IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 163. Week 2. September 2018.
Grade 1 performance during the Malaysia Day Assembly ~ 14 September 2018
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Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, Over 40 parents attended a meeting this week to discuss the school’s future plans for offerings of Bahasa Malaysia and Malaysian History. As an IB school, IGBIS believes that it is important for all students to have an understanding of Malaysian culture, language and history. For this reason we have provided ‘Host Nation’ classes for all students since the school opened. Additional Bahasa Malaysia language classes were also offered at all levels when the school opened. Over time, the number of students signing up for Bahasa Malaysia classes reduced to a handful across the school, so the number of classes reduced significantly. In April/May the Ministry of Education reminded international schools that Bahasa Malaysia and Malaysian history is compulsory for all Malaysian students. On further investigation, it was found that there are no mandated guidelines for the curriculum, the amount of time spent on particular classes or any endpoint assessment, although students who wish to attend a public university or work in government positions are advised to reach SPM or IGCSE level. Other international schools are addressing the Bahasa Malaysia and Malaysian History requirement in various ways. In several cases one multi-level class is timetabled per week at either lunchtime or after school with some parents writing to advise the school that they have already made provision for their children to have private lessons. Rather than intrude on students’ lunchtimes or after school activities, IGBIS proposes to increase the Host Nation classes to 80 minutes per 7-day cycle with provision of additional classes for students at Grade 9-10 who wish to complete IGCSE Bahasa Malaysia. Parents at the meeting were in agreement with this proposal and prefer that the additional Grade 9-10 classes are optional. Further details will be given in the coming weeks.
Our first whole school assembly for Malaysia Day took place today. It was enjoyable to see so many student performances, and to see our community come together, dressed in the colours of Malaysia, to celebrate this important occasion. Happy Malaysia Day!
Anne Fowles Head of School
News from Secondary School Dear parents, It was a pleasure to speak with many parents at our Coffee this past Thursday. In light of celebrating Malaysia Day in our assembly today, it is timely as we make improvements to our curricular offerings of Bahasa Melayu, changes which were shared with parents on Thursday and sent out via email today. We celebrated Malaysia as well during our Camps Week, through our visits to various parts of the country, our activities and service to the local communities. I hope you enjoy the photos shared with you here in this newsletter from the various camps. Looking forward, we will soon settle into normal school weeks, as we pass through a holiday-filled September. As you will see on the
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parent calendar (accessible through the Splash Page), there are a host of upcoming sporting events, university visits, and the like to be aware of. As well, we will be entering a time when assessments become more frequent. Please make sure you are checking the school calendar regularly and the Managebac calendar as well, so that you can support your child both in their academics and involvement in wider school activities and events. I wish everyone an enjoyable Malaysia Day! Sincerely yours,
Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal
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News from Elementary School Although this week is a short week it does not detract from the fact that learning is still happening within the school. Pockets of students have been working hard practicing and putting the finishing touches to their showcase pieces for the upcoming Malaysia Day assembly and I am sure you will agree with me that they did very well in front of such a large audience.
Dates for your diaries
Celebrating diversity at our school and in Malaysia is such an important tenet of the IB and our school’s vision and mission. It is wonderful to see so many students dressed in traditional Malaysian clothes and enjoying all that Malaysia has to offer. I would like to take the opportunity to say a big thank you to Mr. Rashid, Ms. Meena and Ms. Ada who were primarily responsible for organising the Malaysia Day assembly, although they were ably supported by many people in the background: so thank you to everyone who made it a success.
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Monday 17th September: Malaysia Day holiday: school closed Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd September: school Open Days Friday 21st September: PVO meeting 8.00am, followed by PYP Parent University 9.15am (PVO room) Saturday 22nd September: Imagination Foundation Day of Play 9am - 12pm (Level 1 playground) Monday 8th - Friday 12th October: school holiday Saturday 20th October: Google Apps For Education (GAFE) Summit—parent workshops
Grade level units of inquiries are ongoing and there are many great learning experiences happening. Don’t forget to ask your children what they are learning about. Sometimes it can be a challenge to get our children to tell us about their day, so try asking these questions: Tell me one thing that you learned today. What was the best thing that happened at school today? How did you help somebody today? How did someone help you today?
Simon Millward
Elementary School Principal
PYP Parent University Aga Chojnacka PYP Coordinator
.................................................................................................................... The PYP Parent University is a forum to share the educational research to parents and community members, highlighting the IB practices we use to teach at IGBIS, and sharing how these practices can be extended at home. The PYP Parent University for the 2018-2019 school year will begin next Friday 21st of September at 9.15am, with the theme for the first session being "Play As A Way of Knowing: Latest Research, Positive Psychology, Visible Thinking." During the session we will discuss latest educational research on play and learning,
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look at links between play and social, emotional and academic development as well as look at ways of elevating our thinking through the visible thinking routines. This is a repeat of the same session run last year so will be particularly relevant to parents who did not attend that session. We will be introducing a brand new session for returning parents, titled "Literacy, numeracy and symbolic play/learning for 2-8 year olds" on Friday 28th September. All parents and friends are welcome to attend the PYP Parent University sessions. Please let us know if you are coming by contacting aga.chojnacka@igbis.edu.my.
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Elementary Music News Clare Demnar Elementary Music Teacher
.................................................................................................................... Welcome back to Elementary Music! We are off to a great start in music this year and are really enjoying making music together. We will be continuing the Orff Schulwerk Approach to music education where learners are actively involved in music-making, composing, creating and performing in speech, singing, drama and dance. The music classroom for the Early Years students has evolved into an open space outside. We have been singing songs, dancing and eagerly exploring percussion instruments. Kindergarten students are developing a repertoire of songs and dances as they work on maintaining the beat and learning to play untuned percussion instruments with care and control. Students in grades 1 to 5 are working on specific music units using spoken and sung rhymes which establish the beat, develop their understanding of rhythm and encourage creativity when playing percussion instruments. They have also been dancing and practising songs for Assembly. Parents could ask them to sing ‘Pizza Hut’ or ‘Hand Jive’! Grade 4 and 5 students have been working with graphic notation and creating their own “sounds” for the class to perform. Grade 5 students are also developing their drama skills through a series of activities planned with input from the Drama teacher, Mr. Cant. The Phoenix Tweeters have started rehearsing again and are preparing for some Assembly performances throughout the year. Students are still able to join the group if they wish to on a Tuesday afternoon. I am really enjoying working with all our students and developing their love of musical expression and creativity this year.
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PVO News Julie Arcidiacono ....................................................................................................................
All parents are encouraged and welcome to join. A Parent University session will follow the PVO meeting from 9:15am onwards.
PVO Meeting
Aloha
Our first PVO meeting of this academic year is scheduled for next week Friday, 21 September from 8:00 - 9:00am in the PVO Room on Level 2.
Have you purchased your tickets for our annual social? It is just two weekends away! This year it will be held at Valencia, so get your summery outfits ready for a night of fun. There will be a scrumptious buffet dinner with many options for vegetarians, delicious themed drinks (think lychee mojito!), prize giveaways, and dancing all night long. Everyone is invited: parents, caregivers, family members and friends. Tickets can be bought at the Finance booth in Level 5 or during pick-up time (2:45 to 3:15 pm) from one of our PVO members in our Aloha booth on Level 2.
Community and Events Coordinator
The agenda will include: • Welcome from Anne Fowles • Road Safety presentation • Website feedback • Cafeteria committee volunteers • Aloha - social event progress • 24 Hour Race - ‘Light for Freedom’ charity event • Holiday Bazaar - volunteers needed
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Camps week Last week was Camps Week for secondary students, with grades 6 and 7 heading to Ulu Lodge, Ipoh, grades 8 and 9 enjoying the sights of Merapoh, Taman Negara, and grades 10 and 11 making the journey all the way up to Belum Rainforest Resort near the Thai border. Everyone experienced a range of outdoor activities such as abseiling down waterfalls, caving, night trekking, drumming, weaving, fire-building, blowpiping...the list goes on and on. By all accounts, everyone had amazing experiences and will be talking about camp for a long time to come.
Grade 6-7
Not to be left out completely, Grade 12 students enjoyed a Bootcamp week at school, enjoying such activities as working on their Group 4 Projects (involving research at Sunway Lagoon), practicing yoga, and enjoying an afternoon of paintball. Here is a selection of photographs showing just what Secondary students were up to last week.
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Grade 8-9
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Grade 10-11
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Grade 12 Bootcamp
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Malaysia Day Assembly photos
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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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