Gabriel Di Mauro, Secondary Principal
7 January 2025
As part of my ICS learning journey, I decided to spend a day in the life of a Grade 10 student and a Grade 7 student. My goal was to gain first-hand experience of the daily rhythms that frame life and learning at the heart of our community. To limit the observer effect, I donned an ICS hoodie, adjusted my posture, grabbed my bag, and headed to class.
To be sure, the beard was a dead giveaway, and I never truly believed I would become invisible. And yet, to my happy surprise, it did not take long for students and teachers to treat me as a fellow learner. Soon enough, I was acting out scenes from Macbeth, analysing maps and graphs, and talking about my ideal desayuno sano. I got to navigate the lunch line, spend some time outside, hand in work to be assessed, and experience the warm welcome of morning tutorial.
In every class, I witnessed engaging teachers and engaged students. I took part in dynamic lessons where students and teachers swap roles of facilitator/participant, and where children truly are supported to reach their potential, develop their passions, and embrace responsibility.
I was amazed, but not surprised, by the brilliance of our learners, their care for one another, their readiness to take risks, their reflectiveness, and their belief in their own abilities. It had been a long time since I filled the shoes of a secondary student. At the end of each day, I went home feeling filled, refreshed, and touch fatigued by all I’d learnt.
More than anything, I came away with an even deeper respect for the work our students and teachers engage in every day. I am sincerely grateful to all the students and teachers who hosted me and I look forward to continuing my learning journey.
In partnership,
Gabriel Di Mauro
Secondary Principal