By Lucy M. Gowdie, Head of School
The words our children think in, read in, and listen in, are shaped by the cultures into which they are born, the languages of their homes, and the multitude of countries that they journey through in their lives.
Our school has been an English-medium school since its inception. Cementing its place in Zurich as the only IB Continuum School in the region, ICS is a school renowned for the quality of our teachers, the depth of the learning experience, our exceptional Diploma Programme results, and our commitment to every individual.
As a truly international school, we celebrate the diversity of all learners in our environment, those who come into this school with a multitude of languages other than English, and who work with our exceptional teachers to advance their English proficiency in the current programmes enabling them to access the depth of the IB curriculum across the Primary, Middle and Diploma years.
At ICS, we have recognised that there is a need to enhance our beginner English offering, in a space that allows for intensive instruction and the necessary support for students to succeed. Thus, it is with much excitement that I introduce to our community today, Alegría, the ICS Intensive English Acquisition Programme.
"Alegría, meaning joy, speaks to the place beyond happiness, a place we hope to lead all students to on this journey of English language acquisition."
Commencing this August, Alegría is an exciting moment in the life of our school, one that celebrates our commitment to being a school where everyone belongs, and where our students feel safe to be themselves, to learn at their own pace, and to lead their learning.
Unique to the Inter-Community School and driven by a commitment to enabling students to learn in the English medium, the programme is designed to propel students’ English language proficiency while working in conjunction with our Middle Years Programme, guided by our expert English as an Additional Language educators.
For prospective students interested in entering the School, but with a beginner standard of English that would usually preclude them, Alegría allows students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 to start their learning journey with ICS.
We are a proudly diverse school, a welcoming, and committed school, and Alegría speaks to our determination to extend the offering we provide while holding fast to the traditional medium of instruction in our school – English.
We look forward to sharing more details with our broader community in the coming weeks, and to enrolling our first students in this exciting new programme in the 2023-2024 school year.