ISB has celebrated another important milestone with the opening of the new Learning Commons, and the excitement and pride for the new space is tangible! Bringing the Library back to ISB’s main campus has made it more accessible and convenient to visit, opening up new opportunities for our students, and welcoming three times more visitors than before.
Our Library program is integral to supporting ISB’s core values, especially inquiry-based learning and language immersion. With the Library’s move back to ISB’s main campus, students across all divisions now have access to the space. In addition to the Preschool and Lower School students who visit with their classes throughout the day, the Learning Commons welcomes Middle Schoolers during recess, when they have the opportunity to check out books, read, or help out. Middle School students are also using the Learning Commons for study halls during the day and after school. Now that the Technology Office is housed in the Lower Level, it is also easier for students to borrow laptops for class research projects and other activities.
We look forward to hosting research skills lessons in the Library for all grade levels, which will support our students’ ability to do independent work and give them strategies they will use throughout their lives.
With this space, the entire ISB community now has a place to research, work, and read. Teachers have been using the Learning Commons to work during their prep periods, caretakers have been visiting it to read with children after school, and parents are using it as a place to do homework before activities. The Learning Commons is also being used for club meetings, advisory classes, tutoring, and so much more.
Small classes and tutoring sessions take place throughout the day in the glass-walled Middle School Study Room, which gets its name because it is reserved for Middle School student use after school and during MS Library hours. Students are able to use this space to study quietly, work on homework, or conduct research for upcoming class projects.
Another benefit of the new Learning Commons is that Nursery and Pre-K students can have library classes in the Library (rather than in their classrooms). The students are very excited to visit the Learning Commons, and they already know how to use browsing sticks. They have been proudly giving tours of the Library to their parents and caregivers, and we are delighted to see their enthusiasm about reading and learning.
“Since day one, the new ISB Library has been adopted and utilized by the ISB community. It adds cohesion to our school, and it is amazing to see how many families and students instantly feel at home with this much needed resource.” – Melissa, ISB Parent
“It’s more accessible and open. It feels like a real community space.” -Leslie, ISB Parent
The Learning Commons is a place of opportunity, where students are encouraged to strive for and achieve success, develop a passion for reading, and explore the world around them. We are so excited and thankful for this wonderful new space.
Here are some of our students’ reactions to the new Learning Commons in their own words:
