Issue 121, Week 2, August 2017

IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 121. Week 3. August 2017.

Amazing Race ~ August 17th 2017

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

News from Elementary School Mr. Simon Milward 2 Elementary School Principal ....................................................

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

Primary Years Programme News - Pg. 3

Happening.

Service Fair - Pg.5

++ Thurs, 24 August

Diploma Programme News - Pg. 6 College Counselling News - Pg. 7 Athletics and Activities News - Pg. 8 IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy - Pg. 9 ISTA Theatre Festival at IGBIS - Pg. 9 Admission Desk News - Pg. 10 PVO News Pg. 10 Amazing Race Pg. 10

- New Parents coffee - University Visit: Emerson College & Simmons College

++ Fri, 25 August - ES Assembly: Welcome to 2017/18 Singing and dancing

Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members,

IGB International School – First Four-Programme IB School in Malaysia Following a successful team visit from representatives of the International Baccalaureate, IGB International School is pleased to announce that it has received a reply: IGBIS is now fully authorised to offer the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (CP).

This makes IGBIS the first four programme IB School in Malaysia, and only the second four programme IB School in South East Asia!

Congratulations to DP/CP Coordinator Ms Mary Boyd and our Secondary School Principal, Dr Arcidiacono who led the way along with Mr and Mrs Evans, Ms Chotard and other members of the secondary school team. Thanks are also extended to members of the IGBIS School Board, who have been very supportive throughout.

The CP is being offered by a growing number of schools in the UK, Europe, the USA and is also developing quickly in Hong Kong where the English Schools Foundation (ESF) is introducing the CP in a number of schools. Schools and students see the value of the programme as a career-related alternative to the DP. The CP courses are offered to students along with a combination of DP subject courses and can have a focus on accounting and business, design, the arts, hospitality and other options that suit the school community.

During the 2017-18 school year, IGBIS will be offering the CP in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) qualifications, but other options may be available in the future.

If you are interested to find out more about the Career-related Programme, please contact Ms Boyd.

Anne Fowles Head of School

From the Elementary School Principal As with any start to the year students are reacquainting themselves to life at school. They are settling in, getting to know their teachers and other students better. Even now, approximately a week in, we are seeing that students are getting used to following routines. I am sure as parents you are also re-establishing your own routines at home.

Just as a reminder, school drop-off time in the morning is 7.30. The teachers and teaching assistants who are on duty and supervise the sports hall activities and Level 1 playground arrive at their duty point at 7.30. Your help in this matter is much appreciated.

You may have noticed that your children are tired at the end of the day. This is to be expected at this early stage, and as parents you can help by trying to establish early sleep routines. It is amazing how much more alert, focused and more caring children (in fact all of us) are when they are well rested.

Today as I walked around the school I stopped at the Grade 4 classrooms. The students were really animated and engaged in their group task. They were trying to ‘escape from a fixed mindset’. If you don’t know what that means ask a Grade 4 student. From what I observed, they were working on their communication skills, they had to work as a team and they had to follow the instructions. Whilst this may appear to be easy, in practice it presented some challenges and I am sure the groups experienced a variety of successes.

By now you will have received an invitation to the New Parent Coffee Morning from Julie Arcidiacono. I am looking forward to chatting to both returning parents and new parents on Thursday 24th August, 8.00 - 9.30am.

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Finally I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate this year’s Elementary Student Council and wish them well as they show leadership, listen to their fellow students and take steps to make IGBIS an even better school to attend.

Grade 5: Zi Xuan, Daniel, Riko, Seneca, Sophie and Kabir.

Grade 4: Beatrice, Will, Chloe and Sophia.

Grade 3: Rhys, Charlotte, Dan and Heidi.

Grade 2: Sierra and Paige.

Simon Millward

Elementary School Principal

Primary Years Programme News Aga Chojnacka Primary Years Programme Coordinator .................................................................................

2017-2018 is about to be an exceptional school year for the IGBIS community. We have opened the year with enthusiasm and a range of learning engagements and learning environment opportunities that showcase what inquiry is all about. All across Early Years and the Elementary School we see students and teachers co-creating spaces that boost creativity, independent learning and exploration. We can hear the excitement and buzz of rich conversations and “a-ha” moments and observe our learners grow the love of learning and discovery that will last a lifetime.

IGBIS nurtures life-long learners and this spirit is embodied by the pedagogical leadership team and teachers who pursue new professional inquiries and learning opportunities every year. From the last week of July, the teachers have been engaging in planning for new units of inquiry, designing learning environments and researching and reading up on the latest in education, design and technology. Our professional learning community is pursuing new developments in the areas of play, learning environments, art and design thinking, musical expression and learner agency.

The choice of Units of Inquiry we have opened the year with provides the learners with a variety of experiences that will help reacquaint themselves with the school, their old and new friends, as well as teachers.

Fireflies and Early Years are unpacking the Sharing the Planet theme to help the children build an understanding that We have a responsibility to share our environment for a peaceful world. To support that learning process, the team have designed purposeful play areas focusing on social play and interactions (home corner), organising and designing spaces (small world area), developing analytical and strategic thinking skills (game zone), growing an understanding of space and shape (building site) and many more.

Igniting Minds

The same time and attention — to creating environments that stimulate wonder and exploration — has been devoted all the way up to Grade 5.

As you walk throughout the school you can find Kindergarten and Grade 1 sharing their learning lounge that currently creates over 10 different areas for creative and symbolic play and discovery. Kindergarten’s focus lies with How systems help people to get organised, while Grade 1 explore an understanding that Maps are used to navigate known and unknown places.

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The same time and attention — to creating environments that stimulate wonder and exploration — has been devoted all the way up to Grade 5. As you walk throughout the school you can find Kindergarten and Grade 1 sharing their learning lounge that currently creates over 10 different areas for creative and symbolic play and discovery. Kindergarten’s focus lies with How systems help people to get organised, while Grade 1 explore an understanding that Maps are used to navigate known and unknown places.

On the other side of the Level 3, we have Grade 2 classes whose learning lounge is about to become a plant nursery as students inquire into plant life cycles, how plants sustain life and our responsibility towards protecting and nurturing the environment around us.

Upper elementary focus on the communication skills, research and social interactions as they embark on their ‘How we organise ourselves’ and ‘How we express ourselves’ units. Grade 3 is exploring Old and new ways in which people communicate and the risks and opportunities that communication and exchange of information brings. Grade 4 are researching and reflecting on Media influences how we think and the choices we make, with the tuning activities focusing on each student’s unique super power and boosting children’s growth mindset.

And Grade 5 are exploring Societal decision making and engaging students in looking at different forms of Governments, structures and systems that influence our life. Since Grade 5 will host the PYP Exhibition this year, from the very beginning of the school year their level of responsibility and self-management of learning is being boosted by the teachers who are creating online and onsite strategies and tools for children to successfully pursue their group and individual goal setting and inquiry.

We are also extending our cutting edge learning opportunities to our parents, creating a wide range of learning experiences for them: Parent University, Parent Workshops, Coffee mornings and other social events will give parents a chance to experience learning the IGBIS way. The way that Ignites Minds and Impact Lives.

News from Secondary School It is quite an achievement to be fully authorised to offer the fourth IB Programme - the Career-related Programme, at the beginning of our fourth year of existence. That is one programme per year! We hosted visitors from the International Baccalaureate Organisation on August 3rd as part of the process of achieving authorisation. They met with students, parents, teaching staff, and members of the IGBIS Board to determine whether or not we were ready to offer the Careerrelated Programme. The visitors came away with a very positive impression of our students and parents, and a clear understanding of the preparations our staff have put in place.

As a result, we received the wonderful news of our successful authorisation. I am very thankful to the parents and students who came along during their vacation to participate in the process, and to Ms Boyd (DP/CP Coordinator) and all of our teaching staff for their preparations.

highlight that several of these partnerships came about as a direct result of IGBIS students taking action as part of their Community Project (in Grade 8) or Personal Project (in Grade 10). Student initiative and leadership is a defining feature at our school, and Ms Chotard is continuing to find ways for students to showcase their efforts and increase the profile and importance of service amongst our students. I look forward to seeing greater involvement of students in the partnerships on display this week, as well as in any new partnerships students wish to pursue.

Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal

Ms Chotard organised a Service Fair this week, the details of which can be found in this newsletter. I would like to

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Service Fair Nathalie Chotard Service and CAS Coordinator ...............................................................................................

Last Wednesday, all secondary school students attended a Service Fair. This was an opportunity for them to learn about organisations with which IGBIS students have been involved.

Thanks to Ruby and Lisa (Grade 7), Omar, Marvin and Seiji (Grade 9), Vanessa and Joshua (Grade 11), and Ian, Ardarsh, Axelle, Joshua and Ejazh (Grade 12) for sharing their experiences and encouraging their peers to join them.

Also thanks to our passionate and experienced volunteers for their time: Birgit, Alicia, Susie, Eugene, Wellington and Chico (the friendly puppy!) from Search and Rescue Dogs, as well as Helen, Faustin and Emeline from Dignity and Services.

See below for more information about the organisations represented at the fair.

1. Achievers Academy Work with Refugee Children from Afghanistan When: On the following 5 Saturdays from 9.30am-1.30pm Sept 9th, Oct 28th, Jan 20th, Feb 10th, April 28th Contact: Axelle, Joshua and Ejash, G12

6. Dignity & Services for and with Persons with Learning Disabilities Spend time with young adults who have learning disabilities Location: Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya Contact helen.dignityandservices@gmail.com

7. Search and Rescue Dogs, Malaysia Train several dogs to search and rescue Location: various Day & Time: Every Sunday afternoon (2pm-7pm) Pick up available from Petaling Jaya- Check with Miss Chotard (nathalie.chotard@igbis.edu.my) for sign up.

Note: You don’t have to commit long term. You can come once, only. It’s actually good for training dogs to deal with different people.

2. Pertiwi Distribute food to people in need Location: Medan Tuanku Day and Time: 3 times per week from 9pm More information from pertiwi.org.my 3. Hope Worldwide Malaysia Join one of the various education programmes Location: Sentul More information from hopewww.org.my 4. SPCA Selangor Learn the correct way to handle and care for animals Location: Ampang Jaya Note: you will need to attend a training session before becoming Contact: Email Miss Chotard to receive info regarding the sign-up procedure.Sept 9th, Oct 28th, Jan 20th, Feb 10th, April 28th

8. Perintis Masa Depan Cemerlang Interested in working G10 students from a Malaysian school?

Location: IGBIS and at local school, SMK Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh When: October 7th and November 18th in the morning Contact: nathalie.chotard@igbis.edu.my

5. Jinjang Soup Kitchen Prepare and serve meals in a restaurant for people in need Location- Jinjang Contact- Yin Hui 017 6560621

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Diploma Programme News Mary Boyd Diploma Programme Coordinator ...............................................................................................

The first fully authorised four IB Programmes School in Malaysia!

We are enormously pleased and immensely proud to be the first fully authorised IB school in Malaysia for all four of its programmes - the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), Diploma Programme (DP) and now the Career-related Programme (CP). We are the only School in Malaysia to be authorised for the CP. Dedicated to the IB Mission and passionate about helping students achieve their best and find their niche in life to really flourish, we are delighted to develop these academic pathways in grades 11 and 12 at IGBIS.

skills and knowledge needed by graduating students in this increasingly competitive world. Made up of a Core of four courses in Personal and Professional Skills (PPS), a Careerrelated Study (CRS), a Reflective Project (RP) to explore ethical issues surrounding the CRS, Language Development, to add to the students’ global passport, Service Learning intrinsic in any IB education, plus at least two DP subjects.

At IGBIS our first CRS is in Business and Finance, but future possibilities for the CRS include Hospitality, the Arts, Sport and more.

The CP is unique in that successful graduating students will leave with many qualifications, including our High School Diploma, the CP Diploma, certificates for each of their DP courses, and certificates for the CRS. In this increasingly competitive world, CP students will have the cutting edge when entering universities and the workplace.

The CP is the newest and fastest growing IB programme in the world, developed to equip today’s students fully with the

A very warm welcome to our returning students and to all our new ones too!

Our Grade 11 and Grade 12 students have settled in well to the academic challenges and many other opportunities of

the Diploma Programme (DP) and our newest programme, offering DP courses and ICAEW’s very prestigious Certificate in Finance, Accountancy and Business (CFAB).

Grade 11 students have already made very informed subject

Grade 11 Students, their Homeroom teachers, Ms Chotard and Mr Spivey-Jones and the Head of Grade, Ms Kim

choices, but they have up to one month to make a course or level change too, to make sure their choices are a bestfit model for them, that gives them the best opportunity for a well-rounded education in which they can flourish fully. Before any change can be made and a completed subject-change form is submitted to me, they know to think wisely about their subject choices, speak fully with our College Counsellor, Mr Mitchell, for any implications on College applications, and with their parents or guardians and subject teachers too.

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For our Grade 12 students, they know how important it is to manage themselves and their time wisely, according to the assessment deadline schedule and our whole school calendar, so that they can plan well ahead and work efficiently, productively and sensibly. With a busy year ahead of them, in which so much can be achieved and gained, we wish them well and remind them that we are here to support them every step of the way.

Igniting Minds

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College Counselling News

Bill Mitchell Grades 9-12 School Counsellor ...............................................................................................

College Counselling Events Kuala Lumpur Events

The year on the College Counselling front has been busy from hour one! Keenly interested students have been engaged in editing sessions, working-lunches and brainstorming destinations. The energy is palpable and I am very much looking forward to the journey and the fantastic destinations your students end up in.

For Grade 12 parents, please watch this space for a confirmation of a date for a University Application Information Evening. At this stage, we will be looking at the first two weeks of September. More information to come.

University of Melbourne Information Day Sunday 27th August 2017 Hilton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur 2pm to 6pm For more information, or to register: INFO/REGISTER [https:// futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/explore/events/international/ south-east_asia/malaysia/information-day] #1 Most livable city in world #33 Ranked Uni in the world http://www.unimelb.edu.au/

IGBIS Events

17th August - In our first full week of school we welcomed UNSW from Sydney, Australia to our campus. This school sits in the top 100 in the world and offers courses and faculties that fit our student profile. Students were able to discuss many things with the admissions representative and, in particular, the direct undergraduate entry Medicine programme.

Regional Events

24th August - Emerson College and Simmons College, hailing from Boston, USA will be stopping in to chat with students and interested parents and teachers.

Time: 8:45 to 9:30am Venue: 6-6b, Mr. Mitchell’s Office Follow the Secondary Calendar or see the College Counselling Events calendar for future visits and events.

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Athletic and Activities News Scott Ngatai & Tim Bartle Athletics and Activities Directors ...............................................................................................

Welcome back. In 2017/18 we are looking forward to further developing the Athletic and Activities schedule, once again offering a wide range of choices to our community and maintaining a balanced looking week. The signup process began on Thursday 17th August at 7:30pm. We selected this time to allow for working parents to sign up when they returned home. Information via the Splash page (http://portal. igbis.edu.my/splash) has been shared with parents to assist in making selections.

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• Important information: • Season 1 will run for 10 Weeks • Season 1 dates: Monday 4th September till Friday 17th November • Paid Activities will run for an additional week (11 weeks) with 2 weeks available for make up sessions • Specific activity information is available at: https://sites.

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google.com/a/igbis.edu.my/igbis-activities/activitiesinformation • View the information and make decisions about what you would like to do each day • Plan your week • Ensure you have balance in your plan • Take a risk; try something new Sign up can be found on the Splash Page under Activities.

• Instructions on how to sign-up are listed below Please ensure that you close all your other Google accounts before signing in with your school parent email address. You will not be able to access the form with other accounts open.

Some activities have limited numbers and will be allocated on a first in first served basis.

Signing up does not automatically mean that you are in an activity as some also have a minimum number required before it will run.

You will receive a confirmation email on Wednesday 30th August.

Sign Up Instructions 1.

2.

Open the IGBIS Splash Page - http://portal.igbis.edu.my/splash Click on the ‘Activities’ icon.

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The Athletics Blog is the first page that will be displayed. This site will provide updates from the range of school sports teams throughout the year.

Click on the ‘Activities and Athletics’ tab at the top (see image below).

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Clicking on ‘WHAT’S ON OFFER’ will display a list of all the Activities and Athletics teams that will be running during Season 1. You can also find information on the activity, what grade levels it is offered to, what days of the week the activity will take place and the cost of the activity.

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The ‘SIGN UP’ tab will load the registration page.

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Please read the terms and conditions of the registration process as there is important information relating to all Activities and Athletics. Terms for our user pays activities are also outlined. Click ‘I agree to the above conditions’.

8. Complete the ‘Personal Information’ page.

9. Sessions are divided into Before School (6:45am - 7:30am), Lunchtime and Afternoon (3:10pm - 4:10pm) sessions for each day. Select the activities that your child would like to join. All the prices of the paid activities are listed on the ‘WHAT’S ON OFFER’ information page.

10. Once you have submitted the form you will receive an email outlining that your requests have been submitted. This is not a confirmation email. That will come on Wednesday 30th August 11. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact tim.bartle@igbis.edu.my or scott.ngatai@igbis.edu.my

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IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy Jon Suffolk Instrumental Music Academy Coordinator P erforming Arts Teacher ...............................................................................................

Individual lessons cost RM60 per week and group lessons cost RM45 per week. Group lessons are only available for voice, guitar, violin and viola. All lessons will commence in the week beginning 4th September.

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!!!!!

This year the Music Academy offers lessons in piano, voice, guitar, bass guitar, violin and viola. The lessons are conducted during class time on a rotation basis. Students in Elementary School are escorted to and from their lessons each week by the tutors, while Secondary School students are responsible for making their own way to the lessons.

ISTA Theatre Festival at IGBIS “SOMETHING IN THE AIR” It is very exciting to announce that IGBIS will host an ISTA Theatre Festival in March 2018. ISTA, the International Schools Theatre Association is the largest organisation of its kind in the world. They foster the development of Drama and Theatre by conducting Teacher Professional Development Programmes, and student festivals and workshop programmes around the world. ISTA’s head office in in London.

The IGBIS ISTA Festival is open to students who are 10-14 years of age, with just 20 places available for IGBIS students.

There will be 40 other students from schools throughout

Igniting Minds

At the end of each semester the tutors present studio recitals to give their students the opportunity to perform and demonstrate their progress.

Information about the Music Academy and the schedules can be found on the Splash Page. For more information please do not hesitate to contact me at jon.suffolk@igbis.edu.my

South-East Asia attending. Our festival is already booked out.

As IGBIS’s coordinating teacher, I have been working with the ISTA team over the past six months in helping to develop the three-day programme. The theme of the festival “SOMETHING IN THE AIR” was developed with the ISTA team. Through drama and theatre, three professional artists will lead the students to inquire about the destruction of the world’s rainforests and the impact this is having on our planet. The inquiry will lead to the development of performance works that will feature on the final day of the festival.

As the ISTA FESTIVAL approaches there will be more information coming out to the community including how you can become involved as a student or parent.

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From the Admissions Desk Please tell all your friends and colleagues - Our first Open Day for the year will be held on Friday 15th September, from 9.00am to 12.00pm. We would like your assistance in letting as many people as possible know about the Open Day as we would like to see a large crowd in attendance.

Wayne Demnar

Admissions and Marketing Director

Parent Volunteer Organisation News Julie Arcidiacono Community & Events Coordinator .........................................................................

Earlier this week an invitation was sent to all parents with details regarding our New Parents Coffee morning. We hope that many of you will join us on Thursday, 24th of August in the Level 6 Multi-purpose Room from 8:00am - 9:30am. During this event, parents who are interested in becoming this year’s class representative will be offered the opportunity to sign up.

If you are interested but will not be able to attend, please let me know via e-mail at julie.arcidiacono@igbis.edu.my.

An exciting future already being realised for IGBIS Graduate Some people may wonder what happens to our students once they graduate from IGBIS. How does an education at IGBIS help our graduates get on in the ‘real world’?

We recently heard that Zoe Teh, a member of the IGBIS Class of 2017 has been working as a developer in the marketing department of BÖN Estates, preparing marketing materials such as artwork and text for their latest property developments. All this before she even starts university - she’ll be heading to University College London next month to start her Arts and Science Degree. We are very proud of Zoe and the work she is doing post-IGBIS, and thrilled to see that an IB education at IGBIS can open up doors to exciting futures.

Let’s kick off the beginning of this academic year with a fun community gathering!

Amazing Race Tien Xzi Ho and Alex Cima Vivarelli Grade 11 ...............................................................................................

and the occasional stress-fuelled holler rolled into one, it made this day a day unlike any other. And we would not have it any other way.

Riveting, action-packed and not to mention totally spellbinding. Those are just a few of the different ways to describe the rush of seeing so many new faces around you. This year’s Amazing Race kicked off with sixteen teams of students scrambling to get to their first challenge. With activities where we wrapped straws in clingwrap, struggled to find that one perfect Lego piece to fit our gigantic pixelated flower, or perfected our karaoke chops. They tested our abilities and encouraged us to work together and collaborate.

As Grade 11 students, we were reminded of how the world could look through the eyes of the younger students; pure adventure around every corner. It was surely a once in a lifetime experience. The event really gave us the chance to put our craziest and wackiest ideas up front for everybody to see. Our ideas came in handy especially when we had to put our heads together to create the best dance, chant or flotation device. It was a rare opportunity for us to work with the younger students to create memorable experiences.

One of the treats was definitely getting to know some of the new students. It felt weird, exciting and intriguing all at the same time. Although we were told to try our best to be enthusiastic, we didn’t really need any encouragement as we were already bursting at the seams with anticipation. The IGBIS Amazing Race 2017 was truly an unforgettable day. With laughter, teamwork

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