The THIMUN Conference: An experience not to be missed!

The Journal of the International School of Paris

By Omar Yusuf ‘07

T HIMUN, or rather The HagueInternational Model United Nations, aconference first founded in 1969 by Paul Sandof the American School of The Hague, nowattracts several thousand students from eachcorner of the globe in an event which properlyputs to the test how well students adapt, theirtact, responsibility and above all their precision in decision-making. While the large

majority of participating schools are Englishlanguage schools, there are several delegationsrepresented by schools whose primary lan-guage is not English. For students from suchschools, the THIMUN conference offers anexcellent opportunity to expand, develop andput into practice their English language skills.THIMUN offers a chance to each and everyparticipating delegate. They are put into situ-ations, quite regularly, which commanddebating abilities, lobbying and idea formulating skills.

The Model United Nations conference beganon Sunday, 22 January, with an early registra-tion as well as a briefing by the chairs to thedelegations to the various Councils,Commissions and Committees, as well as thedelegations of International Organisationsand NGOs (Non-Governmental Organi-zations). Monday provided the opportunity to

engage in the necessary process of lobbyingamong different member states and international organizations. It was also theoccasion for the formal opening ceremony ofthe General Assembly (GA). The committeesoutside of the GA which opened on Mondaywere the Special Conference, the SecurityCouncil, ECOSOC and the three permanentCommissions. Lobbying involves an exchange

of views and collaboration among interestedparties to see to the merger of their draft resolutions and ideas. Lobbying continuedthroughout Monday and Tuesday, and resolutions were prepared for debate withinthe committees on Wednesday and Thursday.

The next two days proved to be extremely criticalin gauging the ability of each delegate in participating in the debate. But do not let theword, ‘debate’, deceive you. Debating is quite asmall portion of the expertise demanded forthe events taking place on Wednesday andThursday. A great weight is put on each delegate’s capacity to assess and approach eachrebuttal, to think logically and above all, todemonstrate a clear knowledge of the material.A delegate who possesses the appropriateknowledge of a topic will not only be able todeal with all matters concerning his or hercountry but will also be able to fully indulge in

the complete Model United Nations experience,which is a privilege unto itself.

The final day of the THIMUN Conference iscalled the plenary session. All the resolutionspassed and approved by each committee ofthe General Assembly were further debated bythe entire GA, with more than 1000 people inattendance. The resolutions which survivedthe two days of harsh criticism and yet anotherreview during the plenary session went on tothe United Nations and were revised there. Letme assure you, the true sense of achievementwhich one feels when one’s resolution is sentto the real United Nations, a global forum inwhich your resolution may do some good tohelp others, is phenomenal.

The ISP team laboured hard throughout theweek in order to properly represent the nationof Egypt.

(to be continued page 3)

The ISP Model United Nations team representing Egypt in The HagueSummary

� From the Headmaster� ISP Board Welcomes

Three New Trustees page 2

� PORTFOLIOS: A Precious Recollection of the School Year page 3

� Learning outside the boxMYP in the grade ten classroom

� Donation from EADS FundsDT Room page 4

� Queen Boudicca Meets Grabe 6� Ma visite à la Maison de Retraite� Sous les ponts de Paris page 5

� Demon Headmaster page 6

� Impressions: The Wizard of OZ page 7

� Junior MUN in Bath, UK page 8

� Building Futures TogetherGala and Auction - Quel succès

� Careers Day page 9

� Reflections from an Alumnus page 10

� The Pershing Hall YearsA Fond Look Back page 11

� LONDON Reunion page 12

VOLUME 9 SPRING 2006

This issue of ‘The Tribune’ will reach you at the end of what has been a year ofconsolidation at ISP. After many years ofsearching for new buildings and finally movingin to 13 Beethoven, we have spent this yearadjusting to our new environment. The sec-ondary school students and teachers haveadapted to the reality of working alongside the4th and 5th Grades, while at the same timethese two grades have come face to face withbeing surrounded by the ‘big’ students.Meanwhile, the younger students and theirteachers have been able to spread out in theRanelagh building, where the new playgroundequipment (funded by this year’s Auction) hasbeen much welcomed.

There is also a little less pressure in the curriculararea since, with the MYP moving in to Grade10, the IB curricular programs are now established right across the school. The 10thGrade students carried out their PersonalProjects and produced a stunning array ofwork. As I finish writing this, the 5th Grade arepreparing their PYP Exhibition which promisesto be as impressive as the previous two.

A school, of course, never relaxes. The teachersare constantly reworking and refining the curriculum. We have successfully passedthrough our five-year accreditation visit andhave submitted all the documentation for theIBO’s evaluation of our Diploma Program. Weare now preparing for the evaluation visits inthe PYP and MYP which will take place next year.

In this issue, you will get a taste of some of theexciting activities which have happened thisyear – the first time that the 6th Grade haveparticipated in Model United Nations, howPrimary students share their work with theirparents through portfolios, exciting dramaactivities, news from our far-flung alumni, andmuch more. I hope that this will stimulate youto be actively involved in your child’s learning,because as our philosophy states ‘The school isa community, and social awareness, thoughtfulinteraction and effective communicationamong students, parents and staff are fundamental to its well-being.’ .�

Bonne lecture!

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From the Headmaster

Hitoshi ONDA holds a Masters degree in Nuclear Physics from NiigataUniversity in Japan. He works in the domain of computational geosciences,and since 2001, holds the position of Software Technology Coordinatorand Geology Manager at Schlumberger Riboud Product Center in Clamart,France. He and his wife, Akiko, are both Japanese and currently have fourchildren: Saki, Class of 2004, Chikara, Class of 2006, Tsuyoshi, Class of2007, and Daichi in Grade 5. They have spent the last 18 years moving backand forth between the USA and France. “I served as a board member of ISPin ’94~’95, when my children were all in Ranelagh. More than 10 years havepassed sine then and ISP has grown, but its sprit has never changed. Wehave a true international atmosphere and a culture of understanding at thisschool. The value of ISP is largely a direct result of its excellent studentbody. It is, however, the outstanding curriculum that glues all the ingredientstogether. I would like to help ISP, both the teachers and the students, benefit from an even better educational environment.”

Donald LAWRENCE acts in an advisory capacity to major financial institutions and multinational firms on projects related to internationalcapital management, primarily focusing on strategy, implementation, andtraining. Donald also has active lecturing, mentoring and advisory affilia-tions with University College London, London Business School, and CityUniversity of New York. In previous capacities over the last 2 decades,Donald held senior management positions and/or managed businesses inthe USA, Europe, Middle East and the Asian regions for Citigroup, Bank ofAmerica, American Express, and American International Group. Donalddid his undergraduate and post-graduate work in International Businessand Finance at City University, NY. He was born in the USA, and has spentextended periods of the last decade and a half overseas. He is married toFranciszka and they have one son, Ross, in Grade 10 at ISP.

Igor SCHLUMBERGER is currently Chairman of the Board of the internet site he helped to create, LeGuide.com, Igor has spent his professional career in information technology. LeGuide.com, an on-linemarketing site, receives over one million individual visits per month. He hastwenty-two years of experience in the creation and management of internetsites, developing and establishing new sites, first as a member of the teamwith Laventis and Guides Online, and then on his own. Igor brings a newprospective to the Board, as a French national and someone who has a deepinterest in education. He and his wife, who teaches in a public school inParis, have five children.�

ISP Board WelcomesThree New Trustees

New trustees, (l to r) Donald Lawrence, Igor Schlumberger, and Hitoshi Onda.

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As new teachers at ISP, we had neverexperienced portfolios prior to ISP.Coming from different teaching back-grounds (American and French), wehadn’t used this type of tool before. Wequickly realised that the portfolioprocess was ongoing, and that is exactlyone of its strengths. Indeed, throughoutthe year, it develops shared responsibilitywith our students to constantly reflecton our learning and teaching.

Assessment is the gathering and analysisof information about student performance.It identifies what students know, understand, can do and feel at differentstages in the learning process. Portfoliosare an integral part of the assessmentprocess. They are central to the PYP’sgoal of thoughtfully and effectivelyguiding children through the five essential elements of learning: the

understanding of concepts, the acquisitionof knowledge, the mastering of skills,the development of attitudes and thedecision to take responsible action.

The impact of this metacognitive practiceis impressive as we can see 8-9 year oldchildren actually reflect upon and analyze their work as well as their holisticdeveloping during the year. Moreover,the students feel motivated knowingthat their work can be included in theirportfolios. They are especially carefulabout the presentation and the neatness.

When asked about their portfolios, ourstudents responded. “With my portfolio,I will always remember everything I didin Grade 3! I can recall my favouriteactivities and everything I learned,” astudent said. “It is challenging to selectpieces of work. But I felt proud lookingat all my portfolio!” added another.

Once the students have selected theirpieces, they learn to justify why this particular piece is important in theirlearning and sometimes they consider

how they would improve their work inthe future by setting new goals. Thechild takes time, compiles and examineshis or her interests, abilities and needs.In this way, each child is actively consciousof his or her efforts and progress.

At the end of each term, the studentstake such care in assembling their piecesin the portfolio. They just love flickingthrough it! But the best part is bringingit home over the holidays and takingtime to share it with their parents andfamily. This positive relationship withothers makes the child responsible forhis or her learning. In sharing theirentries with their parents, family, teachersand people around them, the childrenvalidate their learning. Portfoliosbecome authentic documents. The stu-dents are proud of their achievementsand have every reason to be! �

PORTFOLIOS: A Precious Recollection of the School Year

The THIMUN Conference: An experience not to be missed (... Continued from page 1)

Mr. and Mrs. Kost reviewing Alina’s portfolio.

By Susan Chapman and Louise Elliott, Grade 3 Teachers

The newly-installed playground at the PrimarySchool funded in part by proceeds from the Gala and Auction 2006.

We were quite fortunate in having beenassigned Egypt, a country prevalent incurrent affairs, while most schools wereallocated countries which had littleimpact on modern times. All membersof our team had their respective resolu-tions passed while at MUN, which is afairly impressive feat considering that

the majority of the team were MUNnovices. Perhaps it is not only the conferenceand the activities which inevitably helpmould a politically-minded person, butmore importantly it is the congregationand interaction of so many fertile youngminds which help to enrich the experience.

My advice to you is not to deny yourselfthis opportunity, but instead to use theknowledge you will undoubtedly gainfrom it to help shape your knowledge ofworld affairs and your perception of theglobal village in which we all now live. �

Portfolios are collections of children’s work that are designed to demonstrate successes, growth,higher order thinking, creativity and reflection. A portfolio should be thought of as an exhibition ofan active mind at work.

This year the Middle YearsProgram at ISP finally comes ofage – grade ten will be our first graduatingclass, and are currently studying hardas they work towards a MYP Record ofAchievement or, if they have been inthe program (here or elsewhere) for atleast two years, a MY Diploma.

An essential and distinctive feature of the MYP is that the students arecontinually encouraged to reflect onhow their learning in different subjectareas contributes to their broaderunderstanding of the world. They dothis through broad ‘themes’ – theAreas of Interaction – and in grade tencomplete the Personal Project, whichasks them to use all that study to dosomething they always wanted to do!

But how does this work in practice? What happens in an MYP classroom?Here’s an example.

Grade ten Physics students haverecently been studying Atomic andNuclear Physics, leading to an exami-nation of nuclear power; alongsidethis, those in the English A Extended

class were reflecting on the ideas ofutopia and dystopia, including thenovel ‘Z for Zaccaria’ which tells thestory of the survivors of a nuclear war.In Geography, they had alreadyassessed the pros and cons of differentsources of energy.

As a culminating activity for the workin Physics, the students were asked toprepare for a class debate about thebuilding of a nuclear power station ona small, fictional tropical island. Theywere given roles, such as CEO of a major power conglomerate,environmental activists or tradesunion representatives. They were thenasked to use the physics they hadlearned and the geographical knowl-edge they had acquired to prepare a case.

After some intensive research (puttingthose approaches to learning skills tothe test!), not only to look at the viewsof real-life groups but also to find thehard science behind those positions,the students began to prepare for thedebate. At this stage they realised thatother groups might be allies as well asopponents, and a certain amount of

behind-the-scenes political bargainingtook place. They even thought aboutthe ways in which different groupswould present their views: a slickPowerPoint presentation for theNuclear Power Corporation, bannersand posters for the environmentalists!

When the debate came, the groupseach carefully presented their cases…although during the Nuclear PowerCorporation’s presentation theextreme wing of the Friends of theIsland did have to be restrained by theisland’s chief of police… and, at last, avote was taken.

The students decided strongly againstthe building of the power station forthe island, but their views on nuclearpower globally were more diverse.There was a feeling that, while it would be preferable to develop alternative and renewable sources ofenergy, these could not meet ourneeds right now. Perhaps nuclearfusion will provide an answer in thefuture? Perhaps ISP alumni will makethat happen! �

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Learning outside the box – MYP in the grade ten classroomBy Paul Morris, MYP Coordinator

Donation from EADS Funds DT Room

Last year, current parent and engineer Mr. Detlef Müller-Wiesner, approached development director, CarrieLevenson-Wahl, about making a gift to ISP from his com-pany, EADS. He wanted to improve the quality of theSchool while creating a permanent link between ISP andEADS. After much discussion and a personal visit from Mr.Müller-Wiesner, it was decided that EADS would sponsorthe new Design Technology classroom, since many of thestudents in the Middle Years Program were fast becomingyoung design engineers. It was a perfect fit! There will soonbe a permanent sign outside of the classroom acknowledgingthe generosity of EADS in helping to support the educationalfacilities at ISP.

For more information about making a corporate gift, pleasecontact Carrie Levenson-Wahl at clevenson@isparis.edu or at+33(0)1 42.24.09.19.�(l to r) Mr. Müller-Wiesner and Design Technology teacher,

Stephanie Goring, with Headmaster, Gareth Jones.

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All of Grade 6 have been studying The Roman Empire sinceSeptember and while looking at howthey controlledtheir Empire theydecided to put ona play aboutQueen Boudiccawho rebelledagainst them inAD61.

Britain had beena Roman Province for less than 20years at this stage and only about halfof it had been conquered. The King ofthe Iceni had left half of what he hadto the Romans and half to Boudiccaand his two daughters but theRomans were not satisfied and cameand took everything and assaulted thedaughters. An outraged Boudiccathen united many of the Celtic Tribesin a fierce rebellion against the

Romans. Seutonius eventually quelledthe rebellion in a bloody battle whereaccording to Roman accounts some

80,000 Britonswere killed.

The studentstook part in writ-ing the play,learning theirlines and makingshields andweapons with a

lot of help from Mum and Dad! Onthe day of the performance they werewatched by an audience of year 5s and7s, various teachers and theHeadmaster, Mr. Jones. They werealso videotaped. Mrs. Atcheson andthe students thoroughly enjoyed thewhole process and everyone wasimpressed by how well they had learnttheir lines. �

Ma Visite à la Maison de RetraiteBy Cheyanne Ralph, Grade 6

Queen Boudicca Meets Grade 6By Patricia Atcheson, History Teacher

Avec ma classe de français, noussommes allés à la maison de retraitepour terminer notre projet sur la famille.

Pendant cette visite, nous avons présentéun arbre généalogique que nous avonsfait sur notre famille. Nous avons apprisaussi à jouer au scrabble en français. Jepense que c’était très intéressant parceque nous avons pu parler en français avecces personnes qui étaient très gentillesavec nous. Pendant ce voyage, j’ai pu voircomment les gens sont différents de latroisième génération et combien ilssoignent les plus jeunes enfants commenous. �

Dimanche, 5 février 2006, 14 heures,station de métro "Pont-Marie",dans le 4ème arrondissement de Paris.Ingrid (Danemark), Gavin (Ecosse),

Adzrie (Brunei), Sharel (Malaysie) etJoe (Australie), élèves en première etterminale, se sont donnés rendez-vousafin de rencontrer, sous le pont Louis-Philippe, James, Malika, Lulu etd'autres "sans-abris" et de leur venir

en aide d'apport de vêtements et denourriture.

Une semaine auparavant, ces élèves, quiétudiaient dans leur classe de français,2eme année, un article paru dansl'Express sur les SDF de Paris, ont étésensibilisés par la situation précaire deces personnes dans le froid glacial qui aenvahi Paris depuis quelques semaines.Ils ont décidé d'organiser une collectede vêtements, couvertures, boites deconserves etc. pour aller a la rencontrede quelques "sans-abris" en compagniede deux professeurs et d'un représentantde la délégation départementale deParis - Croix Rouge Française.

Arrivés sur les lieux d'habitation deJames et Malika, nos élèves ont pu discuter avec eux de leurs conditions de

vie et de leurs besoins au quotidien. Ilsont beaucoup apprécié l'accueilchaleureux que ces"sans-abris" leuront réservé et ont été impressionnéstant par leur enthousiasme que parleur ingéniosité et créativité à trans-former "ce lieu" (sous le pont Louis-Philippe) en une habitation de fortuneaussi conviviale.

Ingrid, Gavin, Adzrie, Sharel et Joe quiviennent des pays différents, étaientégalement touchés par la générosité et la solidarité que James et Mailkamanifestent au profit de leurs sem-blables abrités comme eux par les seulsponts de Paris où "on y chante et on ydanse" comme dans les chansons en dépit du froid et de la pauvreté. �

Sous les ponts de ParisBy Monica Devos, Head of French Department

ISP students with their “friends under the bridge”

Cheyanne and Alex playing scrabble with a resident of the retirement home.

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Playing a part in the “The DemonHeadmaster” was the most memo-rable thing I have ever done in Middleschool. But also one of the scariest! Therehearsals were long and tiring; I couldn’tremember my lines until the lastmoment; I was so scared about singingin public that I almost lost my voice!But when I think back on the play, Iremember the great feeling of performing,the fun we all had on performancenights and the excitement of seeing areal audience.

Work on the play started three monthsbefore Curtain Time. We all thoughtthat was loads of time. Rehearsals werefun and we played lots of games andchatted. We couldn’t understand whyMiss Hauke was getting stressed-out.After all, most of us knew at least someof our lines. Suddenly, there were just afew weeks to go. The whole cast beganto realize that the play was actually happening. Rehearsals became moreintense - some of the actors started getting annoyed when others turned uplate or forgot their lines. The pressurewas definitely mounting.

The play came more andmore to life and was given areal boost when we tried onthe costumes and makeup.The dancing girls lookedincredible in their shiny suitswhile the Prefects andHeadmaster suddenly lookedreal evil and menacing. I wasgetting more and more nervous

and my singing voice was getting moreand more timid. Mr. Anderson neveronce made me feel bad - he alwaysencouraged me and that gave me theextra courage I needed on the finalnight.

The dress rehearsal was a disaster.People forgot their lines, came in at thewrong time, danced out of step. I mumbled my lines and squeaked mysongs. Strangely, Miss Hauke seemedcalm - for the first time.

Curtain Time! It all came together. Likemagic, everything seemed to fall intoplace. ABBA itself would have beenproud of the dancing girls, the singingwas in tune and energetic, everyone gottheir cues right and really acted theirparts. The audience laughed in the right places! This was amazing. Theyunderstood the play and even enjoyed it.Backstage, we all felt we had achievedsomething amazing together. Now wejust had to do it again for the secondnight. �

Demon HeadmasterBy Ava Worthington, Grade 6

The Demon Headmaster is a story about Dinah Glass and her friends Lloyd and Harvey Hunter.Their school is full of hypnotized kids which the demon headmaster hypnotized. The demon head-master wants to have control of the world; he tries the great school quiz, which is a test for smart children. In the end he wins but when he gets up to tell his secret of why Dinah is so intelligent, shegets some pepper and pours it over him so that he can’t hypnotized the audience that is watching.

Frederic Auerbach, Grade 6

“When I was backstage waiting to go on,I found it was great because there wereso many joys when I was up on the stage.When we were putting the play in shapeto be performed I saw the effort therewas to make this a successful play. Iremember that when we were reviewingthe script I was amazed to see the effortput into it and in the end I think it was avery successful play.”

Frederic Auerbach

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Impressions: The Wizard of OZSome reflections from grades 4 and 5

HOW I FELT BEING A TREE IN FRONT OF HUNDREDS

OF PEOPLELaura Prast – Grade 5R

The moment I got on the stage in front ofhundreds of people, I felt paralysed withfear. I felt as if my mouth was zipped upwith a zip. I was really excited to do myfirst performance, since I had to act as atalking tree. I had to lift my arms up whichstarted to feel a bit painful by the end!

WOOF!!!!!!Luke Pascal – Grade 5R

When I startedout I thought itwould be easy tobe a dog, but Iwas wrong! Beinga dog was tiringand annoying.Being a dog feltlike endless painin my body. Ourbodies are not made to move around like adog. Being a dog pushes you past your lim-its. On the night of the performance,before show time, I was worried that Imight trip, or get out of character. Whenthe show started I was fine and everythingexcept that I felt like a puny animal com-pared to everyone else, but I was a dog.When Act Two started I felt like I was outof character, but nobody noticed. After theplay I felt lonely, sad, empty, and like I lostsomething special but it was fun when Idid have it.

FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF BEING A COLOUR

Cayla Lambert – Grade 5R

Being the colour Green was surprisingemotional for me. When they firstassigned the colour roles, I wasn’t veryhappy. But gradually I grew into my role. Ibecame the colour Green. But the thing Icouldn’t understand was that when I wenton stage – I can’t say that I was acting theway I do at home – but I wasn’t that nerv-ous. I guess it was because I had alreadyacted in last year’s play – ‘Oliver’.

OIL CAN!Mahe Sillanpaa – 5R

The Wizard of Oz was such fun to do. Allthose emotions that ran through me as wepractised, and when we did, it was just….There is no word for that. The very firsttry-outs were so scary and worrying that Istarted ripping the paper of the songs.And when the day came to know the parts,I was battling with nerves. Oil Can! OilCan! Thank you. – sorry for interrupting– anyway, I thought I’d NEVER be a verygood Tin Man and I would be horrible,but actually, I was pretty good! My cos-tume was very uncomfortable and I felt Iwas in an oven – like a chicken roastingwith butterflies in my stomach and wob-bly legs. It was my turn to go on stage. AndI rusted in place until Dorothy and theScarecrow came along!. �

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Junior MUN in Bath, UKBy Jamie Fraser, Grade 7

“Norway, you have been recognized.”

My heart skips a little as I realize it’s mewho has been chosen. Slowly, I lower myplacard and rise from my seat. I deftlylook behind me and find 200 pairs ofeyeballs trained on me. Caspar gives mea worried glance. Awkwardly, I wipe thehair from my face and make my waytowards the podium. The auditorium isdeathly silent. I stumble slightly on thesteps and turn to face the expectantmass of formally-dressed delegates. I take a breath then begin to speak…For several weeks, while the rest of ISPhappily ate their lunches, nine studentsfrom Grade 7, 9, 10 worked diligently inpreparation for the annual BathInternational School Model UnitedNations.

For those of you unaware of how aMUN conference works, it is basicallylike this:

Firstly, you need a group of hard-working, politically-minded students.

Next, each student (or group of students) becomes a delegate (representative) for a member state ofthe United Nations and is assigned todebate and discuss a particular subject (security, economy, health, etc.)

The delegates write a resolution (adocument which states their nation’ssolution to the problem in question).

Finally the delegates go to the conferenceand debate over their resolutions andothers.

By the time, our group arrived atMontparnasse station at quarter pasteight on the morning of 2nd March, wewere ready to face anything MUN couldthrow at us. Armed with our wits andourresolutions, we stepped onto the train andinto the world of international politics!

Though the other delegates and I wereundoubtedly nervous about the conferenceto come, that didn’t stop us fromexploring and having fun in and aroundBath, the beautifully picturesque townin the south-west of England. Our residence, the YMCA, was comfortableand offered a great, full English breakfast!On Friday 3rd we donned our suits andmade our way to Bath InternationalSchool, where the conference tookplace.After the preliminary meeting on theFriday evening, feelings were a mixtureof nervous tension and excitement.

“When we found out we were going tobe the youngest people there, we were allpretty scared,” said Daniel Campo ofGrade 7, “we were afraid no one wouldpay attention to us!”After three long hours of lobbying (convincing other countries to sign yourresolution) two resolutions from theISP group were passed to debate.Anthony Fernandes, who penned a resolution on fair trade said, “The wholeexperience was fun. You had to be prepared to work. Our team worked veryhard and so we all had a great time! ”

Finally Saturday arrived and the corridorsof the YMCA echoed with the sounds ofshoes being meticulously polished andnervous delegates rehearsing speeches.Once we had settled into our differentcommittees at the conference, one by one different countries took thepodium to debate their own and otherresolutions. It was truly an amazingexperience to debate alongside such talented students who were much olderthan we. The following day we wereforced to rush to the coach station butnot before Caspar Worthington, anotherseventh grader, read his resolution to

the entire MUN conference. As he finished, I and two other delegates fromISP, Ashley Spin and Liz Wills began toclap and the whole auditorium followedsuit. Soon after we returned to Paris, wewere all excited to hear that Caspar’s resolution had been passed.Our journey ended in high spirits and Iam sure that I speak for the entire ISPteam when I say that although I relish mymemories of BISMUN 2006, I am definitely looking forward to next timeand, hopefully, seeing a few new faces as well. �

Anthony Fernandes, Daniel Campo, Caspar Worthington, Jamie Fraser and Archie Shaw

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Building Futures Together Gala and Auction --- Quel Succès!

On March 25th, two hundredpeople gathered in atransformed 13, rue Beethovento help raise € 27,000 for ISPat the School’s first-ever Gala and Auction. With blue and gold banners, beautifulflower arrangements, signsprofessionally produced by ourGrade 7 Design Technologystudents, guests were welcomedinto a warm and invitingatmosphere. It was an eveningfilled with wonderful items,great food, and a spirit of philanthropy and good will.

There were over 150 items up for bid, with gorgeous international baskets, class projects and indi-vidual gifts donated by our generous parents. Mr. Jones, our auctioneer, outdid himself in the liveauction where the bidding was lively, and at times,quite fierce! Everyone went home with something, ifonly the feeling of helping the students and teachers ofISP with enriched resources. Profits from the eventwill be spent on a new playground at Ranelagh (alreadyinstalled!), a mobile computer lab, and new soundequipment for the plays.

An event of this scope and size takes months of preparation and a committee thatworks hard with great creativity. Our deepest appreciation goes to the AuctionCommittee who helped make this event so successful. This is the first of what willnow become a new school tradition, and plans are already underway for next year. �

Members of the Auction Committee celebrating their success at a post-event dinner party.

Charlotte Kunz proudly displaying a basket

Hyun Shil Jyoung preparing baskets for the Silent Auction

Careers DayFor the firsttime this year,ISP hosted aCareer Day forGrades 9-11.Featured werecurrent parentsand other profes-sionals who spentan afternoonsharing their livesand professions with the students. Eachstudent had a choice of two sessions andwere enthusiastic in their questions andcomments. The speakers included anarchitect, a novelist, a journalist, an

investment banker, an actor, a marketingexpert, a museum curator and a humanrights advocate. A wonderful traditionhas begun at ISP, and the School plans tocontinue this activity next year.

We would like to especially thank thefollowing parents who participated inthis event:Mrs. Josephine DUVAL, ArchitectMrs. Elaine GANLEY PAKRAVAN,JournalistMr. Vincent PEREZ, Film Actor andDirectorMr. Pascal RAVERY from JP Morgan �

Student Feedback…

"I find it a very good idea to organize aCareers Day because it eases our decisionabout what kind of career we'd like topursue."

"The best part of the day was to havesomeone really passionate about theircareer speak about it."

"I thought the speakers were passionateabout their work and made me consider a future in that field."

Author, Scott Phillips, signing books in the Library

The Amazing 2006 Auction Committee Agnès DucheminLaura EastwoodPatricia FrenchMiki FukaiJane GibbsCamilla Goldie-GrassottiKiyo IshizakaHyun Shil JyoungNoriko KozukaCindy KubischCharlotte KunzJulie MakepeaceAkiko NakanoKozuko OkawaMichele RaveryLucy Taylor-GillMichiko TsuchihiroMartha TubinisPeter WayneMelinda WhalonKeiko Yamada

Page 10 The Journal of the International School of Paris www.isparis.edu

Reflections from an Alumnus: What I learned at ISPBy Hisham Jaroudi, Class of 1994

My name is HishamJaroudi, and I am ofLebanese origins. I attendedISP in 1985 and 1986. Myexperience there twenty yearsago not only introduced me todiversified cultures butexposed me to people from allover the world. Recently, I wason a short trip to Paris andwent to Rue du Ranelagh. Allthe memories started comingback. It was a rare feeling ofbeing trapped between adult-hood and childhood. I saw my oldfriends Sacha, Emmanuelle, and Mr.Gallot, my old French teacher, and weshared wonderful memories andbeautiful moments. For many rea-sons, I felt I would like to share mydiversified history, present and futurewith you. I believe every simple experiencehas added a value to my life and futureplans, and I really hope this will addsomething for you too.

Over the years I traveled the world andexplored different cultures. After Parisin 1986, I went back to live inLebanon, my country of origin. In 1989 I lived in Saudi Arabia where I finished my schooling. In 1993 I moved to the US to continue myeducation where I finished my graduatestudies in Engineering andManagement. I worked in the US for aconsulting firm for a few years. In2001 I moved to Canada, where I livedfor 5 years between Toronto andMontreal. A few months ago, I had anopportunity to move back to theMiddle East to go to Khartoum,Sudan with a General ContractingCompany in the Construction field. I am currently the BusinessDevelopment and Marketing Directorfor the company.

All this made me understand, appreciateand live the norms of each culturedeeply. Realizing the extremities invarious mentalities and choosing toaccept what I believe is right and rejectwhat I feel is wrong, I have been dealingwith life as a school for continuouslearning.

Where will I be in the next years? I really don’t know, but I believe myfuture is built on 2 factors: 1) Motivation; and 2) Growth. I thinkwith this mentality many doors willopen to us in many ways, forms andshapes as ISP ex-patriots

Few Words of Advice for theFuture Generation of ISP

Always be optimistic in lifeand never let the negativesdrag you down despite thedifficulties we all face;

Always have an open mindwithout misjudging peoplebased on their color, religion, or ethnic back-grounds;

Immerse yourself in cultureswithout feeling homesick or depressed;

Be proud of who you are but behumble with whom you encounter;

Don’t be afraid to knock on a doorbut be wise in knowing when andhow to knock on it;

Everything you do today will keep a trace for your future; and

Honesty, wisdom, trust and a smileare the keys for success.

Good luck to all in your futureendeavors and thank you for givingme this opportunity to go back twentyyears in time to the best times in my life! �

Pictured with teacher, Kiyo Ishimura and Headmaster, Gareth Jones, are essay writing winners Mayuri Hirano, Tomohiro Nakano, Jamie Fraser, Kotaro Nakano, Ryo Toride, and Dan Yoshimatsu

Sponsored by the Future School Organisation, our students’ essays were chosen as winners among 51 entrants from 20 countries around the world.

ISP Winners in World Essay Contest

Hisham Jaroudi working in Khartoum, Sudan

The Pershing Hall YearsA Fond Look BackBy Matthew Gonneau, Pershing Hall 1965-1971

This photograph was taken in 1966,when I was in second grade, and isa shot of the entire school assembled inthe ball room of the Pershing Hallbuilding where we shared space withthe American Legion in Paris. It was atruly grand place, a classic 19th century‘maison particulière’, with enormousrooms and towering ceilings, all mannerof gilt decorative plasterwork, intricatewood floors, tall windows with heavybrocade drapery, and of course thetwo-story ball room off the rear courtyard that served as our auditorium,lunch room, rainy-day playground andsetting for mercifully infrequent dramatic productions. I rememberplaying “Buzz” Aldrin in a stirringrecreation of the first Apollo moonlanding a few years after this shot wastaken -- my last stage appearance.

In those days the curriculum was basicand straight forward with no extracur-ricular activities that I can remember(just long walks home), and no gym ormusic, though art class was always avery strong component. Instructionwas demanding and disciplined yetalways personal, fun and creative. Forrecess we were paired up and led downthe Champs Elysées to play in theparks alongside the Petit Palais. Therewas much to do and memorable eventsincluded trips to the debut of theBeatles movie “Yellow Submarine” andZeferelli’s “Romeo and Juliet,” trips tothe open-air skating rink near Auteuilduring winter (since demolished), andto the floating swimming pool on theSeine when the weather was warm. Oneday the school was mustered and wewalked up Avenue Kléber to Etoilewhere we witnessed, in awe, the maidenflight of the Concorde as it flew atroof-top height, lumbering slow andloud, over the Arc de Triomphe anddown the Champs Elysées. In 3rd

Grade the famous green and grey uniform was introduced in the School.In 4th grade we migrated to a new homein the Villa Copernic off the PlaceVictor Hugo. This was a much smaller,single-family town house and was nodoubt a nightmare for the staff as theentire administration seemed to operateout of the kitchen. But for us it was areal club house with classes held in thevarious bedrooms, living/dining area,in the cellar and even in the car port,where, when the weather was nice, wekept the garage door open. During thistime the mandatory use of fountainpens was briefly experimented with --you may imagine how that all endedup. After our lunch we walked downthe hill to the Place Dauphine and hadrecess on the fringes of the Bois. Wewere even permitted to doff our jacketsand ties…

Copernic imposed a pretty severe limiton class size. How small? The school

threw a lunch party for my 6th gradegraduating class, hosted at my friends’parents’ place, and our entire class,including teachers (and Mrs. Porter Ithink), fit around the dining roomtable! We had voted Sloppy Joes as themeal since American things were rareand exotic at that time -- this was Parisbefore McDonalds, canned soda, andeven homogenized milk was not aguarantee.

Before leaving they asked us if we’d liketo stay on as a 7th grade -- they’d makeroom for us. But at age 12 we were feelinga bit “world weary” and ready for achange, and most of us passed on theoffer. It is always with a sense of regretthat I recall this occasion. I ended upstaying in Paris for another four yearsand I missed out on the move to Auteiland Ranelagh in the company of a trulyfun, inspired and dedicated group.What a great school. �

Matthew, circled in blue, with the entire Pershing Hall School in 1966

www.isparis.edu The Journal of the International School of Paris Page 11

The Journal of the International School of Paris

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Headmaster: Gareth F. Jones - Editor: Carrie Levenson-WahlLayout/Design: Philip Anderson - Printer: Semios

London ReunionJanuary 2006

On a very cold evening in Londonat the end of January, over 60alumni, former parents and teachersgathered in the warmth of the AwanaRestaurant in Chelsea to share stories,talk about former ISP days, and to re-kindle old friendships. Currentteachers and administrators, Mr. Kerr,Mr. Morris, Mrs. Habibi, Mr. Jones,Mr. Piper, Agnès Duchemin, andMme. Devos were in attendance, aswell as former staff Val Norman andRuth Brown.

We look forward to seeing more of youat other reunions in Tokyo, Paris, andNew York City throughout the year. �

(l to r) Mrs. Wharton, Carlotta Brentan ’05, Alex Uboe ‘05and Eleanor Wharton ‘05

Class of 2003 (l to r): Marie Bleuel, Shahryar Barati, Jonathan Müller-Wiesner, Sakina Naharudin and Mr. Kerr

Fred Rojas ’02, Gareth Jones, and Heyrim Joo ‘02

Mr. Morris with José Campo and Sota Komada,both Class of 2005

NEXT REUNION

NEW YORK CITYNOVEMBER 2006

Details to follow...

Omar Kodmani, ‘85