The Resilience of our Community
22 August 2025
The final faculty meeting this past June will stand out as one of the more memorable staff gatherings of the past several years. Our Head of School’s decision to leave ICS for personal reasons came as a great surprise to the whole community, requiring initial processing followed by a robust plan of action. With the support of the Board of Trustees, the Interim Leadership Team quickly responded and worked throughout the summer preparing for every eventuality. We anticipated that the community would be supportive, but were not expecting what would happen as the staff arrived on 5 August and the students shortly after. I cannot fully describe the environment on campus these past few weeks other than that it was one of joy, excitement, and incredible resilience. In truth, we have always been a special community, handling change with grace and comradery and these first days have been no different.
If you visited our campus over these last nine days, you would have seen bubbly children, full of energy. You may have seen staff welcoming children and groups of students bouncing into buildings. What you likely didn’t see was the time and energy poured into ensuring that the quality of education and care for our young people remained at the highest standard.
The operations and administrative teams were busy finding innovative spaces where learning would thrive throughout this next phase of our building project. Engagement was busy welcoming new families. Our administrative assistants were figuring out lockers, calendar dates and checking off seemingly endless tasks. Our IT team was getting new equipment ready for our students and HR, Admissions and Finance were busy getting documentation and systems in order. These are just a few of the many tasks in each department, but all united in the spirit of determination and purpose.
Similarly, our education teams were pressing forward in collaboration, planning and professional development. They have come back rejuvenated and determined to do what they do best amidst the new structures. We were fortunate to recruit an exceptional group of new teaching staff who are bringing extensive experience and fresh perspectives. Despite the inevitable chaos of relocating from faraway places, such as Singapore, Japan, Spain and Australia (as so many of you have also experienced), they too have shown resilience by integrating quickly into our culture and prioritising the needs of their students.
In my nearly twenty years of working at ICS, I have never been more proud of our entire community and its commitment to excellence as we have adapted to recent changes. Thank you for your trust in our staff who have all gone above and beyond to ensure that your children are flourishing at school. It is an enormous pleasure to serve on the Leadership Team as we continue the exciting work led by Ms Gowdie and guided by our strategic plan. As we diligently prepare for our new Head of School, we look forward to continuing our invaluable partnership with you, our wonderful families. May we all continue to exemplify our core values through being welcoming, committed, humble, and of course, resilient.
In partnership,
Lindy Hirt
Middle School Principal