We have reached the end of another busy and successful year. We now all look forward to a well-deserved summer break. As ever, the school never really closes as the front office will be open from 9:00-12:00. We will also have some building and refurbishment work done over the holiday in preparation for the new school year. I will communicate more on this at the beginning of the next school year.
These last couple of weeks of school have witnessed the ending of MYP e-assessments and IB DP exams, bike safety training and testing lessons, Grade 4 trip to adidas, Grade 10 work experience, EY 3 and EY 5 trip to the Zoo, Grade 11 internal assessment, pre-IB DP week, Secondary School music recitals, activity days, community days, transition days, assemblies, and a myriad of other experiential and service-learning opportunities. The school year ends in the manner in which it was conducted all year – this is just a tiny snapshot of the student engagement, challenges, celebrations, dedicated staff, and supportive parents that have marked this school year.
One of the FIS’s annual highlights is our graduation ceremony. On Friday, June 10, 44 Grade 12 students received their high school diplomas. This has been the culmination of hard work, sacrifice and determination for these students. IB Diploma results were issued this week and we congratulate our graduates knowing that wherever they may be heading next year they are well prepared.
A special word of thanks to our wonderful PTO and volunteers, who yet again, organized and staged community events such as welcome coffee mornings, social trips, Krapfen during Fasching, pumpkins during Halloween, and decorating the school for Christmas. We thank our PTO for their work with all our community events, and more especially, for their tireless energy and commitment to the FIS. A special thank you to our PTO president, Alexis Casey. Alexis and her family will be moving on from the FIS. She has been the PTO president for three years and, despite the trials of COVID, has managed to create a sense of purpose and cohesion for our PTO and school community. Thank you Alexis for all you have done.
If you would like to join the PTO and volunteer, please get in touch via .
As we head towards the summer holidays it is, unfortunately, time to start wishing people goodbye. To our valued faculty members moving on next year, we also take this opportunity to honor their contributions to life here at the FIS. The faculty and staff members leaving us this year are Ms. Nikolova, Mr. Mirtschin, Mr. Steinberg, Ms. Chiodo, Mrs. Dawkins, Ms. Stroughair, Mr. McQuillan, Ms. Tanz, Ms. Donnelly, Ms. Kellum, Ms. Ward, Mr. Marshall, Ms. Lysons, Ms. Hadar and Ms. Oliver. Thank you for your passion, your expertise, and the concern for student learning that has marked your tenure at the FIS. To our Head of Primary and Head of Secondary: while Ms. Appel is stepping down as Head, we are very lucky that she will remain with us supporting our Learning Support and Social-Emotional Learning program in the Primary School. We are lucky to have Mrs. Appel’s experience and expertise in these areas. Ms. Harth will be taking up a new challenge next year. I had the privilege of working with these dedicated and exceptional educational leaders. I thank them for their support and unwavering commitment to our students and our school.
To the students and parents leaving the FIS and changing locations this summer, we thank you for your many and varied contributions to the success of this school year. We also want to wish you every success in the future and we look forward to hearing from you from time to time. After all, “Once a FIS family member, always a FIS family member!”
As we bring the 2021/2022 school year to a close, we want to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the many individuals who helped make this school year so successful. Certainly, our talented and energetic students, the equally talented and professional faculty, the helpful and dedicated parents, and our most amazing and loyal support staff have all contributed to this success.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our FIS families for your continued support and for having the confidence to entrust your child’s education to us. In case you would like to become a buddy family and support new families coming in please contact , noting the language(s) that you speak.
I wish everyone a relaxing and enjoyable holiday. To those returning on August 29, I look forward to working with you throughout the next academic year as we continue to establish positive relationships to promote the development of every child at the FIS.
Thank you for all your support this year.
Liam Browne
Head of School
