EIS «Heads Up!»

Dear EIS Community,

Here comes the third issue of the EIS HeadsUp Newsletter. Our students continue to shine in the Olympiads, we have done charity, hosted many parent meetings, gone on trips, and now we are launching a driving school, doing a healthy eating challenge, and preparing for the teachers conference. Read on and have a great day!

Edition March 2023.I

Artūrs Piļkēvičs

The French Language Olympiad

Our students continue to shine bright in the local academic Olympiads, and this is the third issue of the newsletter in which we congratulate them on their exceptional performance. Exupery is proving to be a true hub of holistic education, where outstanding achievement in the exact sciences goes hand in hand with excellence in languages and humanitarian subjects! Having celebrated our achievements in the Math, Science, and History Olympiads, we are now pleased to extend our warmest congratulations to our students and teachers in the French program. At the recent Regional French Language Olympiad, Kristina M. from Grade 9 took first place, Sofja B. from Grade 9 came second, and Vladislav S. from Grade 12 took first place as well. Congratulations!

Parent Meetings on Transitions

On March 2 and 7, we held two parent meetings to provide information and insight to parents of students who are transitioning between school divisions. The first meeting was for parents of Preschoolers going to Grade 1 and the second was geared toward parents of 5th grade students. Both meetings were well attended, and both meetings were about more than just administrative discussions and informative presentations.

Students were invited to present their work and answer parents' questions, and there were various hands-on activities to demonstrate learning approaches in action. It was great to see parent engagement and students being in the center of it all! Thanks to the principals and administration for the great organization and to the brave students and engaged parents for their participation.

Charity project for the fight against cancer in children

Charity is about caring and being kind to one another, and often handmade artwork becomes touching reminders of that. Two weeks ago, our teachers and students participated in a charity fair called "From Heart to Heart" (Сердцем к сердцу /No Sirds Sirdij). They made handmade pottery crafts and stuffed animals, which were sold at a special fair where craftsmen from all over Latvia provided their works of art. All the proceeds from this fair went to organisations working to fight cancer in children. As a result, 10674.80 euros were collected for the fund of the Children's Clinical University Hospital (Bērnu slimnīcas fonds).

Driving School at EIS

We are excited to announce that we are launching a driving school at Exupery where participants will be able to get AM driving license or go for a full category B lincense. The course will be offered by the certified driving school "Einšteins" and will be held on Wednesday evenings in English. The first session is scheduled for March 15, and after 11 sessions and many hours of self-organized driving practice, participants will be ready to take the theoretical and practical driving tests for category B license, both in the school and in the state.

EduChat Café

Inside International School

"Princes do not require passports to travel. It was a very beautiful moment and humbling for me to realize some of our students live in a slightly different world than I do." Please check the latest issue of our "Inside International School" series, in which our chemistry teacher, Mr. Jason Harris, shares some of his amazing stories from his extensive international teaching career.

Teachers’ Conference at EIS

On April 1, EIS is organizing a professional development conference for teachers, "From chit-chat to academic fluency: Language perspectives in the classroom". We are hosting the conference in partnership with our colleagues and friends from Roong Aroon International School (Bangkok, Thailand) and Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. The conference provides an excellent opportunity for international and public school teachers to share their knowledge, experiences, and expertise with other teachers. Please share our Facebook post and website announcement and invite anyone interested to attend.

Healthy Lunches Challenge in the Primary School

Did you know that our favorite lunch in Primary School is pasta with bread? Our proactive Grade 4 hosted a student-led assembly and launched a 5-week healthy school lunch challenge. The challenge begins March 13, and during the five weeks, our Primary students are encouraged to eat all the vitamins and nutrition elements for lunch, instead of having loads of pasta and bread. Students are encouraged to take pictures of their healthy lunches and share them around the school. At the end of the 5-week challenge, the class with the best healthy eaters will receive a prize. Join us and support our healthy eating challenge.

Grade 3 Field Trip to Estonia

On March 9, our Grade 3 students took a field trip to Tartu, Estonia, and visited the AHHA Science Center. The goal of the AHHA Science Center is to bring science closer to everyone and to encourage learning through the joy of discovery. In addition to numerous hands-on activities in the center's exhibits, visitors to AHHAA can also take part in workshops and enjoy planetarium and science theater shows. It was a long trip, but the students did a great job and really enjoyed it.
Thank you to the Grade 3 team, students, and their families for cooperation, organization, and support. We look forward to more field trips this semester.

"FOOD FOR THOUGHT"

In one of my recent conversations with a teenager at school, the topic of multitasking came up. Especially among teenagers, the belief in the superpower of multitasking is still widespread. I remembered this article that challenges the view that multitasking even exists! In it, the author argues that the concept of multitasking is a myth and that the human brain is incapable of performing multiple tasks simultaneously. The author points out that what is often referred to as multitasking is actually task switching, which is the rapid switching between different tasks, which can reduce productivity and impair cognitive function. The article discusses some research on the limitations of multitasking, including studies that have shown that people take longer to complete tasks and make more mistakes when they try to complete multiple tasks at once. The article suggests that individuals and organizations should focus on strategies to manage distractions and prioritize tasks rather than trying to multitask.