Mosaic@cis August 2017 by Canadian International School

CONTENTS

41 GETTING SOCIAL 42 ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

AUGUST 2017

46 26

56 42 06

Peter Pan Jr. - An alumna’s perspective

06 FEATURED NEWS

Alice in Wonderland Jr.

08 LEARNING Math olympiad success Breakout the skills ¡CIS habla español! Refugee crisis CIS university guidance Readers Cup 2017 Active learning connects classroom and home A Chinese cultural trip back in time South African tales Grade 7-8 Singapore excursion A profitable market day TK grade 3 masterchefs CIS celebrates girls and women in science

25 HAPPENINGS

TK’s sports days Hong Kong invitational swim meet 2017 Congratulations to our 19U netball teams Nao snags number 1 swimmer ranking 13U rugby makes history TK student Olivia’s archery achievement Geethan plants CIS’ flag on new ground Chess success CIS Taekwondo made us proud A driving ambition ... for golf! A rare ballet masterclass CIS girls represent Singapore in contact rugby Netball continues to grow at CIS Gold is ours at the Hockey 5’s in Hong Kong

52 SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP

02 COVER STORY

26 INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

TK collaborates with the Singapore Committee for UN Women

Beauty and the Beast Jr. CIS performs live at the Esplanade Rosa’s win at the Across Asia Youth Film Festival Daigo performed at AMIS Festival 2017 TK at the ISTA Festival A symphonic cultural exchange Primary poetry slams CIS’ SISFF award winners TK talent Tuesday Site specific theatre at TK Lakeside’s grade 6 concert

Grade 6 house leaders 2016-2017 Cambodia book project Tabitha founder visits CIS primary Empty bowls CIS raises over $79,000 for Terry CIS receives WWF eco school award

59 STUDENT VOICE

62 OUTDOOR LEARNING Approaching the mangroves with an open mind Outdoor Classroom Day 2017 SK’s outdoor learning experience

68 COMMUNITY

A night under the stars The Power 5 Green and healthy Mondays CIS’ friends year at a glance

Sarah’s miniature meal making Vedang’s rooster tale wins second place MOSAIC@CIS A quarterly school magazine of the Canadian International School

28 ARTS AND CREATIVITY

Editorial

Editors: Michelle Sharp, Ela Erozan Gursel, Sue-Ellen Gray, Jacqueline Weber Design: Raymond Babol, Robin Viernes Photographers: The communications team and other members of CIS. Mosaic@CIS is published by the Canadian International School in Singapore. Reproduction in any manner in any language is forbidden, unless prior consent is provided. Please send feedback to mosaic@cis.edu.sg. CPE Registration Number: 199002243H CPE Registration Period: 8 June 2015 to 7 June 2019 MCI (P) 173/03/2017 Published by: Canadian International School Printed by: Carlisle Printers & Graphic Designers

COVER STORY

Peter Pan Jr. - An alumna’s perspective CIS alumna, Lori, shares her backstage experience at this TK production. Words by Lori Gunn, CIS alumna ‘16

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COVER STORY

It all began with a phone call from my mother who had some exciting news for me. I was just finishing my first year of university at Smith College in the US and would soon be returning to Singapore for the school break. I planned on volunteering at the Genesis School for Special Education, beginning in mid-June, but first I wanted to take a break, relax and get caught up on my favourite Netflix shows.

Scan this QR code to watch the video on Youtube.

When I heard my mother’s news, I tossed my plan to relax out the window for the opportunity to get involved in TK’s production of Peter Pan Jr. I attended secondary school at CIS’ Lakeside campus for four years, but I had never met the TK arts team before so I was a bit nervous about whether I would fit in. But Ms L and Ms Ho (Sierra Laderoute and Caroline Ho) welcomed me with open arms. It was just like coming home. By the time I arrived, rehearsals were in full swing. Students from grades 4 to 6 were working hard to memorise their lines, excitedly trying on their costumes for the first time. The fairies were especially thrilled about the sparkling sequined skirts they got to wear! Now came the hard part - putting all the “pieces” together. That’s where Ms L and Ms Ho’s experience and endless patience came in. The two of them worked day and night to ‘block’ the scenes (plan exactly where everybody was supposed to be and when for the best dramatic effect) and rehearse with our wonderful cast. My job, along with helping out at rehearsals, was to manage the ‘backstage’ portion of Peter Pan Jr. on show night making sure all the props were where they should be, that scenes changed at the right time, and that costume changes went smoothly. I was a bit nervous at first, there seemed like so much to do, but the students helped me make sure everything went off without a hitch.

Some of my favourite memories are of everybody piling into the small backstage area just out of view of the audience, trying not to laugh at the tight fit while maneuvering all the props into the hands of whoever could most easily escape the crowd for the next scene change! I was really impressed by the dedication of TK staff and students who worked tirelessly until the last minute to put together such a spectacular show, as well as the courage and leadership our young performers showed when they performed on show night. There was no stage-fright in sight for these pirates, fairies, lost-boys, and indians, just excited energy and a dedication to get the job done well - all the while having the time of their lives - and I was so proud at the end of the night. By the time the show finished, the audience was on its feet, cheering for the amazingly talented young performers. When all was said and done they did a great job and had an even better time doing it! I was very fortunate to be able to work alongside such talented students and staff who made Peter Pan Jr. the success that it was. Many of these students are moving to secondary school at Lakeside in August. I know they will be warmly welcomed, as I was when I first arrived. Their journey at CIS will allow them to see the world through different eyes. Being part of the CIS community taught me to be more open minded and caring, and to think critically and creatively. Being part of the Peter Pan Jr. production reminded me that I will always be a member of this wonderful community. Thanks for these great memories TK!

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FEATURED NEWS

Alice in Wonderland Jr. This year’s grade 5 musical review comes in odd sizes, spectacular colours and a great adventure to remember. Words by Shanhong Hughes, Musical Director

Scan this QR code to watch the video!

It is never easy when you are different. The story of Alice, always the wrong size to be accepted, mirrors our lifelong learning about community, respect for one another and celebrating differences. A very big congratulations to all Grade 5 students who were part of this musical. Alice in Wonderland Jr. was a delightful, fun-filled show! After five months of learning songs in our regularly scheduled music classes, combined with cast rehearsals at recess, students put everything together in their CCA time. And the result was a spectacular performance! Students travelled on their own wonderland journey, developing their own characters through music and 06

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choreography, and uniting as a single team to learn all the songs for the whole musical. Indeed, not only did students learn the song lyrics, they all had speaking parts to learn too! There were so many people who made this production possible and it was a joy to work with them all. The music team: Mrs Little, Mr Choi, Ms Kennedy and Ms Pozzuoli; the grade 5 team: Ms Bourdeau, Mr McKibbon, Ms Fisher, Ms Tremblay, Ms Smith, Mr Hansen, Ms Eddy, Mr Derosa, Ms Mable and Ms Tiansu; our grade 7 student helpers: Anusha, Shunsho, Annie, Evie, Romi, Johnny, Thais, Ezra and an amazing parent team. Parents - kudos to you for all your work with makeup and helping our grade students shine.

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In early April, after three months of preparation, 143 students from Lakeside and 35 from TK challenged their math skills and demonstrated their commitment to learning.

Words by CIS Communications

Lakeside Primary School has participated in SASMO over the last two years, and many of our students have experienced the thrill of success in the competition. SASMO caters to the top 40% of the student population, and it encourages students’ interest in mathematical problem solving. It also encourages the development of mathematical intuition, reasoning, as well as logical, creative and critical thinking. Through our inquiry-based approach, we help students look at, and approach, math problems in different ways.

LEARNING

and on weekends. Of the 35 students who competed, 11 placed in the medal standings, and all medal winners have been invited to join the next level competition in July! Congratulations everyone - this is a very proud moment for TK! Gold medal recipients • Grade 4: Wang SiRui • Grade 5: Abhay Malik • Grade 6: Shin Min Kyu

In April, 143 Grades 2 to 6 students completed the specific grade-level exams. 55 of our students placed gold, silver or bronze. Great job Lakeside.

Silver medal recipients

Gold medal recipients

• Grade 4: Isabel Pelekani • Grade 5: Zac Puna • Grade 6: Ai Yanyi (Eric)

• Grade 2: Rafael D’Souza • Grade 3: Aritra Guha • Grade 4: Christian D Chu, Kim Hanjune (Chris), Sotaro Smyth, Yuto Matsumae, Yuxuan Zhao (Andy) • Grade 5: Daewoong Kang (ranked 6th in the world!), Junwoo Park • Grade 6: Ohryun Kwon (Peter), Ruogu Yang (Fairy) Silver medal recipients • Grade 2: Binglin Luan (Billy), Boidehi Ukil, Senan Gurney • Grade 3: Aymeric Wielemans De Marchant Et D’ Ansembourg, Li Qing Chen (Melody), Situ Yiheng (Cici), Zi Shuo (Leo) Gong • Grade 4: Chris Jiang, Max Shen, Ryuta Uchida, Tianyu Philip Huang • Grade 5: Hyun Lee, Seiji Tabuchi • Grade 6: Ge Tianfang (Timothy), Haian Shao (Eric)

Bronze medal recipients • • • • •

Grade 4: Adya Gupta Grade 4: George Bellingall Grade 5: Yuna Mori Grade 5: Sean Xiao YuYang Grade 6: Ume Bhattacharya

Note: Gold award recipients placed within the top 8% of students, silver among the top 12-20%, and bronze in the top 20-40%.

Bronze medal recipients

The Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiad (also known as SASMO) is a contest designed to challenge students academically, instill a confidence and a love for math, and to develop higher order thinking skills. First introduced in 2006 as a math competition for primary 3 to 6 students, SASMO has grown to serve Singapore’s local primary, secondary and international schools. The competition is now one of the largest math contests in Asia, with over 20,000 having taken part in 2016. CIS is now a regular SASMO participant. Lakeside participated for the first time last year, and TK joined for the first time this academic year. Although our students encountered some different math strategies, expectations and vocabulary, they were undaunted. In early April, after three months of preparation, 143 students from Lakeside and 35 from TK joined over 14,000 other students and wrote the 90 minute exam. We are delighted to announce CIS’ competition results. Congratulations to all students on a job very well done - you were risk-takers, demonstrated your commitment to learning and were persistent in your thinking! All medal recipients have been invited to join the Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge (SIMOC), scheduled on 15 July at CIS Lakeside. 08

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• Grade 2: Adhavan Nandakumar, Arjun Suryavanshee, Chen Ming Yu, Maya Gavankar, Nie Qianyi Caroline, Qian Yue, Rhea Engineer, Shayaan Qadari, Vishvek Suresh, Yui Onomitsu • Grade 3: Christopher (CJ) Oduneye-Braniff, Emma Chew, Oliver Kellett • Grade 4: Christianna Trinity Oduneye-Braniff, Edoardo Colella, Haoyang Shi (Howard), Siddharth Madapura • Grade 5: Imma Tao Martinez Leger, Jimmy Wang Qingyu, Jian Kim, Li Jiawei (Emma), Qianru Zhou (Lily), Yewon Min (Serena), Taiki Ambai, Wang Hongbo, Xiao Yang Guan • Grade 6: Dev Pal, Liang Rui (Leo), Neal Engineer Note: Gold award recipients placed within the top 8% of students, silver among the top 12-20%, and bronze in the top 20-40%. TANJONG KATONG RESULTS TK decided last November to take part in SASMO, on a small scale as it was their first year in the competition. Five students from each homeroom class in grades 4 to 6 were invited to participate. Students met weekly as a grade level team and put in extra time and preparation in the evenings

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LEARNING

Math olympiad success.

LAKESIDE RESULTS

LEARNING

When I arrived I could literally feel the excitement in the air. The children shared all of their information with me, and were eager to discover what information I could add. My envelope contained a “parking lot” for the locks, and 4 more envelopes. We discussed why we might need a “parking lot” for the locks and one of the students correctly identified that we would put the locks into the parking lot once we opened them. We then decided as a class that we would divide into 4 groups, and each group would “take” an envelope and hope it would help us solve the mystery!

Breakout the skills! Kindergarten students use inquiry, play and problem solving techniques during a unique escape room activity. Words by Rachel Poff, PYP Coordinator As many of you are already aware, there is a new activity sweeping the world. The escape room which involves groups of people being placed in locked rooms and provided with a series of clues to help them “escape”. It is a timed, pressure cooker of an outing! Interestingly, this craze is now sweeping the educational world as well, and as usual CIS is on top of the trend! As one of the PYP coordinators, it is my job to support the teaching and learning in the classroom, and I am constantly looking for meaningful ways to make this happen. The Approaches to Learning (ATLs) as set out in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) are deliberate skills and strategies that help drive teaching and learning within the classroom. ATLs are divided into five categories; thinking, communication, research, self management, and social skills. We teach these skills through inquiry, and ensure that the needs of each learner are met in a collaborative environment emphasising teamwork. The CIS mission statement, “Engage. Enlighten. Empower.”, is not just words on paper. It is a philosophy that we bring to life. To push skill development in kindergarten, I created an activity with Mishelle Lyons and her class that I felt would bring the CIS mission statement to life. Using ideas and resources provided by Breakout EDU, we created and 10

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prepared a skills based breakout-themed critical thinking and problem solving session for the students. Setting the scene at SK On separate days the students of Ms Mishelle’s and Ms Crystal’s SK classes returned from recess to find a number of Dr Seuss books in their classroom. Neither teacher knew where they had come from. But as they had found the books, both teachers read “Fox in Sox” to the students. Later in the day, the students returned from lunch to find a strange black box on the floor of their classroom. The box was locked with 4 different locks; a key lock, a directional lock, a four number combination lock and a word lock. The students were of course curious and full of questions. They knew something new and exciting was happening. We had created the perfect conditions for learning! Students inquiry Both teachers expertly led the students on an initial inquiry about the box and locks so the students would have some information about what they would need to know to help them solve the mystery. Teachers then made a video call

In one envelope there was a poem which directed the students to the classroom library. Once in the library they found the Dr Seuss books that had arrived in their classroom earlier in the day. They would also find a sock. Once some more digging was done, they located a key. This led to much excitement in both classes! The students had realised that there really were clues and things hidden around the room! Problem one solved, a key to the first lock! In the second group’s envelope was a page from The Cat in the Hat. They read it and were not sure how it connected to the lock problem. With some prompting and expert questions from their teachers, they noticed that on the back of the page was the sentence, “This clue opens the directional lock.” There were a few shouts of excitement as they reread the passage with a new focus. With the help of other classmates, they discovered the words up, up, up and down, down in the passage. Problem two solved, directions for the directional lock! The third group had a math problem. In their envelope they found four cards showing socks and numbers on the bottom. It also contained a highlighter pen and some sort of light. The light of course caused huge levels of excitement and questions. I asked the students from both classes why they thought they had a highlighter. They decided they needed to write something. They quickly agreed that they needed to highlight the correct number of socks on the card. Was that all?, I asked, and why the light? They began flashing the light everywhere, but it did nothing. They went over to the box and shone it on the locks. Nothing. They quickly regrouped and began to problem solve. The clue must be on the 4 pieces of paper, but where? One student held up a paper and another shone the light on it. Just like magic, there was a number in invisible ink that was only visible if the light was shining on it. There were shouts of excitement as everyone came over to see the magic light. Problem three solved, the four numbers for the combination! The final group had a word problem. They discovered a bunch of puzzle pieces in their envelope. Each piece had a word on it. After reading all of the sight words, the group decided that some of the words rhymed and they could be joined together to form a green egg! Once they matched the pieces and created the eggs, they knew a clue had to

be close. After some careful observation skills, they noticed all of the words were underlined except for one. Mouse. Problem four solved, the word “mouse” for the final lock. The entire class gathered on the carpet to present their findings and explain how they had solved the puzzle. This activity was an excellent example of the children problem solving and the use of critical thinking in a collaborative environment. The excitement and enthusiasm of the students was palpable. After some intentionally chosen questions by Ms Mishelle and Ms Crystal, we were ready to try to open the box. Students who said they wanted to be risk takers volunteered to try to unlock one of the four locks. One by one the students applied the knowledge they had uncovered, to open the locks. Each time one opened there was a cheer from the class! Once they were all open, the students predicted what they might find inside the box. Answers included a live fox, a puppet, chocolates, and a metal robot! It turns out that Fox left a box full of sox for the students to decorate. This escape activity was a wonderful example of how children’s skills can be developed through inquiry and collaboration. The level of engagement within the class was outstanding. Each and every student participated and encouraged one another during the activity. The looks of satisfaction and accomplishment on their faces were so rewarding for us as facilitators. Mishelle and Crystal did an outstanding job of guiding, and questioning, to uncover their students’ skills and confidence. Teachers inquiry Based on the success of the first two breakouts in SK, I decided to try the session with grade 1 teachers during a co-planning session. The breakout concept is an excellent tool for team building. In order to be an effective team, teachers need to communicate and collaborate. The teachers’ box was based on inquiry, not Dr Seuss! Teachers were only told to bring “Making the PYP Happen (the IB guide to the PYP curriculum framework)” and a device to read QR codes. They had no idea what was planned for them. They were given the box with a QR code attached to it. The QR code explained that there were clues to solve based on their knowledge of inquiry. Once they solved the clue, they would be able to open the box. They immediately got to work. It was interesting to observe the different ways individuals approached the task. Eventually, they agreed on putting all the information out, sharing it, and then working on the clues one by one as a team. They did an amazing job working together, problem solving, encouraging each other and ultimately succeeding. They opened the box and found chocolates! This session was so successful that next we decided to create a breakout exercise for grade 1 students for their Sharing the Planet unit. I look forward to creating another engagement like this with other classes. So, remember if a locked box shows up in your room, you know what to do! Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

LEARNING

to me (in full view of the students) to see if I had any idea about where the box came from, and what may be inside. Of course I had no idea, but I did have a strange envelope on my desk that said, Fox? Locks? Box? Together we decided that I should come to the class immediately and see if we could work together to solve this mystery!

LEARNING

Spanish culture is celebrated with Don Quijote readings, latin dance and music. Words by Maria Isabel Lluen and Amelia Sevilla, Spanish teachers

LEARNING

¡CIS habla español!

talent in latin dance, Mr Studlo shared how his passion for dance is truly interconnected with his love of the Spanish language and cultures. Mr Studlo said: “Spanish is my second language. Growing up in the United States we were surrounded by Spanish speakers and sometimes we had to use Spanish to communicate in our daily lives. My favourite thing about the Spanish culture is the way people go about their daily lives. I admire the Spanish people who know how to live life to the fullest. Once you experience the Spanish culture, you leave with a new appreciation in your heart for all the things in life, big or small. The more you surround yourself with the culture, the more you will understand the language.”

Scan this QR code to watch the Latin dance video!

Scan this QR code to watch the Cervantes video!

The celebrations continued on 23 April when Spanish language students observed ‘Día del Idioma Castellano’ (Spanish Castilian day), an important date in the South American calendar. On this day, the great Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes is remembered with his most influential books among the best loved world literature of all times - El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha. This story reveals the adventures of a self declared knight who reads so many romance novels that he loses his sanity and decides to set out to revive chivalry and bring justice to the world, under the name of Don Quijote de la Mancha. Every year this novel is read for 48 hours non-stop by figures from the world of Spanish culture and politics, and by ordinary citizens and schools all over the country and abroad. This year, CIS joined in this tradition for the very first time! Students displayed talent and commitment on their learning journeys. A few words from our students: What I like the most about Spanish is… According to research studies, Spanish is the happiest and most positive language in the world.* Currently, Spanish is the world’s second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese. Over 560 million people speak Spanish, including those who are Spanish language students. The Cervantes Institute (the largest organisation in the world responsible for promoting the study and the teaching of Spanish language and culture) estimates that over 472 million people speak Spanish as a native language, and a total of 567 million people speak Spanish including native speakers and students at varied levels of proficiency. An impressive 7.8% of the world population!

our students have had the opportunity to increase their proficiency in the language, while learning about Día de muertos, practicing flamenco dance, cooking gazpacho, eating las uvas de la suerte for New Year’s Eve and constructing piñatas. This month, for the very first time, Spanish students will be taking Diploma of Spanish as a Foreign Language (DELE) exams. DELE is an official qualification awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Education to certify the Spanish language competency of students from outside a Spanishspeaking country. These certificates are valid for life and recognised worldwide.

The soaring popularity of studying Spanish as a second language is reflected at CIS. The Spanish programme for primary students opened this academic year, and continues all through secondary school including the Diploma Programme.

Another first in the evolution of Spanish at CIS was our Spanish latin festival which saw primary and secondary students coming together to celebrate the Spanish language and cultures.

At CIS, we are committed to exposing students to the language as well as the culture that the language represents. We know that in order to properly master a language, you need to be immersed with the people, customs, food, history, and activities. Over the course of this school year,

The celebrations began on 21 April with latin music and dancing for our Spanish language students. Timothy Studlo, Tanjong Katong’s Digital Literacy Coach, performed and then conducted a workshop on some basic reggaeton and salsa moves, along with his dancing partner. After showcasing his

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… that it’s very interesting and unique because of the things Spanish people do and celebrate! I also love the food! (Lilla Zsarnoczay, grade 7). … how different it is from the culture we are currently living in, though it reminds me of my home language and culture in the Netherlands. It gives me the feeling that though I am hundreds of kilometers away, I’m still there. (Janneke Van Goch, grade 8). … the speaking and how fast it is, I like the food as well (Julie Le Bretton, grade 8). … the rich culture that has been preserved throughout the years. I especially like how this culture is shared amongst so many countries that are united in the language around the world” (Max Slater, grade 11). ... most of the Spanish words are quite similar to Turkish. I also like sending Spanish emails to my Spanish Pen-pal. I really enjoy learning Spanish, it is super fun! (Ozgur Genc, grade 4). ...I find the culture very friendly and inviting, we feel warm and welcome…. (Vidith Srivastava, grade 6).

… is friendly to learn and is one of the most important languages of the world... (Isaac Misajon, grade 6). … that it is not a subject. It is home.” (Stefan Chamorro, grade 12). according to a research study published in February 2015 by the University of Vermont (UoV) and not-for-profit research and development organisation, the MITRE Corporation. *

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Grade 7 Language and Literature students investigate inequality by examining the refugee crisis.

LEARNING

Refugee crisis.

CIS university guidance. Jennifer Aquino guides secondary students on their university choices.

Words by CIS Communications

Words by Sana Sikka and Ines Erk, grade 7 Language and Literature students Our current unit in grade 7 Language and Literature is about inequality. We have been exploring a variety of social injustices and inequalities that occur in different cultures around the world. We have read fact based novels and discussed real world issues in class to analyse the core of this unit. To extend our knowledge in culture inequalities, we invited a scholarly visitor, Audrey Courty Erk, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidate with a Bachelor of Journalism with Honours from Griffith University in Queensland, Australia to CIS. Audrey visited CIS on 14 February and spoke to all of grade 7 about her personal experience traveling to six different refugee camps around the world. This is what we learnt...

Lesbos, who graduated from a veterinary school and was an intellectual in the true sense. Moria camp in Lesbos, Greece Also known as the Afghan Hill, Moria camp is a “makeshift camp” located in Lesbos, Greece. Because of its proximity to the Turkish border, many people have tried to sneak in the recent past and more than 4000 died in the Mediterranean sea. The camp is divided into sections, single males live in one area, families and women in another. While a bulk of the population of refugees are families and children, Moria camp is mostly populated by men. While interviewing the refugees in the camp, Audrey discovered that what the refugees disliked the most was the way they were given food, by queuing, which they found was very “dehumanising”.

The current European refugee crisis has been a subject of much angst and debate. The most intriguing aspect of this debate is that individuals of all age groups and communities are actively involved in expressing their opinions. The Syrian problem is growing into the biggest migration crisis in Europe’s history, and many people claim that these refugees are “migrants” and will do nothing but harm the nations from which they seek help. To better understand this problem, this article will discuss a little bit of background, consequences and how forces are joining two different sides.

Dani, a Syrian refugee at the Pipka camp

By the end of 2015, approximately 21.3 million refugees had fled their home country, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. The main countries hosting refugees are Turkey (2.54 million), Lebanon (1.07 million) and Pakistan (1.56 million). In addition, records show that developing countries host 86% of the world’s refugees. There is peak coverage in Germany and with all these countries hosting so many refugees, people are beginning to refer to it as “Europe’s crisis”, whereas it is a matter of global responsibility. The most common illegal crossing has been through Istanbul, TurkeyLesbos and then Athens, Greece. Refugees have often continued travelling to Calais, France to cross over into the UK. Audrey shared that out of the one million asylum claims, only 300 of them were approved.

Audrey also met and interviewed Sam, an Iraqi refugee in Istanbul, Turkey. He had worked as a translator for the American army, but being Christian and gay he was at the risk of being persecuted in Iraq, so he escaped from Iraq and became a refugee in Istanbul. Sadly he had no legal right to work, so he was only able to work “under-the-table” as a vendor at the Grand Bazaar. Sam was not officially recognised as a refugee. Later, Audrey met Yamin from at a refugee camp in Istanbul. He was only 16 years old when he arrived in Turkey with his mother, both were truly terrified of the war. Audrey was surprised by Yamin’s fluency in English. He was a well educated bright child back home.

On 1 January 2016, Audrey Courty started her crowdfunded project “On the refugee trail” that focused on the refugee crisis as a humanitarian crisis. She travelled to Istanbul, Lesbos, Athens, Calais, Berlin and Munich for 4 consecutive weeks to find that most of the refugees are from high or middle class, and they previously held well paying jobs and can speak fluent English. So many were like Mohammed, a Syrian refugee from a refugee camps in 14

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Dani, came to Lesbos as a refugee to seek freedom from being persecuted for his political views, taste in music (heavy metal), and absence of faith (atheist), after being shot multiple times and once kidnapped. He now volunteers in the Pipka camp as a translator. Sam, an Iraqi refugee, and Yamin, a Syrian refugee in Istanbul

In conclusion, the points Audrey made in her talk were to help give a brief understanding of the conflict, how this crisis is creating different problems worldwide and the debate where all age groups and communities are involved. Audrey’s research and call for action has shown to us the two sides and how Europe is responding. Most countries are trying to help in their own sphere. The prejudices about refugees should be put aside and a multinational plan should be implemented in order to help this large group of displaced people.

In Secondary School, students are contemplating their future. As they reach Grade 10, they are beginning to understand where they excel academically, and what motivates them intellectually. They investigate fields and careers they might want to pursue, and what IB DP courses will be needed. They also have to narrow down where they might go to university, and which schools they should actually apply to. These are not easy questions for a teen to answer. Gaining admission to university is a complex process that can be very challenging, and there is no one-size fits all approach. Students must understand their learning style and what sort of university environment will suit them. An Ivy league school really is a fit for very few students. They need to know where they want to go geographically and what that means in terms of university applications. What will students’ shortlisted universities use to evaluate their application - is it grades, extracurricular activities or leadership experience or a combination of all. This exploratory journey can be both exhilarating and stressful. It is one that requires expert advice and guidance along the way so that students are able to make informed decisions. At CIS, our internal expertise includes college counselling, course selection

assistance, DP coordinator meetings, and so on. We also host global experts to help our students guide in the process. One of these experts is Ms Jennifer Ann Aquino, an international educational consultant who specialises in university and educational planning. Jennifer has consulted to schools, parents and students globally, and is the author of the upcoming book, The International Family Guide to US University Admissions, to be published by Wiley & Sons globally in May 2017. Last October, Jennifer shared her first-hand experience as she hosted information sessions for students and parents, offered training and insight to our faculty on how best to support students in their university applications, and met with Grade 11 students and parents individually to discuss university choices, applications, and strategies. Jennifer returned to CIS to work with grades 10 and 11 for an intensive university planning week on 2128 April. She hosted a range of seminars for parents and students to strategically prepare them for the university admission process; and met one-on-one with Grade 11 students to review their university shortlists, discuss references and answer questions, and to best prepare them for the next steps in the applications process. Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

A great competition to explore new books, meet new friends, and develop a love of reading.

Words by grade 5 students Abhay Malik (TK) and Aryan Tuteja (Lakeside)

LEARNING

Readers Cup 2017.

Active learning connects classroom and home. Keita’s learning doesn’t end in class. It continues at home and deepens his understanding and ignites his curiosity.

Words by Sarah Aspillaga, Grade 2 Teacher “There can be no learning without action, and no action without learning” is the PYP teachers’ motto for their students’ learning. Keita Komatsu, a student from 2-3 recently did just that, extending his learning from school to home. In the Sharing the Planet unit, my class investigated how plants sustain life on earth. Keita and his classmates learnt how to grow plants in the classroom; they used the plants as live artefacts to observe, research, experiment, learn and care for them as “botanists”. Being a botanist was no easy task; as with all living beings, plants had problems that require constant attention and care. As the plants were growing so fast, students discovered: • stems and roots started to overcrowd, • mould started to grow on some of the plants, and • insects and bugs started to feed on the soil and roots of some other plants. Students in grade 2-3 found solutions for each and every problem: • they trimmed the overgrown stems, and • got rid of the mould and insects in order to sustain a healthy life for the plants. How did Keita extend this understanding further? On Open Minds, under Mr Carl Brown’s guidance, Keita potted plants such as lemongrass. At the end of the unit, he was further inspired by Mr David Dasari from Sodexo who presented to the class on how different parts of plants can be used for food. Extending his understanding on the topic, Keita conducted an investigation at home:

Wow! What an exhilarating contest, full of surprise, drama, and most of all, suspense. It is one of the most intense and competitive competitions in the whole school year and its name is ‘the Readers Cup’.

How can his lemongrass sustain life? Armed with his curiosity and knowledge, he processed his lemongrass plant and made a special tea out of it to share with his family. He then shared the outcomes of the experiment he conducted at home with his classmates through a presentation. What a successful display of active learning. Well done Keita on connecting the dots to extend your learning and to create something new.

Readers Cup is a great way to get pulled into books. You become a better reader since you work hard to reread and then talk about them. By listening to other people, you can discuss, and even argue, different ideas from the books which helps you understand them more deeply. Over 5 months of preparation go into a one hour-long game. A game between 2 teams from TK, and 2 teams from Lakeside. Even though our teachers had intended this quiz to be a challenge, all teams breezed through it, with little, or even no struggle! This year, Lakeside were winners, but as this is an annual thing, next year, TK will be looking to win the cup back, while Lakeside will want to hold on to it! Kids who are interested in participating in the Readers Cup need to be committed and enthusiastic. Curiosity and brains help because you need to think quickly. It is a great way to explore new books, meet new friends, play games and have fun! Also, winning teams earned a 3-month membership from our sponsor ‘Epic Books’, check them out at www.getepic.com. Visit your librarians if you want a chance to participate next year. 16

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LEARNING

A Chinese cultural trip back in time. Primary bilingual classes visit the Chinese Heritage Centre and make meaningful cultural connections that extend classroom learning. Words by Rachel Poff, PYP Coordinator and Gary Guo, Chinese Literacy Coach As one of Canadian International School’s PYP Coordinators, my most important role is to collaborate with teachers in the grade levels I work with. In order to deliver a quality educational programme, teams plan together to discover the best ways to allow students understand the concepts around the central idea. This year I had the pleasure of working with the grade one bilingual team as well as Gary Guo, one of our Primary Chinese literacy coaches, to create a significant, meaningful and authentic field trip to the Chinatown Heritage Centre. During the where we are in place time unit of inquiry, students inquired into the central idea of changes in technology impact people’s lives. After a provocation (a process where we stimulate minds to come up with questions and ideas) that created a wide variety of wonderings, I met with the bilingual team to discuss ways to bring this unit to life in a culturally meaningful way that would provide additional opportunities for students to learn the Chinese language. According to the IB curriculum framework, Making the PYP Happen, “A balanced literacy curriculum is comprised of three interdependent aspects; learning to read and write, learning about reading and writing, and learning through reading and writing.” We decided that a trip to the Chinatown Heritage Centre would be an excellent way for us to connect with all three of these approaches to language learning in a local context. The museum offered us a glimpse into the history of Singapore. By its very nature, this would create opportunities to inquire into the central idea by looking at the technology or lack of, that was available at that time. This was the first time that a bilingual class was going on an excursion planned especially for them with both Chinese culture and language in mind. Our Chinese teachers, Gary, and I went for a site visit to the museum to examine the new exhibits and decide which language would be most effective for which displays. As a non Chinese speaker it was fascinating for me to observe our Chinese teachers through a different lens. They were in their element! They could make connections I had no knowledge of. They could make personal connections to their own lives. Many comments were made about grandparent’s homes and childhood memories. What a 18

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wonderful opportunity for our learners! We decided that Gary would facilitate the main floor and I would facilitate the second floor. On the main floor students would speak Chinese and on the second floor, English. Homeroom teachers would be there to support, question and work with small groups providing opportunities for observations, questions, and conversation. I focused on the doctor’s office. I had the children gather near the entrance and close their eyes. I asked them to think about a trip to the doctor’s office and share some words with me. “Clean, medicine, doctor, technology, books, machines,” were some of the words they came up with. We then stepped back in time. There was no medicine they recognised, no fancy machines or any of the things they were expecting. Instead they were greeted by wooden chairs, traditional Chinese medicine and an old family photograph. They noticed there was an abacus on the desk and decided it was for charging patients money. We discussed how that was indeed technology and decided what the modern day equivalent would be. They were also fascinated to find a hole in the floor that could be covered up. We all thought long and hard about what it could be. I had the students think about the procedure they follow when they go to doctors and to share that information with a friend. What could it be used for? After much discussion, questioning and thinking, we determined that it was to look downstairs so the doctor could tell the patients to come up to his office! They all thought this was fascinating! For me it was a very interesting experience. Watching the children switch effortlessly between languages was fascinating. Seeing two native English speakers sharing their ideas in Chinese was such a testament to the incredible job our Chinese teachers are doing. In addition, the fact that this field trip was such a culturally rich experience, made it even more special. It provided our students the opportunity to engage with parts of the culture and history of a language they are learning. Making emotional connections to the language creates a more meaningful learning environment and builds connections between the classroom and the real world. These are the optimal conditions for learning, which we managed to achieve on our field trip.

Gary:文化之旅—— “昨日再现”新加坡加拿大国际学校是一所IB学校，其中包括PYP/MYP/DP的课程。小学PYP 课程中“超学科教学”、“主题教学”等理念一直贯穿于整个小学体系阶段。一年级的学生正在进行“我们身处什么时空”的主题学习，其中主题思想是“科技改变对人们生活的影响。”经过年级组、PYP协调员、任课老师的讨论，决定组织一年级双语班的学生进行一次别开生面的“ 文化之旅”。新加坡原貌馆 (Chinatown Heritage Centre) 是一所真实还原了新加坡早期华人生活的展览馆。我们希望通过这样的参观学习活动，让学生切身实地地感受到以前人们的生活与现在人们生活的不同，以及科技怎样影响到我们现实的生活。在PYP协调员Rachel的带领下，中英文班主任老师以及中文教务督导共同策划了这次活动。新加坡原貌馆共三层，其中，第一层由中文教务督导郭老师用中文进行讲解和引导探究活动，第二层由PYP协调员Rachel 用英文进行讲解和引导探究活动，最后第三层由各班中英文班主任老师带领，让学生有自由提问和学习的过程。这样安排的主旨是使用IB探究学习的方式，让学生在中英文两种语言的指引下，进行主题式学习。在活动的过程中，学生们不但能充分理解教学单元中的主旨概念，并且也能对本土文化产生深入的认识。活动当日，学生们兴高采烈地乘坐大巴从学校出发，虽然烈日当空，但是一路上孩子们欢声笑语，到处都洋溢着兴奋和喜悦。到了原貌馆，同学们在老师的带领下井然有序地进行分组参观和学习。在第一层，郭老师用中文讲解了关于裁缝店、厨房、卫生间等以前人们生活的场景，同学们好奇不已，争先恐后地举手提问……有个澳大利亚学生看到以前笨重的婴儿车，就用中文告诉老师，他弟弟的婴儿车是用塑料做的，非常方便。老师们听到他的话，感觉特别欣慰和自豪，孩子可以把自己所学的知识融会贯通，又用中文表达出来，这真是难能

可贵啊！在第二层，PYP协调员Rachel生动活泼地向学生们介绍了以前的诊所、商店、住家等生活环境，一个来自中国的学生看到了以前的厕所，就用英文跟老师和别的同学分享了他自己的经历。他说，在中国有些地方很贫困，他们现在还在使用这样的茅厕，另外又讲了他爷爷奶奶的故事……其他同学都听得津津有味。最后，在任课老师们的带领下，学生们来到第三层，参观了以前的社区和娱乐场所的情景。学生们在这里同时使用两种语言进行提问和讨论，把本次活动推向了高潮，最后又合影留念，留下了一张张最美的笑脸。一次体验、一次分享、两种文化的碰撞与交流，这一切的一切都让在场的老师们感到这次活动的意义所在。三个小时的参观与学习转眼就过去了，当老师们集合的时候，很多学生还意犹未尽，不停地询问什么时候还会进行这样的活动……在之后的几天里，老师们整理了在原貌馆参观的一些影像资料，进行了拓展教学，并结合了其他学科的知识，对本单元的探究主题进行更深层次地分析和学习。一次文化之旅，两种教学语言，三个教师团队，四面八方学生，勾勒出加拿大国际学校双语教学一幅优美和难忘的画面。 This field trip to the Chinatown Heritage Centre highlighted the unique learning opportunities offered to our bilingual students. They were completely immersed in a culturally and linguistically rich environment, to authentically move through the language learning process. This engagement did not end at the centre. What they saw, heard, touched and experienced returned to the classroom. The teachers used this to inform the teaching and learning for the remainder of the unit. It was indeed a valuable trip back in time. Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

Words by Juliane Herold, Grade 3 teacher, Tanjong Katong Campus After a recent three week vacation in South Africa, I couldn’t stop thinking about an article I read that talked about the countless orphans of South Africa. As soon as I told Grade 3-4 about these children who spent their Christmas in an orphanage or on the streets, everyone in class was determined to help, and they sprang into action. Grade 3 decided to take action to help these orphans. They donated enough used and new clothing, shoes, toys and books to fill three large boxes which we donated to the TLC (The Love of Christ Children’s Home) Orphanage in Johannesburg, a home that cares for children five years and under.

friend Ms Micailah to join us in class as she is a Humanitarian Aid Worker in Burma. Passing through Singapore recently, Ms Micailah joined our class on 6 March, to talk about her work with mothers and children in Burma. Our in-class journalists had prepared a series of questions so we could make the most of our class time with our special visitor, and the students learnt a lot from her visit. Ms Micailah flew back to Burma the night of 6 March and will be in touch with us once she is able to deliver all our donations for the older children.

The TLC Orphanage are overjoyed to know that our donations are coming - after they leave Singapore for Johannesburg on 10 March 2017.

Grade 3-4 is excited to learn that their parcel has reached Johannesburg. The TLC Children’s Home sent heartfelt thank you messages and photos of the little ones enjoying the books and toys, and wearing the clothes. Everyone had a big smile on their face. We thank Mr Adam (Ms. Juliane’s husband) for his generous donation of SGD150. His kindness and passion made it possible for us to send the box of donations to South Africa.

We needed to find another good home for all our donations as the class had collected items for children older than 5 too. So we invited my South African

Beaming with joy, everyone in class felt very proud of their contributions in an attempt to make our world a better place.

Students helped sort all the donated items into two piles: one for children younger than 5, and one for children 6 years and older.

Grade 3-4 take action to help orphans in Burma and South Africa.

LEARNING

Grade 7-8 Singapore excursion. A challenging pursuit that develops empathy, curiosity, creativity and reflection. Words by Peter Westall, Grade 7-8 Excursion Lead The Singapore Excursion group for Grade 7 and Grade 8 explored the idea of “How do recreational activities help people find a balance between work and leisure in Singapore?” To answer this question we decided to explore various activities that Singapore offers and reflect on them. We developed a concept where the elements of challenge, empathy, curiosity, creativity and reflection were examined. CHALLENGE: Mega Adventure (an adrenalin pumping adventure experience in Sentosa that includes rope climbing and obstacle courses suspended metres off the ground) was the place we experienced mixed emotions. Challenged was the feeling when people were walking along the ropes and trying to grab the next swinging part at level one, or two or – gulp – at level three. It was the feeling when looking down at the ground from high up in preparation for the parachute jump. By the time we arrived at the Zip Line ride, the feeling of challenge was also a combination of exhilaration and a sense of achievement. What a challenging day it has been! EMPATHY: The Willing Hearts kitchen serves five thousand meals a day to disadvantaged people around Singapore including the elderly, the disabled, low income families, children from single parent families (or otherwise poverty stricken families), and migrant workers in Singapore. It is a well-organised service supported by an army of volunteers across the island. We were part of this group for a morning! Vegetable chopping, pouring milk from cartons into containers, putting sugar into bags for distribution to people and

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moving fifty kilogram bags of rice for the next day’s cooking were our tasks. It was an enlightening experience to see such a huge kitchen providing and distributing food to so many people. CURIOSITY: For people who have lived in Singapore for some time it might be easy to say “Oh not Little India again! And Chinatown - no way, been there, done that?” when the idea of a bus tour is suggested. What a surprise it was to have a knowledgeable guide, and how useful it was to realise that “curiosity skills the cat!” It was a surprise to discover that familiar sights when explained and understood can provide new perspectives, different stories and new layers of knowledge. CREATIVITY: The Art/Science Museum Future World at Marina Bay (where the worlds of art, science, magic and metaphor combine through a collection of cutting-edge digital installations) was the place to be for creativity. As soon as we walked in, we saw a wall of waves and then birds swirling around a room. Hmm, interesting. Then it really became eyeopeningly involving. Coloured cubes to build, an interactive town to develop and a playground slide that generated fruit and exploding flowers, fruit and sunlight as you slid down. REFLECTIONS: Once we visited all the elements, we gathered our reflections in a presentation. Did we learn how to develop a balance between work and leisure? Well, maybe not exactly, but the variety of our experiences provided a repertoire – or a stimulus - for future activities or areas of involvement. And that, especially for our younger secondary students, seemed to be a worthwhile aspiration.

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LEARNING

South African tales.

Market day taught us how to become responsible producers and consumers.

LEARNING

TK grade 3 masterchefs.

Words by Gal Sokol and Kaitlin Niebauer, grade 6 students

Vegan Master Chef was an excellent finale to test literacy and numeracy learning outcomes.

Words by CIS Communications Ms Juliane Herold’s grade 3 class ended their school year with a scrumptious friendly class cooking competition: Vegan Master Chef. Ms Juliane began this annual event last year as a fun and memorable way for students to achieve a range of different learning outcomes including literacy, numeracy, research skills and teamwork.

This year grade 6 students had a successful market day on 14 February, with most of us earning a profit on the day. Two weeks before the day, we had been given the challenge to create a product to sell on market day. Just like starting a real business we had to write a business plan first. The business plan was the priority since the entire process would depend on it. We had to follow five conditions that would determine how much money we got to spend on materials. The five conditions were environment, health, animals, fair trade and human rights. Each variable was assessed with a star. Stars were based on responsible consumerism and producing. If the product we have chosen is healthy, doesn’t use child labour to make, doesn’t infringe on human rights, doesn’t pollute or hurt the environment and doesn’t hurt animals - we would earn all 5 stars! If we got three stars or under, we received no money and had to choose a new product or service and start over. All of grade 5 and 6 students were told to look at the star rating to know if the products and services were dependable. In other words, if a stall had a five star rating, we were assured to get our money’s worth. From personal experience, the more secure the business plan was, the 22

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LEARNING

A profitable market day.

more successful the stall was. The star rating depended on the explanation in the business plan of how these five conditions were met. Mr Scarrott, the sixth grade lead teacher, stated that students could make an advertisement for the television screens around the school, so we designed creative posters with eye-catching images. We used our art lessons to figure out what colours complemented each other to create the perfect advertisements. To assist students, Ms Kennedy taught us about CARP which consists of colour, alignment, repetition and proximity. We could use the STEAM room for materials and Mr Deir, the STEAM teacher, was a great help with the entire process. The market day was a blend of everything! From stress balls to wallets, the entire grade 6 pod was decorated with unique posters and banners. All in all, we learnt the importance of partnerships and working together for a common goal. We also learnt how to become responsible consumers and producers. But, most importantly we all learnt what being a responsible business means and how selfmanagement skills are essential throughout the process of starting a business.

With great enthusiasm, students planned the entire event over a period of one month. Ms Juliane explained what vegan food is (no animal products) and the students took it from there. They developed planning documents where they created their recipes, worked out measurements, prepared ingredient lists, and then shopped for the food they would need. The class was divided into teams of four. Each group consisted of a chef, a server, a chopper/cutter and a cleaner. Being assigned a specific and defined task allowed each team member to learn the importance of roles and responsibilities, while also learning how important it is to collaborate and help one another, in order to achieve common goals. As they were going to be using cutting tools and small appliances, such as toasters and blenders, students also had to prepare safety guidelines and cleaning instructions. Judging this year’s competition were Ms Juliane, Mr Adam and TK’s Digital Literacy Coach Tim Studlo.

The competition saw each team preparing a three course meal for the judges. They had 25 minutes to prepare their appetiser, 30 minutes to make their main course and 20 minutes to create dessert. This year’s delicacies included guacamole dip with carrot chips, salad with fresh herbs, chickpea curry, and pasta with various sauces. Our judges enjoyed cocoa pudding, banana splits, fruit salad and more for dessert! Judging for his second year, Mr Studlo described the food as “amazing” and said the event just keeps getting better. Contestants were judged on a number of criteria such as food presentation and taste, cooperation, and manners. Bonus points were awarded if teams took extra steps, for example, when servers were particularly attentive. Special mention goes to grade 4 student Adya Gupta, this year’s event manager. Using her experience from last year’s competition, Adya was able to help supervise students and give feedback to judges on what she observed. This year’s winning team was Girls’ Cooking Power + Aarav and the runner up was team of Mind Blowing Chefs. We are incredibly proud of all of these young culinary experts, who showed a remarkable level of maturity throughout this entire learning journey. We look forward to seeing what Ms Juliane cooks up for next year!

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LEARNING

Happenings.

CIS celebrates girls and women in science. In a celebration of all things women, teachers and students reveal their science role models and what inspires them.

Scan this QR code to watch the video!

Words by CIS Communications Last year, UNESCO declared 11 February as the International Day of Girls and Women in Science in order to recognise the critical role women and girls play in science and technology. CIS celebrated this day with activities that support and encourage girls’ and women’s participation in science, technology, engineering and math. Female science teachers shared their personal career experiences through short video interviews, secondary students and teachers tweeted with #Iamawomaninscience to raise awareness about inspiring female scientists. Female students also introduced their role models, women whom they look up to for their achievements as scientists. Read testimonials of our secondary students who will grow up to be tomorrow’s aspirational scientists below, and watch the video interviews by our female science teachers, Ms Nur Karadayi, Ms Michelle Lee, Ms Piyanka Dilawari and Ms Nikki Rambin. Michelle Lee, science teacher I have always thought of myself as “just a science teacher”. It was only this year, when two parents explained to me how pleased their daughters were that all of their science teachers were female, that I considered the significance of being a “female” science teacher. I have been lucky that I have not seen being female as a barrier during my education or my career and I hope to continue to encourage all of my students, regardless of gender. I do this by instilling in them my belief that the only barriers to achieving their potential are lack of determination and self-belief. Raising awareness for the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science was a great opportunity to reinforce this and to encourage more girls to follow their passion in science. It was wonderful to see the support of the CIS student and staff community. Ryleigh Van Neck, grade 11 student Science has always been an area of interest for me. It comes as a surprise to people that I find the transcription of genes, and organic chemistry very interesting. The first influential woman in my life is also a woman in science, my mother. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree so from an 24

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06 24 March

22 April

Excursion week.

STEAM Fair.

Primary and secondary students embark on a voyage of discovery.

A celebration of innovation and creativity.

early age, human anatomy and health science were common discussion topics, sparking my interest right from the start.

21 May A Chinese drama club performance.

Role models such as my mother, Ms Lee my biology teacher, and Ms Dilawari my chemistry teacher, provide me with the confidence to pursue being a part of the field. I personally believe that I am very fortunate to have two female science teachers in my life as they play a crucial role in promoting female scientists. We need women to inspire women, always.

Our secondary Chinese drama students brought short stories to life at a live performance at Lakeside.

Sam MacMillan, grade 12 student Regardless of occupation, area of study, or lifestyle, science is a steadfast aspect of our lives. Not everyone chooses to pursue a science in university or as a career, but many students take a science course in secondary school. This is the case for me - a second year DP student in standard level Biology. Even though I am not pursuing a natural science as a career, I chose to study one in the Diploma Programme. This was partly due to my personal interest in biology, but having female science teachers in middle and high school also inspired me to continue learning in my DP years. As a young girl, it was very important for me to see successful, intelligent and dedicated women working towards improving knowledge in their respective fields. These women include Mary Jackson, the first black female engineer for NASA, and my own aunt, Susan Reid, who was the first woman to chair a department of surgery at a Canadian medical school. I am very grateful that I have never been told that I couldn’t work in science because I’m female, and I hope that the UN’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science will continue to promote this attitude. Aditi Melkote, Grade 11 Celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science at school was special for me because it was encouraging to learn that this type of recognition for the women who make great contributions in sciences exists and to acknowledge their continuing efforts. It was great to see so many members of the CIS community, teachers and students across all grade levels stepping up by tweeting with the hashtag #ISupportWomenInScience. As someone who intends to pursue a career in science, it’s really encouraging to have a supportive community at school to cheer me and other budding female scientists on!

16 June Last day of school. The annual tradition of yearbook signing continues.

2017

11 May

28 May

TK’s French celebrations.

Graduation. Congratulations to the Class of 2017!

French language students from kindergarten to grade 6 enjoyed games, performances, art and STEAM exhibitions a la francaise.

30 May 03 June M.A.D.ness. A joyful extravaganza of music, drama and visual arts…

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INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

A fun Saturday filled with engaging STEAM activities for our girls and their parents. Words by Tonia Whyte Potter-Mal, PYP Coordinator

Since the efficiency and functionality of final products could not be determined ahead of time, the STEAM workshop genuinely challenged all participants to achieve a common goal in unique and innovative ways.

In celebration of the UN International Day for Girls and Women in Science, CIS recently partnered with the Singapore Committee for UN Women to host an event to promote science as a motivating path for learning, advanced studies and career leadership. Primary aged female students from CIS and other local community schools participated in the energising Saturday afternoon STEAM workshop held at Tanjong Katong campus. As the girls and their parents arrived, they were set the task of building a functional mechanical structure from an array of materials and tools (including simple machine elements such as levers, linkages and cams) that were displayed across the gymnasium. Although this sounds like a simple task, it was not, as although teams could build any structure they wanted to using any of the parts, they would be unable to test their designs to see if they actually worked before the end. With many sights, sounds 26

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and textured parts to consider, teams needed to observe, analyse and ask questions about how each individual piece may work, then decide how to use the pieces to build a functional complete end-product, which could perform any mechanical function. The task really was open-ended with many ‘possible solutions’. Still, without being able to test, teams had to be bold, discuss options, make assumptions, be innovative risk-takers by committing to construct the item, before they knew for sure that it worked.

Parents and their daughters worked well beyond the time assigned for the STEAM task, which showed the high level of interest by all! In the final stages, a collective sense of accomplishment and pride was felt, and many teams expressed a strong desire to participate in similar STEAM workshops in the future! We thank all students and their parents for attending the event, and participating with such enthusiasm.

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

TK collaborates with the Singapore Committee for UN Women.

Form: Which materials do we need to create the Automata based on the final product cycle? Causation: Why do size, texture, shape and weight have an impact on mechanical movements? Function: How will we combine different tools, materials and design steps to achieve mechanical goals? Connection: How do we connect all the parts of the Automata to increase efficiency? Perspective: What are different ways to approach the task? Change: How do the design choices we made have an impact on the efficiency of the Automata? Reflection: What have been the best moments of collaborating with my parent or child on this project?

Special thank you’s are extended also to Mr Ben Cooperman, CIS TK’s STEAM facilitator, for his expertise and creative insight in planning for the event, Mr Tim Studlo, CIS TK’s digital literacy coach, for technical and logistical support at the workshop and Mrs Stephanie Cooperman, who bought her valuable experience as an entrepreneur to help participating families through practical aspects of the process. Community connections This event has created a number of meaningful connections with our community that extend far beyond this one activity. Immediately following the event, two of the UN Committee members (including an engineer and another youth initiative representative) graciously accepted guest invitations to return to TK later the same month as judges for the annual Grade 4 Physics Olympics day. We look forward to this and other collaboration opportunities in future. CIS acknowledges the PIE Institute resource guide used as inspiration for this event, which includes the work of a range of contributors supported by the National Science Foundation. Find out more about the Singapore Committee for UN Women, a nonprofit organisation working towards women’s empowerment and gender equality in the region at www.unwomen-nc.org.sg.

This challenge called Cardboard Automata is a STEAM task that involves interaction with simple materials, but builds to become increasingly complex as teams put their creative ideas into action. At different stages of the design process, spontaneous questions were raised about the process of design and many were closely related to broader PYP concepts, some of which included: Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

ARTS AND CREATIVITY GALLERY

Scan this QR code to watch the video!

Beauty and the Beast Jr. A passionate team of secondary students take us to the enchanted world where Belle and the beast live.

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ARTS AND CREATIVITY

CIS performs live at the Esplanade. Thirteen CIS secondary students performed for the public on 26 April. Words by Tom Anderson, Secondary Music Teacher

On Wednesday night, 26 April, thirteen CIS secondary music students performed live at Singapore’s premier concert venue, the indoor Esplanade Concourse for crowds of tourists, parents, teachers, and the public. They performed at 6.45pm and 7.45pm as part of the Esplanade sponsored programme, ‘In Youthful Company’, in which young performers from local and international schools who were selected from auditions played and/or sang live. CIS music faculty were invited by Esplanade to audition potential student performers from the Secondary School by submitting video recordings which were considered for live acts. Thirteen grade ten and eleven students auditioned from Mr Kemp’s and my class, acts were submitted to Esplanade for approval, and remarkably all student acts were accepted! Our students were on their way to their first live performance at the Esplanade Concourse, a big accomplishment, which as teachers we were very proud of. Over the course of March and early April, students finetuned their performance pieces, memorised their music and rehearsed together often. Their selections ranged from Bach to Billy Joel which were performed singing, and on Asian and Western instruments. 30

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Congratulations to all our participating students on a successful performance to the general public! Their preparation, conduct, and representation of the school at Singapore’s premiere concert venue were stellar! Here are some comments from student musicians on the challenges and highlights of the public performance:

Rosa’s win at the Across Asia Youth Film Festival. Young independent filmmakers were awarded and applauded.

Amanda Chia, grade 10

“Esplanade was a really cool experience for me and I liked the stage where we performed on. Thank you for this opportunity.”

Tyler Koh, grade 10

“Also, because we have never performed in a public space such as this before, it made it all the more an enjoyable experience.”

Evan Xia, grade 10

“Esplanade performance was a great experience for me because we got to perform with our friends for a more diverse audience.”

Agnes Widjaja, grade 11

“Last night was awesome. I think performing in a place like Esplanade was a great experience for musicians, especially for the ones who are still in school. Because the more people get to perform in renowned theatres, the more they would get to know about themselves as performers, what the audiences like and dislike. In terms of my personal experience, it was nice to see the turnout (due to it being held on a school night). It was also nice to see people enjoying our performances.”

Words by CIS Communications Grade 11 student Rosa is the winner of the best short film in the Across Asia Youth Film Festival (AAYFF). AAYFF is a celebration of creativity and risk taking through independent filmmaking. It has been established to help emerging filmmakers from schools and institutions across Asia to reach the broadest possible audience and to generate international dialogue through their films.

Congratulations Rosa on your artistic success! Keep on expressing yourself and creating freely!

Scan this QR code to watch Rosa’s award winning animation Flamingo Girl on Youtube.

Rosa won the Best Short Short category accolade for her 29 second animation, Flamingo Girl, which artfully reacts to women’s role in our society. In a skillfully crafted animation, Rosa attracts our attention to a flamingo nailed to a girl who tries to express herself freely, but fails to do so, due to the societal pressure.

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ARTS AND CREATIVITY

TK at the ISTA Festival. TK primary students got creative as they explored “What’s in a Box” and “A City in the Sky”. Words by Sierra Laderoute, TK Drama Teacher

Daigo performed at AMIS Festival 2017. Our gifted Grade 8 student Daigo was the fourth violinist at the prestigious festival. Words by CIS Communications The Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) is an international organisation dedicated to the promotion of excellence at all levels of music education. To further this goal, AMIS sponsors annual music festivals for students from over 100 international schools. CIS partners with AMIS to give its talented and highly motivated music students the opportunity to perform at these prestigious events. Last October, Grade 8 student Daigo Mimuro was among many of the distinguished student musicians who auditioned for the AMIS Middle School Honor Orchestra festival. Secondary school music teacher Tom Anderson supported Daigo through the process as he sought a spot on the stage at this prestigious event, which was held in February. After a highly competitive audition process, Daigo was selected as 4th violinist among 41 talented violinists who were chosen to participate. Student musicians had the opportunity to rehearse with Stephen Venema, guest conductor and violinist, for 3-5 hours across three consecutive days leading up to the big concert. Daigo, who has been playing violin for 8 years, told us about his AMIS experience: “It was my first time participating in 32

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AMIS this year…. It was an honour to play with such skillful players, and it was indeed a motivating environment to play violin. During the four day event, we had two concerts. We worked so hard to prepare and to perform in sync as an orchestra. Fun group activities helped make us a real team, and understand how to work together. Leading up to the competition, I stayed with a host family along with two other orchestra members from China. It was an amazing experience to make new friends and prepare for a real concert outside of school. It is difficult to imagine my achievement without Mr Anderson’s help. He was very diligent in the preparations and supported me throughout the entire process.” When we asked Daigo about his biggest challenge, he said “playing in sync with other violins as well as other instruments…It was my very first experience to play violin in an orchestra. At first, I actually struggled quite a lot to play pieces with a fast tempo, but I overcame this challenge by practicing a lot and getting along with other players as friends.” What an amazing musical learning experience! Congrats to Daigo who is looking forward to participating in the AMIS High School Honor Orchestra next year.

“Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That and surprise”. These words spoken by Julia Cameron, an American teacher, author and innovator who started the Artist’s Way movement, perfectly sums up TK’s experience at the Primary ISTA Festival in Singapore in April and May. There was a mysterious air surrounding the themes of both festivals, “What’s in a Box” for older grades of primary students, and “A City in the Sky” for younger grades. As part of this festival in Singapore, students explored these themes, got creative, and expressed themselves in a multitude of ways. We couldn’t wait to arrive to experience a dramatic surprise. In April, nine TK students from grades 3 to 6 embarked on an adventurous saga to find out what could possibly be in a box. The ISTA artists led approximately a hundred students from four different international schools in Singapore through an explorative journey of imagination. Together they created inspiring spaces perfect for the students to let their creative juices flow and explore various forms of theatre such as shadow puppetry, musical theatre, theatrical movements, and storytelling. “The movements and actions made me feel energised!”, said Austen Chung (grade 3). It was exactly the purpose of the workshops: to ignite the creative energy within the students that they never knew they had. “I really enjoyed the Once Upon A Darker Time workshop because it helped me express myself through dance and movements.” added Joya Trifilieff (grade 4). The festival opened doors to creativity beyond imagination.

The lower primary festival followed in May, when 23 grade 1 to 3 students had their heads in the clouds imagining “a city in the sky”. What would it look like, how would we create it, would it float in the clouds, or hang from the stars? These were all the questions we would discover the answers for! Led by four amazing ISTA artists, we learnt how to use our bodies and express ourselves, fine tuned our circus skills, explored puppetry settings, and created and sang amazing songs. Joshua Steinger’s (grade 1) favourite memory was the musical aspects, he loved learning and singing the festival song, “Up to the clouds and away”. Jiatong Darby Hou (grade 2) shared, “My favourite part of the festival was when we got to go to different environments and fill them up in different ways. We had to use all kinds of ideas and act them out. It was so much fun!”. Students attended workshops, worked cooperatively in groups, and created a sharing for their parents - taking them to their city in the sky. They all took away some amazing skills and experiences. Saisha Adams (grade 3) felt that the festival helped everyone with different types of expression, and it helped her to feel more confident in drama. A truly magical and fun filled journey indeed! ISTA provided CIS students with an amazing platform to express their creativity and truly let our quirkiness shine! We were inspired to be our true creative selves by the artists in residence, ensemble leaders, and teachers who helped to shape these fun filled and explorative weekends. We cannot wait to see what next year’s festivals have in store. Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

The symphonic bands from CIS and neighbouring school Fuhua Secondary play together in harmony.

Words by Tom Anderson, Symphonic Band Director It all started with a friendship. I have known band director Samantha Chong for many years since she played bass trombone in orchestras I conducted. At that time, Ms Chong played for Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and the two of us have collaborated on a variety of classical concerts across the course of several years. Ms Chong recently began teaching CIS students as an instructor for vocal and instrumental lessons, which is when I discovered she was the band director at Fuhua Secondary, the school next door! An idea was born! We discussed a cultural exchange to plan a collaboration between Fuhua and CIS. The purpose was for students to make friends with a neighbouring school’s band, get to know their students, learn about their standards and practices, prepare one of their repertoire pieces, and play a mini-concert together. Once ideas were considered, principals gave their approval and the date was fixed for Tuesday, 11 April. On that Tuesday, Fuhua Secondary School students walked over to CIS carrying tubas, euphoniums, bass clarinets, and even a gong, to join forces with

CIS Symphonic Band 9-12 for an extended rehearsal.

ARTS AND CREATIVITY

A symphonic cultural exchange.

Primary poetry slams. Grade 4-6 poets recited their original works on stage.

Words by Arianna Pozzuoli, Drama Teacher

The afternoon was a huge success, and the stage was set for about 90 musicians as we combined our 45 members with their 45 students. Ms Chong was introduced to CIS students and I was introduced to Fuhua students. Musicians began with traditional instrumental warm-ups and then each band gave a miniconcert for the other. Then, the bands combined to play one piece of music from each band’s repertoire. The experience was very rewarding for students of both campuses. CIS learnt that Fuhua students work very hard at their CCA’s, as they practice three times a week for 2.5 hours each. Then they played games and activities until 6pm. Students from both campuses indicated they would like the opportunity to play together again, therefore Ms Chong and I are exploring another collaboration opportunity for next school year. CIS students are to be commended for serving as ambassadors for our school. They were respectful, welcoming, engaging, and helpful to our guests. It was an experience students won’t forget.

This year’s primary poetry slams showed a tremendous display of talent at CIS. Students had the opportunity to perform poetry on their own or in a group. Both teachers and students were asked to vote for their favourite poet based on their delivery and writing. Congratulations to all the participants involved and a huge thank you for another fantastic year of sharing your poetry on stage. Grades 4 and 5 poetry slam - teacher vote Guillaume Pennone Jehaan Driver Aarshia Sawhney Audience vote Round one: Jehaan Driver Round two: Guillaume Pennone Round three: Julie Lee, Alice Fleming and Maria Markgraf Round four: Alex Aprikian and Kaan Armangil Grade 6 poetry slam - teacher vote Constance McWiggins Tanguy Lacroix Gal Sokol Grade 6 poetry slam - audience vote Individual poems round one: Constance McWiggins Individual poems round two: Tanguy Lacroix Group poems: Ela Keppo, Georgia Barholomeusz and Khayil Matthew

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ARTS AND CREATIVITY

Ryan’s and Zildjian’s first step working on this project was producing the music. They spent a considerable amount of time planning and delegating tasks. They completed the host of tasks including screenplay, project documents, and storyboards to ready themselves for filming. After a few months, they were ready to film. They found the filming really easy because they had done the groundwork, had a good understanding of their plan, and their team was very well organised. In total, filming took about a month and a half. Once it was complete, it was time to review the footage and the screenplay to make sure everything was in place and nothing had been forgotten or was missing before they started editing. This process took about two weeks. When they were in film production mode, they released posters to build excitement and hype about their project.

CIS SSIFF award winners. The Singapore International Student Film Festival (SISFF) acknowledged some of the best international student filmmakers in town. Words by CIS Communications CIS students proved themselves to be some of the best international student filmmakers in town once again at the Singapore International School Film Festival (SISFF). In its 7th year, the festival saw a total of 42 film entries competing in categories of drama/comedy, action/suspense, documentary and video art. A jury of teachers from international schools in Singapore, including our Head of Digital Literacy, Egmond Boon, judged the films. The winners were announced in an Oscar-esque awards ceremony on 5 May 2017.

BEST HIGH SCHOOL NARRATIVE (Comedy/Drama) AWARD - Ruscel San Jose G11 for the short thriller. “Lost City”

This year’s CIS award winning filmmakers are: OVERALL BEST EDITING AWARD - Ryan Chow & Zildjian Boon G9 - for music video “Dehydrated”

Congratulations to our young aspiring filmmakers! We look forward to following their artistic journeys. Read more about two of the award winning projects below.

Scan this QR code to watch the video!

Dehydrated - Ryan Chow and Zildjian Boon Scan this QR code to watch the video! 36

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Ryan and Zildjian described their filmmaking experience as a challenging yet enjoyable journey. The biggest challenge they encountered during the process was experimenting

When asked about the highlights of their filmmaking project, Ryan pointed to the team, “working with a team made up of very fun and energetic people was great. Making the props, shopping for costumes and seeing the finished product, as well as the development of the entire film, was also very cool and enjoyable.” They were all excited to come across random people constantly asking about their progress, which really encouraged and pushed them to do an excellent job as they knew there were many people who were eager to see their finished product. Weren’t there challenges? Of course there were, as in any other projects: the hardest challenge was getting the permission to use school facilities and creating the most suitable schedule for all team members, because they still had school and homework commitments. All in all, it was a great experience where every team member learnt new things and a great music video was made!

However, joining SISFF was in her fate. During spring break, Ruscel went back home to the Philippines where she spent time with family and friends. She spent a lot of time travelling by car where she started filming on her phone for fun. This was when she decided to document the rest of her trip, mostly getting footage of the city at night, and submit it to the SISFF. Inspired by an art film she watched about New York “The City That Never Sleeps”, she decided to use the footage in her coming-out-of age type of story. She said “I knew that kids my age are trying to find themselves and I am a third-culture kid, so I tried to make a film that catered to those who were “lost” or trying to find themselves.” Ruscel had her actor ready from the previous film idea. It was a quick shoot and took less than an hour to do. The editing was a long process, since she used her own software and had to re-learn everything. When she was recording the audio, she made an artistic choice, to not use a proper microphone, but to leave the sound raw. All the filmmaking process was a learning experience that she cherished a lot. Winning an award was a great plus which validated her choice of pursuing film in the future, and make films as a career.

“I am a third-culture kid, so I tried to make a film that catered to those who were “lost” or trying to find themselves.”

Ryan became interested in filmmaking since he started secondary school. He began filming with short videos of school events then transitioned to more complex projects such as Dehydrated. Zildjian started his musical journey as a drummer and performed in major school events such as BeatFreaked and STEAM Fair. He has a passion for electronic dance music and has been dj’ing with his artist name DJ BØBLHEAD for more than a year. Lost City - Ruscel Ruscel found out about the SISFF only three months before the festival and immediately started writing a script for a thriller film, her preferred film genre. She completed writing the story in one night. The really hard part for her was finding actors. She knew the importance of casting and how her rapport with the actors would make the film into a success or a failure. She could only find one person out of the two actors she needed; after spending 2 months on her actor search she gave up on SISFF! Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

ARTS AND CREATIVITY

with new techniques and technologies which included using drones and trying out difficult camera movements. The boys were committed to doing an impeccable job, and had a real eye for the details. They created and tested many ideas throughout the project and spent a lot of time checking every single element, including the lighting and environment. They did not hesitate to reshoot as needed to ensure their movie was perfect.

ARTS AND CREATIVITY

The gazebo was the place to be on Tuesday mornings as TK students took the stage to perform for the school community.

Words by CIS Communications

ARTS AND CREATIVITY

TK talent Tuesday.

Site specific theatre at TK. TK grade 6 actors performed Roald Dahl’s BFG in unique venues.

Words by Tonia Whyte Potter-Mal, PYP Coordinator, Tanjong Katong Campus

The gazebo was the place to be on Tuesday mornings as TK students took the stage to perform for the school community. This school year, performers included dancers, singers, musicians and visual artists from grades 1 through to 6. This event really showcases the strength of our community, and develops a sense of school pride. Pride in our young risk-takers, many of whom had never before performed in front of an audience. And pride in watching our student audiences who were generous in spirit, and warmly welcomed their peers each week with cheers of encouragement. As our last performer finished her song this week, students were already asking Mrs Henderson when Talent Tuesdays will begin again. We look forward to more great morning entertainment next school year. Until then, students start thinking about what you’d like to perform!

TK grade 6 students recently read and rehearsed BFG the Play by Roald Dahl. Once they finished reading, they were left ‘wanting more’ from their literary experience, and sought to go beyond a traditional performance on stage. So after some discussion we decided to adopt a form of theatre called site-specific theatre - very different from standard theatrical performances as there is no physical stage separating actors from the audience. Our student actors decided to perform across multiple locations on campus, including the foyer and outdoor discovery centre, for an intimate audience of parents and students. The preparation for these performances was critical. Students took on the role of character(s), interpreted their experiences and devised a whole new theme about what happened once they ‘jumped out of the story’. Then they connected their new extended story to some outdoor locations on campus where they could act out the performance. On performance day, the audience was mobile, guided between performance sites, so they could watch the actors as they shared different aspects of their story. The intimate and changing setting demonstrated a really authentic way for our grade 6’s to step into the lives of story characters. Bravo to our creative student actors who found a great way to stretch their creativity and put together a really impressive performance!

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ARTS AND CREATIVITY

Grade 6 concert. CIS community was treated to a myriad of musical sounds and expression from traditional classical music to the latest pop and movie hits.

Getting social.

Words by Robert Choi, Primary Arts Lead and Shanhong Hughes, Primary Music Teacher

Photos 1. Check out this city built by 200+ kids #CISprimary #ibpyp #pypmath #math A tweet by Mr Ben Grundy.

Photo 2. #CISprimary: G2 link parents to unit. #Ad execs, #investors, #designers, #techgurus, #entrepreneurs present to their kids on #markets. A tweet by Ms Sarah Aspillaga. Photo 3. #Trellis for plants by #grade6 and #kindergarten #steam kids at #cistk #cisprimary #pypinnovation A tweet by Mr Ben Cooperman.

Photo 4. How can you tell it’s #seniorprankday @CIS_Lakeside? #CISsecondary #classof2017 A tweet by Mr Thomas Hansen.

Over the past two years, grade 6 students have been provided with an opportunity to further develop their musical interests through an instrumental and choral programme. Coordinated by the primary music team of Shanhong Hughes, Serene Xie and Robert Choi, with Kevin Ahern, what was groundbreaking for CIS 15/16 academic year has now become a tradition of providing exciting and inspiring music experiences for our grade 6 students to highlight and develop the diversity and depth of their artistic talents. In two performances on 22 and 23 May, parents, teachers and students were treated to a smorgasbord of musical sounds and expression, ranging from traditional classical music to the latest pop and movie hits. Finely-tuned string players presented Can-Can by Bizet, Lightly Row, Sailor’s Song, Concerto by Vivaldi and March Grandioso as well as the Main Theme from Star Wars and Hedwig’s Theme. Our polished flute, trumpet and euphonium ensembles bedazzled with Old MacDonald, Sonatina, The Good Life, See the Conquering Hero Comes by Handel, You Raise Me Up and the Theme from Rocky and the brilliant chorus wrapped up the performances by singing This Day Of Peace, Viva La Vida and We Will Care.

Photo 5. Some beautiful and thought provoking pieces of #art on display. Well done #CISsecondary! #ibdp #dpart @CISsingapore A tweet by Mr Thomas Hansen. Photo 6. Outdoor chalk table #cisprimary #cistk #steam #stem #playground A tweet by Mr Ben Cooperman.

We applaud our students for their commitment and engagement, and our parents and teachers for encouraging, supporting and guiding our young musicians to new heights. Congratulations! 40

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ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES GALLERY

TK’s sports days. Sack races, egg and spoon races, shooting target contests, and tug-of-wars were favourites at the May sports days.

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ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

Words by CIS Communications Nao Takahashi ranked no 1 for 50m breaststroke and 50m butterfly in the under 13 women’s category at the Singapore National Age Group swimming championships (SNAG) on 10-12 March. Nao has been a hard working and diligent swimmer throughout swim training and championships. Her accomplishment is truly astonishing as she beat two Japanese swimmers who are older than her. For further information, you can see the rankings on Top 20 ranking of SSA’s (Singapore Swimming Association) website.

Our sports teams end the year on a high. Hong Kong invitational swim meet 2017. Words by Julia Waterton, grade 7 student 26 May was the start of three amazing swim days in Hong Kong for the Husky swim team. 30 lucky swimmers participated in an extremely competitive meet at Hong Kong International School (HKIS). The school, situated in a beautiful area of the island, is surrounded by mountainous green hills. The pool was small - and was nowhere near as large as the excitement in the air! Everyone gave 110% in and out of the pool. It was such an exciting atmosphere, with groups of people standing at the end of each lane, cheering their team members on enthusiastically. The CIS champion of this meet was 9-year old Ivan Martynyuk, who brought home 4 gold medals for the team. There were also numerous PBs (personal best times) achieved by all our other swimmers. As the heats progressed, I found the racing became more intense. Our swimmers returned back home with new timings and a valuable experience for future races. Our coaches were a huge support throughout the weekend. Thank you Coach Helen for useful feedback after each and every race we swam, Coach Mark for all the encouragement he gave us between races, and Coach Geoff for filming the races and congratulating each and every one of us at the end of the races. Overall, the Hong Kong invitational meet was an excellent experience which made early mornings, and all our efforts and training, worthwhile. We look forward to future overseas meets.

Congratulations to our 19U netball teams! Words by Scott Polkinghorne, Girls Netball Coach Team 1 completed the season undefeated and won the gold medal in division 2. The team is looking forward to the challenge of the higher level competition in division 1 next year. Team 2 won the silver after a hard fought final match, losing narrowly (their only loss) to SJII, who won the division. Well done to all girls who were 100% committed to trainings and the games. The commitment shown was clearly evident on the court and was rewarded with excellent results. Thank you to Sam Atkinson for her coaching and also team manager Anne-Marie MacLean.

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Ranking No 1

Ranking No 2

Ranking No 3

50m breaststroke 50m butterfly

100m butterfly 200m butterfly 400m IM

50m free 100m breaststroke

Congratulations Nao on your amazing accomplishment. CIS is very proud of you!

13U rugby makes history!

Words by Dean Monaghan, Head of Sports

Congratulations to the 13U boys rugby team who made CIS history on Tuesday, 16 May, by becoming the first CIS sports team to win gold in Division 1. Not only did they take away top honours in a fiercely-fought competition, they crushed both teams in the semi-finals and the final. In the semifinals, CIS was placed 4th with their backs up against the wall, playing 1st place, AIS. With a ‘power surge’ from Coach Grimwood, the boys got on the field and never looked back! The final score was 4 tries to 1, which meant we came up against our old foes, Dulwich in the final. With the confidence sky high and the boys ready to take no prisoners, the team entered the final with only one thing on their mind - gold! After the final whistle had blown, CIS 6, Dulwich 0 - the icing on the cake for a fantastic season. The Canadian International School Rugby Academy (CISRA) had another feather in their bow but this was a little bit more special. Thank you to all the players, coaches and supporters who took part in a first fantastic year of the academy and we look forward to building on from here. Go Huskies!

TK student Olivia’s archery achievement. Words by CIS Communications Congratulations to TK grade 6 student, Olivia Mortlock, who represented CIS in the National Interschool Archery Competition on 22 April. Olivia competed in the 11-14 year old age group (her first major competition), and was one of the youngest contenders in that category. Competition was fierce but Olivia came in 6th place overall. Congratulations Olivia on such a great achievement – a fantastic result after only 6 months in the sport. We are looking forward to hearing more about your progress next school year.

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ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

Sports.

Nao snags number 1 swimmer ranking.

ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

Our sports teams end the year on a high. Geethan plants CIS’ flag on new ground! Words by CIS Communications Lakeside grade 5 student Geethan has earned his time off over the summer break after a school year of exciting gymnastics events. Competing at the higher level in the ‘Men’s Artistic Gymnastics’ in 2017, Geethan’s achievements are even more impressive because he took CIS competitive gymnastics to regional and local competitions that he had not competed in before. The competitive season started strong in Singapore, at the UWCSEA (Dover) competition in January 2017, where Geethan ranked overall 3rd place. Next was the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA) competition in Bangkok, jointly hosted by the British School, Manila and Harrow International, Bangkok. Back in Singapore, Geethan competed at the UWCSEA (East) invitational competition in February, followed by the 2017 Moose Game in Bangkok, where he earned 3 gold medals and 3 silver medals. Geethan ended the season on a high, competing in the SAS spring invitational meet, bringing home 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. Geethan looks forward to pursuing gymnastics and representing CIS in the next academic year. Congratulations Geethan on balancing your school commitments while pursuing your passion for gymnastics - you’ve achieved some amazing results in gymnastics this year. Your skills combined with discipline, hard work, and perseverance are absolutely unparalleled!

Chess success! Words by CIS Communications On 21 and 22 March, grade 4 student Aditya Sriram represented CIS in the junior division boys category of the 69th National Schools Individual Chess Championship, Singapore. Aditya won 5 out of 9 rounds and stood: • First amongst all participants from CIS across all age categories, • and13th across all international schools in Singapore in his category. Aditya has been part of the CIS chess team for the past two years, and he is incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about chess. He credits chess having played a big role in sharpening his mind as well as strengthening his ability to strategise and plan.

Words by Wendy Nussey, Lakeside Activities Manager On Monday 10 April, the CIS Taekwondo team participated in the 2017 National International School Taekwondo Championships at Toa Payoh Sports Hall. They made us proud by placing 2nd runner-up! Many of our student athletes took extra practice sessions before and during the school break to get themselves ready for this competition. Their hard work and dedication paid off, both on an individual level and as a team. They brought home multiple medals! A big thank you goes to our parent helpers - Camille Seah and Mark Vanderjagt, who graciously helped supervise the students and assisted in coordinating the afternoon events. Congratulations CIS taekwondo athletes! RESULTS POOMSAE INDIVIDUAL SENIOR MALE POOM BELT Kenya Tan - Bronze medallist SENIOR FEMALE GREEN BELT Emma Kathleen Vanderjagt - Silver medallist SENIOR FEMALE RED BELT Susannah Shortell - Silver medallist Amanda Bote Evangelista - Bronze medallist Lia Murphy - Bronze medallist SENIOR FEMALE POOM BELT Jemina Shortell - Bronze medallist JUNIOR MALE GREEN BELT Noah Richard Vanderjagt - Bronze medallist Gabriele Maheswara Palma - Bronze medallist JUNIOR FEMALE POOM BELT Isabel Pelekani - Silver medallist POOMSAE TEAM SENIOR FEMALE RED BELT TEAM Amanda Bote Evangelista - Gold medallist Susannah Shortell - Gold medallist Lia Murphy - Gold medallist KYORUGI SENIOR MALE POOM BELT - UNDER 50 KG Kenya Tan - Bronze medallist JUNIOR MALE RED BELT - UNDER 42 KG Christopher Oduneye-Braniff - Gold medallist

Congratulations on your success, Aditya!

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ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

Sports.

CIS Taekwondo made us proud!

ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

Words by CIS Communications On Tuesday 25 April, 10 lucky CIS students from grades 1 to 8 were invited to attend a Giselle ballet masterclass. The class was led by Mr Giuseppe Picone, Director of Teatro di San Carlo (the most ancient opera house in the world) and the principal dancer of Giselle.

Our sports teams end the year on a high. A driving ambition … for golf!

Giselle, which was showing at Marina Bay Sands in April received wide acclaim. This class, arranged by Base Entertainment Asia, was a rare opportunity for our young ballet dancers to experience the professional world of ballet, and to learn from one of the best ballet dancers in the world.

Words by Sim Wei Evers, PE Teacher On 13 April 2017, CIS held its first golf open day sponsored by adidas Golf, a fun afternoon of interactive golfing activities for the CIS community of students and parents at Lakeside. This event was exciting for the whole CIS community (parents, students and the school) as it celebrated three seasons of collaboration of the junior golf programme as part of the exciting extracurricular activities (ECA). The open day started off with a longest putt competition from the pros and teachers. The kids and parents had fun on the many stations, suitable for all ages, which were set up around the sports field including a batting cage for performing full golf swings, mini putt games and putting greens. Students were challenged to putt the golf ball into the hole, and all tried very hard. CIS merchandise was awarded as prizes for all successful hole-in-ones on the putting greens. Putting stations were a big hit too, with prizes awarded on the Marina Bay, Canada and China themed holes. Players also had fun trying out a complete range of clubs provided by Taylor Made in our custom built on-campus CIS golf cage. It was great to see all the students, parents and teachers coming together for a fun afternoon. Golf pros to boost skills coaching The CIS golf programme will have some exciting new additions for 2017/2018, and Golf Open Day attendees were the first to learn about our new golf pros who will coach CIS students as part of our ECA programme. We are pleased to confirm Kyi La Han and Ramu, both experienced golf pros, who each have an incredible wealth of experience, will attend our trips to the driving range as part of the ECA, and be on hand to teach the students. As anyone who plays or has attempted to play, golf can be challenging for even the most patient of people. Thus, our goal is to make the sport fun and engaging, while setting the correct foundations from which the students can build upon. As Huskies golf club is still relatively new, this ECA programme preview will provide students with the in-depth foundation skills and understanding of the game, so they can play the sport competitively and set our school apart as a leader in the field. 48

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The class served as a great opportunity to encourage young dancers to refine their dance skills, while being surrounded by world renowned talents in ballet. The day finished with the presentation of framed certificates. What an amazing opportunity for our young ballet dancers!

CIS girls represent Singapore in contact rugby. Words by Michelle Petersen, in collaboration with Jim Parker (U14 Coach) On April Fools Day, four CIS students, playing for the Singapore Rugby Union Academy (SRU), showed passion and determination as they left an indelible mark at the Zurich All Girls Contact Rugby Tournament, in Hong Kong, the world’s biggest all girls 7’s tournament. Players (Antonia Hekster (U14), Claire Matthews (U14), Kio Norris (U14), Annabel Cameron (U12) and I (U16)) committed themselves to early Sunday morning training for three months to train for this tournament. The girls were on the plane to Hong Kong, anxious, thrilled, but ready for the tournament. Jim Parker, U14 coach, recalled that “In their first match Friday, facing the top squad from the tournament host in the cold pouring rain, the girls had their hands full and lost but were not intimidated and excited to play more. In their second match, the wonderful and unexpected happened; they scored their first try and held on for the first ever Singapore under 14 girls contact rugby win! Now with the confidence they could compete with any team, they played fearlessly. What makes the whole experience so remarkable was the way the U14’s played. Other clubs from Hong Kong commented that they could not believe, without any experience, how well and hard the team played.” Singapore Rugby Union Academy (SRU)’s under 12’s, 14’s and 16’s teams won 4th place and the under 19s team won 3rd, in their respective divisions. Following the Hong Kong tournament, I won an exhibition match at the Southeast Asian Rugby 7’s against under 19 players. Antonia Hekster, Kio Norris, Claire Matthews, Annabel Cameron and I continue to attend trainings at Centaurs Rugby Club and Tanglin Rugby Club, and will soon be training at CIS.

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ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

Sports.

A rare ballet masterclass.

ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

Our sports teams end the year on a high. Netball continues to grow. Words by Emilia Norwood, Captain and grade 11 student Netball has continued to grow in popularity at CIS this year. We had over thirty girls try-out for the Husky team, and two teams were selected to play in season 3 of the ACSIS league. Having two strong teams allowed CIS to participate in two divisions, which introduced new players to the sport. We were lucky to compete in the South East Asia Netball Tournament, hosted annually by Tanglin Trust School here in Singapore last year, and again this year. The tournament, held over a weekend in March, welcomes schools from several countries, such as China, Thailand and Malaysia, and gives our players, practice playing in a tournament environment. Like last year, the 2017 tournament was scheduled right at the beginning of our season, meaning our teams had only played a couple of games before the competition. But the girls did well, and CIS started strong, remaining undefeated in the ACSIS league in the weeks leading up to the tournament. In 2016 we had registered a 16U team, but this year we qualified for the 19U age group, which meant we would be playing against stronger teams in the international competition. The games in this tournament are much shorter than standard league matches, which put more pressure on teamwork and decision making on court. We knew that our predictions were correct when our first game on day 1 of the tournament was against the Singapore Sports School, who ultimately placed first overall in the tournament. Also in our pool was Tanglin Trust A (the second best team in the tournament), and although we put up a tough fight, we were unable to overpower them. We then played two schools visiting from Malaysia and managed to score two strong wins, before losing marginally to Marlborough College. Despite this, we managed to place in the top half of our pool, allowing us to compete in the top division for our age group. Last year, we won the gold in the second division, so it was great to move up a level. Being placed in the first group meant that we competed against much stronger players. This was a great opportunity to work under pressure, challenge ourselves and improve both as individuals and as a team. Our final game of the tournament against TTS B was one of our best matches of the whole weekend.

Words by Svyatoslav Garal, Alvin Chan, parents of Nikita Garal and Joshua Chan There are a variety of annual ice hockey tournaments in Asia but one of the most prestigious and largest is the “Hockey 5’s” in Hong Kong. 2017 marks the 10th anniversary since inception of this premier event, and it was hyped to be the best competition with 14 countries represented, more than 1,600 players, nearly 90 teams across 20 divisions. Singapore was represented by the well known “Singapore Ice Dragons” club, where fifteen boys and girls of different ages played for five teams across five divisions. CIS was proud to have two students – Joshua Chan and Nikita Garal, playing in the U14 division this year. Skates were sharpened, helmets on, the boys listened for the last instructions from their coach, the captain shouted “one-two-three… Ice DRAGONS” and the game started. This was not just a start! It was the launch of a rocket as the puck and players moved across the ice at amazing speeds… ahead of a BOOM!!! Only 40 seconds into the game, and thanks to Nikita Garal, the Singapore Ice Dragons got off to a much needed 1-0 lead. It is a well known fact, that in any competition it’s very important to score first. This “breaking the ice” gives more confidence to the team which has just scored, and puts pressure on their competitor. And it worked! After another two minutes – another shot, and the score jumped to 2:0! Another two minutes – one more goal and Ice Dragons lead 3:0. Momentum and belief was built and by the end of first period, it was 5:0. Joshua Chan, who typically plays as a forward but accepted the role of solidifying the weaker defensive core, scored in the 2nd period. By the end of the 3rd and final period, the Ice Dragons had won with a resounding 9-2 victory but more importantly, a sense of belief. After midnight (00.30 local time) our boys applied themselves in their second game, working hard and fighting for every puck unfazed by their Hong Kong opponents who were well rested. Josh and Nikita each scored a goal before the floodgates opened for another impressive 8:2 win. Stepby-step, Ice Dragons secured their place in the play-off games. With little reprieve from a short night of sleep, game #3 was on. Team play and belief continued to grow resulting in a 4:0 win, first place in their divisional pool and a place in the semi-finals. With the day off before the semi-finals, most of the players spent the day resting but Josh and Nikita

logged into My.CIS to catch up on their school work. Saturday was semi-final day. This would be the most difficult day because the semi-final is an elimination game – if team loses it goes home, if the team wins it lives on to play for the Gold medal later the same day. Surprisingly, our team faced the same team which was their rival in the very first game of the competition – the International North Stars, who had improved their game with a dominating quarterfinals win. The stage was set for a great battle on the ice. The Ice Dragons did not disappoint. With the common theme of contributions from all players, it was CIS student Joshua Chan, who scored twice and was a defensive wall at his own end to help the team to a confident 7:1 victory. Onto the finals! The exhilaration was clear when I spoke with Nikita who proudly exclaimed “we are in the finals!” over the phone right after the game. In the final later that day, the Singapore Ice Dragons played against the perennial champions the Hong Kong Selects. This was truly a “selected” team comprised of the best of the best, the top-ranked team who were undefeated in their pool. From experience the Ice Dragons knew that this team never loses, a belief held from first-hand previous encounters and inevitable defeats from previous tournaments. The puck dropped to start the anticipated final between two stellar teams. Closely contested, Singapore got off to a 1-0 lead before the Hong Kong tied it at one all. It was a truly tough game, of two teams, equally strong. With no other scoring during regulation time, the game went into overtime. Finally, as the game speed slowed due from tiredness that came from a hard-fought battle, the stress in the air raised because one goal would now decide the outcome. The Singapore Ice Dragons scored a second goal and we’d won!!! Gold was ours! The trophy was ours! The victory was ours! You get some really mixed emotions when you see such strong boys crying tears of excitement and success, after working so hard towards victory! Congratulations.

Our involvement in the ACSIS league and international competitions such as the SEA tournament would not have been possible if it weren’t for our committed coaches, so we thank Scott Polkinghorne and Sam Atkinson for their support. 50

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ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

Sports.

Gold is ours at the Hockey 5’s in Hong Kong!

Congratulations to our inaugural house league leaders for a successful year of leadership.

Words by Dean Monaghan, Head of Sports Congratulations to our inaugural house league leaders for a wonderful year of leadership, commitment and Monday treats! As house and vice captains you have set the bar high for next year’s grade 6 students. Thank you from the Sports team for all the help and assistance you have given to the husky howl, house league tug of wars, Terry Fox run, and house dodgeball. Thanks also for being super presenters at our grade 5 and 6 sports prize-giving, and grade 5 pod assemblies.

SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP

Grade 6 house leaders 2016-2017.

Cambodia book project. Our remarkable secondary students, Mechelle, Megan and Aakurti, share their love of reading and writing with students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Words by Lisa Miller, Head Librarian, Lakeside Campus

It has been a pleasure watching you develop into mature nearly grade 7s, and observe your confidence as leaders flourish over the year. You will all be a huge asset in the MYP - I look forward to watching you progress in the following years. Go Huskies!

In the library, we constantly challenge our students to seek out cultural stories rather than settle for stereotypes. Three of our remarkable secondary students, Mechelle Wu, Megan Wright and Aakurti Ganeshan lived out those ideals when they were inspired to reach out and connect with a group of students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. “The purpose of our initiative,” said Megan, “was to come together and learn as much as we possibly could from one another and our respective cultures, and how we could explore what we love to do together.” At the beginning the two groups got to know each other by writing, illustrating and sharing “mini-books”. Then they ‘met’ weekly through Skype calls, with the Cambodian students visiting the Open Book reading room in Phnom Penh so they could connect to share their love of reading and writing. After listening to each other’s stories, the groups decided to co-write and illustrate a bilingual Khmer/English picture book. The purpose of the project was to show how similar children are despite the differences living here, compared to Cambodia. The groups worked as one throughout 52

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the school year, collaborating and sharing ideas, housing their work in a shared Google doc, which allowed them to edit and provide feedback to each other. “Collaborating with the students and members of Open Book is also really eye opening,” says Mechelle, “we were able to develop internationalmindedness through sharing our different ideas and perspectives.” Mechelle, Megan and Aakruti enlisted other CIS students to help develop the stories and create magnificent artwork to accompany each page. “As students, the best way in which we can use our education is to apply what we’ve learnt in a way that fosters progress and builds positive relationships,” added Megan, “and I think that’s a large part of the purpose of our collaboration with the literature club in Phnom Penh. We love working with them and learning from them, and writing about the values that, as young people, we share. ”Each bilingual page is a fun, colourful and humorous look at the life of an average child living in Singapore and Phnom Penh. Some final Khmer translations are in progress of being finished, before the book will be ready for publishing in August. Stay tuned.

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SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP

Tabitha founder visits CIS Primary. Words by Thomas Hansen, Community Service Coordinator

Empty bowls. On 22 March 2017, CIS welcomed back long-time friend and founder of Tabitha Cambodia, Ms Janne Ritskes. While on a short trip to Singapore, Janne was eager to fit us into her tight schedule to meet with some of our primary students and share her story about the vitally important work her organisation is doing in Cambodia. For over 10 years now, CIS has built a strong relationship with Tabitha Cambodia.

rights and responsibilities, and our Grade 3’s sent select representatives from their classes to learn more and report back about Tabitha’s achievements to date and vision for the future.

Each year, a group of teachers raise money and build houses for some of the poorest people in Cambodia. Secondary students make an annual trip to build houses too, as part of their excursion week, and CIS families have long standing tradition of house building trips. Our primary students don’t always learn about the relationship CIS has with Tabitha until they become directly involved themselves. Janne’s recent visit was very timely as Grade 5 students had recently been inquiring into how leaders affect the ways a community functions. Grade 4 students have been learning about

With an expected opening date of December 2017, Tabitha is in need of funds to outfit the inside of the hospital.

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One very large project that Tabitha has in progress is the construction of a women’s hospital called, Nokor Tep, located just outside of Phnom Penh.

One of their upcoming campaigns titled, Nails for Nokor Tep Challenge, encourages men from around the world to collect sponsorships to have their nails painted. Tabitha’s goal is to get 1 million people worldwide to donate $10 each. To learn more about the Nokor Tep Women’s Hospital (www.nokortep.net) and to make a personal donation, you can visit their website.

CIS secondary students took action in a quest to help end hunger in Singapore. Words by Molly Laycock and Alexandra Chapman, grade 11 students Since August 2016, CIS secondary students have been involved in the empty bowls initiative. This initiative aims to raise money and awareness for those in Singapore who are unable to get enough food. In its 25th year of operation, the international Empty Bowls Project is an international grassroots movement dedicated to ending hunger globally. As student leaders of the project, we have helped build and organise the club, and have worked with an interchanging number of student volunteers to create ceramic bowls. Over the course of the academic year, we have made over 40 ceramic bowls, with every student designing and creating

their very own bowl - in the hopes of selling them to raise money for those without sufficient nutrition. We will be selling these bowls at the Night of M.A.D.ness on 7 June. Funds raised on the night will go to the Willing Hearts Organisation, a charity that shares Empty Bowl’s quest to end hunger. We selected Willing Hearts because of their impressive capacity: they serve 5,000 meals daily in over 40 locations across Singapore, all year-long. Thanks for the CIS community for coming forward and supporting the cause and our club. Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP

Scan this QR code to watch the video for TK!

Words by Thomas Hansen, Community Service Coordinator

Terrance “Terry” Stanley Fox was a Canadian hero, known for his unbreakable spirit and the action he took over 30 years ago to fight a disease he was battling himself. With one leg amputated due to cancer, Terry embarked on a cross-country run of Canada to raise money and awareness for this devastating disease. In Terry’s words he believed that, “Somewhere, the hurting must stop... and I was determined to take myself to the limit for those causes.” While Terry Fox was unable to complete the run in its entirety, nobody can say that he failed to achieve his goal, which was to raise $1 million. In fact to this date, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $650 million worldwide for cancer research. In the lead up to the CIS Terry Fox Run in February 2017, students were first asked to collect donation pledges from family and friends around the world. They set individual and group goals to raise funds, and there was some friendly competition to raise the stakes. Students then embarked on a journey themselves, running in the tropical and 56

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often intense heat of Singapore, just as Terry persevered during extreme weather. In the end, the generosity of our community shone brightly as we raised an astounding $79,520 for the Singapore Cancer Society! CIS is a large supporter of the Singapore Terry Fox Run which is held annually at East Coast Park. As usual, our community was well represented at this event with many students, teachers, and parents participating. In order to help make this non-competitive run a success, a large number of our secondary students volunteered their time to keep runners hydrated at the drinks stations along the route. They also cheered and encouraged the participants as they ran by. At the end of the run, spirits and emotions ran high. Every year as our fundraising campaign comes to a close and another Terry Fox Run is completed, we’re reminded of just how important this tradition is to us at CIS. As Terry once said, “Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep going.”

Scan this QR code to watch the video for Lakeside!

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SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP

CIS raises over $79,000 for Terry.

SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP

Sarah’s miniature meal making.

WWF Singapore applauded CIS Secondary’s efforts to improve environmental sustainability.

Grade 7 student Sarah Tan, our very own ‘mini food’ chef, was featured recently on TV where she talked about her unique passion.

Words by Michael Broadhead, Secondary Science Teacher

STUDENT VOICE

CIS receives WWF eco school award.

Words by CIS Communications

CIS Secondary School received its first award from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Singapore for the student-run Green Machine club’s efforts to improve the sustainability of the school. The silver award we received was the second highest award possible, and CIS now joins thousands of schools around the world making a difference by conserving natural resources as a WWF eco school. Projects that helped the students reach this achievement included: new recycling and reusing initiatives, the development of the rooftop garden and markets, composting programme, awareness initiatives, meat reduction pledges, and formation of an eco-committee with various stakeholders from the school administration, teachers, students, parents and Sodexo. The students are planning to apply for the highest award, the Green Flag award, next year.

Grade 7 student Sarah Tan, our very own famous ‘mini food’ chef, was featured recently on First Look Asia’s “On The Table: Making Mini Meals”, a Mediacorp television programme. Sarah has been passionate about miniature meal making, a somewhat unusual hobby that requires great precision and patience. Mini food making started in Japan years ago as a trend born out of the Japanese obsession for “kawaii” (Japanese for cute or the quality of cuteness).

Parents or staff who wish to be a part of Green Machine projects can contact Mr Michael Broadhead at michael.broadhead@cis.edu.sg.

For Sarah, it all started with a YouTube video about frying mini prawns back in 2014. She was mesmerised by the tiny cookware and tools used to prepare the dishes, and the exquisite presentation of the food. To Sarah, the biggest bonus of this hobby was the fact that these little dishes were also mouth wateringly delicious! Her first experiment was making a mini omelette. Using her ingenuity, Sarah used a tea light candle as a mini stove and a toothpick as a spatula to cook the omelette. She then moved on and practiced making a variety of mini meals from meat to seafood, vegetables to desserts. The more she practiced the tastier her food became. Sarah’s parents have been her biggest supporters throughout her miniature cooking journey: they have encouraged her to explore new methods and ingredients, bought her miniature utensils and tools, and have never tired of tasting her newest mini specialties. Congratulations to Sarah for following her passion, and perfecting her skills in this innovative pastime!

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STUDENT VOICE

“You go get Xiaoxue or you’ll be exiled from the village!!” Kuai shouted. “But you.. You c-c-can’t do this.. I’m your leader!!” Yong protested as a group of birds dragged him out of the village. “Bring Xiaoxue home or never come back!” Mama Xue hollered. As the rooster trudged away from the village he heard a squeaky, chirping sound. As he turned around he was hit with a blur of grey and black! Yong had never seen this bird in the village before. “Who are you?” Yong asked the bulbul.

“Actually it’s more of the shade of coquelicot,” Aragon pointed out. “What’s coquelicot?” The King asked. “Coquelicot is a unique shade of red – your comb is also coquelicot, I know this because I have read about every kind of bird species that there is, I used to borrow books from the library!” Aragon told Yong about his learnings as they followed the string. All of a sudden, the atrocious smell of waste filled the air which made the King nauseous. He heard the shouts of the market and the unmistakable call of a myna nearby! Yong noticed a ball of the same coquelicot string left outside a hut. Yong craned his neck up and saw some drawings which looked unfamiliar. “Aragon, what does that say?” Yong asked, pointing towards the drawing.

“I-I-I’m Aragon, messenger of the Himalayan maharaja. I’ve come to inform you that some birds from our tribe have also been captured by the people, who keep them in a cage as their pets. My maharaja sent me to alert the bird villages about the same but I guess I was too late in Tuvas,” Aragon sighed.

“If I’m not mistaken that says ‘“Live Birds – For Sale’!” Aragon said excitedly.

“Birds should be free!” Yong bellowed, “Do you know where the humans live?”

“Yes, I know! I’ll start a fire as a distraction and meanwhile you can free the birds!” Aragon squeaked excitedly.

Congratulations to CIS TK grade 6 student Vedang Deshpande on his second place finish in author Sarah Brennan’s recent Clever Competition, an international writing contest.

“Sir, my investigation concludes that they live in the northeastern parts of this land,” Aragon said, “Maharaja Aditya told me to help anybody who wants to free the birds.” “COCKADOODLE DOOO!!” the rooster crowed, “Sorry Aragon, I always crow when I get too excited, crowing also helps me think!”

Aragon gathered materials to start a fire.

Words by CIS Communications

“Hehe.. That’s a peculiar idiosyncrasy sir!” Aragon chuckled.

Vedang’s rooster tale wins second place.

Congratulations to CIS TK grade 6 student Vedang Deshpande for his second place finish in author Sarah Brennan’s recent Clever Competition, an international writing contest. Vedang’s entry, Yong – The Proud Rooster is the story of a proud and arrogant Rooster King who learns humility, wisdom and the true meaning of heroism with the help of a Himalayan bulbul. Ms Brennan praised Vedang’s story on her website, describing it as “superb, and highly imaginative and witty”. Enjoy reading Yong - The Proud Rooster. We look forward to seeing more of Vedang’s writing! Yong - The Proud Rooster In the serene, peaceful village of Tuvas in southern China, “Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!” the King of the birds screeched as soon as the sun broke, interrupting the beautiful silence. Everyone came groggily out of their houses to hear what the King had to say.

STUDENT VOICE

There was pandemonium everywhere. A massive human hand reached down and grabbed Xiaoxue. Yong watched helplessly as the human put Xiaoxue into a cage and briskly walked away. All the birds angrily came from their nests and glared at the King. “This is entirely your fault, instead of just telling your stories of bravery you should have protected the kingdom and my baby would still be here!” Mama Xue sobbed.

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Kuai the sparrow squeaked, “Why did you wake us up so early your majesty?” I called you here to tell you about how amazing I am!” Yong, the rooster King of the village boasted. “During the war of ‘Niao’ (birds), I was crowned ‘The Best Warrior’!” Yong truly was brave but nowadays he had stopped caring about the residents of his village. Yong wasn’t a modest ruler – he was a noisy, conceited, self-centered King. As the loud rooster ranted on about his ‘real’ adventures, the other birds stealthily crept back into their nests trying not to get noticed by Yong. The only creature left listening to Yong’s far-fetched tales was Xiaoxue, the young myna who was in awe of Yong’s bravery. As Yong continued to boast, a large silhouette appeared over the village. The birds chirped in panic and gathered their chicks into their nests.

In the pleasant weather Yong and Aragon made their way to the north, the cherry blossom trees with their bright pink flowers made the otherwise dull forest colorful. Yong noticed that there were fewer birds in the trees. “Hmm, how odd eh Aragon, there are hardly any birds in this forest!” Yong said. “I’m certain that humans captured some of the birds here, and the rest of them moved south to be safe” Aragon squawked. After a treacherous and tiring ten-days walk, Yong found an appetizing meal. “L-L-look Aragon!! A bucket of worms! I’ve never seen such mouthwatering worms in my life,” Yong drooled. “SIR! DON’T FALL FOR THE TRAP! THE HUMANS ARE TRYING TO TANTALISE US, SO THEY CAN TRAP US!!” Aragon screeched at the top of his lungs. “How silly of me,” The King realized, “Aragon, look there’s a string tied to the handle of the bucket, it is reddish in color!”

They saw a man who was sitting by the birds. “Do you know how to set a fire?” Yong asked.

“Chnk-Chnk-Chnk” Aragon hurriedly struck the stones against each other to start a fire. Finally, he was able to light a fire which quickly spread out. The man sitting by the birds rushed out to see what was happening and Yong swiftly entered the hut, unlocked all the cages and the birds, thanking him, happily flew back to their own villages! Yong scooped Xiaoxue, who was scared and couldn’t fly and bolted into the forest. Aragon followed him and they went back to Tuvas. “Yes! We did it! Thank you Aragon! If we hadn’t saved Xiaoxue then I would’ve broken my promise and I would’ve failed Mama Xue,” Yong said. After Yong returned the bird village had a sumptuous celebratory feast with Aragon as the guest of honor. Now the King listened to the residents more often and instead of telling preposterous tales, ruled Tuvas very wisely which made him popular and well respected.

“Superb, and highly imaginative and witty”

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OUTDOOR LEARNING

Approaching the mangroves with an open mind. Grade 4 students explored how living and nonliving things in an ecosystem impact each other.

Words by CIS Communications Lakeside Grade 4 students recently visited the mangroves of Sungei Buloh to examine their central idea, living and nonliving things in an ecosystem are interconnected and impact each other.

• How water becomes dissolved within water • How the living and nonliving features of the mangroves are interconnected and dependent on each other

Together with Open Minds Coordinator, Carl Brown, they set about examining environmental conditions in the mangroves. During the week, students learnt about the mangrove’s key inhabitants and the unique features of its trees.

During this week, our students further developed their:

Students were able to establish how water type, soil ph, and light conditions (among others) have impacted and shaped the mangroves’ ecosystem. They also examined and documented the different factors that can influence the abiotic features of the mangrove and its surrounds.

Using the majority of their senses, they gathered data first-hand, and took readings which were later organised and analysed. They learnt how to interpret the data they’d collected which allowed them to develop their understanding of, and draw conclusions related to the central idea.

By using questions such as ‘what is it like’, ‘how does it work’, ‘why is it like this’ and ‘how is it connected to other things?’, students were able to determine:

Social and emotional skills: as students work in groups, they collaborate, they ask questions, they listen to others’ ideas, and work together to complete the task at hand. They develop resilience as they face setbacks or look at a new approach to a problem.

• That not all types of water are the same and is identified by its salinity level • That soil is made up of many different components • That there are different amounts of oxygen dissolved in different types of water

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Scan this QR code to watch the video!

Research and analytical skills: students developed their research skills through a carefully planned programme.

Open Minds provides students with unique opportunities to develop skills that are relevant and transferrable. Learning is hands on, stimulating, engaging and meaningful. Can you think of a better way to learn?

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OUTDOOR LEARNING

experiences (if you think back to your most memorable childhood experiences, I bet most of them were outside!). Unfortunately however, modern day distractions and limited exposure to natural environments in residential areas especially here in Singapore, mean many children lose out on these huge learning opportunities. At CIS we are committed to turning the trend around; we have designed our programme so that all our students from kindergarten right through to grade 12, have every chance to enjoy the benefits.

Scan this QR code to watch the video!

The length and focus of our outdoor learning programmes varies depending on the age group. In Kindergarten, outdoor learning is inquiry and play-based and takes place in our outdoor discovery centre. In the older grades, it involves lessons in our outdoor discovery centre, amphitheatre as well as field trips, excursion week and Open Minds - handson learning experiences in settings, such as Fort Canning, Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve and the Eco Garden at the Science Centre. Participating in Outdoor Classroom Day was a great way to show our friends that outdoor learning at CIS is a fundamental part of the school’s approach to providing students with a balanced education. It isn’t just something we put together once a year, but instead what we try to do every day.

Outdoor Classroom Day 2017.

“Outdoor learning sharpens brain development, creativity, teamwork and social and gross motor skills.”

TK celebrated outdoor learning in their new outdoor discovery centre. Words by Angela Henderson, Principal, Tanjong Katong Campus Outdoor learning plays an integral part of a student’s education at CIS. No matter the age or subject, we aim to extend lessons into the outdoors whenever there is the opportunity for students to learn in a purposeful manner. On 18 May, we invited friends from the wider CIS community to come and experience first hand our renowned approach during Outdoor Classroom Day at our Tanjong Campus. Outdoor Classroom Day is a global initiative designed to inspire and celebrate outdoor learning and play. Throughout the morning on 18 May, our kindergarten and primary school students together with thousands of other schools around the world, participated in a wide variety of engaging outdoor educational activities. Classes for our youngest learners took place in our enchanted Outdoor Discovery Centre. They included learning to paint like Michelangelo along the roof and sides of the 64

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tunnel, creating different art forms using natural materials found in nature, and exploring math concepts like volume, weight and size in our mud kitchen. Meanwhile our older students learnt about math fractions using nature (eg create a plant where ¾ of the leaves are green), plant biology (such as stem and leaves) through drawing and observation, and energy and its importance via experiments like designing small boats and testing them on water using wind energy. The benefits our students gained from these outdoor learning experiences were tremendous. Amongst other things, outdoor learning sharpens brain development, creativity, teamwork and social and gross motor skills. It also helps generate a greater awareness of the environment and create memorable and authentic learning Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

OUTDOOR LEARNING

Our children learn to problem solve, adapt to change and become more resourceful through hands-on activities amongst nature in the outdoor discovery centre. Words by Emma Gedge, SK Lead Teacher, Lakeside Campus

3. After meeting again and reflecting on our learning for the day, the children are given time for free play. During this last part of the class, the children exercise their social skills while engaging in cooperative, imaginative play on the hills, in the sandbox, and in the tunnel. This last session is important as it encourages the children to explore and understand the space independently, and through this they learn self-reliance. Every day the children find freedom, exercise independence, excite their senses and, most importantly, learn by doing. Note: This article was so good from a pedagogical perspective, it was picked up by the Outdoor Classroom Day team as an exemplar of good practice - congratulations Emma.

Every day the children in SK2 spend time learning, working together and exploring in the outdoor discovery centre. This outdoor learning helps develop healthy, active lifestyles and routines, through hands-on experiences in our natural world. These experiences help the children learn to understand and respect nature, and feel a connection to our world and our community. It’s different outside everyday: the weather changes, we observe new bugs and plants, and we discover new materials in the outdoor classroom. During this time, the children learn to be adaptable to change and resourceful in the real world. Being outside provides the children with rich opportunities to develop their problem solving skills and use their imagination too, because in the Outdoor Discovery Centre, they play safely and freely while trying new things and taking risks. Being outside ignites an excitement and curiosity in young learners that cannot be 66

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OUTDOOR LEARNING

K’s outdoor S learning experience.

classroom are applied to real world experiences in the outdoor discovery centre.

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replicated inside the classroom. The children engage in reading, writing and mathematics explorations in the natural world through observing, collecting and sorting, making predictions and testing theories. Our outdoor learning time is split into three parts. 1. First, we meet as a class in our mindfulness circle. The children are led through a series of breathing, listening and relaxation exercises to help them be aware of and engage their senses, and tune into their personal well-being every day. 2. Then they are given a task to complete in the outdoor classroom for the day: which may include making observational drawings; writing sentences on the writing walls and pathways; or collecting, sorting and counting natural materials. In these daily tasks, skills and knowledge taught in the Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

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night under A the stars. On 21 May, our seniors danced the night away under the stars.

Words by Leslie Morgan, Student Council Advisor

Our seniors (grade 12) celebrated the end of their IB Diploma exams at the annual CIS Prom, held just two days before their graduation. Although our juniors (grade 11) were not yet done with their final exams, many were able to take a night off to enjoy one last school event with grade 12s. This year, prom was held for the first time at W Singapore: Sentosa Cove. The W’s large and luxurious ballroom offered additional room for two really large buffet lines, and plenty of space for dancing and mingling, while the foyer provided the perfect space for the ubiquitous photo booth shots. As the lights dimmed, soft fairy lights made the room glow, evoking the theme of the evening, “A Night Under the Stars.” Glitter and jewels decorated each table enhancing the effect and the magic. It was an elegant set up and we enjoyed a night that sent our graduating class off in true CIS style.

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grateful to the entire CIS community for the support I received, including staff, students and the PTA.

What is your plan moving forward with “The Power 5” series?

How did your original idea evolve into the set of short stories that you’ve now published?

Jamie: I have written two more books that I plan to publish before the end of 2017. The second story follows The Power 5 as they continue their exciting lives at the international school they attend, while the third culminates in their final year at their current school campus. So watch out for issue #2, Games Changers, and issue #3, Mastering Emotions.

Jamie: My first story came quite naturally as I coach a lot of basketball. I wrote a short story highlighting some of the significant “teachable moments” that coaching a sports team provides. While on the bus home after a big basketball final, I noticed that after reflecting on the game, the girls’ attention quickly turning to upcoming cultural celebrations at school. It was at that moment I decided to follow up and start documenting other situations and opportunities that third culture kids experience. What do you hope these stories will highlight? Jamie: First of all, I’m hoping that international students will be able to relate to these stories. I also hope the stories trigger meaningful discussions centred around values, attitudes and conflict resolution. For that reason, some “important vocabulary” appears in bold text. Finally, I hope these stories will help to strengthen the relationships between third culture kids, their parents and their teachers. At the end of each story is a section called “teachable moments”. How do you see these being used?

The Power 5. Celebrating the launch of TK teacher Jamie York’s new children’s book. Words by CIS Communications Last month, CIS had the great privilege of celebrating the launch of The Power 5 - Unlocking Potential, the first in a new series of children’s books written by TK teacher Jamie Yorke. The Power 5 welcomes readers into the lives of five talented international school students as they learn the importance of cultural diversity and self-empowerment as “third culture kids” (ie children living in a culture that is different from their parents’ culture). As we follow the lives of Yuka, Julia, Shania, Sam, and Jessica, through a series of short stories, we learn about the unique challenges faced by third culture kids and we are reminded of the important role that our school community plays in their lives. As a parent of third culture kids and an international educator for 15 years, Jamie is very familiar with the exciting opportunities and challenges that living abroad provides 70

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Jamie: I’ve included questions at the end of each story to draw attention to the potential learning opportunities, connections, and deeper reflections that I know these stories will provide. For example, after the story Identity Crisis, there are questions around the choices The Power 5 have to make when deciding which country each will represent in their school’s Parade of Nations. This is an issue many CIS students face every year during Uniting Nations week. Readers are invited to reflect on the decision that each character makes and why, and how, this choice might be difficult for them. They are also invited to make connections to their own experiences and talk about how they stay connected to their home countries while living abroad.

for children. We sat down with Jamie to talk about his own journey from teacher to published author. How did you come up with the idea of writing a series of realistic fiction stories about international school students? Jamie: Having taught and coached sports teams in international schools for more than fifteen years, I’ve thought many times about the unique lives of our students and the lifestyles that come from being in an international environment. I’ve always thought that telling their stories could make for great reading. A couple of years ago, I decided to try and do just that, and started writing. I shared early drafts with CIS students and fellow teachers last year and made improvements based on their feedback. I am tremendously Canadian International School • Mosaic@CIS

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COMMUNITY GALLERY

Green and healthy Mondays. Promoting a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle, by making one small change.

Words by Gayatri Mahadewi, Tristan Schlaefke, Rachel Evans grade 11 students

The green and healthy Monday is an initiative started by the Secondary School’s Green Machine, a group of students with one overall aim: to promote a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle, by encouraging the CIS community to make small changes to our food choices and eating habits to reduce our negative impact on the environment and promote a more sustainable future.

CIS Friends’ year at a glance. Highlights from the cultural activities and tours organised by our very own PTA’s CIS Friends.

From a sustainability perspective, eating plant-based sources of protein compared to meat means we could collectively lower our carbon, land and water footprints. Animals (raised for the meat industry in this instance) have a negative impact on the land on which they graze and result in carbon emissions, and consume much greater quantities of the water in comparison to plant-based sources of protein. From a health perspective, students want to help the CIS community understand that they can reduce their risk of a range of lifestyle diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity, by eating more plant based foods. The green and healthy Monday initiative began by asking students to sign a formal pledge that indicates their participation in reducing their meat consumption, specifically on Mondays. To inspire more students to engage with the Green Machine’s Meatless Monday initiative, students who take part in it are occasionally given a “reward” in the form of vegan baked goods, handmade by the green & healthy Monday committee. The number of signed pledges by the CIS community has grown to over 215 pledges, making this initiative very successful so far. Furthermore, the green & healthy Monday committee has successfully negotiated to introduce a new line of “green and healthy” dishes, such as burritos, falafel, lasagna and pasta dishes, created by Sodexo for the school canteen. There will be more great opportunities for green & healthy Monday to expand in the hope of spreading awareness and influencing the mindsets of more in the CIS community. We would like to invite our parent community to join the pledge. We want everyone to realise that each of us can make small changes that will lead a more environmentally friendly and healthy lifestyle. 72

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