Week at a Glance - Week at a glance - See our Head of School’s weekly reflection
2026-01-16 10:37
"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live."
Jim Rohn
Dear Team Members,
This week we have been reflecting on health and fitness. Taking care of your body is one of the keys to good wellbeing and a long life. Daily exercise, even for 10-15 minutes can lead to peace of mind and a sense of achievement. It is a challenge for us during the winter months when it is cold and dark when we return from school, to maintain a good fitness regime. Let’s encourage each other this term to stay healthy and fit!
At The Island School all students have physical education as part of their weekly curriculum. We encourage students to move, stretch and have fun doing these lessons, whilst developing their understanding and appreciation of a variety of sports and exercises. In our wellbeing programme we teach children to take care of their mental health and wellbeing. Looking after our bodies and minds is a vital part of a child’s education as they grow up so that they may develop healthy habits as adults to avoid illness and addictions. The United Nations Third Sustainable Development Goal involves ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages; we are very committed to this aim for our students and team members.
This week outside PE has been a challenge with all the rain but our dedicated and innovative sports department have come up with imaginative ways to overcome this and get students moving. We have had indoor activities, table tennis and fitness sessions. Thanks to our amazing team Nicos, Aleks, Andreas, Maria and Kyriakos ! In better weather students have the opportunity to learn and practise a variety of sports. During our Extra curricular activities students also can join school teams such as in football and basketball and enjoy more alternative sports such as extreme frisbee. Last term we enjoyed sports days or competitions in all age groups across the houses. Later this term we will have our sports days in primary.
We held a Health & Fitness Assembly on Thursday when we focussed on fun house fitness activities, including yoga! Thank you to Nicos and Kyriakos for the yoga moves!
We also want to keep children healthy and safe online and this week on Wednesday we held a parent workshop to help parents cope with navigating the dangers our children and teenagers face online on a daily basis. Many thanks to Jenny for her preparation, expertise and time on this topic!.
This week our Grade 5 PYP students visited the Cyprus parliament as they were learning about democracy in their unit of inquiry. This helped them understand how government works. Our pre-primary 3 children enjoyed a visit to the pottery to develop their creativity further. Thanks to our amazing teachers organising trips and visits on a weekly basis!
I have appealed in the parent bulletin for parents to send children with healthy snacks. Please also reinforce this message with all students and remember we allow no nuts, fizzy or caffeinated drinks. Sometimes we see children bringing sugary snacks and sweets on a daily basis which does not help their behaviour or ability to concentrate. Fruits and vegetables are a much better option and help to maintain energy throughout the day without creating spikes of energy which quickly fall away as we see with processed foods and snacks with too much sugar. Water should also be provided for students and they should all have their own water bottle to stay well hydrated through the day. Again remind parents please. Classrooms have water dispensers which are regularly cleaned and maintained. Water is preferable to juices which also contain high levels of sugar. I encourage you to read the healthy eating advice sheet sent out by Fiorendina! Thank you!
Finally thank you to everyone who helped and supported with the visit of Jak and Lisa on Monday and Tuesday, our Head of School candidate and his wife. It was great to see you taking pride in our school as you demonstrated and explained our achievements to them.