EIS "HeadsUp!"

Dear EIS Community,

As we close the amazing Autumn season and approach winter, let us take a look back at another stretch of exciting events. While running our day to day learning show, we managed to hold our Autumn festival, celebrate the Teacher's Day, host educators from Erasmus Project, elect our StuCo leadership, and win gold at a soccer tournament. We have an amazing community and a vibrant school. I hope you enjoy the second issue of this year's Heads Up series!

October Edition 2024

Artūrs Piļkēvičs

Our G11-G12 students, along with G6-G11 members of the EIS Student Council and our teachers, had the opportunity to visit Latvijas Republikas Saeima (the Parliament of Latvia). Although there were no parliamentarians present during our visit, the students explored the building, getting an inside look at where key political decisions are made. They also viewed various gifts from foreign delegates, offering further insight into the international relationships maintained by Saeima.

The experience didn’t end there — after observing the session, the group visited the Museum of Occupation to deepen their knowledge about Latvia’s history and political evolution.

At Exupery International School, field trips are an integral part of our practical learning approach and are always connected to the units studied. This trip was tied to the Latvian Studies Unit 1 "History of Latvia," and the Global Politics Unit "Sovereignty."

On Sunday, October 6, our G4 and G5 students claimed victory in a football tournament hosted by King’s College Latvia. The team played 5 exciting matches against two teams from King’s College Latvia, International School of Riga, and two teams from the Deutsche Schule Riga. Despite losing one game, the boys secured first place in the tournament!

Our Middle School team participated in the Central and Eastern Europe School Association’s (CEESA) tournament for the first time. The tournament was organized by the International School of Latvia. Our boys faced opponents of the international schools from Prague, Krakow, Vilnius, and Riga. Although our young team did not win a game, they have shown growth mindset and growth which was evidenced in the improvement throughout the tournament.

We thank our incredible coach, Mr. Pedro Santana, for his guidance and dedication to the team, as well as our PE Teacher and Sport Program Coordinator, Ginta Strode, for coordinating the preparation for these events. We also thank all the parents who came to support our students.

On October 10 we hosted nineteen professionals as part of the Erasmus+ project. Hailing from educational institutions in Estonia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Latvia, our respected guests shared their expertise and gained insights on "Developing Reading Skills with and Through Digital Technologies." Before departing, they left us with some heartwarming reviews:

"The visit broadened our experience in creating a learning environment for and with students. The support for teachers and school administration, and the readiness for continuous development, are admirable. Thank you!" shared Urve Aja, Head of the Teacher Training Department at Narva College of the University of Tartu, Estonia.

"The visit to your school was a great experience. I am thankful that you shared a lot of useful information about digital materials for teaching. I also liked the school building, which is very bright!" noted Martina Rodela, Teacher and Researcher from the University of Primorska, Slovenia. Ieva Margeviča-Grinberga, Associate Professor from the University of Latvia, also shared her thoughts on the EIS atmosphere: "I like the creative spirit you can feel in the school and the special focus on inclusion."

We thank the Professor, Leading Researcher, and Director of the Professional Bachelor's Study Programme "Teacher" at the University of Latvia's Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, Indra Odiņa, for organizing this visit. Special appreciation goes to the EIS educators for their involvement in the event.

On October 11 we celebrated Teacher’s Day. We wanted to show our heartfelt appreciation for our teachers’ genuine care for students and their dedication to the art of teaching!

Our students wrote countless notes of appreciation and shared them throughout the week. This deserves special thanks! But the biggest 'Thank you' goes to our Parent Community, who came together to provide thoughtful treats, beautiful flowers, and heartfelt gifts, elevating this year’s celebration to a whole new level! Their initiative highlights the growing strength of our EIS community, and we are grateful for their contribution.

To celebrate harvest and add festivity to the golden season, during the first week of November we held our annual Autumn festival which was a blast and a valuable educational experience for our students.

Preschool organized a vibrant market where a variety of homemade treats and accessories were prepared and traded by our youngest learners using a special currency of the festival. Primary Student Council organized the spirit week and led a “Food Drive” where students collected and delivered non-perishable items to "The Sisters of Charity" organization that provides meals for those in need. Middle and High School Student Council also held a special Favorite Character Costume Day culminating in a costume parade and a vote for the best costume in several categories among students and staff. There were other fun activities like mask-making workshops, ghost and sticker crafting, pumpkin decorating, a Pokémon card tournament, and a fresh bake sale.

We thank our wonderful teachers and students for making the Autumn Festival possible and are proud of our students for their enthusiasm and generosity. We hope this festival has enriched their autumn as much as it has ours.

On November 6 our Grade 12 IB Business Management class students, their teacher and several parents from our community held our first ever "Fox Den" presentation. "Fox Den" is a project taking inspiration from the famous "Shark Tank" show. In our IB Business Management class students divided in groups to develop a school merchandise product that they presented to the “Foxes” - our school community parents who volunteered to be their judges, donors and mentors in this project. The product development, marketing, and sales will be done by students and the products will be sold at the Christmas bazaar with all profits going to a charitable cause. Students already did the market research by surveying and interviewing our community and will work on four products – a hoodie, a winter jacket, a t-shirt, and plush Fox toy. A huge thanks to our courageous students, their BM Teacher Ms Liga Pilkevica, and, of course, our amazing "Foxes" Vladimir Titov, Janis & Ieva Strelnieki, Pavel & Olga Vanag, Margarita & Emils Eversi. This amazing project incorporates nearly all of the topics and skills of the Business Management class, while also serving as a fabulous community building experience for students, parents, and teachers. Go Exupery Foxes!