International School Community

The Journey to School

The Journey to School: International School Basel (Basel, Switzerland)

October 22, 2020

The journey to work is indeed an important one. The journey though is not so clear for international school teachers when they are looking for jobs at schools in cities/countries at which they have never been. So let’s share what we know!

One of our members, who works at the International School Basel (Basel, Switzerland), described the way she gets to work as follows:

The road to International School Basel in Switzerland…

Getting out the door, I walk through a neighborhood in an industrial area, a low-rise concrete jungle. I walk past Decathlon, a fuel station, a building that doubles up as a mosque and a gym. They must have thought “Mensa sana in corpora sana”. This quirky place always brightens up my day when I walk past it. During summer, the hills in the distance are painted red by the rising sun. In autumn and winter, the mist is often too thick to even see the hills. Winter makes you wish you had a car; unless – like several of our teachers – you’re from the North of Canada and enjoy the “rather mild Swiss climate”.

The walk to the Dreispitz tram stop takes me 10 minutes at most, still I rush to tram 11 before realizing over and over again, that I shouldn’t have bothered because there’s a tram every 3-7 minutes. Very Swiss. As I get on the tram which takes me to ISB, I look for other teachers to talk to or chat with some students. When I’m alone, I stare out the window and watch how the landscape gradually becomes more rural.

The tram first passes the Reinacherhof tramstop right in front of the ISB senior school campus − where most of the teachers get off − before taking me to the Reinach Sud tram stop where I get off after exactly 16 minutes. While the tram heads off to its next stop at the ISB Primary campus in Aesch, I walk past a local farm to the Fiechten Middle school campus, which takes me exactly 4 minutes.

Unlike the other two campuses which are purpose-built for ISB, Fiechten is owned by the Swiss “Gemeinde”. The building looks very much like a Swiss protestant church and stands out because of its grey concrete walls and staircases. What is even more unusual is that the sound of the children’s footsteps is muffled by the carpet in the hallways and in the classrooms. Most teachers have plants and colorful displays to brighten up the place a bit.

The large windows and the view is what makes working on this campus worthwhile. Through my window, I can see the Goetheanum building in the distance. This is by far the most unique place in the area. It was founded in honour of Rudolf Steiner as a center for the Anthroposophical movement at the turn of the 19th century in a time when positivism dominated the natural sciences and humanities. People became aware of a growing interconnectedness between different parts of the world, cultures and religion. One of the main purposes of the movement was to create a new universal religion or philosophy which would incorporate wisdom of the major world religions. Rudolf Steiner conceptualized his teaching philosophy (used in Waldorf schools) based on the principles of Anthroposophy. The center has somewhat lost its function of ‘church’ but it is still a sanctuary for creative ideas. Today it offers theater and classical music performances, Steiner school training programs for teachers, art classes for kids, a bookshop (with books in a wide variety of languages) and a lovely tearoom which serves organic food. The entire hill is covered with buildings constructed in a similar architectural style.

This Journey to School article was submitted to us by an ISC member.

What to know more what it is like to visit and live in Switzerland? Out of a total of 33 international schools we have listed in Switzerland, 19 have had comments submitted on them. Here are just a few:

College du Leman – International School (85 comments)
Inter-community School Zurich (69 Comments)
International School Basel (131 Comments)
International School of Zug and Luzern (32 Comments)
Leysin American School (113 Comments)
Zurich International School (59 Comments)
TASIS The American School in Switzerland (32 Comments)

So what is your journey to the international school you work at? Earn one year free of premium membership to our website if you participate in this blog series – ‘The Journey to School’. Email us here if you are interested.

The Journey to School

The Journey to School: Tarsus American College (Turkey)

January 30, 2019

One of our members, who works at the Tarsus American College (Mersin, Turkey), described the way she gets to work as follows:

The road to Tarsus American College (Turkey)…

Tarsus is a city near the Mediterranean near the larger cities of Mersin and Adana. The school is located in the old part of the town means rich Roman and Biblical historical sites, that include an old Roman road, the Well of St. Paul, mosques, a bazaar, crumbling Roman Baths, Cleopatra’s Gate and a nearby waterfall.

I’m originally from a small town in the state of Iowa in the Midwest USA, so while Tarsus is not a major city, it is larger than where I grew up, but smaller than the capital cities I worked in before coming to Turkey.

My commute to work is a five-minute walk from my school furnished apartment located near campus. Most local teachers live off campus, in the nearby towns of Adana or Mersin and take school buses each morning and afternoon. Most international faculty live on or near campus.

Living on or near campus means teachers can use the school’s, fitness equipment or join others to play tennis on the outdoor courts while walkers and joggers can find flat paths or stroll through parks in the city.

Tarsus American College is a bilingual school that follows the Turkish Ministry of Education and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. International teachers work in English, Science, and Math Departments or International University Counseling and Administration.

The school is located near a number of shops and bakeries, so In the morning, I don’t have to walk far to find a warm simit at a nearby bakeries or bring in office treats such as a box of cezerye, a Turkish dessert made from caramelized carrots, shredded coconut, and roasted walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios. Following are more photos of food that can be found near campus.

On the way home from school I usually pick up fresh produce oranges, lemons, mandarins and grapefruit. Pomegranate season means I eat delicious pomegranates every day.

A few new drinks I’ve grown to love while living in Tarsus.

Şalgam Suyu, is fermented turnip juice, it can be spicy and draink alone, or enjoyed with rakka on a night out.

Cinnamon topped salep is made from a flour of ground tubers of wild orchids, and is a warm alternative to coffee or tea.

Baklava is commonly known as the Turkish dessert, but there are many more treats to try. Turkish Künefe is served with the same sweet syrup, but has cheese inside a crispy shredded wheat type outer coating and covered in pistachios.

On the weekends, I can find a traditional Turkish breakfast served with tea and Turkish coffee, break, cheeses, olives, butter, honey, jam, and eggs.

Hummus is served hot and is a full meal, not just an appetizer when served with bread, tomatoes, and pickled vegetables. Most restaurants allow diners to choose from traditional covered in olive oil, or served with beef.

A common meal here is the Turkish kebab and the best kebab in my opinion comes with decision salads.

This Journey to School article was submitted to us by guest author, Ellen Johnston.

What to know more what it is like to visit and live in Turkey? Out of a total of 25 international schools we have listed in Turkey, 17 have had comments submitted on them. Here are just a few:

Bilkent Laboratory & International School (135 comments)
Enka Schools (Istanbul) (45 Comments)
Istanbul International Community School (54 Comments)
MEF International School Istanbul (156 Comments)
MEF International School Izmir (58 Comments)
Robert College of Istanbul (47 Comments)
Tarsus American College (47 Comments)

The Journey to School

The Journey to School: Cheongna Dalton School (Incheon, South Korea)

October 7, 2018

One of our members, who works at the Cheongna Dalton School (Incheon, South Korea), described the way he gets to work as follows:

The road to Cheongna Dalton School…

I’m originally from Montana (in the US), which is a place known for its wide open space. I grew up driving very long distances at very high speeds in order to get places. I grew up commuting; it was simply a part of my life.

At my previous job in Korea, I had a 20-30 minute commute to work every morning. Because of my past, I didn’t find it to be that difficult to ride the school bus for that long. In the evening, the bus ride would be quite a bit longer due to traffic. I didn’t take that ride as much, but I dealt with it when I did.

Other teachers I have know have told me that living on a school campus is terrible. I never really gave it much thought until I came to Cheongna Dalton School, where I live on campus… And I absolutely love it!

It makes my life so easy. My commute is a two-minute walk from one building to another. That walk way in the photo (top of this article) — that’s it!

I go out of my room
down one flight of stairs
out the door
across the sidewalk to the other building
go in the door
and go up three floors to my office.

It takes two minutes. Yes, I’ve timed it.

The school itself is good and the kids are totally amazing. My job is the Director of EdTech and I am a department of one covering the entire school, Pre-K to G12. With 450 students and 60 teachers to serve, I keep busy, but I love the job.

This Journey to School article was submitted to us by guest author, Tim Bray.

What to know more what it is like to visit and live in South Korea? Out of a total of 31 international schools we have listed in South Korea, 28 have had comments submitted on them. Here are just a few:

Big Heart Christian School (48 comments)
Chadwick International School – Songdo (78 Comments)
Cheongna Dalton School (60 Comments)
Dwight School Seoul (35 Comments)
Global Prodigy Academy (48 Comments)
Gyeonggi Suwon International School (47 Comments)
International School of Koje (47 Comments)
Korea International School (Seoul) (52 Comments)
Seoul Foreign School (147 Comments)
Seoul International School (86 Comments)
Singapore American School (104 Comments)

School Profile Searches

Using the School Profile Search feature on International School Community: Search Result #14

February 20, 2014

Only on International School Community will you be able to search for the perfect international school for you. You get the possibility to search (using our unique search engine) for international schools based on the type of school that best fits your criteria. There are many different kinds of international schools: ones that are small in student numbers to ones that have more than 1200 students, ones that are for-profit to ones that are non-profit, ones that are in very large cities to ones that are in towns of only 1000 people, etc. Each international school teacher has their own type of school that best fits their needs as a teacher and as a professional. Your personal life is also very important when you are trying to find the right match. Most of us know what it is like to be working at an international school that doesn’t fit your needs, so it’s best to find one that does!

Utilizing the School Profile Search feature on International School Community, you can search our 1606 schools (updated from 1535 on 19 February 2014) for the perfect school using up to 8 different criteria. The 8 criteria are: Region of the world, Curriculum, School Nature, Number of Students, Country, Year Founded, Kinds of Students and Size of City. You can do a school profile search in three different locations on our website: the homepage, the Schools List page and on the side of every school profile page. Check out our past school profile search results here.

Search Result #14

Criteria selected:

Region of the world (All)
Curriculum (DP)
School Nature (Non-Profit)
No. of students (Medium 300 – 700)
Country (All)
Year founded (More than 51)
Kinds of student (Mostly Int’l)
Metro Population (Medium 750k – 3m)

Schools Found: 10

The 10 international schools that met the criteria were found in 7 countries. Here are a few that have had comments and information submitted on them.:

• American College of Sofia (Sofia, Bulgaria) – 7 Comments

• Academia Cotopaxi (American International School) (Quito, Ecuador) – 6 Comments

• American School of Milan (Milan, Italy) – 13 Comments

• American Overseas School of Rome (Rome, Italy) – 5 Comments

• International School of Penang (Uplands) (Penang, Malaysia) – 9 Comments

• Carlucci American International School of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal) – 13 Comments

• Taejon Christian International School (Daejeon, South Korea) – 14 Comments

• Chadwick International School – Songdo (Incheon, South Korea) – 7 Comments

Why not start your own searches now and then start finding information about the schools that best fit your needs? Additionally, all premium members are able to access the 10304 comments and information (updated from 9600 on 20 February 2014) that have been submitted on the hundreds of international school profiles on our website.

Join International School Community today and you will automatically get the ability to make unlimited searches to find the international schools that fit your criteria (with a free 7-day trail of premium membership).

Blogs of International Teachers

Blogs of international school teachers: “Love International Living”

August 21, 2011

Are you inspired to start up a blog about your adventures living abroad?

Check out the experiences of another teacher from the moment they signed the contract to what they are writing about after a few years working abroad.

Our 5th blog that we would like to highlight is called “Love International Living.“ Similar to our last highlighted blog, it has some great insight into how important the first few weeks are for new teachers during their orientation days to their new city and new school. There is also much information to be learned what life is really like working at Chadwick International School – Songdo.

Entries we would like to highlight:

Settling In…:
“On the 29th we begin we our Korean language classes. So far I can only say “hello” and “thank you” so I’m really looking forward to getting more communication help. We’re told the Korean character system is super logical and easy to understand, so we’ll hopefully be able to read Korean soon.”

New Songdo Exists!:
“Chadwick (International School) has been incredible. Our president and our headmaster along with many other staffers picked us up from the airport, handed us a wad of money and took us home, to a high-rise called Well County. There are three phases of the development so far and we live in the newest–the 300s. Our internet phone and cable was already set up and the school is working out all kinds of incredible deals on internet and iphones and anything else we can imagine.”

Orientation Excitement:
“Usually, when you move to a new school, you have two weeks before school begins. Often the first week is local culture and city orientation while the second week is work at school. That’s great for a couple days, but by day three, you want to check out the school and get into your room and start setting up.”

Information for Members

It’s easy to network on ISC!

August 6, 2019

How many times have you applied to a school wishing that you knew somebody that worked there?

Knowing somebody and getting the ‘inside scoop’ on an international school will definitely help you in your quest to set up an interview there.

At International School Community we made that search for ‘informed people’ even easier with our new Top 40 Schools with the Most Members page.

The members of these schools include members that currently work there now or have worked there in the past.

With 100-300 new members joining each month, this list will continue to grow and grow; with even more members showing up as potential people to network with.

It is simple to network on our website: just click on a member and then click on the ‘Contact this member’ button (Premium membership access required). Then write him/her a message. When your message is sent, the other member will get an email alert letting them know that they have a new message waiting for them on our website (you don’t need premium membership access to reply to a private message on our website). Numerous International School Community members have already taken advantage of this unique feature on our website!

As far as we know, International School Community is the only website where you can quickly and easily network with real people at a specific international school. Meaning, if you want to get in touch with somebody from the United Nations International School in New York and you are currently a premium member of International School Community, you now have 6 members that you can contact on our website that either work there now or have worked there in the past.

Get the answers to your questions; now that is easy networking!