IGBIS Weekly Newsletter. Issue 97, Week 2, December 2016.

IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 97, Week 2, December 2016

• Christmas Assembly ~ December 9th 2016.

Inside This Week Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles 2 Head of School ..............................................................

News from Elementary School Mrs. Claire McLeod 2 Elementary School Principal ..............................................................

News from Secondary School Mr. Michael Arcidiacono 4 Secondary School Principal

Host Nation News. ~ Pg. 2

Happening.

++ Wednesday 4th January School resumes ++ Friday 20th January Grades 1-12 Splashdown ++ Thursday 26th January Chinese New Year Assembly

Hours of Code at IGBIS ~ Pg. 3 Trade, Commerce and Holiday Bazaar

~ Pg. 4

Psychology Revision with a Twist ~ Pg. 5 University Offers and Congratulations!

~ Pg. 5 Performing Arts ~ Pg. 5 Grade 7 & 8 House Benchball Tournament

~ Pg. 6

Admissions and Marketing News ~ Pg. 7 PVO News ~ Pg. 7

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Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, The Secondary production of “Lady Macbeth” proved to have its share of murder, mayhem and laughter in keeping with its theme and as Mr Suffolk said, “Paying true homage to the bard (William Shakespeare) in his anniversary year.”

Congratulations to all of the performers and staff involved. The standard of acting was excellent and the back-up support with technology, lights and sound once again showed the potential of our theatre.

The whole school community came dressed in green and red for the Christmas assembly on December 9th. The spirit of giving, caring, and friendship was evident in the student and staff performances. Along with the singing and dancing, there was a lot of fun too! Our Elementary Student Council and supporting teachers are to be commended for the work they have done on this theme, as well as the assembly itself.

Now it’s time for us all to have a well earned holiday. We hope that everyone enjoys a wonderful festive season with lots of good cheer! Merry Christmas!

Mrs. Anne Fowles Head of School

News from Elementary School We have almost completed a semester of work and, as always, the time seems to have flown. Many of us had some trepidation earlier in the year as we waited to see if the haze would return and play havoc with school and life in general; thankfully the weather has been excellent!

Our last day before the holidays was full of energy with most students and staff in red and green. The Christmas Assembly was a wonderful event full of energy, dancing and singing.

Many of our Elementary students took the chance to get up and dance during some of the songs and the Grade 4 flash dance was a wonderful hit with everyone! The assembly was presented by our Elementary School Council who worked with performers to ensure everyone was prepared and feeling confident. The message of caring, friendship, giving and hope was delivered by our students and Head of School, Mrs Fowles.

What’s coming up? ++ Wednesday 4th January: School resumes ++ Thursday 19th January: Early Years and Kindergarten Splashdown ++ Friday 20th January: Grades 1-12 Splashdown; reports sent home ++ Thursday 26th January: Chinese New Year Assembly; Parent Teacher Conferences ++ Friday 27th January: Professional Development day for teachers; Chinese New Year holidays start for students ++ Monday 2nd February: School resumes I hope everyone has a relaxing holiday, a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

Until January 2017

Mrs. Claire McLeod Elementary School Principal

Host Nation News Dianti Ranofla Whole School Host Nation & Malay Language Teacher ...............................................................................................

They have learnt about groups of animals and their habitats by naming them in Malay. Students participated actively in all activities, including a trip to Valencia, where they investigated living things and how they are interconnected.

Selamat Sejahtera.

Unit 2 of Elementary Host Nation lessons is well under way and students have been learning about Malaysia via the transdisciplinary themes “Sharing The Planet” (Early Years and Grade 2), “Where We Are In Place and Time” (Kindergarten and Grade 5), “How We Express Ourselves” (Grade 1), and “How We Organise Ourselves” (Grade 3 and Grade 4).

Early Years 1 and 2 have focused on living things in Malaysia.

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Kindergarten students have been learning about Malaysian homes and shelters. They have learned the names of key vocabulary related to the home. Students worked in teams and tried their best to build houses with wooden blocks.

In Grade 1 the focus has been on festivals and celebrations in Malaysia. Recently, the children learned to sing a Christmas song in Malay, called “Selamat Hari Natal”. In this unit, students experienced and learned about traditional outfits.

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The beauty of Malaysia and geographical features has been the focus of study for Grade 2. They learnt about a few interesting activities in different areas of Malaysia and named them in Malay, trying their best to get the pronunciation just right.

Trade and commerce is the focus of Grade 4 students’ inquiry and in Host Nation they have been inquiring into food trade and commerce in Malaysia. Students were excited when they became “plant detectives”, identifying plants that grow in the different states in Malaysia.

Grade 3 students learned about tourism this semester, and have focused on prominent landmarks in the country, such as islands, theme parks, and waterfalls. The video “Cuti-cuti Malaysia” helped teach students about interesting destinations in Malaysia, by relating it to their own travels with their families.

Grade 5 students have inquired into cultural diversity and industry in Malaysia, researching this topic in teams. All the students worked very hard and were able to describe the cultural diversity in Malaysia, as well as their impact on traditions in the country.

Hour of Code at IGBIS Geoffrey Derry Technology Integration Specialist ...............................................................................................

“Every girl deserves to take part in creating the technology that will change our world, and change who runs it.” Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner.

This week at IGBIS we had students from as young as Early Years right up to Grade 12 participate in the Hour of Code.

The Hour of Code is a worldwide learning event that reaches tens of millions of students in over 180 countries. Coding or programming a computer is an important literacy skill, just like reading, writing and mathematics.

In many classes students were controlling robots, making computer games, debugging other people’s code, creating

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stories and, most importantly, learning how to communicate with and control computers.

One of the highlights was our “Teach your parents to Code” sessions that we ran on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, after school. Parents and students played with Sphero and Lego robots, they used Beebots to create patterns, they played coding boardgames and they used iPads and computers to code with their kids. It was lots of fun and it was super to see parents and children working together to solve problems and understand how computers work.

It is still not to late to try the Hour of Code at home: it is as easy as going to code.org and working through the tutorials. There are Frozen-themed tutorials, as well as Star Wars, Minecraft and even higher level game making tutorials. This is a great family computer activity to do with your kids.

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Trade, Commerce and the Holiday Bazaar by Abbigael, Zi Xuan, Sophie, Daniel, Addameir & Taejaayn Grade 4 ...............................................................................................

In Grade 4 our current unit of study is How We Organise Ourselves, and our Central Idea is “Societies establish systems for trade and commerce to meet needs and wants�.

On the 1st of December, the PVO organised a Holiday Bazaar.

People were selling clothes, towels, food, toys, essential oils and many other things. We thought it would be a great opportunity to learn and inquire more about what they do and why they do it. We visited the bazaar and politely talked

with some of the vendors to find out what they were selling, whether it was a good or a service, whether it was something people need or want, and what they plan to do with the profits of their sales. We found that most people made a small profit and it was common for them to put that profit back into their business so they could improve their business. The Holiday Bazaar was very packed, but we enjoyed interviewing vendors and observing what people were selling. Another inquiry for our unit has to do with being socially responsible and giving back to the community. Next year we think it would be great if some of the IGBIS students could make items to sell at the Holiday Bazaar, and we could donate the profits to a charity or people in need.

News from Secondary School Dear Parents, It was an amazing week of performances - the students in the secondary production Living with Lady Macbeth really put on a show. I always appreciate the amount of preparation and energy that goes into these productions; Mr Fleury and Mr Suffolk did a fine job of producing and directing the show.

This was followed by a great Christmas assembly today, a very well organised and entertaining assembly by the Elementary School Student Council. Today I also watched the Grade 10 students in a water polo match as part of their lesson in Physical

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Health & Education. All of these performances highlight the importance we place on a broad education - developing the whole student and all of their interests and talents. This was a wonderful way to close December and send students and families off on a restful break.

Wishing you and yours happy holidays,

Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal

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Psychology Revision with a Twist!

Emily Heys Grade 12 Psychology Teacher ...............................................................................................

With Christmas festivities in the air and photographs of crazy Christmas sweaters circulating, I was inspired to have my Grade 12 psychology students create their own Psychology Christmas sweaters or shirts. Their assignment was to create a piece of wearable art based on one of the three main Levels of Analysis discussed throughout this course (Biological, Cognitive or Sociocultural). They were also required to have a minimum of 8 pictures and/or props on the shirt. Props were meant to represent major concepts, studies, and principles from the chosen LOA. We also went with the principle that “less is NOT more…tacky is our goal after all”. A written rationale explaining the significance of the props in regards to the chosen topic was also submitted to demonstrate knowledge and understanding. Student wore their shirts to some of their classes during the last school day of 2016 and were hopefully able to inform their classmates and teachers of some things they’ve learned in DP Psychology over the past 18 months! ]Here are a few of the students (and Miss Heys) rocking their Psych Revision Shirts!

University Offers and Congratulations!

Pauline Davidson Grade 9-12 School Counsellor ...............................................................................................

It is with a huge amount of pride that I would like to share the news and offer our congratulations to our Grade 12 students who have received college acceptances from the following institutions: ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Imperial College London University of St. Andrews The University of Bristol University College London Durham University University of Arizona, USA University of Leeds Aberystwyth University Musashino University, Japan

++ ++ ++ ++ ++

King’s College London The University of Warwick University of Leicester Swansea University Queen’s University, Belfast

Institutions listed here are ranked as some of the best universities in the world. Having several of our graduating students accepted to such prestigious institutions is a wonderful reflection of the commitment they have put into their studies, as well as the exceptional standard of education offered to them through the IB Diploma and from IGBIS. We look forward to sharing offers for all our students between now and May, when the exciting news and decisions of where they will attend can be shared.

Good luck to all our seniors with applications now in process!

Performing Arts Jon Suffolk Grade 9-12 School Counsellor ...........................................................................................

Instrumental Music Ensemble At last week’s assembly the IGBIS Instrumental Music Ensemble performed for the Secondary School. As one of the secondary school Arts activities, the group has been meeting every Thursday. They performed three pieces: “Arab Dance” by Tchaikovsky, “Cakewalk Strutt” by Carl Strommen and “Shout to the Top” by Style Council. The commitment that this group

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of students shows every week is to be highly applauded. Music programs and their future development are very much reliant on this sort of dedication and I hope that this commitment is continued throughout the year as they prepare performances for community events such as International Day and other cultural assemblies.

The Ensemble will rehearse on Wednesdays for the remainder of the year and new members are always welcome.

Good luck to all our seniors with applications now in process!

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“Living with Lady Macbeth” The Senior Drama Company production of “Living with Lady Macbeth” was very well received on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday evening. The annual production is one of the highlights of the Arts calendar at IGBIS, which showcases the work of students across all areas of the Arts to bring a

production to stage including acting, technical operation (lighting and sound), props and set designing, and publicity and promotion design. I would like to thank all the students involved in this year’s production: they worked really hard and showed great commitment throughout the project.

Grade 7 & 8 House Benchball Tournament Emily Heys Grade 7 & 8 Coordinator ...............................................................................................

On Wednesday 7th December Grade 7 and 8 students participated in a House Benchball Tournament. Special guest Mr Hudson, the Benchball Coach, came up to help explain the game and referee, bringing with him some Grade 3 Benchball Stars: Nathan, Ben, Beatrice and Nina. A big warm-up game was played with everyone getting involved, then our younger students put on a demonstration while Mr Bartle explained the rules. Once everyone was warm and energised, it was into

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house teams to talk strategy and get ready for the first game.

The teams played each other once then the top two teams had a ‘first to five’ grand final - Ignis versus Aer. It was a close battle between the teams with a strong competitive streak coming out on both sides. Ignis came through victorious with Mr Adam catching the winning ball!

A big thank you to Mrs Mullin, Mr Bartle, Mr Andy, Mr Hudson and Mr Adam for getting involved, coaching, refereeing, scorekeeping and playing! The tournament was a great success and we are looking forward to the next Grade 7 and 8 house event!

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Admissions and Marketing News Wayne Demnar Director of Admissions & Marketing ..............................................................................................

IB Diploma Scholarship Award Applications Please note that our IB Diploma Scholarship Award applications (for students entering Grade 11 in the 2017-2018 academic year) will open next Thursday 15th of December and close on Friday 20th of January 2017. Details of the application process and requirements will be published on the school website from next Thursday.

Grade 6-12 Careers Exploration Morning We will be holding a Careers Exploration Morning on

Wednesday 15th February from 8:00am until 10:00am for all secondary school students. We are hoping that this event will be informative and motivating, and give our students some interesting new perspectives on possible careers for the future.

We would like to invite parents to contribute to the success of the event by volunteering to share their ‘career journeys’ with our students. If you are interested in helping or know someone who you think would be ideal please let us know.

Contact: Wayne Demnar wayne.demnar@igbis.edu.my or Pauline Davidson pauline.davidson@igbis.edu.my

PVO News Julie Arcidiacono Community & Events Coordinator ..............................................................................................

Message Boards Two message boards - Level 2 PVO Room and Level 5 Parents Lounge - have been assigned for parent-parent communications. Please use this space at your discretion to advertise, promote, create interest communities, etc.

Charities and Non-Profit Organisations Nathalie Chotard is IGBIS’ Service & CAS Coordinator. If you feel passionate about a specific charity or non-profit organisation that could offer opportunities for students to be of service, please contact her at nathalie.chotard@igbis.edu.my.

Golf Tournament An email was sent to parents earlier this week requesting

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input regarding a possible parent-child golf tournament on the afternoon of Friday 21 April at Valencia. If you are interested in participating and haven’t yet submitted your response, please do so via this form: https://goo.gl/forms/jL3eZZN2ajtUnUl42.

The deadline for responses has been extended to Wednesday 14 December.

As the end of 2016 approaches, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for all your support and involvement within our small, but growing, community. The PVO has come a long way since the New Parents Coffee meeting in August, with a new PVO website, successful fundraising and fun events - all of which has undoubtedly contributed to a flourishing school community. As a staff member dedicated to parents, I hope to have been of service this semester and as always, I look forward to hearing your ideas on ways that we can improve our PVO. My fondest wishes to you and your family for a peaceful holiday season and a prosperous new year ahead!

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IGBIS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

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