The final “Mavo in Practice” project of this school year wrapped up at the Odeon Youth Center. There, the students presented their self-made instructional videos to parents and clients.

A Stage for the Final Result
With a DJ and a special performance at each presentation—tailored to the video’s theme—it was a festive conclusion to the project. Before the videos were shown, the students gave a brief pitch. They explained how they had translated their client’s assignment into a clear story, what choices they made, and how the collaboration went. Then it was time for the final result: an explanatory video they created for a real client.

Looking Back on an Enriching School Year
This gathering marked the end of a school year in which the MAVO vocational students worked on various projects. Our students had ample opportunity to discover their talents, develop their skills, and collaborate on real-world assignments.

Together with student Sem van der Heijden, we look back on a school year full of wonderful projects.

Linn and Lou from hv1c represented our school at the Grand Challenge. The Grand Challenge is a project organized by Brainport schools. Every year, the assignment comes from a real client. This year’s assignment: design the police station of the future. After preparing in class, the students competed against teams from other schools in the region. Linn and Lou’s design stood out because of its cheerful colors—especially pink. There’s a reason behind that, they explain. “We not only think it’s cozier than blue, but it also looks less aggressive,” says Linn. “We also thought of everything,” adds Lou. “Like solar panels on the roof.” Unfortunately, they didn’t win a prize, but they did gain a wonderful experience.

During the science orientation course, 12th-grade VWO students conducted research on sustainability issues. Today, they presented their research findings and recommendations at a presentation fair. The findings will be shared with the municipality of Veldhoven so they can be incorporated into future policy. Topics such as waste separation came up frequently, but the climate in the schoolyard was also examined. The students came up with various proposals. For example, they recommend planting more trees to improve the climate and provide more shade in and around the schoolyard. They also propose an app to encourage young people to pick up trash through gamification.

A wonderful recognition for Ilse Vloet and Rosa van Loon from 5 HAVO. With their profile project on plastic pollution, they won the 2026 OMO Sustainability Award. The jury recognized their project for its strong combination of research, creativity, and social impact.

This is where the sea begins
Many students and colleagues remember the eye-catching pink signs that appeared around storm drains on campus earlier this school year. At about thirty locations, the message read: This is where the sea begins. The campaign immediately drew curious glances, sparked conversations in the hallways, and raised many questions. That was exactly what Ilse and Rosa wanted to achieve. Through their campaign, they highlighted how plastic waste on the streets eventually ends up in rivers and oceans via rainwater and storm drains—a journey that many people never stop to think about.

A Global Problem
For their profile project, the students chose guerrilla geography: a method in which unexpected locations prompt people to think about a social issue. They applied the text using biodegradable chalk spray, which disappears on its own through rain and wear and tear. In addition to the campaign, Ilse and Rosa created a work of art from collected plastic waste. In it, they incorporated the continents and the oceans. The artwork shows that plastic pollution doesn’t just happen far away, but is a global problem that affects us all.
The campaign was only part of their profile project. Ilse and Rosa also investigated whether their initiative actually had an impact. Beforehand, they conducted a survey to assess students’ knowledge of plastic pollution. After the campaign and the presentation fair, they repeated the survey. This allowed them to determine whether awareness among students had increased.

Making an Impact
Teacher mentor Roy van den Broek followed the project from its initial concept and watched it grow steadily. “Ilse and Rosa threw themselves into this profile project with both hands. They researched the topic thoroughly, dared to launch a striking campaign, and got the whole school talking. That takes courage, perseverance, and creativity. The fact that they’ve now won the OMO Sustainability Award is more than well-deserved. I’m incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved.”

A Crowning Achievement
The OMO Sustainability Award is presented annually to a research project or initiative that contributes to social or environmental sustainability. The award aligns with “Koers 2030” from Ons Middelbaar Onderwijs, in which sustainability plays a key role. Through their research, creative campaign, and measurable results, Ilse and Rosa demonstrate how students can bring a social issue to life.

Congratulations, Ilse and Rosa, on this special and well-deserved award!

Starting next school year, Robert Tops will be our principal. He succeeds Edward de Gier, who is retiring. Robert lives in Veldhoven. There, he was previously active in local politics and served as a board member of Cordaad Welzijn for over ten years. He is currently the principal of Rythovius College. Robert has been appointed as the district principal for the three schools in the Kempen region: Sondervick College, Rythovius College, and SG Were Di.

Sondervick College, SG Were Di, and Rythovius College have been collaborating for some time now. In the coming period, we will further strengthen that collaboration. This will enable us to continue offering a high-quality, well-rounded education in our region in the future.

For students and parents, little will change in their day-to-day lives. Students will continue to attend their own schools. Their familiar relationships with their homeroom teachers, teaching teams, support staff, and school administrators will also remain the same. Each school will retain its own character, culture, educational offerings, and place in its local community. Day-to-day management will remain the responsibility of each school’s administration.

Above all, this collaboration helps us share knowledge, support one another better, and reduce vulnerability—for example, in the event of illness, staff absences, or periods of increased workload. This allows us to ensure that education continues as smoothly as possible in our schools.

We look forward to a fruitful collaboration with Robert and wish him the best of luck in his new role.

Sondervick College 9th-grade students in Veldhoven win special award | Local | ED.nl

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.