Director's Wave | Volume 6 Edition 14

Dear CIS Community,

Something to Ponder

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” - James Marshall Hendrix

Welcome to the 2026 portion of our school year to our incumbent families and welcome too, to our new students and families who are joining CIS later in January.

Each new year brings excitement, celebrations and challenges. Through our mission of Connect, Inspire, Serve - and our community principles of Kindness, Partnership, Sustainability, Good Intent - it is hoped that our celebrations may be deeper and challenges be smoother.

Current challenges in the world, underscore the importance of the essence of CIS’ mission, principles, and vision. Indeed a world that is more connected, kinder, and more sustainable are pillars of a strong local and global community. Over the holiday period perennial challenges of climate change, poverty and inequality, geopolitical conflicts, global health and wellness, and technological disruption have no doubt affected each of us in some way, shape or manner. In the new year, whilst checking in with fellow school heads around the world I was struck by people’s resilience as well as range of perceptions.

For many in our community, the current geopolitical conflicts are deeply complex at minimum and, for some, deeply personal. CIS being a richly diverse community, means we have people from all around the world, including people from or with close ties to Venezuela, the USA, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, Gaza, and Israel to name a few. Thus we have families, students, colleagues, friends, and acquaintances alike whose perspectives, experiences, and emotions may differ greatly from one another. This is complex for the most informed adult, let alone young person.

In times of conflict and crisis, children tend to look to their parents for a sense of meaning and comfort. The ubiquity of news, in all its shapes, forms, and modalities means that children, even younger ones may be familiar with conflicts, crises, unrest, polarity, and war happening around the world and closer to home. Some hints regarding talking about such should your child raise the subject with you include, find out what they know and feel, remain calm and developmentally appropriate, promote understanding not stereotypes, manage the deluge of media, find stories of help and support and check-in periodically. Unicef provides resources to support the above and you can find more at this link.

Closer to home …

International Festival - Saturday 31 January 2026 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at CIS

Brought to you by the CIS FSA (Family School Association), the International Festival is Saturday 31 January at CIS. This year's theme is celebrations and traditions. Sign up for a booth or come to enjoy the food or both. To make this day even a greater success than last year, our FSA needs parents, students, and staff members to come together and represent the over 40 nationalities that make up our CIS community. The Flag Parade, with representatives in their local costumes, will officially open the event. Come one come all - we look forward to seeing you at the International Festival. If you wish more information, please contact our FSA at [email protected]. 

New Year Resolutions

We are nine days into 2026 according to the Gregorian Calendar. By this time many of us have come to terms with our hopes and dreams from the New Year - dare I say a New Year resolution. Resolutions often involve something around health and happiness. Perhaps James Marshall Hendrix’s insight of when the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace, may provide support in people’s quest for health and happiness.

Wishing you health, happiness and peace in 2026 - sincerely,

Jim

Jim Urquhart

Director - Cayman International School