It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to our remarkable school, where we seek to support and guide our students so that they may reach their full academic, social, emotional and physical potential. There is much we offer to support this goal: fantastic facilities that blend with lush green surroundings; an exciting academic experience that provides challenges and rewards; a variety of extracurricular activities that provide so many opportunities for our students to improve themselves and the world in which they navigate.
But at the top of this list sits our strong community, our teachers and support staff, our community leaders, our parents, our alumni, and of course, our wonderful students, who work incredibly hard to prepare themselves to take on leading roles in their future. The SIS purpose is simple but profound: to Make a Difference, to ourselves, to others, and to the larger community. At SIS, we believe a happy child learns best and the focal point of our school structure is to provide the foundation to allow this to happen. We do this through our Academic, Pastoral and Values in Action curricula, where the academic, social and emotional needs of our students are top priority.
Our Academic Curriculum: we want students’ learning experiences to be personalised and unique. We believe in the principle of a growth mindset and encourage our students to seek opportunities to learn, to gain new skills, and to enhance their existing skills. These opportunities are presented through our curriculum offerings; the IB Middle Years Programme in years 7-9,IGCSE/GCSE in years 10-11, and the IB Diploma Programme and IB Careers-related Programme in years 12-13.
Our Pastoral Curriculum: our students’ happiness and well-being is everyone’s responsibility. To foster learning and continual, positive development, we work with a dedicated team of pastoral leaders and the entire school community to ensure the emotional and social needs of our students are met. We explicitly teach and promote health and well-being, to build resilience and enable our students to face a multitude of challenges.
Our Values in Action: our students are provided with opportunities daily to make a difference and develop as independent, global citizens who value diversity and allow all members of our community to thrive. When our students put our school values into action they become active, supportive members of our school, our community and the world around them.
So what makes South Island School so special? It is our community. We are more than a school, we are a family.
I look forward to meeting everyone over the course of the year; and if you are not yet a member of our school family, take a look for yourself at what South Island School has to offer.
Carolyn Andrews
Principal
