ISL gives warm welcome to new families

(JB) New arrivals to Luxembourg were given a helping hand to understand their new home when the ISL hosted a Welcome Back Festival.

Sunday's event, which was this year held indoors because of the rain, welcomed around 130 new families from the lower school and a further 50 at the upper school this year.

“We had a good influx this year,” explained Parent Teacher Organisation Social Chair Kirsten Conran, adding: “This sort of festival really helps people get settled. We came here seven years ago and for us it was a Godsend when we moved.”

Scores of stands promoting sports, social and academic activities for children and parents lined the corridors of the school in Merl.

Among new features at this year's event were the PTO Ambassadors Programme, enabling newly arrived families to speak to a native speaker from their home country, easing the process of settling in at school and socially.

The recently created Parent Association of the International School of Luxembourg, providing a direct line of communication to the board of governors, was present along with a number of stands selling things, which had been initiated by enterprising students.

A big attraction was the new 3D printer, donated to ISL by Nordea bank, which employs 400 people at its headquarters in Luxembourg. “We're part of the Luxembourg community,” explained Nordea Communications Chief Jonas Torp, adding: “We can't save the world but it's important for us that Luxembourg is an attractive place to work and live and do business and part of that is that there are great schools.”

The spokesman said the bank responded to the ISL's request for a 3D printer in a bid to offer something that would “fuel interest among students today.”

ISL Design and Technology Teacher Bruce Duxbury said that the printer will initially be used by students from grades 9 to 12, who will first learn the design programmes for producing a 3D “print”.

“The great advantage is that it reproduces what's available in industry and it allows students with great ideas but who aren't so good with their hands to realise what they are imagining because they can just print it,” the teacher said.

The ISL counted 1,330 students and pupils on its books this year, with 610 enrolled at the lower school.

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