Husky Herald A CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PUBLICATION JUNE, 2011
GRADE 9 LEADERSHIP AT TK PAGE 4
EARTH DAY AT JE MIDDLE SCHOOL PAGE 7
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD PAGE 18
MIDNIGHT MASQUERADE PAGE 26 MICA (P) 205/09/2010
CONTENTS REGULARS 5 10 16 24 28 32 35
Lakeside Campus Construction Progress Toh Tuck Photo Gallery Tanjong Katong Photo Gallery JE Middle School Photo Gallery JE High School Photo Gallery Alumni Feature: Muhammad Arsalan Amjad School Calendar
FEATURES 3 4 6 7 8 9 12 14 15 18 20 21
The Husky Herald is published bimonthly (5 issues per school year) by the Communications Department. It is distributed to families and staff of the Canadian International School. Communications Department Toh Tuck Campus 5 Toh Tuck Road Singapore 596679
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Celebrating Art at TT e-Learning @ TK Building a Future in Cambodia Earth Day Grade 9 MYP Science JE MS CASA Week Adventures - Grade 8 Big Bang Theory? Putting on a Play? Sigmund Freud? In Grade 3! JE MS CASA Week Adventures - Grade 4 Grade 9 Leadership at TK What a Wonderful World TK Camp Challenge Lamdon School Student Receives Long-term Scholarship TK’s Got Talent - Jr. and Sr. JE MS CASA Week Adventures - Grade 5 Midnight Masquerade JE MS CASA Week Adventures - Singapore Group JE MS CASA Week Adventures - Grade 6 Leadership Club at TT Parent Appreciation Night Thank You to Sponsors for Parent Appreciation Night
Website: www.cis.edu.sg Email: communications@cis.edu.sg Phone: +65 6467 1732
MICA (P) 205/09/2010 UEN: 199002243H
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Editor: Assistant Editor: Photography:
Michelle Sharp Natasha Cruz Rae Hong and CIS teachers
Celebrating art at TT
By Katy Morrison, TT Vice Principal
Parents and children were captivated by the bold colours and eye catching style of Toh Tuck’s Art Gallery on April 19th. As part of our Celebration Assembly, Trish Dingelstad, our Art Specialist, hosted a showcase of children’s artwork. Young artists from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3 were represented. Trish displayed samples of children’s work throughout the school year including paintings in water colour and acrylic, fabric weaving, mixed media, paper construction and papier mache.
Many of the works reflected the children’s study of noted artists such as Paul Klee, Jan Van Os and M. C. Escher. Inspired by a portrait by Japanese artist, Tsuguharu Foujita, for example, Grade 3 children were challenged to create a 3D face, a backdrop for that image and a 3D object to add interest to the setting. The children covered balloons with plaster strips to shape faces, painted background settings and fashioned three dimensional books, pens, cups and other objects so that the resulting piece truly jumped from the frame.
“Bulletin boards can’t display three dimensional works,” Trish explained. “The Art Gallery provides a time for the children’s work in art class to be showcased. It gives an idea of all the different things that they do.” We were amazed to see a play space under a small canopy transformed into a gallery and are thankful to Trish Dingelstad, for making art a vibrant form of children’s learning at Toh Tuck!
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E-Learning @ TK
By Angela Henderson, TK Vice Principal Technology integration took a giant step forward this year when TK initiated the MacBook pilot project. Part of the CIS vision is to prepare students to be global citizens with skills and knowledge for their future. Educators referred to today’s students as “digital natives”, and today’s educators as “digital immigrants”. Today’s students have never experienced life without cell phones or laptops. They are digital learners who require digital tools to support their learning. All students and teachers in Grades 4 to 8 switched from a PC platform to a Mac platform in August. MacBooks were shared among students using a 2 to 1 model: two students for every MacBook. Teachers were provided with Out of the Box training and Digital Literacy training early in the year to help facilitate their transition. Needless to say, the students required very little assistance with the switch and took to their MacBooks right away. Creating and collaborating documents, photos and movies has became part of their daily routine. Next year, TK will become a totally Mac school. The 2:1 MacBook programme will expand to accommodate the growing student population and the existing PC computer labs will be replaced with several class sets of iPads.
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The adoption of mobile technologies means that digital learning can happen anywhere, any time for anyone at TK.
Lakeside Campus construction progress
December 2010
November 2010
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
Lakeside construction updates are available on the school website www.cis.edu.sg May 2011
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building a future in cambodia
By Scott Little, JE High School Teacher and Trip Chaperone Each year, a group of Grade 11 and 12 students participate in a community service project in Cambodia during Excursion Week. On April 22 to 30, a group of 25 students, accompanied by Mrs. Shepherdson, Ms. Potosky and Mr. Little, visited Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia and made a difference in the lives of many marginalized individuals. The process of accomplishing our goal was a year-long endeavour that started several months before the actual trip. Group fundraising events throughout the year, most notable of which were the Old-Fashioned Sports Day & Carnival and a School Casual Day, combined with other entrepreneurial ventures, raised a total of $18,500. These funds were donated to a number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) or charities. One of the groups we assisted was The People Improvement Organization, which was founded by CNN hero Noun Phymean. The People Improvement Organization works with over 800 children each day in 3 different schools in and around Phnom Penh. We had the pleasure of visiting the dumpsite school, called Stung Mean Chey and the slum school, known as Borey Keila. Working in small groups, the CIS students worked directly in the classroom with the PIO kids presenting lessons they had prepared in advance and participating in a variety of games and activities. Thanks to the contributions of the
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CIS community, we were able to donate a large amount of clothing, shoes and personal hygiene products as well as providing a financial donation. Our most significant contribution was participating in Housebuilding Projects with the Tabitha Foundation and building eight houses in the village of Prek Sleng, Kandal province, which is located south of Phnom Penh. Wearing our “Team Cambodia 2011” shirts, the entire group took on the project with a great amount of effort and determination, not once complaining about the excessive heat or our fatigue, hunger or thirst. We all realized that this day was not about “us”, it was about helping “others” and a making a difference in their lives.
After the building project was complete, we assembled in front the completed homes and participated in a ‘handover’ presentation where we presented each family with a blanket as a housewarming gift. While the families we were helping had been quiet and reserved throughout the day, they simply could not contain their smiles at the presentation ceremony. It was an emotional moment that everyone felt good about and was the ultimate reward for all of our hard work. For further details of our trip and more information about our work with additional NGOs, please visit our blog at http:// ciscambodia2011.blogspot. com/.
Earth Day
By Celeste Krochak , JE MS Curriculum Coordinator
It has been a long standing tradition that CIS acknowledges Earth Day! This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day around the world and so we wanted to make sure that we celebrated it and emphasized the importance of taking care of our planet. We started with a school assembly to get the excitement going. It was great to see all the students walking into the gym wearing green. The Grade 5s served as our MCs and shared with us some of the work that they have been learning about the resource of water, in their recent Unit of Inquiry. We watched a video about the Story of Bottled Water which was a great reminder for all of us. Following the assembly the school participated in 2
different actions: The Grade 7 and 8 students headed to West Coast Park by bus for a cleanup, demonstrating their action of citizenship by taking care of their community. The Grades 4 to 6 students participated in the action of reusing, by creating sculptures out of recycled materials brought from home. There was a lot of excitement, and it was wonderful to see the Grade 7 and 8 students happy to be involved in cleaning up West Coast Park. The students at the park found a lot of garbage, particularly by the water, and they all recognized the need to do this to help out. The students back at school were very engaged with the sculpture building. Students used materials that they brought in from home that
could be reused, such as plastic containers, tin cans, toilet paper rolls, plastic bottles, tissue and cereal boxes, and other discarded plastic items. We heard lots of “negotiating� as they worked to assemble their sculptures. We witnessed collaborating and conversations about balance, weight, and beauty! We saw sharing and working together. We experienced creativity in action. We heard laughter and excitement when they had the chance to share their work at the end of the day with the other classes. All sculptures are displayed in our school hub. This was a great afternoon of action and awareness and a wonderful way to learn how to care for our Earth!
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Grade 9 MYP Science
By Tanya Nizam, JE High School Science Teacher In the Middle Years Programme (MYP) of the IB, units of study follow one or more of the Areas of Interaction (AOIs): Environments, Health and Social Education, Community & Service, Approaches to Learning and Human Ingenuity. Grade 9 Science covers three broad unit areas with the following AOIs: Biology: Environments and Populations The highlight of this unit for the students was the 4 week ecosystem project. Students designed and constructed their own artificial ecosystems. They hypothesized the development of their closed systems and recorded the changes using charts and tables. As if to demonstrate the hidden secrets of nature, insects and small spiders emerged from closed systems that appeared to have nothing but plants in the first week! Comparing plant life around campus, using quadrat and soil tests, was another element of this unit. Chemistry: Periodicity and Chemical Bonding Students worked their way through the beauty of the atom by Deciphering organized patterns from chaos. Patterns of elemental properties in the periodic table were the initial focus. Following this, students began to predict the outcome of reactions, balancing equations and displacing metals from compounds.
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Physics: Electricity Who doesn’t love playing with static electricity or constructing complicated electrical circuits? This was a great opportunity for digital collaboration. Some students used a computer simulation called Gizmo to test hypotheses involving resistance in circuits. Others joined a group blog to pool in their ideas and battle through complex ideas. View the students’ ideas and comments at http://9celectricity.
JE MS CASA WEEK ADVENTURES - Grade 8 By Lachlan Guthrie, Grade 8 Student (Group 1)
My bones still ache from excursion week. It probably has to do with all the awesome activities we did like, kayaking, mountain biking, zip wiring, rock climbing and abseiling. I was in the adventure group and we did all the outdoor physical activities and it all was a blast. The most memorable time of CASA Week was when I was stuck, hanging off the kayak while my partner took forever to put his already wet money into the dry-compartment, but I was finally free when we tipped the boat. What an awesome time!
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Energy Explosion at TT
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Energy Explosion at TT
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big bang theory? Putting on a Play? Sigmund Freud? In grade 3! By Samuel Filgate, TT Grade 3 Teacher Inquiry-based learning takes many forms and rarely looks the same from classroom to classroom. That is what makes it so wonderfully open and unpredictable, whilst at the same time so intimidating and hard to grasp. In Grade 3, we have brought our year to a close with a unit connected to the inquiry questions of both teachers and students alike. Under the theme of How We Organize Ourselves, classes have chosen to focus on either Independent Inquiries or Creating an Event. With the students choosing the subject of their own inquiry, their curiosity and interests are the driving force behind their learning, thereby making it purposeful and relevant to their lives. By reflecting thoughtfully on both successes and mistakes alike, the children have been learning the most important thing schools can teach: how to learn for one’s own needs and purposes. This is the type of unit that fascinates, excites, and challenges both students and teachers. Inspired by the Grade 6 exhibition, the students have chosen topics or events of personal interest to them. They are inquiring into how being organized and collaborating with other learners can help them make discoveries, solve problems and take responsibility for their own learning. As teachers, our role has been to help them get started, and then to stand back and allow them to make discoveries and mistakes on their own. Instead of providing
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answers or controlling the direction they head in, we are helping them make sense of their experiences and learn from them, so as to keep their inquiries moving forward. This is truly almost as far from the traditional notion of teachers filling up children with knowledge that you can get. The teacher-directed agenda has been traded for discussions about the purposes of learning, the different forms it can take, the nature of collaboration, and the personal responsibilities required to be successful. With the freedom, trust, and time to learn about their chosen topic providing the perfect motivation, the students have been through a reflective and thoughtful inquiry into the very nature of learning itself. Another side of inquiry is how we can learn through many ways and use different subjects, disciplines and perspectives to meet our inquiry needs. A wonderful book called ‘The North Star’ by Peter Reynolds (http:// fablevisionlearning.com/ northstar/) has given us the perfect metaphor for this unit. It pictures growing and learning as a journey taken by all children. Along the way they meet guides, obstacles, other travellers – all of whom can help or hinder their progress. Signs can show us the way, but if we don’t know where they are heading, we may lose interest and feel lost. The children embraced this visual metaphor of learning as a journey. One student – Justin Choi – created a map to show
the various stops and landmarks of his learning journey. At the start of his map, he drew a maze to represent his initial confusion over which topic to choose. Later on he added a picture of him finding an aeroplane to help him travel quicker (a book for researching his topic). He then discovered that he couldn’t make it start (the book was confusing and did not help him answer his questions), meaning he had to find another form of transport. What an incredible, studentcreated way of reflecting on learning! This is the type of unit that inspires us all, as we work towards a utopian vision of what education can and should be – children and adults learn on an equal footing, intent on exploring the world and our place in it, investigating the past with a eye on how to make the future better. Now, like never before, the classrooms have come alive with the sound of children’s questions, group discussions, even friendly arguments (in the best sense of the word), in order to coconstruct knowledge. The wonder of this unit is how the shift of power, control and ownership onto the children allows them a voice in their own learning and shows us what they can achieve when they are trusted and encouraged to follow their curiosity, wherever it may lead. This unit is still in its experimental stages, but after a successful trial run last year, we and the children are very much looking forward to getting on with it. The unit works on two levels: the first, and most exciting to the children, is the
fact that the children’s interests and curiosity will be the driving force behind the unit. The children are overjoyed at the prospect to have more say in what they would like to learn about, and have already been thinking hard about what they want to explore. The second level, is where the catch comes! The Transdisciplinary Theme for this unit is How We Organize Ourselves, and so the wider focus for this unit is not on one particular area of learning, but on learning itself. Through their own personal inquiries, the children will be exploring how they can organize themselves in order to learn effectively. With the children choosing an interesting and relevant topic for themselves, the question of motivation and curiosity is no longer an issue. What is, however, is every step of the learning process from choosing a topic, to sharing their learning with others. Between those two “beginning” and “end” points, we find the Inquiry Cycle. As its name suggests, it is not a linear model, but one that keeps on repeating as the children build new foundations from which to launch their further inquiries. The Inquiry Cycle 1. Choosing a topic important to them 2. Considering what they already know about the topic 3. Taking the time to find questions that are important to them through
wandering and wondering 4. Considering their topic from different perspectives and through different knowledge and sign systems (e.g. how would a historian view my topic? How would an artist? How could Maths help me explore this topic?) 5. Researching their topic with books, the internet, discussions, experts etc. 6. Working in small inquiry groups to think about their topic collaboratively and try to make sense of the new information. 7. Return back to the beginning by considering what they know now and repeating the steps. 8. Sharing learning with others As you can see, the cycle could go on forever, which highlights the fact that learning doesn’t just stop, but continues on our whole lives. Time constraints however, require us to come to a point where we reflect on what we have learnt and share it with others. The children will be sharing not only their learning about their topic, but also about how they organized themselves in order to learn, which in the grand scheme of things is a far more important lesson. Thus it might be possible to have a child learn very little about their chosen topic, but learn a great deal about how to approach learning in the future.
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JE MS CASA WEEK ADVENTURES - grade 4 By Shauna Cottrell, JE MS Grade 4 Teacher This year at Camp Challenge during CASA Week, students experienced new adventures in their learning and personal development. The Grade 4 students went to Camp Challenge for three days, from April 25-27, 2011. This excursion aimed to promote a sense of community amongst our classes, to challenge our
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students to push themselves out of their comfort zones, to show independence and responsibility by spending a few nights away from their parents, and to expand their knowledge of themselves and their capabilities. It was a highly successful, and thoroughly enjoyable week!
Grade 9 Leadership at TK
By Flynn McCreath, TK Grade 9 Teacher
The Tanjong Katong middle school is growing and so is the sense of leadership, responsibility and pride. The many students moving up from the school’s inception and great new ones joining us in Grade 9 has created a dynamic group that likes to contribute to the community and have a good time doing it. One of the benefits of having the Grade 9s on a campus that is largely primary is that there are excellent opportunities for leadership. The students visit their buddy kindergarten
class almost weekly and have a great time reading, writing, researching and of course, playing. They have also had the opportunity to extend help in the local community by participating in a reading festival at Schoolhouse by the Bay. Not to mention the plethora of other leadership opportunities during campuswide events.
year), the formation of a student council among the Middle School students has been an excellent way for the students to organize initiatives that help raise money, have a good time on Spirit Days and create a strong voice for their classmates. Good things to come at a growing Middle School at TK!
With Middle School now consisting of Grades 7, 8 and 9 (and 10 beginning next
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Sports Day at TK
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Sports Day at TK
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What a wonderful world
By Charla Marshall, TT Curriculum Coordinator
“Czesc! Konichiwa! Shalom! How do you do?” With these words, Grade 3 students Xaver, Taro and Mia welcomed the Toh Tuck community to our year-end Celebration Assembly on May 19th. The assembly was an opportunity to celebrate the “wonderful world” of Toh Tuck by highlighting the Arts, PE and ECAs.
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The assembly opened with a DREAM (Drop Everything and Move) led by the PE Team, followed by a showcase of some of the work done in ECAs this year, such as circus acts, taekwondo and dance performances. Each grade from the Independence and Challenge Years performed a song from around the world, and the entire school came together to stand and sing “What a Wonderful World.” It
was a special moment at the end of the year, and as Taro said, “a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the smiling faces of our friends from all around the world who live and learn together at CIS”. After the assembly, parents and students were invited to view the impressive drama and art display, and to visit the Grade Three Art Exhibition which was a culmination of the “How we
express ourselves” Unit of Inquiry. The Celebration Assembly was a special time for all of the Toh Tuck community, but particularly for the Grade 3 students who saw it as a chance to celebrate the end of their journey at the Elementary School. The MCs spent several weeks working together to create their script for the assembly and found themselves reflecting on their role as representatives of the Grade 3 students and on their time at Toh Tuck: “I was a bit nervous but enjoyed being MC,” said Xaver. “It was a very important role. Everyone knows who that person is and so I was very proud. When I was chosen I was quite nervous but I felt very happy and very important. I was almost crying for joy after. I had teary eyes. That day was a very special day. I felt sad and happy because it was the last time seeing the whole school together,” he concluded. “At first I felt scared,” Mia said. “I felt happy in my heart because it was my first time being MC. When I went walking everyone said, “You did a great job,” and I felt proud of myself. I’m nervous going to another school where I don’t know anybody. I feel sad to be leaving this school,” she revealed.
a chance to talk to the whole school and the parents. I’m sad to be leaving Toh Tuck, graduating, but maybe I might visit the school again one day and see all the children bigger.” The MCs ended the assembly with a poem written by Xaver, called Magic Shoes. Sometimes we wish for magic shoes To give us power and give us clues To help us dance and help us run And give us lots of joy and fun But we don’t need the magic shoes ‘Cause we have power we can use It comes from culture and our song It makes us brave and makes us strong The culture raises spirit high So we feel that we can fly We must practice kindness and beauty That is a good citizen’s duty Do widzenia! Sayounara! Shalom ve litraot! Goodbye!
Finally, Taro said, “I was proud of myself being the MC. I was extremely happy. I had
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TK CAMP CHALLENGE
By Kyle Hawkins, TK Grade 4 Teacher
The Grade 4 students at TK attended Camp Challenge in Sembawang during the CIS Excursion Week. During the camp, students had the opportunity to build confidence, develop leadership skills, and improve their teambuilding skills through engaging in a series of challenges and activities. Students had many opportunities to develop independence as it was the first time for many to be away from home. While there were obviously a few cases of homesickness, everyone managed to persevere and make it through to the end of the three days. Highlights of the camp include the low elements, the high ropes course, the Amazing Race Sentosa, luge rides, and many other activities. Teachers and students alike will not soon forget the campfire on
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the second night when they got to dress up their teachers in ‘superhero costumes’ made of garbage bags and newspaper. Students showed a great deal of commitment and cooperation during the three days at Camp Challenge as they worked together and helped each other through the challenges posed by the instructors, as well as the chores of camp, such as preparing their beds and
washing dishes. There were certainly some very content but tired looking faces when we arrived back at school on Friday. Congratulations to all of the Grade 4 students who took advantage of the opportunity and fully engaged themselves in the camp experience.
Lamdon school student receives long-term scholarship By Craig Gerow, JE HS Grade 9 & 10 Lead Teacher humanitarian basis and is now in the 7th class standard. She is doing very well with her studies and is focused and dedicated to finishing her educational opportunity at Lamdon School right through to 12th standard. Her favourite subjects are English and Hindi. She is also a talented singer and performed for the CIS students during the Cultural Performances that we attended while at Lamdon School. When she was informed that she was chosen as the recipient of the CIS scholarship she was extremely grateful that her education was no longer a financial burden on the school. She promises to study hard to show her appreciation for the generous support. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the CIS students and parents who helped us in our fundraising efforts. We were able to raise 9,160.35 SGD to sponsor Sonam’s tuition, uniforms, and hostel expenses.
The Canadian International School has awarded Ms Sonam Yangzin (Admission number 3633) a long-term sponsorship to attend Lamdon School-Leh. After very thorough interviews with several students attending Lamdon School, the principal, Mr. Eshey Tundup, has determined that Ms Sonam Yangzin would be the most worthy recipient of long-term sponsorship by the Canadian
International School in Singapore. Sonam comes from a family living in a small village called Bodh Kharbu, which is located near the larger town of Kargil. It is quite far from Leh and Sonam’s parents have very little source of income because of the poor quality of the soil and its remote location. Sonam was admitted into the school’s girl’s hostel on a
The Ladakh Excursion Group would also like to express their gratitude to everyone in the CIS community who donated and supported our fundraising events.
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Tk’s got talent - jr. and sr.
By Jim Gibson, TK Principal & Nandini Jhaveri, TK French Specialist Teacher What two fun filled evenings we had! First, our Grade 2 and 3 students showed us that they were huge risk takers, by going up on stage confidently and doing what they are best at.We had a delightful display of well choreographed dances as well as some beautiful singing, not to forget our little pianists in the making and our drummer boy! Who could have imagined that red belts and black belts are all here at CIS TK making it such a safe place for us to be! Next we had our TK’s Got Talent #3 which was also a terrific hit! Our Grade 4 to 9 students strutted their stuff on stage, displaying a wide array of talents including singing, dancing, telling jokes, athletics and playing a variety of instruments. They were able to courageously perform in front of over 200 people and everyone walked off the stage with a huge smile. The audience was incredibly supportive and encouraging to each and every performer. It was a very proud moment and truly representative of the TK spirit when the entire audience—students, teachers and parents—all got on their feet to clap and dance along with the final number of the evening. The intent of the TK’s Got Talent Shows is to give students an opportunity to share a special talent or interest that others may not realize they have. There are many activities that students participate in after school and/ or on weekends that they do
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not have the opportunity to showcase at school. The real beauty of such an evening is captured by the seemingly quite shy student that just blossoms and captivates the audience with their voice, or their ability to dance, or to play an instrument. Bravo to all those who had the courage to participate!
JE MS Casa Week adventures - grade 5 By Kendra Jones, JE MS Grade 5 Teacher
Our adventure began early on Monday morning with a 2.5 hour bus ride and a 45 minute ferry. It was a long journey but when we arrived at the jetty we saw the white sand beach and sparkling turquoise water before our eyes, and we knew it was all worth it!
woke up and it was a brand new day, and I thought about the new activities I was going to do.” -Georgia 5-4ES
Monday night was movie night but very shortly after we had 113 very tired and soundly sleeping students tucked into their cabins – a trend that continued throughout the week!
woke up and it was a brand new day, and I thought about the new activities I was going to do.” -Georgia 5-4ES
Each morning we were eager to begin our rotation of actionpacked and fun-filled activities including hiking, snorkelling, orienteering, team building, fire starting, tie dye t-shirts & stitching – we did it all! Our evenings were filled with excitement as well, from Movie & Popcorn Night, to dancing at the Disco, D’Coconut Idol Performances and songs & marshmallows by the campfire. We didn’t stop all week long! The teachers all agree – it was a very special week thanks to our amazing Grade 5 students! “Snorkelling was the best! I saw shining coral, jellyfish, starfish and clownfish in the calm sea.” – Sundaram 5-1AA “I survived my fears and grew with my experiences. Let’s do it again!” – Marie Claire 5-2LM “I enjoyed CASA week because I got to feel what it was like to be a real server.” -Christopher 5-3KJ “I loved the feeling when I
“CASA week was about finding courage that’s deep down inside.” –Tanya 5-5CT
“CASA week was about finding courage that’s deep down inside.” –Tanya 5-5CT “CASA week is the best week of the year because there are so many activities to choose from.” - Lorenzo 5-6LL “The way of living is CASA. The way of living we are in now is living the easy way.” –Samir 5-1AA “The campfire held the spirit of the whole week.” –Rahul 5-2LM “I really enjoyed CASA week because it made me feel more brave.” –Ruby 5-3KJ “Survival skills are what you really need for this exciting week.” –Chae Sung 5-4ES “If I was down to my last piece of chocolate, I would give it to whoever helped me get through hiking.” – Karoline 5-5CT “CASA week was wonderful because we got to meet new people and spend time with the whole Grade.” --Estelle 5-6LL
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casa week
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casa week
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midnight masquerade
By Ann Green, HS Guidance Counsellor
One clear sign that we are nearing the end of another school year is the occurrence of the annual High School Prom. This year marks the 20th prom for CIS and the glittering event took place on the evening of Saturday, 28 May 2011 in the Hibiscus room of the Grand Hyatt hotel on Scotts Road, just along the street from where our first Prom, which took place at the Goodwood Park hotel in 1992. The theme for this year’s event was Midnight Masquerade and several students embraced the theme by adding masks to their outfits. Students started to arrive
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just before seven o’clock and were greeted by our teacherchaperones. It is always a delight to see our students dressed in formal attire and not in school uniform. The transformation can be quite amazing. A long queue formed at the photography area as students had their pictures taken with their friends. Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Chanutda and Mr. Thauvette (who stepped in for an unwell Min Myat Thu), began the program for the evening with a slideshow of the attending graduates and then announced that dinner was served.
After we had all eaten our fill from the incredible buffet, students were asked to vote for the Royal Court. Ballots were filled in and the teachers tallied everything up while the students headed back to the photography area. The dancing began after the announcement of the Royal Court with the first dance being started by the Prom King and Queen who were quickly joined by the rest of the students. The Royal Court for 2011 was Kody Cosgrove (King), Fiona Silhavy (Queen), Kenneth Montgomery (Prince), Angela Butler (Princess), and Artha Mawardi (Joker).
JE MS casa week adventures - Singapore group The Singapore group of JE Middle School’s CASA week programme ventured to the Arts Science Museum on their first day, where they visited three exhibitions. On the second day, they visited an organic farm in Kranji and learned about soapmaking and fishing. On the third day, the
students learned how to make and fly their own kite at Marina Barrage. They also learned how the barrage works. On the fourth day, the students took part in the Bedok Forest Adventure, which saw them working their way through an adventure course involving nets, swings,
bridges and ladders. On the last day, the students made presentations about the week’s activities and experiences to the teachers involved. Sincere thanks to all the staff who were involved in this group’s activities.
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1st annual athletics banquet
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1st annual athletics banquet
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JE MS CASA WEEK ADVENTURES - grade 6 By Jenna, Grade 6-4 Student
Before CASA week everyone had mixed opinions about the trip. Some good, some bad, leaving us 6th Graders anxious to get our own opinion on the trip and to see for ourselves. We took pretty much every vehicle you could imagine, buses, boats, trains and even an aeroplane! Then, after the record breaking bus ride, something amazing happened: sleepy students rubbed their eyes not believing what they witnessed. The loud noises of cheers and applause filled the bus. Everyone got up, high fived and gave each other hugs. WE’D FINALLY ARRIVED! 85 children came pouring out of 3 big buses. Our legs were numb, we all had bed hair but arriving in Taman Negara made it all worthwhile. Still water covered most of the land, but the beautiful trees and mountains were as clear as day. There was not a cloud in the sky. As we slowly took a small boat down the river, I couldn’t take my gaze off the breath taking clear water. The wildlife that lived in these parts of Taman Negara was just unbelievable! Flowers, singing, dancing and laughter filled our visit to a local Malaysian school. Hundreds of little faces lit up as we walked through the school gates and before we knew it we were being showered with rice and flower petals! We were being treated to a traditional Malay wedding. As it got closer to the time we left, our faces grew sad but those of the children were as mesmerizing as ever. We exchanged gifts and made our way back. We were sad to leave but happy with the amazing
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experience we had! Towering above the ancient trees of Taman Negara along a wobbly plank bridge couldn’t have been more of an adrenaline rush! I slowly and carefully took little steps from bridge to bridge. Big smiles grew on everyone’s faces as the cool wind brushed against the trees. Silent chirps of birds surrounded us. It was like walking along a tight rope above paradise. Everyone told
us not to look down but how could you not when there was breath taking beauty right below you? The treetops looked like flower bushes from where we were and the leaves reminded me of autumn. The trip was filled with laughter, excitement, relief and even tears. This was definitely a trip to remember.
Leadership club at tt
By jaya Van Praagh, TT Grade 3 Lead Teacher & Odile De Troy, TT French Specialist Teacher
them around the different exhibits. Close to 50 students had the opportunity to be an MC for our Grade Level Assemblies which was another highlight of being part of Leadership Club. Some of the favourite activities were being an MC, showing parents around, telling classes about special events and making posters. Overall it was a great year of developing leadership skills and working together. Here are some student quotes: “In Leadership Club we organized fun things for our school. We got to make posters and other fun things too,” Tuana said. “I really enjoyed organizing and helping the school. I really liked being a leader,” said Jiyoung.
We had a wonderful group of enthusiastic and committed Grade 3 students who took action to make a difference in our school community throughout the year. Our first school project was learning about and helping organize a fundraiser for students in Ladakh who were affected by severe floods. We also had many before school helpers, meeting our ECE and JK students when they got off the buses and walking them to their classes. Students also enjoyed planning and organizing two Spirit Days: Crazy Hair Day and Pyjama Day! Different recess games were also organized and run on
a weekly basis. Several students also took the initiative with Ms. Graff to set up sessions in the library to teach others how to make origami cranes. This was in conjunction with our school community action after the earthquakes in Japan; they surpassed their goal of 1000 cranes to represent our wishes for recovery. The cranes were then colourfully displayed hanging down above the Gross Motor Room. Our Celebration Assembly was extra special because of the enthusiastic students who greeted parents before the performances and showed
“I really enjoyed helping the school, being a leader and doing lots of fun things!” Lilly exclaimed. “My favourite part of Leadership Club was to organize big events. I learnt that if you join a club you have to be caring to the other people in the club not just yourself,” Nadia reflected. “At Leadership Club, we did a lot of helping and organization,” said Irene. “I really liked helping out and it was fun, too. So when there was a tsunami in Japan, my friends and I helped other people make paper cranes and put them on string and hung them up. I felt good because it felt like we were helping people in Japan. It was great to be in Leadership Club.”
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Alumni Feature: muhammad arsalan amjad By Natasha Cruz, Communications Natasha Cruz, a member of the Communications Department caught up with Arsalan, from the graduating class of 2006. Arsalan, who currently works at a commodity trading company and runs his own company shares a little bit about himself. Tell me a little bit about yourself. My name is Muhammad Arsalan Amjad and I am 23 years old. I am originally from Pakistan but currently work and reside in Singapore. I studied at the Canadian International School for 9 years – from 1997 to 2006, and attended the University of Durham in the UK directly upon graduation. What do you do now? I am currently working as an Associate in the sales division at an established commodity trading company, which requires me to sell various soft/hard commodities to and on behalf of third parties as physical and non-physical trades. I am also Director of my own company Unicell, which also engages in various commodity trading activities. What do you enjoy most about being a commodity trader? I enjoy people engagement, both internal and external to the company (e.g. government entities, senior management, various MNCs, individual trading companies), learning sales techniques from the senior management or other
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mentors and building upon their experiences/expertise. I also enjoy applying new trading methods/products in the market, and exploring new business opportunities in markets like China, South America, and Australia for example. In what way has CIS helped in getting you where you are now? The diverse community at CIS has been highly beneficial. Since CIS had a vast international parent/teacher/ student body, I always had to share or learn about other cultures/backgrounds. This helps me ‘gel’ very easily with people I meet today, since they also come from different backgrounds/cultures and it gives me the chance to share my experiences and learn from them.
What are your fondest memories of your time at CIS? Representing the school for various sports teams, some of the overseas school trips, fun day, to name a few. Though my favourite has to be spending time with my friends at the cafeteria, hanging out, or just finishing work for the next class! Do you have any advice to share with current students? I would just say to always have an open mind, in any situation you may face academically or nonacademically and have a positive attitude. Most important of all though, work hard at every opportunity that comes but always remember to have fun with it too, life’s too short!
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Parent appreciation night By Natasha Cruz, Communications
The annual CIS Parent Appreciation Night was held at the Toh Tuck campus gymnasium on Wednesday, 1 June 2011. It was the last Parent Appreciation Night to be held at the Toh Tuck campus, and a bumper crowd of approximately 300 people joined in the festivities. The event, organized annually by the school, is a means of saying ‘thank you’ to the parent community for their contributions to enriching the school’s sense of community. Dr. Glenn Odland, thanked all of the parents for their gifts of time and talent, and awarded this school year’s Parent Teacher Association Executive Committee each with a small gift. The dinner consisted of a buffet spread of various gourmet treats, and there was a range of games and activity stations set up for the children. Ms. Longmire hosted games such as musical chairs with the help of High School student volunteers and Canvass Art Studio set up a station for kids to create wearable art. All of the guests received gifts consisting of a $10 voucher from Huber’s Butchery, a $5 voucher from Chili’s and a $5 voucher from Maggie Moo’s. After the dinner and speech, there were several lucky draw prizes up for grabs. The lucky winners took home OPI gift vouchers and gift sets from Alexis Links, discount vouchers from Huber’s Butchery, wine hampers and coffee table books from Santa Fe Relocation
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Services, Supper Club and cooking course vouchers from Expat Kitchen, and a Super Combo voucher for the MegaZip Adventure Park. The evening concluded with an opportunity for the younger kids to gather in the gym to participate in dance contests and win some prizes.
The Canadian International School is grateful to all of those who made the event possible, to those who were able to attend, and to those companies who willingly sponsored gift items. We all look forward to a bigger and better event once we have transitioned into the new Lakeside campus next school year.
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The Canadian international school would like to thank the following sponsors for their support on parent appreciation night:
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school CALENDAR - MAY to JUNE SCHOOL WIDE:
JURONG EAST (MIDDLE SCHOOL) CAMPUS:
June 16 16 16 20
End of Semester 2 Final Semester 2 Reports Issued Last day of School for Students Summer School begins
June 1 1 16 16
Athletics Day Parent Appreciation Evening Final Semester 2 reports issued Year End Assembly
July 29
Summer School Program ends
August 9 15 30
August 11 15
Orientation for all JE students First Day of School for all students
National Day Public Holiday First Day of School for all students Hari Raya Public Holiday
TANJONG KATONG CAMPUS:
JURONG EAST (HIGH SCHOOL) CAMPUS:
June 1 3 16 16
Energy Explosion Day Sports Day Year End Assembly Final Semester 2 reports issued
August 12 15
Orientation for all TK students First Day of School for all students
June 2 3 3 8 9-14 17 22
1st Annual Athletic Banquet Last Day for OSSD ISP submission Sports Day Last Day of High School classes Exams - MYP, DP Year 1, OSSD Final Semester 2 High School Graduation MYP Final, DP Final Year 1, OSSD Final Semester 2 reports issued
August 11 15
Orientation for all JE students First Day of School for all students
TOH TUCK CAMPUS: June 1 7 9 16
Parent Appreciation Evening Energy Explosion Day (ECE, JK & SK) Energy Explosion Day (Grades 1, 2 & 3) Final Semester 2 reports issued
August 10 15
Orientation for all TT students First Day of School for all students
* Information is correct at the time of printing but is subject to change. Please check the Week at a Glance e-bulletin weekly for important announcements and dates to remember.
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CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL www.cis.edu.sg
Toh Tuck Campus • 5 Toh Tuck Road, Singapore 596679 • Phone: +65 6467 1732 Jurong East Campus • 561 Jurong East Street 24, Singapore 609561 • Phone: +65 6875 1519 or 6323 0208 Tanjong Katong Campus • 371 Tanjong Katong Road, Singapore 437128 • Phone: +65 6345 1573 Email: communications@cis.edu.sg