Our guiding statements guide our school each and every day in everything that we do. These guiding statements are aligned across both our campuses, Istanbul and Izmir. We review our guiding statements together with our teachers, parents and students to ensure that they still hold true and state our purpose and our aspirations every three years. The guiding statements below were revised and approved by the Executive Board at the end of the 2017 – 2018 academic year. The definitions for learning and internationalism have been created by our faculty. The definition of internationalism, on the other hand, was revised by the Izmir school community and finalized in 2021.
MOTTO
Building Bridges between Countries and Cultures
MISSION (our purpose)
We inspire, nurture and challenge our learners to realise their unique potential.
VISION (our aspiration)
To be an open-minded community striving for creativity, innovation and excellence.
DEFINITION OF HIGH-QUALITY LEARNING
High-quality learning is cultivated in a supportive environment where students investigate, explore, and create ideas. Students utilize these ideas to construct knowledge through higher order thinking and purposeful interactions that develop knowledge, skills, and attributes, which are transferable into practical experiences. The learning process creates lifelong skills and knowledge that transforms local and global communities.
DEFINITION OF INTERNATIONALISM
Internationalism means to welcome diverse perspectives, traditions, and cultures to nurture, inspire, and challenge our community to build bridges of understanding.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The MEF International School Community…
- promotes and cultivates global mindedness, developing an appreciation for individuals, groups, cultures and societies
- is empathetic, striving to understand and learn from the perspective of others
- uses reflective practice, striving for continuous improvement
Where learning…
- involves making connections, and extending the learner’s understanding that results in action and change
- is experiential, fun, authentic, and collaborative
- engages learners in critical, analytical and creative thinking
Where teaching…
- depends on the positive relationship between teachers and learners
- supports individual learners, providing challenge and rigour
- allows for learner voice, choice and ownership
- fosters curiosity, exploration and experimentation
- integrates technology to enhance learning
- is innovative and creative, informed by research concerning educational practice
