IGBIS Weekly Newsletter. Issue 87, Week 4, September 2016.

IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 87, Week 4, September 2016

• Elementary School Assembly. ~ September 23rd, 2016.

Inside this week’s Newsletter Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles Head of School ....................................................................................

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

From the Secondary School Principal Mr. Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal ....................................................................................

Grade 12 Rube Goldberg Presentations Megan Settle DP Chemistry Teacher ....................................................................................

Global University Fair 2016 at IGB International School Ms. Pauline Davidson Grades 9-12 School Counsellor ....................................................................................

Grades 7 to 9 Visits SPCA Ee- Li Sik Secondary School Student

Upcoming Event Global University Fair at IGBIS Tuesday, September 27th 2016 8:00 am - 10:00 am

Global University Fair 2016 Tuesday 27th September 8.00am-10.00am 6th Floor (Library, DP Centre, classrooms student learning lounge)

Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, I visited the Grade 8/9 camp at Outward Bound in Lumut on Wednesday, while Mr Arcidiacono and Mr Fowles visited the Grade 10/11 camp on Pangkor Island, as well as the Grade 9/10 camp. The students were engaged in a range of team building and outdoor activities as well as developing their independence. Most importantly they were enjoying the camps and getting to know each other and their teachers in a completely new setting.

While the students have been on camp, a number of parents have been attending an MYP workshop at school and learning what it is like to be a student or teacher in the programme.

The PYP verification visit conducted by visitors from the IB went well this week. We appreciate all the work that has gone into preparing for the visit, especially that of our PYP Coordinator Mr Simon Millward and the Pedagogical Leadership Team.

We are holding an Open Day at school this Saturday September 24 from 10 am to 1 pm. Please invite your friends to come and visit our school.

Mrs. Anne Fowles Head of School

Global University Fair 2016 Tuesday 27th September 8.00am-10.00am 6th Floor (Library, DP Centre, classrooms student learning lounge)

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News from Elementary School

Our Under 11 Elementary Girls and Boys basketball teams from Grades 4 and 5 played against Nexus in a few friendly games in our Sports Hall this week. Our teams were excited and proud to wear their new school competition shirts and were keen to have official photos taken in them. IGBIS provided umpires for the three sets of games and from watching it was clear to see how fair and supportive the umpires were. They provided ongoing guidance about the rules and coached both IGBIS and Nexus during the games to help each player make sense of the game and what tactics to use. Congratulations to our players who provided their best efforts; they are now enthusiastically looking forward to their next game after the holidays,

School finishes next Friday at the usual dismissal time and we will have a week’s holiday before returning to school on Monday 10th October.

Until next week,

Mrs. Claire McLeod Elementary School Principal

Music is everywhere at school. I often walk by classrooms and hear soothing, calm music playing in the background whilst students are working. This morning l was dancing and moving to music created by our Early Years students as they played outside and l have included a photo of Grade 1 students learning to play the xylophone!

News from Secondary School Secondary Camps were a big success and a lot of fun this week, due to the spirit and enthusiasm of our students and teachers. On my visit to some of the camp locations I found participants who were facing new challenges, learning more about each other and caring for one another. In sum, being the type of students we expect them to be as IB learners. I imagine everyone will be enjoying a good rest this weekend in the comfort of their own beds. I hope you have been checking the Camps website to see the updates. If you have not, pictures and some descriptions can be found at https://sites.google. com/a/igbis.edu.my/myp-dp-camps-2015/?pli=1.

12 students had a productive week and we welcomed parents to go “back to school” and have a learning experience similar to what their children see every day.

Hopefully the participants enjoyed it!

Next week will be very busy with our College Fair on Tuesday and several sporting fixtures as well. Additionally, we will soon share the web page to begin booking ParentStudent-Teacher Conferences, which will occur later in October.

Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal

While almost everyone was away from school, the Grade

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Grade 12 Rube Goldberg Presentations Megan Settle DP Chemistry Teacher .......................................................................................

Goldberg machine reflects this: it is a contraption that is deliberately over-engineered to perform a simple task, often using chain reactions.

While the rest of the secondary school were at camp this week, some Grade 12 students were hard at work building Rube Goldberg machines as part of their Group 4 project for DP Experimental Sciences.

The Grade 12 students presented their Rube Goldberg machines to secondary parents and elementary students, explaining how they needed to use skills such as problem solving, perseverance, resilience and collaboration to reach their goal. And that goal, which entertained their audience with unique ways to do tasks including putting milk in coffee, watering a plant, and pulling down a pair of shorts, showed just how much fun science can be.

Rube Goldberg was an American cartoonist and inventor who would often draw cartoons of complicated gadgets that performed simple tasks in a convoluted way. A Rube

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Global University Fair 2016 at IGB International School Ms. Pauline Davidson Grades 9-12 School Counsellor ........................................................................................

Date: Tuesday 27th September Time: 8.00am-10.00am Where: 6th Floor (Library, DP Centre, classrooms,

student learning lounge) Who: Students & Parents Grade 9-12 8.00: WORKSHOP Workshop on choosing the Right Fit Institution (Secondary Library)

8.30 - 9.00: WORKSHOP a. Study in the Netherlands: Benefits, Requirements & Liberal Arts (Classroom 6-12) OR b. Financial Aid and Scholarships for International Students in the USA (Secondary Library) OR c. Study in Canada: Benefits, Requirements and Co-op Programs (Classroom 6-19) OR d. Career and Course Choices (Classroom 6-24)

9.00-10.00: COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY FAIR 6th Floor Student Lounge CANADA

DP Lounge THE NETHERLANDS

Secondary library USA

Carleton University Concordia University Lakehead University Mount Saint Vincent University Trent University University of Calgary University of New Brunswick University of Waterloo York University Humber College St. Lawrence College Alexander College Fraser International College International College of Manitoba

University College Roosevelt University College Utrecht Leiden University College the Hague Maastricht University Erasmus University College Rotterdam School of Management UK University of Edinburgh USA 2 (DP Lounge) University of Minnesota University of Oregon (just cancelled) University of Vermont University of Miami (Ohio)

The University of Tampa University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point University of Oklahoma University of Houston University of Michigan-Flint University of California, San Diego Stonehill College Pace University New York Film Academy Kansas State University Goucher College Florida International University Emerson College Ball State University

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Grades 7 to 9 Visits SPCA Ee- Li Sik Secondary School Student ................................................................................

On Wednesday, the 14th of September 2016, nine students from Grades 7 to 9 took a field trip to SPCA Selangor for a day. Unlike the larger branches in other countries, SPCA Selangor is a small company that is primarily dedicated to rehabilitating unwanted dogs and cats by bringing them back to good health.

The organisation provides several programmes to educate people of various age groups about pets.

We embarked on the Pet Care Program, where we had two hours of theory and two hours of practical work to learn some of the basics about how to properly care for both dogs and cats. Our supervisor for the day was Arief Fauzy, one of the Animal Welfare Officers, who guided and helped us along the way.

The activities were as follows in chronological order: • • • • • • •

Briefing Dog walking Changing litter boxes Cleaning cat cages Playing with cats Removing ticks from puppies Watching a training demonstration

Here are some comments from us about the programme: “When I first came to SPCA I was very scared and nervous but when I started to be with the dogs and cats I felt more confident. Now I’m a volunteer at SPCA.” “It was tiring because the puppies that we were taking care of kept moving around, so we had to keep them in a certain area. It was worth it in the end because I had a lot of fun playing with the cats and dogs.”

“SPCA was a great experience for me to develop a caring side towards animals, as well as to become more aware of the state of stray cats and dogs.”

At the end of the program we were all given SPCA T-shirts to commemorate our completion of the program. We can’t wait to volunteer at the shelter during our free time!

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Smart Searching for Kids Geoff Derry Technology Integrator geoffrey.derry@igbis.edu.my .......................................................................................

The Internet is great: you can find anything you want, and kids can find anything they want. How many times have you heard someone say, just ‘Google it’? This open source of information is a strength and a weakness. How can we help our kids to find appropriate information that is relevant and safe?

At school we teach students how to search safely. This often means using safe search engines such as Kidrex, Kido’z, KidsClick, Zilladog, and SweetSearch just to name a few. We automatically switch on (or ask in the older grades) safe searching when using Google. However, safe search engines on their own are not enough: we also teach students good search skills and what to do when something goes wrong. It is important that students are Principled and Caring when it comes to searching on the internet.

At home there is a lot you can do to help students search responsibly and safely. For younger kids, use parental controls and safe search filters. You can also check search history or use other third party apps to keep track of what kids are doing online. It is important that you let kids know that you do this, so they know you are serious about safe searching. It is also vital to be around and

have devices in central locations when kids are using YouTube or searching on the internet.

For older kids, talk to them about how searching on the internet can be risky. Maybe the information is false or misleading. How do I deal with inappropriate content?

What do I do when I find something that makes me uncomfortable? Make sure that the kids are still using safe search engines and the computers (and devices) are in a central location. Don’t let students use their laptops in their bedrooms with the doors closed. It is also important to establish family rules about internet searching and usage. You should also remind them that copying from the internet is cheating.

It can be tough to help kids harness powerful tools like Google and YouTube, but if you are open and honest and approach it as a family team you are much more likely to help your kids navigate these tricky times.

There are many guides and resources for students and parents at www.commonsensemedia.org.

These two videos are a good starting point Smart Online Search Tips (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/smartonline-search-tips) Five ways to make YouTube safer for kids (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/5-ways-tomake-youtube-safer-for-kids)

News from the Admissions and Marketing Office Wayne Demnar Admissions & Marketing Director .......................................................................................

Update of Contact Information: We have been checking email addresses and phone numbers on our database and would ask you to please let us know if there has been any change to your family details so that our records are as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Any changes can

be forwarded to us via: admissions@igbis.edu.my Thank you for your assistance.

Planning is in full swing for our Careers Fair next February and as mentioned earlier, we would love to have as many parents as possible participating in the event sharing their expertise and career highlights. If you would like to be involved you can contact Ms Pauline Davidson (School Counsellor) or myself to register your interest.

ManageBac Upgrade and Update As all secondary parents are aware, ManageBac is our primary means of communicating all things academic to parents. This includes viewing grades, reports, homework, due dates and absences for your secondary students.

ManageBac has recently released a new user interface for parents.

The new user interface is designed to: • simplify navigation (so you can get more done with fewer clicks) • improve usability for existing and first time users • move ManageBac towards a responsive layout

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that will support tablet (iPad + Android) and mobile usage All functionality for parents on the new interface will remain unchanged.

There are videos and parent tutorials available online • Video: A step-by-step walkthrough of the new parent UI is available here.

• Tutorials: Updated parent tutorials reflecting the new UI are available here.

If you are having problems logging on to ManageBac or have forgotten your user details please email it.helpdesk@igbis.edu.my.

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