Contents

Director 2 Willy Wonka 2 TISA Nursery 3 Primary Principal 3 Primary Show 4 Secondary Principal 5 DP2 Core Exhibition 6 Science Fair 7 Athletics News 8 Board Report 9

Calendar May

4-26 IB DP Exams

5 P8 Leavers' Ceremony Committee Meeting

5-12 M5 Arts Trip to London

6 P4 Open House

6 Secondary PAC meeting

6 DP2 Parent Night: Preparing for the Transition to College

7 Planning Afternoon

8 Professional Development Day: School Closed to Students

11 Victory Day Holiday

14 BTK to P1 Parent Transition Meeting

14 M1-DP1 Language Evening

15 P3 Open House

15-16 P8-DP1 SRAA Track and Field

19 P2 to P3 Transition Parent Meeting

20 P8-DP1 Sports Day

21 P8 Transition Parents' Night

21 Primary Choir Evening

22 P6-P8 Assembly

23 M4-DP2 Prom

25 DP2 Leavers' Assembly and Walk Through

26 P3-P5 Musical Soiree 2015

27 P6-P8 Musical Soiree 2015

27 DP2 Graduation Ceremony

28 Republic Day Holiday

29 P6 Open House

29 Do Fairies Have Tails? Musical Drama Performance for TISA Community

www.tisa.az

communications@tisa.az

1s t May 2015 2014-2015 I s sue 7

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A recently published study1 by a University of Melbourne researcher2 has highlighted the lasting impact of IB programmes. In-depth interviews were conducted with IB graduates between the ages of 20 and 63 from 14 countries. The interviews explored the ways in which IB programmes influenced professional pathways, attitudes toward learning as well as personal beliefs and overall view of the world. IB graduates emphasised the development of international-mindedness, love of learning, analytical and writing skills, and notably, critical thinking skills. Some extremely positive feedback was collected: “It gave me a perspective that I would never have had otherwise. I would not be the person that I am today … there’s nothing that was more important and more influencing on me than that two year period.” “I think the core value of IB is to create global citizens ... Another core value is to create critical thinkers. So I think those are the two main things, and to be a global citizen involves many, many things—there’s tolerance, understanding, vision, [being] innovative; it embodies lots of things, and the critical thinking is a fundamental part of it because the breadth of the programme and different styles of teaching and the different styles of assessment means you critically analyse

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everything, whether it’s art or history or science, whatever it is, you have to be a critical thinker, and not to take things on face value.” “The topics covered for each one of our courses were much more sophisticated than the regular topics that you would have in high school … after I graduated and went to university, I found out some of the information that I was getting in the university, I already knew because of the IB programme.” “I think you can’t separate the IB from the fact that it’s an international school because I think they are what they are, they adopted the IB … because it fit their mission statement. I remember it as sort of world peace and understanding and tolerance. It was a little island of people who had a made a conscious choice to go there, and I think that was also the case with the teachers.” There are now 5,177 IB programmes being offered worldwide, across 4,069 schools (56% of these are state schools). Between December 2009 and December 2014, the number of IB programmes offered worldwide grew by 46.35% as more and more schools recognised the benefits of an IB education. There are over 1.1 million students studying IB programmes. Research suggests that in many cases, students in IB programmes perform better than students taking other qualifications.

IB Research Study

IB Research Study…continued

Willy Wonka Kids 2015- what a great show!

TISA Times Page 2 of 9 Director & Willy Wonka

On behalf of Ms Liz, Mr Dave and myself, thank you to the entire TISA community for supporting Willy Wonka Kids! The show was sold out both nights: no wonder, the children were marvelous! Every young performer gave their best performance. We hope you had a wonderful time, made long lasting friendships, and learned to love musical theatre. Congratulations to the cast and crew!

Charlotte Harvey, Director Willy Wonka Kids 2015

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For example: • A global study investigating

performance in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) found that IB students outperformed their non-IB peers in mathematics, reading, narrative writing and expository writing.

• Qualitative data from a 2014 study on the IB Diploma Programme (DP) in the USA suggested that students who participated in the DP during high school are more academically adjusted to the rigour and expectations of college. 3

TISA is proud to be offering the PYP, MYP and IB Diploma. We believe that our programmes provide an excellent framework for our students’ learning and that they prepare our students very well indeed for the next stage in their

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education. The latest research confirms what we already knew: following an IB programme has an extremely positive influence on the way students approach learning, and IB programmes develop key skills and shape attitudes in a way which has a long-term impact.

John Gillespie Director

1 For a summary of the University of Melbourne report see: http://ibo.org/globalassets/publications/ib-research/continuum/longer-term-outcomes-summary-en.pdf For the complete report see: http://ibo.org/globalassets/publications/ib-research/continuum/longer-term-outcomes-final-en.pdf 2 Wright, K. 2015. International Baccalaureate programmes: Longer-term outcomes. Bethesda, MD, USA. International Baccalaureate Organization. 3 www.ibo.org/en/benefits/comparing-ib-with-other-qualifications

From the Primary Principal

TISA Times Page 3 of 9 Nursery & Primary Principal

BTK News

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The last term is always a very busy time and we are speeding up to the end the year. There have been many events happening recently and many more are planned! I am not going to write an exhaustive list as this is always in The Look Ahead. Willy Wonka was a very successful musical and students really enjoyed taking part. Sincere thanks to all those teachers, assistants, parents and students who have been involved!

At time of writing the P8 Exhibition was is in its final stages of preparation, with the parents’ exhibition evening a few days away. There has been a tremendous amount of work put in by students who were supported

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fully by teachers, mentors and parents. We look forward to welcoming parents to this event.

Sporting events have been numerous and I think the weekly Saturday football and rugby sessions run by parents are an outstanding contribution to the education of our students!

I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming Open Houses, end of term parties, etc. I do hope that you enjoy the last seven weeks of teaching and learning with your children as we race to the finish line.

David Harrold

Primary Principal

News from the TISA Nursery

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We are enjoying exciting times here in the Nursery! First of all, it’s our name change. We are no longer called “BTK” as we were well known for the last 10 years. Many in our TISA community might not have known that, although founded as a private Club in 2004, we’ve been part of TISA since 2006 and we have provided the TISA community with the educational care for 2-3 year olds ever since. In 2014, we celebrated our 10th anniversary and we thought that a name change was long overdue, as we hadn’t been a “Club” for several years. We didn’t want to complicate things unnecessarily by choosing a fancy name, so we are now simply called what we actually are: The TISA Nursery!

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We have also started with our transition visits to the ELC to familiarise our children with their future educational environment. Every day we are taking groups of 6-7 future P1 children to the ELC to meet their new teachers and help them develop a sense of familiarity with the classrooms when they start in August. We are very proud to hear the P1 teachers say, how “confident and well-behaved our children are.” We are looking forward to the next couple of weeks and to our End-of-Year-Party on Tuesday, June 2nd – mark this date!

Livia Gardner-McTaggart Nursery Manager

Do Fairies have Tails? See page 4

TISA Times Page 4 of 9 Primary Show

Do Fairies Have Tails?

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Over 80 Primary students are preparing to present an original musical drama production of “Do Fairies Have Tails”, Friday, May 29, at 4 pm. Eleven students were involved in writing music and lyrics for the show. In our story, Mary and her brother and sisters find themselves helping a group of fairies. They become the same size as insects and are threatened by a hungry preying mantis. Some of the students have memorized as many as 75 lines for this production! Mary’s Family Mary, 10: Aylin, P8 Robert, 10: Vanya, P8 Cindy, 13: Amy, P6 Mom (Betty): Layla, P6 Pammie, 7: Yuval, P5 – 40 Elder-Fairies Rainbow: Rebecca, P6 Moonwings: Anastasia, P6 Hoversoft: Anjali, P6 Whitefrost: Abigail, P6 Blossomrose: Valerie, P6 Petalwing: Alexandra, P6 Dart: Layla, P6 Fairy-Young Candy: Alicia: P6 Pixie: Gulara, P5 Sparkle: Alsu, P5 Sprite: Nehir, P5 Wisp: Grace, P5 Fyre: Manuela, P5 Swirl: Lidiya, P5 Puff-Puff: Madylan, P5 Praying Mantis Brimstone: Michela, P5 Beastie: Nico, P5 Sulphur: Jack, P5 School Kids Bobbi: Rebecca, P7 Jamie: Catherine, P6 Tom: Jack, P5

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Melanie: Madylan, P5 Connor: William, P5 Bees Pretty Peg: Ezgi-Hazal, P6 Knickie: Isabella, P6 Thorn: Lillian, P5 Queenie: Caroline, P5 Sweetie: Jenny, P5 Stick: Emmy, P5 Sharp: Harriet, P5 Stinger: Balazs, P5 Nik: Seungwan, P5 Axe: Chris, P5 Pick: William, P5 Roaches Carly: Rebecca, P7 Aggie: Catherine, P6 Freddy: Suleyman, P5 Trouble: Charlie, P5 Marty: Andrew, P5 Eddy: Fran, P5 P3-P4 Chorus Staff Jim Hammer, Lala Suleymanova, Yulia Goncharenko, Terry Tiplady, Yelena Isaykina, Paula Craft, Sean Barry, Hande Apaydin Performance Schedule: Monday, May 25, 8:45 - 9:15, concert for ELC Monday, May 25, 3:00 - 5:00, dress rehearsal for performers Tuesday, May 26, 9:15 - 10:00, Act 1 for Lower Primary, free Wednesday, May 27, 9:15 - 10:00, Act 2 for Upper Primary, free Friday, May 29, 4:00-6:00, whole play for parents & community

Jim Hammer P5 Teacher

TISA Graduate Destinations

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International Day I have been the International Day coordinator for the past 6 years. Sadly, this was my last year coordinating this huge event. I can honestly say that this was one of the most memorable. Thank you to the following committee members for their energy, enthusiasm and efforts to making this year's International Day a huge success: Elizabeth O'Neill, Brigette Henk Gulatowska, Scott Mathyk, Gina Hinds, Mark Stride, Matthew Franklin, Maria Hamblin, Daniel Bergthold, Jo Green, Greg Skehan, Ebby Adukkalil and Lucy Norton. Aylin and Gunel started the day off as our enthusiastic MCs for the International Day assembly. We had a variety of performances including the Tango and Cha Cha, creative dances from Turkey and India, a musical performance from Russia, a song about the 50 states from the U.S.A, learning languages from the M2 students, a musical and dance production performed by talented guest artists from Azerbaijan and 3 inspiring songs sung by the TISA primary students. It was an assembly to remember! The day didn't end there. Staff and students rotated to 5 different workshops that included puppetry, dancing, singing, playing national games, henna, art

TISA Times Page 5 of 9 Secondary Principal

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Now that we have completed the TISA parents’ survey it is time to start analyzing the results. A summary of responses will be available soon and these responses will help us to plan for next year. One question in the survey asked parents to comment on how well they felt TISA prepares IB Diploma students to embark on higher education courses in suitably challenging universities, and the results make interesting reading. Whilst the vast majority of parents seem to think that our graduates are well prepared, 15% responded that they did not know. We have lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that our students are fully prepared, ranging from first-hand accounts of returning students telling us that they have transitioned comfortably to higher education, to universities providing feedback that students have made great progress based on the skills that the IB Diploma has helped them to develop.

In truth, the IB Diploma itself serves a different purpose in different countries. In the UK, the Diploma is the key factor that determines acceptance, whereas in the US, the Diploma is awarded long after students have already been offered their place. In both countries, and in most others, it is the students’ performance over the final two years of school that determines whether or not an offer is made. So, our IB scores are effectively a summary of student achievement and not always a factor in the placement process. How then do we determine whether or not our students are adequately prepared? One way to look at this is through the offers our students receive. In other words, the universities themselves determine whether or not our students are well prepared. Offers are made based on a numbers of factors that include term grades,

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teacher letters of recommendation, counselor’s letters, college essays and personal statements, all of which are part of the ongoing application process. In addition, standardized test scores help to identify if a student is worthy of an offer.

We are already in a position to publish offers made for this year’s DP2s and we are delighted with the results our students have achieved. Most students apply for places in the US or the UK with others making applications to universities in Germany, Korea, France, Switzerland, Canada and the Netherlands. The following list gives details of some of the offers made by universities and colleges in the US and the UK.

United States

Columbia University, Boston University, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Wellesley College, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, Texas A&M, Tufts, Northeastern University, University of Virginia, University of Arizona, Randolph Macon University, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, Swarthmore, Duke, NYU, UC Berkeley and Brown.

United Kingdom

University of Glasgow, Cambridge University, UCL, University of Edinburgh, Bath, St. Andrews University, Royal Holloway, Aston University, Warwick University, York University, the University of Exeter and the University of Westminster.

These lists are by no means exhaustive but they do give an indication not only of the calibre of universities making offers, but also the strength of our DP2 class.

Impressive though this list is, one other important factor, perhaps

TISA Graduate Destinations…continued

DP2 Visual Arts and Core Subject Exhibition

TISA Times Page 6 of 9 DP2 Arts Exhibition

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the most important of all, sheds light on our level of success; almost every member of our DP class received an offer from their first choice university, and those who did not, received an offer from their second choice. Given that we had no university counselor for most of the first semester, we are pleased with the progress that has been made. The arrival of our current counselor, Paul Costello, made much of this possible but thanks also have to go to Mr. Brotherton, Mr. McCluskey

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and Mr. Hubbuck who dealt collectively with college applications during the first semester.

If you would be interested in hearing more on this topic, please do not hesitate to contact either Paul Costello or myself.

Stephen Caskie

Secondary School Principal

The three DP2 visual arts students displayed their hard work spanning the nearly 2 years they spent in this course on the evening of April 2nd. The artwork of Veronica Bocanegra, Nazrin Kochlari and Diana Uzel mounted in the stairwell between TISA 2 and 3, was viewed by TISA students, parents, teachers and administration to great success! This offered them a wonderful opportunity to answer questions and explain their works to peers and teachers regarding their inspiration, technique and research involved in completing their works. This stood them in good stead for their required interview that justified and explained all aspects of their work for the IB examiners. All DP2 students displayed their Extended Essay, TOK and Community, Action, Service achievements during the same exhibit. This also offered students an opportunity to explain and highlight their work in these areas.

Heather Blake Secondary Visual Arts Teacher

Diana Uzel

Nazrin Kocharli

Veronica Bocanegra

2015 TISA Science Fair, Friday 17th April

With almost 90 students presenting, this year was one of the biggest TISA Science Fairs yet! M1 and M2 students were presenting the outcomes of their three-week research into the concept of ‘Change’. We had lots of positive feedback from parents, students and teaching staff. As one P7 student put it: “I think that all the topics were interesting and a great job by all the students.” Yes, great job indeed, well done to all M1 and M2 young scientists. We were also very lucky to have 45 judges come in and talk to the students about their projects – we are VERY grateful to all of you for giving up your time. There will be some ‘Top Ten’ certificates given out in the next school assembly.

John Brotherton Secondary Science Teacher

TISA Times Page 7 of 9 Science Fair

TISA Times TISA Times

Page 12 of 13 Bingo Night Photos

Board Report

TISA Times Page 8 of 9 Athletics

From the Athletics Department

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TITANS boys’ basketball travels to Almaty! On March 9th the senior and junior boys’ basketball teams travelled to Almaty, Kazakhstan to participate in the Central Asian Basketball Classic. This was an ambitious adventure for them, as no one could know what level of play they would face. The athletes experienced and learned a lot from the event but did not come away with a winning record. The highlights of the trip revolved around the schools, mega mall, the hotel and particularly the ice-skating. The coaches Scott Mathyk and Roelf Haverkamp arranged a trip

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to the nearby mountains for a day of ice-skating and great views! The team made it back to Baku the following week just in time for Novruz break! Thank you to the coaches as well as some of the parents who went along to cheer the boys on! This I hope is the start to some very interesting travel sporting events for the TITAN athletic teams. GoooooTitans!

Eric Buczkowski Athletics Coordinator and Head of

Physical Education

TISA Times Page 9 of 9 Board Meeting Report

From the PTA…continued

TISA Board of Governors Meeting Report, Wednesday 15 April 2015 Present: Wilbert Long, Dave Hatfield, Michael Dickerson, Carol Hawkins, John Gillespie, David Harrold, Stephen Caskie, Alison Bainbridge 1. Welcome, Wilbert Long WL welcomed Board members. WL congratulated JG on a very successful TISA 5 Opening Ceremony. 2. Board Report

a. Whole School Matters, John Gillespie New internal and external signage installed. Visit of Chris Andre and Tom Burton from 30 March to 3 April was extremely useful. Board training planned for September. TISA online parents’ survey taking place 8 to 17 April. Design engineer visited TISA 5 on 7 April to work on the under-floor heating system. Annual field maintenance carried out: topsoil and seed added.

b. Primary Principal’s Report, David Harrold Team Solutions Group: met recently and discussed the proposed new Parent Code of Conduct. There was approval for the Code. Feedback from Parent Conferences Survey: over 90% very satisfied with the outcomes. Professional Development Day: focused on Primary’s strategic goals, especially mathematics. Willy Wonka: very successful Primary School P6 – P8 production. P8 Exhibition: now in the final phases; parents, staff and Board members are invited to celebrate the culmination of the Exhibition on April 30 at 18:30.

c. Secondary Principal’s Report, Stephen Caskie Final preparations are underway for the IB exams in May. In recent weeks we have had a number of well-attended parent sessions including Secondary Counseling, MYP reporting and IT presentations. Growing attendance at school events of this nature represents improved school/community relations and the development of stronger communications lines with families. Excellent US college acceptances: a credit to the Secondary School staff who have prepared the TISA students so well. TISA is very successful in allowing students to achieve their first choice college, including this year NYU, Columbia, Yale, Brown, Princeton, U Penn, Swarthmore, Amherst, Boston, Wellesley, Duke, Barnard College, Stanford, UC Berkeley, U Michigan, Texas A&M. Secondary attendance policy: two students who have exceeded the allowable number of absences by a considerable margin and are at the point where they will be required to repeat their current grade or be asked to leave the school. We are now in the final stages of the membership application process for CEESA (Central and Eastern European Schools Association) for sporting and other activities and we expect to finalize our membership status at the CEESA Executive Board meeting this month.

d. Staff Council Report, Alison Bainbridge Still concerns about delays with residence permits.

3. Treasurer’s Report, John Gillespie JG presented a financial summary to the end of March 2015. On track with budget after 8 months. Some

savings due to devaluation of the manat in February, and some increase in income due to new students. Budget for 2015-16 to be presented at May meeting.

4. Draft Board Evaluation Survey and Board Training, John Gillespie

JG presented an online survey for Board members to complete to evaluate Board performance to be distributed after the May meeting, with results in June.

5. Any Other Business

• JG: school will end on 19 June as scheduled and as advertised in the school calendar. Some traffic disruption is possible due to the European Games towards the end of term, especially on 12 June, but it is expected that access to school in the mornings will be as normal.

• WL: 8 new Board members in total for 2015-16, including from each of BP, the broader business community and the UK and US Embassies.

From the PTA…continued

From the PTA