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ICS WORLD2013-2014

Alumni MagazineVolume 17 | Fall 2014

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Table of Contents Welcome Welcome from the ICS Leadership Team

Current News at ICS Helping Internationally Nomadic Children and Teachers Henry V Inspires our Troops “Three Words: You. Are. NEEDED!” ICS hosts Young Round Square Conference A Month of Experience and Learning Making Friends in Tanzania Graduation University Placement and IB Results Graduation 2014 Career Fair

Life After ICS Supporting our Students’ Success A Spirit of Generosity A Passion for Helping Staff Then & Now

Awards and Farewells Long-Service Awards Recognising Exceptional Teaching Leavers Farewells

Alumni Events and News Alumni Reunion Alumni News Digest In Memoriam Postscript From the Editors’ Desktop

Alumni Reunion 2015Friday 29 May

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To receive additional copies of this publication, please advise us by sending an email to alumni@icsz.ch. The online version can be found under

http://www.icsz.ch/page.cfm?p=767.

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From left to right: Rebecca Butterworth (Secondary Principal), Mary-Lyn Campbell (Head of School) and Tim Crocker (Primary Principal).

Welcome to this issue of ICS World, the ICS Alumni Magazine. Our 2014-2015 school year is well underway and it has indeed been a pleasure welcoming students, parents, teachers and staff back to our campus. This issue of ICS World provides us with an opportunity to look back at all the exciting events which took place in the last school year. We are also pleased to be given the opportunity to connect with you, the former members of the ICS community, to bring you up to date on recent events.

This school year our students and families in the Primary School were delighted to welcome the newest member of our Senior Leadership team, Mr Tim Crocker as their Primary Principal as Mr Tim Moynihan (Primary Principal 2011 to 2014) returned home with his family to Seattle, Washington, USA. We would like to thank Mr Moynihan for his dedication to ICS.

In June 2014, we also had to bid a sad (and somewhat tear-ful) farewell to our inaugural winner of the Atkinson Award, Mr Clive Greaves. You will find more information about this prestig-ious award established by our Board of Trustees to recognise exceptional teaching, on page 25. Many of you will also remember Mr Tony Simcock and Mrs Rikki Smith, two other well-known members of our teaching staff, who retired in June 2014 after many years of service to our school.

We were very fortunate last year to welcome two very prominent educational researchers to our circle of community friends. Ochan and Bill Powell, renowned for their pioneering work in educational organisational intelligence as well as their ground breaking work in studying third culture kids, visited our campus to work with teachers. ICS’s collaboration with the Powells is one which our teaching staff are excited about as they enthusiastically look forward to a continued

affiliation with the Powells. The ICS community also welcomed – Mr Ben Walden – to lead a leadership training workshop for students and teachers as well as address the 2014 Graduating class.

The rigorous educational programme that ICS offers is sus-tained by so many interesting initiatives found across our school. Included in this issue are personal accounts from the parents of four of our graduates. Our school encourages personal best in academic achievement and development - the standardised test scores and IB Diploma score results of the last school year - continue to provide solid evidence of our students’ academic accomplishments. In addition, our students exemplify a spirit of community engagement that reaches well beyond our immediate community. On pages 20 and 21, two of our Alumni provide details about how they have been engaged in helping others.

During the 2014-15 school year we hope to continue to build our relationship with you, our Alumni members, as we further develop our Career Fair and Internship opportunities for our older students. If you can get involved with these initiatives or have any other ideas, please get in touch with us. We would love to hear from you. We also hope to personally greet many of you at the ICS Alumni Reunion 2015.

Mary-Lyn Campbell, Head of SchoolRebecca Butterworth, Secondary PrincipalTim Crocker, Primary Principal

From the ICS Leadership Team

WELCOME

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Helping Internationally Nomadic Children and Teachers

“People in every culture respond very positively to having someone be fully present for them, genuinely listening to them.”

Bill and Ochan Powell

Internationally mobile parents often have concerns for their children. Is moving from one country to another always disruptive for a child? Does it damage their education? And what can parents and schools do to make it a more positive experience for children?

These are also key issues for ICS. As a school with a culture of care, we know that emotions like unhappiness and anxiety affect a child’s ability to learn. It is therefore important to us to be sure that we are offering a secure and inclusive learning environment where diversity is respected. That is why we invited internationally renowned education consultants Bill and Ochan Powell to visit ICS in February. They ran a workshop for teachers on ‘cognitive coaching’ - ways teachers can create a climate for helping and supporting each other’s problem-solving and decision-making, and do the same for their students.

Helping internationally nomadic kidsThe Powells are used to questions about helping internationally nomadic children and they have years of experience teaching them. Indeed, both were ‘Third Culture Kids’ themselves – children who have spent much of their life outside their parents’ culture. “Both our fathers worked for the United Nations,” explains Bill. “Ochan was educated in international schools; I was born in Britain and then moved to the US. So we were both internationally mobile as children and we raised our own children outside their culture and nationality.” The good news, they say, is that although some Third Culture Kids (TCKs) do find it hard to settle, many find it a very positive experience. They cite Dr Ruth Hill Useem, the sociologist who first coined the term ‘Third Culture Kids’ and spent 30 years researching them.

“She started out thinking that kids who move countries would have a more difficult time making friends, would be more unsettled, and would perhaps experience higher divorce rates,” explains Bill. “But in fact she found exactly the opposite: kids who move around have to make friends faster and more often, and that perhaps makes them more skilled in building relationships than kids who stay home and don’t go through that process.” Ochan adds: “Kids in international schools make friends rapidly and also get used to saying good-bye to them. (Although nowadays, with the development of social media, they are also much more able to stay in touch.) Dr Useem learned that kids who go to international schools tend to have a certain level of self-confidence, and are, by and large, innovative and take leadership.”

Modelling respectful relationshipsThe Powells are talking at the end of the intense four-day workshop they ran for teachers on cognitive coaching. It focused on how teachers can improve communications and build strong professional relationships with colleagues, so they can help each

other in solving problems and focusing their thinking. The aim is to support teachers, who are often isolated from other adults in the classroom, thereby helping them enhance their students’ learning. And the Powells say the cognitive coaching approach also works very well for helping students to achieve their potential. “One of the things it can do for teachers is to help them find the resources to solve their own problems. And in international schools like ICS, where expectations for learning are very high, it can support students in standing up for themselves and really deepening their thinking.”

An enabling climateThe cognitive coaching approach is ‘other-centred’. The Powells explain: “Most of us have internal resources to figure out our issues, but sometimes we get stuck. At those times, having another person asking questions helps us focus our thinking. It’s not about giving solutions or advice, or passing judgement. It’s about creating the kind of enabling climate where people can find resources in themselves to reflect on and resolve problems.” This approach, they say, is particularly important in our increasingly

Internationally renowned educators Bill and Ochan Powell ran a workshop at ICS on ways teachers and students can more effectively use each other’s support and ideas.

CuRRENT NEWS: INSPIRATIONAL SPEAkERS

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Helping Third Culture kids

We asked the Powells for some tips for parents, based on their experiences of working with Third Culture Kids.

• “Relocation is highly stressful. Children are resilient: research suggests children go through 7-8 months of adjustment after moving, while adults take 18 months to adjust. But if a child is going through difficulties after a move, parents can feel a lot of guilt about this. To avoid this, parents should work with the school their child is leaving to support them in saying good-bye. Parents can also support their child after the move by helping them find new groups of friends and ways to connect with others.”

• Help children understand the relocation stress they may go through. “If you know there is likely to be a honeymoon period when you first move, which may then be followed by a period when you are thinking “Why on earth did I come here?”, it helps. If you can anticipate those feelings, and name them, you are more likely to understand why you feel that way and less likely to blame other people.”

• Support children in keeping good relationships with the family left behind. “When you take a child overseas as a parent, be intentional about supporting those family bonds,” says Bill. “Ochan and I are not in the same location as our four grandchildren. So we skype with them weekly so we can maintain a relationship with them.”

• Try to avoid conflict in the morning. “Mornings can be stressful. But an argument in the morning can upset a child for several hours afterwards and affect their ability to learn at school. If possible, avoid conflict in the mornings.”

Ochan and Bill Powell with Head of School, Mary-Lyn Campbell.

from a platitude to doing something operational about improving the fabric of relationships. You are asking how the school demonstrates a culture of care, and considering what a culture of care means for students, teachers and parents. It is very rich and exciting. A lot of people talk about 21st century skills. We think the soft skills of developing care, respect and emotional intelligence, will see children through and help them be able to move graciously and gracefully within and between cultures in future.” This ability to move between cultures is obviously extremely important to our students when they graduate from ICS and go on to university, often in another country. It is also increasingly valuable in the workplace. And Third Culture Kids are well placed to acquire it – particularly if parents and teachers help children see international moves as a positive experience.

global classrooms. Today, teachers are faced with a diverse group of nationalities and learners and “the challenge they face now is considerable and complex,” say the Powells. “Teachers – some of whom see 100 students a week – are being asked to get to know and work with these students on a deep level as learners. It requires high levels of emotional intelligence from them and it is unfair to ask teachers to do it alone: they need each other’s support and ideas.

Our workshop at ICS has been about that: helping them to learn from each other and support each other’s thinking about how to address these challenging classroom situations.” In doing this, teachers can role-model building respectful relationships for their students. As the Powells say, “In our very high-tech world where we have so many distractions, it is very powerful when we put those distractions aside and sit down

with another individual – whether a teacher or a child – and really listen to them and hear their thinking. People in every culture respond very positively having someone be fully present for them, genuinely listening to them.”

Doing this, say the Powells, has many benefits, not least encouraging and enabling people to be better at solving problems they face. And they say that deliberately introducing such strategies here, as part of the ICS culture of care, is genuinely ground-breaking. “At ICS you are moving

International advantageThe Powells say “children need parents to share a strong set of values and beliefs with them. But they don’t necessarily need to have their roots in their national culture. In an increasingly inter-dependent world, we need people who are able to see things through the eyes of other cultures. That is a great opportunity for Third Culture Kids. In many ways, children with an international education are at an advantage.”

CuRRENT NEWS: INSPIRATIONAL SPEAkERS

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A Shakespearean actor came to ICS in March and used the Bard’s

play Henry V to give teachers food for thought. Leading a professional

development seminar, Ben Walden used Henry V as an analogy for

good leadership, analysing what makes a good leader, and how we

as a staff can apply the lessons from the play in our professional

lives.

Mr Walden is a former professional actor at the Globe Theatre in

London and is now part of the Contender Charlie Leadership

Development Programme. He was a fittingly inspiring speaker,

performing many of the famous passages from the play to illustrate

their power both as a literary text, and as a way of learning about

leadership. Looking at the way Henry V inspired his soldiers provided

a framework for the day.

Top, guest speaker Ben Walden. Bottom: teacher karen Lewis enjoys winning a game at the workshop. Middle: Staff relecting on personality and leadership.

king Henry V’s inspirational leadership helped his men to victory in battle 500 years ago. And we can still learn from him today, as ICS teachers recently discovered.

Henry V Inspires our Troops...

CuRRENT NEWS: INSPIRATIONAL SPEAkERS

Leadership techniques such as the use of images and metaphors to inspire, affirming belief in the team, honouring past achievements, creating a common identity and establishing  the leader as ‘one of them’ all contributed to Henry V’s success at the Battle of Agincourt. Many of these techniques can be used in the teaching environment when inspiring and leading students to success.

The day was a mixture of small group work, plenary sessions, and

workshops in four classrooms in order to enable staff to reflect

on what type of personality, and leader, they are. One of the most

popular of these workshops was the competitive game activity –

many staff discovered they are, in fact, highly competitive as soon as

a competition is introduced!

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“When you go home today, thank your parents for investing in your education: they chose a great school for you. As a result, you have a great path and wonderful opportunities ahead of you. The kids I worked with – children dying of starvation in Ethiopia, living on the streets in Asia, or being deprived of an education in Afghanistan – didn’t get the options and choices that you have. But you can help by using whatever skills you have. Even aged 13, you are old enough to volunteer. Remember three words: You. Are. Needed.”

With these inspirational words, humanitarian Peter Dalglish finished a talk to our Grade 7 students. He is the founder of charity Street Kids International and is currently Country Representative for the UN-Habitat programme in Afghanistan. He was invited to ICS by our Head of School to talk about the ICS Scholarship Programme. The programme is intended to help children from around the world who could benefit from being at ICS. For the last six years, it has offered Nepalese students from remote Himalayan villages, where there are very few schools, the chance to come to ICS to study for the IB Diploma and hopefully go on to university. This is one of many projects Dalglish has set up in the last 30 years.

An epiphanyHe originally wanted to be a lawyer and after graduating from Stanford University and finishing law school, he started working at a large law firm. Then one day in 1984 he turned on his television and saw news of the devastating famine in Ethiopia. He says. “I decided I had to do something so I helped organise an airlift of food and supplies to Ethiopia from Canada. I spent the last two weeks of 1984 in a camp in Ethiopia with kids who were starving to death. Some of them had walked 50-60km carrying their younger brothers and sisters on their backs.”

He gave up his job at the law firm, went to Sudan, and at the age of 26, was working for the UN World Food Programme, directing humanitarian operations in Darfur. One of his saddest jobs was helping bury children who died in the refugee camps. “We would dig a shallow grave and something would be recited from the Koran (because they were Muslim). Then we would bury them. We had nothing to wrap the bodies in - so we used empty food grain bags marked ‘A gift from the people of America’. These experiences shook me profoundly,” he says.

“Three Words: You. Are. NEEDED!”

In May, students met a uN envoy who has dedicated his life to helping children deprived of education, food or their human rights. “You can help too,” he said.

A school for thievesHe went on to set up a vocational school in Khartoum for pickpockets and thieves. Funded by Bob Geldof of Band Aid, the school trained them to become carpenters and electricians instead of criminals. Dalglish had the idea when he saw a street kid breaking into his car with a long finger-nail. “He almost succeeded in breaking into a highly secure UN vehicle! I was about to take him to the police when I realised he was pretty deft with his hands and might make a good mechanic.” Dalglish later went to work in Nepal, during its Civil War, helping children living on the streets during the conflict. “They were in danger of being kidnapped and forced to fight as child soldiers.” He later created several projects, like the ICS programme, that offer Nepalese students educational opportunities they can’t get at home.

He introduced ICS’s four current Nepalese students to the Grade 7s and explained that as Tibetan Buddhists, they have very few material possessions. “But even so, in some ways their world is bigger than yours. They all speak three or four languages, they see things very differently from you, and they make the school a richer place. It’s a symbiotic relationship – you are really lucky to have them and they are very happy to have you.” To experience this further, he urged our students to go and volunteer as he did and to benefit from experiencing life outside their comfort zone. Dalglish also works as an admissions adviser for Stanford University and says “We love to see kids who have done volunteer work as early as 13 or 14. This is something you are all capable of and could do. Go and make the world a bigger place.”

Above, Peter Dalglish with our Nepalese Scholarship students Tenzin, Damzik, kunchok and Chhimi.

“I had a sudden realisation that this was my life’s work, working with destitute kids who everyone else had forgotten.”

Peter Dalglish

CuRRENT NEWS: INSPIRATIONAL SPEAkERS

Watch the video herehttp://www.icsz.ch/cf_media/index.cfm?obj=962

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Action and adventure was the theme when ICS hosted the Young Round Square Conference for European schools.

Nine enthusiastic Grade 6 ICS Round Square students warmly welcomed 11 schools from all around Europe to ICS for a conference themed around ‘Adventure’ - one of the Round Square ideals. The event opened with an Assembly where visiting schools shared information about their school and presented their flags. Head of School, Mary-Lyn Campbell and Secondary Principal, Rebecca Butterworth shared their thoughts and invited delegates to seize this opportunity to learn beyond classroom walls and make new friends.

The ICS Young Round Square delegates and teachers report: “The conference theme was “Action through Adventure”. Our 13-strong Round Square teacher team planned a varied and intense three-day programme. We had the chance to participate in many exciting activities such as a breath-taking 3km sledge run, a picturesque hike in the

beautiful Swiss mountains and making snow caves, a curling lesson and ice skating. The adventure did not stop there. In the forest we experienced a tough and sometimes frustrating teamwork competition. Making our own fire using only four dry pieces of wood and four matches was not as easy as it initially looked. Our visiting teachers certainly proved their patience, and inspired their students to complete the fire-making task to cook tea.

“This was followed by a group art project with all 40 delegates, which took us on a very creative artistic journey. We formed groups mixing ourselves among the different schools. We had to work as a real team to create a concrete, do-able plan to represent the Round Square pillars in the most imaginative and diverse way possible. The project took two sessions and the final installation was displayed in our Secondary building. Another team of teachers then amazed us with a star gazing activity.”

Adventures in the Snow as ICS Hosted Young Round Square Conference

What student delegates said: “During the conference I had a wonderful experience. I met some amazing friends, built an igloo, went sledding, hiking and curling. The entire conference was so much fun and I hope everyone who was at this conference can come again. All the activities were fun, and I think that everyone enjoyed them.” Kathrine B

“The theme was ‘Action Through Adventure’. We participated in a variety of activities from sledging and a fire activity to ice skating and curling to igloo building. I enjoyed the conference because I was able to meet lots of new people and learn about where they were from. This was my first conference, and I think that I learned a lot from it. I made many new friends, and hope to see some of them at next year’s conference!” Ayush P

“I thought the Round Square Conference was awesome. It was enthusiastic and it totally showed action through adventure. I really loved curling because it was a new sport for me and it came out I was a natural talent. Overall, I got new friends and it was nice to communicate with other people. Thanks to all the schools that came, they were fantastic!” Luc S

CuRRENT NEWS: COMMuNITY ENGAGEMENT

“On Sunday we took part in a historical Zurich tour and then had to say good-bye to our new friends, promising to keep in touch and reflect on our shared learning.” ICS Young Round Square delegates

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A Month of Experience and Learning

Grade 10s seized opportunities offered by the unique ICS Personal Development Month.

This year’s activities

For their Personal Development Month this year, students did the following activities - among others.

• Chemistry summer school at Harvard University;

• Service projects in Costa Rica;• Archaeological excavation in

Cyprus;• Internship at Bank Julius Baer,

Zurich;• Pre-IB summer course and

dance programme at Oxford, UK;

• Work on restoring Morris Minor motor car, UK;

• Internship at ABB, Zurich;• Animal work at Zurich Zoo;• Children’s Theatre in Wisconsin,

USA;• Work at dog rescue shelter,

USA;• Print-making, design and

drawing at Rhode Island School of Design, USA;

• Course in business & finance in London, UK;

• Office work at One Football, Germany;

• Lab work, Cosmology & Astrophysics lab, ETH Zurich;

• Matterhorn trek; • Basketball camp in Miami, USA; • Robotics/Technology course at

Stanford University, USA;• Work at Navico Marine

Electronics factory, Mexico;• Volunteer at Bottlenose Dolphin

Research Institute, ETH Zurich; • English Literature course,

Cambridge, UK; • Internship, Sarada Devi

Hospital; Secunderabad, India;• Creative Writing course,

Columbia University; New York, USA

“It’s been a very long wait, but the Grade 10 Expedition is finally upon us,” writes student Jan de B. “New experiences and going outside your comfort zone are just some of the things the Expedition offers. It is one option that students can choose during their Personal Development Month - and it really is the one for me.”

The Personal Development Month only happens at ICS. It was developed by Director of Studies Clive Greaves who wanted to give students a personal challenge after the Grade 10 exams finished. All Grade 10 students are asked to plan and complete their own Personal Development Month (PDM). Two weeks of school term and two weeks of holidays is allocated for students to learn or experience something new. Mr Greaves says: “Students are encouraged to show initiative and independence in choosing activities - such as work placements, community service or specialist courses - where they will be learning in different environments and with different people. It is a chance for students to challenge themselves to do something new and unknown and it requires perseverance and co-operation - both qualities required for the IB Diploma, and in the workplace.”

The PDM began with the first month-long expedition to Ecuador in 2002. Then, when ICS moved away from the International General Certificate of Secondary Education, students had time to go on expedition instead of spending five weeks sitting exams. The programme was expanded in 2005 so all students (not just those going on self-supporting expeditions) were enabled to complete a PDM.

A good thing about the PDM is that you can choose what to do. You can go on an expedition hiking and learning about a new culture, go to other schools to study a new subject or work with a charity. It is up to

students to decide and as long as they are able to justify their commitment, anything is possible. This year, some Grade 10s did an apprenticeship to acquire job experience, for example, shadowing a doctor on a ward or working in a library. The 28 going with Outlook Expeditions to Peru for four weeks enjoyed the challenge.

The outline of the expedition is provided by the school and expedition organizers, but students choose what they want do there. One group opted to see the ancient city of Machu Picchu, while the other group went sand surfing in a desert oasis. The freedom given to students to choose what to do encourages them to try and learn new skills for the future. Along the way it creates memories that will not be forgotten in a hurry. After a years’ notice students went into the great unknown experiencing adventures which will stay with them for a lifetime.

CuRRENT NEWS: COMMuNITY ENGAGEMENT

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Making Friends in Tanzania

Visiting four tribes, working at two schools, going on safari and interacting with local children. Those were some of the highlights of the Grade 9 trip to Tanzania over the Easter holiday. For the past few years ICS has offered Grade 9 students (and teachers) the opportunity to visit Tanzania and take part in a range of service and personal development activities there. This year, students Cedric V, Hannah H, Toby H, Katrine B, Natalya L, Josephine K, Finn B and Beem P were selected to go along with teachers Mr Matthews, Mrs Pombinho and Mrs Bender. They visited Makaa Primary School and Second Chance Education Centre, working and interacting with the children. They carried out projects to help make the school a better learning environment. They also took 10 suitcases full of donated clothes, shoes, hats, toys and games and bargained with local sales people to buy supplies and materials for the two schools using funds donated by the ICS community. They say: “We were allowed to take part and observe a class in Second Chance and some of us were able to teach the children some songs and dances. We were also able to build new wooden shelves for the classrooms in Second Chance. At Makaa we helped repair the school. We made cement and made new floors for two classrooms. We helped out in many rooms, painting the walls, repairing and re-installing window mesh, and repairing wooden desks. Both Makaa and Second Chance were very grateful but they are still in need of help, so we hope to continue these efforts in the coming years. We had several moments throughout our trip where we were able to play and interact with the children. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

“For four days, we went camping and visited four different tribes that live in Tanzania. These include the Maasai, Datoga, Blacksmiths and the Bushmen. We had a wonderful time trying to jump as high as we could with the Maasai Tribe. We visited the Datoga village and attempted to dance. We went hunting with the Bushmen tribe, but failed to hit the target. We also went on a medicine walk where we learned about different trees and their purpose – for example making a toothbrush! This gave us the chance to learn about different tribes and to engage with their everyday lives. We ended our journey with a safari where we saw zebras, elephants, rhinos, hippos and wildebeest. We then headed back to Moshi to say our final good-byes. On our last day we said our good-byes to the children, schools and other wonderful people who we had the pleasure of meeting. It was an amazing trip, which we will never forget, and definitely a life-changing experience, which we were fortunate to take part in. Seeing the children’s smiles, and the gratitude they had for us, was simply heartwarming and will always be with us. If we could, we would go back tomorrow!”

A group of Grade 9 students and teachers spent part of their Easter holiday helping out at school... in Tanzania.

CuRRENT NEWS: COMMuNITY ENGAGEMENT

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International Baccalaureate (IB) Examination Results Once again our Grade 12 graduates set high expectations for themselves by striving to meet their potential in the May 2014 examination period and we are delighted to announce that the IB results of our Class of 2014 are as follows*:

Celebrating our Students’ Success

Preparing For Life Beyond ICS Summer Internship Programme One of the opportunities to prepare for life beyond ICS is the Summer Internship Programme offered to all Grade 10, 11 and 12 students. This programme offers a variety of internship opportunities during the summer break with different local businesses. All students who are interested must formally apply with a CV and Cover Letter and they undergo an interview selection procedure. Summer 2014 has seen students enrolled in internships in the Architecture Industry, IT Industry, Marketing and Communications Industry, and the Electrical Engineering Industry.

Are you, as an alumni, in a position to offer one of our current students an internship during summer 2015? If so, then please contact us under alumni@icsz.ch.

Class of 2014 University Offers The class of 2014 received offers from many prestigious institutions around the world. A large number of our students have received offers from universities such as:

uNIvERSITY PLACEMENT & IB RESuLTS

IB DIPLOMAPASS RATE AT

ICS

MEAN SCORE OF CANDIDATES AWARDED THE

DIPLOMA95% 34*Results as of September 2014

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Canada; and VU University, Amsterdam in the Netherlands. (See the full list of this years’ university offers at: http://www.icsz.ch/page.cfm?p=806)

Some students are taking time to fulfil national service obligations, while others take a year out to do internships, travel and gain other experiences. ICS is not academically selective, does not have entrance exams and takes students from all corners of the world. The fact that most of our graduates are going on to further education demonstrates our belief that, in the right environment and supported in the right ways, when we are challenged to achieve, we can all do better than we think we can. ICS believes that their time at ICS has prepared our graduates well for their future challenges.

Graduate Olivia Wicki, one of two student speakers at the event, agrees. “What will ICS’s class of 2014 bring to the global table? We will become the world’s next philosophers, neurosurgeons, Olympians, teachers, authors, mathematicians, artists,

GRADE 12 GRADuATION

Saying ‘Good-Bye and Good Luck’ to our 2014 Graduates

We celebrated with our Grade 12 students as they finished school and prepared to go out into the world. On 7 June we held the ICS Graduation for the Class of 2014.

Saturday 7 June - the ICS Graduation Ceremony for the Class of 2014 - was a day for recognising the extraordinary achievements of all our graduates. We are proud of who they are - and who they are becoming. The students finished their International Baccalaureate Diploma exams in late May. The ICS Graduation Ceremony formally marked the end of these students’ time at school and celebrated all that they have achieved in that time.

The students received their IB exam results and certificates later in the summer. At Graduation they were awarded their High School Diplomas. Most of them now plan to go on into higher education, pursuing their passions and studying subjects ranging from International Relations to Mechanical Engineering, from Drama to Law and from Hotel Management to Medicine and Natural Sciences. Universities they have offers from include Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and Bristol in the UK; Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Rice and Lehigh in the US; the University of Zurich and École Hôtelière of Lausanne in Switzerland; University of Waterloo,

mothers, fathers, advocates and hotel managers. We will take on jobs that have not been invented yet. We will take what we have learned in the most transformative time of our lives and use it.”

Her fellow student speaker, Alex Z’Danov, talked about how important ICS has been in his life. “For me, graduation is a symbol for a new beginning. It is an open door, an opportunity, a chance to go somewhere new, meet new people, try new things. And this way of seeing the future is a result of what I learned in the past. What I learned with my peers, together, at ICS. Whether we like it or not, our opinions, thoughts and decisions have all been influenced by what we have learned at ICS. That’s how I will always remember ICS, as the setting for our development as human beings.”

“What will ICS’s class of 2014 bring to the global table?” Olivia Wicki

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Our Award-winners Graduation celebrates the achievements of all our graduates. And there were also special awards for students who have gone above and beyond in a range of fields.

The Creativity Award was awarded to Ellen victoria for her commitment to the arts and ability to lead and encourage.

The Action Award was awarded to Basia Clauer for her outstanding contribution to the sporting life of ICS.

The Service Award was awarded to two students who have given outstanding service to the school, local and international communities: Estelle Ijland and Rebecca Fryer.

The award for Academic Excellence was awarded to Mina Chomich for attaining the highest academic standards in all her subjects.

The European Council of International Schools’ Award for furthering the cause of international understanding was awarded to Olivia Wicki.

Our newest graduates were also congratulated by guest speaker Ben Walden from Contender Charlie - an organisation supporting youth development. He urged graduates to follow their passions, even when that involves taking risks in their future studies and career choices. He said: “Do not deny your own calling - that voice which within you that is urging you towards something. Answering that call often brings tremendous challenges and adversity. But as the late Steve Jobs said, ‘Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.’ ”

Previous page: the ICS Graduating Class of 2014. Top of the page: happy faces at the celebration. Above, our student speakers: Middle, Olivia Wicki with Head of School Mrs Campbell, Chair of the Board of Trustees Mr Premchand and Secondary Principal Mrs Butterworth; Below Alex Z’Danov at the podium.

GRADE 12 GRADuATION

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Students Learn the A-Z of CareersFrom architects and astrophysicists to CEOs and scientists... High-calibre speakers from a wide range of careers came to talk to students at the ICS Career Fair in December.

There were doctors and designers, financiers and pharmaceuticals executives at the event. Professionals came from sectors including advertising, banking, higher education and insurance.

ICS invited them to give information and advice to our older students as they consider their future study and career choices. This is one of the ways in which we support our students in setting high expectations for themselves and thinking creatively about potential career paths.

CuRRENT NEWS: CAREER FAIR

From scientists to business executives to teachers, speakers were passionate about why they do what they do. “I never have that ‘Why am I doing this?’ conversation with myself,” said teacher Safaa Abdel-Magid. “I know why I am doing my job - to make a difference.”

Sanjeev Premchand, an ICS alum, current parent and Chair of the Board of Trustees, who was invited to participate in the inaugural Career Fair, greatly enjoyed the interaction with current students, and encouraged the school to try to make the Career Fair a regular feature in the calendar, stating that he was confident that ICS could attract more alumni to talk to existing students about their career choices.

Are you as an alumni able to participate in our 2015 Career Fair? If so, please contact us under alumni@icsz.ch.

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Students appreciated the event. Marie said: "I attended the Maths and Engineering panel as I’m thinking of a career in this field. I found the panel very informative. It helped me understand what someone in this field does and what their job involves." Estella attended the Business, Finance and Management panel: "They said attitude is the most important part of becoming successful. They repeated this often, and talked a lot about passion." Valentina attended the Arts, Architecture and Design panel and said the panellists were very helpful.

The Fair concluded with a motivational talk from distinguished scientist Dr Kim Chaffin from Medtronic, who talked to students about where life could take them, given the right attitude and enthusiasm.

Advice From our Speakers

Clive Greaves, teacher: “I left banking to go into teaching because I wanted to make a difference - and those ‘lightbulb’ moments when you see you have done so are what makes teaching so worthwhile. A former student of ours, Belkis Wille, is now working for Human Rights Watch in Yemen, pursuing a passion for protecting Human Rights that began in Humanities classes here at ICS.”

Dr Timothy Patey, ABB, scientist: “I was always curious about how things worked so I chose to study science because with a science background there are so many directions you can go in - and working in science and technology gives you chances to go and play and create! Think about what the world is going to be like in 50 years’ time - and then think that as a scientist or technologist, you could play a part in that.”

Dr kim Chaffin, Medtronic, scientist: “I originally wanted to go to college as a music major but I got an engineering scholarship and it was the only way I could afford to go. The passion came later and now I love what I do - including looking for ways to design pacemakers that can stay in the human heart for 30 years without needing any maintenance.”

Sanjeev Premchand, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd, Senior Relationship Manager: “I initially disliked economics, and chose to study international relations and Asian religions at university at the time that the Berlin Wall fell, and the Soviet Union imploded. After graduation, I was able to convince the chief economist of a small Swiss private bank that he needed to consider the political stability of a country when defining asset allocation with their clients. This led to a temporary job in the banking sector, which I have worked in for over twenty years.”

Arun Sondhi, business: “Be willing to adapt and change and learn from failure. When I was made redundant at the age of 30, rather than keep quiet about it, I told everybody. Eighteen months later I was starting my own business with a partner.”

Olivia C Grade 10 student wrote about the first ICS Career Fair.

Students could choose from panels including Science and Technology, Arts, Architecture and Design, Media, Communications and Marketing, Engineering and Mathematics, Human Services and Public Relations, Business, Finance and Management and Education and Training. The Career Fair gave students a chance to meet truly successful and exciting people, and be inspired by the guest speaker.

“The occasion was really superb, from the welcome given by the students to the exceptional quality of the panellists.”

Mary-Lyn Campbell, Head of School

ICS Head of School, Mary-Lyn Campbell says: “I felt extremely privileged to have attended all the sessions and to watch the engagement and passion of both panellists and students.”

See photos and video footage of the Career Fair at www.icsz.ch/page.cfm?p=514&newsid=18

CuRRENT NEWS: CAREER FAIR

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When Shivani Sondhi joined ICS in Grade 11, her parents were

nervous about the move. The family was relocating to Zurich from London just after 16-year-old Shivani completed GCSEs and they were concerned about their daughter changing

schools and curriculum at such a critical time in her

education.

But Shivani, who is going to the University of Exeter this autumn to study Economics, says: “I loved everything about ICS. I liked the atmosphere: it was relaxed and very friendly because people here come and go a lot. There were about ten of us who came into Grade 11 new, and the school was very good at helping us. They arranged for us to buddy up with people in our Grade who could talk to us and show us around. And as all of us were new to the Diploma Programme, it felt like we were all in the same boat.”

Self-motivationShe saw a big difference between ICS and her previous school, a very academically competitive girls’ school in West London. “At my old school, people did well because they were pushed. Here you do well because you motivate yourself. If you have a desire to succeed, if you look ahead and think ‘that’s what I want’, that motivation will come about.”

Shivani is a hard-working and ambitious student. She showed her high expectations for her own learning and her motivation to succeed at ICS and was supported by her teachers in doing so. “Over the two years of the Diploma programme, I tried really hard. I did everything I could to use the school resources and get the best out of the school. If I ever had a problem and didn’t understand

something, I would ask teachers to meet with me to talk about it. And they were all willing to do it: they are all definitely 100 per cent behind you.”

Revision sessions“Even when it came to the study leave before the Diploma exams, we weren’t on our own. Teachers were running revision sessions, sometimes even organising them at weekends to help us. I could also email them to ask questions, and sometimes I came in and got one-to-one sessions with them, they were all more than willing to do that.”

While at ICS, Shivani set her heart on going to the University of Exeter – a top ten UK university – to study Economics. Although she did very well in her IB Diploma exams, she missed out on her required grades by just one IB point. ICS continued to support her.

Supporting our Students’ Success

Above, Shivani receiving the European Council of International Schools Award at her ICS Graduation in May 2013. Left, Shivani in action for the ICS tennis team.

Four families of students who graduated from ICS speak about their experiences.

“It went from being the worst day ever to the best day ever. The school was so good, we couldn’t have asked them to do any more.”

Shivani Sondhi, Class of 2013

LIFE AFTER ICS

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university offerShe already had an unconditional offer from another highly-ranked UK university, but it was Exeter where she wanted to go. After her IB results came out, there were frequent phone calls from ICS staff, counselling her and offering advice. The school also asked for re-marks in two subjects where she was on the borderline of the highest grades.

At first, however, these efforts didn’t pay off. “I must have rung the university 20 times during July and early August to try and persuade them to take me, but first they put me off until the ‘A’ Level results came out and then they said no.” Shivani was extremely upset. So her father rang ICS and asked if Head of School, Mary-Lyn Campbell would call Exeter and lobby on her behalf. “She said she would,” Arun remembers. Later on the Sondhis got the message that Shivani had been accepted. “I think the university was impressed that the Head of School was willing personally to intervene on Shivani’s behalf,” says Arun.

“It went from being the worst day ever to the best day ever,” Shivani adds. “The school was so good, we couldn’t have asked them to do any more.”

We wish Shivani all the best for her time at Exeter.

Like the Sondhis, the Schneidewind family also welcomed the support they received from ICS. They came to Zurich from their native Germany after their daughter Lena had started the Diploma programme. Sabine Schneidewind says “Many people told us we couldn’t move then. But although it was a challenge, everybody at ICS said she would manage it and did many things to help us.

“I could ask everybody questions by email before we arrived and get answers. In some of Lena’s subjects, like chemistry and history, ICS was doing topics in a different order from her previous school. Before we came, we received emails from ICS explaining which topics they were studying. And Lena was also working on her Extended Essay and then had to change supervisor to Mrs Marchetti. But Mrs Marchetti was very helpful and supportive.”

Lena, who is going to Oxford this autumn to study Chemistry, is a very motivated student but sometimes needed some individual help as she was changing schools during the Diploma Programme. Sabine says: “There were some topics she had missed so she needed some extra help. I really appreciated that they always had time to help her. And for me, I was impressed that when I had questions and sent an email, the school would respond immediately.” Lena and her younger sister had been students at an international school in Germany. But, says Sabine, it was a smaller school and had only been offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

for five years. “It has helped us so much to come to a school that has 20 years’ experience. And we have found ICS very open and welcoming.”

One particular area where she was grateful to ICS for the support it offered was the students’ buddy system. Sabine says, “It was really helpful that Lena and her sister could make contact with students here before they arrived and meet them before term started.” As a parent, Sabine adds, she also enjoyed the welcome she received from the ICS Parents’ Association. “For me, it was nice that they organised coffee mornings and New In Zurich meetings. All that information was great. We have often moved in Germany but I have never settled in as quickly anywhere as I have here. Everyone here is so open and so well organised.”

While Lena is now preparing for life at Oxford, her younger sister in Grade 11 is making plans to study Medicine at university. Sabine says the support she is receiving from the University Counsellor is a new, and much appreciated, experience. “We didn’t have this at our previous school, and to be guided through the applications process, that was new for us and totally helpful.

“We had been told before to look at the UCAS website for information about what is required to study a certain course. But

“Although moving here was difficult, we are totally happy and I would definitely do it again. It was a wonderful step to move here.”

Sabine Schneidewind, ICS parent

younger students don’t always know what to study. Here, we had helpful guidance. We were offered the opportunity to use Euroquest for our daughter to get more ideas about what she wanted to study, and have also used Naviance to get suggestions. It is really helpful. The school has also allowed her to do four Higher Level subjects, so she can do German at Higher Level (along with English, Chemistry and Biology) in case she goes to university back in Germany. That was not a problem for the school at all.”

On page 20 you can read up more about Lena’s service work during her gap year.

LIFE AFTER ICS

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“For our family, ICS has been a place where if you seek you will find. Students are encouraged to show initiative and when they do, their efforts are met with support.”

Alexandra Heumann Wicki, parent

A parent of two ICS graduates reflects about their experiences here.

Parent Alexandra Heumann Wicki has been involved with

ICS for nearly 20 years. Her son William graduated three

years ago and is now at Stanford university. Her daughter

Olivia has just graduated with the Class of 2014 and will be

going to Princeton. We asked Alexandra to talk about her

family’s experiences at ICS.

“We have been at ICS since 1996. All three children began at

what used to be called Nursery School, and is now called EY1.

William graduated in 2011, Olivia now in 2014 and Valentina will

be graduating in 2016, completing our family’s 20 year journey with

ICS!

We had a number of reasons for choosing ICS. At the time, we

thought we were going to relocate to New York in the near future

so an international school seemed the right preparatory step for our

children. The other factors were the proximity to our home and that

I believe I have benefited tremendously from my own international

school experience.

The family has been very happy with this decision. Zurich 18 years

ago was much less cosmopolitan than it is now and this was a way

to open the wider world to our children. One drawback has been

the potential for isolation from the Swiss community and culture.

But local activities involving church, sports and music, helped us

maintain that vital connection.

ICS has undergone many changes over time, but it has always been

a supportive and welcoming place. We have had grandparents,

friends and colleagues attend events, visit on open days or join classroom invitations, and everybody comments on the warmth and openness that they encounter. To us, this ethos is central

to ICS. It has been the platform for everything from helpful conversations with teachers, to constructive solutions with the administration and to motivated children.

Everybody’s expectations in regard to their child’s school differs, but for our family ICS has been a place where if you seek you will find. Students are encouraged to show initiative and when they do, their efforts are met with support. The fact that ICS is a non-selective school in regard to the IB Diploma programme reflects the faith that it has in every student’s potential. This is a powerful message.

For the most part our children have truly enjoyed school. Not necessarily the homework or the exams, but their teachers and their peers. As they are, and will be, 100% ICS products, we cannot compare varied educational experiences. But to our family this grass has always looked very green. This is the place where they all grew up.”

Above: William at his ICS Graduation. Below, Olivia teaching at SMD School in kathmandu during the ICS Grade 10 Expedition in 2012.

LIFE AFTER ICS

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ICS graduate Nicolas Albers-Schönberg (pictured) is finishing his first year studying at ETH Zurich. The entry requirements were daunting. “For Mechanical Engineering, ETH asks IB Diploma students to score 38 points (before bonus points) and to have Maths, Physics and one language at Higher Level,” says Nicolas’s mother, Amaya. But Nicolas made the grade and was accepted. “He was extremely well prepared at ICS in his Higher Maths and Physics classes,” Amaya says. “So well prepared, in his first semester, he was repeating things he already learned.”

Nicolas first joined ICS after the family moved back to Zurich from England. Having finished Grade 2 there, he was put into Grade 2 again at ICS. “At the time I wasn’t convinced it was the right thing to do. But now, as a more mature mother, I understand perfectly, it was the right decision,” Amaya says. “He came with good grades, but he was very young in comparison with the others as children start school in England a year earlier. From an academic point of view, he would probably have been alright. But from a social point of view, it would have been a disaster. He would have been two years younger than his classmates and at that age, that makes a very big difference. And if he had carried on, he would have been graduating when he was 16 – too young to go onto university or

go into the army or anything. With that experience behind me, when I see Primary parents worrying now about their children, I feel like saying: “Let the school do its stuff - they know what they are doing. Let ICS do its job, it does it very well.”

For many parents, ICS is different to the schools their children have moved from – or the ones they went to themselves. But Amaya says: “You can’t compare your own school to ICS. This school really teaches our children to learn for their own benefit and to learn for life. The Swiss system encourages children to memorise a lot of information. Here, students do so much learning and researching information by themselves, I think they retain the knowledge longer because they had to seek it out for themselves.”

Next year, her second son will graduate from ICS. At first he found transitioning from Grade 10 into Grade 11 and the IB Diploma Programme a shock. “The transition is quite difficult,” Amaya says. “The expectations of students at IB Diploma level are extremely high and it’s a big change. But the school really made a tremendous effort to help us, teachers came in early or stayed after school to help my son. That shows the involvement of the teachers: they really do want to get the best out of the pupils.”

ICS prepared her son “extremely well” for his studies at ETH, says Amaya Albers.

In Grades 11 & 12, Lisa Moretti was not sure what she wanted to do. So instead of going straight on to university, she decided to do an internship. Six months in, she feels she made the right decision, as she explains.

“I am working at UBS, on an 18-month internship which leads to the Schweizerische Bankvereinigung Certificate. Following submission of CV, school grades, references and proof of extra-curricular activities, I was invited to an interview, together with 11 other candidates, which lasted a full afternoon. We were tested on our teamwork skills, a role-play exercise in sales, a written task – motivational letter, a maths test and an individual interview with a panel of six people who questioned my education, my interest in UBS and my hobbies. The very next day, I received a phone call and was hired.

Initially, I have been assigned to the Schaffhausen branch of UBS, dealing with a variety of customers on a daily basis. No two days are the same. Issued with a tablet, we have to study all aspects of banking, are tested on-line and two days a month attend classes at the University of UBS. I am learning so much

Work experience gives Lisa a new direction

and thoroughly enjoying it. I take great pleasure in the contact with people – if you are kind, helpful and committed, people react positively. It is an exemplary introduction to the working world and being a large organisation, I am learning about management structures, laws and compliance.

I haven’t given up on the idea of studying at University but this work experience has made me realise in which direction I would like to go. I have discovered how well-organised and structured I am and how much I enjoy the management process. And how important an international environment is for me personally. Therefore, for my next 6-month assignment I am hoping to get into the Wealth Management Department in Zurich. Ultimately, the University courses I am researching are in International Management with practical experience abroad. Whether at Uni or at UBS, there are plenty of opportunities to achieve my potential, fulfil my responsibilities and I can still pursue my dancing passion.”

LIFE AFTER ICS

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A Spirit of Generosity

“You are allowed to make mistakes if you learn from them.”

Lena Schneidewind

ICS graduate Lena Schneidewind is volunteering at a Nepalese orphanage before going to study Chemistry at Oxford.

On New Year’s Eve, ICS graduate Lena Schneidewind watched the fireworks from the plane, while flying to Nepal to volunteer during her gap year. “I have long wanted to go to a developing country to try to make a difference,” she says. “I feel that at international schools, we have been given so much knowledge, endless opportunities, and countless great life experiences. I wanted to go somewhere and discover a different lifestyle and work with people less privileged than us.” Lena is spending four months in Pokhara, working at a children’s home. “Some children are orphans, but they also take in children whose families can’t care for them anymore,” she explains. “Sometimes they take kids whose parents have been sent to prison; if there is no-one else to care for the kids, they have to go to prison too.” In volunteering in Nepal, Lena embodies key aspects of the International Baccalaureate learner profile (which encourages students to be inquiring and principled) and the culture of community engagement that ICS fosters, that challenges students to fulfil their responsibilities.

Lena is writing a blog in which she reflects on her experiences in Pokhara. Many roads are in such poor condition that “I actually get surprised when I see a properly paved street,” she writes. Cows roam freely, but she says, “It is funny how you can slowly adapt to cows going shopping with you.” She loves working with the children. Passionately she writes about those who want to go to university but who, unlike her, will probably be denied the chance. “Two 9th Grade girls told me that if their parents decide they have to marry, they have no chance of saying ‘no’. Both have amazing dreams for the future, both want to go to university, but after they finish 10th Grade in Pokhara, they have to go back to their villages and will maybe be stuck there for ever. If there would be one thing I could change in this country” she adds, “I would give girls the freedom to lead their own life.”

Just after she arrived in Nepal, Lena received an email confirming that she had been accepted to study Chemistry at the University of Oxford – something she says she would have not dared dream of. Lena, our highest-achieving graduate last year, gained 43 points (out of a maximum 45) in her IB Diploma. She was originally set to study business at Warwick. During the summer however, she changed her plans. Supported by ICS, “which gave me a lot of different perspectives on what I might do in the future”, she reapplied

to universities to study Chemistry so she could pursue her real passion for science. She is grateful for the support that ICS, which encourages all students to have high expectations for their learning, gave her. “ICS was great,” she says, “I always knew that there was someone who I could ask if I was stuck with anything. And even when I was not at ICS anymore, I was always able to come and get help. Mrs Campbell helped me prepare for my interview and the school helped me a lot with recommendations to universities.”

Lena worked hard to gain her Diploma and says that it took perseverance to get her high Chemistry score of a 7. Her advice to others is: “You’re allowed to make mistakes if you learn from them – take a mistake as a lesson.” In fact, she had a 3 in her first Chemistry test, but worked hard from there to change that. She studied mainly from her self-designed revision notes, which suited her particular style of visual learning best. But “I never stuck only to books during the two years. I enjoyed activities from acting and vaulting to ballet during my free time,” she says. “It is most important to balance work and other activities. My mind was always most focused when I did sports, too.”

“My passions are for scientific subjects and I want to continue on with science and do research and have the opportunity to discover something new. I am really interested in green energy and sustainable energy and that’s what I want to go into,” she says. • You can read Lena’s blog at lenaleinnn.wordpress.com

Lena, second from right, celebrating with friends at ICS Graduation

LIFE AFTER ICS

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A Passion for Helping

An ICS alumna who worked in Liberia this summer treating victims of the Ebola virus has said she is longing to go back.

“The situation in Liberia is disastrous,” said ICS graduate Dr Nathalie MacDermott on her return to Europe. She took unpaid leave in July to go and work in a hospital in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

“They desperately need healthcare staff there. Liberia doesn’t have enough doctors at the best of times and now some of them have died of Ebola and others have left Liberia because they are afraid of catching the disease themselves. And local nurses too are contracting the disease – the unit where I was working was full of healthcare workers. So Liberia desperately needs help. I can’t sit here and pretend it’s not happening. I can’t sit back and do nothing when I know that I might be able to help.”

Nathalie graduated from ICS in 1999 and went on to Cardiff University to study medicine. She had known for a long time that she was interested in medicine and that she particularly wanted to work with children. While at ICS she worked with vulnerable children in Zurich for her CAS service project. During her gap year, after graduating from ICS, she did some work experience at a hospital in China.

Since qualifying as a doctor, she has volunteered three times to work in medical disaster response. A practising Christian, she has volunteered with the charity Samaritan’s Purse – which is headed up by evangelist Billy Graham’s son, Franklin. With Samaritan’s Purse, Nathalie went to Haiti in 2011 to help treat victims of the cholera epidemic that broke out after the earthquake there. She also went to the Philippines in December 2013 to help run mobile clinics reaching areas cut off by Typhoon Haiyan. That, she said, was very satisfying. “We saw people who had had no healthcare for five to six weeks after the typhoon, including children who had developed severe infections and had high fevers. It was so satisfying to be able to treat them and then to go back the following week and see that they were getting better.”

But though she is used to travelling and working in developing countries, the situation – and the medical need – in Liberia really shocked her. “Being out there was like sitting on a time bomb and waiting for it to explode,” she says. “For the first few days I was there, we were seeing one to two new cases a day. But then they rapidly began increasing and we started getting cases from areas of Liberia that had not previously had any cases of Ebola.

“It became so chaotic, it is hard for me to say how many cases came in. We were expecting to work with a government-run healthcare facility – but during my first week, the Ministry of Health felt they could no longer run it and transferred the patients to the Samaritan’s Purse facility. This meant we were over capacity almost as soon as we opened the new treatment facility.

“Things started spiralling out of control. One day we had a patient transferred to us from another county where there had not been many cases. Then I had a phone call to say six of his family members had also tested positive for Ebola and we needed to take them in - but we had no beds left. We were trying to open a bigger facility while I was there, a tent hospital where we could treat more patients. But there is so much fear and paranoia about Ebola that the locals didn’t want a

treatment facility in their neighbourhood. There were riots, some of them violent, right outside our compound.”

Despite education campaigns in the country, she says, there is a lot of ignorance and superstition around Ebola, which is hampering the efforts of health professionals to help. “There is huge denial,” Nathalie says.

“People would know they were sick but they wouldn’t admit they had had contact with a person who had Ebola. People weren’t wholly honest about their symptoms or whether they had been in contact with Ebola victims. I could understand that. People would arrive at our hospital potentially sick but still walking, eating and drinking. A week later they would leave in a body bag. So I don’t blame them for being scared to talk about their symptoms.”

“I appreciate that the risk is there - but I don’t let it get in the way of doing what I’m passionate about. I recognise that there is risk to my personal safety, but I am so passionate about what I want to do, it wouldn’t inhibit me going,” she says. In this, she embodies the ICS mission of pursuing your passion and fulfilling your responsibilities.

She feels strongly that the international community could, and should, have acted earlier and done more to help. Two of her colleagues contracted Ebola while she was in Liberia. It hit the headlines around the world when they were taken back to the US where they are now responding well to treatment. “It was frightening when that happened,” she says. “And while you need a level of fear, because it keeps you safe, our fears really came to the surface when Kent and Nancy got sick.

“But on the other hand, that was one of the things that really brought the Liberian Ebola crisis to the attention of the international community. We now have an international commitment to offer more help. I hope very much to see that commitment fulfilled, on the ground.”

LIFE AFTER ICS

Going to Liberia was daunting for her, because of the inevitable risks. But, she says, she is prepared to take them in order to pursue her passion for helping others.

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Jean HarperWhen I was asked to put together a few thoughts for an article enti-tled “Life after ICS......Then and Now”, my first thought was perhaps in my case it ought to be “Is there life after ICS?” considering that I spent 23 years working there, initially as a supply teacher, then for 17 years a class teacher. Even after 13 years of retirement I’m still in regular contact with many of my former colleagues.

So, ‘Life after ICS’......Well, once retired the first question was, do we return to the U.K., do we stay in Switzerland or do we move to France, which we love and where we’d spent many holidays. We were told that after so long away from ‘home’, it would be impossible to settle back into life in England. For us it wasn’t too difficult a decision, as our two children were in the U.K. (Having said that, our daughter and her family are now living in Geneva, so, although we miss them all we have our ‘Swiss Fix’ at regular intervals.) We also bought a house in France where we now spend about 3 months a year, so we have the best of both worlds.

After so many years away, settling back into the U.K. and village life was difficult. In Switzerland we had lots of friends, now we had to virtually start all over again, not easy. My first plan was to do supply teaching, but whenever I was required I was never available, as we were taking advantage of our newfound freedom and travelling. We visited South Africa, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Argentina and Chile as well as travelling around Europe.

So what next? The answer was...get involved locally, so we did!! We first joined the village-walking group, which had been active for about 25 years, always walking locally. Bringing in some P.Y.P. thinking, we suggested having a ‘sleep-over’ walk!!!! For those readers who have organised ICS Field Trips, I can tell you I’d rather take a group of 8 years olds away for a week than a group of pensioners for a night!!! “Our bedroom is too small”!!!!! “They got two sausages and I only got one”!!! And so on.

I joined a choir and we’ve performed at a number of events and have even made 2 CDs.....neither of which has actually made it into the charts!!!! We also do volunteer work. With the backing and support from the police and local authorities, we are part of a group trying to encourage drivers to stick to the speed limit whilst travelling through our village.

We both go to a gym; I attend a craft club where we produce arti-cles to be sold to raise money for charity, and, our favourite activity of all, spending as much time as possible with our 3 grandchildren. Now, after becoming involved in these activities we’ve made many friends, both in the U.K. and in France.

I recently re-visited Lucerne; somewhere I was familiar with having spent many ICS Field Trips there, always with 20+ 3rd graders in tow. This time I had only 2 of our grandchildren, so could really enjoy it without constantly counting heads to ensure we hadn’t ‘mislaid’ anyone, or even worse, ended up with more heads than we’d started with.

Life Long Learner has now become a well-used phrase in numer-ous situations. Am I a L.L.L.? Well I’m constantly learning to cope with new technology, iPads, iPods, iPhones, Facebook, Facetime, Skype, Twitter, Whatsapp, Viber, etc, much of which could be ob-solete by the time this article is published.

As for being a risk taker, well I’m writing this aren’t I? This is some-thing I’ve never done before. What will the general consensus of opinion be......no idea.

Risk taking really means different things to different people, to one person it’s asking a question in front of a group which others may ridicule as stupid, to someone else it’s jumping from a tremendous height with a bit of elastic tied to their leg. As a friend of similar age to myself admitted, risk taking for her was parking her car in a different place each time she went shopping, then attempting to find it again!!

So as to the question ‘Is there life after ICS?’.........Absolutely, but you have to go out and make it!!

Jean Harperjeanniemacharper@gmail.com

STAFF THEN & NOW

After spending 23 years in Switzerland, amongst people from all over the world, we missed the international atmos-phere, so in France we joined an international social group where, believe it or not, we’ve met a former ICS teacher and the parents of one of my former pupils.

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Pam Willerton To echo our farewell article from 2007, it seems like only yesterday that we left ICS, finishing school on 22nd June, after living in Zumikon since 1985 and between us notching up 35 years of ICS service. Suddenly, seven years have passed, very happily, seeing us well settled in our house in the Ardèche in Southern France, with wonderful neighbours and a variety of good friends, old and new around us.

It seems that the older one becomes, the further back the memories go and we so often think back to early days at ICS, the classes I had (6W, later 7W), the lovely students I taught and Dennis ferried about and of course the colleagues we both worked with so happily. Highlights include field trips, naturally – many and varied over 22 years, but the nine Paris trips tend to stand out in the memory, unsurprisingly, as does the final ninth grade Swiss Art tour, 2007.

We also fondly remember the shows – 7th grade extravaganzas initially, for which I often helped with sets and we both played in the band, on several occasions. ‘Teachers’ Aid’, Cabaret, community plays and shows – even a Blues Brothers appearance; all great fun and somehow the staff always found the energy and enthusiasm, even with everything else we had to do! There were the school calendars too – 20 in all – to be sourced and edited from everyone’s artworks, not forgetting the school magazine to be compiled. We were always so busy and the time never dragged!

The Art department in the New Building is an abiding memory for me of course – exciting times and so many keen and talented students, from grade 6 up to my IB Diploma groups over my last dozen or so years at ICS. Numbers varied, but I well remember groups of 19 and 22, which was hectic but fun.

The IB exhibitions always formed part of ArtsFest, from its inception, in 1997, if memory serves and there were workshops and some great drama productions as well as musical offerings of all kinds. Parents and teachers always came up trumps for their own exhibition within ArtsFest too, with some wonderful work displayed over the years.

Since we retired, I’ve been kept pretty well occupied with IB work – I’m still a Principal Examiner for Visual Arts and have done all sorts of consultancy work with IB these past few years, including the very busy examining /moderating sessions each Spring and Autumn. Initially, Dennis drove us all over the place for the external examiner visits – Lugano, Monaco, Nice, Toulouse – but now of course it’s all electronic, which took a bit of getting used to at first. I still go to Cardiff for Grade Awards each June and December – in fact, the summer meeting almost inevitably prevents me from attending Alumni reunions unfortunately!

Aside from IB work, the house and garden, our new studio and various classes and hobbies – video editing and French for Dennis, water colours and Yoga for me – keep us pleasantly occupied for the rest of the year – plus the odd visit back here to Switzerland of course – I’m writing this in Zumikon, in fact, as we’re flat-sitting for a month and revisiting old haunts and seeing some old friends too.It’s always great to hear news of former students and for me that has been the main benefit of using Facebook – lovely to see former students getting married and producing gorgeous families in various places around the world!

We’re very happy to be in touch with our old ICS friends and we send our best wishes to everyone: bien amicalement.

Pam and Dennis Willerton pamela.willerton@neuf.fr

STAFF THEN & NOW

As predicted, we often reminisce about times past and ICS yearbooks are often thumbed and copies of ICS World always perused with great interest and ‘do you remember when… ?’

24

Congratulations to all our Long Service Award Winners! We are pleased to honour and recognise these dedicated professionals.

10 YEARS SERVICETrina Arsenault - Trina joined ICS in 2003 teaching in the Primary School where she has taught both Kindergarten and Grade 1 and is presently teaching Grade 2. Always involved with the various as-pects of ICS life, Trina has frequently organised many activities for our students.

Ian Dundas - Beginning with ‘off and on’ time working in IT at ICS, Ian has gathered 10 years of service at our school. Over those many years Ian became known as the ‘go to’ guy in IT. Ian is head-ing for retirement back to his native Australia.

Michael Findlay - Mike joined the ICS Secondary School in 2003 where taught Science. Now, Michael is busy in the Physical Educa-tion Department as the new Athletics Director.

Irene Gardner - Irene, who always has a smile on her face, has been an assistant to the Visual Arts Department, first in Secondary and for the past 3 years in the Primary School.

15 YEARS SERVICEEva Faeh - Eva has been with ICS a long time - she left and came back and since 2005 has been with us once again. Her off-and-on years at ICS now number 15 mostly teaching IB German B in the Secondary School.

Elena Salassa - As Head of our Language B Department for Grades 9-12 in the Secondary School, Elena has passed along her many linguistic talents with enthusiasm, which has proved extremely beneficial to our multicultural environment and our IB stu-dents. After 15 years, Elena is retiring from ICS.

20 YEARS SERVICEAnnina Caveng - Always carrying a smile with her, Annina joined ICS 20 years ago working in administration, and for the last 7 years she has been Admissions Director for ICS.

Rikki Smith - Over the years, ICS has benefitted from Rik-ki’s dedication, including her time with our Student Support Services Department, teaching English and producing the early edi-tions of the Yearbook. After her long career at ICS, Rikki is heading for retirement!

25 YEARS SERVICEAlexander Black - After 25 years at ICS, Alex is no stranger to the Secondary School and aside from coordinating the Theory of Knowledge for IB students, he is Director of Teaching and Learning Development and naturally, he is also in the classroom where he leads students in their exploration of the Sciences.

Bruce Lamont - Bruce began his ICS career in 1987 but along the way took a break for a year before rejoining our ranks. Bruce enjoys the international, multi-cultural atmosphere of ICS and takes pleasure in continuing his ‘calling’ in the Primary School, presently teaching Grade 5.

Special Recognition for Dr Christoph von Graffenried – 19 years of very dedicated service to the ICS Board of Trustees In June 1995, Dr Christoph von Graffenried, was elected to the ICS Board of Trustees and has since tended to countless ICS legal matters with enormous dedication. Dr von Graffenried’s advice and very long commitment to ICS has been more than appreciated by the five Heads of School he has worked with plus all the Trustees he has encountered during his time on the Board of Trustees.

ICS LONG SERvICE AWARDS 2013-2014

25

Recognising Exceptional Teaching Clive Greaves is the inaugural recipient of The Atkinson Award presented by the ICS Board of Trustees.

The Atkinson Award, which is named after the founders of ICS, Gerald and Kay Atkinson, was established in May 2013 by the ICS Board of Trustees to recognise and celebrate exceptional ICS teachers. The Atkinsons inspired hundreds of students as they embodied and championed the role of the teacher.

As Gerald Atkinson wrote “A good teacher does not need to rely on textbooks. Indeed a good class is not … one in which the children are all injected with the same facts, in the same way, from the same book. A good class is … one in which the teacher promotes the subject, provokes the curiosity of the children, and stimulates the research and guides them to sources of information that will help them answer their questions.”

In his tribute to Clive Greaves, the inaugural recipient of The Atkinson Award, the Chair of the ICS Board of Trustees, Mr Sanjeev Premchand, said that “Mr Greaves has always shown leadership qualities that demonstrate an attitude to lifelong learning, and has always remained committed to the education of all members of the ICS community, regularly playing an active role in introducing members of our community to Zurich, often providing snippets of information gathered over a lifetime of learning and teaching, mastering the art of imparting knowledge, good judgment and wisdom to our students.

He has been described as ‘by far the finest teacher I have ever had the privilege to work with’ and as ‘a natural communicator’. In the words of a colleague he is ‘single-handedly responsible for so much of what makes ICS a stand-out among top international schools’. He is dedicated to making learning tangible by leading students on field trips and other excursions from the classroom, is committed to bridging cultures, and taking students out of their comfort zones.

Another member of staff said ‘What I admire most is that he is a gifted teacher with a sense of humour who inspires students to achieve their potential and who leads by example.’

A parent described Clive as having ‘the knack for finding the right approach when addressing 8th Graders as well as when working with 12th Graders, and using creative methods in making as abstract and advanced a course as Theory of Knowledge relevant and meaningful for students’ and having the ability to restore student and teacher confidence when called in to mediate disputes about grades and evaluation in their area of responsibility, always having both the teachers’ and students’ best interests at heart.

He has had the opportunity to do many things at ICS from looking after the 7th Grade Show (which was when our paths first crossed) the football team, the table tennis club, and the drama club. He was

the first editor of the school magazine, a driving force in the Personal Development Programme for all 10th Grade students, as well as the introduction of the IB PYP and MYP programmes to ICS. He has been a goodwill ambassador for ICS both through his charity work both in Switzerland and in the developing world.

Clive Greaves is a teacher who epitomises ICS’ mission to ‘Achieve your Potential, Pursue your Passion and Fulfil your Responsibility’. With great pleasure the Board of Trustees selected him to be the inaugural recipient of The Atkinson Award. It is the collective wish of the ICS community that Clive’s legacy lives on through thethousands of lives that he has touchedduring his time at ICS.”

THE ATkINSON AWARD

Since joining the ICS Community 33 years ago, Mr Greaves has been valued as a teacher in both the Primary and Secondary School, and has held the positions of Primary Principal, Deputy Secondary Principal, and Director of Studies.

26

LEAvERS

Angela David We know Angela as Head of Performing Arts, Drama Coordinator, Theatre/Drama teacher extraordinaire, singer and actor! Whether co-ordinating whole school events, ISTA trips, field trips, Tanzania Capacity Building workshops, Angela does it with patience, a high level of organization and the creativity that is her trademark. Thank-you Angela for your 8 years of dedication to the school, your service within the community and beyond, and, most importantly, for your compassionate, student-centred approach to teaching. We wish you the best of luck in Peru!

Kathryn FreeburnWe want to thank Kathryn for her 3 years of dedicated work at the school as a HOD and Mathematics teacher. She has been working hard as a Head of Department of Mathematics to make inquiry central to learning in the subject and to raise the profile of Mathematics learning through parent workshops. Wishing her all the best in Columbia.

Clare Dixon-ClarkThank-you Clare for joining the Visual Arts team this year – you have been a great support to your colleagues and a committed teacher. Clare, Richard and Billy have a new addition to the family and we wish her all the best with this new adventure!

John Cannings We want to thank John for 19 years of service to the school as CAS (Creativity, Action & Service) Coordinator, Geography teacher, Human-ities teacher and for one year as IB Diploma Programme Coordinator. Despite working with all of the Grade 11 and 12 students on CAS over the years, it is wonderful that he was able to personalize the support of students to such an extent. We wish John all the best as he builds his consultancy and look forward to working with him in that capacity next year.

Elisabeth KistlerElisabeth has had connections to ICS for many, many years in spite of the fact that she has only been employed by ICS for two years. What many of you might not know is that Elisabeth has a very strong entrepreneurial spirit. She’s leaving ICS to devote all of her time to her own business as a financial consultant. Elisabeth, thank you for the contributions you’ve made in our Finance Department. We wish you much success with your business.

Gaby GroggGaby joined ICS six years ago as a caretaker and bus driver and is a very familiar face in our school, in particular, to our Early Years students. What many of you might not know is that she is also a former Swiss champion in a sport similar to kick boxing. Gaby, we thank you for all your help over the years and wish you well.

Gabriela BenderGabriela has had us all dancing (adults and students alike) for the past 5 years as a Primary and Secondary dance teacher. We appreciate Gabriela’s ability to make even the most reticent feel at home on the dance floor, and for the way that she makes teaching and leading large groups of student look easy.

Lisa AllenLisa taught Visual Art in the Primary School for the past 4 years and during that time she shared her love of art with our students. Lisa will be remembered in the Primary for the annual art fair and for leading a number of field trips to learn about art in numerous museums throughout Switzerland.

Julie LochJulie has worked at ICS for the past 10 years as a permanent cover teacher in the Primary School. We are very grateful to Julie for her kind and gentle manner with her students, and for her flexibility as she never quite knew what her role would be each day.

Guiseppe Bevacqua Guiseppe has been here for over 24 years as a caretaker and bus driver. I think everyone in the school knows Guiseppe. Many of us have also enjoyed the wonderful treats that he brings us from his garden during the different seasons of the school year. Guiseppe thanks for all your help over the years.

Lisa BroccolliLisa has been the school nurse since 1999. During her time here she has had a loving way with the children and has become a familiar face at school. We wish her all the best and look forward to seeing her around as an occasional substitute teacher.

27

LEAvERS

Peter SchardtThank-you Peter for joining us on a short-term contract. You stepped in at a challenging time and quickly embraced the IB curriculum and assessment process (no easy task) and demonstrated a strong commitment to the students in your classes. It is clear that even in a short amount of time Peter really got to know the students.

Ron PatakiThank-you Ron for your 15 years of dedicated service to the school. You have been the charismatic History teacher – students and parents alike talk about your passion for the subject and how you inspire students. The History programme has grown over the years as a result. You have also had different leadership roles involving the IB. We hope you have a wonderful year enjoying your family!

Jeff RidlingtonJeff was with us only a short time as the Primary Drama teacher and whole school Theater Technician. During that time Jeff involved himself enthusiastically in a number of productions across the school, culminating in the wonderful primary performance of “The Jungle Book.”

Anita MooseAnita has been the Primary School Technology Integration Specialist for the past two years. We appreciate Anita for how far we have come under her guidance and vision, and for her patience with all of us in supporting our improved digital literacy.

George SweeneyGeorge came to ICS two years ago and was immediately immersed in our IT department as a wireless guru and his talents were put to use in this area. A person who is willing to help to ensure that our data gets through – George will be returning to the States to continue his career as an IT consultant. Thank you George for your help these past two years.

Ian DundasIan worked at ICS for 10 years in the IT department. He’s retiring this year and we wish him all the best.

Elena SalassaThank-you Elena for 15 years at ICS. As Head of our Language B Department for Grades 9 - 12 in the Secondary School, she has passed along her many linguistic talents with enthusiasm, which has proved extremely beneficial to our multicultural environment and our IB students.

Mid-Year Departures from the Admin Staff:Matthias Albin, Wynnie Bogenschneider, Helena Chlepnac, Syrafete Sylia, Beatrice Thomann & Lena Veliu.

28

Tim Moynihan

A picture does indeed speak a thousand words and I’d like to begin with one that pays tribute to our ‘hands-on’ Primary Principal, Tim Moynihan. Like a postman, Tim never has let the weather deter him and has unfailingly greeted our Primary students as they made their way into the school faithfully every morning and practically every afternoon after school. He’s been a one man welcoming Committee out on the ICS playground since he joined ICS in August 2011. Always ready to listen and help students when they need-ed him, Tim has been such a positive presence for so many of our Primary students. They will miss him. As will our Primary teachers who have appreciated his leadership. Having worked very closely with Tim since I joined ICS, I can only attest to the commitment and energy he brings to the job every day – often - well beyond the school day – and well into the evenings. He is a dedicated administrator who is passionate about teaching and someone determined to make a difference. Tim has completely thrown himself into the job of Primary Principal making many friends along the way in our community. He will remain a trusted colleague and loyal friend of ICS for many years to come. Tim, a personal and heartfelt thank you for all the contributions that you have made while you were here at ICS – we wish you much success in the next chapter of your career.

Graham Hopkins

Our next retiree joined ICS after a very successful career in a Swiss IT company and has been here for 8 years, since 1st July 2006. Many of our staff have experienced first hand his patience and willingness to help with the mundane software problems that seem to present themselves more often than we would like them to. Coming into many of our offices, he was always a welcome sight. He is someone who has received a lot of calls for help and has always answered the call. His cheery hellos and conversational titbits are always a delight. And, his expertise to solve our technical problems has always been appreciated. Graham, you will always be a helpful friend to this community. Thank you.

FAREWELLS

Tony Simcock

Another long serving member of the ICS community and another loyal member of staff who needs no introduction is Tony Simcock. He joined ICS in 1979 when he ventured to Switzerland to begin his teaching career at ICS. Fast forward to today- Tony retired as a teacher last year, but agreed to stay on to continue to manage the school’s data base. His willingness to help out teachers is unsurpassed – he just says ‘yes’ to all requests that come his way. His legacy will be his unfailing propensity to lend a hand when asked (and also not when asked). Tony’s students from long ago are still in touch with him – it’s a testament to the wonderful spirit and engagement he brought to the classroom. Tony, thank you. You will always be a great friend of this community.

Mary-Lyn Campbell, Head of School, bids Good-Bye

29

Clive Greaves Reflects on his Time at ICS

33 years in the school – where do you start? You try and reach the 80s yearbooks on the library shelves and it’s, literally, a stretch, and in any case they hadn’t been invented when you joined the school. You dip into the first, anyway.

In some ways things haven’t changed a bit – queue for coffee in the mornings; the sound of a band rehearsing in early sessions, a cross between guegge music and an Italian funeral procession; crowded corridors; notices and pictures, and the sounds coming from the playground at break.

But how complex the school seems to have become – how busy! Later in the 80s we see the double-cast ‘Animal Farm’ (‘89) and the first SOSAG (‘sausage’) boxes to take up the additions in the new 8th and 9th Grades.

Life looked significantly simpler; it wasn’t, of course, but Mike and Christian Hope’s Yearbooks and, later, Rikki Smith’s, make it seem so; the year punctuated with regular events: ski week, end-of-year show, field trips, sports’ days, etc. all of which seem to have happened with a predictability which, now, is comforting.

Then, in the late 80s, decisions about expansion upwards were taken, finally, and the school grew and grew. Photos of students show them becoming more sophisticated – haircuts changed drastically, but staff still took part in students’ sport events and regularly made fools of themselves.

Some of the names drift out of memory into real recognition – you start to remember how they talked. The Famous Four Ladies of the early 90s: Samantha Jones, Cecilia Tietze, Charlotte Bennborn and Soledad Bethencourt will be in their thirties now. And look at those t-shirts! With the font designed by the late Martin Latter.

The other thing that strikes you when you look back through the year-books is the huge amount of ‘education’ that one volume represents. If all of the events could come to life we would witness, concentrated in these photos, huge packages and suitcases full of experience and learning; the results of hours of planning, discussion, preparation and meetings, all glued together with teachers’ and young peoples’ enthusiasm – this would reveal the true life of the school.

Despite it being a cliche to describe a school as a “living being” a life is revealed through this journey as the books grow in complexity – the first notices with “IGCSE INFORMATION” on them in Nick Darlington’s script and male students with wispy beards and a deeply serious, or worried, look. These are the first years when exam predictions and results became a dominant theme in the staff room and the slightest of schisms appeared between exam teachers and middle school teachers. Meanwhile, the Primary School was doing what the Primary School has always done – taught children to read and write and think and led, cajoled and pushed them along their ways.

Along came ICS 2000, opened remarkably within three weeks of target date, without a missed day of teaching and learning. A grey, hard, noisy and impersonal building whose personality is defined by the list of donors in the entrance hallway and the fire-regulation

defying displays on the walls. To find any softness you have to go to Ruth Owen’s library, with its hard fought for rugs and redesigned shelf layout. In spite of new media and predictions of the ‘death of reading’ the library still beats as the heart of the school.

In fact, struggling for the ‘heart’ of education is what goes on between colleagues here every day. Yearbooks cannot quite catch this; you won’t get away with a simple conversation about teaching with Alex Black, for example, and the debates about meaning and long-term value and skills for the 21st century and context and content and concepts and competencies etc. flow back and forth, even at the oddest of times, with people dancing from foot to foot to get to the loo, or half way in and out of a door. None of these conversations revolve around making life easy for the teaching staff, quite the opposite; it’s all about more accessibility, more challenge, more opportunity…..

The 2000s and 2010s have spawned fat year books, impressionistically designed by Jonathan Malcolm and his teams of student journalists. Again, they are full of incident – plays, sports, concerts and graduating classes from Nursery and the 12th Grade in the same years. How has the pin-ball machine of life treated these people? Where are Maelle Doliveux? Jenny Greenland? Lewis Stevens? ICS would mean nothing without them and all of their comrades, and the debates about Areas of Interaction (and what the devil Homo Faber actually meant), Global Contexts, Differentiation and Holistic education would be echoing in empty halls.

What we’re missing, of course, is the long-term study to find out how our education has ‘worked’; whose attitudes and directions have been affected by the pin-ball flipper of their experiences at ICS. I note, however, that in spite of my predictions, I don’t see many of our students actually living in a cardboard box…at Stadelhofen…with a dog….asking for ‘eine paar Stutz, bitte’.And now it’s time for me to pick a window of my own ….. I’m leaving….. but long live you people who have made ICS what it is! Forza! Bleib Dran!

ICS: 1981 - 2014

FAREWELLS

30

Rikki Smith Reflects on her Time at ICS

My first impressions of ICS when I visited in October 1989, before

our arrival in January 1990, were of a happy, friendly school full of

smiling faces. My three younger children started at ICS on Australia

Day, 1990. A good omen, I thought, as I was born in Australia. ICS

only went to Grade 8 then, so my eldest daughter went to A.I.S.Z.

across the lake.

Since that day ICS has been a fundamental part of my life. The first

couple of years, I was on the Parents Association organising ski

weekends and teaching English in adult evening classes. Then I

began working on the staff as a part time E.A.L. teacher and car-

rying out various other functions as the school saw fit. Some of

the roles I have had were reports proof reader, College Counsellor,

Yearbook Editor, Maths teacher and Science teacher.

During my time with ICS, I have seen the school grow from a

Primary and Middle school to a full IB school for students aged

between 3 and 18. That growth process has included “the blue

corridor” and the transformation of “The Stables” from a place for

horses into classrooms. Then there were the temporary classrooms

on the black top whose roofs leaked when it rained, the wooden

walkways we used to move around the campus and the massive

holes, that were dug, when the “main building” was under construc-

tion for ICS 2000.

These I will not miss but what I will miss are the students, who are

all special individuals, and the staff I have worked and joked with.

I have always enjoyed getting to know the students better on field

trips and was rather sad to realise that this year’s trip with Grade 6

would be my last.

FAREWELLS

Without the field trips I would have never got to do long hikes, go

kayaking in white water, sleep out in a tent, climb a rock face or do

the high ropes course in Aigle; finishing on the Zip Wire. All this

attempted for the first time after the age of 50 (the high ropes

course and Zip wire were at 66).

ICS holds so many memories but it is time for me to spend more

time with my growing family (I already have 4 grandchildren) and my

dear friends. I will keep in touch with my friends from ICS too, and

hope they will be visiting me in Sachseln to see where my new life

is taking me.

31

ALuMNI REuNION 2014

This year’s Alumni Reunion took place on Friday 13 June 2014 at Kaufleuten Hof. It was great to have so many teachers attend this year’s reunion and the atmosphere was buzzing with the noise of alumni and teachers catching up over a variety of canapés and drinks. Many alumni provided us with a short update on what they are currently doing, which can be found in the Alumni News Digest.

Alumni Reunion 2015Friday 29 May

@19:00Zurich

Savedate!the

Clive Greaves & Jags Myanger Belinda Fleischmann, Jennifer Neely & Ben MacDermott

Martina Vranova, Zaosh Ghadiali & Jordis Scheidegger

Derek Hill, Lyndi Readdean, Jags Myanger, Jonathan Malcolm, Graham Gardner, Patricia Martinez, Nancy Reichmuth & Rico Marchetti

32

1960

Gail V Hoffman (ghoffman@syr.edu), 1963 Former StudentI had the good fortune to be at ICS for two years in 1961-63 for the third

and fourth grades. It was a defining moment in my education and inspired

me both as an educator and artist. After graduate school, I taught at the

Park School, a progressive school outside of Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Now I teach Experimental Animation, Video and Design at the School of Art

& Design at Syracuse University.

I have so many rich memories of my time at ICS--many magical. As

a seven-year-old it was an adventure to arrive at the multi-windowed,

storybook-like mansion, walk into its back entrance, take off my shoes,

place them in my cubbyhole and put on my slippers. (This was to protect

the carpets.) Then we padded into the basement area where we sat as a

class on wooden benches for the brief assemblies. Sometimes Mr Atkinson

would read to us in his lovely English accent, or a class would recite a

poem they had been taught to repeat in expressive and nuanced cadences

(for greater meaning), or someone would give a short piano recital to start

the day. Then we bounded up the magnificent staircase with its polished

wooden banisters to our classroom (which had originally been someone’s

bedroom).

In fourth grade, my desk looked out onto the Zurichsee. At recess we would walk across the street to a small park, watch the

swans, run and play, and buy small candies to take back to class. We learned English History, how to do long division with

pounds and shillings, diagram sentences, learn German and recite poetry. The library was in the cupola where I checked out all

the Pippi Longstocking books I could find. I was excused from class for piano lessons with Mrs Atkinson who was a patient yet

demanding teacher. I saved my music notebook filled with her hand-written lesson and practice instructions. We’d eat our lunch

in the detached “garage” and then run around the backyard which was full of horse chestnuts. For longer recesses we’d walk

hand-in-hand with our partner to the larger park along the lake that had a playground and wide open spaces to run and play tag.

ALuMNI NEWS DIGEST

“I still have my blue-covered notebooks from fourth grade because they meant so much to me. They’re filled with my lessons, English poetry, and drawings. Our teachers asked us to illustrate our work so it became a great outlet for my creativity. We were encouraged to think, wonder and learn together. My classmates were from Australia, England, United States, and Brazil. I have many fond memories of them and of our teachers, Miss Brogren and Miss Brown.”

Gail V Hoffman

Seefeldquai school bus

Visiting ICS, Michael & Martin Greenland

33

When I returned to my old school back home, I felt I was in a time warp where educational techniques and ideas had been frozen.

The students were still learning the same things and in the same way. When I raised my hand in 5th grade to say that part of

a sentence the teacher was describing was a “prepositional phrase”, she stared back at me and said “we don’t learn that until

the sixth grade.” It was a long time before I found some rare teachers who taught in the same welcoming spirit as those at ICS.

I’m so glad that the educational principles and philosophy of the Atkinsons continue at ICS.

Bill Dehnke (gordo2@verizon.net), 1968, Former StudentI attended ICS from January 1966 to June 1968. I was in Miss Lambert’s 4th grade class and Mr Pitt’s 5th grade class at the old

villa by the lake. My sister Mary and I have such wonderful memories of going to school at the old villa. We were picked up at

our bus stop in the morning by one of a fascinating assortment of tour buses including one very modern double decker bus. My

sister, Christopher Zahner, and I would occasionally slide the school guinea pig down the long wide bannister on the grand old

staircase in the center of the house; one of us would stand at the bottom to catch it. The bottom of the stairs was just opposite

Mr Atkinson¹s office, so this was a risky business.

The old villa was a magical place filled with such interesting students and teachers from all over the world. I also attended Mr

Pitt’s 6th grade class in the office building in Regensdorf, where we had to walk up and down the stairs everyday, had recess

and art class on the roof, and walked across the street to a fenced in pen in a cow field for more exercise than we could get on

the roof. I also remember the fun trips every Thursday to the Hallenbad for swimming. I communicate with Mr Pitt’s and was

fortunate enough to visit with him and his wife at their home in Winterthur last summer. With Mr Pitt’s help, I also have recently

reconnected with Miss Lambert. I went on from ICS to a degree

in Law from Georgetown University and then to work for the United

States Treasury Department in New York and Washington DC in

bank regulation for about 32 years. I retired about 3 years ago, have

stayed on in Washington D.C., and have been enjoying traveling

with my partner (and recently husband!) of 35 years, Patrick

McCabe. We have been to Panama this year and just returned from

two weeks visiting both the mainland in Ecuador and taking a cruise

in the Galapagos Islands. We are planning two weeks in Iceland in

July. No doubt my love of travel came from the wonderful years in

Zurich and all the international students and teachers at ICS who

really opened up the world for me. I would love to hear from anyone

else who was there at that time.

1970

Christine Stucki, 1970, Former StaffI have retired from teaching for almost 6 years now. Currenty I am

babysitting 2 or 3 times a week for my daughter’s children. In the

winter my main hobby is ice skating and skiing. Although no more

black runs! I live just outside Zurich and have a big garden that gives

lots of work in the summer. My main hobby is travelling around the

world and have been to more than 150 places. My favourite place

is Italy.

Doron Zimmermann (doron.zimmer-mann@cantab.net), 1977, Former StudentI am married with 2 daughters and I work for Swiss Grid managing

ALuMNI NEWS DIGEST

Classroom & field trip

34

government security relations developing strategy. I do security risk assessments. I did my undergraduate degree in America in

International Relations and European History and went on to read for my PhD at the University of Cambridge, Emmanuel College.

I worked in Washington DC as an assistant professor for International Security Affairs and moved to Zurich when I was offered a

position with the Swiss Federal Councils Security Committee staff in 2010. I enjoy long walks and since the age of 5, I have been

reading science fiction books and now have a sizeable collection at home.

Barbara Evans nee Anderson (bhe157@aol.com), 1979, Former StaffMy two sons attended from 1981-1989.

Barbara now working part-time as Dance Exercise tutor and loving it. Chris entered ICS in 1981 and is now living in Hong Kong,

as a trader, with his wife Lauren and has just become Daddy to Alice, and her brother Brandon is only 11 months old! Ali entered

ICS in 1983 and is is married to Rachel and has 2 sons, Zack ( 4) and Dexter ( 9 months). He lives near Wimbledon and works

for an investment company.

All are well, although both boys have forgotten what a good night’s sleep is!

1980

Christoph Wernli (cwernli@gmail.com), 1981, Former StudentAfter leaving ICS, I completed my education in Switzerland (Zurich & Zug). I then went into the IT/Telecoms sector, which has

given me the chance for some long-term assignments in Europe, notably Austria, Greece and the UK. For more than 10 years now

I have been based in Rome, Italy, currently deploying fiber-optics networks.

1990

Belinda Fleishmann (belinda.fleis-chmann@gmail.com), 1990, Former Student I studied Political Science at Smith College in the

USA and then did my Masters in Urbanisation and

Development at the London School of Economics. I live

in Zurich after moving back 4 years ago from the States

where I lived for 10 years (near Boston), then UK for 2

years (London). The NGO I am working for develops

technologies to help people out of poverty.

Jennifer Neely (jenatlanta@hotmail com), 1990, Former StudentI live in North Carolina where I take care of 4 horses and 2 maltesers (dogs). I work as a Health care consultant and in my free

time love travelling around and enjoying wine tasting trips and beach vacations.

Sacha de Wijs (sacha@berlin.com), 1997, Former StudentCurrently working as Germany Director of Crisis Action and have a daughter who is 2 years old. Recently moved to Brussels for

work.

ALuMNI NEWS DIGEST

First Graduating Class 1998

35

Yvonne Williamson (yvonnewilliamson1@gmail.com), 1997, Former Parent The Williamson family left ICS in June 1997 - Helen in Grade 8, Christina in 6 and Sophie in 3. I taught music at ICS for 2

academic years 1995 - 1997.

On our return to the UK, I was Head of Music for 16 years at Chesterton Community College in Cambridge; the girls all went

through this school too, and on to 6th Form at Hills Road in Cambridge. I retired with my husband last summer, and we have spent

some time in Europe skiing and sightseeing. Other than that, we are finding a lot more time for re-decorating the house, sorting

out the garden, and playing a lot more music in orchestras and in a string quartet.

Helen married James Bateson in 2009; they now live in Peterborough, where Helen is in veterinary practice - she did her degree

at Clare College, Cambridge. Christina read Physics at Exeter College, Oxford, and is now completing her PhD at CERN, but

under the auspices of Frankfurt University, and is applying for post docs in USA and Sweden. Sophie married Joshua Hawthorn in

August 2013; she read music at Birmingham University, and then joined Teach First. She is teaching in Birmingham, Secondary, - a

mixed timetable of Science and Music.

We still think fondly of our brief time at ICS. It gave us so much, but especially, for all the girls, the ability to get on with people from

all cultures and backgrounds, and the confidence to make the most of any opportunity that presents itself.

Rinaldo Främbs (destined2fly@gmail.com), Graduate 1997In May 2013 I made what has been my biggest career step in aviation as yet and was blessed with a

fantastic job at Air Mauritius where I am now flying the Airbus 340-300.

The photo taken was made by a friend of mine during my very first flight in the A340 as pilot after I completed the conversion

training. It was a challenge at first as it involved so many changes from what I was used to, and I now fly long haul international and

regional routes to Asia, Europe, Madagascar, Australia and South Africa. Life on the island is different from what I’ve been used

to, but I have great spot close to the beach and enjoy snorkeling, kayaking, mountain biking and soon diving. Due to me going on

Airbus 330 training in June I will unfortunately not be at the reunion, however, chances keep getting better every year.

Cora Sheibani (geb. Bischofberger) (cs@corasheibani.com),1998, Former StudentI would have been in year of ‘98 but was at ICS for only the first 9 years of my school life.

I currently live in London with my husband Kaveh, have been running my own jewellery business for over 11 years and just had my

third child, a baby boy called Dara. My other children are, Aryana aged 11 who is about to head to boarding school in September

and Nouri who will be 9 this June.

Ben MacDermott (ben@macdermott.net), Graduate 1998I am married and have 2 children (1 year and 2 year old boys). Currently I am living in Wädenswil. I work for HP in the IT department.

I love skiing, mountain biking, hiking and travelling.

“Lovely to see how ICS is always evolving and that some familiar faces are still around! Keep up the good work. I will always remember ICS as a phenomenal school!” Rinaldo Främbs

ALuMNI NEWS DIGEST

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2000

Jennifer Langton (raitiger@aol.com), Graduate 2001Big news this year. I married Mike Sneyd, the bassist in my band, on June 21st and am now Mrs Langton-Sneyd. Several ICS

alumni were in attendance. I still live in Manchester and got a little rescue cat now too. Much love to everyone.

Sebastian Danielsson (sebastian.danielsson@hotmail.com), Graduate 2001After returning from Tanzania in March of last year, where my wife and I volunteered at a centre for street children for 6 months, I

got a job at Tamedia, one of Switzerland’s largest media companies, where I now work as an in-house consultant/project leader.

In this role I contribute in shaping our company’s digital strategy, implement cost-cutting measures, and analyse other media

markets (among many other things). During my time off I play guitar, cook, and travel to places like Iceland, Indonesia and Africa.

Walter Penaloza (walter.penaloza@ubs.com), Graduate 2001After graduating in 2002 I obtained a Bachelor in Business Adminitration from the University of Fribourg (courses in German

and French) and a Master in Banking and Finance from the University of St. Gallen - HSG (in German and English). I then

started working in 2009 in Zurich for UBS Wealth Management and the Investment Banking Division. After a 1 year international

assignment in UBS Singapore, I was relocated for the last 2 years to work for UBS Bahamas. In July 2014 I will be relocated

again to work for UBS Panama for the next 3 - 5 years. I enjoy what I do and I’m very happy for all the great opportunities working

and travelling in different countries around the world.

Rebecca Royegård (rroyegard@hotmail.com), Graduate 2003I’m currently living and loving my home town

Stockholm. I’m working as a Primary School teacher

on Lidingö, an island near the Stockholm city centre.

After my studies in Education in Social Sciences and

Mathematics at Lunds University, I have been back to

Zurich once where I caught up with ICS friends and

worked with strategic planning at Unilever. I enjoyed it

incredibly much but missing family and home lead me

here and I feel very happy. Memories from the school

years at ICS 1997-2003 will always remain a very

positive memory in my heart.

Bianca Ledermann (bianca.ledermann@ledermann.com), Graduate 2003 My name is Bianca Ledermann, class of 2003. I went to Glion Institute of Higher Education in Hospitality Management, where

I graduated with a Bachelor of Business with honors. During, before and after my studies, I continously stayed true to the

hospitality world which allowed me to live and work in various fantastic destinations such as Florence, Barcelona and London.

Since early this year I’m back in Zürich and decided to put the Hospitality industry on the backburner. Although I’m very passionate

about Gastronomy and Hospitality I am confident I’ll revisit that chapter again in my life.

At the moment I am living in Seefeld with my sister Laura Ledermann (class of 2005). I am proud to inform that I have stepped

into my father’s footsteps and am working at his real estate firm, the Ledermann Immobilien AG. I have returned to my Swiss roots.

But I am definitely yearning for another adventure in a new destination sooner rather than later.

ALuMNI NEWS DIGEST

Graduating Class 2003

37

Carolyn Trimming (ctrimming1@googlemail.com), 2004 , Former StaffNick Trimming, Graduate 2000 & Flick Trimming (ftrimming@gmail.com), Graduate 2003 2014 has been a great year for the Trimming family!

I continue to be very involved with the IB as a workshop leader and since giving up my position

at the Godolphin & Latymer School in London in July 2012, I have had much more freedom

to focus solely on the IB. I am now based at our cottage in the New Forest, which is a lovely

place to live and our garden is regularly visited by deer, pheasant, squirrels etc. Julian also often

works from home and we see more of each other than we probably have for the last 15 years!

Since giving up work in London, we also have a beautiful black Labrador called Paddy, who ensures

we get out walking every day.

Nick (class of 2000) is employed in the Marine Industry, working for a company in Southampton which specialises in marine safety

gear. He is still involved in all things technical and although his work is not specifically IT focused, he continues to be a very useful

person to have around, both at work and at home when the network goes down! In his free time, he loves nothing better than to

tour around the countryside on his big Honda motorbike.

Flick (class of 2003) has had an exciting start to 2014! On May 3rd, she married Sergio Ferreira at the Zurich Stadthaus and

later enjoyed some wonderful celebrations with friends and family at the Hotel Sonne in Küsnacht. Flick will now be known as

Felicity (Flick) Ferreira. Flick and Sergio live in Egg with their two dogs Bella and Porto. At the moment, Flick teaches PYP at the

International School Zurich North in Wallisellen near Zurich, although she leaves this position in July of this year. She is looking

for a new position in the Zurich area, where she has now settled.

Alex Senn (alex_senn@hotmail.com), Graduate 2003After graduating from ICS in the year 2003, I went on to study International Business

and HRM (Human Resource Management) at the Kingston University London. Once I

graduated from Uni, I first worked in the field of PR in Munich and Recruitment in Zurich

before I decided to dedicate myself entirely to writing. As soon as that decision was

made, I started work on my first Novel „Geheimatsecken“ and finished the first version of

the manuscript after 6 months writing. Soon after a publisher was found, the correcting

and editing process of the book started, which was published in March 2014 at Salis

Verlag Zürich. In the meanwhile I was regularly performing as a hiphop artist and did

further education courses in Writing and Digital Publishing in Zürich. For the past three

years I have been working as a freelance author and copy writer. In addition to that I work

for two Swiss startups as a Social Media Manager. Currrently we are doing book read-

ings in Switzerland and Germany, and I hope, once the time is available, to commence

work on my second novel. I live and work in Zurich.

Belkis Wille (belkis.wille@gmail.com), Graduate 2004I am still the Yemen and Kuwait Researcher for the international human rights organisation, Human Rights Watch, and am based

in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Since my last update, which I sent from a city along the Yemeni-Saudi border where I was

interviewing African migrants who had been tortured by Yemeni human traffickers, and the very same traffickers who had tortured

them, my report documenting the abuses and more seriously - providing copious evidence of government officials’ complicity

with the traffickers- was released. This is a link to a video that summarizes the findings- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-

7SE4EqWhxrA&list=PL73F4876AF62C15CC.

My personal motivation for writing the report was to produce tangible evidence of the abuses on the journey that can then be used

ALuMNI NEWS DIGEST

Flick’s wedding

Alex with his published book

38

by organisations working in Ethiopia with the communities that these migrants come from, in the hope that some will be cautioned

from making the journey. Therefore upon its release I spent days reaching out to journalists to ensure maximum media pick-up,

particularly with Ethiopian media outlets that broadcast in local languages including Amharic and Oromo.

I then travelled to the capitals of most of the major donor countries to brief their ministries of foreign affairs on what each of them

can tangibly do to support efforts to combat human trafficking in Yemen. Now I am back in Sanaa meeting with different ministers

to discuss how our findings can help them develop an approach to address these violations.

Stefan Wychrij (stefan.wychrij@hotmail.co.uk), Graduate 2006Since leaving ICS I started work in the Motor Trade and have worked for Vauxhall, Renault & Ford all around the UK. I now work

for Triumph Motorcycles in Berkshire, England as an after Sales Manager. I am also currently waiting to join the British Army

Reserves as a Combat Medic.

Martina Vranova (martina.vranova@gmail.com), Graduate 2007I did a Bachelor Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences in Belgium, then a Masters Degree at ETH in same subject. Afterwards I took

a Gap Year in which I did an internship at Roche, Basel and a small consulting company called Pennside. Now I have started my

PhD in November here in Zurich which will take 4 years to complete.

Zaosh Ghadiali (zaosh@outlook.com), Graduate 2008Did my Bachelors in Maths and Management at the University of Sheffield. Military service in Switzerland. Now working as a

teaching assistant and started a teaching qualification in September. I’m currently teaching Secondary Maths.

Alison Cullen (alisoncullen317@gmail.com), 2008, Former ParentI am writing from sunny Seattle, USA (yes, really) with news of Ross and Kyle Bretherton. Six years ago we were part of your

community for one school year, Ross as a 6th grader and Kyle in elementary. I still appreciate the warm welcome we received

as we shared that special time together. In June, Ross is graduating from the Lakeside School in Seattle, and in the autumn

he is heading to Tufts University to study Engineering. Ross continues to love to ski, sail with his team and produce electronic

music. He is also shooting a film based on a play written by a classmate, perhaps inspired by his experience at ICS with the

school production of “Alice in Wonderland” in which he played the Knave of Hearts! This summer Ross will be teaching for “Sail

Sand Point” our community boating center on Lake Washington. Kyle will be an 11th grader at Lakeside in the coming year. This

spring he is avidly pole vaulting and running the mile for his track team, while in between the winter swim season and summer

swim season. He remains passionate about Mathematics, just as he was at ICS. When not engaged in Sports or Maths, Kyle is

playing jazz on his trumpet. This summer he will volunteer at JazzEd, a music program dedicated to sharing a love of jazz with all

Seattle children. Wishing all of our ICS friends well, especially the other graduating seniors! Can’t wait to hear about next steps!

Paola Stoll (paola.stoll@gmail.com), Former Parent & James Stoll, Graduate 2008I wanted to let you know about my son James, he graduated! We are crazy proud. So for the newsletter purposes here is the

info: He graduated with an Environmental Science Bachelors degree from Northeastern University. He is now starting up his own

organic ranch in Petaluma, CA with the intent of opening a restaurant. He did a coop semester at a Biodynamic farm. A peculiar

fact about Northeastern is, that they love ICS students. This year Addison Abdo and Bobby Walker will be joining Edward Walker

at Northeastern :)

Lucas Hoffmann (lucas@breuerlakehouse.com), 2009, Former StudentAfter leaving ICS at the end of seventh grade, I continued to work towards my IB diploma in the UK, first at an international school

in London and subsequently culminating my education with my two final years at Wellington College. Having just graduated, I

am planning to take a gap year where I will start a charity in and around London and gain my divemaster qualification. I will be

attending Harvard to study Liberal Arts starting in September 2015.

ALuMNI NEWS DIGEST

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ALuMNI NEWS DIGEST

Steve Mills (steve.mills22@btinternet.com), 2009, Former StaffSteve Mills, who taught at ICS for a total of 29 years, continues to spend winters in Southern India, where he runs A Matter Of

Kids (AMOK), the charity he founded shortly after retiring from ICS. A Matter of Kids provides education and schooling to bright

kids from the poorest of families in Bengaluru, in the State of Kanaada, and in urban and rural areas in and near Puducherry, in

Tamil Nadu. If you would like a copy of AMOK Newsletters, which will bring you and keep you up to date with his work, please

contact him at steve.mills22@btinternet.com.

He would also be happy to entertain old friends anytime in India, and also in the Lake District in the UK, where he lives when it

is too hot for his poor old brain in India.

2010

Anne Lieke Vonk (ansje_liekje@hotmail.com), Graduate 2010Anne Lieke is close to graduating with her Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration

at Erasmus University Rotterdam, now currently finishing her dissertation about

energy cooperations in the Netherlands. She has continued being active in many

different types of extra-curricular activities since leaving ICS such as consulting

NGO’s and governmental organisations, voluntary projects and membership of

a sorority. She has also completed an internship at the Ministry of Social Affairs

and Employment and is now in the process of applying to different UK and Dutch

universities in the field of Public Policy and Management, hoping to continue her

passion for solving social problems and challenges at graduate level. She still thinks

a lot about ICS and is grateful for the stepping stones it has provided her thus far!

She hopes all her (IB) teachers are fairing well all over the world. Best wishes to

them and the rest of the Class of 2010!

Jordis Scheidegger (jordis.scheidegger@gmail.com)2010, ICS GraduateStudied for 1 year in Queens, Canada before switching to Jacobbs Uni, Bremen, Germany. Just graduated. Planning to study

Veterinary Medicine in New Zealand with plans to get a degree in Conservation Medicine.

Short reply from a proud father (Mr Andersson):Harri Andersson (harri.andersson@bdhlink.com), 2011, Former ParentIt was every pound sterling (or Fränkli) worth. They learned a lot and learned

to know people from many countries – friendships which will always last. I

did the same but not at ICS – I did it at IESE in Barcelona long, long time

ago. But I still keep contact with many.

Carl Andersson (carlovich@gmail.com) Graduate 2010) Studied first in Dresden (because he has very good friends there – old

friends and friends of my wife) and now he is doing Biology at the University of Vienna. He enjoys it a lot. He loves animals, nature

and understanding how the world works. And plays ice hockey in the third division where he injures his shoulder every second

month – nothing really serious. But we meet often. Our kids visit us regularly. Lieschen is after her BA and MA (with Honors) and

Jean does Math.

“We wish to thank you for the wonderful education which our sons got at ICS.”

Mr Andersson

Our 50th Jubilee in 2010

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ALuMNI NEWS DIGEST

Paul Andersson (paul.magnus.andersson@gmail.com) Graduate 2011Was a first-year student (Freshman or how do they call it) at McGill in Montreal but did not really like the environment. Nothing with the university which is great but the campus was 90 minutes from the city – and knowing Paul, this is a dealbreaker. Now he is happy studying Physics in ZRH – unbelievable stuff – Quantenphysik, my God. I was an excellent student but I understand nothing of what he is doing. He is wrestling and actually one of the best of the Canton, 191 cm, big guy!

Zoé Lohmann (zoekarina@gmail.com), Graduate 2011 Hey there ICS! I hope everything is going well at the home front :) I’m currently at the end of my 3rd year at the Rhode Island School of Design and I love it. Thanks to Mr Brunt and Ms Baker for the IB Art lessons! I’m studying Sculpture and focusing on a career in Theatre. I’ve become president of the theatre group here, called “The RISD Exhibitionists”, and we are currently working on integrating the world of theatre and the fine arts within our school, and hopefully the world we will enter as artists and designers. Over the last 4 years we have produced 15 shows, two of which I’ve directed.

My sophomore year I directed the musical “Cabaret” and we just closed “Art - The Play” by Yasmina Reza, which I was actually first exposed to through a reading at Teachers Aid, way back in middle school. This summer I’m interning at “Shakespeare and Company” in Lenox Massachusetts as a prop and set designer and carpenter, and I have a steady job as a studio assistant with Michael McGarty who is a set designer for Trinity Repertory Company. I’m also going to be co-teaching a Shakespeare class next year in the Fall, and will be directing “A Midsummer Nights Dream” in the Spring of 2015! Thanks to all my English teachers at ICS for teaching me love for Shakespeare and all literature! I hope ICS is still going strong, and I hope the students understand what an inspiring place and amazing resource the school is.

Marijke Zwart (m.zwart951@upcmail.nl), 2011, Former Staff Life is treating me well in my semi-retirement life. As a consultant of StepOne I keep in contact with international schools across Europe and continue to meet with international students and their parents regarding their future.

Ellen O’Connell (ellenoconnell05@gmail.com), 2012, Former ParentsJulian Thomet (currently in 7th grade, left ICS after 5th grade). His hobbies outside school are karate, chess, baseball and piano.Esther Thomet (currently in 5th grade, left ICS after 3rd grade). Her hobbies outside of school are ballet, karate, chess and piano.We moved to New York from Zurich but Julian and Esther are both Swiss/American and they visit Switzerland often.

Pueyrredon Family (marinapueyrredon@me.com), 2012, Former ParentsEvery time I receive an email from ICS, my heart smiles. We are now living in our hometown, Buenos Aires, Argentina, where we alternate our weekdays in the big city with weekends in the countryside, riding on horseback, watching the circle of planting and harvesting soy, corn and wheat, and learning how the dairy works. But not one day passes by without us thinking about our happy days in ICS.

We can’t forget Mr Moynihan greeting us with a big smile in front of the Primary Building every morning; we can’t forget our son Ivan’s brilliant Kindergarten teacher, Mrs Michele Baker, who taught him the love for nature and the passion for learning; we can’t forget Ivan’s lovely friends: Nico, Michele, Theo, Gaby, Alana, Lily, Friedrich...; we can’t forget Mrs Bows singing Christmas Carols to the children and showing them her love for books.

The whole ICS community had a great impact in our lifes and we cherish all those memories in our hearts. We miss you so much!

“Thank you Mr Darlington, Mr Loughrin and Mr Simcock (I think that was the cast) for making me aware of this hilarious play!”

Zoé Lohmann

“They still wear their orangeICS hats.”

Ellen O’Connell

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Angelika McCammonThoughts from Neeta Premchand

Our family had barely been in Switzerland for a couple of weeks when I first met Angelika at ICS in November 1977. Our son, Sanjeev was in first grade with Philip. That was the start of a friendship that enriched our lives beyond measure.

Angelika and I had grown up on different continents, speaking different languages, brought up in different faiths and yet we discovered ties that bound us together so strongly that it eventually became a relationship that spanned four generations. My mother and her mother became friends. Our children are friends. And now, our grandchildren are friends.

Angelika lived life with a grace and generosity I have never seen. She could turn the most

IN MEMORIAM

Wendy CutlerThoughts from Janice Boucher

Wendy Cutler worked at ICS from 1987 until 2008 when she retired to spend more time with her growing family. Wendy was a valued colleague and a cherished friend to many who had the opportunity to know her. She was always willing to offer advice and guidance to her colleagues, supporting them whether they were new to the school, exploring new paths in their own careers or just needed someone to talk to. Wendy’s class was full of colour, laughter and learning. Her students came to school full of anticipation as to what she would have ready for them to explore during the day. Wendy joined in the activities whole heartedly, often dressing up at Halloween or Christmas to ensure a sense of fun and adventure. Wendy always put her students first and would strive to provide what she believed was the best education for them. She had a strong personality and would stand up for her beliefs and for her students. This strength of character was evident as she struggled through the years with her health never letting it get her down. She had a unique way of viewing the world always a little irreverent and always hilarious.

One of her colleagues recently reflected on her time with Wendy: “When I think of the years Wendy and I worked together I often find that I have a smile on my face. We laughed a lot! In fact we seemed to spend a great deal of our time laughing - often to the point where tears would be rolling down our faces.

Wendy had such a great sense of humour and never took herself or life too seriously. I appreciated her fairness and honesty and I found her joy and the way she embraced life inspiring. Wendy was always busy and she spoke with love, passion and excite-ment about her family, being outdoors, her Spanish lessons, snow-shoeing, the Swiss mountains…(the list goes on!). Wendy was a special, lovely lady and an extremely dedicated teacher. She was a positive influence on her students and I’m sure that when they think of her and remember their time in her class, they too remember her with fondness. Wendy touched so many lives and I feel very lucky to have known her both as a teacher and as a friend.”

Although she is no longer with us her friends and family have many happy memories of Wendy to remind us of her.

trivial event into an occasion, the dullest moments into something magical and memorable. She lit up a room when she entered it and made the shyest person feel special! We will miss her, but are grateful to have had someone so special in our lives.

Angelika passed away on the 19th November 2013 in Zurich and is survived by her husband, Antony McCammon and four sons, Alexander, Philip, Robin and Charles and their families. Angelika spent many happy hours supporting ICS.

We extend our deepest sympathies to Angelika’s family and friends. Condolences can be sent to the family: Antony McCammon, Tägernstrasse 20, 8127 Forch/Scheuen or aa.mccammon@gmail.com

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EDITORIAL

From the Editors’ Desktop

Welcome to another issue of ICS World! Read with enthusiasm!!

“Education is a profoundly ethical activity that aims at sharing knowledge and aspires to cultivate good judgment and wisdom. It becomes the task of all within a school to make sure that this “story” gets heard and told to as many people as possible.” Mary-Lyn Campbell

The contents of this issue certainly reaffirm what our Head of School, Mary-Lyn Campbell, means about telling our story at ICS. It is a joyful task for those within our community to inspire our students and you, our valued alumni, are certainly a part of our continued story beyond ICS walls. We always find it interesting to hear where life has taken YOU since your ICS days!

ICS is passionate about so many things including what you have done with your ICS education. Therefore, please make sure to stay in touch through our Alumni Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/Alumni.ICS) where you can also easily connect with other alumni. You can also follow our main Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/ICS.InterCommunity.School.Zurich) if you want to be kept in the loop on our daily school activities.

Sharing your news with our community is part of our mission so please do make sure to keep in touch and let us know what you are doing by sending us an email under alumni@icsz.ch.

Ad majora….to the best of things!Your ICS Alumni Team

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ICS Inter-Community SchoolStrubenacher 38126 Zumikon

Switzerland

Tel. +41 44 919 8300www.icsz.ch

AdministrationMary-Lyn Campbell,

Head of SchoolRebecca Butterworth, Secondary Principal

Timothy Crocker, Primary Principal

Board of TrusteesSanjeev Premchand, Chair

Hans-Peter BauerRobert Blasko

Barend FruithofUlf Hoof

Tarak MehtaDick Söderberg

Thomas WellauerLinda Kubler, Board Liaison

Honorary Board MembersDr Hans Hüssy

Robert Lilburn, OBE

CreditsEditor-in-ChiefLinda Kubler

Contributing WriterRachel Gardner

Communications DepartmentRachel Doell

Patricia MendelinGabriela Newman

DesignJuan Pablo Rodríguez

Printed byMattenbach AG

Please send address changes and letters to alumni@icsz.ch

Financial contributions welcomed.

The Inter-Community School is committed to providing a supportive and enabling learning environment in which all members of the community are challenged to achieve their individual potential, encouraged to pursue their passions, and expected to fulfil their responsibilities.

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ICS Inter-Community School ZurichStrubenacher 38126 Zumikon

SwitzerlandTel: +41 44 919 8300Website: www.icsz.ch

ICS is fully accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) as well as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).