INNOVATION
A mind-set
Our school culture is built on a mind-set of innovation. This means that we always expect the unexpected. Innovation permeates every level of our organisation. All members of our community embrace innovation. We thrive on uncertainty and are always ready to experiment with new concepts and to give our best in every situation. We apply new ideas consistently if we believe they will allow us to put our mission into practice in a more meaningful way.
All of us, from teachers in the classroom, staff working at the office, or students from any grade, embrace creativity, imagination, analogy and empathy. We all learn from each other. To say we are innovative means that we listen and are open to new ideas. We listen to our students, to parents, to teachers and to all our staff.
We are extremely collaborative. We collaborate with each other, but just as importantly we collaborate with the world. We seek ideas from expert opinion. We seek inspiration in other schools and organisations. We look at research done in expert universities. We are committed to questioning our processes and bringing new perspectives to the table. We work hard in researching and adapting our curriculum with our students and mission always in mind.
We embrace failure with our minds and hearts. We already know that some of the greatest innovative leaps came as the result of accidents. PaRK IS knows that the world is changing. As staff, we cultivate a mind-set that learns to see these changes and give our best to adapt. It is the only way for our students to grow into individuals who spot change, adapt to change and make change in a fast-paced world.
HAPPINESS
Designing Happiness
We care about designing experiences of happiness for both our students and our teachers. Happiness is not an afterthought. It is the first step of what we do. Being happy is the first step to learn efficiently, to have a good attitude towards learning and to give their best in everything.
We aim to give students the skills and tools to seek their personal passions. At PaRK IS happiness is a lot about feeling safe. We want both students and teachers to be comfortable with experimentation. Happiness is also about feeling fulfilled. Rigorous curriculums allow our students to experience diverse areas of knowledge in profound ways.
We respect our students’ and teachers’ individual journeys. We make an effort to understand what our own staff’s own academic interests are and we are committed to the personal professional growth of each member of our school community. Exposing students to this type of diversity will greatly enrich their academic journeys and help them uncover their own individual passions. Inspired, curious and hard-working teachers will lead to inspired, curious and hard-working students.
Happiness is also about feeling useful in the world. This is why we include kindness through ‘Responsibility’ as one of the three pillars of our school.
RESPONSIBILITY
Improve ourselves and others
We have designed a unique programme called “Fellowship”. We believe that everyone starts to benefit when we look beyond ourselves. Our fellowship programme focuses on students understanding and practicing service acts within their own communities as well as the world. We want our students to understand that both these interactions are important and allow each of us to grow as individuals. Our fellowship programme focuses primarily on process. We are interested in teaching our students about how they can learn to accommodate these activities as a natural process of their daily lives.
To be a global citizen is in a large part to be aware of what is happening in the world. We want our students to learn how to get involved and understand that impacting the world can mean carrying out a small act in a local neighbourhood or getting involved in a global movement. The process of putting each of these ideas into practice can be equally complex and the results equally positive. Remember, “The smallest deed is greater than the greatest intention”- Burroughs.
Being a responsible citizen of the world will not only impact the world for the better, but will greatly impact our students. We want our students to understand and experience their unique and individual value.
GLOCALIZATION
Think globally, act locally
We prepare our students to thrive in different cultures and adapt to change. At the same time, we understand our local environment and are eager to act to make it better.
