Students are genuinely interested in each other's backgrounds, cultures and experiences and are given the opportunity to share their experiences in class.
Our annual Open Day, is only one of the many ways H.I.S. celebrates the cultural diversity within the school and encourages an environment of tolerance and openness.
A strong sense of community also extends to students' families. Many parents make arrangements for car-pooling, after school play dates and get-togethers.
Parents are a wonderful resource for new families on `how to´ or `where to´ in Heidelberg and Germany, and ex-patriots often find a great deal of support in adjusting to their new surroundings from within the H.I.S. community.
Many H.I.S. students have experienced at least one international move and can relate to how daunting the experience of joining a new school in a new country can be.
Therefore a feeling of empathy among the students plays an important role in making new students feel at ease and accepted by their new peers. Additionally the fact that H.I.S. is still a small school ensures that it never takes long to get to know everyone anyway!
There are lots of opportunities for parents to be a part of school life, such as reading to students in the classroom, assisting on field trips, becoming a Class Volunteer Co-ordinator or working within the Parent Teacher Group (PTG).
Interaction between home and school is encouraged as it enhances the learning environment of all students. The H.I.S. parent community is seen as a very rich and important asset.
PTG Planning Team parent contacts:
Sarah Campbell - President
Astrid Kilimann - Secretary
Soraya Stuart - Communications
Patty Ryan - Treasurer
General communication to parents takes place by email. The H.I.S. Newsletter is emailed to parents weekly. Parents are welcome to share or request information from other families (for example: babysitters, public events) through the newsletter.
Class teachers also share what is going on in the classroom with the parents through a class bulletin by email. The frequency of this is at the teachers' discretion. Class bulletins are available on the log-in section of this website.
