sancovaja, our current ELL teacher and assistant to the ELL Coordinator to take over the coordination of the ELL program. Olga has accepted the offer and we would like to congratulate and welcome her to her new role as the EIS Primary School ELL Coordinator in the 2023-2024 academic year. We will be advertising the Preschool Principal's Position internally and externally and look forward to hiring a motivated and competent candidate in the next few months.
She is part of the academic leadership team and is already working closely with Ms Potapova and the primary school faculty. Ms Atrens has accepted our offer and we would like to congratulate and welcome her to her new role as the EIS Primary Principal and PYP Coordinator for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Kristine Atrens
Olga Sancovaja
Mother Tongue Week and the Coming of Spring
At EIS, we value multilingualism which goes hand in hand with understanding and respect for different cultures. As part of our Mother Tongue Week, our language teachers, in cooperation with department heads, organized a series of events related to the current celebrations of our predominantly Latvian and Russian mother tongue cultures for the beginning of spring, known as Meteni in Latvia, Maslenitsa in Slavic countries, Shrove Tuesday in England, and Mardi Gras in many other countries.
On February 15, our very little learners in Preschool had themed events in their classrooms and a themed pancake meal. Primary students participated in various fun-themed activities in the assembly hall. They could purchase treats using the make-believe currency that they have received during the contests, and of course, it all culminated with a feast of pancakes provided by the school. We would like to thank all the parents who were able to participate.
On February 15, our very little learners in Preschool had themed events in their classrooms and a themed pancake meal. Primary students participated in various fun-themed activities in the assembly hall. They could purchase treats using the make-believe currency that they have received during the contests, and of course, it all culminated with a feast of pancakes provided by the school. We would like to thank all the parents who were able to participate.
On February 16, high school students held a charity bazaar where middle and high school students participated in various activities and purchased homemade goodies at the bake sale. The money raised during the fair was donated to the charity organization – “Bernu rits.” - http://bernurits.lv/. The organization's mission is to improve the quality of life of orphans and seriously ill children and it cooperates with more than 30 orphanages and social care centers of Latvia. In middle and high school Mother Tongue Week also included fun quizzes, team challenges, and Kahoot games about various languages throughout the week with some prizes for winners presented in a culminating assembly on Friday.
Special thanks go to our language teachers who came up with the ideas and organized the events, to our 8th and 9th graders who helped run the activities in the Primary and to our Grade 11 students who have set up the charity bazaar.
Special thanks go to our language teachers who came up with the ideas and organized the events, to our 8th and 9th graders who helped run the activities in the Primary and to our Grade 11 students who have set up the charity bazaar.
Mock Exams Explained
In our middle and high school, our students follow the curricular framework of two of the most recognized international educational programmes - the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) in Grades 6-10 and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) in Grades 11-12. Both of these programmes culminate with a set of rigorous exams which our students take in Grades 9, 10 and 12 in order to receive the respective certificates or a diploma. In preparation for these important external assessments, it is a commonly recognized best practice in international schools to run a series of mock exams that reveal and help close any learning gaps and prepare students for the specific controlled conditions of the examinations.
Therefore IGCSE students have taken mock exams before the break and our IB DP students are taking their mocks this week. We wish them all good health, a successful exam session, and lots of growth mindset to learn from the mistakes.
Therefore IGCSE students have taken mock exams before the break and our IB DP students are taking their mocks this week. We wish them all good health, a successful exam session, and lots of growth mindset to learn from the mistakes.
EIS Students at the President's Reception
As you may have heard, Exupery students participated in the Debates with the President of Latvia #satversmei 100, a year-long initiative celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Latvian Constitution "Satversme". Students from all over Latvia participated in the debates, which took place in various locations across the country. To conclude the initiative, the President hosted the participating students at a closing event in Riga Castle. All participants had a chance to work in groups to build a "pyramid of values" for Satversme and then discuss it with the President. There was a reception with some treats and some gifts from the President's office.
If you have not had a chance to watch the debates, do take 10 minutes of your time to do so as it is an incredible example of our globally-minded, multilingual students in action:
September 27 (our student at 36:48),
October 18 (our students at 57:07 and 1:02:27),
November 2 (our students at 22:38 and 48:25).
September 27 (our student at 36:48),
October 18 (our students at 57:07 and 1:02:27),
November 2 (our students at 22:38 and 48:25).
Physics Team
Competition Congratulations to the students who represented our school at the Physics Team Competition in Prague! Scoring 39th place out of 250 other teams from all over the world is a great accomplishment and a testament to their hard work and dedication to the subject. It's also fantastic to hear that they had the opportunity to enjoy the international physics mania, compete, and communicate with other science enthusiasts from around the globe.
"FOOD FOR THOUGHT" The Power of Discomfort
As I read about teacher and university administrator strikes in England, I ask myself a question about the value of our technological progress in the face of growing anxiety and stress levels around the world. It seems we have created technology that is supposed to help us achieve more without asking ourselves about the long-term effect on our health and psychological well-being. As technology evolves and the amount of information increases, we seem to have a constant need to innovate, perform, and compete which puts pressure on us and causes anxiety that can keep anyone from moving forward. But what if we could use these challenges as motivation to overcome them? According to a recent study explained in this article, we can and should embrace challenges and pain if we want to go outside our comfort zones and perform at our best. For me, this was a slightly new perspective on how we can learn to cope with ever-growing stress.
Coming up: Mark Your Calendars!
March 9,
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
EduChat Cafe: “An Introduction to Art Therapy Methods: Benefits of Creative Activities for a Child!”
March 17
Parent Student Teacher Conferences – more info to be provided by Divisions
March 22,
all day
all day
Students' Conference: “Perspectives and biases shaping our knowledge of the world”
March 23,
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
EduChat Cafe: “What is stress and how to manage it?”
April 1,
all day
all day
Teachers' Conference: “From chit-chat to academic fluency: Language perspectives in the classroom”
April 20,
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
EduChat Cafe: “Emotional Communication in Parent-Child Relationships”
CONTACT US
Jaunā iela 8, Piņķi, Babītes pagasts, Mārupes nov. LV-2107, Latvia
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