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1 SIS News Switzerland Fall 2014 Music & Arts

2 Table of content Editorial _3 Success Stories _4 In Memoriam _5 News _6 Alumni Page _8 On Learning _9 SIS Basel _10 SIS Männedorf-Zürich _12 SIS Rotkreuz-Zug _14 SIS Schönenwerd _16 SIS Suhr _18 SIS Tamins-Chur _20 SIS Winterthur _22 SIS Zürich-Wollishofen _24 SIS Zürich _26 Design concept: dezember und juli gmbh Concept, editing: Susanne Meili Photos: Palma Fiacco, Teams at SIS schools Printing: Edubook AG Circulation: 2700 October 2014 Die SIS Swiss International School ist eine private Ganztagesschule, die vom Kindergarten bis zur Hochschulreife führt. Mit durchgängig zweisprachigem Unterricht und Schulalltag in Deutsch und Englisch sowie Schweizer und internationalen Bildungsabschlüssen richtet sich die SIS an einheimische ebenso wie an international mobile Familien. Die Pädagogik der SIS ist weltanschaulich unabhängig, baut jedoch auf klar definierte Grundwerte. Die SIS betreibt Schulen in der Schweiz, Deutschland und Brasilien. Die SIS Swiss International School ist ein Gemeinschaftsunternehmen der Kalaidos Bildungsgruppe Schweiz und der Klett Gruppe. 2 Kalaidos vereinigt Bildungsinstitute von der Volksschul- und Gymnasialstufe über die berufliche Aus- und Weiterbildung bis zur Fachhochschul- und Universitätsstufe. Als Bildungsgruppe verfügt Kalaidos zudem über ein methodisch-didaktisches Kompetenzzentrum, über ein Bildungsmedienhaus und über Unternehmen, die auf innerbetriebliche Bildungskonzepte spezialisiert sind. Als Partner von Menschen aller Lebensphasen sowie Unternehmen jeglicher Grösse und Branche bietet Kalaidos bedürfnisgerechte, zielorientierte und effiziente Bildungs leistungen an.

3 Editorial Dear readers, There is no denying the fact that a firm grasp of both literacy and numeracy is an indispensable prerequisite for succeeding in today s fast-moving society. At SIS Swiss International School, we try to account for this fact by providing our students with carefully developed curricula and comprehensive teaching in two languages. However, we firmly believe that there is more to education than learning how to read, write and juggle numbers correctly, which is why arts and music assume an important role in everyday school life at SIS. Our holistic approach to learning and teaching caters for the intellectual, emotional and creative needs of our students and supports them on their journey of developing into expressive, independent and responsible citizens of the world. In addition to stimulating a child s creative potential, education in arts and music is also highly beneficial to the development of other skills, which can then be applied to different fields and subject areas. By playing a musical instrument, singing or listening together, children sharpen both their aural discrimination and sequential learning skills, which in turn has an advantageous effect on their language development and their ability to learn new languages. By doing arts and crafts, playing music and working creatively together, children also profit on a more personal and social level. In the colourful ensemble of various shades and tones, students learn to listen to each other, to communicate, coordinate and, finally, to unite the individual parts and voices into a harmonious and powerful whole. This not only strengthens a child s social competence, but also nourishes a feeling of community and belonging and thus helps students and teachers develop a unique and strong school spirit. As this issue of SIS News bears witness to, everyday life at our various SIS schools is made up of a wide variety of different colours and sounds. You can read about the art project week at SIS Tamins-Chur, the adventures students at SIS Schönenwerd experienced in the flamboyant world of the musical or how our primary school students at SIS Basel got along in the school choir. Additionally, the articles of SIS Rotkreuz-Zug and SIS Zürich illustrate strikingly how the perception and expression of art and artistic personalities may differ depending on whether they are dealt with in kindergarten or in college. Finally a personal matter: This will be my last editorial to you as CEO of SIS Switzerland. Due to a rearrangement of my area of responsibility within the SIS group, the management of SIS Switzerland will change hands by 1 January Starting next year, I will be responsible for the general management of the SIS group, which presides over the subsidiary country managements of SIS Switzerland, SIS Germany and SIS Brazil. Of course, a part of me is sad to leave this position behind after six years of being closely connected to the growth and development of our Swiss SIS schools. However, we are very happy to have found in Dr. Ursula Gehbauer Tichler a more than worthy successor for the corporate management of SIS Switzerland. With her vast experience, we are convinced that Mrs. Gehbauer will we a valuable addition to our company and leave her individual and enriching mark on the Swiss part of the SIS world. I am very much looking forward to our collaboration in working towards both the maintenance and the advancement of the existing developmental processes and dynamics at SIS. Ursula Gehbauer will introduce herself in a short portrait on page 6 of this issue. I hope that you will find this issue of SIS News an enjoyable read. Ambros Hollenstein, CEO 3

4 Success Stories SIS Basel International Baccalaureate Tobias Sturmhoefel, Arnold Kürsteiner, Helena Schöb, Wero nika Bolimowska, Kimberley Schiabello, Laurence Reeves Helena Schöb scored 43 points, putting her in the 99th percentile, based on over entrants! Schweizerische Maturität Stefan Oechslein, Markus Lochbrunner, Linda Sklenar, Claire Schärer, Benjamin Meyer, Evelyne Wyss, Benjamin Zumbrunn, Sabrina Launer, Leonardo Mancini, Julia Furrer, Suzanne Gürtler, Rabia Renc vlnr: Toby, Weronika, Arnold, Helena, Laurence, Kimberley DELF B1 (Französisch-Diplom) Beatriz Christofalo, Valentin Daffner, Marco Vock und Tristan Wilson SIS Zürich Zweisprachige Schweizerische Maturität Alan Berset, Céline Dalloz, Abishek Doré, Gian-Luca Eberle, Dominic Frey, Aline Graber, Nicolas Hadorn, Jeun Kang, Alexander Marti, Raphael Wolfensberger vlnr: Benjamin, Evelyne, Raymund Betz (Lehrer), Benjamin, Leonardo, Julia, Madeleine Kern (Lehrerin), Elzbieta Zogg (Lehrerin), Robert Gabathuler (Lehrer), Nicole Taschner (Lehrerin), Markus, Stefan, Kurt Greiner (Abteilungsleiter) Schweizerische Maturität Jeannine Hofmann International Baccalaureate Kira Segler Jeanine vlnr: Raphael, Alexander, Kira, Nicolas, Gian-Luca, Abishek, Céline, Aline, Jeun, Alan, Dominic 4 Congratulationí

5 In Memoriam SIS Zürich Katarina Guggenbühler, Lehrerin SIS Bilingual College Nachruf Gian-Luca Eberle (11. Januar Oktober 2014) Mit grosser Bestürzung haben wir erfahren müssen, dass Gian-Luca Eberle am 1. Oktober bei einem Arbeitsunfall tödlich verunglückte. Gian-Luca war seit seiner Primarzeit Schüler der SIS Swiss International School, erst an der SIS Winterthur, dann an der SIS Zürich, wo er diesen Juli seine Matura mit Bravour bestand. Er war ein fröhlicher junger Mensch, an vielem interessiert und breit engagiert. Erst letztes Jahr hatte er zusammen mit Klassenkameraden eine Band gegründet, seine ersten Konzerte gab er letzten Sommer an der SIS. Gian-Luca war humorvoll und allem und jedem gegenüber aufgeschlossen. Er kümmerte sich liebevoll um die Kindergartenkinder und spielte gerne mit seinen gleichaltrigen Freunden in der Pause Fussball. Unser ganzes Mitgefühl gilt in dieser schweren Zeit seiner Familie und seinen Freunden. Gian Luca starb mit 19 Jahren viel zu jung, viel zu früh. Wir werden uns immer an ihn erinnern. Obituary Gian-Luca Eberle (11 January October 2014) It is with great sorrow that we have learnt about the passing away of Gian-Luca Eberle who was fatally injured in an industrial accident on 1 October. Gian-Luca was a student of the SIS Swiss International School since his primary days, first at SIS Winterthur and then at SIS Zürich. This July, he passed the Swiss Matura exams with flying colours. He was a cheerful young man with a broad range of interests. It was only last year that he started a band with classmates. They gave their first concerts last summer at the SIS. Gian-Luca had a sense of humour and was outgoing and open minded. He took care of the kindergarten children in a gentle manner and enjoyed playing football with his peers during break time. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and his friends. Gian-Luca died at the age of 19 far too young, far too early. We will always hold him in the highest regard and honour his memory. 5

6 News SIS Switzerland Ursula Gehbauer Tichler new CEO of SIS Switzerland In January 2015, I will be taking over the position of CEO at SIS Swiss International School Switzerland from Ambros Hollenstein. I am looking forward to being a part of such a diverse and exciting learning environment one that enables our students to realise their full potential. As Einstein once said, Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life s coming attractions. Allow me to introduce myself. I grew up in Switzerland in an international family. I studied German and English in Zürich, and went on to write my dissertation in Utrecht (Netherlands). I subsequently completed an executive MBA, spending time abroad at Yale (USA) and in Shanghai (China). In 2001, after a number of years of teaching, I became president of the tourism college in Graubünden (Höhere Fachschule für Tourismus Graubünden) and a member of the board of management of the Academia Engiadina. Ten years later, I took the helm as president and CEO of the Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality in Passugg, where students from fourty countries reside and study. Since 2011, I have been working on establishing a network for intercultural training and consulting with Indian and Chinese partners. SIS Basel Jump Start German SIS Basel is off to a great start this year with our jump start German course. We currently have 14 students enrolled in this intensive eight-week course designed to get our beginners up to speed in a very short time. SIS Männedorf-Zürich Most Beautiful Library in the Region SIS Männedorf-Zürich officially opened its new library celebrating a reading night. Placed in the most beautiful room of the school and overlooking Lake Zürich, the library invites the children to enjoy a vast selection of English and German books. The Whole School Reads was the motto of our book worm week, during which a four-week reading competition was launched. Have a guess how much our ambitious first graders read: Congratulations to Lucinda Schmitz who read nearly pages and to Constantin Martini who read over pages! SIS Rotkreuz-Zug Inauguration of the New School Building SIS Rotkreuz-Zug has started the new school year with the grand opening of its new primary and secondary school building. On 13 August, local dignitaries, parents and students were welcomed to take in the state of the art premises and and they were invited thereafter to catch up with new families and friends at the apero. SIS Schönenwerd New Library Opened After one and a half years of preparation, the long-awaited school library was opened. Over media were catalogued, provided with a bar code and and thanks to the new library software, books can now be borrowed within few seconds. 6

7 SIS Suhr More English in Suhr The new academic year started with a modified structure at SIS Suhr. The English portion was increased when a second native English speaking kindergarten teacher was recruited. Thus, the key amendments of SIS Switzerland have been completed two years after the takeover. SIS Tamins-Chur First Camp The first ever camp for grades 3 and 4 was successfully held at the Bodensee. Starting with a 28 km bike ride from Kreuzlingen to Stein am Rhein, the camp was filled with swimming, beach volleyball and ice-cream! A ferry ride to the Pfahlbaumuseum took the students back in time thousands of years. SIS Winterthur Time Capsule We welcomed exactly hundred children back to the Grey Elephant for the new school year. After a short greeting in front of the schoolhouse, the children headed to their classrooms to gather their wishes and place them in a time capsule. The time capsule has been buried underneath lovely yellow flowers, where it will rest until the end of school in July. SIS Zürich Sucessful Charity Event In May, students raised CHF for the aid organisation JAM at SIS Zürich s first charity event. The money went towards food for the 163 students of the Alto Colondo Primary School in Angola. A main reason why children are sent to school there is because food is distributed. The older college students collected rubbish in the area around the school each full bag received a sponsorship of CHF 10. SIS Zürich-Wollishofen We Are One On the first day of school, the children eagerly joined their classmates and teachers in an allschool activity. Each child wrote their name on a small flag that was attached to a colourful string of flags. As if the children were to join hands together, we joined the strings and strung them from the school buildings representing that we are one. SIS Germany New SIS School in Kassel SIS Kassel, the fifth SIS location in Germany, started in September 2014 with a reception class and grades 1, 2 and 3 in primary school. Principal Sebastian Koch and his team welcomed the new students with a celebration. SIS Brazil Schweizerschule Rio de Janeiro by SIS Swiss International School The Schweizerschule Rio de Janeiro has joined the SIS Swiss International School family. The school was founded in 1963 by Swiss immigrants, who wanted their children to receive a wellrounded, bilingual education. 590 students attend the school, from preschool all the way up to college level. A new building was recently constructed to accommodate an additional 400 students. 7

8 Alumni Page Flying High Phoebe Staenz, SIS Bilingual College Graduate 2012 My name is Phoebe Staenz. I am twenty years old and I attended SIS Bilingual College in Zürich for six years. I graduated in the summer of 2012 with the Swiss Matura and the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Currently, I am a student at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as well as a player of the Yale Bulldogs Women s Varsity Ice Hockey Team. I am also honored to declare that I am a player of the recently Olympic bronze medal winning Swiss Women s National Team. During my time at SIS, I was known as the hockey fanatic tomboy, who missed quite a few classes a semester to pursue my carrier as a hockey player. The teachers were very supportive, allowing me to work ahead of time or even allowing for extra time to catch up on work after larger tournaments with the Swiss National Team. It was quite tough trying to manage academics and athletics, especially whilst one is not attending a sports academy, such as Talent Plus. The year I applied for Yale University was the year I was preparing for the Matura and IB exams. Not only did I write my college application that year, but I also studied and sat for three standardized testings (ACT). Apart from studying I practiced every night of the week with my team the Kloten Flyers, playing games on Wednesday afternoons, as well as on the weekends and claiming the Swiss Championship later in the season. My schedule was packed and did not leave much time for relaxing or social activity. Most of my days seemed like a lot of hard work and stress at the time, however, I always had my goals in the back of my mind that kept me going. This past season, I was able to realize my goal of winning a medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and winning the award Rookie of The Year within my conference (ECAC) as well as Rookie of The Year within Women s Division 1 Collegiate Ice Hockey (NCAA). All the effort, hard work, and sacrifices that had been made almost my entire life paid off greatly and most generously. During the Olympic tournament I scored two goals. One was scored on the power-play during a preliminary game versus Finland, pushing my team into the lead. The second goal was scored during the bronze medal game in the third period, tying the score and reviving the team s effort of winning the game. Sochi was probably the most beautiful and suitable location for the Winter Olympics in Russia. A lot of the teams and athletes mingled in the Olympic village whenever they got the chance. It isn t everyday you get to meet your childhood idol or a world class athlete. The most rewarding part of winning the Olympic bronze medal was that I was able to share the experience and joy with my family. Part of it came to all of my games and showed tremendous support during the entire tournament. 8 The rest of my family followed the games on tv and showed their support via Facebook and text messages. After every game, no matter whether it was a win or a loss, I met my parents outside and we got to chat and grab dinner together. I would check my phone after games and see all the supportive and funny messages. Knowing that my friends and family were following my games and rooting for me and my team, gave me motivation and energy and surely my team felt the support too. We had an entire nation backing us and I am positive it helped us win the bronze medal.

9 On Learning Quality Development at SIS Janet Meister, Quality Development The ongoing development of quality of service is a priority for SIS. To this end, several measures have been put in place to ensure client and company expectations are upheld by our schools and that teachers professionally develop, allowing students to learn and achieve in a stimulating and challenging environment. These measures fall into three broad categories: School Evaluation Student Performance Teacher Development parent survey comprehensive on-site evaluation teacher interviews International Schools Assessment Klassencockpit, Lernlot Matura International Baccalaureate classroom observations goal setting professional development curriculum development School Evaluations Every year, a selected number of our schools are evaluated by a team who investigates five major areas culminating in a full report with recommendations and/or matters to be addressed. Parent and teacher feedback are taken into consideration when evaluating a school. In 2014, the first round of school evaluations were completed with schools now embracing the recommendations in a way that meets their needs whilst still adhering to company policies. Student Performance Alongside the graduating exams of the Swiss Matura and the International Baccalaureate, students from grade 3 to grade 9 sit benchmarking tests in German, English and mathematics each year. The benchmarking tests come in two forms: the International Schools Assessment (ISA) and the Klassencockpit tests. Both serve the purpose of understanding the effectiveness of teaching and learning in our schools, identifying areas for improvement and measuring students achievement against others. Teacher Development Within schools, regular classroom observations are conducted which give teachers immediate feedback on their performance and form part of the goal setting process. To complement this, teachers are offered five professional development days at SIS. The purpose of these days is to provide support to achieve company, school and personal goals, up-skill teachers on new curricula, transition new teachers smoothly into SIS and to develop leaders. As a bilingual company, the development of curricula that encompasses both the British and local curricula is of high importance. When teachers use a common curriculum, students transfer of learning from one language to another is optimised. Each completed curriculum is accompanied by ongoing professional development in our schools as well. These measures, along with others, go a long way to ensuring the quality of service at SIS is kept at the forefront. 9

10 SIS Basel Music is Everywhere Diana Del Rio, Primary Teacher It s not here; it s not there. Music is everywhere. Swiss composer Ivo Antognini penned these lyrics that echo in my head as I hear members of the primary choir sing at school. Of course they sing during our afternoon practices, but they also burst into song in classrooms and in hallways. Singing has even been heard in the bathrooms during recess. Music definitely is everywhere at SIS Basel! The idea of starting a primary choir came up in December 2011 in a lunch time extra music class, where we clapped, danced and sang. By far, the children s favourite activity was singing, and they could do it very well. They performed In der Weihnachtsbäckerei at Winterfest that year; it was so exciting to watch their glowing faces as they acted out the song. Their natural performance abilities were beginning to bloom. In spring, our thoughts flew to performing at Sommerfest. As a group, the children voted on performing several songs from Disney movies. They applied themselves diligently to learn their entire medley, and the primary choir was born. Even three years later, 14 of the original extra music students are still with the choir and loving it. This year s choir has begun with sixty students; more than half of them were in choir last year (and the year before). Since so many of our choir members are old pros, new members will be able to catch on quickly to being part of a large singing group. We do meet on two different days as separate groups, but merge a few weeks before our performances so that we sound cohesive. Something wonderful always happens when the children sing in a group, but when we combine the two singing groups, it s just magical. Shy children become bolder; the natural performers become even more expressive. There is an energy that courses through the group that leaves them loving music even more. Exposing the children to different styles of music helps feed their love of music. Since the children were introduced to swing music two years ago, they love to change warm ups and songs into swing. We learned a little Latin when we sang Dona Nobis Pacem and discussed sacred music. There is now a new generation of children, who love The Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain and other Broadway musicals. Currently, the choir is learning a canon in German named Der Hamburger Kanon, which actually has the children singing verses about the different ingredients in a hamburger. It has been a fun and mouthwatering way to start our new year in choir. Later this year, we will sing our way through the decades starting with the fifties. It should be great fun! 10

11 As the children are exposed to new music, they learn new vocabulary and concepts in an entertaining way. Any teacher would say that this is an added benefit of choir! We always discuss the lyrics of new songs, which contain words or ideas foreign to many of the children. Once the children understand the message of the song, they take the persona of the character singing the song. It can sometimes be difficult not to laugh at what the children are doing as they act out their part. Last winter, the choir sang a song called Nuttin for Christmas. The main character of the song was a rather naughty child, who gets into trouble because someone snitched, or told on him. Our well-behaved choir children sang with such obvious glee about doing terrible things, like putting a tack on the teacher s chair, and looked very cross that someone had snitched. It was priceless. As part of our Broadway medley at last year s Sommerfest, the boys and girls competed with each other to be best as they sang Anything You Can Do from the musical Anne Get Your Gun. The audience could tell the children were really in character for that song! It s been an exciting adventure to see the choir develop over the years. Each year has brought something new and a little bit challenging. This year we will try singing to a more varied audience, as we go to some senior citizen centers in our neighborhood. Besides nurturing the children s love of music, I hope that our primary choir can nurture their love of serving others in our community and spreading the joy of music. It s not here; it s not there. Music is everywhere; from wherever it comes it goes right to your heart. 11

12 SIS Männedorf-Zürich Gemeinsames Musizieren oder was Musik mit Käsekuchen gemeinsam hat Anja Gottwald, Schulleiterin «Ohne Musik wäre das Leben ein Irrtum.» (Friedrich Nietzsche) Letzte Weihnachten hat die SIS Männedorf-Zürich ein Mitsingkonzert mit professioneller Begleitung veranstaltet. «Meine Damen und Herren nun nur die Mädchenstimmen!» Es brauchte einige Zeit, bis Dirigent Patrick Spurling den Kindern verdeutlichen konnte, was es heisst, in einem Chor zu singen. «Es gibt nur zwei Modi beim Singen in einem Chor: Man wird aufgefordert, aktiv zu sein, oder man ist still und hört den anderen zu.» Für die Kinder war dies eine Herausforderung. Sie kennen es kaum, auf etwas warten zu müssen, ohne sich zu beschäftigen. Wieso bekam unser Konzert trotzdem so viele positive Rückmeldungen von Eltern und Kindern? Belohnungsaufschub: Erst die Arbeit, dann der Käsekuchen! Jeder Musiker lernt nur dazu, wenn er sich genau der Sache stellt, die er noch nicht beherrscht. Aufschieben, ausbüchsen, das Hindernis umfahren, das rächt sich in der nächsten Probe oder im Konzert. So ist das Üben auch Arbeit an der eigenen Impulskontrolle, in jungen Jahren und in kleinen, rasch belohnten Schritten. Vergeigt man etwas, ist der gelernte Reflex in der Musik, es geduldig noch einmal und noch einmal zu probieren. Dranbleiben heisst es beim Üben! Anders als im Sport ist es in Konzerten eher selten zu beobachten, dass Musiker frustriert ihre Instrumente durch die Gegend werfen. Die Lorbeeren verdient man sich durch «Tat und Wahrheit» auf der Bühne auf der viele Kinder gern stehen. Eine kleine Anekdote zeigt, was es hier zu erfahren gab: Neben den grösseren Chorstücken durften unsere Kinder einstudierte Soli oder Stücke in kleinen Ensembles vorspielen. In der Generalprobe kam also ein Junge in eher selbstbewusstem Gestus mit seinem Instrument auf die Bühne und liess sich feiern, vor vollbrachter Tat. Er dachte, er müsse nur so tun als ob. Wir aber wollten eine wirkliche Generalprobe. Es zeigte sich, dass er sein Stück nicht konnte. Wiederholt kam er an der gleichen Stelle aus dem Konzept. Plötzlich wurde es mäuschenstill. Aha, so ist das also, wenn es ernst wird!! Und nun? Eine gemeinsame Reflexion: Was tun wir als Musiker, wenn dies im Konzert passiert? Hier können wir nicht beliebig probieren es ja nun Show-Time! Eventuell kennen Sie das Prozedere die Kinder kannten es noch nicht. Solisten sprechen vorab Stellen ab, zu denen sie im Falle der Unterbrechung wieder einsetzen; sollte der zweite Anlauf nicht gelingen, beenden sie ihren Vortragsteil, verbeugen sich vor dem Publikum und verlassen die Bühne. Mit diesem Szenario wurde allen Kindern bewusst, dass wir die Zeit zum Üben verantwortungsvoll nutzen sollten, weil wir sonst Chancen verspielen; und dass wir nur auf die Bühne sollten, wenn wir bereit dafür sind. 12

13 «Käsekuchen im Kopf» Doch was treibt uns zum Musizieren an, wenn so viel Üben dahintersteckt und Konzerte das Risiko der Blamage bieten? Die Motivation für unser Konzert war dreierlei. Zum einen möchten Kinder sich beweisen. Der Satz «Das kann ich schon selbst», häufig im entrüsteten Ton, zeigt, dass sie wachsen wollen, gross werden und dabei gesehen werden wollen. Das Konzert ist eine selbstgewählte Mutprobe, weil es zwar Applaus bringen kann, aber auch das Risiko der Peinlichkeit birgt. Insofern ist der Wille zur Teilnahme Ausdruck eines gesunden Selbstvertrauens. Zum zweiten ist gemeinsames Musizieren ein aktiver Ausdruck von Gemeinschaft, der sich in allen Kulturen findet. Dazuzugehören, die Werte einer Gruppe zu teilen, sich verstanden zu fühlen das ist für Menschen als soziale Wesen von grösster emotionaler Bedeutung. Drittens: Berührt uns Musik positiv, zumal selbst gemachte, so geht sie direkt unter die Haut. Sie ruft eine direkte gefühlsmässige Reaktion in einer zentralen Hirnregion hervor, dem limbischen System. Die Belohnung nach der Anstrengung des Übens und der Aufregung des Sicht-Trauens geschieht damit unmittelbar und durch die Sache selbst und auf emotionaler Ebene nicht durch das Lob eines Lehrers. Weil sich diese hirnphysiologischen Vorgänge der Belohnung durch Süssigkeiten ähneln, fassen Hirnforscher zusammen: Gelungenes, gemeinsames Musizieren ist wie «Käsekuchen im Kopf.» Sahniger als bei unserem Konzert konnte er nicht sein Literatur: Manfred Spitzer (2004). «Musik im Kopf. Hören, Musizieren, Verstehen, Erleben im neuronalen Netzwerk.» Schattauer Verlag. 13

14 SIS Rotkreuz-Zug Kunst und Künstler im Kindergarten Maggie Widmer, Kindergartenlehrerin Die Kindergartenklasse hat sich im Schuljahr 2013/14 während zehn Wochen intensiv mit dem Thema «Kunst und Künstler» auseinandergesetzt. Ein Ausflug in die Ausstellung «Das grosse Glas» im Kunsthaus Zug vermittelte den Kindern einen Eindruck, was echte Kunst beinhaltet und regte sie zum Nachdenken über Kunst an. Nachdem wir uns erst einmal in der Ausstellung umgeschaut hatten und jedes Kind ein Bild besonders gewürdigt hatte, verweilten wir bei einem Bild mit vielen grösseren und kleineren farbigen Punkten. Wir experimentierten mit einem Serviertablett und Holzklötzen und fanden heraus, was ein Gleichgewicht ist. Dann verteilten wir bunte Kartonpunkte auf einer leeren Fläche und versuchten, ein Gleichgewicht herzustellen. Dasselbe passierte später im Atelier mit Aquarellfarben und Pinsel malte jedes Kind ein Punktebild. Schliesslich durfte die Kinderschar noch das wichtigste Bild der Ausstellung betrachten: «Das grosse Glas ein Licht-Bild», das den ganzen Raum blau beleuchtete. Welche Formen kamen da vor? Und war da auch Gleichgewicht? Mit diesem Museumsbesuch konnten wir den Kindern zeigen, was eine Ausstellung ist und sie dazu motivieren, selber richtige Kunstwerke zu schaffen, die wir am Ende der Einheit den Eltern, den Klassen der SIS Rotkreuz-Zug und weiteren interessierten Personen in einer Ausstellung zeigen wollten. Wir hatten moderne Künstler als Vorbilder für unsere Kunstwerke ausgewählt: Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky und Jackson Pollock sollten uns zu eigener künstlerischer Tätigkeit inspirieren. Dabei wollten wir nicht einfach Bilder nachmalen, sondern in möglichst gleicher Technik eigene Kunstwerke kreieren. Im englisch- und deutschsprachigen Unterricht sollten auch nicht unbedingt die gleichen Künstler betrachtet werden. Andy Warhols Kunst wurde an englischen Tagen erkundet und ausprobiert. Ein Blumenbild, das in mehreren Schritten mit Fingermalerei und Schablonentechnik entstand, war das schöne Resultat. Fotoportraits der Kinder wurden am Computer so verändert, dass ein Bild entstand, das an Andy Warhols berühmte Portraits erinnerte. Jackson Pollocks Action Painting hingegen wurde auf dem Pausenplatz mit Splatter Art inszeniert, so dass von jedem Kind ein riesiges buntes Klecksbild entstand. An deutschen Tagen inspirierte uns Keith Harings Hund, in Kombination mit einer vorgelesenen Geschichte über einen Hund, zu einer Collage, die mit Farben und Formen ergänzt wurde. Auch von Paul Klee und Wassily Kandinsky liessen wir uns zu vielen Bildern anregen. Dabei beschäftigten wir uns auch mit geometrischen Formen. Schliesslich bildete ein riesiger Baum, ein Gemeinschaftswerk aller Kinder, das grosse Hauptwerk der Ausstellung. 14

15 Für uns Kindergartenlehrerinnen war es eindrücklich, zu erleben, in welchem Masse die Kinder ihre Kreativität entwickelten. Durch den intensiven Umgang mit Farben, Formen und verschiedenen künstlerischen Techniken, sowie die vielen Gespräche über Kunst und Künstler, haben sie in allen Bereichen grosse Fortschritte gemacht. Am Ende der Einheit waren fast alle in der Lage, ihre Meinung über ihre eigenen und zum Teil auch über die Werke anderer Kinder oder Künstler differenziert auszudrücken und zu erkennen, mit welcher Technik ein Bild hergestellt worden war. Krönender Abschluss dieses bunten Themenblocks bildete die Kunstaustellung in unserer Mensa, die von den Lehrpersonen und den Kindern in eine professionell eingerichtete Kunstgalerie verwandelt worden war. Die zahlreich zur Vernissage erschienenen Eltern wurden mit einem Apéro und Kinder-Champagner begrüsst. Voller Stolz führten die kleinen Künstlerinnen und Künstler ihre Eltern durch die Ausstellung und erklärten ihre Kreationen und die Ideen dahinter. Es herrschte eine heitere und fröhliche Stimmung. Auch die Schülerinnen und Schüler der Primarschulklassen und deren Lehrpersonen, welche die Ausstellung zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt besuchen konnten, waren beeindruckt von den Bildern und Skulpturen. 15

16 SIS Schönenwerd Keeping the Show on the Road! Bernie Müller, Music Teacher Being on stage has long been a tradition at SIS Schönenwerd. Children are encouraged to go on stage twice a year. The art, music and dance teachers work together closely in the creation of an evening which will be remembered by the students, their families and friends for a very long time. Prior to performances, there is a considerable buzz in school, which is quite contagious. Our students take their performances seriously. They appreciate that staging a good show means a lot of hard work and requires team co-operation. By working together towards a common goal, they learn from an early age that the end result is dependent on the work of each student, and each student s contribution depends on the work of others. A Short History of SIS Schönenwerd Shows July 2011 Welcome to the SIS December 2011 SIS Singing International Songs (Adventsmarkt Olten) July 2012 A Summer Variety Concert December 2012 July 2013 December 2013 July 2014 The Spirit of Christmas (Klosterkirche Olten, Adventsmarkt) Treasure Island The Musical Songs for Christmas (Stiftskirche, Schönenwerd) Behind School Doors Upcoming Projects December 2014 Christmas Heroes (Klosterkirche Olten, Adventsmarkt) Summer 2015 Scenes from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat We would like to introduce two projects more detailed: Treasure Island, the Musical Still fresh in our students minds is the 2013 show Treasure Island, The Musical, an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson s classic novel of the same name. All children were involved, from the shortest to the tallest. The children showed a high level of acting, singing and dancing talent, and an unwavering commitment to creating a memorable show. The staging and amazing scenery for this show, coordinated by our art teacher, was prepared during project week by students of different grade levels. Several wooden frames were made, large cardboards were painted and then assembled to represent a pirate ship of six metres across and two metres high. All the props were also made in this course. 16 Behind School Doors This year s summer show opened with an alphabet dance, during which different letter combinations unravelled to reveal the SIS Schönenwerd. The lower classes gave the audience an amusing but also challenging introduction to reading as they learn it in school. There were some very funny facial expressions in the audience. Our students sang about difficult -tion words in English, and impressed the audience with their singing skills, extensive vocabulary, and diction. The longest word in English, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, also had its place in this show, and even the youngest children managed to sing along in the chorus. The students greatly enjoyed this favourite song from Mary Poppins, and as a reward got the opportunity to watch the movie after the show, in English, of course.

17 Each song was choreographed, giving the children the opportunity to show off their dancing skills, and a further two energetic dance scenes portrayed break time and lunch time. With an arrangement of One Direction s You Don t Know Your Beautiful for keyboards, marimbas, guitar, bass, and drums, the upper primary school students made a musical compliment to the younger members of their SIS family. In Hey Brother by Avicii, through movement and song, the students emphasised the strong sense of community in their school. The upper school students gave the audience an interesting and amusing insight to school life, one which parents were less likely to be familiar with. They set their stories of forgotten homework, getting caught copying, misunderstandings and boring moments in class to contemporary pop songs, and embedded these in short scenes (also penned by themselves). This was entertainment at its best. It is simply amazing what these students were able to achieve. The evening closed with a lively rendering of Pharrell Williams Happy. The children s commitment and enthusiasm during rehearsals and the performance confirm the importance of these stage experiences. The end product, regardless of how entertaining it is, is only a success when the educational experiences gained by the children are evident, and of this there can be no doubt. Expressionism and Classical Music Bernadette Säuberli, Art Teacher At SIS Schönenwerd, art not only means the traditional disciplines, but also collaboration with the music department in various projects. An example of a recent project was a painting by grade 3. This project was carried out with the introduction of expressionism, a style of art whose emphasis is to show feelings and moods in the artwork. The focus was on expressing oneself intuitively, intermeshing the different senses not solely that of sight and touch, but of hearing as well. It was decided that correctness and technique would play second fiddle to free expression. In this instance, a ten metre long piece of white paper was spread out on the ground together with paints and brushes. Then the fifth graders played an arrangement of a piece of music for classroom percussion, Fistula Obliqua and Tympanum by Musica Romana, which, unknown to the art students, suggested the different times of the day. Diverse sections were played first for listening only, then, the second time around, the art students painted to the music. They were instructed to paint the feelings that arose in them as they heard the melodies. There was no right or wrong way to carry this out. The result acknowledged the act of perception, which always involves multiple senses. In this case, with the interplay of sight, touch and hearing, the grade 3 students produced a painting full of fantasy. 17

18 SIS Suhr Steinreich Livia Boppart, Lehrerin Kindergarten Steine gibt es überall, in allen möglichen Formen, Grössen und Farben. Auch im Garten der SIS Suhr findet man unzählige Steine und seit neuestem auch wunderschöne, bunte und glitzernde. Zurzeit sind Steine das grosse Thema im Kindergarten am Reiherweg und sie begleiten die Kinder durch den ganzen Tag: Es werden Steinreihen gemacht und die Kinder setzen bestimmte Reihenfolgen fort, zum Beispiel gross-klein-klein-gross-klein-klein-gross oder hell-hell-dunkel-dunkel-hell-hell und so weiter. Dabei werden die Steine gezählt und der Zahlenraum von eins bis zehn gefestigt. Aber noch viel mehr Spass macht es, mit den Steinen kreativ zu sein! Die Kinder bauen zum Beispiel Steintürme. Dabei gilt es, zuerst einmal brauchbares Material zu finden, also eher flache Steine verschiedener Grössen. Dann werden diese sorgfältig aufeinander gelegt, zuunterst die grössten und zuoberst die kleinsten. Damit die Kunstwerke länger erhalten bleiben, wird etwas geschummelt, die Lehrerin hilft mit Heissleim etwas nach Eine tolle und zum Thema passende Geschichte darf natürlich nicht fehlen. Wir haben das Buch «Mats und die Wundersteine» von Marcus Pfister ausgewählt. In dieser lesenswerten Geschichte geht es um die Maus Mats, die mit anderen Feldmäusen auf einer Felseninsel inmitten des Meeres lebt. Auf der Suche nach Nahrung findet Mats einen leuchtenden Stein, der Licht und Wärme gibt. Die anderen Mäuse suchen nun auch solche Wundersteine, aber eine weise Maus meint, dass diese der Insel gehörten und man ihr, wenn man einen Stein mitnimmt, etwas zurückgeben sollte. Das Buch bietet zwei unterschiedliche Enden an, ein glückliches und ein trauriges. Hintergrund ist die Problematik der Ausbeutung unserer Natur. Die Kindergartenkinder malen eigene Wundersteine, es entstehen farbige und verzierte wunderbare Werke, die sie nach Hause nehmen, aber auch wie im positiven Ende der Geschichte als Ersatz für die mitgenommenen Steine im Garten platzieren. 18

19 Mit bunten Steinen kann man aber auch prima Mandalas legen. Es entstehen nicht nur faszinierende Kunstwerke, das exakte Legen erfordert auch viel Konzentration, zudem wird die Feinmotorik gefördert. Und natürlich eignen sich Steine ausgezeichnet, um Tiere, wie beispielsweise Bienen, zu basteln. Die Steinbienen produzieren zwar keinen Honig, stechen dafür aber auch nicht und lassen wunderbar mit sich spielen. A propos spielen: Auch Puzzles kann man ganz schnell und einfach herstellen: Man nehme einen Hammer oder einen grossen Stein und zerschlägt einen kleineren Stein. Danach gilt es, die Einzelteile wieder zu einem Ganzen zusammen zu fügen, das ist gar nicht so einfach! Aber eigentlich reicht es schon, schöne Steine zu sammeln, sie mit feinem Schmirgelpapier zu schleifen und sie dann mit etwas Öl einzureiben, damit sie schön glänzen und die Farben so richtig zur Geltung kommen. Falls sich Ihr Kind nun einmal über Langeweile beklagt: Steine findet man überall und wie soeben aufgezeigt, kann man sich mit ihnen wunderbar beschäftigen, ohne dass dazu viel Material benötigt wird. Und ich bin mir sicher, dass Ihre Kinder noch viele andere tolle Ideen haben! 19

20 SIS Tamins-Chur Project Week Art Katrina Cameron, Primary Teacher To start our school wide theme of Art, a project week was held to excite and motivate the students. Each teacher chose a different aspect of art: land art, sculpture, cultural patterns and action painting. The project week gave the students the time and opportunity to experience varied materials in a visual and tactile way. Students worked in mixed age groups from kindergarten to grade 4 for four mornings. During this week, the students learnt to work both independently and collaboratively to produce different pieces of work developing their skills, knowledge and awareness about art in its different forms. Art was our main focus for the rest of the semester with the students working towards hosting an art exhibition at the end of the school year. We integrated the topic into other areas of the curriculum. Colour days were celebrated with students dressing up in the different primary colours. The primary students visited the art museum where they got to see and discuss different works of art in a real life situation. Students reflected on Pablo Piccaso s works, identified the main elements and then applied these to produce their own piece of art. This gave students the opportunity to learn about, discuss and become familiar with concepts and terms related to the visual arts. Each student researched an artist of their choice, studying their life and some of their main art works. This information was organised into a brief report, which was published and displayed at the art exhibition. Using the artist they had studied as inspiration, they designed and created a piece of artwork, which was displayed alongside their report. In music, the students created sound scapes to four different works of art. Instruments and tempo were specifically chosen to portray the different motifs and feelings within each painting. This was the opening to the art exhibition and parents were given the task to match music with art. Art as a theme gave the students the opportunity to entertain, engage, inspire and challenge themselves and to develop their creativity. 20