IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 125. Week 3. September 2017.
Malaysia Day celebration on 13th September 2017 ~ Pg. 3
Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles Head of School 2 .................................................... News from Elementary School Mr. Simon Millward Elementary School Principal 2 .................................................... News from Secondary School Mr. Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal 4 ....................................................
~ Pg. 3
Middle Years Programme
~ Pg. 4
Grade 9 trip to Cert Academy
~ Pg. 5
Our EPIC Home Adventure
~ Pg. 6
TeachMeet KL
~ Pg. 8
Japanese Coffee Morning
~ Pg. 9
Korean Parent Workshop
~ Pg. 9
Malaysia Day
PE News ~ Pg. 10 Viper Arena 2017: Under the Floodlights
~ Pg. 11
PVO News
~ Pg. 11
Happening. ++ Mon, Sep 18 ~ Grade 2 Field Trip: Perdana Botanical Gardens 8:00 am – 12:30 pm ++ Tue, Sep 19 ~ Secondary Parents: What is Managebac and how do I use it? @ PVO Room 8:00 am – 9:00 am ++ Thu, Sep 21 ~ PVO Meeting @ PVO Room 8:00 am – 9:00 am ++ Fri, Sep 22 ~ Public holiday: Awal Muharram (subject to change)
Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, The Malaysia Day assembly on Wednesday really showed the vibrant tapestry of Malaysia with nearly all of our students and staff (and a number of parents too!) dressed in national clothing. We learnt a lot about Malaysian history and culture, from the student presentations. But it was the Elementary students who stole the show with their acting, singing and dancing. We were again reminded of the wonderful community that is IGB International School as we celebrated this national event. Happy Malaysia Day! The school hosted a TeachMeet on Thursday evening that was attended by close to 60 teachers from all around Kuala Lumpur. Lots of new technology ideas and activities were exchanged and it was a great opportunity for the teachers to meet colleagues from other schools.
Anne Fowles Head of School
From the Elementary Principal Wednesday saw our Elementary student council lead the Malaysia Day assembly as they introduced the performances and learning segments - shared by Grade 3 students (States of Malaysia). It was wonderful to learn about the amazing places that can be visited in Malaysia and I for one am very excited about exploring the country further. The Secondary String ensemble set the tone from the start as they opened the assembly with the Malaysian National Anthem. The Tai Chi and the Bharatanatyam dance helped us to appreciate the diversity of Malaysia. The musical performances from Grade 5 - Lenggang Kangkung (Xylophones) and Grade 4 - Tepuk Amai-Amai (Angklung), the drama by Grade 5 - Puteri Gunung Ledang, and the dance by Grade 7 - Jong Jong Inai, made for an assembly full of variety. We were also extremely pleased that the Grade 11 students lead us in the song Aku Negaraku. I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Host Nation department, the Performing Arts department and the many people behind the scenes who helped to make the assembly a success.
On Friday we had our first Kopitiam, where parents were able to share their thoughts and concerns with me. Having open and honest communication is healthy for the school, as we all work together for the benefit and success of our children. Dates for your diaries: • Friday 22nd September there is no school as it is Awal Muharram. • Thursday 28th September 8.10am: PYP Maths Workshop, led by Shireen Blakeway • Saturday 30th September 8.30am - 11.30am: PYP Parent University #2: Inspiring curiosity and creativity in all learners. Led by Aga Chojnacka.
Simon Millward
Elementary School Principal
Parent-teacher conferences - date change There has been a change of dates for the parent-teacher conferences in October. The new dates will be 30 October (3:15pm - 4:30pm) and 1 November (1:00pm - 7:00pm). This change has been updated in the **school calendar. We apologise for any inconvenience this change may cause. ** http://igbis.edu.my/admissions/calendar-timetable/
Malaysia Day Sarah Ain and Tan Huei Yin Malaysia Day Assembly Coordinators ............................................................................................... The theatre was a sea of colour as IGBIS held their fourth Malaysia Day assembly. Hosted by the Elementary Student Council, with informative presentations by Grade Three students, and organised by the Host Nation teachers, it was an hour of enjoyment for students, staff and parents alike. We are very proud of everyone who put in the time and effort and showed such courage to deliver their wonderful performances before the IGBIS community. Please enjoy a selection of photographs taken from the day.
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News from Secondary School Dear parents, It was a pleasure to see so many parents this week at our Malaysia Day Assembly and also at the Kopitiam on Friday. As usual, we had a very good number of parents who attended the morning coffee; I am thankful for their consistent participation in these events and also to those who have stepped forward to be our parent representatives this year. Our Grade Level Coordinators came by the Kopitiam to discuss some further details regarding the camp arrangements for this year. Next week, I hope you will come join us for our Managebac session on Tuesday September 19th at 8.00am. Sincerely yours,
Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal
Middle Years Programme Phil Clark Middle Years Programme Coordinator ............................................................................................... MYP Parent Workshops We are pleased to offer two MYP parent workshops during the week that students are out of school attending Secondary School camps. If you are available and would like to attend, please mark the dates in your calendar. More details to follow next week. Introduction to Assessment in the MYP Tuesday 26 September 8:00-9:30am Please note, this is an introductory workshop and is targeted for parents who are new to the Middle Years Programme at IGBIS (ie Grade 6 parents and other new Grades 7-10 parents) - it is a repeat of the assessment workshop that was offered last year. MYP Concepts and Contexts (Mathematics & Sciences) Friday 29 September 8:00am-12:00 noon Parents will have the opportunity to participate in a hands-on mini unit of inquiry that will simulate how their children learn and are assessed in MYP. This workshop will be similar in format to the workshop we organised during Camp Week last year, but with a focus on mathematics and sciences.
bottom of the class. The MYP approach to assessment recognises the importance of assessing both the process and the products of learning. Assessment is an important part of the teaching and learning process. Teachers use regular, ongoing assessment to build a picture of a student’s progress, achievements, skills, knowledge and understanding. Assessment supports and encourages effective teaching and learning. Assessment includes: • Pre-assessment: identify what students already know to clarify the starting point for teaching and learning. • Formative assessment: ongoing assessment helps the teacher plan for ongoing needs of students and plan next steps for teaching and learning. • Summative assessment: find out how far students have progressed during and at the end of a unit of study. • Self and peer assessment: students make assessments about their own progress and that of their peers. Teachers may use some or all of the following assessment strategies and tools: rubrics; observations; quizzes, tests or examinations; performance assessments; investigations; checklists; process-focused assessments; essays; anecdotal notes; laboratory reports; continuums; open-ended tasks and presentations.
Assessment in the IB Middle Years Programme Assessment in the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) is different from the type of assessment most of us experienced when we attended school and may be unfamiliar to families who recently joined IGBIS. In grades 6 to 10 we do not measure success in terms of percentages or A to F grades, we do not talk about passing and failing grades, and we do not compare students with each other to decide who is top or
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As students progress through grades 6 to 10, they complete many units of study in each subject area. The length of units varies from unit to unit and between subjects. Teachers plan a variety of formative and summative assessment tasks and the students receive individual feedback that guides them towards improvement. [ continue next page ]
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Students complete summative assessment tasks which are evaluated against four criteria in each subject. The four criteria are broadly similar across all subjects, although they vary slightly according to the specific requirements of individual subjects. In general terms, the criteria are used to assess the following areas: • Criterion A: a student’s knowledge, understanding and ability to analyse ideas in a subject. • Criterion B: a student’s ability to investigate, organise and develop ideas in a subject. • Criterion C: a student’s ability to effectively communicate ideas in a subject. • Criterion D: a student’s ability to use, apply, evaluate and reflect upon ideas in a subject.
assessment task. Students also use the assessment rubrics to identify their areas of success and what they need to do in order to improve.
Each criterion is divided into eight achievement levels with clear descriptions of what is required in order to achieve at each level. The achievement levels and descriptions are presented in a tabular format (or rubric) so that teachers and students can easily match achievement on a task with the criterion level descriptions. This process sounds complicated, but students quickly become proficient at reading and understanding assessment rubrics and use them before submitting an
If you are new to the Middle Years Programme and would like to learn more about MYP assessment, we are organising a parent workshop on Tuesday 26 September from 8:009:30am. Please note, this workshop is targeted for parents who are new to the Middle Years Programme at IGBIS (ie. Grade 6 parents and other new grades 7 to 10 parents) - this is a repeat of the assessment workshop we offered last year.
IGBIS Secondary School teachers plan their units of study using ManageBac, our online learning platform and information management system. The unit planning details exactly how and when the learning will be assessed, including which criteria are to be assessed and the assessment rubrics that are to be used. Students and parents can login to Managebac to access unit overviews and assessment details. After student learning has been assessed, students and parents can access personalised feedback from the teachers on ManageBac, including levels of achievement.
Grade 9 trip to Cert Academy Justin Song Lee Shee and Jordan Lee Grade 9 ............................................................................................... On the 8th of September, the whole of Grade 9 went on a service trip to Cert Academy, in Puchong, where we were taught basic first aid and life saving skills and techniques. First, there was an introduction by the trainers about first aid responders and first aid in general. During this introduction, the trainer explained what first aid is and why is it important. The course consisted of the trainers diving into the specifics of first aid and coaching students to perform first aid techniques that would prove useful during certain scenarios. Some of the techniques that we were taught included CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), abdominal thrusts (Heimlich Maneuver), treating wounds using bandages, and so on. At the end of the day, we participated in a mock drill. During the mock drill, we were randomly split into two groups, one group were the first aid responders, while the other were the victims. The groups that played the victims had realistic makeup wounds put on them, and the group which played the first responders had to treat their wounds using the limited resources provided. Not only that, there were also “busy bodies”, whose job was to cause chaos at the scene by spectating and distracting first aiders, exactly what you would have in a real life situation. At the end of the day, we learnt a valuable lesson: first aid should be taken seriously and everyone should know these basic skills. This is because anything can happen at anytime, therefore we should always be prepared and ready to respond to these situations.
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Our EPIC Home Adventure Tien Xzi Ho and Alex Cima Vivarelli Grade 11 ...............................................................................................
project at the end of the day. Almost immediately after the talk
It was 8:30am when all of us Grade 11 students boarded the
As soon as we entered the workshop, the high-pitched,
bus to Epic Home headquarters in Subang Jaya. All throughout
scraping sound of steel on concrete caught everyone’s
our journey there, we couldn’t help but speculate about what
attention. We learned about the different drills and screws,
our visit would entail. As soon as we entered the building, we
and the proper stances to take when using different materials.
were hit with a warm, homely atmosphere. We were brought
Drilling holes through the wood fibre was a big challenge and
up to the second floor, and were given a rundown of the skills
it got everyone to cheer each other on. Holey moley, it was one
and abilities we’d develop and that we would have a mystery
of the best parts of our trip.
was over, we split into teams and practically leapt out of our seats to meet our mentors for the day.
Sawing was by far one of the most dangerous and gratifying activities set out for us that day. Three different types of saws were laid out for us: jigsaws, circular saws and chop saws. We each got a chance to tear through blocks of wood with the saws. It was a little frightening, especially when the saw would jerk to the side a little. This was the kind of activity that really got your adrenaline pumping. Every now and then you would hear bumps and clunks of hammers hitting against nails on wood. This particular activity was fast and swift, most of us finished the task with ease. However, some of us struggled to hammer that nail in - the
outcome was an intriguing art statement composed of wood, nails and indents from the hammers. This was a very satisfying activity, especially when you were able to finally fully hammer that nail into the wood. [ continue next page ]
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Under the Malaysian heat, many of us weren’t that excited about scaffolding - but once we were able to see what the activity truly was, all of us were eager to go to that station. Teamwork was vital as we needed to have pieces in place before moving onto the next step. It also enabled us to look at our surroundings in a different way, literally - as we had to climb on top of the scaffold. After all of the workshops, the teams started to work on their mystery project. The results varied from a fidget spinner, a crate, or seemingly a bunch of random blocks of wood (and a circular saw that wouldn’t work anymore). Whenever a person was able to successfully drill a screw, or hammer a nail into a piece of wood, or climb over the scaffold - you would hear triumphant cheers and “huzzas” from all around the workshop. Despite the raging heat, the sweat pouring down our faces, and the really bad puns that people made, it was working with our friends that made it all worth it.
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Geoff Derry Technology Integration Specialist and Google Innovator ............................................................................................... On Thursday 14th September IGBIS hosted TeachmeetKL. Teachmeet is an informal opportunity for teachers from schools all over Kuala Lumpur to come together, collaborate, socialise and share teaching ideas. There are usually about four teach meets per year hosted by a variety of schools. The Idea is that anyone who wants to can present either a 3-minute or a 7-minute presentation on a hint/tip/teaching idea that they find valuable and they think other teachers might be able to use. We had 60 teachers from all over KL visit, including 20 IGBIS teachers. There were 17 different 3-minute presentations; six teachers from our school presented their hints and tips. We had presentations for Elementary and Secondary teachers from a variety of subject areas. The teachers from IGBIS did us all proud and were very professional in their presentations. It was lots of fun, some good connections were made and lots of learning took place.
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Japanese Coffee Morning Morning by Gustav by Gustav Helman Helman
Korean Parent Workshop by Yuri Kim
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PE News Sean Lovesey PE Coordinator ............................................................................................... Hello everyone. I am Mr Lovesey - the new Whole School PE Coordinator. I am so excited to be at IGBIS! This year has got off to a fantastic start across the whole school. Students are taking part in a wide range of activities including dance, swimming, touch rugby, basketball, and many more. We have recently introduced a new award in the PE department - Sports Star of the Week. This award will be given to the student who the department feels has stood out for their effort and level of engagement in lessons. We would like to congratulate this week’s Sports Star of the Week: Marvin Chong. He has pushed himself in every lesson and has been engaged when answering questions showing how he has developed his knowledge throughout the unit. Lastly, we have re-launched Wake Up Shake Up (WUSU) each morning from 7.30am-8.00am. We will be running activity sessions to get elementary students energised and ready for learning. We recently had 50+ students moving and exercising in the mornings and would love it if more elementary students would come and join in the fun! I look forward to meeting you later in the year.
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Viper Arena 2017: Under the Floodlights
Ernest Ng Grade 12 ............................................................................................... You would think that after the gruelling 21 kilometers last year, we would want nothing more to do with the words “Viper Challenge”. However, the risk-takers in us decided to give it another shot. Introducing the Viper Arena! The Shah Alam Stadium once again played host to the Viper Arena, a shorter, yet equally gruelling course of 7 kilometers and 15 obstacles. This would be no easy task. On the 9th of September, 13 Grade 12 students and three Grade 11 students set out to conquer the arena and to earn the title of “Survivor”. For most of us, it would be the second time we took Viper on so we proudly wore our “Viper Challenge Survivor” t-shirts, as a reminder of our capabilities. When we arrived at Shah Alam, the rain set the tone for the night: wet and slippery. We kicked off at 8:30 and for close to two hours we ran our guts out, stopping only for obstacles and the drink
station. There were slips and falls, some bruises and definitely a lot of sore muscles, but it was all worth it. Ultimately, Viper Arena once again proved to us that we far exceeded our own expectations as we went further than any of us could ever imagine. Viper has the saying “Leave No One Behind”, and Viper Arena proved to us that teamwork was essential and that staying together during hard times was really important. Huge thanks to Ms Chotard and the rest of the Cheery Capybaras (Ms Claire, Mr Dennis, Ms Huong & Ms April) for lifting our spirits and ensuring that we never slacked off. Last but not least, a huge shoutout to Ms Douglas who always pulls through for us. Without her help, none of this would have been possible, and what a waste it would have been to not take up such a challenge. Next up in the Viper series: Viper Challenge @ Cyberjaya on 2nd December. Anyone up for it?
PVO News Julie Arcidiacono Community & Events Coordinator ...............................................................................................
discussion of the upcoming Parent Gala on 3 November. All parents are welcome to join.
Our next PVO meeting is scheduled for Thursday 21 September from 8:00-9:00am in the PVO Room. The agenda will include: announcement of who are the parent class representatives for 2017-2018, explanation of their role and how to contact them; review of what information is on the PVO website, including where to sign-up for event committees; and
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IGBIS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Igniting Minds
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