Update from the Headmaster

Dear Parents, Students and NIS Community,

I hope that you and your families are doing well and managing to keep safe. As we now approach the start of the new academic school year 2020/2021, and given all the government’s recent announcements, I wanted to provide an update.

Throughout the summer months, the academic leadership team has been planning for a beginning of a school year like no other. All of you must be missing your regular work and lifestyle. I miss our second home, “OUR SCHOOL” and all the students, parents, and staff, and cannot wait to see everyone.

I long for the noise in the corridor, the joyful shouts of the playground, the classroom conversation, and the hustle and bustle of school life in general. Life has taken a sudden dramatic turn in the event of the present crisis, and while disruptive in many ways, education and learning cannot be paused.

We are very optimistic that formal teaching and learning will soon restart, and when it does, you can be sure that Noblesse International School will not only be ready but will have the safest environment for its students, staff, and community in general. For the time being, until the school is allowed to reopen physically for face-to-face classes, we will be delivering the highest quality online learning. As stated in June, NIS will not be offering watered-down, self-study, or “Academy-styled” options just for the sake of quick and easy profit. High levels of achievement cannot be achieved through a lax “do it yourself” buffet-style approach to education. The Noblesse experience involves high-end teacher interaction and student-centered projects. Progression should not only be measured in faceless exams, but rather in an individual student’s intellectual and emotional growth.

Our focus will still be to ensure that:

every child, every day is finding a way to feel connected,

every child, every day is being challenged by new learning and experiences,

and every child, every day, knows they have a champion to who they can turn.

As all our returning families are aware, not only was the transition last school year to online learning for NIS seamless due to being a “Bring Your Own Device” school and already using e-platforms for more than 5 years, but it was also a smooth transition for our IB curriculum. Over the years, our teachers have developed IB PYP, IB MYP, and IB DP lessons for our students’ specific needs, and these have the flexibility to be delivered both in-person and online. The IB programmes are the most holistic, international, and rigorous international curriculum available, and with the guidance and support of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), Noblesse International School will continue to deliver the highest quality lessons for our children. All of this, without forgetting that NIS continues to be the only internationally accredited school in the region by Cognia (formerly known as AdvancED), being an active member of the National Honor Society (NHS) and having a strong relationship with the College Board from the United States of America.

Our Middle & High School students this school year will have the opportunity to not only benefit from all of the above but also have the chance to take the TOEFL exams, AP (Advanced Placement) exams, PSAT 8/9, PSAT 10 and PSAT NMSQT exams. Likewise, our Elementary School students will have the opportunity to “learn to learn” via six “Units of Inquiry” (UOI) from the Primary Years Programme (IB PYP), and in the spring of 2021, we will be holding international standardized benchmark assessments to continue with our journey of continuous improvement.

Regarding continuous improvement, while most, if not all other schools in the region have had to focus solely on learning how to implement online teaching, we have focused on enhancing the online experience and continuing our improvement and innovation at NIS.

When schedules are published later this month, we are sure that parents and students will be pleasantly surprised to see the considerable increase in the number of synchronous classes (periods) in EYS (Preschool) and in core subject periods in Elementary School and Middle & High School while maintaining a balance with elective subjects.

Additionally, among other changes, Elementary School grade levels will only have one homeroom teacher teaching all core subjects, instead of a different teacher for each class. In this way, we will be creating stability for the students and parents and improving communication between the school and home. Also, in EYS (Preschool) and Elementary School, elective subjects such as PE, Art, and Computer Science will now be incorporated into the Units of Inquiry (UOI) and will be taught by the homeroom teachers. This allows for greater and more efficient integration into the PYP units overall. Meanwhile, in Middle & High School due to IB MYP requirements, these subjects will continue being taught separately. All of this and much more will be explained in detail by the coordinators and teachers during the live online orientation for parents, which will occur during the last week of August.

I would like to ask you to either check or start following our official Facebook pages: Noblesse International School / NIS Knights. These are often updated, and important news is shared with the community through them.

Now is also a great time to show you the additions to our teaching staff as we have brought in some very professional and experienced specialists. We are proud and confident to say that this is the best faculty team that Noblesse International School has put together. We welcome all of them!

I would also like to let you know that in addition to the already very well established Mandarin program, we will begin implementing a Spanish language and culture program at Noblesse International School for this upcoming academic school year 2020/2021!

Please also find in attachment, the academic school year calendar for 2020/2021 and a summary of the e-platforms which will be used during the upcoming school year and will continue even when we are allowed to return for face-to-face classes.

If you have any questions, doubts or are in need of any academic advice, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to having your children join us for the upcoming academic school year and I hope to see you all soon.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Vladimir Sousek

By Administrator in Featured on August 6, 2020