15 DECEMBER 2016
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 9
ISG Jubail School Administration Newsletter
JAGUAR
JUNCTION 2016-2017
Principal’s Corner Dear Parents, students and members of our community, I hope you are all looking forward to a wonderful winter break. We are finishing strong in our classrooms. Our final exams in HS have been completed with relative success. Our school-wide focus throughout this year in MS/HS has been assessment and identifying the key factors in creating meaningful assessments. Our goal is to generate higher order thinking while accessing what the students have learnt. Bloom’s taxonomy and our Learning Principles continue to be a focus for how we create assessments. It is not good enough to just remember or recall information. Our goal is to have students create, evaluate and analyze information and hopefully make applications to relevant solutions. All of our staff members have just signed a commitment agreement to adhere to our ISG Child Protection Handbook. International schools have been slow to create systems set up to support children who may be vulnerable to abuse. This handbook gives ISG a clear process to follow if suspected abuse should arise. It is intended to increase awareness and also focus on a plan that hopes to better protect our students whilst in our care. As a school we are committed to adhering to key principles that will allow faculty, staff and students to operate with more trust balanced with awareness. I wanted to wish everyone a wonderful winter break and safe travels wherever you may be headed. Our school continues to strive to make improvements. We hope you recognize that our journey has been positive, with some inevitable bumps along the way. As a staff, it is fair to say that we care greatly about education and our community. We continue to row consistently in the right direction. Dan Mock, Principal Follow me on Twitter
Quick Notes December 18 January 7: Winter Break January 8: Classes Resume January 11: PTO Meeting @ 8:00 AM January 14: MUN Training @ Dhahran January 16: Skyward Family & Student Access Closed (for grading) January 16: StuCo BBQ @ 3:00 PM January 19-20: SAIKAC Middle School Model United Nations Follow us on Instagram Stay tuned with our Events Calendar
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Announcements ISGJtoday.com As more students learn the basics of Journalism, ISGJtoday.com is growing incrementally. Eight grade 10 students in this fall's introductory journalism course have studied the basics of journalistic reporting and writing as well as the ethical principles that guide professional journalists. Their latest stories are published on ISGJtoday.com. Be sure to read the following: "Meet JJ the Mascot" by Anna O. "Singing in the Hallways" by Kyla G. "WWOW Highlights 2016" by Nawal C., Imaan U., and Katlyn T. Jon Netzler, English LA Teacher
Vaccinations As school nurses, we encourage you to ensure your child's are up-to-date on their routine vaccinations while living in Saudi Arabia, while these differ from country to country. We also urge you to consider travel vaccines as you plan for upcoming holidays. Gina Jayme-Ladsak & Ginevive Louw, Nurse's Office
International Day This is a note stating that we will be having an International Day at ISG Jubail in February this school year. The official date and time will be confirmed in the new year, but it will involve a parade for students to participate in across ES to HS. Some parents may want to use the upcoming holiday to bring back any items they wish their children to wear / have access to for this day, but it is not a requirement. For the day itself, we will be encouraging the children to represent the country or culture they have a close connection with, as many children may have been raised with a connection to one country but may hold a passport to another country they have spent less time in. This is a common theme for children who grow up abroad and is one that we should encourage children to be comfortable with. Further details will be announced in the new year. Mr. Ahmed, ES Assistant Principal
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Athletic News
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t is hard to believe we are half-way finished in the 2016-17 SAIKAC sports season. I want to thank our coaches from this half - Jeff Lynn for table tennis, Courtney Berry for boys volleyball, Christina Kottman for boys soccer, and Yulisa Cruz for girls soccer. or table tennis some highlights were fielding our first girls table tennis team, Jiss/Hamza Yate winning Open doubles, Dharun S coming 2nd in Open Singles, and Shivam winning the U14 singles. or volleyball we fielded our first boys and girls U19 teams and both teams were able to win matches in each tournament. We proudly hosted the boys U14 SAIKAC tournament, and our girls U14 team won their SAIKAC tournament championship. or soccer we fielded our second boys U19 SAIKAC tournament team, and were able to win a match and stay competitive in the others. For U16 SAIKAC team our boys won all of their matches and were the number one seed going into the second day of competition. Though they didn't have the same success on day two, they fought hard even though they were missing a couple of key players. Our U16 girls SAIKAC team gave a consistently strong effort and came away with the plate championship. ome of our second semester sports are already underway - boys basketball is practicing for a tournament in Bahrain at the end of January, and the girls netball squad is preparing for their tournament at the beginning of Feb. We'll get going with U14 boys and girls soccer after the winter break, as well as the girls U16/U19 basketball team. Their SAIKAC tournaments are in March (we will be hosting the U16 girls tournament here in Jubail). Furthermore, we hope to field a large Cross Country contingent for the annual meet at RT in Feb. hanks again for your continued support of our sports teams. In the meantime, have a great winter break no matter where you may be! Go Jaguars! Wyatt Franz, Athletic Director
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Me to We Club’s Updates Me 2 We leaders became radical compassionate pioneers this week and continue their campaign for compassion with strong spirit, will and determination. ‘Manifesting the magic of compassion within the four walls of your classroom, let alone in the real world may not always be an easy task, but Me 2 We leaders believe it's a worthy one!’ (Rebecca Alber) Thank you ISG Jubail school for showing your compassion and care this week during our Popcorn 4 Peace event and the Me 2 We student leaders trip to the Down Syndrome Center in Jubail. Special thanks to the WE family mom's, Ms. Traynor, Ms. Womack, Ms. Cortez, Ms. Wentzel, Ms. Saleem, Ms. Copeland, and Ms. Borck and to WE teachers Dr. Hawkins, Ms. Bourn, Ms. Lopez and Ms. Van Steenis, including Mr. Mathew and Mr. Babu for volunteering their time and resources this week!
Extra special thanks goes out to all the Me 2 We student leaders and teachers who spent their lunches to make these events such a hit! The Popcorn 4 Peace event, after proceeds, raised over 3,500 SAR for our buddy bench program and the Me 2 We foundation. Details of how this money will be spent will be explained by the WE student leaders in January. Click here for popcorn photos. On Wednesday, December 14th, Me 2 We student leaders took a visit to the Down Syndrome Center in Jubail. Ms. Alaa Alsuwaigh who works in our school library and school store welcomed the students to the Eradah center, which her mother and father created from the ground up in the late 90’s. Watch the
video about the school’s history and what they are doing to change the lives of others in Jubail. Watch the history of the Eradah Down Syndrome Center in Jubail.
Ms. Tenzythoff and Dr. Sarah-Kate, Thank you both for this wonderful opportunity to be a part / a leader in ME to WE! Yesterday was a great way for our children to learn about opening their hearts and minds and to think outside of the box. I feel grateful for having the chance to come yesterday and experience joy and be around such a positive and uplifting group of children from both schools. Kristy Traynor
On the way to our visit to the Down Syndrome Center, the students looked excited yet nervous. On the way home their hearts were singing and their feet were dancing with joy. We thought we were going to the school to teach the children, but they taught us more than we could have imagined. Click here for photos of the school. It was a miraculous transformation for the WE families, teachers and students and a wonderful opportunity ‘to explore with the students to help them in gaining more understanding and empathy for differently-abled students.’ (Rebecca Alber).
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Technology Update Students learn about being digital citizens and what that means for their futures. They learn these skills through blogging, Google Apps, website research, and many other lessons and applications. Students in KG1-1st grade are exploring and creating masterpieces with the Explain Everything app. They narrate their stories and share their thinking with others. It is a fabulous tool to learn to communicate with others. Third Graders learned all about strong passwords and password safety this week. They know that they can only share their passwords with mom and dad, that passwords need to be 8 alphanumeric characters (letters, numbers and symbols) to make it strong, how to politely ask someone not to look at the keys when typing in their password and lastly why passwords are important. They also know that they can go to an adult they trust if they need help, see something that bothers them or just need to talk. Fourth graders have been posting original works to their blogs and learning how to comment on each other’s work. Their blogs are dedicated to learning. Their work is not perfect, there are typos, spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, and at times difficult sentence formations. This is a learning environment for them. You are welcome to leave a comment that will encourage them in their learning and offer positive suggestions for improvements. Please feel free to comment on your child’s work by following these guidelines: A Great Comment: contains a compliment (positive comments only) causes a reflection
uses school appropriate language has been proof read
Includes one or more of the following: asks a question makes a connection (to an idea or links to an example) piggy backs on an idea restates or summarizes the idea/s in the post creates the need for a reply Fifth graders are learning to create videos using green screen techniques while reading with expression. Check out their work on their blogs when they are complete. Middle and high school students quickly discussed in Advisory fact versus fiction. Check out how to review a website for accurate unbiased information: Is It A Hoax? and Evaluating Internet Resources. *** As the break quickly approaches I wanted to make a suggestion to help your children continue to read over the break. With OverDrive, you can borrow and enjoy free eBooks, audiobooks, and more from your local library. All you need to get started is an internet connection, the OverDrive app on a compatible device, a library card, and a desire to read amazing books. If you are travelling home for the break, check to see if your local library uses OverDrive and register for a library card! Your children will thank you as they can read offline the books they download for free. Check out OverDrive to get started. Nancy Gorneau, Technology Coordinator
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Fine & Performing Arts Department In the past three weeks, MS/HS Fine and Performing Arts Department has presented three major performances for Drama, Chorus and Band. We want to express our gratitude to all the teachers, students, parents and staff members involved! You have done an amazing job! Below are some photos from the performances. Click here for photos from drama night. More band photos here.
Attention The Fine Arts Department is looking for a dance choreographer for future projects. If you are a trained dancer would you please email Ms. Loveridge at lover.l.05@isg.edu.sa? Thank you.