ISV Values & Mission
At the International School of Vantaa education is arranged in accordance with the principles of lifelong learning and the pupils becoming responsible members of the society. Education increases the pupils’ willingness to develop oneself to meet the challenges of a changing environment, and to educate themselves for new tasks. It supports the growth of individuality and a sense of community.
Education prepares the pupils for acting in a democratic society. It supports the growth of forming responsible decisions and independent choices. Comprehensive education supports the pupils’ growth towards a sustainable, healthy life style and the evaluation and development of it. The pupils explore their cultural heritage and are guided in developing culture and in becoming an active member in an increasingly international world.
The underlying values of our school are:
- Belonging
- Responsibility
- Respect
The values of the basic education in city of Vantaa are:
- Well-being
- Joy of learning
- Respect of others
Belonging
It is important for children to feel that they belong to the school as a community. Belonging to the school community brings the children a sense of safety and self-worth and help in building confidence. Students of various ages are encouraged to interact with each other and possibilities for this are created through school activities. Students get a feeling of pride for their work when appreciation is shown by having their work on display at school. The entire school community shows its support and encouragement for the work of the children. This way the children also learn to respect for other people’s work. Students get a sense of pride for their whole school community and are proud of being part of it.
Responsibility
We cherish responsibility as a cornerstone of the school and community. The students are encouraged to learn to be responsible for their actions. They contribute to the well-being of the school and interactions with their peers through their actions. Through responsibility they take ownership of their own learning. Teachers support students in their journey towards becoming responsible citizens. Students learn to take responsibility of their relationships to their peers and teachers. They learn ways to resolve conflicts that they face in their everyday life. They learn responsibility for their own belongings and respect for other people’s belongings.
Respect
Our school values respectful behavior towards people, the learning environment and our natural environments. The students are guided in their everyday life to polite ways of interaction with other people. They are taught that all people, regardless of their background, are valuable and deserve respect. Students learn that all life is valuable and learn ways in which they can take care of their environment.
These values are a part and parcel of the way of life in our school. The teachers serve as an example for our values. The values are much more than a statement of intent, but are lived out by the school community on a daily basis, on lessons, in informal meetings and all interactions.
Equality and Non-Discrimination
At the International School of Vantaa, we promote equality and equity in all components of life at school amongst all members of our very diverse community. We aspire to uphold values of non-discrimination from all possible perspectives. We believe in the nurturing of our student and teacher body. All comprehensive schools make an Equality and Non-Discrimination Plan in cooperation with the students. The purpose of this plan is to highlight issues that could lead to inequality and discrimination, and to create mechanisms that promote an equal and non-discriminating working environment at school.
Instead of providing our plan in the standard written form we decided to have a more visual appeal to our plan by involving students in the process by tasking them with video project where they had to make videos about what equality at ISV means to them. The process proved highly enjoyable and rewarding and we are definitely super proud of our students and the values promoted at our school.