July 2015 Newsletter
July 2015 Newsletter – What insider information would you give to a teacher considering working at your school?
Check out our latest newsletter here.
International schools get their voices heard on Listen To Us song
Over 33,000 students from schools around the globe have this year shared in one common learning experience – to master one of the vocal parts for a new song called Listen To Us.
Listen To Us is uniting young people around the world as part of the Voices Around The World project. This is the third year of the project which has involved over 1,400 national, independent and international schools, and culminated in the release of the Listen To Us CD in July. The CD features the voices of over 5,000 students from recordings that were made by schools in 48 different countries including Cambodia, Israel, Iceland, Brazil and Turkey.
All proceeds from the sales of the CD plus a DVD will this year go to support schools in Tanzania that are in need of basic learning resources.
The Voices Around The World project, which is in its third year, is spearheaded by former music teacher and international school principal, Laurie Lewin, in collaboration with singer/songwriter Howard Jones. Laurie has travelled to many schools to support them with their rehearsals and recordings of Listen To Us, and to encourage students to think about the words they are singing. “Young people really want to make a difference,” he said. “They want to work together for change. Many who we’ve spoken to, from all around the world, show they’re absolutely passionate about the meaning behind the words of the song. You can see it in their faces and hear it in their voices while they’re singing. Whatever their age, participating in such a project has a huge impact on them.”
Laurie was inspired to find a school in Syria to participate in this year’s project thanks to the suggestion of a student who took part in 2014. “During last year’s project, I visited an international school in Dubai to help the students with their recording,” explained Laurie. “I spoke to a young girl there who’d been practising the song with me. She said ‘I’d like to be singing this with my friends back in Syria.’ She was a Syrian refugee. Thanks to her wish, this year we are thrilled to have children from Al-Shams (The Sun) School, Sweida city, Syria joining us on the recording.”
Over 300 international schools have taken part in Voices Around The World this year including St Andrews International School in Bangkok, Baleares International College in Mallorca, Campion School in Athens, Panaga School in Brunei, Jakarta International School in Indonesia, and the international schools of Genoa, Cambodia and Iceland to name a few.
One of the students at St Christopher’s School, a British school in Bahrain said: “I loved singing Listen To Us. It made me think about people singing Listen To Us everywhere around the world. My favourite line from the song is ‘All the leaders round the world – listen to us!’ I think they should!”
Sponsors that have helped to raise awareness of the project this year have included Coins Foundation, Monjasa, Bandzoogle, the International Primary Curriculum, and the Charter for Compassion.
Listen To Us is available to download from iTunes and from the Voices Around The World website where you will also be able to find out how to participate in the 2016 project. You can also see feedback from some of this year’s participating schools on the Voices Around The World Facebook page.
Traveling Around: Istanbul, Turkey (The life of an international school teacher is good!)
Traveling Around: Istanbul, Turkey
Can you relate?
• Walking around in a non-tourist area and using the GPS on our phone to navigate the hilly streets and alleys and at times the uneven sidewalks and roads.
• Trying to fit/blend in while also observing the locals at the same time, then having a local walk by and say “hello” to us (we didn’t pass for Turkish I guess.)
• Thinking you are the well-experienced traveler, and yet getting easily ripped off or conned by a local salesman.
• Tasting the local ice cream and finding out it is quite different from the ice cream you are used to.
• Realizing that there are people everywhere in this city, way bigger than the city you are currently living in.
• Wanting to finally try (after visiting Istanbul three times) a simit and finding out it tasted very good!
• Going out to eat at a variety of places in the city, some super cheap and really good and some super expensive and not so good tasting.
• Finding stray cats EVERYWHERE! There were cute ones, but some really looked like they needed some tender loving care.
• Taking a second look when running into restaurants and stores that you thought would never be in Istanbul (Shake Shack, Arby’s, etc.)
• Lucking out and having the best weather possible for our visit. The rain and clouds ended just as we arrive and came back just as we left.
• Being amazed at not just the Blue Mosque, but ALL the many mosques around the city; all works of art and just beautiful!
• Walking next to the Blue Mosque at just the right time for when Iftar was happening. There were local bands playing songs and tons of people all around eating donated food. Wonderful community feeling!
• Eating at a really local place and not being able to communicate at all because both parties didn’t know each others’ languages. Showing kindness and giving kind gestures created, though, a wonderful cultural exchange.
• Finding some fruit in a local green market that we had never seen before, and the store owner giving us one to try. Actually, in many stores the people were so generous by giving us free samples.
• Taking a boat down the Bosphorus River and enjoying the wonderful sea breeze and sunshine on such a beautiful day.
• Arriving in a small town realizing that it was a complete tourist trap!
• Seeing some locals protesting some issue from their boats in the Bosphorus, wishing we knew what they were protesting about.
• Feeling happy by supporting the local businesses and the businesses that are trying to support local people in their work by paying them an honest wage.
Currently we have 14 international schools listed in Istanbul, Turkey on International School Community. Here are a few of them that have had comments submitted on them:
• Enka Schools (Istanbul) (Istanbul, Turkey) – 13 Comments
• Hisar School (Istanbul, Turkey) – 17 Comments
• Istanbul International Community School (Istanbul, Turkey) – 12 Comments
• ISTEK Schools, Istanbul (Istanbul, Turkey) – 8 Comments
• Koc School Istanbul (Istanbul, Turkey) – 10 Comments
• Kultur 2000 Koleji (Istanbul, Turkey) – 27 Comments
• MEF International School Istanbul (Istanbul, Turkey) – 43 Comments
• Robert College of Istanbul (Istanbul, Turkey) – 19 Comments
• TED Istanbul College (Istanbul, Turkey) – 17 Comments
• The British International School – Istanbul (Istanbul, Turkey) – 9 Comments
• Uskudar American Academy & Sev Elementary (Istanbul, Turkey) – 15 Comments
If you are on a trip right now, away from your host country, write to us at admin@internationalschoolcommunity.com with your “Can you relate?” traveling experiences. Tell us where you are traveling in the world, what you are seeing and how you are coping with any culture shock. Once your Traveling Around experience is posted on our blog, International School Community will give you 6 free months of premium membership!
Let's connect
|
Meet us on Facebook |
|
Follow our Tweets |
|
Join our Linked In Group |