Page 31 - Quintile_37 web

QSI Quintile • Issue 37 • • • 31

SlOVeniA

QSI International School of Ljubljana

Sarajevo community in a “Race for the Cure” 5-K Day Three: The Games/Games Without
run, students also visited significant areas, learning Borders
place-based history from local sites telling stories
from WWI and the Balkan war of the 1990s. It was Saturday morning, the day of the games
at QSI Sarajevo, and a lot of people were nervous.
The super-supportive PSG—the Parent Support The director was patiently waiting for us. She
Group—proves themselves with a fantastic Harvest greeted us, and led us to some benches, where we
Festival, essential meetings, and cooperative waited for the other students. We were going to
interactions with students and staff. be competing in different versions of sports like
soccer, basketball, and volleyball! Soccer was called
Plans for the year include concerts, festivals, “Scooter Soccer,” which seemed to surprise people;
and a continued laser-like focus on higher- then there was “Hands-On Basketball—last but not
order thinking, intent on academic and social least, “Walleyball”.
achievement. Go, Griffins!

QSI International School of Ljubljana opened
the new school year with a new director, a newly
redone gymnasium, a new Secondary wing, and a Our trip to Sarajevo
newly invigorated culture of learning. By Lauren, Eliana, and Julia
Aaron Harnden, the new school director, Day One: On Our Way...
arrived with his family. His wife, Ada, is the 6-year-
old class teacher, and they have three young student “Beep! Beep! Beep!” My alarm clock. I was
children, and they all hit the ground running, going to Sarajevo today. I sprung out of bed, threw
working, and playing! on some clothes, and stumbled downstairs. All the
boys on the bus were singing, throwing things, and
High expectations beget high performance, yelling, so the ride took an eternity. When we got
and this is already being seen in student and staff to the hotel, due to sheer exhaustion, we slept like
performance. angels.

Solid academics, diverse and vibrant Day Two: Exploring the City...
extracurricular activities, and performance-based
demonstrations of success orientations in all-school First, we visited the Tunnel of Hope. We saw
assemblies—this school year has it all going on! what it meant to be under siege for four long years!
You could still see bullet holes—it looked like
Academics—the core raison d’être of the a honeycomb! A red splatter, indented into the
school—are strong and growing stronger. A full ground, was one of Sarajevo’s red roses, standing
slate of face-to-face classes in science, mathematics, for a person that died while fighting for their
literature, writing, and the arts, are augmented with country’s freedom. What I found most interesting
a substantive raft of online courses in Advanced was when we entered the tunnel, we as children had
Placement calculus, psychology and history. The to bend down. Then think about the warriors that
pipeline of students looking to take AP classes were carrying pounds of supplies on their backs!
in future years is full, and by graduation some
students here will usher in the new era of two years
of AP calculus.

The new classroom space for Secondary students
includes laboratory facilities, a new library space all
their own, and a lounge–study area that students
embrace with their own take on café culture. The
rapport among students and staff is genuine and
warm. All understand the need for academic high
performance, and all tacitly and overtly embrace
the success orientations underpinning this safe,
studious climate of learning.

These changes, upgrades, and expectations
are led by Aaron Harden, returning to QSI after
successful stints in Mexico and Canada. He
engages in leadership through service, seen in after-
school athletics, staying overnight for a library
sleepover, and sharing duties and celebrations of
learning. Classes rotate leading success-orientation
assemblies, weekly newsletter contributions, and a
meaningful slate of civic duties through an active
student counsel.

I thought to myself, “We can win. We can win.”
And believe it or not, we did. When Mr. Martin
announced the winners, he had three first-place
trophies! Everyone was a winner.

Later on, we went for a walk to the Latin Bridge After the trophy ceremony, we had a chance to
where Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife connect with our fellow competitors. Once it was
were assassinated, leading to events that started done, we said our goodbyes to QSI Montenegro and
World War I. Our stomachs soon began to rumble. QSI Sarajevo. Our sports day was over.
It was time for some čevapi, a local delicacy!
Day Four: Goodbye Sarajevo
We also saw a monument for all the children
that died in the war. It shows a mother protecting At about 4:30 in the morning, we woke up to the
her child. sudden noise of Lauren’s alarm clock! I grudgingly
Learning carries on outside school walls, with a got on the bus, sat down, and half-heartedly said
mixed-age group traveling to Sarajevo for “Games It was very easy to fall asleep that night, after all goodbye to my home for the past few days. Shortly
without Borders” partnering with QSI students that walking. Overall, I think we had an amazing after, I fell asleep. It felt like four days later, but was
from Bosnia and Montenegro. Joining the wider day! actually four hours later. We were home!