01 Jul Update from UWC Maastricht by Kate Doyle
As we are about to finish another school year at UWC Maastricht, it would be fair to say that the tenth year of UWC Maastricht will be remembered as the year when we grew stronger and more resilient as individuals and as a community. UWC Maastricht faced Covid-19 together with the rest of the world and I am so proud of the UWC Maastricht community for the way in which we have tackled this very unexpected global pandemic. It has been wonderful to witness our values in action during this time through many examples of Personal Challenge, Compassion and Service and Action and Personal Example. It is one thing for us to talk about the values, but what is really important is that we live these values through the most difficult times. Amongst all the restrictions and uncertainties, one thing remained clear at all times – we have a strong team of staff and students who quickly adapt to new environments and turn challenges into opportunities. Although UWC Maastricht was forced to close its gates for about 3 months, learning did not stop. Thanks to the commitment of all the educators at UWC Maastricht we kept delivering the curriculum as well as providing pastoral care and a daily portion of fun challenges. 
As you can imagine, this time was particularly hard on the residential students whose experience of campus life was in many cases ended abruptly often without enough time to pack properly or say goodbye to all their friends. At the same time, there were students who were not able to travel home regardless of how much they wanted to go and had to stay on campus. The initial excitement that the IB exams were cancelled was soon followed by the realisation that also the Leaving Class Ceremony cannot take place as usual. However, the Grad team organized a wonderful online event that connected us all across the different continents, time zones and countries. Unfortunately a large number of students are still not able to travel over the summer break. We are grateful to have a strong network of host families who are all together willing to take in these almost 30 students during this period so also these students get a bit of time away from the island.
As mentioned above, this year we also celebrated our 10th birthday as a UWC school. It is great to look back on the past ten years that we have had as a UWC school & to remember all that we have achieved together and none of it we could have done without the generations of talented and committed students who we now proudly call UWC Maastricht Alumni. We look forward to seeing what we achieve during the next 10 years be it with the current students or with you, our alumni. It has been wonderful to see that more and more of you are involved in giving back to UWC Maastricht in one way or another. We are always delighted to see you back on campus.
Best wishes,
Kate Doyle
Director of Secondary