International Women's day
"Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception." — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Dear Colleagues,
It has been a vibrant, thought-provoking week here at the school as we joined the global community in celebrating International Women’s Day. This week’s theme has served as a powerful reminder that our school is more than just a place of academic instruction; it is a microcosm of the society we hope to build.
When we discuss gender equality in an educational setting, it’s easy to focus on the "big" historical figures. While the stories of Marie Curie and Malala Yousafzai are vital, I am most moved this week by the concept of ‘normalised’ inclusion. Recently I saw a reel on Instagram of an advert made by Mercedes Benz 3 years ago for International women’s day with girls expressing how they did not want to be the ‘only’ girl or woman making a discovery, excelling in sport, being elected to government or leading an organisation. They wanted it to be normal. The girl in the video said “ I don't want to be the first, I don't want to make history, I want to be one of many!’’. Check it out for yourselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHqicS9C1NA
I reiterated this message in my assembly with secondary students this week as we reflected on gender equality and opportunities and the UN’s 5th sustainable development goal on gender equality.
On a daily basis in our school, girls achieve great things; academically in class, giving excellent presentations and completing great projects and in extra curricular activities, e.g olympiads, sports events, musical shows, art exhibitions and more. This is as it should be. We want all our students whatever their gender, background or ethnicity to achieve success and flourish and for this to be completely normal. All three programmes encourage inclusion and valuing the whole child.
Their message is clear. Gender equality strengthens the entire community. When we exclude the perspectives of half the population, we don’t just lose out on talent—we lose out on the solutions to our most complex problems.
Thank you to Vasiliki and the ES team for sharing flowers and gifts with our female team members this week. You are very kind!
International Women’s Week shouldn't be a standalone event on the calendar; it should be the lens through which we view our daily interactions all year round. Are we ensuring every voice is heard in group work? Are we challenging "casual" bias when we hear it in the playground? Are we encouraging our boys to be allies in the pursuit of equity? Indeed boys sometimes see negative images of girls and women on social media and may absorb the wrong information about the role of girls and women in our society. It is important for us at school and for parents at home to model and explain the concept of inclusion and why it is so important, so they also become champions of it.
This week students for MYP also attended the Euromaths event in Paphos where they enjoyed making presentations and attending workshops related to maths. Pre-Primary PYP classes enjoyed a visit to the planetarium this week to help them with their learning. Thank you so much to Nikos and Sonja for organising and accompanying the students.
On March 10th PYP students of grades 2 and for had a meeting with Lida Nizhnikova-the founder and a dedicated volunteer of the Life for Unity foundation, which focuses on humanitarian projects, particularly building schools in Africa and supporting women and children in Nepal.The discussion highlighted the importance of community engagement, education, and unity. There will be another meeting with secondary students and Waldorf and Montessori programmes’ students next week as part of our Service week. Thank to you the committee who look after engagement with the local community for facilitating this visit.
On Friday our Diploma programme students presented their art work from their course at their final DP visual Arts exhibition at the Warehouse by IT Quarter gallery in Limassol. This exhibition will also carry on on Saturday so please take the time to visit as their work is so creative and inspirational and reflects their hard work over the last two years. Well done to Natasha for all her efforts to get to this point and to Vasia for supporting her as faculty Lead. I am sure it will be a great success and that lots of our team members visit and support the exhibition.
Have a relaxing weekend in the Spring sunshine.
Best Regards
Deborah Economou
Head of School
"Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception." — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Dear Colleagues,
It has been a vibrant, thought-provoking week here at the school as we joined the global community in celebrating International Women’s Day. This week’s theme has served as a powerful reminder that our school is more than just a place of academic instruction; it is a microcosm of the society we hope to build.
When we discuss gender equality in an educational setting, it’s easy to focus on the "big" historical figures. While the stories of Marie Curie and Malala Yousafzai are vital, I am most moved this week by the concept of ‘normalised’ inclusion. Recently I saw a reel on Instagram of an advert made by Mercedes Benz 3 years ago for International women’s day with girls expressing how they did not want to be the ‘only’ girl or woman making a discovery, excelling in sport, being elected to government or leading an organisation. They wanted it to be normal. The girl in the video said “ I don't want to be the first, I don't want to make history, I want to be one of many!’’. Check it out for yourselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHqicS9C1NA
I reiterated this message in my assembly with secondary students this week as we reflected on gender equality and opportunities and the UN’s 5th sustainable development goal on gender equality.
On a daily basis in our school, girls achieve great things; academically in class, giving excellent presentations and completing great projects and in extra curricular activities, e.g olympiads, sports events, musical shows, art exhibitions and more. This is as it should be. We want all our students whatever their gender, background or ethnicity to achieve success and flourish and for this to be completely normal. All three programmes encourage inclusion and valuing the whole child.
Their message is clear. Gender equality strengthens the entire community. When we exclude the perspectives of half the population, we don’t just lose out on talent—we lose out on the solutions to our most complex problems.
Thank you to Vasiliki and the ES team for sharing flowers and gifts with our female team members this week. You are very kind!
International Women’s Week shouldn't be a standalone event on the calendar; it should be the lens through which we view our daily interactions all year round. Are we ensuring every voice is heard in group work? Are we challenging "casual" bias when we hear it in the playground? Are we encouraging our boys to be allies in the pursuit of equity? Indeed boys sometimes see negative images of girls and women on social media and may absorb the wrong information about the role of girls and women in our society. It is important for us at school and for parents at home to model and explain the concept of inclusion and why it is so important, so they also become champions of it.
This week students for MYP also attended the Euromaths event in Paphos where they enjoyed making presentations and attending workshops related to maths. Pre-Primary PYP classes enjoyed a visit to the planetarium this week to help them with their learning. Thank you so much to Nikos and Sonja for organising and accompanying the students.
On March 10th PYP students of grades 2 and for had a meeting with Lida Nizhnikova-the founder and a dedicated volunteer of the Life for Unity foundation, which focuses on humanitarian projects, particularly building schools in Africa and supporting women and children in Nepal.The discussion highlighted the importance of community engagement, education, and unity. There will be another meeting with secondary students and Waldorf and Montessori programmes’ students next week as part of our Service week. Thank to you the committee who look after engagement with the local community for facilitating this visit.
On Friday our Diploma programme students presented their art work from their course at their final DP visual Arts exhibition at the Warehouse by IT Quarter gallery in Limassol. This exhibition will also carry on on Saturday so please take the time to visit as their work is so creative and inspirational and reflects their hard work over the last two years. Well done to Natasha for all her efforts to get to this point and to Vasia for supporting her as faculty Lead. I am sure it will be a great success and that lots of our team members visit and support the exhibition.
Have a relaxing weekend in the Spring sunshine.
Best Regards
Deborah Economou
Head of School