Journal
Notes from the founding journey.
The thinking, lived experience and purpose behind ISI Cascais, shared openly, in Nichola de Montaigne’s own voice.
Who we are at DeMontaigne Life DesignJournal
The thinking, lived experience and purpose behind ISI Cascais, shared openly, in Nichola de Montaigne’s own voice.
Who we are at DeMontaigne Life DesignHow we measure our success
We can only learn when we are willing to take risks, and we can only take risks when we feel confident and known. That is why belonging and rigour are not opposites at ISI. Academic excellence is a key driving indicator of how we measure our success as a community.
Curiosity is what we light first. Our unique PPPP™ compass, Purpose, People, Place and Practice, is how we keep learning relevant, meaningful, significant and challenging for every child, so rigour is felt as wonder, and challenge becomes something children learn to meet with growing skill, stamina and confidence.
01
High expectations in literacy, numeracy and conceptual understanding for every child, assessed against international IB-aligned standards and tracked with evidence over time.
02
We begin with what a child can already do. Strengths-based teaching is linked to higher engagement, persistence and achievement, so we build from strength towards stretch.
03
Learning happens at the edge of what we know. Children who feel safe to be wrong attempt harder problems, and mistakes become information, not judgement.
04
Self-efficacy is one of the strongest predictors of achievement. We measure growth in what each child can do, and in how confidently they choose to keep learning.
Research · Bandura on self-efficacy · Hattie, Visible Learning · Seligman & positive education on strengths-based practice · Dweck on learning from mistakes
Our Mission
Three commitments
“We hold one standard above all others: that every child belongs, deeply, visibly, and before anything else is asked of them. Three studios, flexible ages, one question that guides every decision: does this genuinely serve the child, the family, and the wider community, over time?”
In partnership with DeMontaigne Life Design ↗
