The ISBerne Wednesday Afternoon English Program
Posted: August 11, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bern, Berne, community service, education, ESL, Europe, International School, ISBerne, K-12, K12, private school, Swiss school, Switzerland Leave a commentISberne is known for it’s programs that contribute to the local community. This video segment features Ulli Warren and Theresa Buehlmann, who teach English, on Wednesday afternoons at ISBerne, to students who already possess a level of spoken English but are enroled in the local swiss school system.
If you are interested in enroling in the Community English Programme, see our school website for more information:
http://www.isberne.ch/en/school/community/community-english-classes
An ISBerne 5th grade student explores electric cars
Posted: July 15, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bern, Berne, education, electric cars, Europe, International School, ISBerne, K-12, private school, students, Swiss school, Switzerland Leave a commentNoah Lofthouse, a 5th grade student at ISBerne, researched electric cars for his end-of-year exhibition. In this video segment, he is interviewed by Ms. Deirdre Coghlan, Communication Coordinator at ISBerne.
An ISBerne captured moment/ The IB Programme
Posted: April 30, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bern, Berne, education, Europe, International Baccalaureate, International School, ISBerne, K-12, K12, private school, students, Swiss school, Switzerland Leave a commentA quick update on the ISBerne International Baccalaureate Programme
ISBerne CAS project in Morocco
Posted: March 25, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bern, Berne, CAS, education, Europe, IB Diploma Programme, International Baccalaureate, International School, ISBerne, K-12, K12, Morocco, private school, students, Swiss school, Switzerland Leave a commentThe IB Diploma Programme includes the development of a personal commitment to life-long global citizenship. At ISBerne, all students, IB and non-IB, are required to complete the Service element of CAS (Creativity, Action, and Service) in order to receive a diploma. Rather than looking at global service as an abstract academic discussion, the CAS Programme at ISBerne provides actual field experience in working with local projects in remote locations. In my long experience with NGOs, I’ve found that there are 2 kinds of people working there: those who sit in offices and discuss socio-economic problems in the theoretical…and those who go out and work in the field with the heat and bugs. 🙂
-Richard Lakin
In this segment, students recount the experience of working at a school in Morocco.
Mary’s Meals
Posted: January 24, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bern, Berne, education, Europe, International Baccalaureate, International School, ISBerne, K-12, K12, Mary's Meals, private school, students, Swiss school, Switzerland Leave a commentOne of the things that I’ve often seen in my travels for NGOs in the developing world is children not being able to attend the local schools because the family can’t provide food for the child during the school day. Many people in the industrialized nations don’t realize that this is a major factor in the lack of education in impoverished communities. Mary’s Meals provides food on the school premises in areas where hunger prevents children from getting an education. As part of the IB tenet of global citizenship, ISBerne students and faculty are involved in a variety of global service projects. As someone who has seen poverty and the lack of access to basic education up close and on an international scale, I applaud the many efforts at ISBerne to better the human condition.
-Richard Lakin
Santa makes a surprise visit to ISBerne
Posted: December 16, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bern, Berne, Christmas, early learning centre, education, Europe, International School, ISBerne, K-12, K12, pre-school, primary school, private school, Santa, secondary school, Swiss school, Switzerland Leave a commentSanta Claus made a surprise visit to ISBerne on Friday 6 December, with a few helpers in tow. He and his team went around to all the classes, including secondary school where he barged into classes and actually tossed treats at the kids, much to the surprise of the students! In the Elementary he sat and chatted with the kids. asking questions about what they were currently learning in school. (Energy sources and nutrition seemed to be the common theme) He was charmingly serenaded by many classes with their newly learned Christmas carols and holiday songs. Before departing, he passed out goodie bags to all the children, filled with clementine oranges donated by parents, chocolate, donated by Nestl´e and traditional spice cookies of Switzerland purchased by the PTC. It was a great way to start off the month of December!
An ISBerne captured moment/ The Early Learning Centre
Posted: December 4, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bern, Berne, early learning centre, education, Europe, International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP), International School, ISBerne, K-12, K12, pre-school, primary school, private school, Swiss school, Switzerland Leave a commentISBerne’s International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP), for students aged 3-11, sets the foundation for a positive attitude toward learning by developing a child’s natural inquisitiveness and introducing to them an international curriculum & perspective at an early age. In this ISBerne captured moment, we get a sense of the enriching environment at the ELC.
An ISBerne parent profile: quantifying climate change
Posted: November 26, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bern, Berne, education, Europe, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International School, ISBerne, K-12, K12, primary school, private school, Swiss school, Switzerland, University of Bern 2 CommentsMelinda Tignor moved with her family from Colorado to take a position as the Director of Operations for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group I Technical Support Unit, located at the University of Bern. She’s also the mom of Cyrus, a second grader at ISBerne’s primary school. Cyrus started in the Early Learning Center, and has his own take on climate change issues.
We invite parents in the ISBerne community to participate in our blog content. If you have your own blog, we’d like to feature it on this site…or if you’d like to write about your family’s expat life in Switzerland, or a ski trip, or anything else that you want to share with other ISBerne families, contact us below:
Berne, Switzerland: a great place to learn, work, and play
Posted: November 14, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bern, Berne, education, Europe, International Baccalaureate, International School, ISBerne, K-12, K12, private school, skiing, Swiss school, Switzerland 1 CommentWhile editing this video of Chris Warren, a secondary school teacher at ISBerne, I felt compelled to concur with his observations of life in
Switzerland’s capital city. If your family is considering living abroad, Berne is a premier location for an expat experience. An international center for business and diplomacy, Berne has old-world charm coupled with a contemporary and sophisticated city life. The selection of gourmet foods in just the average neighborhood grocery store is almost overwhelming. I have undertaken a great deal of international travel, and I find the transportation infrastructure here to be one of the finest that I’ve ever seen. Berne’s clean, safe trams and trains connect not only the city, but provide easy access to the rest of Europe as well.
One thing that struck me as I was walking around the downtown shops is how many places there are that sell outdoor gear. To live in Switzerland is to have access to mountains, forests, lakes, glaciers, and rivers that are as breathtaking as they are abundant and near-by. Iconic Swiss ski resorts are a short distance from the city.
Switzerland is also, of course, known for it’s prestigious private schools. If you are contemplating a career move to the area, we invite you to look at the International Baccalaureate diploma programme at the International School of Berne. To inquire about the world-class pre-K through 12th grade education at ISBerne, submit the inquiry form below:
The ISBerne blog 