Volume 4 11/09/2020
Newsletter of International School Suva
Principal’s Report
Inside this issue:
Dear parents, students, and staff,
ECH & Reception Fun Day
The one thing we can state with certainty is that we have had a very interesting 2020 school year! As we prepare for the start of Term 4, we must recognise that this year will probably be remembered as a memorable and strange historic event! The past nine months of Covid pandemic have challenged how we teach and learn, and I expect education will be a little different from now on globally. I think we will continue to use online resources better and we will be ready to teach online if that becomes necessary. However, for Term 4, we are planning to return a bit more to a normal school programs as we almost entirely focus on campus, face-to-face teaching and learning once more. Most of our online students have returned or are planning to return, and we are eager to reunite with families that have been gone for some time!
ECH - Fun With Math's
Year 1
Year 2 - Space Adventure
Growth mindset
Year 5 Exhibition
Shark Tank Presentation
I hope the coming term will be the time when we begin to leave Covid far behind, but we hope to learn from all this and to hold on to some good practices we have established. I am sure we will be having school with more infection awareness, more social distance, more sanitation, and more hand washing. We will continue trying to improve our public health measures even post Covid! As we keep saying, our hand-washing, sanitizing, disinfecting, and keeping social distance will help protect us from the common cold and seasonal flu as well as other future health threats. So, let’s continue these basic infection control measures regardless of what else we do!
PYP Curriculum Corner
USA Embassy and Asia Foundation
Design Catch up
MYP Corner
The International Baccalaureate's Theory of Knowledge
As part of our return to normal, this week we will have our first end-of-term assembly since Covid started. Those assemblies have been a tradition for many years at ISS, but they were prevented the last two terms by restrictions on gatherings and events. We are pleased to return to that tradition even if we will be doing much of it digitally. By the time you read this, I hope you will have “attended” our assembly through our live streaming link and also enjoyed some of our new school video productions. This is an excellent example of how Covid practices might enhance our future practices; our assembly was not only available to parents here in Suva, but it was also viewed by grandparents and other family members! As always, we are focusing more than ever on our students and their learning. The demand for creating video documentation has led to many wonderful new resources that can be enjoyed over and over. In fact the music video, “We Will Rise” has had more than 135,000 views so far! Looking ahead, we hope to move into some of the new building classrooms for the start of the new 2021 year. So far that project is on track for that and is also under budget. Sometime in Term 1 of next year, we hope to have a grand opening. Please plan to join us for that when it happens! Best wishes!
Stephen Cathers, Head of School
Service to the Community Review of Poetry Anthology Launch, Rising Tide Reflections - Wai- Makare Forest Farm Term Dates
Fun with Maths in ECH2K
Year 1 How We Express Ourselves Students in Year 1 have been experiencing some thought provoking provocations to start their next inquiry. We enjoyed having Mata dance group come in and teach some Hip Hop, to then also having Rako come in to show the students the Rotuman culture. Later on we will be having Taekwondo and also some more island dancing. If you would like to share your culture through music, dance or drama to the Year 1 students please get in contact with Renee Dansey, rdansey@iss.school.fj.
What type of dancing is all around the world?
How are the instruments made?
What are different types of movement?
How is Taekwondo connected to dancing?
How are different Pacific Islands dancing connected?
Year 2 students celebrated their learning through a Space Fair for their “How the World Works” Unit of Inquiry. The central idea was “Inventions improve the exploration of the unknown that impact our lives”. The students followed the design cycle to identify what they wanted to invent to help humans explore space better. They brainstormed, planned and built a prototype. During the Space Fair they presented their prototypes to peers and parents.
The specialist teacher who enhanced their learning was Mr Suka. With him they worked in groups to imagine a new planet and invent a game from that planet. They designed and printed team t-shirts. On the last day of the Unit of Inquiry they took part in the Intergalactic Games where they had the chance to play their games with each other. They had lots of fun!
Growth mindset can help us a great deal By Scarlet & Mary Year 4 students We cannot deny that the world is going through a difficult time right now. At this point, it's really important to have a growth mindset because we need to put up with the “NEW NORMAL” ways. So when we came back to school in Term 3, talking about growth mindset helped us a lot in adapting to the changes. Having a fixed mindset prevents us from taking up new challenges and having fun during learning. On the other hand, having a growth mindset allows us to try new and fun things. The human brain is amazingly elastic in its capacity to grow. Let’s be courageous and wise and use this cool fact.
Growth mindset is like a seed underground. For a seed to grow, it needs to be brave enough to sprout and see the outside world though it could face millions of challenges before it actually becomes a plant. There could be challenges in our way just as the little seed has. So, the next time we face a challenge, let’s remember that a growth mindset can come in real handy!
The Amazing Journey of Year 5 Exhibition By: Alyna Seru 5H Through the 8 weeks of exhibition the Year 5s had explored their own unique topics based on their passions and interests. It all started in Week 1 when we began our discussions about exhibition and what we would like to do. We had our own special timeline to help us stay on track. When we were first introduced to exhibition, everyone had their own opinions and emotions rushing through their head. Although the Year 5s were quite nervous at first, the Year 5 team and mentors were quite helpful, supporting us and giving a helping hand in times of need. Majority of students had picked their topics and began researching and exploring the different information about their chosen topics. During the 8 weeks the Year 5s had improved with some of the ATL skills and managing their time. Hard work was put into the exhibition throughout the 8 weeks. In order to get everything done, the Year 5 schedule had been collapsed starting in Week 6 to give students more time to work on their exhibition. We were not really missing out on our normal subjects. maths, writing and reading had their own special part in our exhibition, as well as specialist classes: Art, IT and Music
Along with exhibition the students had to send out surveys, create a dance and make their art components! The final day came and the Year 5s had gotten their stalls set up with all their belongings. Everyone was so very excited as it was a celebration of their last year in primary and a reflection of their learning. Everyone has done an amazing job during the exhibition presenting to the students, parents and teachers. Exhibition was a success and the Year 5s were really proud of the effort they had put into their work, knowing that in the end everything went smoothly and according to plan! All thanks!
Year 5 Exhibition In the final year of the Primary Years Programme all students participate in the PYP exhibition. This represents a significant event in the life of a PYP school community. The exhibition project requires that each student demonstrates engagement with the five essential elements of the programme: knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action. The inquiry, which encompasses a variety of subject domains, is conducted in the spirit of personal and shared responsibility culminating into the presentations shared with the school community. The exhibition is an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the learner profile they have been developing throughout their engagement with the PYP. We look at the exhibition as a celebration of the student's learning before transitioning from the PYP into the MYP. The exhibition demonstrates what our students know, understand and can do through their passions and interests.
The Amazing Journey Throughout Exhibition By Indiana Jezewski Year 5H
I’ll take you back to when we first started exhibition at the start of Term 3. We were all really curious, excited and a little bit nervous to start our exhibition journey. But firstly, we had to know what exhibition even was. All the teachers helped explain what the exhibition was but most of us already had an idea from seeing last year's exhibitions. After we understood what exhibition was, we had to start making our essential agreements. These agreements helped us to stay on task and to know what to do. Then we unpacked the TT (transdisciplinary themes) and started to look at our exhibition workbooks and journals that would also help us throughout the exhibition. Next we started looking into different topic ideas, lines of inquiry ideas and central ideas for exhibition. To help us choose our topic we had a big brainstorming session with the whole of Year 5. During that time most people chose their topic. Once we all had a good topic we got put into groups based on our topic like the well-being group, marine group, animal group and more. We were lucky enough to have the Year 6 students come down and share their experiences with us. Finding the main central idea was challenging but with all our thought put together we finished making our central idea. We were already up to the third week of the exhibition, this week the exciting things started to happen. We had our first mentor meeting, we started our reports, and started our music component. The music component was probably the most exciting; we had four different cultures which meant four different dances for the music component for exhibition. The next thing we had to do was find the ICT component which meant making surveys. We all had fun making different surveys. After the surveys were done we sent them out to Year 5, 4, 3. Now it was time to start thinking about our actions, not deciding them yet just thinking. At this stage we were going well with our reports and making sure to keep track of what we are doing in our workbooks and journals. Now it is time to start thinking about the art component whether it is a 2D or a 3D we had to make some form of art. During the process of making art we all finished our reports and they were looking great. Now we have to decide our actions. As part of the exhibition we have to show our understanding of our topic by taking action whether it is a small action or a big action. We have finished our reports, actions, ICT component, art component, music component. Now we have to start our displays, we have to get our big white boards and cover them in paper so we can start sticking things on them like facts, pictures, posters and our art. We have to make sure our boards look colourful. We have to make sure we practice presenting in front of our friends. Now we have to go down to the MPH and start setting up for our presentation in front of the parents and rest of the school. Our stalls are looking great now, time to go home and get some rest to be ready for our presentation tomorrow.
Year 5 Exhibition 2020 By Estella Bingham Year 5H
Different and unique ideas were combined to create our central idea. Thoughts such as global issues, passions and interests were fully integrated. 15th July 2020 that's when the exhibition started. I still remember on that day the teachers explaining about the good things about the exhibition. What would we have to do to have a successful exhibition? How many weeks do we get? When is the final day? Many questions occurred. We were all excited for the exhibition. We had eight weeks to prepare for the final two days of exhibition. July 16th, the next day, the year 5’s started planning and brainstorming ideas and thoughts for topics in mind. Lots of topics like animal cruelty, Black Lives Matter and plastic pollution people thought of. After that activity though, some people had already chosen their topic many have not yet. A couple of days after the teachers shared their passions and interests. This gave the students who did not have a topic in mind an idea of what they wanted to do! After a week the topics chosen were final. Everyone had chosen a topic for the exhibition. Research was next in line for us. For the next three weeks of exhibition we looked into our topics more. All the information we gathered for our topic we organized and put into a report we soon would have to print and present on the final day with the rest of our things. During those three weeks we were split up into groups depending on your topic. So saying if your topic was similar to somebody else's you would be put together with that person. In those groups you would have a mentor meaning a teacher to guide you and who gives you suggestions. They don't help you and edit your work. That is not allowed. Your mentors are only there to guide you; you are 100% responsible for what you want, not your mentor. Every day you and your mentor would have a meeting about ideas of what your exhibition is going to look like and what are some things you would like to include. During our researching sessions, it was very quiet. All the students were extremely focused on getting their report done in time. Week 5 was the end of researching. You would simply wrap it up and add little finishing touches to it. At this time, we only had two and a half weeks to finish everything. In those two and a half weeks the Year 5’s made their 3D art works. Every student in the exhibition is required to create a 3D art piece based on your topic. At this point people started getting really stressed out about not finishing their exhibition in time. In those two and a half weeks the year 5’s was split into 4 groups. This was randomized. Your group would have to come up with a dance to perform on the final days of exhibition. You would not just come up with any type of dance though. Every group would come up with a dance from a specific country dance. One group did a Kiribati traditional dance, the second group did a Fijian dance, the third group did an Indian dance and the last group performed a Pakistan dance. The dance moves were created by the students themselves. The groups also got to design their own costumes and what they looked like as long as they wore costumes according to the type of dance they were doing. If you were in the Kiribati group, you had to come up with a Kiribati dance and you had to design a Kiribati costume. Same rules apply to the other groups The Year 5 classrooms looked like a tornado just came through. They were all in a mess. Paint all over the floor, paper and cardboard just lying on the tables and grounds and random pieces of materials everywhere. During those two and a half weeks left, we also had to make our boards, add in facts and pictures and finishing touches. Everyone went all out. The last weeks to finish our exhibition was here. Everyone now was panicking and worried. Many students rushed to finish. If you were done you would practice some things you would say.... The final day arrived. It was the day where all that hard work would pay off. Parents came to see what their child has learned and what they have been doing for the past eight weeks. It was a hectic day for the Year 5’s. In the morning before the parents arrived we were all so nervous. We performed our dances, presented our exhibition to students and parents but also had a lot of fun on the way not only on the way but on the day as well.
SHARK TANK PRESENTATION - YEAR 4 SUMMATIVE TASK Samairah & George, Year 4 students
If you have watched “Shark Tank” or “Dragons Den”, you will surely be able to imagine how exciting our summative task would have been. We learnt about trading in our Unit of Inquiry under the Transdisciplinary Theme “How we organize ourselves”. To conclude the unit, we had to come up with a business idea, plan it and pitch it to the “sharks”. In our groups we had to brainstorm about our product. The biggest challenge was to think of an innovative product because we also had to think about the impact, demand, supply and practical use of the product. Most of us had many ideas for products. Sometimes it was challenging to decide which idea was the best. We learnt to resolve our conflicts by being good listeners and using our reasoning. We are still learning it! Then it was time to plan our product using a template called the 5 P’s - Product, Place, People, Price and Publicity. Then we followed the design cycle stages to develop our product - Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test and Improve. It was fun designing our own websites, slide shows, adverts & even infomercials. It felt great being entrepreneurs, designing our own products and making a prototype. After making our prototypes, we tested the product to make sure that it worked. Well, some of them did work while some did not go the way we wanted. Then we started improving the product or made slight adjustments. We rehearsed to overcome the nervousness but trust me, we were getting more and more nervous when we rehearsed! Finally, we were in the “tank” with the “sharks”. It was interesting to watch other projects too! Overall we thought we were successful and we had so much fun doing this activity and finding out what it’s like to run a business.
PYP CURRICULUM CORNER By Rosi Uluiviti, PYP Coordinator Primary Year Programme: Standards and Practice Continued… There are four standards and practices which we adhere to in the IB PYP
Learning (04)
Purpose
Environment
Culture
We continued to focus on Standard 04: Learning. We would like to celebrate learners (0402) and our approaches to teaching (04030)
students as lifelong
Standard (04) Learning Approaches to Teaching. Students collaborate with teachers and peers to plan, demonstrate, and assess their own learning. (0403-04-0200)
The Primary Years Exhibition is a celebration of Year 5 student’s learning in their final year of primary education. This showcases collaboration between students and staff, independent inquiry and student’s understanding of concepts, assessment and transdisciplinary learning.
Approaches to teaching (0403)
Teachers use flexible grouping of students to maximize learning, ensure student well - being, and provide a variety of opportunities for collaboration. (0403-04-0311)
Year 2 student’s celebrated their learning through a Space Fair for their unit of inquiry which focused on the central idea; “Inventions improve the exploration of the unknown that impact our lives.” Students showed their understanding of concepts through their inventions and explanations of how their inventions can impact lives. This was a collaborative learning experience and students grouped themselves according to their areas of interest.
Approaches to Teaching (0403) Teachers use inquiry—based teaching strategies and learning engagements.
Highlight of Term 3: Students as lifelong learners (0402)
The school provides opportunities for students to directly apply their learning by taking action ( 0402-05-0100).
In the primary school, as part of our music curriculum Mr. Tim has been working with students on song writing in response to local and global issues. What started out as a collaboration in the primary school has expanded into the community with USP students at the Oceania Centre and local artists, culminating in a spot on the international scene as part of a UN initiative.
Vinaka United States Embassy and Asia Foundation Ambassador Joseph J Cella visited the school on Monday, August 24th to present our library with forty-nine wide-ranging information and educational books. The United States Embassy is distributing these books in partnership with the Asia Foundation's.
Books for Asia programme to support education and continuous learning.
During the visit, His Excellency, Ambassador Cella spoke on the importance of philanthropy and encouraged students to pursue STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and maths) interests.
He met the Busy Barter Bees CAS group and was extremely impressed and interested to hear about their progress in setting up a library in the village of Naserara, Moturiki. Mr Steve Cathers thanked the Embassy and the Asia Foundation for the wonderful books and expressed profound gratitude to the Embassy for their continuous generosity as the schools only external funder.
"A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.� - Andrew Carnegie
Design catch-up: What has been happening in Middle School Design? A focus this year in the Design programme has been on human-centered design, “... it is a philosophy that empowers an individual or team to design products, services, systems, and experiences that address the core needs of those who experience a problem” https://medium.com/dc-design/what-is-human-centered-design-6711c09e2779 In MYP1 we started our first unit with the question: What are my client needs? To enable this, students took on the role of Shoe Designers, we also looked at the impact that a common shoe has on Pacific Islanders. The abundance of Flip Flops washing up on Fiji’s pristine beaches as marine debris is becoming a huge problem for Pacific Islanders. One solution is to repurpose flip flops into our designs, always thinking about what our client needs and focusing on how we can design for a better world.
In MYP2 we took a closer look at Human-centered design. In the role of Chair Designers students thought about How can we establish the needs of our clients? Exploring ergonomics became the core of our inquiry into the how and why people sit which developed into Innovative yet functional chair design prototypes.
In MYP3, the year 8’s explored the question: What does our body adornment tell people about us? After interviewing a client, to establish the clients needs, students established a set of design specifications that guided their project. This developed into the design and creation of a piece of body adornment specifically for their client. This allowed students to develop measuring, cutting and joining skills using hard materials (perspex, shell, wood). All of our Design work and prototypes will be on display in either the Library or the business office over the next few weeks.
MYP Corner Dear ISS Community, I am pleased to inform you that we now have our verification visit confirmed for the 11th and 12th of November. Due to the ongoing travel restrictions affecting the region, the ‘visit’ will take a virtual form. This ‘virtual’ approach does come with a unique set of challenges, most notably, allowing for the visitors to get a true feel for the great ISS community. The final decision on our verification should be given sometime in January. As you may be aware, the school has been transitioning to the ManageBac school management system during 2020. If you have yet to access your parent portal, please do so in order to track your child's progress and access school communication. If you are unable to access please feel free to contact me lramsdale@iss.school.fj Our year 8 and 10 students are currently in the midst of completing the Community Project (Year 8) and Personal Project (Year 10). The community projects allow for students to make a positive impact within the local community. Projects can be either; Direct service: This is interaction that involves people, the environment or animals. Examples include; one- on- one tutoring, developing a garden alongside refugees, or teaching dogs behaviours to prepare them for adoption. Indirect service: You do not see the recipients during indirect service, you have verified that your actions will benefit the community or environment. Examples include redesigning an organisations website, writing original picture books to teach a language, or raising fish to restore a stream. Advocacy: Through advocacy you speak on behalf of a cause or concern to promote action on an issue of public interest. Examples include initiating an awareness campaign on hunger in the community, performing a play on replacing bullying with respect, or creating a video on sustainable water solutions. Research: You collect information through varied sources, analyse data and report on a topic of importance to influence policy or practice. Examples include conducting environmental surveys to influence your school, contributing to a study of animal migration patterns, or compiling the most effective means to reduce litter in public spaces. (MYP Projects Subject guide, 2016)
Over the past year Year 8 students have initiated and carried out a diverse array of Projects within the community. These include: - Toy drive for child cancer patients (WOWS Kids Organisation https://wowskids.org/) - Music classes for local primary school students - Awareness campaign to protect the local Humphead Wrasse fish (article published in National Press) - Awareness campaign for Crown of Thorns starfish in local island communities - Renovation of local sports field in conjunction with local council The Personal Project The community project and the personal project are known together as MY projects. MYP projects help students to develop the attributes of the IB learner profile; they provide students with an essential opportunity to demonstrate ATL skills developed through the MYP and foster the development of independent, lifelong learners. All students in MYP year 5 must complete the personal project. The personal project encourages students to practise and strengthen their ATL skills, consolidate prior and subject specific learning and develop an area of personal interest. Personal projects revolve around a challenge that motivates and interests individual students.
The International Baccalaureate’s Theory of Knowledge Ms M Dunbar The field of education is full of mysterious acronyms to the uninitiated, and the IB (International Baccalaureate) is no exception. One of the least understood of these is ToK (Theory of Knowledge). ToK is part of the IB Diploma’s core, along with the Extended Essay (EE) and CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service). All students who do the two year IBDP (IB Diploma Program) are required to undertake these three core components, as well as their six subject choices. In two ToK classes per week, IBDP students examine the nature of knowledge itself, rather than any particular area of knowledge. Students look at how we know what we know (WoK –Ways of Knowing), and at a range of different ways of looking at Areas of Knowledge (AoK). In addition, students are encouraged to think about knowledge within their own cultures, as well as different global cultures. And students reflect on the connectivity of knowledge, and the links between the subject areas they are studying.
For example, ToK students may consider the Bayeux Tapestry (pictured) as an historical document, a work of art, or a piece of Norman French political propaganda. Or students may ask which of these two world maps (below) is correct and why.
ToK ASSESSMENTS IB DP students have to complete two assessment tasks for ToK during the two-year Diploma. These are;
1. A 1600 word essay (worth 67 %) A presentation based on a ToK question ( worth 33 %) Students enjoy many aspects of their ToK classes, including “… discussions we wouldn't otherwise have, interconnectedness of disciplines and variety of subject matter”. In a recent ToK reflection activity, one student commented that “…TOK will assist me in completing my IAs (internal assessments) and essays, because it will give me tools to think critically and to think about thinking. After high school, the self-awareness, thinking skills, and worldview provided by ToK will aid me in doing the best work I possibly can in every area of life.” (quotes from Year 12, 2020 IB students) For more information, speak to an ISS IB ToK teacher or student, or read more on the IB website. Credits; Bayeuxmuseum.com, Planetpixelemporium.com/earth.html, Surfertoday.com
Service to the Community in High School Our Busy Barter Bees were able to barter their services with Mr. Cathers and Mr Legaz in exchange for materials to complete the building of the Library in Nasesara, Moturiki. A spending their afternoons and Saturdays with these staff members, what is left now is the sail to Nasesara …. Watch this space for these cool adventurous people who will be sailing to Nasesara sometime soon!
Group Teitei This CAS group has been busy planting around the school. Their first harvest started this week and they are now able to supply dhania to our Love Kitchen and the school canteen. By the beginning of Term 4 this group will start supplying radish, lettuce, eggplant and cabbage for our school lunches at the canteen and also for the Love Kitchen… Wananavu
Team Teitei! Vikashni from our school canteen inspecting the dhania that she will now be able to use for the lunches sold at the school canteen. Love Kitchen We would like to thank everyone for contributing to the success of our Love Kitchen. There is so much love and “giving” radiating from this group. We have had donations of home cooked goodies such as brownies, cakes and slices from many students throughout the school. These little gifts of your cooking have gone into the lunch packs and add that extra little touch of love. Thank-you to those who are giving ingredients and those who are supporting through financial donations. We will be working through the first week of the holidays with lunches as well. Any donations are very much appreciated. We are very grateful to Hot Bread Kitchen who have given the bread free of charge for this week’s lunch packs.#veilomani
Kunj receiving vouchers from Extra Supermarket to help with ingredients for the Love Kitchen. Primary children decorating the lunch bags with cute messages .
Review of Poetry Anthology Launch, Rising Tide By Shafneen Rahman One of the unique characteristics of poetry is that each piece is an art form of its own-revealing to messages and themes whilst also concealing others. It has the immense power to help us appreciate and understand the world around us; and to protest the wrongdoings and injustices many in the world face. A group of year 10 students; Samantha Belleman, Penny Ana Clarke, Kashish Daswaney, Temalai Paelate, Zarina Goundar, Helen Wang and I - accompanied by Miss Sims and Miss Ana, got to experience what this meant to many young adults in the Pacific during our visit to the poetry anthology launch ‘Rising Tide’, at USP’s Japan ICT Theatre. We all got to witness, firsthand, the ethereal magic that surrounds poetry in this anthology; listening to the poets read their poems on the topic of ‘Violence against Young Women and Girls’, and their moving inspirations behind their written work. “The Anthology launch was a fabulous event to attend”, said Kashish Daswaney, one of the anthology attendees. “The four poems, Sorry by Anna Jane Vea; The Pavement by Tarek Wael Wazni; My Neighboour by Konai Helu Thaman, and; The Survivor in Me by Shamil Ali; were read with a lot of passion and emotion, and the audience felt every word the poets were conveying. I love how Pacific poets are represented in this book and how it talks about themes that are difficult to address; this event helped me develop my understanding of poetry, as well as learn more about different cultures.” The same echoing sentiment was also expressed by Temalai Paelate who also said, “After the reading, we met with the poets, one of them was Konai Helu Thaman. It was a great opportunity and I was honored to meet her - I would like to thank all my classmates that attended the event and my teachers also, for this invitation”. I know I speak on behalf of all those who went from my year level when I say, we are so grateful to be able to be a part of Fiji’s first poetry anthology launch and emphasis on the creative arts in school. We’d like to thank our English teachers Miss Sims and Miss Ana, as well as the school for giving us this immeasurable experience to further our learning both inside and out of school. To end with a memorable quote we heard from one of the poets, a USP undergraduate, Anna Jane Vea, “Whatever your art looks like, whether it's poetry, music or dance, it is your weapon. Use it wisely.”
Reflections - Wai-Makare Forest Farm Group Teitei On Tuesday 8th of September the CAS group “Teitei” visited a farm in Wailoku, situated on 12 acres of land. Mrs Suliana Siwatibau has shaped her organic farm into a “living museum” with the purpose of preserving traditional Fijian crops and practicing traditional agro-forestry farming methods to grow crops. To know more about this farm please visit: https://www.waimakare.com/ I really enjoyed learning about the different plants and trees as well as their traditional uses. It was very relaxing to walk through nature and see the forest and farms in a balance with each other, which is not usually the case as with commercial farms. I now have a new appreciation for the forests and the importance of having variety in the crops we grow as opposed to monoculture. I realized the importance of the different plants in attracting bees and birds, and how that is useful for pollination. I also learnt about the impact climate change can have on our crops. All in all, I learnt a lot and had a great time! - Grace Fong Yesterday we went to the Wai-Makare farm, it was an extremely good experience and was interesting in the ways that it impacted me and my world view on nature and the aspects of the environment I would tend not to pay a lot of attention to. At the farm we went on a tour of the place, looking at the many different types of plants that they have at the farm. These ranged from small flowering plants all the way to mahogany trees towering above. After a little delay, we entered the jungle area behind the farm and looked at some of the stuff that was lurking in the jungle, with some endemic trees hiding in the jungle amidst way too many spider webs for me to even dare walk through. Sadly, we were unable to see the nursery due to time constraints that is full of many different plants, from herbs to vegetables, etc., but overall the experience was one to remember and definitely take away from while moving on with farming into the future. - Seth Nolan The excursion to the Wai Makare farm was one to remember. I learnt a lot about the endemic trees of Fiji, the myths and legends behind it and its uses in medicine and healing. We also learnt about the different varieties of root crops and its variants and how to differentiate between them and the story as to how they obtained them and why they were growing them. This excursion had been both an educational and fun experience and I cannot wait to see how far the people of Wai Makare go. – Eythyn Kutty
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SUVA World Class Citizens ~ Lifelong Learners
TERM DATES 2020 TERM 1 (10 weeks, 48 student days) New Teachers Start Monday, 13 January 2020 All Teachers Start Thursday, 16 January 2020 Students Start Wednesday, 22 January 2020 Term Ends Friday, 27 March 2020 TERM 2 (10 weeks, 47 student days) Teachers Start Tuesday, 14 April 2020 Students Start Wednesday, 15 April 2020 ISS Vacation Day Monday, 25 May 2020 Term Ends Friday, 19 June 2020 TERM 3 (9 weeks, 42 student days) Teachers Start Monday, 13 July 2020 Students Start Wednesday, 15 July 2020 Constitution day Monday, 7 September 2020 Term Ends Friday, 11 September 2020 TERM 4 (10 weeks, 45 student days) Teachers Start Monday, 28 September 2020 Students Start Tuesday, 29 September 2020 Fiji Day Holiday Monday, 12 October 2020 Prophet Mohammed’s birthday Monday, 2 November 2020 Diwali Holiday Monday, 16 November 2020 Term Ends for Students Thursday, 3 December 2020 Term Ends for Teachers Friday, 4 December 2020 Student Contact Days Term 1 48 days Term 2 47 days Term 3 42 days Term 4 45 days Total 182 days International School Suva, Lot 59, Siga Road, Laucala Beach, P.O. Box 10828, Suva, Fiji Telephone: (679) 339 3300; Fax: (679) 334 0017; Email: info@iss.school.fj URL: www.iss.school.fj