IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 28, Week 4, February 2015
The Weekly Newsletter is our online school-wide form of communication to the Parent and Student community. It is sent electronically every week to the e-mail contact you have provided to Admissions. You can either access it through the link sent to your e-mail or through the website at www.igbis.edu.my. Please read the newsletter every week! News, events, school developments and highlights are shared and parents and students should make sure they read this every week.
Secondary students performing the Senior Drama Production “A Suitcase Full of Surprises”.
Inside this week’s Newsletter
Upcoming Events 4th March 2015 Senior Drama Production, 3.10pm, Theatre
Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles, Head of School
11th - 13th March 2015 Grades 4 and 5 Camp
News from Elementary School Mrs. Claire McLeod, Elementary School Principal
28th March 2015 Open Day, 10.00am - 1.00pm
News from Secondary School Mr. Lennox Meldrum, Secondary School Principal Updates from Student Services Mr. Peter Fowles, Head of Student Services Updates from Academic and Support Services Mr. Peter Syme, Director of Academic and Support Services
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, I hope that you all enjoyed some quality family time over the break last week. The students have all returned to school eager to engage in their studies again. We were very pleased to see our students supported by their parents at the Parent Teacher conferences this week. All of the feedback that I received about the conference was very positive. Parents complimented teachers on the quality of the information that they received about children’s progress and the dialogue that took place during the conference. The MYP and Diploma programme sessions were well attended. A PYP information session will be taking place in the coming weeks.
Congratulations to the students and staff involved in the secondary school production that was performed on Wednesday. A special thank you to Mr Jon Suffolk, our secondary music and drama teacher who wrote and produced the play. A number of our students have been involved in interschool sports events in recent weeks. We are very happy to see them displaying wonderful sportsmanship as well as competing to their best. Mr Meldrum, Mr Fowles and Mrs Clark are out of school today and Monday as the IB invited them to lead IB regional workshops in Singapore. A few of our teachers are also attending IB workshops, this is a part of our commitment to being an IB World School that is up to date in pedagogy and practice.
News from Elementary School Mrs. Claire McLeod Elementary School Principal Parent/Teacher Conferences, e-Portfolios and Reports Wednesday’s Parent/Teacher Conferences proved to be an excellent time for parents to discuss their child’s specific areas of strength in all curriculum areas and what skills need extra support and focus in Semester 2. As I walked around the school it was interesting to see and hear the different elements to each conference - a genuine warm welcome by both teacher and parents, sharing of information and perspectives, active listening, discussion and quite a bit of laughter! All good news for us as we value the transparent nature of school/home communication.
The Semester 1 reports issued before Chinese New Year and the e-Portfolios shared today all take significant time to develop; we hope you have found these to be informative and valuable.
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Handwriting - to Write or Type? With the increased use of technology across all ages, the question often asked is whether we should teach handwriting. What is the value of handwriting when we can use our phones, iPads, computers and other devices to communicate is regularly discussed in schools, homes and businesses. With a strong technology platform at IGBIS, teachers in Elementary School value the skill of handwriting, both print and cursive and the skill of fast and accurate typing. You will see handwritten signs, posters and writing displayed in classrooms and corridors and you can access stories, books, videos, PowerPoint presentations and other digital images developed by students from Early Years to Grade 5. The article below reviews the science behind handwriting and highlights the value of taking notes by hand. I hope you enjoy. What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades by Maria Konnikova: http://bit.ly/handwritingfades Until next time.
Impacting Lives
Elementary School Music The Grade 3, 4 and 5 have been very busy adding their music part to their e-portfolios. They’ve looked back at their first semester units and reflected on the work they have done. They also learned new IT skills such as how to put a photo in their Google-slide e-portfolios from their music folder, how to add a video on their slide as well as laying out their work and adding comments. We hope parents will enjoy them.
Grade 2 are continuing their research on the instruments of the orchestra. They looked more specifically at the orchestra seating and the instrument families. They explored the similarities and differences of the instruments. Some of the instruments they could see and try out in the classroom. Here are some of their comments: ‘I had no idea the double bass was so big! Even taller than Ms Huei Yin!’
Grade 1 is looking at the pentatonic scale that is also used in traditional Chinese music. They’re practising the “We are Siamese” song (which uses this scale) from the Disney movie “Lady and the Tramp”.
Early Years 1 and 2 were excited to play on the new Djembes (a West African drum). They learned that placing their hands in different positions on the drumskin enabled them to produce different sounds with it. They also discovered that when they placed their hand inside the drum whilst playing that it allowed them to feel the air moving through it. Mrs. Hadewych Dujardin, Elementary School Music Teacher
Costumes For School Performances
We are looking for a tailor in town that specialises in making costumes for children. If you know of some, we would appreciate you sharing these details with our Elementary Music teacher, Ms Hadewych Dujardin, at hadewych.dujardin@igbis.edu.my.
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News from Secondary School Mr. Lennox Meldrum Secondary School Principal As I write this, we are in the middle of our Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences, the second of these events for this academic year. We were pleased with the parent turnout at our first conferences but understood that as a new school we would have a higher level of interest from our community. Unfortunately, Secondary Schools can sometimes suffer from “Conference Fatigue” - parents have been through 6+ years of conferences in Elementary School and feel that they know what they will hear. Walking the hallways this afternoon, I am very happy to see the great numbers of parents and students present to meet with our teachers. Thank you for continuing to support our events.
In addition to the conferences, we also had a series of presentations about MYP, DP and our IT platforms. Each of these sessions were well attended with some great questions from our parent body. We plan to conduct more of these types of sessions and welcome input from our community on what areas of focus you would like from our staff. You can provide this on our ParentStudent-Teacher Conferences feedback form, available at: http://goo.gl/forms/ExfxMtyrkR. We would deeply appreciate you spending a few minutes completing this survey. We have had a number of student events lately with the Senior Drama production of “A Suitcase Full Of Surprises” a particular highlight. The troupe are performing it one final time next
Wednesday, March 4, at 3.15pm in the theatre. If you have not yet had a chance to see the fantastic performances from our students then I encourage you to come along. Our Student Council team of 12 leaders were presented to our Secondary School student body this week and we are looking forward to the events they are planning to organise. Our Global
Issues Network students are providing an opportunity for our students to get training at the SPCA to assist in rescued animal welfare. Our sporting teams continue to play matches against other schools with our Grades 4, 5, and 6 students spending Friday afternoon at ELC participating in a variety of sports. Students involved in our service activities such as the PANDAWAS refugee school continue to inspire and be inspired through their participation. So many great opportunities taking place! Have a wonderful weekend.
Information from the Diploma Programme Coordinator It was great to see so many people at the Parent - Teacher Conference that was held last Wednesday. It is essential that there are scheduled opportunities for parents and teachers to meet to discuss academic and school related matters, and hopefully we will continue to have great turnouts at future events. The Grade 11 students need to use effective time-management skills in order to meet upcoming academic deadlines. The IGBIS Grades 11 - 12 Academic Deadline list can be found on MangeBac, and is also posted in the DP Lounge. Students have been reminded about the importance of planning ahead in order to complete the tasks listed on the Academic Deadlines list on time and with care. Upcoming deadlines are: English A Language and Literature HL/SL: Written Task #1 Draft due on 2nd March English A Language and Literature HL/SL: Written Task #1 Final due on 13th March Extended Essay: Students should submit an outline of research sources and an essay outline plan to their EE Supervisors on 25th March. It is important that students put effort into their Draft work, so that teachers will have more information to provide feedback. Feedback will be given to the students before the Final assignments are due so that students can improve their work. If there are any questions regarding the IBDP at IGBIS, please email me at matthew.marshall@igbis.edu.my. Mr. Matthew Marshall, Diploma Programme Coordinator
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Senior Drama Production “A Suitcase Full of Surprises” I want to congratulate the students who performed on Wednesday in the Senior Drama Production for 2015. In my introduction, I mentioned about the joy of working with them and having them bring my script to the stage as the first theatre production at IGBIS. I was very proud of their work. The ensemble consisting of students from Grades 6 to 11 demonstrated some great talent and fantastic collaboration skills. I look forward to producing more productions in coming years at IGBIS. By popular demand, there will be a final performance of the production next Wednesday afternoon at 3.10pm in the theatre.
Mr. Jon Suffolk, Performing Arts Teacher
Secondary School Student Council After another eventful semester, Student Council is now a fully integrated part of the IGBIS community. It started as a large group of motivated students from Grade 6 all the way up to Grade 11 and has now evolved into a fully-fledged, well organized committee with a flexible set of agendas, rules and regulations. As we are the founding set of students in this Student Council, hopefully the ground rules and methods we set now will continue on through the next few years. The Student Council is all about aiming to ease the channel of communication through which students, teachers and other facilitators liaise. We discuss whole school events to promote the spirit of community and other improvements we can make to enhance everyone’s experience here at IGBIS. Congratulations to our new team of Executive Committee Candidates! We now have Cindy Leow as the new president, Yin Xzi as Vice President, Angelica as Treasurer and yours truly as Secretary. Also, a special mention to all other candidates who enthusiastically campaigned, the votes were very close!
The campaigning process was a very animated affair as candidates tried to outdo each other and successively promote their causes. The school walls were plastered with a myriad of colorful, sometimes humorous, posters and banners. The canteen was filled with music and excited chatter as candidates went around to ask students just what it was they were looking for in their future Student Council Executive Committee candidates. For the others students who also wished to be a part of the esteemed Student Council, the homeroom representative elections took place. After numerous 60 second speeches and voting, the team of Student Council homeroom representatives includes Serene (6K), Ryan (6W), Balqis (7), Tian Xzi (8), Zulaikha (9H), Amanda (9S), Kira (10) and Lloyd (11). Ms. Simran, Student Council Secretary
IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy The lessons have commenced again for this Semester. A big thank you to the parents who have made prompt payment. If you have not made payment, please do so immediately so that we can finalise out tutor payments. I reminded Secondary School students at this week’s assembly that it is their responsibility to be at their lessons on time as unattended lessons due to illness or forgetfulness will not be refunded or made
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up. Lessons missed due to school business such as excursions or school representation will be made up at a later date. They can use their Google Calendars, Managebac or Mobile devices to give themselves reminders each week as the times do change on a rotational basis.
Mr. Jon Suffolk, Performing Arts Teacher
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Updates from Student Services Mr. Peter Fowles Head of Student Services Dear Parents and IGBIS community, Physical and Health education along with all the subject areas in the IB programmes are the curriculum platform from which after school activities are developed and where students can further their growth in a passion of their choice. “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.� John F Kennedy Being active facilitates life long learning and personal development. Offering service for others creates global citizenship and an empathy for others. These attributes are reflected by the IB Learner Profile common in all three programmes, celebrated in the PYP in the Exhibition, the Personal Project in the MYP with a commitment to Service and with CAS and the Extended essay in the Diploma. At IGBIS, the curriculum requirements of Service for the MYP, Creativity, Activity (action) and Service for the Diploma, can all be met by students participating within the activity and service framework of the school.
The third and final activity session will be offered to students in April and will end on 5th June. This is an opportunity for all students to take risks by challenging themselves with new experiences and for those who need to meet the IB requirements to make the necessary choices. Parents, please be mindful that students must re-enroll in courses and that not all programmes automatically roll over to the next session. Students or for Elementary parents must go online to enroll. Enrollment does not guarantee a place as many activities have number limits with places decided on a first come basis. Despite these restrictions, the wide range of activities offered over the three sessions ensures that students can meet the IB programme requirements, develop personal passions and fulfill their potential of global holistic learner. The next activity session sign up will be emailed as a link to parents in Elementary, directly to Secondary students with parents notified.
Updates from Academic and Support Services Mr. Peter Syme Director of Academic and Support Services Lunch Ordering March Lunch Top Up Costs
Lunch Only
Snack and Lunch
Breakfast and Lunch Sandwich Only
Snack and Sandwich
Breakfast & Sandwich
Early Years 1 & 2, KG
Grades 1-5
Grades 6-11
152
190
190
209
247
247
NA
NA
285
152
190
190
209
247
247
NA
NA
285
NB: All Prices Are In Malaysian Ringgit (19 days of lunches; March 23rd no students at school) It is time again to top up and to check your accounts on your access cards and bracelets. Above are the costs that will see you
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through to the end of March. The new sandwich option is proving to be a big hit with many of the students. The March menu is on the website so you can all see what is coming up and Early Years 1, Early Years 2 and Kindergarten have been issued with the hard copy of the menu for parent selection. Please return these to the class teacher by Monday, 2nd March 2015. Bussing As indicated before the school break, it is vital that your children are ready for the van pick-up from their respective pick-up points 5 minutes before the scheduled time. When families do move, please remember to inform Aerolines of your change of address and any other contact details that may differ, just as you would inform the school and Admissions of these changes.
Impacting Lives