Good news for our school. For the fourth time in a row, our school has achieved Junior TTO certification. This recognition comes from Nuffic, the organization that assesses bilingual education in the Netherlands.

Bilingual education rests on three pillars
Bilingual education (tto) at our school is built on three important pillars: language skills, global citizenship, and personal development. Together, these pillars create a learning environment in which students can develop their talents and prepare for an international world.

Junior TTO
Schools that offer TTO exclusively in the lower grades are eligible for 'Junior TTO certification'.

Excellent rating
The committee was positive about several aspects of our education. For example, the English language skills of our teachers and students were rated as excellent. They actively use the language both in and outside of class and are able to switch quickly between Dutch and English. The committee was also impressed by the rich learning environment and warm atmosphere within our school. The strong integration between students of different levels and the collaboration with Sondervick International School stood out. This allows students from different backgrounds to meet and learn from and with each other. Students learn to look at the world with an open mind.

Deputy Head Patricia van Berkel: "We are proud of this result and of the efforts of our students and the TTO team. Thanks to their efforts, TTO continues to develop and grow at our school."

Mavo 3 students created designs for potential meeting places for young people in Veldhoven. On Wednesday, March 4, they presented their designs at an exhibition in the town hall. The exhibition was the end result of an assignment within Mavo In Praktijk. During this course, students work on real-life issues in society.


The topic of 'meeting places for young people' is sometimes a sensitive one for residents. That is why our students wentout to investigate the neighborhood themselves. They spoke with young people and local residents. These conversations revealed that most residents are not opposed to a chill-out spot. However, they do have clear conditions. The place must be clean and safe. And it must fit in well with the surroundings. Residents mainly mention sufficient waste bins and good lighting. They also consider a green appearance important and do not want any noise pollution. Young people find it important that they can play sports there and that they have privacy.

Exhibition of models
Parents, municipal employees, partners from the youth field, youth and neighborhood police officers, and enforcement officers were invited to the exhibition. Mayor Marcel Delhez and aldermen Huub Stroeks and Thomas van Broekhoven also visited the presentation. They talked to the students about their ideas, the research they did, and the choices they made in their designs. Teacher Marc Mantz: "We are very happy with this large turnout. The students have worked hard. It's great that they can show the results to so many people and practice their presentation skills at the same time."

The municipality will take the results into account in its further exploration of suitable chill-out spots in Veldhoven. The ideas will also be shared with various youth partners in Veldhoven, so that they can use them in their work with young people.

Many students and colleagues have probably noticed it over the past few days: striking pink texts have appeared around manholes in various places on our campus. Students stopped to look. Teachers wondered what was going on. The campaign is part of the profile assignment by Ilse Vloet and Rosa van Loon from 5 HAVO.

The research
For their profile assignment, Ilse and Rosa are conducting research into awareness of plastic pollution and plastic waste in the sea (the well-known plastic soup). Many people do not realize that (plastic) waste that ends up on the street can eventually flow into rivers and seas via rainwater and drains. This is a major problem, especially when you consider that plastic waste can remain in nature for decades and slowly break down into microplastics.

Guerrilla geography
For their research, Ilse and Rosa use the principle of guerrilla geography. This involves using unexpected places in public spaces to make people think about a social or environmental problem.
This idea is in line with the work of various geographers and artists. For example, French geographer Yves Lacoste emphasized that geography is not just a school subject, but can also help to highlight social problems. And street artist Banksy uses art in public spaces to unexpectedly confront people with social issues.
Inspired by these ideas, Ilse and Rosa opted for a shock art campaign centered on street drains. They sprayed the message "This is where the sea begins" in fluorescent pink letters with chalk spray paint at around 30 locations on the street. To keep the execution as secret as possible, only a few school staff members were aware of the plan, and they only took action during the evening.

The campaign
The shock art campaign was designed with the aim of literally making people stop and think about where the plastic waste ends up when it goes down these drains. The campaign attracted a lot of attention, just as Ilse and Rosa had hoped! In several places, students and staff stopped to watch, conversations arose, and photos were taken.
And if you're concerned about graffiti on the sidewalk and its potential impact on the environment, Rosa and Ilse had thought of that too. The texts were created using biodegradable chalk spray. This spray is completely safe for the environment and will disappear naturally over time due to rain and use.

Plastic Earth
In addition to the campaign, Ilse and Rosa also created a work of art from collected plastic waste. This artwork depicts the continents and the sea, showing that plastic pollution is a global problem. The artwork is intended as a shock art installation: it confronts viewers with the amount of plastic waste and shows how this problem ultimately ends up in the oceans. They presented this artwork during the profile assignment market on Tuesday, March 3. At that moment, the link with the texts on the sidewalk also became clear.

Sondervick International School is now officially an IB World School! And we are proud of that. This means that we offer international education in accordance with the high quality standards of the International Baccalaureate. We are even the first IB World School within the Association of Secondary Education. As an IB World School, we are part of a global network of schools.

Article in Eindhovens Dagblad

Stef Voermans is a quality engineer at ASML, but in recent months he has also been teaching one morning a week. He supervised students in the fourth year of vocational secondary education (VMBO 4) on a project involving design and 3D printing, which he works with on a daily basis. This gave students the opportunity to delve deeper into the subject and learn how the design process works in practice.

After studying Applied Physics, Stef Voermans went on to do a master's degree in Education. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and interacting with young people. "After completing my master's degree, I started working at ASML, but I also wanted to continue teaching," he says. "That's why I gave guest lectures at secondary schools on behalf of ASML. ASML also gives employees the opportunity to provide longer-term support at schools. On hybridetechniekdocent.nl, I saw a vacancy at Sondervick College. They were looking for a technical professional to supervise a group of students in the PIE (Production, Installation, and Energy) program at a vocational school in a project involving design and 3D printing. That immediately appealed to me."

challenge Sondervick College likes to work with hybrid teachers, professionals who bring practical experience to the school. Not for extra hands, but to offer students in-depth knowledge at a professional level. Some students in the fourth year of vocational education had already completed the regular program on design and 3D printing, and the school wanted to give them an extra challenge. At the beginning of this school year, Stef started working with three students. Stef: "We looked at what problem they wanted to design a solution for. One student came up with a cable holder for his computer cables, another designed clips for clip-on sunglasses, and the third came up with a record holder to store his LPs." Under Stef's guidance, the students created a complete design and ultimately printed their products in a 3D printer.

Practical learning
Stef looks back on the project with great pleasure. "I really enjoyed interacting with the students and learned a lot about teaching," he says. "Motivating, persuading: these are skills that I can also use at ASML. For the students, there is a lot of added value in being taught by someone with practical experience. I explained how design processes work at ASML and what you encounter in practice. This gave the students a good insight into how things really work at a company."

At Sondervick College, participation for students, parents/guardians, and staff takes shape through the Participation Council (MR), among other things. On behalf of the board and the school management, the principal consults with the MR approximately six times a year on many matters that are important to the school. These include the budget, the structure of the educational program, the staffing plan, the organizational structure, and the school charter.

Our school's MR consists of three parents, three students, and six school staff members. The term of office is two years. The parent representatives currently consist of Noortje Lavrijsen, Marie-Jose van der Putten, and Rob Zwanenberg. There will be a vacancy in the parent representation for the coming school year 2026-2027. Marie-Jose van der Putten will be stepping down after this year because she will no longer have children at our school.

Would you like to actively contribute to our school's policy? Then we warmly invite you to apply for the parent section of the MR. Please send an email to Tom Marx, secretary of the MT, at tmarx@sondervick.nl by April 17 at the latest. If there are multiple candidates, we will hold elections.

Do you have any questions about the vacancy or the work of the MR? Please send them by email to tmarx@sondervick.nl. We will be happy to answer them!

Kind regards,

The Election Committee
Milja de Greef, and Tom Marx

Our international school, Sondervick International School, received the official IGVO title (Internationally Oriented Secondary Education) in 2025. This recognition, awarded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science (OCW), means that we can continue to develop with IB MYP as the first IGVO school within OMO. This is a huge step forward for our school, our students, and the further development of internationally oriented education in the region.

To strengthen integration between students from the international school and Sondervick College, we have consciously opted for shared learning environments.
Years 1 and 2 are based in the first-year building.
Year 3 follows lessons in the HAVO/VWO building.
This means that students meet each other every day and grow up together within a single school community.

The current educational provision lacks a suitable entry point for students with a vocational/secondary vocational education recommendation. These students need a balanced combination of theoretical and practical subjects.

This prompted a closer examination of the options available to this target group and the development of a transition class/mavo program, which will be launched in the 2026/2027 school year. 

Following a team training session with Diversae, a Diversity and Inclusion working group was formed in 2025.
This working group contributes to the further development of diversity and inclusion within the school and also ties in with the theme of (global) citizenship.

Diversae provided three training sessions for staff, addressing issues such as 'How do we deal with different customs and sensitivities in the classroom?' and
'How do we create a school environment in which everyone feels seen and respected?'.

The annual planner for employees includes important national and international days that draw attention to diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunities. From Purple Friday to Eid al-Fitr and from Coming Out Day to International Women's Day. In this way, the annual planner contributes to raising awareness.

In 2025, we started with GO lessons in grade 1 (Growth and Development).

Within the GO program, students are given the opportunity to develop broadly and discover their talents. They can choose between learning labs or skills sessions.

Learning labs are elective courses in which students work on a theme of their own choosing.
They can choose from drama, dance, photography, knitting, crocheting, and more.
Within the learning labs, students develop skills such as creative thinking and collaboration.

Skills sessions focus on the core subjects of Dutch, English, and mathematics. Here, students work specifically on strengthening their basic skills when necessary.

In 2025, we launched the bilingual VWO transition class (tvwo).
A transition class for genuine VWO students seeking additional challenges in a bilingual learning environment.

Students follow education at the VWO and VWO+ levels. Because students take fewer lessons in some subjects than in the HAVO/VWO transition class, there is more room for personal development, broadening, and deepening.

A large proportion of the subjects are taught in English. This allows students to focus on improving their English language skills. They also become familiar with international contexts and different cultures.

In addition to core subjects, attention is paid to skills for the future. Students work on collaboration, presentation, and critical thinking. They take courses such as Research & Development, Art & Design, and Classical Culture.

Project-based learning is an integral part of the program. Every week, a project afternoon is scheduled. Students choose projects that match their interests and talents.

With the launch of the TVWO transition class, we will have further broadened and strengthened our educational offering in 2025.

In 2025, we developed 'Our teaching practices'.
This is a clear overview for employees of what we mean by good education. It shows how we work to create a strong pedagogical and didactic teaching environment.

During study days, we focus on 'Our teaching practices'. All employees with a teaching role participate in a multi-year professional development program called 'Tools for teams of top teachers' by Vernieuwenderwijs.

We learn from each other through classroom visits. We also organized a number of audits.

This is how we continue to improve our education together.