IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 167. Week 2. October 2018.
Students from IGBIS are teaming up with Mont Kiara International School to participate in an EPIC home build from 18-20 October. Their task is to build a home for an Orang Asli couple and their two young children in Semenyih, Selangor. ~ Pg. 7
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Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, I mentioned in previous newsletters that over the coming weeks we will tell you more about the pathways at IGBIS. A parent information session has been planned for 8:00 am to 9:30 am on Tuesday October 23rd to explain the IGBIS Academic Pathways of IB Diploma Programme, IB Career-related Programme and IGBIS High School Diploma to Grade 10 parents. Other interested parents are welcome to attend as well. Last week I traveled to Spain for a Council of International Schools Board of Trustees meeting hosted by IE University, Madrid. One of the pertinent agenda items was the formation of a CIS taskforce of innovative schools and universities to investigate ways that schools and universities may learn from each other and collaborate more. IGBIS will be represented on the taskforce during its first meeting next April. During the October break, our IB Diploma Coordinator Mr Magnus Dreschler, was based in the IB Assessment Office in Cardiff to work with other specialists in MYP E-Assessments at the invitation of the IB. Likewise, Design Technology Coordinator Mr Ian Ellston has been in the IB Curriculum Centre in The Hague as a committee member writing IB Diploma Design Technology curriculum.
The invitational Swim meet on Wednesday was a huge success with IGBIS students achieving excellent times. We are looking forward to PHAD, the whole school sports day on next Tuesday. Parents are most welcome to join the day.
Anne Fowles Head of School
News from Elementary School This week saw me spend some time in Ms Kari’s Kindergarten class. The students were given a task of drawing a specific picture, but they had limited resources. The students were asked to draw a picture that included a rainbow, a sun, clouds, grass, a house and a tree. They were only allowed to use the crayons that they were given. Each student was given one colour only. Initially the students drew a picture that contained all of the elements except the rainbow, they couldn’t work out how they were going to create a rainbow with one colour! They eventually realised they had to work together as a team and use their colour to add to the picture. They proudly invited me in to share their success story and they explained that they needed to work as a team to complete the task. You can see on their faces that they enjoyed and learned from this engagement. The picture is now on display on the door of the Elementary School office. Please take precautions at home and when sending your children to school as this is now the mosquito season. At school we have fogging and larvae treatment and constant monitoring of areas to ensure we don’t have standing water. If your child is susceptible to mosquito bites please apply mosquito repellant before they come to school.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES •
Saturday 20th October: Google Apps For Education (GAFE)
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Tuesday 23rd October: PHAD (Phoenix Activity Day)
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Friday 26th October: PYP Parent University Session 3 PVO
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Friday 2nd November: Deepavali assembly, 2pm Theatre
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Friday 2nd November: ES Kopitiam: 8.00am, venue to be
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Monday 5th - Wednesday 7th November: No school for
Summit- Parent workshops
room 8.00 - 9.35am
announced
Simon Millward
students/Staff professional development days
Elementary School Principal
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News from Secondary School Dear Parents, Our first full week of school after the October break has been full and busy, with many excellent student-led projects underway. In this week's Student Council assembly, we heard updates about the 24 Hour Race, the student-led musical, a Deepavali video competition, and also about some of the Personal Project and Innovation projects that are taking place. We also welcomed a new Student Council Executive team, and expect to see continued leadership and success from them. On Friday Mrs Fowles and I visited the Epic Home Build, another CAS project that our students are involved in. We enjoyed seeing the students in action and working with a partner school, building up their own physical skills while meeting the needs of a local family. Well done to Ms Chotard and her team of builders! Next week, we are looking forward to PHAD on Tuesday. Best regards,
Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal
Notification of Withdrawal As we get further into first semester, we would appreciate it if parents would let us know as soon as possible if you know that you will be leaving us at the end of this semester. Please note that according to our Terms and Conditions, we need notification before the 30th of October, in order to receive a 100% refund on the deposit. Thank you for your cooperation in this regard.
Wayne Demnar Admissions Director
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Meet our Elementary Counsellor, Ms Karen Karen Skepper Early Years to Grade 8 Counsellor
.................................................................................................................... Dear parents This is my first contribution to the IGBIS Newsletter in my role as the ‘Early Years to Grade 8 Counsellor’, so I thought I would chat to you about what counselling is all about. When a student comes for counselling, they have a chance to talk about whatever is going on for them. Whether they have problems regarding home or school, or simply want to talk and seek advice from someone impartial.
One of the areas that I am very keen on is—Mindfulness. Being mindful is paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity and without judgement. The benefits of practicing mindfulness are many and may provide a way for students to improve their mental and emotional health, improved concentration, as well as their wellbeing. There are also many health benefits to adults as well: an increase in productivity; learning how to relax and regulate emotions; and create a sense of calm, to name a few (https://www.smilingmind. com.au/mindfulness).
My role as the Counsellor is to listen in a non-judgemental way and help students to focus on issues more clearly. I respect the student’s values, lifestyle and culture, and work toward supporting them to make their own decisions, with the goal of a stronger, resilient student, who feels in control of their life.
EPIC Home Build Nathalie Chotard Service and CAS Coordinator
.................................................................................................................... Students from IGBIS are teaming up with Mont Kiara International School to participate in an EPIC home build from 18-20 October. Their task is to build a home for an Orang Asli couple and their two young children in Semenyih, Selangor. The EPIC Homes movement aims to build relationships through the act of building homes, bridging the gap between the rural and urban divide. The initiative provides a platform for people from different walks of life to engage with one another. Currently, more than 12,000 Orang Asli families live in unsafe housing conditions, with 35% of those families considered extremely poor (epichome. org). The students participating in the build spent last weekend at a workshop where they learned the technical skills they will need when they head out to build the house. While many people are excited about the technical skills they are picking up up, Isabelle pointed out that as well as learning the basics of how to build a home, the students are learning essential life skills of how to help build community. Dameer added that working with strangers is an eye-opening experience, teaching him much about teamwork and leadership. Look out for an update soon on the details of the home build happening this weekend.
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Art Department request for PHAD Phoenix House Activity Day (PHAD) will be held on Tuesday, 23 October. PHAD promotes collaboration and spirit throughout the school and is a major event of the year supporting the house system through friendly competition. Students will take part in a range of activities such as arts and crafts, making team chants, problem solving, and small games. Secondary and elementary students work together in teams within their houses, supporting each other throughout the day. Not only are students are awarded points for their house based on results of their events, they can also collect spirit points, awarded to students who show and demonstrate aspects of the Learner Profile.
The Art Department kindly requests your assistance in collecting recyclables (clean plastic, paper, containers, cardboard, etc.) in the house colours (green, blue, yellow and red). Please place them in the collection bins at the turnstiles on Level 2. These will be used for an art activity with the students on the day. All parents are invited and encouraged to join the closing ceremony of PHAD at 1:30pm in the Theatre on Level 5. Remember to wear your house t-shirts—and encourage your children to do so as well—as participation will also earn points for your house.
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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Elementary School Swim Meet Ruth Spracklan Athletics Director
.................................................................................................................... Wednesday afternoon saw the IGBIS swim squad compete in the first of several friendly swim meets for this year. St Joseph’s Institution International School Malaysia (SJIIM) brought over 50 students to IGBIS to compete in a number of short course (25m and 50m) events. Because this was a friendly event, competitors were timed, but there were no winners or losers on the day. Our next swim meet will be the KLISS swimming championships for elementary students. It will be held at IGBIS on 1st November from 8.00am to 1.00pm. Please come and support our students as they compete against students from other international schools from around Kuala Lumpur.
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IGBIS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives