Annual Theme at Jules Verne Campus 2025-2026: Stay Playful, Be Curious!

One of the poems that has inspired me most in life is Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken. We’re all familiar with the idea of like as a path or journey: “two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” All the more fascinated I was to read the neurobiologist Gerald Hüther describe the brain as paths and roads in the Biology of Fear (Biologie der Angst). The neural pathways that arise when dealing with stimuli and stress are expanded and strengthened if the chosen solution leads to the avoidance or resolution of stress. The more often a particular solution brings the desired success, the more the corresponding nerve pathways develop into wide roads and eventually highways, which we know as habits. They are part of our brain structure, and we use them completely unconsciously to quickly and efficiently avoid and resolve stress.

But don't stress, confusion, and unanswered questions help us along the way? Are the highways that we created on our journey through life useful, or do we miss out in life with our efforts to avoid or resolve stress? Are the prefab roads really the ones we want to travel on? At JVC, we say: The journey into your future begins here. Can we take smaller, slower paths and discover more on this journey? Might we even learn to rediscover ourselves and our abilities in a playful way? We will ask these questions with our theme for the 2025-2026 school year: Stay Playful, Be Curious!

The theme begins with another seminal book by Gerald Hüther, Save the Game (Rettet das Spiel). Hüther reminds us that play is not a luxury, but the most natural and effective way for humans to learn and grow. When we play, we are fully ourselves—creative, resilient, and open to new ideas. Play helps us overcome fear, discover our strengths, and connect with others in meaningful ways. As Hüther writes, “By developing a culture of playful living, we not only save our games, but also ourselves from becoming mere functionaries.” In a world that often values efficiency over exploration, we want Jules Verne Campus to be a place where curiosity is celebrated and learning is a joyful adventure.

On our recent Journey Day, our entire pedagogical team came together to create a collaborative mural, now displayed here. This mural is a living symbol of our shared commitment to nurturing creativity, courage, and joy in learning. Each quotation, symbol, or chalk drawing represents our belief that playfulness and curiosity are not just for the youngest among us, but they are essential for learners of all ages. We found inspiration and food for thought in quotations like: “I have no special talent, but I’m only passionately curious” and “The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size” by Altern Einstein; “Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose” by Zora Neale Hurston; and “Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked why” by Bernard Baruch.

We’re happy that this theme was explored last year by our friends at SBW Primaria, another school in our SBW family. The theme will now guide our journey at Jules Verne Campus across Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Grammar School.

The following quote from the children’s book, Never Grow Up by Quentin Blake in the spirit of Roald Dahl sums it up:

Watch the world with glittering eyes,
Keep noticing where magic lies,
Question everything you’re told,
Be outrageous! Break the mould!
Grow wise or silly, wide our tall,
Grow round in circles, big or small,
Dress all in rags or wear a crown, but
Never grow up, always down!”

When we stay playful and remain curious, we open doors to lifelong learning and well-being. Let’s take our own road, or roads, less travelled: A real journey is a personal, perhaps even a meandering one. I look forward to seeing how each of you brings this theme to life in your own unique way throughout the coming school year.

Dr. Kerrie Elston-Güttler
Head of Learning House