IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 161. Week 4. August 2018.
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Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, Happy Merdeka Day and congratulations to all Malaysians celebrating Independence Day (Hari Merdeka). A successful evacuation drill took place on Thursday this week with everyone assembled and identified within a few minutes at one of our three assembly points; the field, the main gate and the bottom gate. Evacuation and lockdown drills take place on a regular basis throughout the school year with the first drill announced so that everyone is prepared and knows what to do. Parents, please be advised that when an evacuation takes place, your most likely assembly point will be at the main gate, unless you are on Level 6 or 7. We lock the gates so it will not be possible to drive out at this time: please inform your drivers of this. Next week our secondary school students will be taking part in school camps located at different places around Malaysia. This will be an opportunity for them to learn more about Malaysia, take part in outdoor education and service activities and get to know each other more in a context outside of school. Our next major event is our whole school assembly for Malaysia Day on Wednesday, September 14th. Have a wonderful weekend ahead and enjoy the celebrations!
Anne Fowles Head of School
News from Secondary School Dear parents, We officially launched our innovation time this week with a presentation and series of activities for our Grade 6-10 students, designed to get them thinking about their passions. During innovation time, students will be able to pursue these passions and decide what topics they want to learn about. This is an exciting way that we are working towards our vision - "To provide an innovative international education..." One of the highlights that came out of our recent accreditation work for CIS and NEASC was an increased focus on studentdirected learning, where students have the opportunity to have a say in what they learn and how they will show their learning. This is something that occurs in the MYP through the subject areas, particularly so in areas like Design and the Arts. As a secondary school we wish to increase these opportunities for students, to encourage their ability to learn independently. One of the things that I am most interested in seeing is the skills they will develop as they pursue these passion projects. We will share more with parents as the innovation projects develop and take shape over the next few months.
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While I have shared quite a bit with parents about our upcoming secondary camps week, another group of students is going to be having a fun-filled week as well. That is our Grade 12 students, who will be taking part in an exciting Group 4 project based on Water. To begin the project they will be taking a trip to Sunway Lagoon - who said Grade 12 wasn't fun? They will also be taking part in some bonding activities over the course of the week, as they come together in their final year. I hope to see parents at one of our upcoming coffee sessions next week: Parent Coffees (all meetings take place in the PVO room, and start at 8:00) • September 4th - MYP Certificate Q&A • September 6th - Supporting your DP/CP student through exams and university applications Best regards,
Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal
Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives
News from Elementary School The Grade 5 students this week had a guest speaker, Mr. Darick Wong from the organisation Hope Worldwide, come to visit. The Grade 5 students have been exploring inspiration and how people are inspired to make a difference. He came to talk to the students about the work that he does with Hope Worldwide. This is a Malaysian organisation that helps people get much needed medicine. They have a food distribution network amongst other things as well. If you would like to know more about his work, talk to the Grade 5 students about his talk and whether he inspired them to take some sort of action.
The Grade 1 students this week were assisting some builders (Ms. Watters and Ms. Richards) find their way as they were lost. It all seemed rather complicated to explain how they needed to get where they wanted to go, so they created maps for them to follow. The students in the photos are creating their first maps and posting them on Seesaw. We look forward to seeing how these develop over the course of their ‘Where we are in Place and Time’ unit of inquiry.
This year we have moved away from using the class sites created through Google to using Seesaw blogs. We are still working through some of the finer logistics of using them and parental access. You will be receiving or already have received the password and access details for the blog. One way is to go through the parent splash page and click on classes. The password is important as it is a way for us as a school to keep our students secure in today’s virtual world. As you click on the blog of your child’s grade, each time it will ask for the password (it should be easy to remember once you have entered it a few times), as you enter the password you will be granted access. If you have any problems with Seesaw please contact at first the classroom teacher, if the problem still persists contact Mr. Geoff Derry so he can assist you further. Ms. Aga has written all about Seesaw in her newsletter article this week. Dates for your diaries • Monday 3rd September: Class parent representative meeting: PVO Room 8am • Monday 3rd September: Activities start • Tuesday 4th September: ES assembly • Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th September: Holiday • Friday 14th September: Malaysia Day assembly, 2pm Theatre • Saturday 22nd September: Imagination Foundation Day of Play 9am - 12pm
Simon Millward
Elementary School Principal
Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives
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Using Seesaw in Elementary School Aga Chojnacka PYP Coordinator
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We need your help with Seesaw to ensure its success at IGBIS. You can download Seesaw’s family App for iOS, Android, or use the web to view your student’s learning artifacts. When your child adds new work, you will receive a notification to see, hear and respond to your child’s post. You only have access to your own child’s work and all of the content is stored securely. Another great feature on Seesaw is the blog. It’s a place for teachers to share schedules, curriculum information as well as the weekly newsletter.
Dear Families, The first month of school has flown by and it’s been a sheer pleasure to see the children and their families come back to IGBIS with new energy and support. August has been all about building new relationships and renewing communication channels to make sure everyone feels included in our community. As you know by now, each of the learners has their own Seesaw Journal and each grade level runs a Seesaw blog. Seesaw gives your child creative tools to capture and reflect on their learning in real time. Then this work is shared with you. Seesaw gives you a window into our classrooms and into your student’s learning process. We use Seesaw to reflect and grow as well as engage families in conversations about their children’s learning at home.
Last but not least an interesting new communication channel is the family announcements. These can be used by the homeroom teachers to remind families about trips, swimming or library days and other day to day events, changes or updates. Finally a few final tips if you are a first time Seesaw user: 1. Check Seesaw regularly. You'll get notifications about new entries in your child's journal and you can respond to their work. Customise your notification preferences in Account Settings. 2. Celebrate your child's classroom success. Help to encourage the skills your child is working on in class outside of school. 3. Specific comments are best. Asking questions, or complementing specific details can add to the learning conversation. Enjoy reflecting on learning as a family.
e-waste and battery collection E-waste is any electronics equipment that is no longer useful, either because it is damaged or has been replaced. Often this consists of phones, computers, household appliances, etc. Rather than let these items accumulate around your home, or throw them into landfill (where they should not go), IGBIS has established an e-waste collection point near the turnstiles on Level 2. Simply drop off any e-waste or batteries and we will discard them correctly for you.
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Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives
ShowCASe Nathalie Chotard Service & CAS Coordinator
.................................................................................................................... On August 16th, all secondary school students (grades 6-11) attended the ShowCASe, an invitation to meet knowledgeable and caring students who have helped to make a positive impact in their community. During this event, Sasha and Erin, Grade 8, advocated for Search and Rescue Dogs, Malaysia, by hooking the audience with “Have you thought about what would happen if you get lost in the forest?� Abi and Charise, Grade 8, shared their experience of welcoming 30 students from Yayasan Chow Kit to IGBIS last June and provided thought-provoking stimuli aimed at raising awareness against child abuse. Phebi, Alyce, Shaneece, Justin, Marvin, Youjin (Grade 10) and Pranav (Grade 11), all participated in the first IGBIS trip to Nepal over the summer holiday. They presented the challenges and achievements they encountered when travelling to Kathmandu in order to teach English to young students in a public school. Congratulations to each of these students as well as the graduating class of 2019 for their commitment towards their selected project. Their passion certainly ignited the minds of their audience! Click here to find out how they impacted lives!
Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives
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Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives
College Counselling Bill Mitchell
Upcoming University Visits
Grades 9-12 School Counsellor
.................................................................................................................... The Class of 2018 have been trickling into the school over the past few weeks bidding us farewell as they depart for the next stage of their schooling. It is exciting to hear of the wonderful cities they will be living in such as Toronto, San Francisco, London, Vancouver, and Tokyo, amongst others. We wish them all the best on their new adventure and hope to hear from them as valued Phoenix Alumni. There will be universities from around the world visiting IGBIS throughout the year and they provide an opportunity for parents and students to learn of endless educational possibilities. We hope to see you at some of these events. IGBIS Events Follow the Secondary Calendar or see the College Counselling Events calendar for future visits and events. College Counselling Events
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Jacobs University, Germany September 20, 2018 Level 6, DP Lounge 12:45 pm to 1:30 pm https://www.jacobs-university.de/
PSAT/NMSQT For the students and parents that have shown interest in the PSAT to be held in October, please check your school email and fill out the consent form, and make payment to Finance. We have ONE Grade 11 test available for any student that is interested in studying in the USA. Please email me for further details. Kuala Lumpur Events Every Tuesday and Thursday, U.S. University Advising: EducationUSA Advisers provide comprehensive U.S. university advising. Register Here
House Competition Sean Lovesey and Ruth Spracklan PE Teachers
.................................................................................................................... We are glad to announce that the House Competition is off and running, and it kick started with the secondary students competing in the house relay. This was a tough competition that involved everyone working in teams to complete as many laps of the track as possible in a specified time limit. With every student trying their hardest, the end results were close. Aer narrowly scored a win with Aqua close on their heels. Terra strode into the third place with Ignis only a few laps behind.
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Students will be able to contribute to their house points throughout Season 1; every athletics or activity session earns a point for their House. Keep an eye out for the next House activity day: PHAD is on its way soon. All students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 will be taking part, and we look forward to seeing our students working together for this event.
Impacting Lives
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EdTech Summit returns to IGBIS Geoff Derry Technology Integration Specialist
.................................................................................................................... Do you ever wonder what teachers do at those conferences and professional development training sessions they attend? Well now you have the chance to find out. Last year IGBIS, in conjunction with Edtechteam, hosted the KL summit:, a two day conference for Teachers from KL and abroad on how to better use technology in their teaching and learning. This year there are two internationally recognised speakers from the USA, Holly Clark and Monica Martinez, as well as a host of other presenters including teachers and staff from IGBIS. Edtechteam runs over 100 of these summits all over the world every year; they are a very professional and well run organisation.
A new feature of their summits for 2018 is the introduction of parent streams. While parents have always been welcome to attend these conferences, this year they are actively encouraged, with a whole host of workshops designed especially for them. Perhaps you would like to learn what Gsuite is and how it is used in education, or learn how you can get your personal life organised with Google Photos, Keep and Calendar. You can take a dip into the world of AR and VR, or learn how to help your kids avoid digital distractions and online problems. To sign up, go to the summit website at edtech.team/kl2018 and use the code good4parents to join the special one day Edtech For Parents.
IGBIS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives