Everything is possible, again
15 August 2025
My son was born in a place called Jabriya (الجابرية) one minute after 18:00 in early September. I will never forget the feeling of holding his tiny hand in my own for the first time, the sweet smell of his breath, the impossible softness of his newborn skin. As my wife and I marvelled over this tiny human miracle, I was reminded of a quote from a Jonathan Safran Foer book I had read many years prior. At the occasion of his own child’s birth, a friend replied to the good news by simply stating, “Everything is possible again.”
This was, and still is, very much the way I feel every time I get a glimpse of the world through the bright blue eyes of my little boy. His questions hardly fail to surprise me. His curiosity seems boundless. His drive to explore, test, taste, touch, smell, and see all within his reach is relentless. It is hard to imagine ever growing tired of his “Daddy, what’s that?” interjections. Of course, he is still very small. And, life gets complicated. But as a parent, I want nothing more than for my son to enjoy himself, others, and the world around him. I want him to experience the joy of learning and becoming. I want everything to be possible for him, but for his own path to be personal and meaningful.
The hope I carry into each new academic year for our students is not too dissimilar. I want our students to come to school each day filled with excitement and anticipation of what they will learn, what they will achieve, who they will become. I want everything to be possible for them, again. Schools have the unique and distinct privilege of being able to hit the ‘reset’ button and start afresh each year. In other aspects of life we may not be so fortunate. Bills will always need paying, homes will always need upkeeping. Depending on one’s line of work, fresh starts may only come with a big career change.
And so, as we enter the 2025-2026 academic year, I would encourage everyone to embrace this opportunity to make the most of each novel moment. Whether it be a pre-K child’s first brush with classrooms, backpacks, and lunch boxes, or a Grade 12 student’s first reckoning with a University application, I hope that they experience these moments with joy and expectation.
From our side, I can confidently say that our summer preparations have brought us into the year with renewed energy, enthusiasm, and purpose. We simply could not wait to see students back on campus. Sleepy as they may be in these first days, it is such a gift to see students arriving each morning with beautiful bright smiles, happy to see one another again, eager to catch up on their summer holidays, and ready to re-connect with what it means to be a student at ICS. In this new year, may we all hold on to the belief that for our students everything is possible, again.
In partnership,
Gabriel Di Mauro
Secondary Principal
Interim ex-officio Head of School