Mental exhiliration!

Today was fantastic. We started the day with Wade Davis, an anthropologist who was so amazing. Anthropology is something, I am not ashamed to admit, I know little about. He was fascinating. His speech on preserving civilizations through language and spoken word was so interesting. Hearing how languages are being lost is so disheartening, but hearing of his travels and the people he has met was so amazing.

After, we broke out into small sessions and workshops. The collaboration and willingness to share is a benchmark of IB. Being a Business Manager, I chose sessions that many would think would be "dry". I went first to a session on combining AP and IB. It was given by a group from Indianapolis schools. It was amazing. Seeing how to make it work....it was like putting glasses on the first time. It makes sense! It is a unique opportunity that can, in some cases, give a student an opportunity to test out of 14 credits in college based on ONE class they take in high school. Amazing opportunity!

I attended a finance seminar, which I won't bore you with, but was really exciting! But the last breakout I attended was the one that I was looking forward to most. It was about a school in Connecticut that is much like ISC. It is an IB for all set up with no admission requirement and a very diverse student population. These students come from different academic backgrounds, just like our students at ISC. And it works. It works because the staff, students and parents make it work. It is choosing a path and sticking to it. It is continuing forward when it gets hard and leaning on each other when it gets hard.

We have to believe in the mission of our school and the mission of IB to be successful. Mr. Sims, myself, each teacher, our volunteer coaches, parents, students and families....we will all be a very important part of the success of our school and students. But what that success looks like...it is inspirational.

Inspiration

I am inspired. Plan and simple. I am not from the education world. My previous experience has been in business and not-for-profit, but my educational experiences are that of being a student myself and being a parent. As a parent, I know I want better and different for my student. But what does that look like? Can we take an Indiana classroom and just say, "Ok...it's IB"?

The answer is no. As a school, we can label our classes IB. But to truly be IB, it is more than just a class or curriculum. Tonight, a young man spoke at the opening session. He just graduated from an IB school in Florida. He looked like any student you would see in a Columbus school. And then he spoke. He spoke with a passion and an eloquence that was mesmerizing. He was confident. He was educated. He spoke of his classmates and what he will take with him this fall to Dartmouth. He spoke of classes where he did not memorize, he interpreted. He had a maturity that was undeniable. And as I expressed my astonishment that this was merely a child of 18....over and over I heard, he is IB.....that is IB.

IB is more than classes our students will take. It looks so different than anything Columbus has seen. We cannot just bring IB into our classrooms...we will, as a school, become IB. We must to succeed. It is opening our mind to become, as staff and parents, as internationally-minded as our students will become.

I spoke with a teacher from Kansas City tonight at length about the differences in being an IB teacher vs. a traditional teacher. She told me that she is never good enough, but she doesn't mean that in a good way. She challenges herself to constantly reassess her curriculum, her classroom and her own personal development and always be looking for opportunity to grow.

I think we have a fantastic foundation to be IB. This is going to be a fantastic and exciting year!

We are in Miami!

Or Miam-ah, as I keep hearing it be called! It has been a fascinating trip so far. Traveling with Mr. Sims, our Head of School, has been educational. I have learned so much about his background, and if you think I was excited before about him becoming our new Head of School, double my enthusiasm! As we flew down, we talked about the topic that so many students can't wait to see....the schedule. As we move towards being a certified IB school, we begin to not just be a school that offers IB, but we are developing an identity. Many of the IB students I have met have made it clear to me, in no uncertain terms, IB is more than a curriculum, it is a community....an environment....and I feel that here in Miami!

The people I have met have been so friendly. IB connects these schools world-wide. Tomorrow, we will get to hear Greg Mortenson speak. His BIO inspired me! You can read about him and get a taste of what we will experience (www.threecupsoftea.com) I can't wait!

More to come tomorrow! As we start this new year, there will be such an exciting evolution as we see our school become IB. Each day is a new step!

Back to blogging!

What a crazy few months it has been at ISC! We have had a lot of changes. We will have some new faces. But no matter what, we have had a fabulous group of students and families who have made this an amazing year.

We are T-minus 20 days to the last day of school. It is hard to believe this year is almost come and gone. It seems like just last week, we were cutting a ribbon on the front lawn with the Mayor!

If you visit my office, I have three countdowns....one to the last day of school so I can keep everything straight....one to my personal vacation (yeah for me!)....but even more exciting than my own vacation is the last countdown....60 days until our new Head of School takes up residenced in his new office at ISC! For me, as a staff member, I am so excited as to where this is going to take us. He has an energy and enthusiasm that is contagious. Even from 3500 miles away in Columbia, he is hard at work for our school! That is awesome!

As a parent....he is exactly what I want for my students. He knows IB from experience and he knows students. I think he is going to make our "IB for all" a reality and not a concept. He shared a link with me during one of our calls and I think everyone should check it out. It is a good reminder of what we are working towards:

www.ibo.org/programmes/profile

This year has been a wonderful adventure, but the years to come are looking even better!

ISC will be on 1 hour delay Wednesday, February 17th

We will be on an one-hour delay for Wednesday, February 17th.

ISC closed on Tuesday, February 16th

ISC will be closed on Tuesday, February 16th. The sports banquet previously scheduled for Feb. 16th was earlier announced to be moved to Thursday, Feb. 18th. We are now rescheduling the banquet for Tuesday, February 23rd. We apologize for the inconvenience.

School will be closed Monday, February 15th

School will be closed today, Monday, February 15th due to weather.

The sports banquet scheduled for Tuesday, February 16th will be moved to Thursday, February 18th as well.

Thank you,
Monica Christian

ISC will be on a 1 hour delay on Thursday, February 11th

ISC will be on a 1 hour delay on Thursday, February 11th.

ISC closed on Wednesday, February 10th!

ISC will be closed on Wednesday, February 10th due to inclement weather.

School closed on Tuesday, February 9th

School will be closed on Tuesday, February 9th due to inclement weather.

School closed Friday, January 5th.

School will be closed today due to incoming inclement weather.

School on 1-hour delay for Tuesday, January 26

We will be operating on a 1-hour delay on Tuesday, January 26th. Classes will start at 9:57am.

GeoBee....Homecoming...What a wonderful day!

Friday was our school GeoBee finals. Our finalists were Logan L., Tyler S., Alex P, Noah C., Shiloh C., Eva D., and Jay H.

Below, Alex thinks about his answer very carefully before answering!

But, in the end, it was Tyler S. that was victorious, beating out Jay in the final round! Congrats to all our finalists and Tyler S. on their accomplishments!

Later that night, we had ISC's first annual Homecoming. Below, our cheerleaders posed with Jerry Jaguar, ISC's mascot, before the game!

ISC Freshman, Christina N., sang the National Anthem. She was amazing!

Jerry Jaguar greeted players at midcourt during introductions.

Our ISC Cheerleaders performed their new fight song at midcourt.

ISC Homecoming Court was selected by teachers. Each teacher nominated the King and Queen nominee they felt best fit the IB Learner profile. IB Learners strive to be Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced and Reflective. After announcing the court, students voted on Friday for their choice to represent ISC at Homecoming. Below is our Homecoming Court:

(l. to r.) Back row: Molly, Lacy, Aggie, Alex, Logan, Matt, Ty

Front row: Abby, Taylor, Shiloh, Maddie, Bryce, Jacob, Corey

The votes are in....the ISC 2010 Homecoming King and Queen were Bryce and Abby.

Jacob and Madi having a great time at the dance!

The kids danced non-stop to Midnight Express Mobile DJ!

Liam channels his MJ as he moonwalks across the dance floor!

Doug and Cordel make a request at the DJ table!

Abby, Maggie, Kristen, and Val having a great time!

Dancing all night!

It was a great night at ISC! Thanks to the Cheerleaders, Chrissy N., all the parents and coaches who pitched in to make it a great event!! Can't wait until next year!

ISC closed today, Friday, January 8th!

School will be closed on Friday, January 8th due to inclement weather. All before and afterschool activities are cancelled as well. The Star Wars movie event scheduled for Saturday has also been postponed.

Thank you!

ISC closed today, Thursday, January 7th!

ISC will be closed today, Thursday, January 7th, due to inclement weather. Thank you!

Veteran's Day at ISC

Today is Veteran's Day, a day we honor our men and women who have served in armed forces. At ISC, we had several events that occurred. Mr. Bentz represented us well as he was honored to play "Taps" at the Veteran's Day program at Cummins Plant 1. A Jaguar Journal reporter attended and was welcomed at the event, speaking with one of the veteran's in attendance. Below is a picture of Mr. Bentz, preparing to perform:

This afternoon, Mrs. Taulman organized an incredible convocation for our students. It started with the presentation of the American Flag by Art Club students who created this amazing flag.

Next, Col. Richmond from Camp Atterbury inspired us with an amazing speech that left our students literally in awe. He talked about our veteran's and men and women in service, but also challenged our students to find their passion and be accountable to one another.

Following his speech, Mrs. Taulman played the Red Skelton version of the Pledge of the Allegiance, in which every word is described and explained. Then, Christy N. and Mr. Bentz lead the students and faculty in the National Anthem.

Mr. Bentz wrapped up the convocation with a small history of the musical composition of "Taps". He played "Taps" for the students and faculty, leaving many in tears.

Many thanks to Mrs. Taulman, Mr. Bentz, Christy N., Mrs. Plattner's Art Club and Col. Richmond for bringing this wonderful day to our students!!

Monica

Guitar Club debuts....and I learned how to Twitter!

Mr. Bentz started a musical club, a guitar club. This is open to anyone with a guitar who wants to learn or, if you are advanced, continue on. Beginners to experts welcome! This will be every Thursday, 8am, in the computer lab. Feel free to join in! See Mr. Bentz for more details!

Journalism Club is off and running as well. Mrs. C is thrilled because she can hand over the Jaguar Journal. Tomorrow will be the first completely student ran Jaguar Journal. They will also be doing yearbook as well. Students will receive a paper copy at the end of the day on Friday's (every Friday!) and we will continue to send it out to the parent list as well.

Guess what? I am a tweeter! ISC is on Twitter...follow us at https://twitter.com/ISC_Jaguars
I will tweet updates about the school day, sports updates from sporting events as they are happening...Just a fun way to stay in touch!

As always, check out our Facebook. In addition to the official school Facebook site, there is also a ISC Sports group and a Parents/Staff group.

Monica

Changes at ISC!

Friday was a rough day at ISC. The staff learned that Mrs. Nobbe, our founding Head of School, would be leaving ISC in November. Mrs. Nobbe has a family member who will now require daily care and she is this family member's guardian. It is hard to lose someone who has been so important to ISC, but family always has to come first! I know all the staff wishes Mrs. Nobbe the best and she is in all our thoughts as she starts this new path with her sister.

What could have been a very hard time for ISC was made into a smooth transition with the announcement that Mrs. Staggs has stepped up to assume the role as the interim Head of School. She has been in the position of IB Coordinator and Student Services previously for ISC. She knows our students and knows our staff. She is the IB "guru", as I call her, so that process will continue without a beat, which is very important for our students.

I wish both Mrs. Nobbe and Mrs. Staggs the very best as they both start new and very different challenges.

ISC Jags Thrill the World!

ISC students had the opportunity to practice and prepare for the Thrill the World event, a world-wide attempt at the largest number of people around the world simultaneously doing the Michael Jackson Thriller Dance. Locally, Childhood Connections, a local child care resource and referral agency, was sponsoring the event, with proceeds going to their incredible program. Thanks to Coach M, Mrs. Plattner and Miss Knipstine, students at ISC had multiple opportunities to join in and learn the dance.

Saturday was THE day! Check out our pictures below of our zombie Jags...
Taylor B.'s mom gets her zombie-fied!

Mo and Taylor B.

Christina and Lacy

Mrs. Plattner, Alice Knipstine (Miss Knipstine's sister) and Miss Knipstine

Our ISC Jag Zombies rocked the Thriller dance in rehearsal and were pumped and excited as they took off to be part of the worldwide event! Congrats to all of them for representing our school with pride!!!

More to come.....Monica

Iron, Golf and a Battle at Gettysburg.....

Lots to say and show....

Today is a "No School" day. Our teachers and staff are at orientation to IB, learning more and more about the curriculum we want to bring to our great students. So today, the teachers will be the students and our students get to sleep in!

Our girls golf team has really come together. The girls are having a blast. Our schedule was a bit hampered by the fact that local schools go off-schedule of IHSAA and do golf as a club sport in the spring. So had a great deal of scheduling difficulties. But Coach Friend and Coach Frazier have been fantastic and the girls have had a great time...check out the photos below:

We have had some great history stuff going on too. In case you didn't see the fantastic writeup in The Republic, Mr. Bentz, who is our music teacher, did double duty as History Sub and brought in his Civil War artifacts. The students had a fantastic time. They got to do a reenactment of the Battle at Gettysburg. (I found myself drifting out to listen, which is crazy because I normally HATE history, but the passion and the enthusiasm Mr. Bentz and the students were showing was contagious!) See some pictures below....

Some of our art students had an opportunity to take part in the Columbus Iron Pour. Thanks to a generous donation, the students got to learn about something so incredible and beautiful. See pictures below of the scratch blocks and also the finished products with some of our students....

Upcoming at ISC...

Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 30 - Jaguar Tennis vs. Central Middle School, 5pm, Donnor Park