The Primary Years Programme (PYP) at ISD encourages children to address complex social and environmental issues, and to make positive changes in their local communities. This year, grade 3 students took on the challenge of making sustainable products from salt dough, wood, and paper. These included Christmas decorations, origami sculptures, candlesticks, games such as Tic Tac Toe, and hot chocolate and marshmallow packs, which they sold to the ISD community.
Things ran a little differently this year, with the children making prototypes, taking pictures and selling products online in advance. Unlike previous years, students were required to produce entirely on demand, delivering the finished products to the ISD community this week just in time for Christmas.
For the students, it was a thought-provoking process. They quickly realised how rewarding it is to make products with sustainable materials. They spent most of their time in the Outdoor Learning Environment (OLE), trying their hand at different techniques such as sawing, welding, sanding and experimenting with different gluing techniques and colours.
“Following the Sustainable Choices unit, students were aware of how products with a low environmental impact are created,” said Steve Barratt, Elementary School Principal. “This has also been a focus in previous years, but this year the students had to find a balance between using recyclable and compostable materials and creating an online market experience where more packaging is required.” Things like candle holders for example, are made using recycled fence posts and baubles from last year’s Christmas trees.
We are pleased to report that some 1400 products were sold this year, with €1510 raised, which the students agreed will be donated to local charity, Frauen Helfen Frauen e.V. ISD Director, Frank Tschan, is proud of the school’s long and impressive history of teaching students to apply their learning for a good cause. “This is something we stood for more than 50 years.”
Founded in 1968, the International School Düsseldorf (ISD) is a non-profit, independent, co-educational day school located in the heart of the international community of Düsseldorf. As one of the oldest and largest international schools in Germany, ISD offers national and international qualifications to around 930 students from more than 50 countries. All income is reinvested in the school and benefits the students.
The school has a proud history of helping young people realise their dreams and ambitions in all walks of life and in all parts of the world. ISD provides an outstanding education that prepares students to succeed and inspires them to make a difference; an education that equips them with the skills and abilities to meet the global challenges they face. ISD strives to provide each student with the individual support they need to thrive, discover joy in learning, become autonomous and intrinsically motivated, and ultimately become the architect of their own future.
The school is proud to be the only school in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region that is authorised by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) and fully accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The school is also a member of the Association of German International Schools (AGIS) and the Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS).
International School of Düsseldorf e.V.
Niederrheinstrasse 336
40489 Düsseldorf
Telefon: +49 (211) 94066
Telefax: +49 (211) 9406804
https://www.isdedu.de/
Admissions, Alumni and External Relations Director
Telefon: +49-(0)211-9406 712
E-Mail: bcaston@isdedu.de
Marketing Manager
Telefon: +49 (0) 211-9406 822
E-Mail: ingenhovend@isdedu.de
