Director's Wave | Volume 5 Edition 25

Dear CIS Community,

Somethings to Ponder

“Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.” - attributed to Joseph Parry

Last night I had the pleasure of being an audience member of our final Open Mic of this school year in Camana Bay. Students, staff and parents of all ages performed to the delight of the CIS community and beyond - including those who passed by who stopped to enjoy the music and the poise of our children. This morning I had the pleasure of talking with High School students as they shared their student preparation habits. In the afternoon I took a break from my meeting schedule and walked through the Grade 2 Oceans PBL (Project Based Learning) celebration. Similar to the Open Mic, the chat with High School students, cheering on our Middle School Volleyball Teams earlier in the week -  I caught myself smiling out of the blue by the positive bustling and hum of people engaged in learning, sharing, and working together. There certainly was genuine warmth and excitement. It struck me that these things were not by accident. The tournaments, Open Mics, settings for learning conversations, and PBL’s are a result of the continuity that permeates our school. These programs are a result of students, staff and parents working together and the cultivation of programming by dedicated people over time.

The retention data of our students and staff help tell a story that our school can be very proud of. This year we achieved a 92% student retention rate and 89% staff retention rate. These numbers are impressive, especially when noting that our community and staff has a number of  expatriates. Behind these retention numbers lies something very meaningful - a testament to what we have here at Cayman International School. Indeed, our student body has grown by 28% since 2020 and our staff retention has increased 9% from 80% in 2020 to 89% this year - which is well above the world average for international schools.

Beyond the Numbers - Balancing Stability Whilst Being Dynamic

When students return year after year, magic happens in our classrooms. Faculty and staff can build upon learning relationships, understanding each people’s learning style, strengths, areas for growth, and more. This continuity allows for the kind of personalized education that exemplifies our three C’s of our learning definition - Conceptual Learning, Competency Learning and Character Learning. Similarly, when new students join CIS it allows for new perspectives, strength in diversity, and joys of making new friends and keeping old friends alike.

When our dedicated and skilled faculty and staff choose to stay, over time - they become mentors, guides, and can be lifelong influences in our students' journeys. When people stay too long schools can become complacent. A balance is needed to foster community and institutional knowledge, allow for change, contribute to and add to our culture in meaningful ways, and create a stable yet dynamic, nurturing environment that allows children to take risks, grow, and thrive. Similarly, when new faculty and staff join CIS it allows for new perspectives, strength in diversity, implementation of new ideas, learning from each other and the joys of making new friends and keeping old friends alike.

As this school year nears its final month we continue to move forward with our Strategic Plan and investing in what makes CIS special: our people, our programs, and our shared commitment to our mission of Connect, Inspire and Serve. And with our healthy balance of high student and staff retention with just the right number of new people - we will keep listening and learning, while maintaining our Community Principles of Kindness, Partnership, Sustainability and Good Intent that make families and staff want to call CIS their home and home and away from home.

Wishing you pleasant weekend - sincerely,

Jim Urquhart
Director - Cayman International School