IGBIS Weekly Newsletter. Issue 88, Week 5, September 2016.

IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 88, Week 5, September 2016

• Grade 4 Health & Sport Drink Expo. ~ September 27th, 2016. - Pg. 4

Inside This Week’s Newsletter

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Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles ...............................................................................................

News from Elementary School Mrs. Claire McLeod ...............................................................................................

PYP Verification Visit Mr. Simon Millward ...............................................................................................

Grade 1 Valencia Field Trip Sally Watters and Shireen Blakeway ...............................................................................................

Grade 4 Health & Sports Drink Expo Steven Harvey and Kari Twedt ...............................................................................................

Supporting Language Development...

Ms. Amanda Clark ...............................................................................................

From the Secondary School Principal Mr. Michael Arcidiacono ...............................................................................................

Parent Workshop Day Mr. Phil Clark ...............................................................................................

University News Ms. Pauline Davidson

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GIN IGBIS’ Recycling Project Ms. Mary Boyd ...............................................................................................

Performing Arts Mr. Jon Suffolk ...............................................................................................

IB Pre-Universities Symposium Ms. Mary Boyd ...............................................................................................

Open Day Thank You Mr. Wayne Demnar ...............................................................................................

PVO & Alumni News Ms. Julie Arcidiacono

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Upcoming Event at IGBIS U11 Girls Basketball Preliminaries Wed, October 12, 4 pm – 6 pm (Indoor Sports Hall) ...............................................................................................

U13 Boys Football Friendly Thu, October 13, 4 pm – 5 pm (Track and Field) ...............................................................................................

Kopitiam with the Principal Fri, October 14 - (SS - 8:00 am) (ES - 8:40 am)

Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, We are delighted to announce that we have been successful in gaining the appropriate license for our Fireflies programme for 2-year-old children. The programme will commence on October 10, straight after the mid-term break. For further information about the Fireflies programme, please contact our Admissions staff.

(Email: enquiries@igbis.edu.my; Phone: 03 6145 4688).

Our Open Day on September 24 was very successful with

some very enthusiastic families coming to visit the school.

Thanks are extended to the staff, students and parents who came to school on Saturday to meet potential new families.

We hope that all of our school community are able to take time to have some family time over the mid-term break.

Mrs. Anne Fowles Head of School

News from Elementary School Grade 4 I had an enjoyable visit to the Grade 4 classrooms this week when they had their Health and Sports Drink Expo. The focus was on the students’ presentation skills, knowledge of their product and marketing skills as well as how their product tasted. Before l arrived in the rooms l could hear their spruiking from afar; their enthusiasm and passion was obvious and they seemed to get louder as l moved around the room!

Cafeteria Account Parents are reminded to check their child/children’s cafeteria account to ensure there are sufficient funds for lunches. Over the last week cafeteria staff have noticed there are a few chil-

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dren who have no funds available. When the account is empty lunches are provided in Elementary School and names noted so the meals are accounted for.

I hope everyone has a lovely break and l look forward to seeing refreshed students join us on Monday 10th October.

Until next time,

Mrs. Claire McLeod Elementary School Principal

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Impacting Lives

IB PYP Verification Visit Simon Millward PYP Coordinator

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On Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd September the school hosted two visitors, Rima Singh and Inga Bela, representing the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). The purpose of their visit was to verify that the information that we had previously submitted about the school was being implemented.

They toured the school, visited classes, talked to the Elementary Student Council, met with teachers to discuss the practices we employ to deliver the PYP curriculum and met with a representative of the Board and a group of parents.

Having gathered a lot of information their job now is to write a report based on the IBO’s standards and practices and submit it to the IBO. A decision will then be made whether to grant IGB International School authorisation status.

In the final meeting with the visiting team they made many positive comments about what they saw. The sense of community felt within the school was evident and there was open communication between students, teachers and the parent body. Particularly pleasing was the visiting team highlighting that the students spoke knowledgeably about their learning and the PYP programme.

Whilst we still have to wait for the process to be completed, there were many positives that we can take from the visit.

Grade 1 Valencia Field Trip

Sally Watters and Shireen Blakeway PYP Teachers

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Grade 1 students are finishing off their Unit of Inquiry, investigating the central idea “Humans use maps to understand their environment”. The children went off campus on another field trip, this time heading to nearby Valencia to put into practice all the map reading skills they have learnt. They also used a compass to find north, east, south and west. At six different locations, students followed directions such as, “Head north to the sand pit, turn to the west and walk to the path, turn right and walk forward 17 paces.” Boxes were hidden at each location and once discovered children needed to solve a puzzle to open the box. Inside the box was a puzzle piece and directions to the next location. Once all the puzzle pieces had been found and fitted together, the children discovered the location of a well-earned snack. Despite the heat, everyone had a wonderful time, thanks to great teamwork and generous assistance from the parent helpers.

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Grade 4 Sports Drink Expo Steven Harvey and Kari Twedt PYP Teachers

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Grade 4 students finished up their Unit of Inquiry “How We Express Ourselves� this week with a Sports Drink Expo. This was one of the final activities of the unit, which students had been working towards for the past six weeks. The central idea was that media influences how we think and the choices we make, and students demonstrated their understanding of different styles and techniques of advertising. They did this by designing advertising posters for a mock sports drink that encompassed the principles of design - contrast, alignment, repetition and proximity. They prepared their drinks and as much advertising material as they wanted and spent an

hour spruiking their product and applying various advertising techniques, such as emotional appeal, exaggeration, loaded words and bandwagon appeal, to encourage everyone who passed by to taste their drink. The exercise had the students tap into their creativity, while building their confidence, ensuring they continue to be effective communicators and inquirers.

Supporting Language Development in the Elementary Library Amanda Clark Whole School Teacher Librarian

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Helping our students develop a love of reading is a huge part of what we do in school. This happens in homerooms, in single subject areas and, of course, in the library. Elementary students come to the library for one lesson a week where, as part of what we do, students have the chance to borrow books to take home and read. They are able to keep these books for two weeks, however most of the books are returned each week when the students come as a class. Being literate in your mother tongue language (the language that is used most commonly at home), is essential to supporting the development of additional languages, such as English. To help your children grow and develop in their use of their mother tongue language, the library has a growing collection of books in Bahasa Malay, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. The books are either translated from English, and include a lot of our most popular titles, or they are books that are originals, written in the mother tongue. We encourage all our readers to enjoy these fabulous books, in all languages.

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News from Secondary School Dear parents, It was a busy week in Secondary as we head into the October break. Sports fixtures, camp reflections, assessment due dates, Universities Fair, student research teams in action — lots happening! This will continue when we return; on Friday I shared the link to our online booking system for our ParentStudent-Teacher (PST) Conferences in mid-October. The link can also be found here.

The break next week is a nice opportunity for students (and teachers!) to rest and relax a bit after a busy beginning of semester. These occasions are natural opportunities for students to reflect on their progress and evaluate their efforts thus far. An interesting thought experiment a student might do is to consider the following question: “What points will my teacher likely raise with me and my parent when we meet at the PST conference?”

Thinking in this manner is part of the reflection process and helps students to consider their progress from different perspectives. Just as teachers plan for conferences, so should students. On that note, I do ask that all secondary students attend the PST conferences with their parents - it is their education and they should have a “seat at the table” and be part of the discussion.

I wish parents and students an enjoyable break!

Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal

Parent Workshop Day - MYP CONCEPTS and CONTEXTS Phil Clark MYP Coordinator

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Last Friday we organised a full day for parents to experience learning through concepts and contexts. In the morning parents participated enthusiastically in a hands-on mini unit of inquiry that simulated how Grades 6-10 students learn and are assessed in MYP. The unit was interdisciplinary, in that it incorporated three different subject areas - Individuals & Societies, Design and the Arts.

their own culture. They learnt how to make structured notes and how to cite their information sources using the collaborative features of Google Docs. They found library books and online resources to research how their culture has traditionally been expressed through food and the arts, and how it has been expressed in modern times. Comments overhead during the session included, “I didn’t know we’d really have to work,” “This is harder than it looks,” and “Now I know why my child says it is hard to get a 7 or 8 on assessments.”

While the unit developed skills and knowledge in all three subject areas, it was also designed to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts of “culture” and “innovation” and was set in a context of “personal and cultural expression”. The statement of inquiry for the workshop was “People can express their cultures in innovative ways while remaining true to their identities.”

The first session of the workshop was held in the school library with a focus on developing collaboration and research skills and historical knowledge in Individuals & Societies. Parents worked together in groups of two or three, huddling around computers to search the library catalogue and find books about

After a short morning break in the school cafeteria, the second session saw parents split into two groups - one group moving on to Design class, and the other group moving on to Performing Arts. Parents had to apply what they had researched and learnt about their culture during the previous session, and create an innovative way to express their culture by designing and creating either a meal (food design) or a theatrical performance (performing arts). Parents worked enthusiastically and created some truly impressive products.

Comments overhead during this session included, “I wish we had classes like this when I was at school,” and “Now I know why my child is so excited about this subject,” and “Can we do this again?”

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In the third session, both groups of parents came back together to share their creations. There was much excitement as the Design group brought their meals from the food design kitchen to share with the whole group. They explained the rationale for their creations and how each dish represented an innovative expression of their culture. The Performing Arts group took to the stage in the drama room to perform innovative expressions of their culture which were greeted with much laughter and applause.

The final part of this activity was for parents to review the assessment rubrics for the research and creation sessions.

They discussed in small groups the descriptions for each level of achievement and tried to reach agreement as they peerassessed their own group performance.

Parent Workshop - Introduction to MYP Assessment We invite parents of Grade 6 students, and parents of students new to the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) at IGBIS this year, to join us for an introductory workshop about assessment in the Middle Years Programme.

Thursday 27 October (8:00-9:00am) in the PVO room on Level 2.

In the afternoon parents joined our Grade 12 IB Diploma Programme students as they presenting the collaborative, interdisciplinary Rube Goldberg science projects that they had been constructing throughout the week. There were some fabulous machines that demonstrated extremely creative design and applied a variety of biology, chemistry and physics principles.

We thank the parents who were able to commit so much time and join us for this workshop, and especially thank them for participating with such enthusiasm. We hope they had a positive experience, learnt more about how students learn within the IB programmes and have a greater understanding of how learning is structured around concepts and contexts.

To register for this workshop, please login to this form using your IGBIS parent email https://goo.gl/forms/n7MCyTyArzn3H09z2

NOTE: This is a repeat of the workshop that we offered last year and is a general introduction to MYP assessment. We will offer a another workshop later this year that explores MYP assessment in greater depth.

Phil Clark Middle Years Programme Coordinator

Secondary School Fall Festival - Friday, 14 October 2016 | 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm On Friday 14 October, the Secondary Student Council is hosting an after-school Fall Festival event for all secondary students. The event will run from 3:30pm - 5:00pm in the Sports Hall, and school will be providing transportation for students if they usually take the school bus. There is an admission fee of 10MYR, as we will have prizes and outside providers.

Students will be able to play Capture the Flag, as well as mini-games like target golf and frisbee challenges. There will also be popcorn and candy floss for all to enjoy. Students are encouraged to bring their water bottles and to wear sports gear during the event. We hope to see all secondary students at the event!

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[ SECONDARY SCHOOL ]

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University News Ms. Pauline Davidson Grade 9-12 School Counsellor ...............................................................................................

should make the search process truly personal for their child. ~ Craig Meister, President Tactical College Consulting The first step in a good college search and match is a strong understanding of self. Parents can assist students in this area by exposing them to colleges with various environments, locations, academic programs, and student bodies. ~ Lynette Mathews, Director, The College Planning Center

With 39 university representatives, 100 students and 32 parents, complete with Special Guest Jennifer Rodrigue, the Trade Commissioner from the Canadian High Commission, last week’s Global University Fair was an overwhelming success.

Thank-you to all parents who attended and supported their child.

It is important to remember that for students making decisions about which university is the right fit for them, researching all available opportunities is critical. In beginning to plan early in their high school years, students are better likely to gain focus and momentum for a successful university application process. However, parent involvement is also crucial to making the university application process a healthy one. We encourage open communication between parents, students and the school to maximise support during the university decision and application process.

Tips from the Experts University administrators have shared valuable tips about this critical time for students and parents, and it is worth paying attention to their advice.

Pick a set time, once a week perhaps, and promise to confine your questions to that period (they are allowed to bring it up anytime they like). Also, do NOT share details of your child’s scores, grades, application choices, etc. with friends and relatives without their express permission to do so. ~ Carol Morris, Regional Director of Admissions, Southern Methodist University Parents should have input and offer advice, but always being careful not to take over or become so involved that it becomes more about them than about the student. ~ Jeannie Borin, Admissions director, Duke University Upcoming University Events University visits: • Boston University: Monday 10th October at 2.303.30pm • University of British Columbia: Tuesday 11th October - 12.30pm • King’s College London: Tuesday 11th October 12.30 • Goldsmiths University of London: Wednesday 12th October 12.30 • Westminster University: Wednesday 12th October 12.30

The prospect of college is daunting for all students. Without adequate guidance from parents who have experienced the process themselves, and/or without a strong support network in school and in the community, the obstacles to college access can cause issues. As parents your job is to help your child overcome challenges to examine the world of college opportunity that awaits them. ~ National Association for College Admission Counseling

PARENTS, PLEASE VISIT IF YOU ARE ABLE TO!!

Parents can most help out by clearly explaining to their student the parameters of what the family is willing and/or able to pay for so the student can figure out what colleges are actually feasible options and worth applying to in the first place. ~ Philip Ballinger, Director of Admissions & Assistant VP of Enrollment, University of Washington

Full details of these events were sent via to all parents and students in grades 9-11 on Friday.

University fairs: • US fair on 17th October - 15 US universities, including New York Institute of Technology and Gonzaga University • UK fair on 7th November - 26 UK universities, including Bristol, King’s, Bath & Exeter.

Parents can help their kids turn inward by asking them how they imagine college. Questions like, “When you imagine college, what is it like? What are you doing? What are the students around you like? How do you want to change or what do you want to happen for you in college.” Parents

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GIN IGBIS’ Recycling Project Mary Boyd DP Coordinator ...............................................................................................

Have you wondered about where your rubbish goes, once it hits the garbage bin?

Does the issue of recycling concern you as much as it does us?

Horrified at the amount of paper, aluminium cans, plastic bottles that go straight into the garbage bin, destined for a landfill, the sea or an incinerator, we’re formulating ways to start getting recycling bins into each classroom, and to focus the recyclable waste at the forthcoming 24 hour race, where we could expect maybe 1200 runners, 500 marshalls and possibly 300 visitors, most of whom, we imagine, will be drinking water from plastic bottles and eating snacks wrapped in plastic or paper. More to come, but in the meantime, the next time you’re about to throw away paper, plastic, aluminium or anything else that could be recycled: please think. Let’s work together to tackle this problem and speak to a GIN member about your ideas.

“The average person generates over 4 pounds of trash everyday and about 1.5 tons of solid waste per year.”

“Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees.”

“American throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles per hour.

Each one takes 500 years to decompose.”

“Malaysians produce an average of 30,000 tons of waste every day.

Only 5 percent of it is recycled.”

From ‘Clean Malaysia’, the national Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, September 2015

* Images from Clean Malaysia, Sept 2016.

Garbage on Perhentian Beach*

Dump Site in the Cameron Highlands*

Trash in a Kuala Lumpur River by Kounosu*

Charlene (G12), Yuto (G12), Natasha (G12), Hamizah (G12), Rachel (G11), Ms Boyd, Glenda (G12), Gareth (G8), Justin (G8), Rebecca (G12), Hwei Minn (G12), Mabel (G12), Hwei Linn (G11), Aria (G11), Josh (G12), Zoe (G12)

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Performing Arts Mr. Jon Suffolk Performing Arts Teacher ...............................................................................................

IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy As we move to the October holiday break I would like to thank the many parents who have paid for their children’s Music Academy lessons for Semester 1. If you have not yet made the payment could you please do so at your earliest convenience.

The holidays is a great time to engage your children in some extra practice or attend a concert to give your children added incentive to practice and to become life-long learners of music.

We all know the benefits of learning a musical instrument, and the research surrounding the positive effects on the development of children through learning a musical instrument is extensive: it ignites the brain.

The IB is conducting an IB Pre-Universities Symposium on Saturday 12 November 2016, at Sunway Hotel Resort and Spa. There are 2 sessions, morning and afternoon.

For the afternoon session, the IB are inviting parents, university counsellors, teachers and students to the IB Diploma Programme (DP) seminar and mini exhibition by at least 20

Senior School Drama Company 2016 The work for the Secondary School Drama Company 2016 is well under way. This year, the Company will stage their own rendition of the play “Living With Lady Macbeth” by Rob John.

This play follows the story of Lily Morgan, a high school girl who everybody thinks is very ordinary and rather dull. But Lily eventually proves everybody wrong when she auditions for the role of Lady Macbeth in the school play.

As the cast begins to memorise and rehearse their lines, the backstage crew are planning the sets, costumes and marketing. Directed by Mr. Suffolk and Mr. Fleury, this production is bound to be a spectacle worth watching. If you enjoy murder mysteries, Mean Girls and madness, you’ll definitely love this play.

The play is scheduled to be held in the school theatre on December 7th at 7:30pm. Put the date in your diary.

local and foreign universities. The seminar will be hosted by Gregory Biggs, Global DP Product Manager.

There is no requirement for you to RSVP and there is no limit in terms of the number of delegates.

Please see the detailed schedule below for your reference: Continue next page >>

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14:00 - 14:15pm Welcome Address - Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dato’ Prof. Dr. Rujhan bin Mustafa, Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) 14:15 - 14:45pm Presentation on IB Diploma programmes and recognition Gregory Biggs – Product Manager, DP 14:45 - 15:45pm University Presentation (universities – 20 minutes each).

Universities to share on their admission policies for DP students as well as why they value IB DP students. i. Universiti Malaya - Mr. Yusoff Musa, Registrar ii. Monash University Malaysia - Jenny Lee, Senior Manager iii. International Medical University - Sebastian Loh, Manager - International Marketing iv. King’s College London - Francine Dawson, Regional International Officer, SEA

15:55 - 16:55pm Panel discussion (students and alumni – 10 minutes each) i. IGB International School - Anne Fowles, Head of School i. Kolej MARA Seremban - Dr. Saaidah Abd Rahman, Deputy Director i. Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas - Chan Wai Yen, University Placement Services - Partnership Development ii. Alumni from the Malay College Kuala Kangsar iii. Alumni from Kolej MARA Banting 17:00pm End of the session

Open Day Thank You Wayne Demnar Admissions & Marketing Director ...............................................................................................

It was certainly a matter of slow start, strong finish with regard to the Open Day at IGBIS last Saturday. With over 30 staff in attendance, we were all primed for a wonderful day sharing the virtues of our programmes. The enthusiasm of the staff was

soon matched by the buzz of curious parents and potential students. The merits of an IB education was the topic of many conversations and we hope to see some new enrolments to follow. Thank you to Ms. Arvindar Kaur and all the staff who attended for their efforts before and during the day, as you certainly reflected a positive view of IGBIS. Special mention also to our wonderful students and parents who came to share their stories - you did us proud!

PVO & Alumni News Julie Chen Arcidiacono Community Support & Services Coordinator ...............................................................................................

Many of our IGBIS parents have been very busy this past week; from participating in an MYP mini unit of inquiry, to helping to show the school to prospective families during Open Day, and then attending the Global College Fair with their children.

We recently held our first event committee meeting for the 24hr Race. More details regarding this event, as well as ways parents and volunteers can be involved, can be found on the PVO website (https://sites.google.com/igbis.edu.my/ pvo). If you are interested in being involved in this or other events, please register your name on the sign-up sheets on the website.

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We recently launched the Friends of Phoenix website (https://sites.google.com/igbis.edu.my/alumni), dedicated to our alumni community. The graduating class of 2016 has been invited to share their contact information and a selfie in their current surroundings. Our inaugural alumni are now scattered in various locations throughout the globe, and we hope that Friends of Phoenix can become a lifelong link connecting all our former students.

As a reminder both PVO and Friends of Phoenix websites can be found via: • www.igbis.edu.my > School Life > PVO (or click the PVO icon on the Splash Page) • www.igbis.edu.my > Admissions > Alumni I hope you enjoy a relaxing break and will return ready for more PVO fun.

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IGBIS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Igniting Minds

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