About ISH

Welcome from the Head of School

Chris Lynn - Head of School
Chris Lynn - Head of School

Dear Parents and Members of the IS Havana Community

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year!

It is my sincere privilege to introduce you to the International School of Havana. Ours is a warm, vibrant and nurturing environment that simultaneously provides our students with opportunities to develop and grow, as well as challenges them across their learning and personal development.

We strive to develop future leaders with the skills, international outlook, knowledge, and dispositions to support positive engagement in and for their societies. The ISH Nines and the Learning and Community Principles value inclusion, ethical conduct, understanding of cultures worldwide and governance and civil society. The faculty has worked hard to offer opportunities that move the student from the theoretical to an understanding of inspired, visionary problem-solving that leads to community action. The result is confident learners who know themselves as learners, who have explored their passions, and who believe that education is a creative, joyful process that engenders hope and curiosity.

Our school is a happy, safe community where young people thrive, discover their talents and realise their full potential. At ISH, we grow character and independence; we develop deep and real connections, and we form friendships that last for a lifetime. A strong, nurturing pastoral programme supports learners’ wellbeing and guides their academic journey through the school, which fosters self-discipline, personal responsibility, and leadership skills. The small student-to-teacher ratio assures a caring, personalised environment. Careful attention is paid to students’ academic achievement as well as to their physical, social and emotional development.

I often tell my colleagues that parents are every school’s secret weapon and that every successful school is established around that crucial parent-school partnership; your children, our learners, need support not only from the school but also from you at home. Together we can and will make a positive impact upon every child’s education. At ISH we are so fortunate to enjoy a very close relationship with our wonderful PTSA – please get involved!

The start of a new academic year creates a natural time to reflect on who we are and to celebrate the fact we belong to such a unique and special community. It’s also a time to be excited about who we are becoming and what the future holds for us.* We welcome you to visit us and experience that special ISH magic for yourself. We are proud of our excellent bespoke facilities and would be pleased to share with you the excitement in learning that our students relish. You will see the carefully curated diversity of our inclusive, progressive and innovative curriculum programmes from Pre-K to Grade 12 enriched by the scope in our leadership opportunities, service learning, and broad, customised extra-curricular life, and you’ll be charmed by our uniquely boutique campus buildings at two sites in Miramar.

The ISH motto, “Learning to Make a Difference”, after nearly 60 years still holds strong today. Our impressive alumni demonstrate this – global citizens who aim to make a positive contribution to the lives of others. My ambition is to steward a school where we continue ‘learning to make a difference’ and aim to create for our learners a limitless future where together we can live without boundaries and so I look forward to meeting you all in person to share our strategic direction and my pride and joy in our incredible school, with its amazing students, teachers and support staff.

Welcome to the International School of Havana!

* As part of our ongoing commitment to school improvement our school Vision & Mission was revisited during a year-long consultative process involving all constituencies in the community. This link HERE will take you to that document.