MIS+ Capital Campaign
The Capital Campaign for MIS
Munich International School is proud to launch its latest Capital Campaign: MIS+.
In total, we are seeking a minimum of € 9 million from donors in order to be able to build both the ‘Fitness & Athletics Building’ and the ‘Innovation Hub’.
MIS+ comprises the following four key elements arising from the School’s Strategic Plan in order to transform the lives of current and future MIS students:
- Head of School Discretionary Fund
- Fitness & Athletics Building
- Innovation Hub
- Innovation Grants
- Makers' Laboratory
- COVID-19
- FAQs
Head of School Discretionary Fund
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Head of School Discretionary Fund
As we work toward all of our strategic goals to make MIS future-ready and an inspiring and nurturing place for children to learn, gifts to the Head of School Discretionary Fund enable us to put your money toward our highest priority projects.
Fitness & Athletics Building
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Fitness & Athletics Building
Maximising student well-being and balance is another priority for MIS.
Current research on the neurology and physiology of learning indicates that young people need physical activity and movement several times per week, both to keep their bodies fit, and to support the learning and memory making processes of the brain. In order to increase the amount of movement and physical exercise in our students’ schedules, as well as to create facilities that promote participation, community-building and school spirit, MIS needs a new Fitness & Athletics Building. The new facility will house four gymnasiums for physical education, a fitness studio, dance and martial arts spaces, improved changing facilities, and spectator bleachers. Additionally, there will be space for the Sportverein and the Parent Teacher Verein, and the ability to serve as a whole-school assembly hall with space for up to 1,800 students, faculty, parents and visitors.
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Groundbreaking Ceremony
We had a small groundbreaking ceremony for our new Fitness & Athletics Complex.
This past year has been one of the most challenging in the history of our school. We were forced to rethink our practices and to make decisions about teaching and learning with enhanced attention to matters of human health and wellbeing. Planning for how school and, indeed, our society will look on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic requires extraordinary imagination, vision, and careful consideration of a wide range of factors. We have certainly been reminded of the importance of a strong, supportive, and positive community in difficult times. Together we are able to achieve things that we could never achieve alone. That was true with regard to COVID-19, and it is true about the further growth and development of MIS, too.
Thanks to our many generous donors, the construction of our new Fitness & Athletics Complex began in November 2020. We would especially like to say a big thank you to our many donors, both large and small, to the PTV, and the Sportverein, and to the fundraising committee and to its chairs, to the Board of Directors, the B&G Committee, the Finance Committee, and all of the people who have contributed time, energy for making this possible.
We had a small groundbreaking ceremony for our new Fitness & Athletics Complex on 27 November 2020. We were honoured to welcome Patrick Janik, the First Mayor of Starnberg, and Stefan Frey, Chief Administrative Officer of the Starnberg Region (Landrat).
The new Fitness & Athletics Complex, which is planned to be completed in 2022, will also serve as a “community building space” offering spaces for fitness, a tournament café and a whole-school assembly hall for up to 1.800 people.
Including sport in our lives, especially during these extraordinary times, helps us to keep a balanced lifestyle and improves our physical and mental health. We want to make sure our PE and Athletics programs keep our students healthy now and in the future.
As the school has grown, it has become more challenging to accommodate our PE classes in our current indoor facilities. The new quadruple gym, fitness room, dance studio and multipurpose room will enable us to provide outstanding facilities for all our PE classes and help us increase the activity levels of all our students.
The athletic department, with numerous basketball and volleyball teams, will now be able to train and compete in state-of-the-art facilities. We will be able to welcome other International schools to large indoor tournaments, offering two show courts in the sports of basketball and volleyball with bleachers for 100s of supporters to cheer on our teams in comfort and really develop our wildcat spirit.
The MIS Sportverein are excited about their new Imbiss (Café) facilities which will be located in the centre of the new gymnasium. Large numbers of athletes can now be catered for during games and tournaments in the Wildcat Café.
During the last 55 years many parents, grandparents, alumni, teachers, staff, and friends have donated their time, their expertise, and their money to help MIS become an outstanding place for children and young people to learn and to grow. Without this generous support, important school resources, like the Languages, Arts, and Design Center and the Performing Arts Center simply would not exist.
We hope to involve every single member of our community in our drive to make MIS innovative, effective, and transformational for our students.
We are depending on you.
Please consider making a gift today.
Innovation Hub
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Innovation Hub
At MIS, we understand that the future belongs to those who can innovate, create, design and lead.
Upon completion of the ‘New Sports Hall’, an ‘Innovation Hub’ would be housed within the existing structure of our current sports hall. The ‘Innovation Hub’ would significantly increase the amount of quiet study space, as well as facilities and equipment to support inquiry-based, collaborative learning.
We would increase the current MS/SrS Library space from around 270 sqm to 800 sqm, add information and media resources, and build scalable classrooms that can be subdivided and expanded. We would install telecommunications equipment to enable students to collaborate with students and partners at other locations. Finally, we would add informal meeting spaces where students and community members can book space for a range of projects and purposes.
The ‘Innovation Hub’ would significantly increase the amount of quiet study space, as well as facilities and equipment to support inquiry-based, collaborative learning.
Innovation Grants
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Innovation Grants (for teaching and learning)
Our expert and truly caring teachers continuously advance the world’s leading curriculum.
Launched in 2017, ‘Innovation Grants’ have further strengthened the quality of teaching and learning at Munich International School, including by helping to attract and retain the best teaching staff for MIS students.
Current examples include new, leading-edge classrooms in the Junior School and funding to support innovations, such as:
- Mathematical Mindsets training for teachers (Stanford University)
- Human Library Project (ToK)
- Discovery Time (Grade 1)
- Student Mindfulness Instruction (JS/MS)
- Makeology Summit to promote engaging and real-world pedagogy
- Language Acquisition Theatre Festival
- Visible Thinking (Harvard Project Zero) Professional Learning Community
Additional philanthropic support in the form of Innovation Grants will enable yet more transformative teaching and learning experiences for MIS students.
Additional philanthropic support in the form of ‘Innovation Grants’ will enable yet more transformative teaching and learning experiences for MIS students.
Makers' Laboratory
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Makers' Laboratory
Our facilities encourage inquiry-based, student-led, enthusiastic learning. Innovative classroom and curriculum design are also at the heart of MIS’ strategic plan.
In order to further expand opportunities for students to engage in real-world skills, like prototyping, coding and computing, exploring materials and tools, and creating sophisticated multimedia productions, we have built ‘makers’ spaces’.
In the Junior School we have a designated room as well as ‘makers’ carts’ that enable teachers to bring advanced tools and materials to their students in their classrooms. For Middle and Senior School students we have opened a 500sqm ‘Makers’ Laboratory’ with specialised studios for electronics, for materials science, for bicycle and small appliance repair, for textiles and fashion, and for audio and video production.
Both new ‘makers’ spaces’ have been made possible through generous financial and in–kind donations.
COVID-19
COVID-19
This past year has been one of the most challenging in the history of our school. We were forced to rethink our practices and to make decisions about teaching and learning with enhanced attention to matters of human health and wellbeing. Planning for how school and, indeed, our society will look on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic requires extraordinary imagination, vision, and careful consideration of a wide range of factors. We have certainly been reminded of the importance of a strong, supportive, and positive community in difficult times. Together we are able to achieve things that we could never achieve alone. That was true with regard to COVID-19, and it is true about the further growth and development of MIS, too.
At MIS we continue to take significant measures to protect our children. We have many, many more hand-washing opportunities, we have installed 30 hand-disinfecting stations around campus and we have increased the frequency and thoroughness of cleaning and disinfecting measures. We have conducted assemblies with students at all grade levels to provide information and how students can engage in practices to protect themselves. We have made large investments in digital devices and in making sure that MIS has a great infrastructure in place which will enable us to offer the best learning possible under whatever limitations may come (face-to-face, social-distanced, hybrid, or distance learning).
If you are in a position to help us with the additional, unexpected costs associated with measures to protect our community, we would greatly appreciate your help.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
- When will the Fitness & Athletics Building (FAB) be completed?
- School fees are already quite high, why should I donate?
- Why does the plan to improve education only involve facilities?
- The existing facilities are already good. Why should I donate?
- Good education is not about buildings, it is about good teachers.
- Why is it all about the Sciences in this Capital Campaign? What about the Arts and Humanities?
- Why should I give to a prosperous or wealthy or expensive school like MIS? There are more needy schools in other parts of the world.
When will the Fitness & Athletics Building (FAB) be completed?
School fees are already quite high, why should I donate?
- We cannot transform our facilities without your help.
- The School has always pursued building projects with the help of donations. Most of the buildings your children use now exist because of the donations of prior generations of parents and alumni.
- MIS is an independent not for profit school without an endowment. School fees cover operating expenses, but not the cost of significant investments in facilities and in people.
Why does the plan to improve education only involve facilities?
It doesn’t. There are many other elements of the strategic plan which are being put into place, including:
- Master plan for highly able
- Strengthening university counselling
- Fully embedding Approaches to Learning (skills development)
- Increase in resources in pastoral care
- Innovation grants for teaching
- Introduction of house system
Where these changes involve an increase in personnel, they are funded through school fees because they are ongoing costs. The Capital Campaign focuses on large one time investments which require alternative funding sources.
The existing facilities are already good. Why should I donate?
- A future worthy education requires very different learning spaces and facilities compared to traditional classrooms, e.g.
- configurable spaces for small and larger group collaboration and learning
- specialized tools for advanced investigations
- multi-media resources for research and networking
- facilities for hands-on experimentation and creation.
- With COVID-19 the need for scalable classrooms and digital learning facilities has become a priority. This is what the Innovation Hub will offer.
Good education is not about buildings, it is about good teachers.
- MIS already spends over 70% of its operating expenses on personnel costs. MIS is focussed on attracting the best teachers.
- We set aside money for innovation grants for teachers in order to learn from and introduce best practice. This is in addition to our professional development budget.
- Good teachers want to work in schools with innovative learning spaces. When we recruit internationally, we are at a disadvantage if we cannot boast of modern learning facilities.
Why is it all about the Sciences in this Capital Campaign? What about the Arts and Humanities?
- Our last capital expansion was for the Languages, Design and Arts Centre (LADC)
- MIS education emphasises an interdisciplinary approach, and the IB is designed to ensure a well rounded education
- MIS Foundation is an endowment which actively promotes the arts and culture
- Our Science facilities are aged and need an upgrade
- A lot of external innovation is happening in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) areas.
Why should I give to a prosperous or wealthy or expensive school like MIS? There are more needy schools in other parts of the world.
- Not an either or decision. Both causes involve children, but the motivations to support them are fundamentally different.
- Support underprivileged schools to reduce misery and poverty, and help less developed countries along their path of development.
- Support MIS because our children need to be equipped to deal with a rapidly changing future. Investing in them may have a bigger impact on improving the position of needy children elsewhere in the long run because our children can impact the world in the future.
- Give to MIS in order to help achieve its mission of creating a future-worthy education. The School has to invest in order to make sure that its teaching and learning remains highly qualitative and relevant in a time of accelerating change. Participate in the vision of creating an innovative school so that our children are well prepared and can thrive in their future lives.