IGB International School Newsletter, Issue 41, Week 1, June 2015

IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 41, Week 1, June 2015

Elementary School Production’s Rats rehearsal.

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

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

Igniting Minds

Upcoming Events 9th June 2015 Elementary School Musical Performance ‘Rats’, 8.20am, Theater Grade 5 to Grade 6 Transition Meeting, 9.30am 11th - 14th June 2015 Duke of Edinburgh Trip 18th June 2015 Whole School Final Assembly, 11.00am - 12.30pm

Impacting Lives

Page 1

Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, There has been an excellent response to our invitation for families to re-enroll for the 2015-16 school year.

We believe that we have offered a premium education experience to students in world-class facilities, but it is important that we are also building a community where everyone is valued and contributes positively. The recent international day was a very good example of this.

We have the Elementary School ‘Rats’ production on this week and secondary school talent show next week as well as end of year assemblies. Please make sure that you check the calendar section of the newsletter to keep abreast of all of the end of year activities.

We look forward to seeing our parents at the final assemblies on Thursday June 18th, the last day of school.

News from Elementary School Mrs. Claire McLeod Elementary School Principal We had an exciting start to the week as we welcomed our 100th student into Elementary School. Grade 2 students chose to welcome their new classmate by exploring the meaning of 100, designing and making posters and glasses and crowning their new peer. He definitely had very special start to IGBIS. Many of our teachers and parents try to take advantage whenever they can of the beautiful golf course within the Valencia compound and l often hear them berating themselves because of their lower than expected scores. On Thursday it was refreshing to hear one of our Grade 4 students share how well his golf game has been lately and how proud he was when he won a recent competition in Valencia. Congratulations to Ethan; we will be watching his progress!

End of Year The next 2 weeks will be a very busy time at school so it is important you keep in mind the following dates: Tuesday 9th June: Rats performance at 8.20am in the Theatre. All Elementary Students are participating in this musical and we hope all parents can attend.

Tuesday 9th June: Grade 5 to Grade 6 transition meeting for parents at 9.30am in the room opposite the Clinic on level 2.

Friday 12th June: All library books should be returned to the Library.

Monday 15th June: School reports will be distributed.

Tuesday 16th June: End of year class parties during an early lunch, please check with your class teacher for further information.

Thursday 18th June: Final assembly for Elementary School and the presenting of recognition certificates to our Grade 5 students who will leave Elementary and move to Secondary School in August. *School will finish for students at 12.45pm on Thursday 18th June.

Until next week.

Page 2

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

News from Secondary School Mr. Lennox Meldrum Secondary School Principal On Friday night we started to bid farewell to our inaugural year at IGBIS by celebrating at the End Of Year Social run by the Secondary School Student Council. Standing in front of our community in the theatre on the first day is so fresh in my memory it is hard to believe that 292 days have gone by. Teachers and students feel the same, and when a slide-show of events was shown on Friday night it felt like they all happened last week! Only different haircuts and how much some students have grown gave away the length of time since some events had occurred.

The End Of Year Social was a fantastic event with a whole evening of entertainment organised and run by the student council. There was not one, not two, but FIVE musical acts! These ranged from three amazing solo vocal performances by our DP students to a rock band of Grade 9 and 10 students and a solo performance on the saxophone. A fully catered buffet of great food keep the energy levels up while the Student Council kept the pace of the evening tight with competitions and fun awards decided by popular vote (the loudest cheer). Mr Adam took on the most competitive group of the evening - Best Dressed Male - and came out on top. As you can see from the photograph, he certainly looks sharp! The night ended with a great disco and lots of exhausted and happy students.

While all students benefit from having an active Student Council, the experiences gained by the members when organising events such as this one are invaluable. The interpersonal and problem solving skills needed to plan, organise, and implement large scale events are impressive and our Student Council members have learned from the successes and setbacks they have faced. I encourage any student who wants to better themselves, in ways that a classroom education cannot provide, to join any of our activities next year that offer leadership opportunities.

Congratulations and thank you to the the Student Council members and their teacher mentors, Mr Clark and Mr Thompson, from everyone in Secondary School.

DP Students Tackle the Group 4 Project The group 4 project is an exciting collaborative activity where students from group 4 subjects (biology, chemistry, design technology, physics, and environmental systems and societies) work together on a scientific or technological topic. This collaboration allows for concepts and perceptions from across the disciplines to be shared, in line with Aim 10 the Group 4 subjects —that is, to “develop an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and their influence on other areas of knowledge”.

This years theme at IGBIS is Science is Useful. Students have been placed into interdisciplinary groups and have already began the planning stage of their project. Students will use allocated time on Monday and Tuesday to take action: collecting their data, completing research, and designing and building products. This project will help students to “become critically aware, as global citizens, of the ethical implications of using science and technology” (Aim 8).

On Wednesday afternoon students will present their findings to their classmates and receive important feedback. This is an important aspect of the Nature of Science focus of the science courses which includes peer review, publication of works, and discussion with colleagues.

How science works: The flowchart.” Understanding Science.

University of California Museum of Paleontology. 1 February 2013 <http://undsci.berkeley. edu/article/scienceflowchart>.

Mr. Scott Cameron, Diploma Programme Physics

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

Page 3