ISM Students Selected for SABIS® 140th Anniversary Global Calendar
The International School of Minnesota (ISM) community is proud to celebrate an extraordinary artistic achievement: two ISM students have been selected for inclusion in the 2026 official SABIS® Global Calendar, commemorating 140 years of SABIS® educational excellence.
Each year, hundreds of submissions are received from more than 50 schools across the SABIS® Global Network. From those entries, only 12 pieces are selected.This year, ISM earned two of those coveted spots — continuing a three-year tradition of ISM students being featured in the annual calendar.
The 2026 theme, “140 Years of SABIS®,” invited students to create artwork inspired by the organization’s history, traditions, campuses, and shared experiences across the network.
Greta Reich, Grade 10, was selected to represent the month of February. Her mixed-media collage stood out for both its creativity and its powerful message of unity. Reflecting on her process, Greta shared, “My creative process in designing my artwork was that I have always been interested in collages, so I went and looked through old magazines and newspapers to find the perfect elements to add.”
The collage became symbolic of connection. “The story that I was trying to tell in my piece was that there are so many SABIS® schools around the world, but we are all ‘glued’ together in a way that we are connected to each other even if we don’t think about it,” she explained. When she learned her artwork had been selected, Greta expressed pride in representing ISM on an international stage. “I am so proud to represent ISM in the calendar because it shows the community that there is beautiful art being made all around the world.”
Her accomplishment was supported by the guidance of ISM art teacher Mr. PJ Mack, whose mentorship and encouragement continue to strengthen the school’s visual arts program. Mr. Mack said he’s proud to see two ISM students in the calendar and it’s attributed to the hard work and dedication each student had while designing and visualizing their pieces. He couldn’t be happier for both of them.
Elianna A., Grade 9, was selected to represent the month of May, another exceptional honor. Having two students chosen in the same year reflects the depth of artistic talent at ISM and the school’s commitment to nurturing creativity at every grade level.
Elianna’s piece describes a story of unity amongst the SABIS® community. “I wanted to show how each person in our school comes together to create a beautiful portrait, and I made a collage to represent that. Each individual piece in the collage was painted, cut out, and arranged to form the numbers 140.” She added that Mr. Mack encouraged her to use watercolor and taught her different techniques. Elianna added, “After I submitted the art, I was fairly certain that nothing would come of it, and so I was pleasantly surprised to see my collage featured in the calendar. I am really honored to be one of the two artists representing ISM in the calendar, and I can't wait to see what everyone will do for next year.”
As SABIS® celebrates 140 years of connection, growth, and shared educational values, the 2026 calendar stands as a global celebration of creativity. ISM is incredibly proud of Greta and Elianna for representing the school in such a meaningful way.
