Blog

When people ask me what my favorite book is, I never have an answer. There are so many books I love and so many authors whose words have impacted me or illustrators whose art has stuck with me since childhood. One such author, celebrated yesterday during the first ever International Community School (Singapore) Elementary Reading Appreciation Day, is Robert Munsch. 

Relationships are based on four principles: respect, understanding, acceptance, and appreciation...By education, I mean an all-round drawing of the best in child and man in body, mind, and spirit. - Mahatma Gandhi. These powerful thoughts of India’s pioneer leader Mahatma Gandhi have always inspired me. They have also helped my husband and I nurture our two children with mindfulness. We are a family of four who arrived in Singapore in February of last year due to my husband's new job. We all were very excited and, at the same time, worried about getting settled in a new country.

In February, our ICS students joined 24 other local and international schools within Singapore as well as international schools abroad in an extensive, 2-day-long conference. The theme for this year's SAISMUN conference was "Seeking the Resurgence of a United World in an Era of Isolationism." After a period of extensive research and preparation, our ICS Model U.N. students engaged in spirited debates and discussions with other U.N. clubs, pushing their critical thinking, research, public speaking, and leadership skills to the test. 

In the face of a global pandemic crisis, this year's theme was especially relevant: Face Your Fears. Christian or not, everybody has fears, everybody faces times of uncertainty and anxiety, and everybody needs tools to help them walk forward in bravery to face their fears. Interestingly, because of Covid-19 and the safe-distancing guidelines, we were pushed to be more creative when figuring out how to communicate this theme. The restrictions changed up our usual way of doing SEW and allowed for an interactive experience for students as each student team went through a series of rotations together.

The class of 2021 had their Senior Thesis Expo last week and it went off without a hitch! Senior Thesis, a semester-long research paper, has been a staple at ICS for over 10 years. The class is a rewarding academic experience as it is “an opportunity to engage in college-level work that prepares students for the kinds of research papers they will need to tackle after graduation,” says Principal Darryl Harding.