ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22
After many months of silent hallways and empty classrooms, it was a delight to welcome our students back to school. Extensive planning and preparation went into making school re-entry safe and welcoming as much as possible. It was truly rewarding to see shining eyes peeking over the tops of masks, as students arrived back to school. I am deeply grateful to our OSC community for their untiring efforts to make returning to school safe – both emotionally and physically for our students.
Our aim was to bring back the joy of learning by normalising the school day and enabling students to reengage positive connections with other students and staff, all of which are essential to creating a conducive environment for learners to thrive. We prioritised the Social and Emotional Curriculum, which is a crucial aspect of our learning model. To make the transition smooth and easy, additional social and flexible time was allocated for students to engage with each other. We were extremely flexible with our academics and programmes as well during the year. The students spent time getting to know each other again, recognising similarities and differences, and understanding each other’s cultures. Our teachers worked closely with the students to help them process their feelings and emotions. In Primary School, our favourite green frog, Kelso, helped even our youngest students to learn how to make good choices. Our secondary counselors and staff ensured that social, and emotional learning remained at the heart of our programmes for all middle and high school students. Furthermore, we connected all our inquiry-based learning back to our learner profile attributes, which are at the heart of our IB framework.
Physical well-being was emphasised within our inquiry units by providing several after-school activities and sports for students to engage in. Our learners inquired about healthy lifestyle choices, including food and exercise. In Physical Education (PE), students were enabled to track their overall progress, and through self-reflection, set goals and make improvements. During the year under review, our learners extended their well-being experiences outside of the classroom into after-school activities. These activities ranged from mindfulness and yoga to gymnastics and basketball.
We continued to make a difference every day by developing compassion, curiosity, and courage in our students. We foster the concept of community to provide a deep sense of belonging by teaching our students how to respect differences, lead with purpose and impact, and build intercultural understanding.
We also continued to maintain strong relationships and enhanced engagement between students, parents, and teachers during the year through ongoing communication, workshops, conferences, and meetings. Weekly meetings were conducted with the parents from each grade via Zoom throughout the year. Several parent workshops were organised through online platforms and onsite covering numerous topics that were relevant to face the challenging times. Parent Focus Groups were held to attend on areas of improvement. We included our parents every step of the way to keep them updated on the child’s education and well-being, making available curriculum plans and goals, and through frequent reporting and online grading portals to make assessing reports transparent. The three full-time counselors , one for each section of the School, proved to be invaluable. To further strengthen parent engagement, we subscribed to the NESA Parent Engagement Series - Parents as Partners. Furthermore, we used multiple learning management systems and communication tools and conducted additional training for our teachers in social, emotional, and wellness. The OSC School Board conducted Meet the Board and Open Sessions to ensure transparency throughout the year.
We continued to nurture the leaders of tomorrow with a learning model that extends above and beyond the realm of academia. We instilled values that foster diversity and inclusion and encouraged students and adults alike to strive towards making a difference in their communities and the world around them. The numerous co-curricular activities strengthened the interests of our students, built on their strengths, and motivated them to take risks with new opportunities. Our students continued to actively participate in several service projects that add value to the community around them. These projects are detailed on service to the community and environment section of this Report.
As per our school motto, “Unity in Diversity,” our students and staff truly believe that it is only when we integrate the perspectives of everyone in our community do we create something new and something better than what we had before. OSC families hail from more than 40 countries and with so many diverse backgrounds, values, and beliefs, we work hard at connecting and developing a sense of belonging for all families. At OSC we are teaching our students to have a growth mindset by integrating other people’s perspectives. This is because only when we truly practice unity in our diversity can we be all we can be as human beings joined together in our common humanity.
Last year saw impressive achievements including, one of our students earning a Gold Award for the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2021, two of our seniors achieving early conditional admissions to universities in the UK for BioChemistry and Economics/Politics, and our High School Counsellor, being selected to the International School Counseling Association (ISCA) Task Force. Furthermore, I am truly proud of the outstanding academic results, including OSC’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme students securing an average point score of 33 out of a possible 45, above the world average of 32 points. The OSC PP average score for 2022 was 5.1 compared to the world average of 4.2.
OSC’s success over the years is a collective effort of all members of our community, and I thank each one of them for their strong and consistent support. By focusing on the five lenses of World, Purpose, Power, Change, and Story, we will forge ahead nurturing trust across our community, building a culture of thinking, and cultivating deep and relevant learning in support of our mission, vision, and values.
Michelle Kleiss, EdD
Head of School