IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 38, Week 2, May 2015
Student Led Conferences for Secondary Students
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
Upcoming Events 23rd May 2015 International Day, 10.00am - 1.00pm 28th May 2015 Dengue Fever Talk, 8.15am, room opposite clinic Grade 5 to Grade 6 Transition for Students and Parents 5th June 2015 Last day for After School Activities Secondary School Student Council Social Night, 7.00pm, Music and Drama Rooms (Level 3) 9th June 2015 Elementary School Musical Performance ‘Rats’, 8.20am, Theater
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, Student Led Conferences It was wonderful to see all of our families at the Student Led Conferences last Saturday. There was almost a feeling of an education fair with the PYP Exhibition on display and explained by Grade 5 students, as well as the Grade 8 students with their Community Project. I am sure that all of our parents felt very proud when they heard their children talking about the progress they had made and showed examples of their work. International Security Meeting Mr Syme and I were invited to attend a meeting at the US Embassy this week that was organized for international schools and embassies to meet and discuss the possibility of setting up
a security network. A number of pertinent topics were discussed about school safety and security as the beginning of an ongoing collaboration. International Day, 23rd May Its only one week until our international day. The committee have a full programme organised. We hope that you can come dressed in your national clothing and join in the fun. Please mark this day in your calendar as it will be one of the highlights of the school year! See you there!
News from Elementary School Mrs. Claire McLeod Elementary School Principal Student Led Conferences Our first Student Led Conferences were a wonderful success last Saturday. The school had an amazing energy as students and parents moved between classrooms and single subject areas to view the learning throughout the year. Added to the energy were the school wide visitors to the PYP Exhibition and MYP Community Project on level 5. Thank you to our students and teachers who worked together to provide parents with a holistic view of their child’s experience. The common thread throughout all the reflections by parents was the tremendous academic growth they have observed in their children and how much they have grown in confidence.
choices we make. Bizarre Bazaar Business Plan was the summative assessment for the students. They were required to develop their own business plan, market and sell their items and then reflect on their success. The focus areas for their business plan sounded more like a corporate business plan: objectives, name/logo, target audience, market research, marketing strategy, profit/ finances and success factors. However, they all gained an age appropriate understanding of these concepts, how they can be used and their effects on buying and selling.
It was interesting listening to why they thought some items did not sell as well as others even though they had completed their market research and thought their product would sell quickly. Others discussed the factors that impacted on selling whilst other students were delighted they sold out and wished they had more to sell.
Grade 4’s Bizarre Bazaar There was a buzz in Grade 4 on Wednesday as the students traded their homemade items for their class made currency. The central idea of the Unit of Inquiry was: Societies develop systems for trade and commerce to meet needs and wants. The unit connected easily to our Language and Maths outcomes and to their earlier unit Media influences how we think and the
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This unit is truly engaging, challenging, relevant and significant as required by the IB Primary Years Programme (IBPYP). Teachers Day at IGBIS was celebrated with all teachers and teaching assistants receiving a single rose as an appreciation of their dedication and commitment they display every day to their students. Until next time.
Impacting Lives
Successful IB PYP Exhibition Friday, 8th May saw our first Grade 5 PYP cohort share their IB PYP exhibition with their parents and the wider school community. The Transdisciplinary theme How We Express Ourselves and the central concept of ‘messages’ enabled the students to consider how they were going to present their ‘issue’ in an artistic way. The central idea of ‘Artists seek to evoke and emotional response from their audience’ guided them. Some students opted to write songs, others used photography whilst others were more inspired by visual artists and they produced an artistic piece in the artists style like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, a Keith Haring style, Banksy, local artist Haris Rashid or DAIM. The exhibition is such a powerful experience for students. It is an independent project that is supported by teacher mentors. Students have to not only carry out research about an issue that they are interested in learning about, but they have to organise their time to communicate their new understandings to a wider audience. The approaches to learning skills communication, research, thinking, social and self management underpinned how they set about their project. The contribution of single subject teachers helped students make connections between the various subject disciplines throughout the 6 weeks. This culminated in students performing a land based synchronisation dance routine (PE), a graffiti art mural (visual arts) and a song (music).
As I walked around the exhibition there were a number of things that struck me and made me immensely proud of our students. •
I listened to at least two students who presented their work in their mother tongue not only to their parents but other parents who spoke Mandarin Chinese. They then switched freely to English as a different audience was present.
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I loved the fact that our Grade 5 students were considering the age of their audience they were presenting to. They spoke confidently and knowledgeably about their project and the process they went through differently to Early years students and Grade 9 students. Whilst this seems obvious, to be able to simplify their presentation ‘off the cuff’ was impressive.
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The visual displays were thoughtful, considering colour pallette, visual impact, the message and the aesthetics of their display (how to mount and display work so it looks professional). Congratulations Grade 5 students we hope that you use the skills and techniques you have learned in the exhibition to other projects you embark on for the remainder of this year and the years to follow.
Simon Millward, Primary Years Programme Coordinator
Cultural Dances The Grades 3, 4 and 5 Physical Education classes have most recently been focusing on a unit of dance. They have learned a combination of skills including choreography, developed their own dances and explored dances from around the world. The Grade 5s took it even further by working on an Exhibition piece where dance was the basis for a performance to send a message to their audience. The students have loved the opportunity to interact and engage in this unit of moving to music.
Jasmine Brawn, Athletics & Activities Director
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News from Secondary School Mr. Lennox Meldrum Secondary School Principal Wow, what a great week! The highlight was the Student Led Conferences held last Saturday and based on the wonderful feedback we received, I know you all agree that it was a fantastic demonstration of the teaching and learning experiences provided for your children this year. I have included some photographs I managed to take while trying to be all over the school - I was certainly getting fit during the day! Thank you all for participating in this important event.
It was also a great week of community spirit when our Homeroom and group activity photos were taken. The students this year have something that can never be taken away from them - they were the first for everything at IGBIS. The first cohort of Grade 6 students, the first basketball team, the first student council, the first drama production, and so on. Many years later they will be able to look back and remember how they defined what it means to be an IGBIS student. Our teachers were celebrated on Friday as it was Teachers Day. Student Council members provided each member of the academic staff with a single rose, and emails and gifts of appreciation were also provided from many of you. Thank you all. Next week is another exciting time as classes get closer to finalising the last units of the year and as we all prepare for International Day on 23rd May. Have a great weekend.
Secondary School Student Council Social Night, Friday 5th June Secondary School Student Council is pleased to announce a Social Evening for Secondary School students and teachers. The evening will include a fully catered gala dinner followed by performances and a dance. The dinner menu is halal, nut-free and includes a range of western and Asian, vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Tickets are available for RM40.00 from Secondary School Student Council. Date: Friday, 5th June 2015 Time: Registration begins at 7.00pm, Gala dinner and dance from 7:30pm - 10:00pm Venue: School Music and Drama Rooms (Level 3) Dress Code: Semiformal Fee: RM40.00 (inc. fusion buffet, photo-booth, decor, performances) Phil Clark, Middle Years Programme Coordinator
Can You Sell Us This Candy? Students had the pleasure to meet Yenny Siswanto from Clesius Creative Communication, a creative agency from Jakarta, Indonesia. After some research about the company, the Business Management students developed a range of questions to ask Mrs Siswanto. During the “business meeting� students got the task to develop a advertising poster for a candy. After some discussion Mrs Siswanto and Ms Seehaus awarded Wade and Lloyd as winners of the project. Student were very engaged and learned a lot about marketing and creativity in Indonesia. It was an amazing experience and all thanks go to Mrs Siswanto for taking the time and showing the the IGBIS Business Management students the connection between what they learned in school and real-business issues. Ms Stephanie Seehaus
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News from the DP Coordinator The Grade 11 Semester Two Reports will be released on 15th June and will be an indication of academic achievement based on assessment completed in Semester Two. Student academic achievement is measured and reported on a numerical 1-7 scale according to International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) guidelines. IBDP subjects use course-specific grade boundaries and grade weights to determine the level of academic achievement. Grade weights will reflect the weights used in the IB Subject Guides and the grade boundaries from the latest Diploma Programme (DP) May exam session will be used. The Grade 11 Final Exams are weighted as 50% of the Semester Two grade. Once a percentage grade is formulated and weighted using the aforementioned grade weights, the most recent DP May exam session grade boundary will be used to derive a 1 -7 grade. Detailed information regarding grade weights and grade boundaries for DP courses at IGBIS, as well as a detailed explanation on how Semester grades are formulated can be found in the IGBIS DP Student Handbook, which was given to parents during the orientation in August. This document can also be found on ManageBac and was emailed to the Grade 11 students. The Grade 11 Final Exams will take place at IGBIS from 25th till 29th May. The Grade 11 Final Exams Schedule, along with the Academic Deadlines Schedule, was emailed to parents a few weeks ago. If these documents were not received please email me. Its important that the Grade 11 students prepare for the Grade 11 Final Exams and review the course content they have learned this year. Upcoming Academic Deadlines are: * 2nd June - English A Lang and Lit SL Written Task # 1 Draft, English A Lang and Lit HL Written Task # 2 Draft * 2nd - 5th June - Chinese B HL Written Assignment #1 Draft * 8th - 10th June - Group 4 Project * 16th June - English A Lang and Lit SL Written Task # 1 Final, English A Lang and Lit HL Written Task # 2 Final If there are any questions regarding the grade formulation for Grade 11, or any aspect of the IBDP at IGBIS, please email me at matthew.marshall@igbis.edu.my Mr. Matthew Marshall, Diploma Programme Coordinator
Library News Library returns; some friendly reminders Please remind your children every week to bring their library books back on their class library days and to make sure that each week, they are bringing their books in a book-bag. Book bags help protect books from accidental damage and help our students to understand and learn about their personal responsibility to take care of the resources that we share at school. The book bags should be big enough to hold the library books and can be made of plastic or fabric. As we head towards the end of our first academic year, all of the books that your children have borrowed will need to be returned to the library. Any books that are not returned at the end of the academic year will need to be paid for by parents, at replacement cost. Replacement cost includes shipping, cataloguing and processing costs paid by the school to our library supplier, in addition to the actual cost of the physical book. If you are having some trouble locating the books, now would be a great time to have a search at home to find them. Mrs. Amanda Clark, Teacher Librarian
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Impacting Lives
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