IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 131. Week 1. October 2017.

After School Activitity - Elementary Painting (Pg. 4)

Elementary Art News ~ Pg. 4

MYP Community Project and Personal Project ~ Pg. 5

Grade 9-12 Splash Event ~ Pg. 6

College Counselling News ~ Pg. 7

Performing Arts News ~ Pg. 8

Flying Phoenix ~ Pg. 9

Message from Head of SchoolMrs. Anne FowlesHead of School

News from Secondary SchoolMr. Michael ArcidiaconoSecondary School Principal

News from Elementary SchoolMr. Simon MillwardElementary School Principal

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I G B I S10 & 11 November 20179:00 am - 12:30 pm

Nov. 7, Tue

• U13 Girls Football Friendly @ Tenby | 3:00pm - 5:00pm

• U15/18 Girls Football Friendly @ St Josephs

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Nov. 8, Wed

• Secondary Swimming Friendly @ IGBIS

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Nov. 9, Thu

• Sports Day | All day

• U13 Boys Football Friendly @ St Josephs

3:10 pm – 5:00 pm

Nov. 10, Fri

• Open Day | Nov 10 & 11 - 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

• ES Assembly: Chinese @ L3 Drama Room

8:00 am – 8:40 am

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Message from Head of School

Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members,

I would like to thank all of our parents for coming into school to take part in the three way conferences with teachers this week. The active participation of parents in their children’s education coupled with a positive home-school partnership can not be un-derestimated as factors for students’ success at school. These for-mal meetings in school have been complemented by the more informal kopitiam with the principals on Friday morning, and what I expect will be even more informal interactions at the PVO Social on Friday evening!

Our community is invited to come into school again next Thursday morning for the Phoenix House Activities Day. Sports activities suitable for a range of ages will engage students in events that

will develop skills, be fun and raise house spirit. House t-shirts are available for sale in the uniform shop for those who haven’t yet purchased their t-shirt.

The Open Days on November 10 and 11 will be a wonderful op-portunity to showcase our amazing school. If you have friends that are interested to seeing classes in action as well as touring the school, we would recommend that they come in on Friday morning between 9am and 12:30pm. The Open Day will continue on Saturday morning but without classes to observe.

Anne FowlesHead of School

News from Secondary School

The IGBIS Vision states that we: Provide an innovative international education that inspires learners to make a positive impact on the world. So how do we go about doing this? One recent example is a working group that has been formed to look at our school timetable and consider how we might approach our day differently. This group is called our Learning Timetable group, and is comprised of teachers from across the school and several students as well. We have had several meetings thus far, and are following the Design Thinking process out of Stanford University as our model. While we are still only at the stage of conducting research, this has allowed us to consider questions to do with the length of lessons each day, how many lessons there should be per day, etc. We touched on this topic at our Secondary Kopitiam today as well, and it helps broaden the conversation further as we have the opportunity to listen to parents, as they too are impacted. The group will continue to study and research this topic, to think

about how we might take an innovative approach in the future.It was a pleasure to chat with parents at our conferences this week, I hope you found these feedback sessions to be informative and there are some clear goals set for how your son/daughter can improve further. I would like to remind you of a few important upcoming events in the next two weeks:

Thursday 9th November: Phoenix House Activity Day (PHAD) 8.00am - 12.30pmMonday 13th & Tuesday 14th November: No school (Teacher only days)

Michael ArcidiaconoSecondary School Principal

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From the Elementary Principal

This week saw the Elementary school from grades 1 to 5 take part in the 3-Way (student, parents, teacher) Conference and the Parent Teacher Conferences for Fireflies, Early Years and Kindergarten. The atmosphere around the school was very relaxed and the feedback from many parents and teachers was that they liked this format and are enjoying the use of Seesaw this year.

This year Grade 3 have been exploring student-directed learning time. This is where students have a choice of a variety of learning engagements and they decide within that period of time what they will do and when they will do it. As I walked around, students showed me what their timetables were. Students were planning their work time in blocks of time: some 30 minutes, others 20 minutes, others 15 minutes.

Two groups of students were engaged in maths workshops run by Ms. Blakeway and Mr. Harvey. Others were completing independent maths engagements.

Some of the students were reading about natural resources for their Unit of Inquiry and taking notes, whilst others were planning to complete some Science engagements connected to the Unit of Inquiry as well.

Some of the students were engaged in a writers workshop task and others were having their ‘chill out’ time. When I asked about the chill out time this was very much individually defined. One group of students were creating lego constructions, others said they liked to use their chill out time to read. Interestingly, as I was talking to students who were creating their timetable of learning I asked why they didn’t have any chill out time scheduled. One of the students said she preferred to engage with tasks and didn’t need any chill out time.

It was amazing how engaged, disciplined and knowledgeable the students were about what they were doing. They kept to their scheduled times by monitoring the time they started and they knew when they needed to move on.

Dates for your diaries:• Thursday 9th November: Phoenix House Activity Day (PHAD)

8.00am - 12.30pm• Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th November: No school (Teacher

only days)

Simon MillwardElementary School Principal

Students plan their timetables.

Students plan their timetables.

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Elementary Art News

Ms Elli and Ms JadeElementary Art Teachers...............................................................................................

“Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do”. Edgar Degas

We are now into the second (or even the third) unit in Art.All grade levels have been experiencing challenge and deciding how we problem solve the difficulties we come across in our artwork and working practices.

We are discovering that some things we thought were easy such as ‘Superbug’ clay sculptures in Grade 2 and creating a robot from cardboard in Grade 4, are actually much harder than we initially thought. Some artwork like the Grade 1 ‘Lea Anderson’ inspired collages look very easy to create, but took time, enthusiasm and perseverance. Grade 3 were exploring the concept of learner agency in an Art Room. Personal investigations into ‘what we know we don’t know’ led to an amazing array of artwork outcomes and a lot of risk-taking. Early Years are experiencing and exploring a brand new art Atelier (art studio) which is beginning to take form in the classroom, allowing students to create when they feel inspired. They have begun working on the senses in Art.

Work exhibited: Please come to the Level 2 Art exhibition room (through the glass doors, turn right) to find your artwork. All the work from the ‘I Am’ unit is being showcased until November 17th.Well done to all!

Elementary Painting After School ActivitityStudents have been working on their watercolour cards using the technique ‘wet paint on wet paper’. We also created cave paintings and are currently painting mini bags.

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MYP Community Project and Personal Project

Phil ClarkMiddle Years Programme Coordinator...............................................................................................

“MYP Projects help students to develop the attributes of the IB learner profile; provide students with an essential opportunity to demonstrate Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills developed through the MYP; and foster the development of independent, lifelong learners.” (MYP Projects Guide, IBO, 2014)

MYP Projects provide opportunities for students to identify areas of personal interest, to inquire more deeply into those areas, to learn more about them and to take some form of responsible action as a result of their inquiries. Students work on their MYP Projects in their own time and over an extended period of

time. They are guided by teacher supervisors through a cycle of investigation, planning, taking action and reflecting. At the end of the MYP Projects, students present their projects to the community at an exhibition.

We began introducing the Grade 8 and Grade 10 students to the MYP Projects back in June and over the first few weeks of this school year helped them to identify their project goals. Students were assigned a supervising teacher who they meet with on a regular basis to discuss, plan and demonstrate progress on their projects.

The Community Project and the Personal Project follow a similar process, have similar expectations and are assessed using similar criteria, however there are some distinguishing features:

The Grade 8 and Grade 10 students are at the end of their “Planning” stage which means they have completed their research and have developed an action plan of how to proceed over the coming weeks. They are entering the “Taking Action” stage which involves the Grade 8 students performing some form of

community service or action, and the Grade 10 students creating a product or outcome. I will keep you updated on the MYP Community Project and Personal Project in the coming weeks and months. We look forward to our students presenting their projects at their exhibitions later in the year.

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Grade 9-12 Splash Event

Alex Cima VivarelliGrade 11...............................................................................................

Tensions have been running high in IGBIS the past few days. On Wednesday the 1st of November the four Houses went head to head in what can only be described as a “showdown”. The houses — Aer, Aqua, Ignis and Terra — each had just as much to lose as the other.

It was 8am when Mr. Bartle stepped in front of us to give his rallying speech to the troops. He spoke of things such as teamwork, brotherhood, working hard and most of all, having fun. Five minutes later we were split into four groups, each with members from all four houses. As the four groups walked to their stations, one could only contemplate the challenges that might befall them. From the four corners of the pool a whistle was heard and the spry, young children leapt into the pool and towards victory. The whole morning was nothing short of breathtaking — literally. By the time each activity was over, we were wheezing on the side of the pool. Nevertheless, no matter how much we would deny it or balk at the very idea, we were having fun; laughing and cheering each other on. It was just one of those days where you could forget about all the homework, assessments and tests and just have fun.

Eventually, it was time to get back to class. But not before finding out which team had scored the most points. The suspense was practically murderous, but finally it was revealed that Ignis came fourth, Aer was third, Terra placed second and, for the first time in a long time, Aqua house was able to take the crown! It was a glorious moment, but rest assured, the other houses are sure to strike back in the coming months.

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College Counselling News

Bill MitchellGrades 9-12 School Counsellor....................................................................................................................................................................................................

IGBIS Events - Upcoming University visits

Date Location School Details

November 812:45pm-1:30pm

Level 6, DP Lounge (near Library) St. George’s University (Grenada, West Indies) http://www.sgu.edu/Is a medical university offering MD (Doctor of Medicine) and DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) certification.

November 2012:45 pm-1:30 pm

Level 6, DP Lounge (near Library) Loughborough University - UK http://www.lboro.ac.ukTop 10 University in every national league table in 2016.

November 2112:45 pm-1:30 pm

Level 6, Secondary Library University of Queensland www.uq.edu.au Top 50 university in the world.

Follow the Secondary Calendar or see the College Counselling Events calendar for future visits and events. College Counselling Events: https://sites.google.com/a/igbis.edu.my/counsellingigbis/home/collegeandcareer

Kuala Lumpur EventsBecoming a Global Engineer in the 21st CenturyEducationUSATue, November 14, 20174:30 PM – 6:00 PM

Learn about key characteristics necessary for success in the 21st century workplace and IUPUI engineering programme experiences that will prepare you for success; receive advice from the engineering faculty about choosing an engineering major; and learn about requirements for admissions and scholarship opportunities.Featured institution: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)For further information: Becoming a Global Engineerhttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/becoming-a-global-engineer-in-

the-21st-century-tickets-38567402138

EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY U.S. University Advising:EducationUSA Advisers provide comprehensive U.S. university advising. Register Here: http://macee.bmetrack.com/c/l?u=733838B&e

=BA25D3&c=81A55&t=0&l=6C6331E9&email=4KyS%2FgfF

D%2Bl3e3L2w7uc%2Fbb54MinPSAJMeTu86Tp7lQ%3D&s

eq=1

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Performing Arts News

Jon SuffolkPerforming Arts Teacher and Instrumental Music Academy Coordinator...............................................................................................

ISTA Middle School FestivalThere are still places available for children in Grades 6, 7 or 8 to register for the ISTA Festival in March next year. At yesterday’s Parent Conferences I learned that some people thought that it was by audition or prior selection. This is incorrect. There are simply 20 places available for students in these Grades who are also willing to host visiting students.

Hosting visiting students is a great way to make new friends and networks across the world as well as share with them your family life and culture. So get in quick. There are still places available.

IGBIS Instrumental Music AcademyThe IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy encourages students to become life-long learners and participators in music making. Part of that role is to provide opportunity for the students to perform as a means of improving their skills and confidence. So the Semester 1 concerts will be on the following dates:

• Monday 29th January: Students of Ms Wong (piano) and Mr Adil (guitar)

• Tuesday 30th January: Students of Ms Irma (voice) and Ms Iko (piano and strings)

The concerts will commence at 2pm each day and will be in the Drama Room.

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Flying Phoenix

Tim BartleAthletics Director...............................................................................................

The U15 Boys football team competed hard and defended amazingly, finishing up 4th in the KLISS Bowl Competition. Their skills have developed significantly throughout the season and it was great to see them in competition mode!

All IGBIS Benchballers competed in the KLISS Bowl Tournament on Wednesday 1st November. They were awesome team players and worked cooperatively with each other, taking turns and celebrating successes. • Boys came 1st• Girls came 2nd

Well done to all our players!

The new HOUSE T-SHIRTS available in the uniform shop now!

SizesKid: 26, 28, 30, 32, 34 - RM25 Adult: S, M, L, XL, 2XL - RM30