Footprints International School
August 2019 Newsletter
Welcome to an AMAZING A.Y 2019-2020
School Director Message
Greetings Parents, Children, Staff and the Community,
It is with high expectations that I have joined Footprints International School as the Director of Schools as well as the Secondary Principal. I am from the United States, having worked from the classroom to Administration over school districts in the United States. Additionally, my International experience spans from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. I have held the position of Superintendent of Schools, Headmaster, School Director and Principal. Additionally, I have extensive experience in Human Resources.
Footprints International School is dedicated to inspiring a passion for learning and encouraging emotional and intellectual vitality. Together, I will be working with the already amazing staff to empower our students with the confidence and courage to contribute to the global community and supply them with the tools necessary to achieve their dreams.
Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire. We as the educators aspire to be that spark that lights the flame. In the classrooms and as a school, I will continue to pursue the balance that provides strong academic preparation with opportunities for students to be successful on their educational journey.
As an educator I understand the students are individuals who learn in varied ways, develop at different paces, and bring a wide variety of talents and interest to the classroom. My goal is to foster the relationship between the students and their teachers by maintaining a constant stream of information between them in the person and on paper. I understand fully the concept of the “whole child” and I will continue to support the teaching staff, enrich the curriculum as well as the ongoing professional development.
As an educator I am devoted to assisting each child grow intellectually, socially, physically, and with a sense of civic pride. I have a deep appreciation for the philosophy of life and what constitutes real happiness; I strongly believe that it is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. The person who makes a success of living is one who sees their goals steadily and aims for it unswervingly. This is what I call dedication. My philosophy of life is that if we make up our minds on what we are going to make of our lives, and work hard towards that goal, we never lose and somehow will win.
From my point of view, this philosophy also applies to education. Our heritage and ideals, our codes and standards, and the things we live by and teach our children are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings. We must have vision to share with our students, but vision is not enough; it must be combined with venture. As a philosopher once said, “It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs”. Children need excitement and drive to move forward in order to succeed and learn. Without motivation, children begin to lose interest, and the result is they lose the motivation to succeed.
I believe that knowledge is power, and we should empower children with the knowledge of their potential. I believe that education should be global in its scope and broad-based in its implementation. With the diversity in the world in which we live, we as the educator should execute lessons that are not just appropriate, but also that instill in our students an excitement towards learning. I truly believe that without encouragement, the best powers of the mind remain dormant.
In closing, I look forward to the 2019-2020 academic school year. I encourage you to stop by the school and meet with me. Parents are the most important part of a child’s life. Together, you the parents, myself and the school as a whole will help each child to reach their full potential and reach success.
Truly,
Mr. Dwayne Lehman
The School Director
Day 1 - Staff Orientation
FIS CARE
It’s that time of the year again when everyone gets thrilled thinking what could be happening on this day! Footprints International School CARE Team was very happy to see old faces. Students also welcomed the newest member in their class. Indeed, our students have grown and developed their skills as it was evident that they are still able to perform the school routines. What a productive day indeed! The students enjoyed fine motor skills activities, daily living skills, as well as reading and writing.
There were a lot of newly added programs this year, such as Aquatic Exercises, Integrative Movement, Communication Skills Program and Physical Education to increase the students’ strength and coordination. We are looking forward to making more progress with fun and exciting learning activities all year long!
Sincerely,
Joanne Duran
CARE Principal
First Day of School Activity
Early Childhood Program
And yet again we welcomed a new School Year 2019-2020.
With much anticipation and some tears we started our school year on 12 August 2019. It has been a welcoming site to see both old and some new faces returning to school.
It has been a new experience for some and that also brought some tears from learners and also parents. Please understand that this is a new environment with new faces and experiences. Because of the unknown, crying may continue for 1 to even 2 weeks, but please be assured that this will end soon.
Your child will find a wonderful class, with magical experiences and space to grow and learn. Please make sure that you are registered on Class Dojo to keep up to date with all the information from the school as well as important information about classroom activities.
Kind regards,
Annabell Van Der Westhuizen
ECP Vice Principal
Primary Program - BBK Campus
We are truly thrilled to have our students back for the new 2019-2020 School Year at BKK Campus. It is great to feel an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation among the children as they arrive back with us, ready for another year of active, engaging learning.
This year we welcome 2 new teachers to our campus. A familiar face is Teacher Marivic, who taught Grade 1 students at TK campus last year, and Teacher Lewis who joins us for his first year at FIS.
Our first couple of days have given teachers and students a chance to get to know each other, and for students to consider what their areas of growth are for the coming year. Our value this month is determination, and we as a staff at BKK will continue to make sure that our students give their best in all they do during their time at school.
We look forward to seeing parents again during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up times. As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions.
Best wishes,
Gary Custance, Primary Vice Principal
First Day of School
Primary Program - TNT1 Campus
After a two months summer holiday, it was great to welcome back students studying at FIS’ TNT1 campus for the 2019-2020 Academic Year. It was great to welcome returning students, students transitioning from Grade 1 to Grade 2, students who’ve joined us from BKK’s Grade 3 class last year and new students joining FIS for the first time. It was a joy to see everyone’s smiling faces wearing their new school uniform. The children had a great day getting to know their teacher, new classmates and enjoying being back at school.
This year we look forward to another exciting year at FIS in the Primary program as we introduce three new curriculum to our program. This year students will study the Cambridge International Examinations(CIE) English First Language Curriculum, which will focus on accelerating our students’ growth in all four components of English acquisition (speaking, listening, reading and writing). In Social Studies, students will now study the CIE Global Perspectives Curriculum which uses themed challenges as a vehicle to better develop 21st century skills of research, analysis, evaluation, reflection, collaboration and communication for our students. In health, we’ll use the Physical and Social Health Education(PSHE) curriculum ‘Jigsaw,’ which uses a mindfulness approach to help students better understand themselves so they make good decisions regarding their social and physical health.
On behalf of all of the staff here at our TNT 1 campus, we are looking forward to another successful year helping your children reach their full potential as compassionate, determined, responsible global citizens.
Justin Bisiker
Primary Principal
First Day of School
Primary Program - TK Campus
On Monday, 12th of August, we welcomed our Primary Students to TK Campus for the first day of the School Year. It was great to see all the smiling faces of the returning students, and everyone looked great in their new uniforms.
The day was spent getting to know all about the New Programmes that have been introduced this year and even more importantly getting to know their new teachers and classmates. This year, there will be new Cambridge Global Perspectives Lessons for Social Studies. This course promotes 21st century skills that will prepare your children for the modern work place. Alongside Global Perspectives, we also have a new Health Curriculum called Jigsaw, which is used in the UK. It incorporates mindfulness into both physical and social health.
On behalf of all of the staff here at TK campus, we are really looking forward to an amazing year helping your children reach their full potential as compassionate, determined, responsible global citizens.
Nicholas Brewer
Primary Vice Principal
First Day of School
Secondary Program - TTP Campus
The first week of school! Hope springs eternal when school opens again! All those eager young faces entering our gate. It is life affirming both for the adults who teach and parent these children to see life in action. It is also part of a ritual in which children partake all over the world. It’s time for a fresh start. We can improve upon what we have done in the past no matter what the level of development is at the moment. Each new school year is an opportunity to grow even more.
I am Ambler Moss, the new secondary principal, and I am very optimistic about what we can accomplish this year. I invite all families to really get involved with the educational experience of the students. Let’s really make FIS a community project where everybody is a winner.
As the year goes on, these messages may grow longer as the list of accomplishments expands. For now I will just say we had a very successful student orientation in which we explained the expectations to students in all areas. My hope is that we meet or exceed those expectations in 2019-2020.
Gratefully,
Ambler Moss
Secondary Principal
First Day of School
Secondary Program - TK Campus
August 12, 2019 officially marks the first day of school for school year 2019-2020. Mixed emotions arise from our secondary students. Some feel excited to meet their old friends and teachers and maybe a little sad that summer is over. Some students feel nervous or a little scared with the new changes transitioning from primary to secondary school.
Most teachers kick off the first day with a short introduction about themselves and go over classroom rules so students’ know what's allowed and what's not while some teachers give students a chance to say something about themselves to the rest of the class. Class Schedules were also distributed and briefly discussed.
In addition, we welcomed an additional grade level here in TK campus from only having grade 6-7 last year, this year we now have grade 8 too.
On behalf of all of the secondary staff here at TK campus, we look forward to an amazing school year. We will do our best to help your children to reach their full potential academically inline with the school's vision and mission.
Juna Bulahao
Secondary Vice principal
TK-Campus
First Day of School
Khmer Program
Congratulations to all our grade 9 students passing the national exam!
Last August 5 to 6, 2019, Grade 9 Students of FIS Khmer Program took the National Exam at Boeng Trabek High School which is the public school that has been assigned as one of the exam centers. FIS students participated in the exam with another five schools, which consisted of 361 students.
We had 22 students taking the exam this year. We jumped for joy as the result was released on August 12, 2019, as all of our students had succeeded. Moreover, 4.55% of them are in “Good” category, 59.09% are in “Fairly Good” category, and 36.36% are in “Average” category.
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to students, teachers, parents, staff, management team, and school board for their strong commitment and support.
Sincerely,
Dara Pring
Khmer Principal
During the Examination
Footprints International School
Mission: FIS empowers our learners to discover their potential in a nurturing environment through innovative instruction, challenging and collaborative activities, and exposure to diverse perspectives.
Vision: A community of responsible, determined, and compassionate learners who make meaningful contributions to humanity.
Values: Compassion, Determination, Responsibility
Email: enquiries@footprintsschool.edu.kh
Location: no. 84 St 135, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Phone: 17222084
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Footprints-International-School-594644840601504/