Issue 5, April 23, 2015
On Monday, 27 April 2015 Beacon Academy is hosting the Looking Forward (2015-16) Information Evening on which exciting and important news about the coming academic year will be shared with parents. The evening will commence at 6pm in the main lobby. Tours of levels 3 and 4 of the Secondary School building will be conducted at 10-minute intervals, and will depart from the main lobby between 6pm and 6.20pm. At 6.30pm we will move to the Beacon Theatre for a presentation that will update parents on the Academy’s:
Programs. This includes information about initiatives such as the Learning Services Program, Camps Program, School Improvement Plan and the Creative Arts Program. Organisation. This includes information in relation to matters such as timetable changes, new administrative positions, Beacon’s homework policy, uniforms and the introduction of new online portals for parents and students. Resourcing. This includes information about new teaching and administrative appointments and the library development. Facilities. This includes information in relation to what new facilities will be developed and when.
If you have not already registered your attendance, please complete a RSVP/Reply Form, which can be obtained the reception desk in the school’s main lobby.
As we enter Term 3 we are focused on both the end of this year, and the start of the next. I hope to see all of you at our ‘Looking Forward’ event this coming Monday. Evaluating how our children think Ms Sherry Van Hesteren conducted professional development with the Beacon teaching team recently, as a group and with individuals. Sherry is an international educator, currently teaching students and teachers in Canada. Sherry shared with us an approach that allows teachers to focus in a detailed way on how our students are thinking, and how we can advise them on the next steps they need to take. What was so useful in Sherry’s workshop was showing teachers a method for moving our children’s thinking from lower to higher order, and how to talk to them effectively about it. On behalf of the Academy I thank Sherry for making the visit to us, and for her enthusiasm and positive approach to our practices here.
HoS Learning now The global conversation about how we learn best, and how we educate children, is as lively and informed as it has ever been. Beacon Academy is part of this conversation. I have launched a FaceBook page to contribute to our conversation here at Beacon about issues that are relevant to us in education. Please like to follow! HoS beacon Academy (http://www.facebook.com/HoSBeaconAcademy) Re-enrolling for the next school year You should have received in your inbox a communication from us regarding re-enrolment of your children at Beacon for the coming school. Please contact Ms Ina at einvoice@beaconacademy.net if you have not received this invoice. To confirm your child's enrollment details, please complete the online Re-enrollment Form, which can be accessed by clicking on this link: http://goo.gl/forms/lGT8jtqSkm Please note that several year levels are at or close to capacity and so your timely payment of the 2015-16 deposit is important in securing your child's place for next year. We look forward to your family's continued participation in the Beacon Academy community next year.
IMAGINE
We acknowledged International Day of Happiness on April 20th. In
Houses, students were challenged to make find a simple and effective way to create happiness. On each post-it in this image, students from House Air have stated what makes them happy.
CREATE Year 8 students created a website for a recent Exit Point, and an interactive evaluation activity.
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INNOVATE Innovation requires the critical evaluation of the known to create something new and useful. The recent Year 6 Exit Point was a series of debates on globalisation that challenged learners to develop and respond to an argument.
Beacon Academy launches Habitat for Humanity House Competition
Habitat for Humanity Indonesia is a non-government organisation (NGO) that is devoted to building decent homes for and together with those people who can’t afford them. They believe that a decent home is a new beginning - Education, health and employment all start with and are stabilised with a home. Habitat for Humanity also provides communities with access to clean water and builds and renovates schools. Since 1997, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia has helped more than 43,000 families own decent homes. In support of the tremendous work of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia, Beacon Academy has recently launched the Habitat for Humanity House Competition. The aim of the competition is to raise money to donate to Habitat for Humanity Indonesia. Each House will be competing to raise the most money over the competition period, which is Monday 13 April to Wednesday 27 May 2015. The House which raises the most money will win House points and will have the chance to participate in a Habitat Youth Build (volunteer building project) in October 2015.
Over the 6 week competition period each House has been allocated two lunchtimes on which to host fundraising activities, which may include things like a bake sale, carnival games, photo booth etc. Each House has also been allocated one day on which they can sell tickets for a themed ‘accessory day’ (e.g. crazy hair day) and collect a parking donation from cars coming into the school grounds. The Habitat for Humanity House Competition results will be announced at assembly on Friday 29 May 2015 and all monies raised will be passed onto Habitat for Humanity as part of the Habitat Crew Schools Competition. For every Rp. 150,000 Beacon Academy donates to the Habitat Crew Schools Competition, we are allocated one (1) Crew Member. The school with the largest number of Crew Members at the end of the June 2015 wins the Habitat Crew Schools Competition, which entitles them to VIP status on the next Habitat Youth Build in October 2015. Even if Beacon Academy doesn’t win the Habitat Crew Schools Competition we will be able to send some members from the winning House to the Habitat Youth Build in October 2015. The number of House members who can participate in the ‘build’ will directly correspond to the number of Crew members we accumulate as a school.
Sports News Inter-house Swimming
Beacon held the 2015 Inter-house Swimming Competition on 20 March 2015. There were over 40 events in the carnival. All students had the opportunity to compete in freestyle and breaststroke. Middle School and Senior School students also had the opportunity to compete in butterfly and backstroke. Each participant in the race earned one point for their house. First place winners earned an additional three points while second and third additionally earned two and one points, respectively. Even with all of these opportunities for points there was a tie for first place - House Earth and House Fire each earned 129 points and shared the championship. Inter-house Football
The 2015 Inter-house Football Competition was held on 16 April 2015. Each of the four houses had three teams competing - Years 1-3, Years 4-5, and Years 6-9 teams. Each team had a chance to play the other house’s teams from their age level. This provided an exciting morning of football! Every team scored goals and were competitive. Three points were awarded for each win and 1 point was awarded to each team for a draw. House Water received the most points and was the overall winner of the 2015 Inter-house Football Competition! Football is by far the most popular sport at Beacon and it was great to watch our students get excited and compete for their houses.
JSFA Season Ends
Beacon had four teams competing in the Jakarta School Football Association (JSFA) in 2015. Our U8, U10, U12 and U14 teams played games both at Beacon and at other venues around Jakarta. Special thanks to the coaches, Mr. Yoga, Mr. Steven, Mr. Mark Thomas and Ms. Maggie. All of our teams played hard and showed great sportsmanship. Our U8 team and our U12 team won second place in their respective divisions! This is a great accomplishment and all players, parents, coaches and supporters should be proud. The U8 team also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Greenfield Cup which is a draw tournament of all teams in three divisions of JSFA. This too is something to celebrate and this team showed great promise. They are a group to watch as they mature and develop as footballers at Beacon. Badminton Competition with NJIS
Beacon hosted a badminton competition with NJIS on 21 April 2015. Boys and girls from U10, U12, U14, and U16 age levels competed. There were singles and doubles matches involved. There were a total of 48 matches that took place between the two schools. NJIS won 28 matches while Beacon won 20. A special thanks goes out to Mr. Rene and Mr. Brijesh for coaching our badminton team. This was Beacon’s first ever badminton tournament and it was a thrill for our athletes to have another chance to compete. Badminton, the national sport of Indonesia, will continue to be a part of our sports programme at Beacon. Basketball Gets Ready to Tip Off at Beacon
Mr. Yoga, Mr. John and the Beacon basketball teams are getting ready to begin the basketball season! Beacon will enter four teams in the North Jakarta Athletic Conference (NJAC): U12 Boys, U12 Girls, U15 Boys, and U15 Girls. There will be five teams competing in the NJAC, in which Beacon is a founding member. On Saturday, 25 April 2015, Mr. Yoga and Mr. John will be holding a special basketball clinic for Beacon teams. The schedule is as follows: U15 Girls – 8:00 – 10:00 am U15 Boys – 10:00 – 12:00 pm U12 Girls – 1:00 – 3:00 pm U12 Boys – 3:00 – 5:00 pm Each Beacon team will have games in the week of 27 April 2015. The schedule for that week is as follows: Monday, 27 April U12 Girls will play NJIS at Beacon – 3:15 pm U12 Boys will play NJIS at NJIS - 3:15 pm U15 Boys will play NJIS at NJIS – 4:00 pm Thursday, 30 April U12 Girls will play SIS at Beacon – 3:15 pm U15 Girls will play SIS at Beacon – 4:00 pm U12 Boys will play SIS at SIS - 3:15 pm U15 Boys will play SIS at SIS – 4:00 pm
IPC News The Year 4 students are just finishing up their Different Places, Similar Lives IPC unit, and they have been comparing the country of Norway to Indonesia. One way of making comparisons is to study the weather of the two countries. Students have made a rain gauge, wind gauge and anemometer to chart the weather here in Jakarta, and are looking online to see the precipitation amount, wind speed and wind direction in Tromso, Norway. Students have also compared the effects of their geographical positioning by drawing conclusions about the differences in daylight hours in the two places.
IMYC News Year 7 students are beginning to understand that ‘success over time requires persistence’? The unit – ‘Resilience’ – has posed opportunities to engage in the concept through varying contexts. Students researched on ways people attempted to find a cure for small pox. Students drafted events using the ‘4-chart’ tool to outline the developments of the cure, later used to write a report. They also created commercials. Students found a close connection through the book they read, ‘Kestrel for a Knave’. “This book is connected to resilience because Billy Casper (the main character), keeps on trying to train Kestrel (a hawk) and has taken care of it like his own friend,” explained Pallavi and Shenaz (Year 7).
Year 8 students have been investigating concepts through various situations, both historical and fictional, through their unit – Justice: “A fair society is organised so that no one suffers unduly for the benefit of others.” They interpreted ‘An Inspector Calls’, giving character impressions and identifying themes. Students were keen to know about how events still occur in this day and age, highlighting injustices both on a local and global scale. Students ‘wore’ their thinking hats as they evaluated the play’s trailer.
IB Diploma Programme Scholarship Update You may remember that we wrote to you in February 2015 about the Scholarships we were offering in celebration of the anticipated launch at Beacon Academy of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in 2015-16. It is with pleasure that we advise that we have now offered several students full and partial 2-year scholarships to study the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (Years 11 and 12) at Beacon Academy for the 2015-2017 school years. We do still have a number of full and partial 2-year scholarships available and so we will be seeking and accepting applications for these scholarships through until Friday, 15 May 2015. If you have friends or family with children currently enrolled in Year 10, or a Year 10 equivalent, who may interested in applying, please ask them to email their details to scholarships@beaconacademy.net or to review the guidelines and complete the online application form at http://goo.gl/forms/CJTh88bEpf.
Assembly 17 April 2015
Habitat for Humanity At the House Water fundraising stall - Wet the Teacher!