Dear WIS Community,
Last week, Jenna (our PYP Coordinator) and I immersed ourselves in an intensive professional development seminar exploring how schools can build stronger, more adaptive communities. The experience deepened our understanding of how collaborative practices and inquiry-based approaches extend beyond the classroom walls. In our IB World School context, these principles form the foundation of how our students learn, and how we as educators grow and evolve together.
The seminar reinforced our commitment to fostering a professional environment grounded in trust and mutual respect. When educators feel safe to take risks, share challenges, and celebrate successes together, the entire school community benefits. By applying systems thinking approaches and developing stronger collaborative practices, we are better equipped to support our students in becoming the inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring global citizens that the IB program aims to develop. The training provided us with practical tools and frameworks to strengthen our professional learning communities, ensuring that our teachers can collaborate more effectively and share best practices across disciplines.
We're excited to implement these strategies to create even more dynamic learning environments where both teachers and students can thrive. What's particularly valuable is how these collaborative approaches and deep listening practices are equally powerful in corporate environments, community organizations, and family life. In essence, these practices are about breaking down perceived barriers between people and creating spaces where everyone feels valued and heard. When we truly listen to each other's stories and experiences, we often discover that what seems to divide us is, as one seminar speaker noted, "no thicker than scenery." We invite our parent community to explore these concepts further through the resources available at Thinking Collaborative, where you'll find practical insights that can enhance both professional and personal interactions.
Warmly,
Marcelle van Leenen | Primary School Principal
Comments