by E S | May 23, 2016 | Director's Blog
Dear ICSV Parents:
To celebrate ICSV’s 30th year as a school, we are excited to announce our 30 for 30 Technology Campaign! This summer we will be able to implement phase one of our technology initiative to update ICSV’s technological capabilities. New teacher computers, projectors for every classroom, an overhaul of the high school computer lab, a new rolling computer classroom, and improved internet access are all part of this summer’s plan.
We are calling this year’s fundraiser 30 for 30! (30,000 euros for 30 years of ICSV) All of this will require us to raise 30,000 euros to add to what we’ve been able to budget for this project. We have already received 7500 euros from board members, staff, and faculty, so please join us in raising the rest – all by June 30!
Please watch our promotional video and read the attached flyer to see how your euros can help us to meet our goal. Everyone is needed to network within their own circles to help raise the funds. Please like us on Facebook – check out our ICSV Facebook page. We’ll also be using Instagram and Twitter to get the word out to everyone who loves ICSV. Forward our staff and student videos to all of your friends. Keep checking back to see our progress. And then, come out on Friday, August 19, to celebrate with us as we begin ICSV’s 30th year with an all-school assembly.
God worked mightily last summer with our “Room to Move” initiative. Let’s join together to make this year’s annual fundraiser just as successful. Thank you so much for your overwhelming support of ICSV. 30 for 30 – all by June 30!
Because of His Faithfulness,
Sharon C. Brobst, Ed.D.
Director
by E S | May 13, 2016 | Director's Blog
ICSV is one of the few Christian schools around the world that offers the IB Diploma Programme (DP). As such, we are a forward thinking school that truly embraces the international aspect of our community. After many years of research and preparation, the School Board approved the implementation of the IB DP for the 2015-2016 school year. Our IB program has received full recognition as an IB World School and approval by the BMBF in Austria. Our name is now included on the ENIC-NARIC list that provides information to institutions of higher education about Austrian schools with IB programs.
Here is what one researcher has to say about the IB DP.
According to Gunther (2004-2005), “The IB Diploma Programme (DP) offers a curricular framework for the last two years of high school. Many recognize the DP as the crème de la crème of college preparatory programs for highly motivated students. The balance of academic rigor, community service, appropriate breadth and depth of curricula, and an integrated global perspective are enticing to … Christian educators as they strive to develop globally minded Christians. A growing body of quantitative studies suggests that the DP improves GPAs throughout the college tenure of IB diploma students (Kolb 2004).”
Under the direction of IB Coordinator, Lisa Schra, a cohort of juniors has been working on their first year of this two-year program. The IB teachers have all attended special training and have worked hard in preparing for these new courses. Over the next couple of weeks, the students are taking mock IB exams in order to assess their progress. IB teachers have been asked to inform us of areas where we need to better prepare our students for this rigorous course of study. Creating courses that will serve to prepare all students who desire to tackle the IB program will be an initiative in the upcoming years.
One area that the school has already considered is our math and science offerings at the middle school level. Beginning next year, all seventh-grade students will be able to take Pre-Algebra, so that they are on track to complete Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry by the end of their sophomore year. In addition, all eighth graders will take Physical Science for high school credit, so that they can complete Biology and Chemistry prior to taking advanced science courses as upper classmen.
A word of thanks goes out to Lisa Schra, Isadora Laury, Cynde Morgan, Robert Dax, and to all the staff and faculty who have helped to make IB DP a reality for our high school students. One of ICSV’s academic goals reads:
To attain and maintain academic distinction in the scholastic program, striving for quality and improvement, rejecting mediocrity, and modeling and insisting on the highest standards of excellence.
The IB Diploma Programme is one tool that we are using to meet this goal.
Reference
Gunther, K (2004-2005) CSE Volume 8 Number 2, Christian Schools and the IB Curriculum, pp. 22-24.
by E S | May 6, 2016 | Director's Blog
Dear ICSV Parents:
The busy month of May is upon us, and excitement is in the air. I hope you had a chance to come out to the high school play last weekend. This extremely talented group of students did an amazing job. I love the message of the show, which is the same as the title “You Can’t Take It with You.” It reminds us that our time on earth is short and requires us to think about how we are spending that time. Are we using our time for earthly gain, which we cannot take with us, or do we have other priorities in our life, such as spending time in fellowship with each other, that guide our decisions? What really is the main purpose of our time on earth? This is one of the big questions that we all need to wrestle with at some point in our lives. A huge thanks to the cast, crew, and directors of the show for making of think, and also for making us laugh.
Our next Fine Arts event will take place on Friday, May 20, at 6:30 pm in the multi-purpose room. Please join us for our Spring Choir Concert. I mention this event because I’d like to invite you to a Parent Meeting prior to the Spring Concert, starting at 5:30 pm in the Library. Last week I was able to share with you highlights from the Parent Survey. A number of parents expressed interest in attending a parent meeting, so if you would be interested in hearing more details of the survey, please join us. There will be a time for questions at the end, and we will be sure to finish up no later than 6:15 pm so that we can then attend the Spring Concert. We trust that having this on the same night as another event will allow you to attend both without having to make two trips!
As always, should you have a question or concern, feel free to contact your child’s teacher, their principal, or any administrator. We count it a privilege to partner with you in the education of your children. I hope to see you at 5:30 pm on Friday, May 20, in the Library.
Because of His Faithfulness,
Sharon C. Brobst, Ed.D.
Director