IGBIS Newsletter Issue 81, Week 1 / August 2016.

IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 81, Week 1, August 2016

IGBIS Orientation Day for new and returning students and family. ~ August 10, 2016.

Inside this week’s Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Message from Head of School

School

Head of School

- Welcome Coffee for New and Returning Parents

Mrs. Anne Fowles,

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News from Primary School Mrs. Claire McLeod

Thusrday, August 25

Thursday, September 1 - Meet the Teacher Evening

Primary School Principal

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News from Secondary School Mr. Lennox Meldrum,

Thursday, September 15 - Malaysia Day Assembly

Secondary School Principal

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Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, Welcome back to a new school year at IGB International School. We are starting the year by congratulating the Class of 2016 and all of the IGBIS teachers for the outstanding IB Diploma Results.

100% of IGBIS students sitting the IB Diploma passed, with the average points of 34 well above the world-wide average of 29. 19% of students achieved 40 points or above. The top score of 43 actually came very close to achieving 44 points out of 45.

Students, Parents and Staff have appreciated the new caterer ‘Cezars Kitchen’ and their home-cooked style of fresh food.

A reminder of a few upcoming events: Thursday, August 25 ~ Welcome Coffee for New and Returning Parents Thursday, September 1 ~ Meet the Teacher Evening

We welcomed ten new teachers to the school over the last month including Secondary School Principal; Mr Michael Arcidiacono. All of the new and returning teachers are now settled in and eager to commence the school year.

Thursday, September 15 ~ Malaysia Day Assembly

The Student Reception and Orientation Day on Thursday had the hallways and theatre buzzing as people reconnected with each other and just enjoyed being back at IGBIS again.

Mrs. Anne Fowles

Looking forward to another wonderful year ahead.

Head of School

News from Primary School Mrs. Claire McLeod Primary School Principal .......................................................................................

Welcome to all our families in Elementary School.

We are delighted you have chosen IGBIS to educate your children and we look forward to building strong bonds with you throughout the year.

Our Orientation Day for returning and new students on Wednesday was full of excitement and you could easily see the genuine warmth of our staff as they greeted their students and their parents.

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This year we have welcomed 171 new students into Elementary School and we now have 2 classes for every grade level from KG-Gr 5 and three classes of Early Years 1 & 2. There were very few tears on the first day and these did not last too long, so that is always a good sign to start the year!

Our new cafeteria company, Cezar’s Kitchen, will shortly offer milk, fruit juice and pastries for Gr 1-5 students to select at lunchtime. Parents are reminded to check their child’s account regularly to ensure they have sufficient funds to cover lunches and the extra options.

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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

On behalf of the secondary staff, I am pleased to welcome back all of our students and families. I am also pleased to be joining the IGBIS community and enjoyed meeting so many families at Orientation Day on Wednesday. My family and I have settled in very well and I have been very thankful for how we have been received by the students, parents, teachers and staff at IGBIS. Students quickly settled into the school routine this week, reconnecting with friends, forming new friendships and catching up with their teachers. Our new catering company, Cezar’s Kitchen, has been welcomed by staff and students and I am personally enjoying being open-minded and trying some new

food offerings!

It is always refreshing to start the school year - it is a new beginning that is full of opportunities. Very soon students will have the opportunity to join new clubs or take part in the drama production or sports teams - I encourage everyone to consider trying something new this year. Whether through a new activity or recommitting to something they have already been involved in, students develop a myriad of different skills when they participate and in some cases take the responsibility of leading.

This year we are looking forward to building on our recent IB Diploma results, which were extremely strong. Our current Diploma students have a high bar that has been set for them; with hard work, I am certain they will rise to this challenge.

Welcome to the new school year 2016-17 Mr. Phil Clark Middle Years Programme Coordinator .......................................................................................

Welcome back to IGB International School. It was lovely to see all the familiar faces around school this week as returning families came back from the long vacation. It was also great to see so many new faces as we welcomed new students, parents and teachers into the IGBIS community.

We were delighted to receive notification from the IB in July that IGBIS has been officially authorised to offer the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).

After two years of curriculum and programme development by our team of experienced MYP teachers, we received extremely positive feedback from the IB visiting team. The school received a number of commendations from the IB and, for me, one of the most important is the following:

Teaching and learning fosters a stimulating learning environment based on understanding and respect.

Findings of the Visiting Team: • The prevalence within the school community of attitudes of understanding and respect are deeply appreciated by students and parents alike.

These attitudes were also observed in interactions between teachers and teachers, teachers and students, and students and students, both inside and outside the classroom.

Commendation: • The school has built a stimulating learning environment based on understanding and respect throughout the school community.

We acknowledge and celebrate the hard work of our teaching team, and the commitment of our students

and parents in helping the school to achieve this important milestone. We look forward to building on this very strong foundation as we continue to develop and enhance our curricular and cocurricular offerings at IGBIS. On Thursday, our students were introduced to their teachers and classmates and received their new schedules. For returning students, and for students who have previously studied in MYP schools, many things will be familiar. While for students and parents who are new to the MYP, there will be many new things to learn. Students were introduced to our online student information management system, ManageBac. This is where students and parents can access student schedules, important messages from teachers, assessment details and deadlines, teacher feedback and grades, and other important information. Parents will receive information on how they can access ManageBac and support will be available for parents who would like assistance.

Next week we will introduce the MYP Community Project to our Grade 8 students and the MYP Personal Project to our Grade 10 students. MYP projects are a key component of the Middle Years Programme. They are student-centred, ageappropriate projects that students conduct for an extended period during their own time. Students engage in practical explorations through a cycle of inquiry, action and reflection. The Community Project focuses on community and service, encouraging students to explore their right and responsibility to implement service as action in the community.

The Personal Project encourages students to develop an area of personal interest, to consolidate prior learning, and to practise and strengthen their approaches to learning (ATL) skills. Grade 8 students will conduct their Community Projects during Semester 1 while Grade 10 students will conduct their Personal Projects during Semesters 1 and 2. I will share more information about MYP projects in future newsletters.

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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We look forward to meeting parents again on Thursday 1 September for our “Meet the Teacher” evening, when parents will have the opportunity to meet with their child’s teachers and find out more about what and how their child will be learning this year. Throughout the year I will also be offering a series of parent workshops for parents who would like to learn more about the IB Middle Years Programme.

IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy Mr. John Suffolk Performing Arts Teacher .......................................................................................

The IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy provides the opportunity for students to receive individual or small group lessons with a professional tutor to foster the development of skills and a love for playing music. Students who participate in the program will be encouraged to use these skills as a member of an IGBIS Music Ensemble and become a lifetime participant in music making.

To find the Music Academy website go to the IGBIS website and click on the login button on the top right hand corner. Search for the Music Academy logo to find all the administration, scheduling and online registration documents.

IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy is acting as an agent between the parents and the tutors, providing the services of enrolling students, arranging schedules, invoicing and collection of payments.

Our tutors are all experienced musicians and teachers who work at other international schools or other reputable music academies in Kuala Lumpur.

This year the instruments available for learning are piano, violin, viola, guitar (electric, classical, and bass guitar), drums and voice.

Our Tutors Ms Puisim Wong - Piano Ms Iko Chia - Piano Mr Yew Chee Chew - Violin and Viola Mr Adil Rahim - Guitar Ms Irma Lailatul - Voice Mr Andy Chia - Drums and Piano All schedules will be made on a strictly rotational basis. Special requests for times will not be considered except for after school lessons depending on the availability of the tutor and student transport needs.

The relevant information, hand booklet and registration form can be found on the school’s website. All communication for the Academy will be via Parent IGBIS email accounts.

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Students may have individual lessons (preferred) or small group lessons (maximum of 3 students per group). Piano lessons are only available as individual lessons. Lessons will cost RM60 for an individual lesson and RM45 for a group lesson.

There will be 15 lessons in each semester. Invoices will be emailed to Parent IGBIS email accounts.

At the conclusion of each semester students will perform in concerts in the IGB theatre to demonstrate their progress and to develop performance skills.

This is an exciting add-on program at IGBIS and I look forward to its continued success and expansion this year.

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

Athletics & Activities Tim Bartle and Scott Ngataik Athletics and Activities Coordinators .......................................................................................

Welcome back to IGB International School for another exciting year of Athletics and Activities. The athletics schedule for 2016/2017 has been finalised and students will soon have the opportunity to join a team via the online sign up. More information will be communicated via parent emails so please check your account regularly. Similar to last year, we will be using a three season sport roster.

Once again we will be providing a variety of activities to help students develop a wide range of skills to pursue their passions and uncover hidden talents.

The benefits of joining a sports team or school activity are numerous: Students will experience improvements in fitness and a reduction in stress.

Students will develop essential communication skills and form valuable new friendships with students and staff.

Students will have the opportunity to explore diverse interests and learn more about themselves which can lead to improvements in self esteem.

Students will also develop important life skills such as time management, commitment, leadership and coping with winning and losing.

Please remember to check your parent email account for information relating to Season 1 sign up. Secondary students will receive information during their first AMP session.

It’s sure to be another very busy year at IGB International School, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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Community Corner Mr. Wayne Demnar Admissions & Marketing Director .................................................................................

Wow- what a start!

It was so nice to see all the happy families at school for our reception/orientation sessions this week and then, of course, for the first day of school.

The staff did a wonderful job in their respective roles of welcoming everyone and we experienced a relatively smooth start to what will be an exciting year. I look forward to meeting up with many of you at the Welcome to New Parents Coffee Morning on the 25th of August - more details to follow.

Update of Contact Information Please remember to notify us of any changes to your contact details or your children’s medical information as this is very important in terms of our care for your children. This can be done via email to admissions@igbis.edu.my SOS (Sharing our Strengths) We mentioned before the break that we would be asking parents to reflect on their ‘special skill set’ that is, the professional and personal skills that you would be willing to share with our students. We would like as many of you as possible to make yourselves available to share your strengths and career stories at our Careers Fair in February. More information will follow closer to the date. ** Some Photos from the Orientation Day on last Wednesday (August 10th)

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Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives