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The Bells That Still Ring
As the school year came to a close, I found myself returning to a photograph taken during a student trip to the Himalayas and to a line from Leonard Cohen’s Anthem: “Ring the bells that still can ring.” The photograph and the lyric prompted me to think about community, imperfection, loss, hope, and the importance…
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The Quiet Work of Understanding
One of the things I appreciate most about education is that, despite our different contexts, we often find ourselves wrestling with similar questions, challenges, and opportunities. Whether in schools, organisations, or communities, many of the conversations I encounter seem to return to a common challenge: how to remain thoughtful, grounded, and connected to one another…
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Moments of Joy
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Learning Beyond the Classroom: Reflections from the Himalayas
This September, I had the privilege of spending nine days in the Himalayas with nineteen ISZL students and three teachers as part of our Personal Development Week (PDW). What unfolded was not simply a trip, but a journey into history, culture, resilience, and, above all, human connection. From walking the ancient trails of the Silk…
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The Privilege of Letting Go
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A Hanbok, a Friendship, and a Cultural Connection
I am grateful to be part of a community where our daughter comes home from school, inspired by her friends and teachers, eager to celebrate Lunar New Year. Yesterday, she reminded us of its importance and asked us to wear the beautiful hanbok her Korean classmate gifted her last year—a heartwarming reminder of the connections…
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Culture of Care and Connection
Our morning routines are filled with grounding rituals that set the stage for the day ahead. While these routines are important for us as adults, they are especially critical for children, playing a key role in their emotional and developmental well-being. Among my favourite moments each morning – and I confess that I am a…
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The Transformative Power of Stories
Over the past two weeks, I have had the privilege of reading to several classes as part of our ISZL Reads community initiative. Sitting with students, exploring stories together, and witnessing their reactions has been, as always, a profoundly moving experience. It is a reminder that the power of stories extends far beyond the words…
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A Season of Gratitude and Light
Celebrating Our Global Community Our students, parents, and staff bring an extraordinary range of celebrations, from Chuseok in Korea and the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Erntedankfest, Räbeliechtli-Umzug, Kwanzaa, and Sukkot in Europe, Africa, and North America, among others. Each tradition is an opportunity to honour and celebrate our ISZL community. As we…
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Never Odd or Even
“Never odd or even.” Why not start a blog post celebrating the beauty and oddities of language with an intriguingly perplexing phrase that is also a palindrome – a word or a sentence that reads the same backwards? First, my apologies in advance to anyone who suffers from a fear of palindromes, or what the…