Written by: Joe Edge
Primary Teacher (Assistant Head of Primary, – Lower Primary & Enrichment)
At ISPH, we encourage learning to take place in a variety of settings. We want students to excel in academic areas such as reading, writing and mathematics but we are also striving to help develop well rounded individuals who display a wide range of abilities and interests. Here are some ways that we do this:
Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) Programme @ ISPH
Our aim with CCAs is to get happy students and happy parents by offering a range of stimulating and valuable activities, every day of the week. These optional activities could relate to areas such as sport, music, drama, puzzles and games and STEAM. Our programme helps students to explore a variety of strengths and talents as well as stimulating their creativity, improving their social and organisational skills, and helping them to develop physically and emotionally. Recently, we have extended the CCA program to include Friday CCAs, morning CCAs and lunchtime CCAs. We have also evolved by growing our partnerships with external providers and providing parent activities. I hope your family has had many happy moments during our CCAs, and, if not yet, then I hope that you are inspired to engage with our CCA programme in the future.
Residentials @ ISPH
Students from Year 3 to Year 12 are offered the opportunity to visit a new place with their peers and build their independence by sleeping away from home. The amount of nights spent away is progressive, with students’ maturity and comfort levels in mind. Younger students start by going away for one night and this gradually increases to a four night trip in the older years. These safe and carefully planned trips assist in broadening the curriculum beyond the boundaries of the school, help students learn new skills, give opportunities for problem solving and team building, boost their confidence, give students the chance to experience new cultures and environments, help to foster an enquiring mind and a spirit of wonder about the outside world, and provide opportunities for group cohesion, teamwork or challenge that cannot be undertaken on the school campus. Past or future residentials include: Pandora Eco-Retreat, near the mountainous area of Lam Son, in Hoa Binh province; Ba Vi National Park; Cuc Phuong National Park; Mai Chau valley; Sapa valley; Cat Ba; Phong Nha-Ke Bang cave systems; Dalat and Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park. I hope that your child gets to experience an ISPH residential visit.
Music Instrumental Lessons @ ISPH
We offer the opportunity for students to have 1:1 instrumental lessons with our talented, specialist teachers. Students can choose from a variety of instruments including piano, violin, flute, clarinet, saxophone, guitar and the drums. Learning to play an instrument will help children to relax, develop discipline, boost their self-confidence, improve their social skills, memory, concentration and listening skills. When students feel like they are close to mastering their craft, they can showcase their talents in our annual school talent show or in our young musician competition.
Overall, at ISPH, students’ learning is enriched by many varied experiences outside the classroom as we seek to grow and nurture our learners as a whole. We actively encourage students to explore new interests and develop new talents and we are also eager to celebrate these within our community. We invite you to get involved and enjoy all the exciting opportunities on offer!
