Interviews at the International School of Delft

Cloudette van der Berg, Academic Officer for the PYP development team

Cloudette van der Berg, from the PYP development team, met with two staff members at the International School of Delft (ISD) in September to interview them about the school, their roles in the school, and their hope for the future.
This is a follow-up to the previous feature on the ISD.

The International School Delft (ISD) is an IB candidate school which offers children a unique opportunity to experience or continue learning within an international education environment in Delft, The Netherlands.
Their students come from a diverse range of nationalities, cultures and backgrounds and are united by the common goal that their time at ISD will inspire them to learn for bright futures.

Colm McDermott, Head of School at the ISD

Colm McDermott – Head of School:

1.  What teaching experience have you had?
I started with the PYP in Luanda, Angola in 2006. Since then, I have moved all over the world, and have taught in Brazil and Mozambique. I am now settled in The Netherlands as Head of School at the International School of Delft.

2.  Where are you in the authorization process?
We are currently a candidate school.

3.  What does your action plan for implementing the programme look like?
Eryn Wiseman, who was previously the PYP teacher at the school, left a plan of action for us to follow, and we are working with that for now. The current teachers are using the sample programme of inquiry to start with, and already have two units of inquiry planned.

4.  Have you been able to establish cluster workshops with the other PYP schools in the Benelux region (for support)?
A cluster workshop has been arranged for the teachers in October. We will look into joining more workshops in the area, as there will be five PYP schools in The Netherlands to connect and collaborate with in the future.

5.  What do you think makes your school unique?
We have a connection with the Technical University of Delft that allows us to use some of their facilities, providing more logistical flexibility.

6.  What is a current challenge for you and the school?
Establishing an identity as a PYP school and making the PYP visible is vital to our success. We want to show parents what it is all about, rather than just telling them. We would like for them to see it in action, and we will host several parent workshops to that end.

7.  As you are starting a new school year, what are you hoping to see happen for the school in the next three months?
We are working on a mission for the school that will help bring us in alignment with the IB’s mission. We are also looking to begin establishing a PYP community among parents, students and teachers in Delft.

Sandip Jagdev, PYP Coordinator at the ISD

Sandip Jagdev – PYP Coordinator:

1.  What teaching experience have you had?
I had three years of experience in the PYP, after which I moved on to working at the Haagse Schoolvereeniging (The Hague School Union), International School Eerde, the International School of The Hague, and a school in Malaysia. I have recently returned to PYP as the programme coordinator at the International School of Delft.

2.  How do you feel about working in a school that is just getting involved with the IB?
The ISD is a start-up school with endless possibilities to embrace and explore. I am nervous about getting back to PYP after such a long time away, but I am extremely excited about it.

3.  Having started with just one class, how many do you have now?
Yes, we started with one class, and we now have two. There are 28 confirmed students for both classes, and we expect six to eight more to join us before the start of the school year. About half of the students are aged 4-6 and the other half are aged 7-12.
We are trying to not grow too large too soon . We have had a lot of interest from prospective students. Interestingly, most of them find out about the ISD via Google searches.

4.  Are there any big projects or events for the new school year that we can look forward to hearing about?
We will be getting our blog up and running – it will be handled by the teachers at first, who will later hand it over to the students to run. The aim of the blog is to celebrate the learning of the students and give them an opportunity to share their experiences. We will also host student-led conferences for parents.