ISL Magazine Archives - ISC Research

Sustaining Schools Through Wellbeing, Values, and Culture

Jan 7, 2026 | ISL Magazine, Leadership, Wellbeing

This quarter’s ISL Magazine theme explores a question every school, regardless of context or curriculum, must eventually face: how can support for staff, students, and communities be sustained over time? Three contributors – Matthew Savage from The Mona Lisa Effect, Steven W. Edwards from Vega Schools, and Olivia Bugden from Hochalpines Institut Ftan (HIF) – approach this question from different angles, yet their insights reveal a shared imperative. For schools to truly flourish, they must treat wellbeing, values, and culture not as parallel initiatives but as interconnected forces shaping international education.

We Can Do Hard Things: Empowering Young People to Face Challenges

Dec 8, 2025 | ISL Magazine

At Hochalpines Institut Ftan, wellbeing isn’t just a lesson, it’s a way of helping students face challenges head-on. From classroom setbacks to rock climbing on the mountainside, students learn to recognise discomfort, manage their responses, and grow from hard experiences, discovering that resilience and self-awareness are skills that extend far beyond school.

The Future of Primary Assessment: Why Alignment, Accessibility and Analytics Matter More Than Ever

Dec 1, 2025 | ISL Magazine

Today’s international classrooms need assessment that truly sees every learner. Designed with teachers and multilingual students in mind, Hachette Learning’s Advancing Primary assessments offer fair, curriculum-aligned tools that surface real understanding, guide responsive teaching and help every child move forward with confidence.

Building School Culture Through Value-Driven Recruitment

Oct 31, 2025 | ISL Magazine, Wellbeing

At Vega Schools in India, staff wellbeing starts with recruitment. By hiring and developing educators who align with core values of empathy, innovation, excellence, collaboration, and integrity, the school fosters a culture where teachers and students alike can thrive.

What is your Wellbeing Footprint?

Oct 14, 2025 | ISL Magazine, Leadership, Wellbeing

In this article, Matthew Savage challenges us, as school leaders, to apply to both our decisions and choices a simple litmus test. What might be the impact on the wellbeing of members of the school community, and how might we offset that?

Leading for Belonging: A Playbook for International School Leaders

Aug 7, 2025 | ISL Magazine, Leadership

At UNIS Hanoi, the Elementary Leadership Team leads with purpose, fostering belonging, trust, and inclusive decision-making across the school. By valuing diverse perspectives and the transformative power of joy and play, they aim to cultivate a thriving, collaborative learning environment for both students and educators.

The Critical Incident Office: Supporting Students and Staff during Experiential Learning Programs

Aug 7, 2025 | ISL Magazine, Safeguarding, Wellbeing

Nicolas Forde highlights the Critical Incident Office as a key element of effective risk management, enabling experiential learning programmes to operate with confidence through clear protocols, collaborative decision-making, and a culture of transparency.

Empowering Through Education: A Sustainable Community Engagement Initiative at Pathways School Noida

Aug 7, 2025 | ISL Magazine, Sustainability, Teaching & learning

Vivek Mukherjee shares how Pathways School Noida’s collaboration with Sai Bal Sansar blends service and learning through a sustained Creativity, Activity, Service initiative. By teaching and engaging with children from underprivileged backgrounds, students not only address educational disparities but also develop empathy, leadership, and academic skills through community-focused learning.

How International Schools Can Help Multilingual Learners Find Their Voice

Aug 7, 2025 | ISL Magazine, Teaching & learning

Laura Spargo explores practical strategies for supporting multilingual learners in international schools. She highlights inclusive, whole-school approaches – such as translanguaging, visual aids, and pre-teaching vocabulary – that help integrate language development into everyday learning.

Skate, Collaborate, Persevere: An Innovative Approach to Social and Emotional Learning

Aug 7, 2025 | Future pathways, ISL Magazine, Wellbeing

Matt Magowan highlights the role of Physical Education in fostering social and emotional learning, aligning with the OECD Future of Education 2030 report’s call for holistic education. He describes how perseverance strategies are developed through activities like skateboarding and reinforced through cross-curricular approaches that integrate storytelling, collaboration, and transferable skills.

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