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My Passion

Learn the language, make yourself happy, says Nina

Nina's dedication to learning English has turned her into the “most happy girl”.

In common with most of her young classmates, Nina shed a few tears on her first day in Pre-School last August. But there was one big thing that meant Nina’s first day was an even bigger step than usual – she barely spoke a word of English.

“We were very nervous at the beginning,” says Nina’s mother Emelie, who had relocated from Sweden with her family. And Nina herself remembers the difficult time. “I could only say ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’. I did cry every day at first,” she says.

Wind forward just one year and Nina is now thriving in her new environment, having set about learning English with remarkable dedication and passion. “I really wanted to learn English so much because I really wanted to join in,” she says.

She had plenty of help. In the Lower School, teachers Sarah Burnham and Rossa Phul, and one of the school counsellors, Lea Richter, made a plan that could take account of the whole picture. “We managed to get her together with a couple Well read Nina Emanuelsson’s dedication to learning English has turned her into the “most happy girl”. of Swedish girls in Kindergarten that she could play with outside at recess,” says Sarah. “Having some buddies and a friendly face made a really huge difference to her school day.”In no time, she started to ask simple questions and began using short sentences to join in the play and contribute to class discussions.

The benefits of learning a second language at a young age are widely documented, but it can be easy to underestimate the effects on socialisation, sense of belonging and ability to settle into a new environment. By spring break, Nina’s confidence had progressed rapidly and, says Sarah, “she became a thoughtful and regular contributor in all our class discussions,” just one of 400 students in the Lower School – from more than 70 nations – who between them speak 40 different languages.

Nina now happily plays games like ballerinas, tag and hide and seek with her friends – in English. When she made cinnamon rolls during the holidays, she was able to come back to school and teach her classmates how to make them, using English instructions. And as she starts her second year, Emelie says Nina, now five, “is just the most happy girl. She has the confidence to play with anyone and is herself again. It is amazing to see.

Download a or request a copy of Voices Winter 2020 from the Voices Webpage.

My Passion

Henrik, Grade 6, on his love of public speaking

Model citizen
Henrik says before the MMUN conference, the biggest crowd he had spoken in front of was a school assembly.

Facing a 1,500-strong crowd would be enough to give most adults pause. But 11-year-old Henrik Kaas was undeterred. Last March, as a Grade 5 student, he was selected by organisers of the Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN) conference in Rome to speak in front of the entire assembly.

“Was I nervous? Yes!” he says. “I stuttered a little. There were way more people than I’m used to but I think it went OK.” In fact, by the end of the conference, the Lower School MMUN advisers Alice Sikora and Jamie Raskin say that Henrik had emerged as a highly competent speaker.

At the MMUN conference, the young delegates take the role of national representatives, presenting, debating and brainstorming. Henrik was allocated Cuba as the country he had to represent, and he was challenged to argue for fair trade. “Until that point, I knew nothing about Cuba and I knew nothing about fair trade,” he says. With the help of the UN’s resources, online information and some guidance from his teachers, he put together a presentation that he delivered, first to other delegates before presenting to the entire assembly.

This isn’t the first time Henrik has been away from home with the school, but this trip, he says, was the best so far. “I was lucky to share a room with my friend, but I made friends from other countries and I learned a lot during those few days. We talked about completely different stuff from normal.”

It was an intense experience – to qualify to attend as one of a dozen ZIS delegates, Henrik had to present in front of a panel of ZIS teachers. “Probably the biggest thing I can remember from the whole experience is that there’s an island of plastic in the ocean twice the size of Texas!”

He returned to school “more informed about the world” and with a determination to speak up. “I learned that it’s not only adults that go to conferences; children also get the chance to have a voice. And that it’s stressful to talk in front of big crowds – I’m amazed by the number of people that do it and don’t appear stressed or panicked.”

But he’s ready for his next public-speaking engagement. “I’ll definitely feel calmer. When you do something for the first time, it’s scary, then you get the hunger for it and want to do more, so I can’t wait.

Download a or request a copy of Voices Spring 2020 from the Voices Webpage.

My Passion

Isabelle explains why leadership is about the team.

Public speaking - Isabelle says she used to be more reserved, but speaking in front of 500 people at school assemblies quickly improved . her confidence.

It might seem unlikely, but it was while watching Grade 9 students trying to win a tug-of-war against their teachers that Isabelle Dady, Class of 2020 (2013-20), realised how much fun student government could be. As a Grade 11 representative, she had helped organise the school’s first Spirit Week, a five-day competition between faculty and students. “I figured out that I have this passion for using my abilities to help the student body unleash their potential.

As Upper School Student Council President in her final year at ZIS, she promoted causes that benefited the whole campus, something she’d long been enthusiastic about. “I think that’s when my confidence improved, as people really supported me.”

Isabelle’s team was keen to make meaningful changes, not superficial ones. “We wanted to promote students’ voices on administrative matters, and collaborated with Upper School Principal, Mr Markus, to set up a process so students could be heard.”

She says the highlight of the year was being asked to speak at the ZIS Women in Leadership event alongside Director Lisa Lyle and holistic health coach Martina Fink, where she hoped her presence inspired younger students. “The last female Student Council President was six years before me, so I wanted to challenge the mindset that powerful positions belong to guys. The president elected after me is another girl, so hopefully that worked!”

A pandemic was never part of the plan, but the council made the end of the school year as enjoyable as they could. Instead of an in-person Spirit Week, they ran a virtual event, featuring dance and cooking challenges as well as Instagram Live performances by student musicians. “We were debating whether to do it, because you can’t force spirit on anyone, but I’m really glad we did.” And then there was the online graduation, at which Isabelle and fellow student Nicholas , Class of 2020 (2005-06, 2014-20), reflected on the unusual end to their peer group’s school career.

“It was disappointing, but we didn’t let it stop us,” says Isabelle, who is now studying at Dartmouth College in the US. “We just adapted. The challenge made us stronger.”

Why I love... math

Class of 2020, MathEmatician

Liam says that when you solve a math problem with logic it feels like you’ve been touched by brilliance.

Liam, Grade 12, first realised how much he loved math when things didn’t quite go to plan. “There was a competition in Grade 4,” he recalls. “Four ‘mathletes’ were to be chosen and I was so sure I’d be one of them I’d stopped trying. When I wasn’t picked, it was a wake-up call. I realised how much I enjoyed it and that I wanted to be good at it.”

Liam took the initiative and began spending hours in his bedroom learning calculus and trigonometry beyond what was being taught in school. By Grade 7 he was working on derivatives – something not usually covered until Grade 11.

“I thought I could ‘do’ calculus, but really I could just do one bit of it. I didn’t really understand it. Still, it gave me bragging rights with my friends.”

In fact, things didn’t get serious until his math teacher picked up on his progress. “At the end of Grade 7, Ms Reed said: ‘We can see you’ve been spending hours on this and you’re committed to it. You should push yourself’.”

The school worked with Liam to ensure he had the tools he needed to anchor his knowledge – “like explaining what the little triangle over the letters in an equation means,” he says – and that he was always challenged.

“What I love about math,” he explains, “is there’s always a right answer. And you can figure it out from things you already know. It’s almost stealing: using logic to solve a problem. It feels like a stroke of brilliance.

“Take quadratic equations. That formula looks like random variables but it can be applied to every single quadratic! It’s ridiculously cool and strangely intriguing.”

Liam also plays chess and runs cross country. “I like that you can measure your running progress in numbers,” he says. “Like going from 22 minutes for five km to 18.45 in three years.”

As well as his ambition to become an astrophysicist, Liam wants to learn differential equations, in homage to the stars of the TV show, The Big Bang Theory. “I too can be socially awkward,” he laughs.

My Passion - Art

Lucy, Grade 8, always has pen and paper to hand.

Artfully done
Lucy says that drawing is character-creating.

Since she was very young, Lucy's family have always known where to find her: sitting at a table with pens and paper, drawing something. “I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember,” she says. “It’s always been with me, and my parents have always been supportive of it.”

Inspired by classic art and artists such as the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh, Lucy nevertheless doesn’t have a particular style, she says. At the moment, she loves to sketch “people, things that look cool or interesting, or whatever I feel like in the moment”. Drawing, for her, is also character-creating. “A lot of the time I’ll draw someone I don’t know. I’ll create my own person and add anything I want.”

Her passion for art has flourished at ZIS. “My teacher, Rainer Jutzi, is so much fun. He really challenges us but also makes the class exciting and enjoyable, and takes me out of my comfort zone.” She found a recent project, to create a piece of art around social protest, particularly inspiring. Students were asked to pick an issue they felt needed to be spoken about and represent it.

Improving her craft is tough, she says. She’s already familiar with the artist’s struggle for inspiration – “I know it’s a stereotype, but sometimes I’m just staring at a piece of paper and I don’t know what to draw!” – and still life is a challenge. “I find many things hard about art, but it’s always been a struggle for me to draw things that have a lot of detail or texture, because I’m more on the creative side.”

Art, she says, takes her out of this world and transports her to a completely different place, with none of the traditional rules or boundaries. All she needs is that table, paper and pens. “When that happens, I’m lost. I’m in the moment – I’m experimenting and creating, and nothing else matters. Art is a great place to lose yourself.”