Chapter 1: ISH Guiding Statements

A Philosophical Stance

The International School of The Hague shares an understanding that at the centre of international education are students who come to school with combinations of unique and shared patterns of values, knowledge and experience of the world and their place within it. ISH encourages these students to pursue personal excellence by being curious, connected and compassionate lifelong learners.

The International School of The Hague takes a holistic view of education, so that along with cognitive development, the school programmes address social, emotional and physical wellbeing. ISH offers opportunities for students to become active and caring members of local, national and global communities and develop international mindedness and intercultural understanding through the attributes of the ISH Community Profile.

Teachers at the school are committed to an inclusive learning environment and help empower and inspire personal excellence in all students by encouraging them to take responsibility for their learning. Teaching and learning grows from an understanding that people work together to construct meaning and make sense of the world. ISH supports and challenges students to improve their learning by engaging with a strong, diverse community and a coherent curriculum that is broad, balanced, challenging, conceptual and connected.

A.   To ensure that ISH mission, vision and values are integral to our thinking, actions and decision- making across the whole school.

B.   To promote high quality teaching and learning through evidence-based inquiry and the appropriate use of data.

C.   To provide our students and our staff with a physically and psychologically safe learning environment that is conducive to learning and wellbeing.

The International School of The Hague, with its strong diverse community within the International City of Peace and Justice, is well placed to provide a dynamic learning environment that is conducive to intercultural learning and global citizenship.

Intercultural Learning challenges students to learn from different cultures and to deepen their understanding, acceptance and respect for diverse groups of people. It allows students to develop their own cultural identity and to facilitate open-minded discussion. This enhanced level of communication helps engage students in tackling global issues.
 
Global Citizenship is about understanding the ongoing and inevitable global opportunities and challenges we face. Global learners develop awareness and respect that motivates them to take action in relation to the complexities of the world.

The International School of The Hague Community Profile is used to promote intercultural learning and develop global citizenship. It is based on the IB Learner Profile, the concept of international mindedness, the IPC Personal Goals and the ISH Guiding Statements. Different departments in the school are encouraged to develop subject-specific and/or age-appropriate criteria for the attributes in the profile.

At ISH we inspire our students to be curious. To do this, we use student-led inquiry to solve challenging problems that are set in authentic contexts wherever possible. Students learn to apply their knowledge and skills to deepen conceptual, disciplinary and interdisciplinary understanding and make effective connections. Our students learn how to collaborate, act with compassion and become responsible global citizens. Our students, teachers and community model the attributes of the ISH Community Profile.

High Quality Learning at ISH is:

• An active process where students make connections between new ideas and prior understandings.
• Collaborative and supported by quality interactions with teachers and other students.
• Centred on students’ responsibility for their own learning; they are able to exercise choice, develop goals, plan their approach and work independently.
• Reflective, enabling students to monitor and review their learning with a clear sense of how to improve; students are supported to learn from their failures as much as their successes.
• A process of change and personal growth.

High Quality Learning at ISH occurs when students:

• Are curious, inspired and motivated to take ownership of their learning.
• Build on prior skills, knowledge and understanding.
• Remain resilient and engaged, especially when learning about complex or unfamiliar ideas.
• Feel safe and secure in their learning environment and at home.
• Have confidence in their teachers and trust their peers.
• Actively apply their knowledge and skills towards solving local and global issues.

High Quality Learning at ISH occurs when teachers:

• Have high expectations, and encourage students to set high expectations for themselves, which inspire, motivate and challenge students.
• Maintain good relationships with students in order to involve and motivate them.
• Promote students’ love of learning and intellectual curiosity.
• Guide students to reflect on the progress they have made and their emerging needs.
• Are aware of students’ capabilities and their prior knowledge, and plan teaching to build on these.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how students learn and encourage them to take a responsible and conscientious attitude to their own work and study.
• Demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual development of students, and know how to adapt teaching to support students’ learning at different stages of development.
• Have a clear understanding of the needs of all students, including those with unique and individual challenges. Teachers are able to adopt and constantly review a variety of teaching approaches to engage and support all students.
• Develop effective professional relationships with colleagues leading to successful collaboration, knowing how and when to draw on advice and specialist support.
• Reflect systematically on the effectiveness of lessons and approaches to teaching and its impact on learning.
• Make productive use of formative and summative assessment to support students’ learning.
• Use digital tools to effectively support and enhance pedagogical approaches which are known to improve learning.

High Quality Learning at ISH occurs when parents:

• Are well informed and curious about their own child’s learning.
• Connect and collaborate with others to further support their child’s learning and wellbeing.
• Provide a compassionate home environment which celebrates and promotes individuals’ culture and language.

The student charter was developed to set out the rights and responsibilities of all students who are part of the ISH Community. It was created by students for students and developed from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and our school’s Guiding Statements.

Students have the right to:

1. Be treated with respect regardless of who we are, where we are from and what we believe.
2. Be consulted about decisions that affect us through our student representatives; be able to question those decisions; and to assert our rights as they are set out in school policies and protocols.
3. A safe, clean and well-maintained school environment, which supports our learning and personal development.
4. Share our personal views about the things that we learn and that affect us, keeping in mind that we must respect the views of others and not share views that are harmful and disrespectful.
5. Learn about ways to take care of our wellbeing and personal safety.
6. Support systems that take care of our physical and mental health.
7. A healthy and balanced learning experience, which allows us to pursue our own interests.
8. Experience learning in line with the school’s High Quality Learning Statements so that we are enabled to achieve our own personal excellence and be well prepared for life after school.
9. Be informed about our rights within and beyond school.
10. Learn about and share our culture and language and have it valued by others.

The school along with parents/guardians work together to uphold these rights. With rights come responsibilities. To enjoy these rights, students will:

1. Be respectful of others regardless of who they are, where they are from and what they believe.
2. Be safe in how they take care of themselves and in their behaviour towards and around others.
3. Be responsible in their behaviour and in their learning.

Students behave in accordance with these responsibilities to ensure that they can all enjoy these rights. They understand that if they do not, there may be negative consequences for themselves, their environment and others.