IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 6, Week 3, August 2014
Inside this week’s Newsletter Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles, Head of School
News from Elementary School Starting School at IGBIS Mrs. Claire McLeod, Elementary School Principal
Upcoming Events Monday, 1st September 2014 Merdeka Replacement Holiday Wednesday, 3rd September 2014 Parent Teacher Information Afternoon Tuesday, 16th September 2014 Malaysia Day
News from Secondary School Secondary Matters Mr. Lennox Meldrum, Secondary School Principal
Updates from Academics and Support Sevices Mr. Peter Syme,
Director of Academic and Support Services
Updates from Admissions Mrs. Bronwyn Thorburn, Admissions Director
Igniting Minds
Parents and students participating in class on the Orientation Day at IGBIS.
Impacting Lives
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Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, We have had a fantastic beginning to the first week of school at IGBIS. Thank you for attending the Orientation Day and school welcome last Friday. The new theatre was the perfect venue for us to begin the day and it will be used for many more events in the future. It has been wonderful to see IGBIS come alive with teachers and children in the classrooms and play areas this week. The Spirit Week activities have already developed a strong sense of school spirit along with a whole range of team building activities for the students to meet and get to know each other more. Some of the comments we are hearing often are that students are happy, like their teachers, enjoy their classes, and they feel safe at school.
The school calendar was revised some time ago when the holidays for 2014 were officially announced. A copy of the calendar is attached for your information. Please note in particular that holidays are coming up for Merdeka Replacement Holiday on September 1 and Malaysia Day on September 16th. The Parent Teacher Information afternoon is on September 3 beginning at 3.30 pm This newsletter will be sent out to you each week of the school year so that you may kept up to date with events and activities. Elementary families will also be receiving a weekly update from their children’s classroom teachers while secondary families will receive an update once a fortnight. Please take the time to read the newsletters so that you may remain informed about the school and any upcoming events. I have enjoyed meeting our parents in the mornings and afternoons when students are dropped off and picked up again. Everyone has been friendly and polite in the car park and the students always have happy smiles as they arrive. It really is very rewarding to be a part of IGBIS.
News from Elementary School Starting School at IGBIS Mrs. Claire McLeod Elementary School Principal
Welcome to Elementary at IGBIS. I am extremely happy to say that at last I feel like we are a school. It is the wonderful sounds of students and teachers interacting and exploring new ideas; teachers collaborating with each other to design meaningful activites in a caring and supportive learning environment and the laughter and giggles as students let of steam in the playground during recess and lunch that is so rewarding.
Kindergarten to Grade 5’s focus on Learning How to Learn has been a tremendous strategy to introduce students to cooperative and collaborative group work, being a risk taker by sharing ideas and participating in new activities and being open minded to new ways of learning. Grade 4 and 5 learnt about how the brain works, the role sleep has in promoting a healthy brain and how best we can prepare ourselves for success. Our school wide Spirit activity on Thursday afternoon has been a highlight, with the whole school singing and dancing on stage in the theatre to the Pharrell Williams song ‘Happy’. For many the opportunity to be on stage with the “big kids” was a marvellous invitation not to be missed, for others it took a while to gingerly join in, whilst a few of our Early Years students decided that dancing in front of the stage with their teachers was a far better idea.
Following our student and parent orientation a week ago l thought carefully about the common thread of comments l received from parents. Hearing our teachers speak from the heart, articulating how excited they were to be at IGBIS and displaying their passion for teaching within an IB World school reassured families that their decision to join IGBIS was correct. Welcoming families each morning on Level 2 has been enjoyable and l appreciated the parents who asked how l was feeling as they knew this has been a long and much anticipated path to opening. Bidding farewell to happy students and parents continued each afternoon this week, much to my relief! However, what has cemented my passion for teaching and for being part of the inaugural IGBIS team have been the reactions from our students throughout the week. “I’m so happy.” “We had a great day.” “The teachers are caring and really listen to what we say.” “I like it when my teacher asks us to discuss our opinions in a group and then share it with everyone.” “It’s awesome, we get to do interesting things.” “Elementary Assembly was not boring, l liked the song and dance and I did it at home.” “I can’t wait to be a leader at assembly.”
As the year progresses there will be times when you have queries or concerns. I ask you to address these directly with your child’s class teacher as they have a deep understanding of your child’s progress. You are then most welcome to make an appointment to meet with me if you feel l can help. We want you to feel apart of your child’s learning and so your thoughts are important to us. I would like to thank our teachers for planning such a welcoming and reassuring classroom environment, based on trust and respect. I would also like to thank our parents for being so supportive and willing to entrust your children into our care; we will not let you down. Until next week.
This week Early Years students have settled into their routines with Ms Deb, Ms Richards, Ms Sue and Ms Anderina. Very relieved staff assured me that their students have displayed confidence in their new classroom and there has been very few tears.
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Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives
News from Secondary School Secondary Matters Mr. Lennox R. Meldrum Secondary School Principal
The excitement level that started last Friday at the Orientation Day still has not diminished in our Secondary School students and teachers. It has been an amazing week of learning, bonding, and spirit building. For most students it is their first exposure to an IB education and the most common comment I have heard is that “learning is fun”, something we at IGBIS know is a key component to deepening student participation in their classes. While I’m sure you have heard plenty of stories from your children about all of their new experiences this week, when school gets into a regular series of rituals it can sometimes be difficult to find out what happened each day. As outlined by our Middle Years Coordinator, Mr Phil Clark, at last week’s parent orientation, sometimes a change in the type of question asked can elicit a more involved response from your children. Phrasing questions around the Learner Profile such as “Were you a risktaker in Performing Arts today?” or “What communication skills did you use in Physical and Health Education” or “How was being knowledgeable help you in Sciences?” shows your children a deeper interest in their subjects. When your children bring home their new timetables today, make a copy so you can focus on the lessons they have each day.
Another way to keep in touch with the learning experiences at IGBIS is through our school education portal, ManageBac. This week your children received their access codes and have already started to use it in their classes. Soon we will be launching our parental access, but until then please ask your children to show you around the system and how they are using it. Thank you for all the supportive comments you have made this week. We truly believe in providing a deep and broad educational experience for every child, offering the support they need to be successful in their learning. We look forward to maintaining consistent communication to help ensure learning (in all its forms) continues to take place in and out of the classroom. From all of the teachers and staff in the Secondary School, we thank you. Have a relaxing and wonderful weekend.
Amazing Race, Amazing Students Built around the school motto of “Igniting Minds, Impacting Lives”, Secondary School students took part in a spirit building “Amazing Race” around our new school campus. Working in teams of students from all grade levels, students tackled mental, physical, and social tasks by following a series of QR codes that linked the tasks together. After recording aspects of their journey on iPads, the teams then created a 3 minute video that explored the school motto. The videos were screened in the school theatre, entertaining everyone with their creativity and reflection on a great bonding experience. The race left everyone exhausted, but with new friends and new experiences with which to remember their first week at IGBIS. Mr Lennox Meldrum, Secondary School Principal
Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives
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Updates from Academic and Support Services Mr Peter Syme Director of Academic and Support Services
Car Stickers The car stickers are all ready for those who have applied. Since Wednesday of this week, we have gradually being distributing them. If you have not collected your stickers from the car park help desk this week, as of next week, you will be able to collect them from the main reception desk located on Level 5. Lunch Orders Thank you to all those students who have supported the cafeteria in their first two weeks of operation and the special offers. The operators and teachers have been monitoring the process in this first week. Come September, there will be a new menu that includes morning snack options and no pre-ordering of set meals will be required. However, prepurchasing will be required to ensure we have enough food for everyone. The new menu and price list will be available online on the school website towards the middle of next week, with the new procedures commencing on Tuesday, 2 September 2014, after the Monday public holiday.
Card Access The Admin team are very busy processing the access card system. This system is being put in place to make access to the school more secure and as we develop the system over the next few weeks, the cards will also be able to be used for purchases through the cafeteria. The collation of all your photographs has been running smoothly and you will be contacted soon if we are missing any photographs for these cards. Bus Service Peter Cheong is continuing to get further inquiries and hopefully it would not be too much longer before an Ampang service begins operation. For all those families living in the Ampang/Cheras areas please contact Peter directly so that he can monitor the situation. The service for Valencia and Sierramas residents has also commenced and this is being managed by the school itself, with our friendly driver, Mr Anba . For information, contact the main reception counter. If you have any questions about any of the above information, please email me directly at petersyme@igbis.edu.my.
Updates from Admissions Mrs. Bronwyn Thorburn Admissions Director Dear All, What a great start! I do hope you are all settling in well. We have opened with 28 nationalities in the School, and 30 nationalities in our Community as a whole. The Admissions Office continues to welcome about 30-40 visits and tours every month and over 60 inquiries by phone, e-mails or online. It is great to be able to show the School with students and families here. Please remember to inform us of any changes to your contact details. It is also important that your Emergency Contacts are different from the parents. We need to have at least one other person we can contact should you not be available.
We will start using a bulk e-mail service from the next week. It is common for this to go to people’s SPAM folders in their e-mails. Please can you check your e-mail SPAM folder regularly in the next week or two to be sure you do not miss an important notification from the School. The PE and Swimming Kit are now available and we are opening the temporary shop for another week so you will be able to come and purchase these. The shop will be open from Monday to Friday next week, from 07:45 to 09:00 and from 14:00 to 15:30. All the best and see you around School!
Whole School Dance This activity was held on Thursday afternoon as part of the week of community and spirit building. Under the direction of Ms. Diane every student from Early Years through to Grade 11 learned some choreography to the pop song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. It was a great way to see the inaugural student cohort of IGBIS together on the school stage enjoying themselves. Mr Jon Suffolk, Performing Arts Teacher
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Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives
Igniting Minds
Impacting Lives
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