IGB International School Newsletter, Issue 33, Week 1, April 2015

IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 33, Week 1, April 2015

Discounts available until 30th April 2015 for new students applying for 2015-2016 Academic Year.

23 members of the IGBIS Instrumental Music Ensemble during practice.

Inside this week’s Newsletter

Upcoming Events 8th - 9th April 2015 IBDP Information Evening, 4.00pm - 6.00pm

Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles, Head of School

10th April 2015 Elementary School Assembly, 1.30pm

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

11th - 19th April 2015 Mid Semester Holidays

News from Secondary School Mr. Lennox Meldrum, Secondary School Principal

20th April 2015 First day of school after the holiday

Updates from Student Services Mr. Peter Fowles, Head of Student Services

22nd April 2015 Elementary School Parenting Class, 11.30am - 1.45pm, room opposite clinic Earth Day Assembly, 2.30pm, Theatre 29th April 2015 Secondary School Assembly, 8.00am, Theatre

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, We had a large number of people come to visit IGBIS last Saturday for our Open Day. Thank you to all of our teachers, staff, parents and students who came to help out. Thank you to all of you who brought along your friends and neighbours.

Coordinator explain our pedagogy. We are very happy to be working with the MARA schools as we see this as a part of our vision ‘to contribute to a flourishing Malaysia.

Only one week to go and we have our Spring break (11th 19th April). The school office will still be open even though students and teachers are on holiday. The hours are 8:30am to 4:30pm Over the last two weeks and next week, we have had groups of department heads from three of the MARA school coming to visit. They have come to observe exemplary examples of MYP teaching practice at IGBIS and to hear our teachers and MYP

Have a good weekend!

News from Elementary School Mrs. Claire McLeod Elementary School Principal Open Day on Saturday was a wonderful opportunity to share our knowledge of IBPYP with prospective parents and show our enthusiasm for teaching at IGBIS. Thank you to our teachers who supported us on Saturday.

This week, I have shared some wonderful photos of Grade 4 students presenting their learning and understanding about their Unit of Inquiry: The surface of the earth has formed over time and is still changing. Parents as well as Elementary and Secondary classes visited the Grade 4 classroom to view the displays and hear the students explain how their experiements work. Our students confidently presented and answered many questions; their teacher was very proud of them.

Last week, Grade 3 students also shared their learning with parents and student visitors, their photo shows them seated in a circle preparing for their presentations.

I always like to include an interesting article whenever I can.

Currently there is quite a deal of discussion in education about how to support students with anxiety. This article has some very helpful suggestions and is easy to read.

Anxiety in Kids: How to Turn it Around and Protect Them For Life http://www.heysigmund.com/anxiety-in-kids/ Until next time.

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Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

Host Nation and Bahasa Melayu In Early Years 1 and 2, the students have been learning to identify eight Permainan di Taman (outdoor games) in Bahasa Melayu such as buaian (swing), tempat bermain pasir (sandpit), jongkang-jongkit (see-saw), panjat-panjat (monkey bar) and gelongsor (slide) by completing writing and speaking activities and playing some of these in the the school play ground.

In Grade 2 and 3, the students have been learning about Pekerjaan (occupations). They need to identify 10 occupations and describe the roles for each occupations. They have been inquiring into how to ask others about their occupations in Bahasa Melayu by doing a role play and recorded the conversation on the computer.

In Grade 4 and Grade 5, the students have been learning 10 Simbol Jalan Raya ( Road Signs).

They were exited to take road signs pictures that we have in our school. They also learnt how to write simple sentences in Bahasa Melayu to describe about the meaning of the road signs.

In Host Nation Studies, Early Years 1 and 2 were exited to learn about “Sampan” (Traditional Boat) by singing the “Dayung Sampan” song and doing a craft activity.

Kindergarten and Grade 1 have been learning about Malaysian Traditional Desserts Kuih Tradisional Malaysia) such as “Kuih Ketayap”, “Kuih Onde-onde”, “Kuih Bulan”, “Kuih Laddu”, “Kuih Lapis” and “ Kuih Seri Muka. They enjoyed by having a food tasting for all those kuih and to be able to recognise the kuih taste and the ingredients in Bahasa Melayu.

Grade 2 and Grade 3 were excited to learn about Malaysian Traditional Music Instruments(Alat Muzik Tradisional Malaysia) such as “gambus”, “bangsi”, “canang”, “kompang” and “seruling”.

Mr. Muzaed was invited to do a demonstration on how to play those traditional music instruments.

They enjoyed watching and trying to play all those traditional instruments.

Grade 4 and Grade 5 have been learning about Malaysian Tourist Attraction and Places (Tempat Pelancongan di Malaysia). They enjoyed doing research in groups and pairs to describe the islands, mountains, rivers, theme parks, highlands, lakes, beaches and national parks in Malaysia and present their ideas in front of the class.

Ms. Dianti Ranofla, Host Nation and Bahasa Melayu Teacher

IGBIS Instrumental Ensemble Following the success of the IGB Instrumental Ensemble’s debut performance last week, we were thrilled to find that a number of new members have joined in the final activity session for the year. Originally at the beginning of the 2014 -15 Academic Year we started with just 6 players and we have grown to 23 as of this week. The existing members were very proud of their performance and very welcoming of the new members. Making music together is an excellent way to develop new skills, refine existing skills and make new friends across the school. It was also exciting to have some Grade 5 students join the ensemble.

Mr. Jon Suffolk, Performing Arts Teacher

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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News from Secondary School Mr. Lennox Meldrum Secondary School Principal This week has highlighted the community aspect of school life, for both our teachers through the strength and support of the international school community and within IGBIS as Grade 8 students have started to be more active with their Community Project.

develop students as the leaders of tomorrow.

Students choose a project that is framed around a Global Context (identities and relationships; orientation in space and time; personal and cultural expression; scientific and technical innovation; globalization and sustainability; or fairness and development) and is aimed towards investigating their right and responsibility to implement service as action in their community. This service may be direct (for example, one-on-one tutoring), indirect (for example, creating picture books to help teach a language), through advocacy (for example, performing a play about replacing bullying with respect), or via research (for example, conducting environmental surveys that feed into school decision making). Students progress through a project cycle that involves investigating, planning, taking action, and reflecting.

In an upcoming newsletter our MYP Coordinator, Mr Phil Clark, will update you on the progress our students have made on their projects and how you may become involved. There are also other areas of the school that actively involve our community from information sessions to Open Day to our activities programme and through service learning. Spend some time talking with your children about their communities and also your own communities so they can identify the links between them.

Thank you to the families that come along to our Open Day last weekend and helped promote IGBIS. Your support as ambassadors of our school is very welcome.

The Community Project in MYP is new this year and schools across the globe are starting to investigate the potential it has to further

Have a great weekend.

Duke of Edinburgh Award On Sunday 29th March, students participated in an excursion for the Duke of Edinburgh Award (D.O.E), which took place at the FRIM center. It was the group’s first outing so the emphasis was on teamwork and enjoying the outdoors.

The award, which focuses on leadership for young people aged between 14 years and 25 years, is run as an activity club at IGBIS. Many thanks to Mr. Wylie and family who by participating made the event possible Mr. Benjamin Wylie and Mr. Peter Fowles, D.O.E Award Supervisors and Assessors

Circus Skills This activity will give students the opportunity to explore and practice using a number of different circus apparatus. Spinning plates, juggling balls and clubs, diablos, flower or devil sticks and a unicycle will be available for the students to learn and develop new skills. This activity is only for students in Grade 6 and above.

Mr. Jon Suffolk, Performing Arts Teacher

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Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

Updates from Student Services Mr. Peter Fowles Head of Student Services Behavioural Management at IGBIS In alignment with the IB philosophy, an approach to behavioral management can be seen as discipline with dignity (Curwin, & Mendler) that defined this method as an affirming approach to managing the classroom that promotes respect for self and others. At IGBIS our focus is on preventing problems by helping students to understand each other, work well together, and develop responsibility for their own actions. The prime responsibility for the management of student behaviour at school rests with teachers in the classroom, teachers on duty and any staff who witness behavioural issues. All staff are empowered to deal with inappropriate behaviour within the parameters of the schools Behaviour Management Guidelines associated with each school division. Behaviour is seen as a collective responsibility regardless of division or teaching responsibilities and all staff are responsible for reinforcing our behaviour expectations.

At IGBIS the learner profile is the basis of school expectations for students and staff.

Learner Profile Attributes

Principles

Rights

Responsibilities

Inquirer

I use my natural curiosity to learn.

I have the right to learn and enjoy learning.

I have a responsibility to learn and to support the learning of others.

Knowledgeable

To seek knowledge about others, our world and myself.

I have the right to develop my knowledge and behaviour.

I have a responsibility to support the development of a positive learning environment.

Thinkers

I am responsible for solving problems and making reasoned decisions.

I have the right to opportunities to solve problems.

I have a responsibility to attempt to solve problems, make reasoned decisions and to support others to do so.

Communicator

That I communicate with others in a positive way.

I have the right to express my thoughts and feelings.

I have a responsibility to listen to and respect others’ point of view.

Principled

I am responsible for my actions.

I have the right to be treated with honesty, integrity and fairness.

I take responsibility for my actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-minded

I have self-respect and respect the culture and values of others.

I have the right to have my culture, values and traditions treated with respect.

I have a responsibility to respect myself and my culture, values and traditions, as well as those of others.

Caring

I care for others, my community and myself.

I have the right to be treated with compassion and respect and to learn in a safe and positive environment.

I have a responsibility to make my actions and attitudes safe and to make a positive difference to the lives of others and the environment.

Risk taker

I welcome opportunities to explore new ideas.

I have the right to explore new roles and ideas.

I have a responsibility to try new ideas and strategies and to support others to do the same.

Balanced

I work towards the intellectual, physical and emotional wellbeing of all.

I have the right to intellectual, physical and emotional wellbeing.

I have a responsibility to look after my own and others intellectual, physical and emotional health and wellbeing.

Reflective

I learn by reflecting on my experience and behaviour.

I have the right to reflect on my behaviour and personal development.

I have a responsibility to reflect on my behaviour and personal development.

The schools Code of Conduct sets out behavioural principles connected directly to the Learner Profile and the rights and responsibilities of all members of the school. Each year teachers review the Code of Conduct with students.

The code of conduct based on the Learner profile behavioural expectations is purposefully not a list of ‘do’ and ‘do not’s’. Adopting absolutes creates a bureaucracy of unmanageable documentation and locks the school into specific responses, which will not always be in the best interest of the student. The schools approach is that every student needs the assurance of guidance in making good decisions about his or her behaviour and, as such, an opportunity to learn in a positive, nurturing classroom environment.

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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