It was one of those brief but simple, magical moments that helps make teaching such a rewarding experience. On Wednesday morning, I walked into my ToK class after having been away last week, and I was greeted with “we really missed you”.  I immediately realized how much I had missed my students too.  I am quite sure that my heart has made the move from Hong Kong to Houston.

And like all weeks at Awty, I am coming to realize, this has been a particularly busy week with more highlights than many schools would experience in a full month.  I have included a few photos here, but of course, I do not take pictures of most of the work I do.  The images below of the new building under construction, for example, were taken as I headed home after this week’s board meeting.  The meeting was an extremely positive event at which several highly significant decisions were made for the School’s future.  As a new Head, it is energizing to work with such a creative and committed board of trustees, and the rapid progress of the new classroom building - which is just phase 1 of our four phase master building plan - is evidence of the fruits of their vision and hard work.

Similarly, I do not normally take pictures during my ToK lessons, but I made an exception on Friday afternoon this week, as the images below show.  We were finishing a series of lessons on the strengths and shortcomings of language as a way of knowing, and I gave the students an exercise to do.  They were asked to sit back-to-back, and one member of the pair was given the cut-up pieces of a square that they had to assemble, following the instructions of the other member of the pair who had a copy of the solution to the puzzle.  Even though the students were able to ask questions freely and receive feedback, they quickly learned that effective communication is more than just vocabulary and grammar; there is also a strong visual component of communication - as many students discovered as they made wild hand gestures as they spoke, even though their partner could not see them.

On Thursday evening, it was a real joy to attend a reception to say ‘thank you’ to the top donors of this year’s Annual Fundraising Campaign.  Organized by our Advancement Office and kindly hosted at the home of the Chairman of the Board, Mr Terry Giles, I thoroughly enjoyed my evening of meeting and mixing with a fascinating group of diverse people who shared one common characteristic - their love for Awty and their excitement about the School’s great potential for the future.  The sheer range of topics in my conversations was as stimulating as it was vast.  I could not do justice to the richness of my discussions - suffice to say it included the anti-communist uprising in Hungary in 1956, the status of women in Saudi Arabia, the scarcity of recycling facilities in Houston, the relative merits of a range of bands that included Abba and the Travelling Wilburys, the joys (or lack thereof) of moving house internationally, various approaches to strategic planning, and of course, the great place that is The Awty International School.

I wish I had some photos of Friday night’s Middle School and Upper School Fall Concert to share with you.  This was a sensational musical experience as hundreds of our students performed a vast range of musical styles.  I will try and borrow some images to share with you next week, but I have still not recovered from the excellence of the students’ ambitious performances.  I was very very impressed!

On a personal note, our furniture finally arrived on Thursday this week, bringing to an end almost three months of waiting.  Although it was good to be reunited with our furniture, I do feel as though I have returned to that “newly arrived” status as I return home each night to a house that is once again filled with boxes waiting - indeed, demanding! - to be unpacked.  As Di is away at the moment visiting our children in Australia, I am fairly certain that I know how my evenings and weekends will be spent for the foreseeable future.

And, believe it or not, as I have been unpacking, I have been thinking about the Learner Profile of the students at Awty.  These reflections sprang from something that was said at the IB Heads’ conference I attended last week.  The comment made was that schools which take on the IB program do so because there is a meshing between the IB’s educational mission and the character of the School.  Indeed, in order to be accredited as an IB school, this meshing of values needs to be articulated and demonstrated.  What follows from this is that whether schools adopt all three IB programs (the Diploma, the Middle Years Program and the Primary Years Program), or just one or two of these programs, the IB Learner Profile (which is designed to cover ages 5 to 18) should infuse everything that the school does.

This led me to re-examine the IB Learner Profile and ask myself whether or not Awty does justice to the 10 learning outcomes that are articulated by IB - which are that all students should strive to be:

1. 1.Enquirers - They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
   

2. 2.Knowledgeable - They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
   

3. 3.Thinkers - They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
   

4. 4.Communicators - They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
   

5. 5.Principled - They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
   

6. 6.Open-minded - They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.
   

7. 7.Caring - They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
   

8. 8.Risk-takers - They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.
   

9. 9.Balanced - They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
   

10. 10. Reflective  - They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
    

I actually think that this list IS a very accurate description of most of the students I have met at Awty, and perhaps I could add additional characteristics such as curious, articulate, creative, and so on.

In any case, I think the list represents a good check-list of the characteristics we should be seeking to develop in our students.    Any new initiative, and any existing program for that matter, should be able to demonstrate how it enhances these learning outcomes for our students.

Okay, enough reflection...  back now to unpacking some more boxes :-)