ISH Newsletter, November 2017

Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

ISH NEWSLETTER

The latest news and updates from International School of Hellerup

Teachers dressed up as characters from the animated film “Inside Out” for Halloween on October 31st.

Welcome to the November edition of the ISH Newsletter, with the latest news, updates and stories from International School of Hellerup.

In this issue, Mr. Asanovski highlights the importance of a well functioning home school partnership (page 2), Ms. Hokka introduces the Student Support Services at ISH and writes about differentiation in the classroom (page 5), Ms. Pedersen gives valuable advice about how to support your child during the time leading up to MYP and DP mock exams (page 9) and Ms. Okolowicz writes about the unique learning experiences that can take place during field trips (page 8).

IN THIS ISSUE: News from the Head of School ASCP News PTA News Student Support Service: Understanding of Individual Variability

I hope that you will enjoy reading about this, and much more, in this month’s edition!

Library Corner

Warm regards,

Secondary School News

Karolina MacAulay Newsletter Editor

Primary School News

Message from the College Counsellor

ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

News from the Head of School Mr. Nedzat Asanovski Head of School

School Home Partnerships In the PYP parent teacher conferences took place in mid-October and in the MYP and DP in the first week of November. It was great to see all the parents come to school to attend meetings to hear about the progress of their child(ren).

Research shows that there are many benefits if there is a good partnership between school and home. This is regardless of the children’s age. In many schools you see more involvement when the children are younger and the attendance to parent teacher conferences drop when the children get older. This is because many parents start thinking that their children are independent enough to take care of their tasks in school. It is true that the children become more independent and that they are more capable of taking care of their schooling but it is not true that they don’t need as much support from their parents as when they were younger.

There are many benefits if the parents keep on being involved with their children’s schooling.

Henderson and Berla (1994), who made more than 80 analyses that documented the impor-

tance of home school relations write the following: “the most accurate predictor of a student’s achievement in school is not income or social status but the extent to which that student’s family is able to: 1. Have a home environment that encourages learning 2. Have high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their children’s academic achievements and prospective careers 3. Be involved in their children’s education at school and in the community” When families are more involved in their children’s schooling, the children tend to do better in many ways. Below are some of the benefits of parent involvement: • • • •

Student achievement is greater Students have better self-confidence and are more self-disciplined Students show higher ambitions and motivation toward school.

Students’ positive approach about school often results in improved behavior in school.

I would like to thank all you parents for showing such a high interest in your children’s school lives and giving them the support they need so that they can become purposeful life-long learners.

New Lunch Service We are trialling a new lunch service. As of November 6th, there is a cafeteria corner in the canteen with pre-packed salads, pasta salads, yoghurts and healthy snacks for sale during MYP and DP lunch time. Please click here to see the full menu.

At the moment, the service is only available for MYP and DP students. PYP catering will be considered at a later date, after the service is trialled in MYP and DP. We will continue to work with Agnes Catering (see more information on our website), as usual.

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

ASCP News Ms. Chiara Giani

ASCP Coordinator

October Break Care Program October Break´s PYP Care Program went really smoothly, with just a few children participating but with lots of great, positive energy!

Ms. Venera, Ms. Eleni and Ms. Magdalena organized nice activities to fill each day with fun! In the photos on this page, you can see the children busy with some baking and on a field trip to the childrens’ museum.

PYP Halloween Party A huge thank you to all the generous PTA parents, to the ASCP Teachers and to the DP students who volunteered for the party! It was so nice to see the canteen nicely set up with all the decorations that have been prepared during Art Club at ASCP. The students enjoyed the yummy spooky food and all the activities at the party a lot! What a great party!

Get in touch with ASCP For daily communications, please write to: ascp@ish.dk before 2:00 pm For urgent communications, please phone the direct ASCP number: 35 55 50 43 For any questions regarding the ASCP program, please contact the Coordinator, Ms. Chiara Giani cgiani@ish.dk

All photos on this page: ASCP October Break Care Programme

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

PTA News Ms. Karolina MacAulay PTA Coordinator

October PTA Meeting Thank you to everyone who came to the PTA meeting on October 24! At the meeting, Mr. Asanovski highlighted six areas of focus from the school’s strategic plan, Ms. Pedersen talked about some of the goals and challenges in the Secondary School, college counsellor Dr. Kurt introduced the University Fair and Mr. Dicle shared information about a new parent activity: beginner English classes for parents. We also got to listen to introductions from our two new committee members: Mr. Yones Anas will be our new PTA Chair (see introduction below) and Mr. Conrado Climent Fernandez will be the PTA Treasurer. You can download the meeting minutes from our website here.

PYP Halloween Party A big thank you to everyone that helped at the PYP Halloween Party! Many parents brought in delicious treats and a group of energetic moms worked tirelessly at the busy Halloween food sale. Thank you so much for supporting the ISH community, your help is much appreciated!

The next PTA Meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 21 from 4:00 pm. The meeting agenda will be posted on the website (here) one week prior to the meeting. If you would like to add a topic to the agenda, please contact me at pta@ish.dk. I hope to see you at the meeting!

New PTA Chair: Mr. Yones Anas I’m excited to announce that we have a new PTA Chair! Mr. Yones Anas will oversee the smooth running of the PTA at ISH for the remainder of the school year and going forward, he will be the person chairing the monthly PTA meetings.

Mr. Anas works as a strategic planner and he is also an active boy-scout trainer. His son attends the Middle Years Programme at ISH. Please welcome him as PTA Chair at the next PTA meeting! You can contact him with any questions regarding PTA by emailing pta@ish.dk All above: photos from the PYP Halloween Party

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

Understanding of Individual Variability Ms. Karoliina Bøg Hokka

Special Educational Needs Coordinator / SENCO Differentiation in the classroom is all about understanding that each class consists of a group of diverse individuals who all have a common goal – to learn and gain knowledge. Differentiation is about adapting the teaching to ensure that all students have access to learn. As the ISH mission states, we want to empower individuals to fulfil their human potential.

The Learning Support Service Department is working hard to identify any barriers to learning, since that is the first step towards inclusion.

The barriers need to be broken down in order to engage different learner profiles in a learning process. Every student has unique learner characteristics and therefore, learning strategies must also vary. The whole process of catering to different learners is tied to different teaching methods.

Student Support Services at ISH encompasses learning support, psychological support and health support. The student support team consists of me in the role of Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), one full-time and one part-time learning support teacher, the school nurse, the school psychologist and two interns. We are all passionate about our common goal: improving the learning outcomes for our students.

Learning support is offered in individual or small group sessions and the type of support varies depending on the individual student needs. We offer pull-out sessions, individual inclass support, small group teaching and guidance for teachers and students. When a teacher refers a student to Learning Support, she or he needs to fill out a pedagogical evaluation form describing the student’s challenges and learner characteristics. The form is filled out in collaboration with you as parents, since we want to

work transparently and because we want to share the educational responsibility with you.

Furthermore, we want to be able to give optimal support to the students together with you. This is a new procedure which we expect will bring clarity to the support need system across the whole IB Program at ISH. Successful learning requires certain elements, such as a flexible learning environment and an open attitude towards learning. We wish to be able to create these elements in our inclusive school. Regular monitoring for skill acquisition is part of the development work that the Learning Support Service department currently focus on.

When we are fully aware of what we monitor in students, we will be able to obtain strong teaching practises that support every individual at ISH. I would like to encourage you to contact your child’s teacher(s) if you have any concerns about your child’s emotional, social or academic wellbeing.

Wishing you many enjoyable learning experiences with your child(ren) and supportive participation in our learning paths.

Sincerely, Karoliina Bøg Hokka Student Support Services Special Educational Needs Coordinator/SENCO

The Learning Support Team at ISH: (clockwise from left): Stella Strouvali, Kirsten Thøgersen, Eugene Tsakos, Elisavet Neroulidou and Karoliina Bøg Hokka. Not shown in the picture: Melia Svendsen

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

Library Corner Ms. Andrée Keenoy School Librarian

The library works closely with PYP teachers to support the Inquiry Units with displays of books and resources. These displays are often decorated by parent volunteers, young library helpers and students from the After School Programme.

PYP 1 is doing a unit on celebrations, and many contributed to its decorations. To prepare for this unit we spoke about the different celebrations linked to the seasons, like those related to the harvest of crops in late summer or autumn.

And what more obvious than Halloween! We got ready reading the book Halloween Countdown, and then had a delightful session with Winnie´s Amazing Pumpkin. When the day came, we were visited by many scary characters, but fortunately they seemed to like books…

We even had a visitor from Mars. Actually, I´m not very sure whether he was a Martian or a scientist? Anyhow, he seemed interested in our display of books about the Universe and Space.

On a more serious note, DP1 visited Gentofte library, where they attended a presentation on the resources they can access online via the Danish library system. They will now be able to access all the databases subscribed by public universities, libraries and research institutions in Denmark. The students were also instructed on search strategies, use of keywords, quality criteria (e.g. peer reviews) and how they can download a wealth of electronic resources. The will need them for their Extended Essay!

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

Primary School News Mr. Stef Fleet

Primary School Principal

Teacher Collaboration On Wednesday, November 1st, teachers from the whole school gathered and worked on how skills (Approaches to Learning) are developed through the IB programme, from Pre-K3 all the way to DP! PYP Teachers worked in groups to identify how each grade level would develop Communication Skills, Thinking Skills, Research Skills, Social Skills and Self-Management Skills throughout the year.

Mid-Year Report Cards In the next few weeks, students will perform mid-year assessments. This information will help teachers to write report cards for the end of the semester. By Wednesday 20th December, all report cards will be generated and parents will be automatically notified via ManageBac. We have improved the descriptors in the grades section of your child’s report, to make it clearer how well your child demonstrates achievement of the expected learning outcome in different learning areas (Learner Profile, English, Math, Danish, Music, PE, and the Units of Inquiry).

Festival of Lights Concert As we go deeper into winter, we need to gather together and have cosy/hygge experiences that help us cope with the cold and the dark. Guided by Ms Druitt, the PYP students and teachers are preparing for a special new event for our parents: the Festival of Lights Concert, which will be held on December 6th. Each grade level from Pre-K up to PYP 5 will give short performances with the theme of ‘light’, ‘winter’ and ‘celebration’ in this special after-school event for parents. The performance will be for parents only, and due to space limitations, we will only have space for 1-2 family members.

Timings and exact details are to be finalized, but the event will be approximately between 15:0017:00. Care will be arranged for all students (both ASCP and non-ASCP) up to and during the event. Students can be picked up directly after the concert. Please stay tuned for further details.

Upcoming PYP Dates Festival of Lights Dec 6 (approx: 15:00 - 17:00) PYP Mid-Year Reports Distributed Dec 20 Last school day in December Dec 20 (school closes 12:00) Winter Break (school closed) Dec 21 - Jan 7 First day of school in 2018 for PYP Jan 8

PYP 5A collaboration with Pre-K4A: Halloween craft PYP 5 A collaborated with Pre-K4A for Halloween Craft Work on Monday, 30th October. Students of 5A were very excited to work with their little friends from Pre-K, guiding and helping them while they created their personalized mummies using tape and toilet paper rolls. Students of grade 5 were given a mini tutorial about the activity beforehand. Thank you Ms. Angie and Ms. Magdalena for welcoming Grade 5 into your little world. We look forward to grow more with such wonderful collaborations.

Ms. Rashmi Jethani, Grade 5A Teacher

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

PYP News Ms. Joanna Okolowicz IB Coordinator for PYP

Inquiry Fieldtrips as experiential learning in the PYP There is a lot of emphasis on taking students out for field trips and excursions in the PYP. We plan our fieldtrips thoughtfully as they are very important and powerful learning experiences that can have a transformative effect on student’s inquiry. Field trips are organized for a number of reasons: • • • • • •

In PYP 2, students were given an opportunity to stimulate inquiry and a richer understanding of the second unit on communication under the How we express ourselves transdisciplinary theme during a field trip to Tivoli. The students participated in a workshop in which they explored movement, dance and stories as different methods of communication while portraying characters from the Cinderella Fairytale using only motion and body language. Throughout the trip, the students displayed their understanding of the unit’s central idea: The human need to share feelings and ideas leads to effective methods of communication.

Tuning into a new unit and creating curiosity Provoking and challenging students’ critical thinking Stimulating inquiry and a richer understanding of the current unit of inquiry / unit cycle Gathering and collecting key information during the “finding out” phase of the inquiry process Application of what students have learned during the unit to a new situation Learning through experience

In PYP3, our first unit was Healthy Lifestyles, under the “Who We Are” transdisciplinary theme. To increase student inquiry and engagement with the unit, we went on a field trip to Årstiderne Farm. At the farm, students worked together to pick fresh vegetables and cook “vegetable sin carne.” Throughout our trip, the students displayed their understanding of the unit’s central idea: a healthy lifestyle requires continuous attention to physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. They displayed these understandings through picking, prepping, and cooking a healthy meal (physical), collaborating to create a common and delicious goal (social), and self-regulating emotions to stay positive and sunny during a very rainy day (emotional). After the fieldtrip, we reflected on how our experience connected to the unit. The student’s reflections revealed a fieldtrip’s unique ability to strengthen inquiry and relevance during a unit.

PYP3 students on a field trip at Årstiderne Farm

PYP2 students explore movement, dance and stories as different methods of communication during a workshop at Tivoli Gardens.

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

Secondary School News Ms. Monika Pedersen

Secondary School Principal

We hope you have enjoyed the break! It has been great to see the students back at school refreshed and ready to take on the challenges of another term.

This past week has been full of action with Student Led Parent Teacher Conferences having taken place on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 November. We hope the conferences have helped our students feel inspired and have given them a chance to find the momentum to focus on their goals and work on them in the coming months.

We hope you found them profitable experiences, too! It is always an investment to meet with the teachers and make connections. If you did not meet with all the teachers with whom you had hoped to connect, please feel free to email the teacher directly to set up an appointment.

Retakes and Mock Exams As we look to support our present and past students, we are holding Diploma Programme November retakes. This starts shortly and runs for three weeks. We will remain in exam mode as our DP 1 and 2 and MYP5 students will be sitting mock exams. DP 2 and MYP5 students will receive feedback specifically as to how they may score in the finals. Details of exam schedules for grades 12 and 10 will be released nearer the time.

We strongly encourage parents to support their child during the time leading up to exams, for students are under increased pressure. Not only are students absorbing new material, but they need to be reviewing earlier material and practicing their exam technique. If ever there is a time that a child’s organizational skills are tested, it is during exam periods. It is a time where priorities need to be set and being able to find a balance in one’s life is extremely important. There needs to be a time for school work, including revision, family and friends, health and self. Sketching out a week, and looking at the time available is a helpful way to start this process. Below is a brainstorm graphic to help you help your child. The graphic can be downloaded in full resolution here.

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

Life Long Learning Studying, reviewing and improving is part of the philosophy of an IB school which we instil in our students, but it is also a way of life that our teachers model. The school Board and Head of School strongly support this by providing teachers with professional development opportunities to grow, improve and support the learning of students. With such an approach, we firmly believe we, as educators, challenge ourselves and constantly look at ways in which to improve our practice.

Student Council Our student council are organizing themselves, and one of the first fun activities was to create some school spirit and support the lower school by dressing up for Halloween. The Pre-K students were very excited this week as they trekked up to the second floor for trick or treating, storytelling, and to finish off with, a parade through the upper school corridor to a multitude of applause!

University and College Fair We recently held a University and College Fair, which was attended by MYP5, DP1 and 2 students. We hosted a number of American and British universities as well as universities from Canada, Switzerland, Spain and Germany and we have already had DP2 students apply for UK and US colleges. Our Danish university pathway specialist will be visiting in mid-January. Parents and students are welcome to contact me or our college counsellor, Dr. Kurt (hkurt@ish.dk) for college counselling support.

CAS Trips This year, there will be two CAS trips. One group of 8 students will head back to Bali with Mr. Bob and one group of 7 students will head for Kenya with Mr. Qeska. The students have faced a more rigorous application process this year. As these are very important trips, we want to ensure that the students participating understand the trip’s significance and can operate effectively in a close knitted team. As part of the application process, the prospective candidates will be designing a student-centered activity for our younger students which they will present at the after-school programme. The activity will be judged by Ms. Chiara Giani, ASCP, Enrichments and MTP Coordinator. We are excited to see what the students will share!

Photos from previous CAS trips

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

MYP News Ms. Anna Söderström IB Coordinator for MYP

MYP Goal Setting Meetings The first quarter of the MYP school year has come to an end with two days of goal setting meetings for our students, parents and teachers.

The students have written goals in the subjects where teachers have requested meetings either to focus on foundational skills, or enhanced achievement in the subjects. The goals will set the direction for the rest of the school year and will be followed up by a mid-year report card in January, Student Led Conferences in the spring and an end-of-year report card in June. Please keep in mind that you can always follow your child’s current progression in all subjects on ManageBac. If your child is struggling in more than three subjects, it is important that you as a parent request an action plan meeting with our learning support department as soon as possible so that your child can receive the best support possible and can feel successful in school.

MYP EPortfolio This year we are introducing a new way for students to show their understanding of the culmination of the MYP through the IB Eportfolio and e-assessment in English Language and Literature and Langue Acquisition, together with the external mandatory moderation of Personal Projects for MYP5. The unit of study for Eportfolio was released last week from the IBO, and the teachers, Heads of Departments and Principal will have sessions in mid-November lead by the IB coordinator to learn more about the Eportfolio and to set up an internal calendar for the assessments in the spring. The reason for introducing this new structure in MYP 5 is to ensure that our students are ready to take on the DP in the future.

MYP2 Design Activity Students in MYP2 showed off their creativity in this design class activity where tissue roles were transformed into fun marble runner games.

Teacher Collaboration On Wednesday, November 1st, we closed the school for students in the afternoon in order to hold a skill-based vertical alignment workshop for our teachers. The workshop focused on the continuation between all three IB programmes: PYP, MYP and DP. The lower years of MYP met with the upper years of PYP to learn about the organization and philosophy of the two programmes. We will continue to meet throughout the school year so we can minimize the gap between the two programmes and facilitate the learning progression from PYP to MYP. In the DP and MYP we have already met many time this year and most teacher work across programmes, so the progression of skills come more natural for us. Moreover, the IB had an intense focus on the progression of MYP to DP a few years ago, called: “Closing the Gap”, and from this came the MYP 2014. The IB is now focusing on updating the PYP. Page 11

ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

DP News Mr. Evis Qeska

IB Coordinator for DP

Parent Teacher Conferences It was a delight to see so many parents attending the recent Parent Teacher Conferences.

Students enjoyed the time talking to their teachers about their progression in the programme.

DP 1 students had a chance to see how they are coping with the new program whereas DP 2 students could see how they are doing towards the preparations for the Mock exams that will be held in December. There were no grades or reports but the first term reports will be published at the end of January.

DP2 Business visit to Maersk HQ The DP2 Business students recently visited the Mærsk headquarters in Copenhagen for a tour of the Maersk museum followed by lunch and a presentation by one of Maersk’s financial analysts. Thanks to DP parent Galina Nikolova for arranging the visit!

DP2 Business Students at the Maersk Headquarters

“Bee the Change” A group of DP2 students recently held an event called “Bee the Change” for all MYP classes to raise awareness about the declining global bee population. The MYP students got to learn lots if interesting facts about bees through a mix of presentations and fun games.

All above: photos from the “Bee the Change” bee awarenesss event.

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ISH Newsletter / Issue N° 28 / NOVEMBER 2017

News from the College Counsellor Dr. Hakan Kurt

College Counsellor

The fair started with short presentations of the participating universities and afterwards, students could browse the booths of the various universities. We are very happy with the event and we are planning to organize a similar University Fair next year.

University & College Fair The University & College Fair on November 1st was a success! 23 universities and colleges from USA, Canada, UK, Spain, Switzerland and Germany participated in the event, which was organised in collaboration with the Council of international Schools (CIS). Our MYP5, DP1 and DP2 students got the opportunity to meet faceto-face with admission representatives from the participating universities and get answers to their questions about programmes, school life, admission requirements, scholarships and funding options. Many students also took this opportunity to discuss their further education and future career choices in general.

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