FOUNDER'S DAY

Founder’s Day in a unique school celebration to honour the woman who founded the school, and to highlight the importance of respecting our origins and observing traditions. Phyllis Powers was the woman who founded the school in 1965, and named it the Hillside School. The school catered to foreign students whose families were living in Cuba and began with only ten students. The school soon grew and expanded changing names and locations becoming the Foreign Students School then finally the International School of Havana. Phyllis Powers herself had left the school and her job as principal by 1983.

We have celebrating this event since 2001, and since then Grade 2 plants a new tree every year on the 26th of October in the school grounds. Grade 2 is now a firm part of this tradition because at the time in 2001, they had had a unit called ‘Living Things,’ thus it was felt appropriate that they should plant the tree. A tree is planted because it has a sound and solid meaning inviting us to reflect back on our roots and that of the school. This tradition also came from the fact that when the new school was built we lost a lot of trees; this was a negative message and had a harmful effect on the environment so it was decided because of their symbolic meaning and to compensate for the damage done a tree would be planted each year. An entire school assembly is called upon to witness this event and the re-telling of the origins of the school.