OUR VISION:

Overnight trips at the International School of Stuttgart aim to facilitate holistic learning in accordance with our vision, mission and philosophies. ISS school trips are designed to aid our students to reach their full creative, intellectual, moral and physical potential and support their development as life long learners and compassionate and environmentally aware global citizens.

The Sindelfingen trips program is constantly evolv-ing, but we aim to give you here a taste of what your Sindelfingen student can expect in their time at ISS.

Overnight Class Trips:

There are three areas of focus for our overnight trips that weave their way through the K - 12 ISS experience. The intent is to provide a variety of opportunities for those with us in the long term and for those with us for three years or less.The trips that fall under this category are covered by school tuition and the expectations and rules of behavior are consistent with those outlined in the ISS Family Handbooks.

Sindelfingen TripsMiddle Years: The Rhine Valley, Oberwesel This trip to Oberwesel in the Rhine Valley helps teachers and students build a bond of trust and encourages team work. Projects are designed to investigate the geology of the area, the historical importance of the river and its castles and the use of the river today. The Lorelei in litertature is another focus of the trip.

Rotterdam, Holland This trip furthers the ecological studies and fieldwork skills covered in the Science classroom.

Diploma Years: Barcelona Delta, Spain Internal assessment (IA) is an integral part of all courses in the Diploma Program and is compulsory for both higher level and standard level students. This one week trip to Barcelona has proven to be an excellent location for all humanities students to engage in work leading up to their IAs. Geography students, in particular have the unique opportunity to work at the Barcelona Field Study Centre, collecting data for the development of their assessment report.

THE ENVIRONMENT:

Many of our students come to the Stuttgart/ Sindelfingen area from an urban environment. Others come from a single climate and together both types of students discover the “green” beauty of our host cities, enjoying a forest breeze and the magic of falling snow in the winter. Taking advantage of our beautiful and varied envi-ronment, ISS teaches our learners to appreciate the natural world by understanding its beauty, impor-tance and fragility. This area of focus connects in class learning and projects with other activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme or the Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) program.

Early Years: Local excursions

Primary Years: Schwäbische Alb & Thüringen Youth hostel based field trips to areas of outstanding natural beauty, of cultural heritage, tradition and educational opportunities to extend the children’s understanding of the regions they are visiting.

PEACE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, CREATIVITY:

Located in the shadow of internationally innovative corporate leaders such as Bosch, Daimler, Porsche and Trumpf, ISS believes in our mission to develop future creative problem solvers who will collaborate to produce a better future. In addition to supporting our curriculum, or working in partnership with our corporate supporters, ISS has created a “creative” trip that focuses on our Middle Years Program students.

Middle Years: Vienna, Austria Students combine studies of the historical role of Vienna at the crossroads of Europe with investigation into the work of the United Nations in the areas of security and sustain- able development. Contemporary Art alongside Baroque opulance; Vienna has also long been a breeding ground for the creative international art scene and students have plenty of opportunity on this trip to give rein to their own creativity.

Creativity

BUILDING CHARACTER:

Character development is a key component of the ISS mission, an essential task for schools promoting international mindedness and global leadership. Working in groups, ISS students from Early Years to Diploma learn to rely on and be respon-sible for one another in a variety of settings, aligning in class learning with other experiences such as sports, performance and service to others.

Primary Years: Mühlhausen, Germany Taking place on the Schwäbische Alb this trip combines outdoor learning activities with activities that relate to the students units and supports the IB Learner Profile in an outdoor classroom setting.

Middle Years: Hohenstaufen, Germany This trip offers a variety of team building activities and collaborative challenges designed for group and individual character development.

Diploma Years: Berlin, Germany Grade 12 students will be travelling to Berlin to present their final TOK presentations. While in Berlin they will experience among others, a “third Reich’ tour and various museums including the fascinating Pergamon Museum.

* It should be noted that in the 10th grade, students will be aligning interdisciplinary interests with their own creativity and responsibility through the rigorous Personal Project. In addition, 10th graders will be spending two weeks working with a local business as an intern, learning aboutprofessional accountability and responsibility as an introduction to the business world at large.

Upper School:SPANISH EXCHANGE (approximate cost 400 €)Students learning Spanish are offered an exchange trip to Almeria in southern Spain. During their time there students explore the local environment, learning which crops are grown and how climate and changing market demands affect this. The students also learn about the habits and customs in a different culture and have the opportunity to explain and share their culture through the exchange visits to each others’ families. The trip is also one which builds character as students need to cope with being away from their families, adjusting to living and cooperating with someone they do not know at all - challenging them to step ouof their comfort zones.

INTERNATIONAL AWARD / DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD (approximate cost 100 €)The International Award is known as “das Jugendprogramm” in Germany or the ‘Duke of Edinburgh’ award in the UK, and over 7 million young people have participated worldwide. The Award program is closely aligned with our school’s mission and can be viewed as a partner to the IB programs offered at ISS. The Award program is available to students from the age of 14 years and designed to challenge personal development in the areas of service, skill, and physical recreation. The students also plan and take part in expeditions after having received training in first aid, orienteering and camping skills. The program leads to three award levels (bronze, silver and gold), which demand an increasing degree of commitment and competence in all sections. We are proud to have an enthusiastic team of teachers, parents and student award holders who supervise our students taking the challenge.

MODEL UNITED NATIONS (approximate cost 250 € depending on location)Every year, the MUN Directors at ISS offer at least two trips for students to attend MUN conferences at schools around the world. Any ISS student in grades 9-12 can apply to join the MUN team, though selection is limited to a small group of 15 students to allow the students the chance to fully participate in the experience. Students prepare for the conference with help from peers and staff, and then spend a weekend away having mock debates and voting procedures as if they were part of the United Nations. Students develop their ability to research current topics of world significance, think critically about a topic from multiple perspectives, and speak clearly and persuasively in debates and speeches. The conferences that ISS attend ever year change based on our school calendar, though in the recent years ISS has attended conferences at international schools in Arnhem (NL), Alkmaar (NL), Budapest (HU), and Istanbul (TR). Attendance at a conference is a fantastic opportunity for students to work with other students from around the world and to experience the culture of the host country through scheduled outings and through their stay with host families.

VOLUNTARY TRIPS (additional cost):

Lower School: MATHS QUEST (approximate cost 500 € depending on location)Maths Quest is an international event for children under the age of 12. Organized through and on behalf of the European Council of International Schools (ECIS), it involves 3 days of Mathematics competition designed to promote students capabilities and extend skills through collaborative, fun competition. Maths Quest was started in 1996 and teams of Grade 5 and select Grade 6 students take part each year. Following preparation and practice, which involves challenge, engagement and problem solving, a team of four is selected to represent the school. The event provides useful opportunities for teachers to connect with other schools and share best practice. Maths is championed, celebrated and recognized as the international language it truly is.

SERVICE TRIPS (additional cost):

For many years we have been working on the premise that service to others is an important part of the ISS education. We are building more and more opportunities here in Stuttgart but have also enjoyed the opportunity to help build homes through Habitat for Humanity and, starting three years ago, help a school for disadvantaged children in Pune, India. Now we will be offering an opportunity to experience school service in a continent that will prove to be hugely significant for the future of our students: Africa. ISS believes that in addition to promoting service at home, it is important to introduce strategically important regions of the world that will have significant impact on our current global citizens.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY (approximate cost 1,500 €)Leaving in late June for two weeks, the Habitat for Humanity trip, a long standing tradition at ISS, provides students the opportunity to work with others to build, under professional supervision, simple, decent housing, affordable to low-income families around the world. Whenever possible, Habitat groups build sustainable, energy-efficient and healthy housing and prior to the trip, students organize fund raising initiatives to provide financial support to the organization, the families benefitting from the new home and to defray trip costs. Typically, the Habitat site for ISS is in Rumania.

PUNE, INDIA (approximate cost 1,900 €)Introduced in 2012, this 10 day trip in late June to early July, works in conjunction with the Mercedes Benz International School (MBIS), an IB World School. Our students travel to Pune to work and support disabled children, especially those with cerebral palsy, at the Catholic boarding school, Snehalaya. ISS students will be working directly in the classrooms with the students under the Snehalaya teachers’ supervision with our ISS chaperones also in attendance.

During the trip, the ISS students will also have the opportunity to see some cultural highlights of Pune and the region.

Any students accepted will be expected to prepare for the experience by working up to 2 days in a Stuttgart school for handicapped children, as well as attending a couple of sessions on working with handicapped children. These experiences will be organized by the school.

SOUTH AFRICA (approximate cost 1,600 €)The organization providing this trip is called JAM (Joint Aid Management) an NGO that focuses on “helping Africa help itself.” ISS has enjoyed an association with JAM through a former teacher at ISS and a former summer counselor for our Summer Program. JAM’s focus is on education, nutrition/food and water. They go into schools and kindergartens and provide a meal a day for the children there. By going to school, the children get a meal and education so that they will have the tools to help themselves in the future.The student group will build and renovate a new kindergarten in a township outside of Johannesburg. They will help provide facilities for a better living standard and provide the school with teaching materials and toys. Specific jobs will include laying foundations, painting buildings and fences, planting and installing playground equipment. ISS students will get to know the children, play with them and feed them daily portions of porridge from JAM.

During the trip students will spend one night in the Pielansesberg National Park, where they will have the opportunity to take part in a game drive.

Experiential learning