Director's Wave | Volume 6 Edition 35

 Vol 6 Ed 35 2025-2026 SY 19 June 2026 JU

Dear CIS Community,

Something to Ponder

“School’s out.” - Alice Cooper

“Longing for something that you once had is a mistake because the pictures in your mind are never the same as whatever it is you are longing for.” -Jane Urquhart

The 2025-2026 school year has come to a close for our students. Thank you for the community’s collective support and spirit throughout the school year. Thank you to our curious students, supportive parents, and our dedicated faculty and staff. Our setting is beautiful, yet it is the people that make CIS special - you make CIS a great place to be, to do, to learn, to discover, and to grow. To our friends who are leaving the CIS Community, we wish you the best - may the next time we see you be soon come. In the words of Seneca, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.” To our returning CIS families or newly enrolled for the 2026-2027 school year, our team looks forward to seeing you in August!

On the last day of school our students received the 2025-2026 CIS Yearbook. As the adage goes, one should not judge a book by its cover - well the yearbook has an exceptional front and back cover which is a harbinger for a well designed and developed book inside - congratulations to our students who designed, developed and made the yearbook. School yearbooks tend to have multiple lifetimes because people of all ages share and revisit school memories at different times from various perspectives. There is something special about the tangible experience of flipping through a book. While phones and other platforms store countless photos and videos that might be edited, become gossip fodder, or might simply be forgotten in the ubiquity of cloud storage, the hard-copy experience tends to endure over virtual reality. Case in point: the Epic of Gilgamesh still endures today, 4,500ish years after it was written on clay tablets. Indeed, yearbooks can be described as “real reality.” 

During this school year, a very brief cross section of world events includes Artemis II had humans return to closeup moon exploration and set the record (as far as we know) for the farthest distance humans have travelled off Earth, 25% of the world’s population living in conflict zones - the highest level of global conflict since World War II, 25% of the world’s population lacks reliable access to safe drinking water and AI generated biomarkers improving cancer treatments. Over the past decade, military spending has increased three times faster than spending on education and continues to rise month by month. YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram each have more than three billion users worldwide; yet, with this level of connectivity, people are finding it more difficult to connect - an ongoing lesson in irony. The World Happiness Report noted that acts of kindness and trust in others are more accurate and reliable predictors of happiness than income levels. There is a chance that these developments may have affected, or will affect, you and your family’s life today or in the future.

On a much lighter note, in pop culture, Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift, Drake, Bruno Mars and The Weeknd, are reported to be the most streamed artists this year as of June 2026. Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka are the highest paid female athletes in the world. Spain is favoured to win the 2026 Men’s World Cup (though their recent tie with Cabo Verde has created some wonder), and Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic. Unfortunately, my annual prediction that the Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup, once again aged poorly.

Looking closer to home, during the 2025-2026 school year, what will you and your children remember about our wonderful school, and our beautiful home, the Cayman Islands? No doubt you have memories to reflect on, reminisce with, laugh about, and cherish. It is hoped that your memories retain more ups than downs and more smiles than frowns - despite the notion that we learn from mistakes and diamonds are formed by pressure. Your children may remember their academic successes, learning to manage challenges, their development as an athlete, their growth as an artist, new friendships, examples of citizenship, and the support they received from caring teachers, family, and friends. Whatever memories you and your family carry, I hope they are accompanied by a genuine smile and a sense of accomplishment when thinking about the 2025-2026 school year. To graduating class of 2026 - peace by your journey and may your return visit to CIS be soon come.

On a personal note, after six years serving with CIS and thirty-years serving in international schools around the world, my wife and I are graduating from both CIS and the Cayman Islands, as we return home for the first time since the 1900s. We are humbled and honoured to have worked alongside dedicated students, staff, and community members, collectively contributing to CIS’s ongoing excellence - thank you.

Looking to the future - next school year we welcome Mr. Chris Akin who was hired in May 2025 to begin serving as the Director of CIS starting August 2026. Chris and I have been in regular communication throughout this school year and he was engaged in are most recent review and refresh of the CIS Strategic Plan. Currently in Spain, Chris is very excited to be here onsite in late July.

From a planning standpoint - please note the 2026-2027 school year and 2027-2028 school year calendars on the CIS Website.

• Wednesday 20 August 2026 - the first day of school for students for the 2026-2027 school year
  • This is a full day of school. What a great day!
• Saturday 30 August 2026 - the Annual Welcome Back BBQ!
  • The CIS Community looks forward to seeing you there.

Be kind, be peaceful. Remember to eat more vegetables than donuts. Move more than sit on the couch. Read more and scroll less. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat ice cream from time to time and thank at least three people each day.

Sincerely,

Jim

Jim Urquhart

Director - Cayman International School