IGBIS Weekly Newsletter. Issue 134, Week 4, November 2017.

IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 134. Week 4. November 2017.

Grade 6 Visual Arts ~ (Page. 5) Message from Head of School Mrs. Anne Fowles Head of School 2 News from Elementary School Mr. Simon Millward Elementary School Principal 2 News from Secondary School Mr. Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal 4

Grade 2 Field Trip to Jaya Grocer

~ Pg. 3

MYP Individuals & Societies

~ Pg. 4

Grade 6 English Language and Literature

~ Pg. 5

Grade 6 Visual Arts

~ Pg. 5

Performing Arts News

~ Pg. 6

IT News: How much screen time is OK?

~ Pg. 7

PVO News

~ Pg. 8

Mon, Nov 27 • Final Dress and Technical Rehearsal: Senior Drama Production “Do We Ever See Grace?” @ Theatre | 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm • CIS/NEASC Community Workshop @ L6 Multi-purpose Room | 1:30 pm – 4:15 pm Tue, Nov 28 • Matinee – invited schools audience: Senior Drama Production “Do We Ever See Grace?” @ Theatre | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • U18 Boys Football KLISS @ IGBIS | 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Wed, Nov 29 • Grade 3 Field Trip: Museum Negara | 8:15 am – 11:30 am • IGB School Matinee (G3-7): Senior Drama Prodution “Do We Ever See Grace?” @ Theatre | 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm • Elementary Swim Friendly @ IGBIS | 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

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• Final Performance: Senior Drama Production “Do We Ever See Grace?” @ Theatre | 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm Thu, Nov 30 • PYP Reading Workshop @ PVO Room | 8:10 am – 9:10 am Fri, Dec 1 • Public holiday: Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday

Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, This morning I attended the Elementary School assembly where Early Years students shared some of their learning from a recent Unit of Inquiry. They spoke on the microphone, sang an action song in Chinese, shared their pictures and videos and invited the audience to join in as well. Afterwards I said to one of our parents “I see that you have a new performer in the family!” to which he replied; “Everyone at IGBIS is a performer aren’t they – they all get a chance to perform, they all get the exposure.”

On contemplation, this is so true. All of our students are encouraged to be risk-takers and to engage in public speaking before

an audience of peers or the wider community. We look forward to seeing more of this at our upcoming Christmas Assembly on December 6th.

We are all looking forward to seeing the Secondary School Production ‘Do We Ever See Grace?’ which will take place in the Theatre next Wednesday, November 29th at 7.30pm. Members of our community are warmly invited to attend.

Anne Fowles Head of School

From the Elementary Principal Last week I spent 4 days in Indonesia representing the IB evaluating another PYP school. This was a great trip as it enabled me to reflect on where IGB International School are on our PYP journey. There are so many good things happening in school and it is apparent that teachers and students are being risk-takers in their learning. I see students, teachers and even parents trying new things (like Capoeira sessions) and learning from mistakes.

This culture of possibilities is worth holding onto and celebrating.

Community is so very important in a school and I always enjoy seeing elementary and secondary students working together. This week as I was walking past the Grade 3 classrooms there was a buzz of activity as the Grade 3 students were sharing their writing with the Grade 8 students. The Grade 8 students were listening and giving feedback as to what was shared. This initial exercise was then extended as the Grade 3 students wanted to share their unit of inquiry learning. Too often schools become very sectional but here at IGBIS there is a feeling that we are one school and examples such as the grade 3 and 8 students collaborating and supporting each other certainly was a highlight of my week.

Dates for your diaries: • Wednesday 29th November: Grade 3 field trip to Museum Negara • Wednesday 29th November: Senior Drama Production “Do we ever see Grace?”: 7.30pm - 8.30pm • Thursday 30th November: PYP Reading workshop: 8.10 Early Years - Grade 2, 8.40 Grade 3 - Grade 5 • Friday 1st December: School holiday: Prophet Muhammad’s birthday • Wednesday 6th December: Christmas Assembly 8.00 - 9.00 and Holiday Bazaar 9.00 - 3.00pm

Simon Millward

Elementary School Principal

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Grade 2 Field Trip to Jaya Grocer Leanne Harvey Clare Demnar Grade 2 Teachers ...............................................................................................

Grade two students ventured out to Jaya Grocer this week to put their math learning into action. In small groups, they went to different sections of the store, chose various items to put on their list that would add up to RM30. They then moved to a new section of the store to do some more “shopping”. Because Jaya Grocer is very close to the school, most students are familiar with the store in some way. However, this was a chance for many of the students to look at the store in a new way, and also gave them a practical understanding of the lessons they had been engaged in in the classroom.

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“I’m surprised how much things cost.” Liam “Who makes all the things in Jaya Grocer?” Narisa “Really surprised that the most expensive thing in the shop was a box of Lindt chocolate.” Alia “I’m surprised that most of the Christmas things were very expensive.” Paige “I couldn’t buy the chocolate because it would go over my RM30 limit.” Ayaan “How many people visit Jaya Grocer in one day?” Landen

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News from Secondary School This past Friday we hosted the Secondary KLISS Swimming Competition, as eight schools visited IGBIS to take part in a funfilled competitive day. It was great to see so many students and families here for such a big event, and it was an exciting atmosphere as the participants readied themselves for the competition. In conversation with one of our teachers, an interesting observation was passed on to me that was made by one of our Elementary School students. The student noticed the banner behind the pool that read: ‘Start Strong, Turn Tight, Finish Fast’. The student commented on the banner, questioning, “Why doesn’t that read ‘Finish First’?” An interesting conversation then ensued about the difference between those two statements and why and how we encourage students to do their best in competitions. Overall, it was a very successful day as IGBIS students did their best (and some finished first too!) and a great event for our community.

This Monday we will be hosting an afternoon workshop for some members of our school community, to share our findings from the accreditation process we are going through for the Council

of International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC). Parent representatives, board members and students who are a part of the Elementary School and Secondary School student councils will spend the afternoon learning about the extensive process we have gone through to evaluate ourselves against international standards as a high quality school. They will hear about the findings of our teams of staff who have gathered evidence and considered actions for the future of IGBIS, and be able to provide us with some feedback from their perspective.

Coming up next week is our Senior School Production - Do We Ever See Grace? - on Wednesday at 7:30 pm. I hope to see you there!

Sincerely yours,

Michael Arcidiacono Secondary School Principal

MYP Individuals & Societies Phil Clark Middle Years Programme Coordinator ...............................................................................................

themselves in the position of a leader of a great civilisation and consider the impacts that an individual’s decisions can have on a society.

When explaining the IB Middle Years Programme subjects to new and prospective families, most of the eight MYP subject groups are familiar and self-explanatory: Language & Literature, Language Acquisition, Mathematics, Sciences, Arts, Design and Physical & Health Education. But Individuals & Societies is not always immediately obvious.

Grade 8 is considering the causes, processes and consequences of population growth and migration from a geographical perspective, through an inquiry into “Changes in population impact the world around us”. Grade 9 students are developing their communication skills by using interactive, augmented reality technologies to explore the history of political ideologies.

They are inquiring into “Revolutionary transformations bring both positive and negative changes”. Grade 10 students are developing their persuasion and debating skills as they explore a civics unit on the role of government, through an inquiry into “Governments use systems to manage people and places”.

MYP Individuals & Societies is often known in other school systems as humanities or social studies and includes the study of history and geography. But MYP Individuals & Societies is more than history or geography because, as the name suggests it focuses on people as individuals and as members of societies. It considers the impact of individuals and societies over time and the impact of time on individuals and societies. It considers the impact of individuals and societies on geography and the environment, and the impact that geography and the environment have on individuals and societies. It considers the interrelationship between people, time and place. Like all MYP subjects, it is more than the study of facts to be recalled on a test, it is the exploration of how we use those facts to solve current problems and minimise future ones.

In Grade 6 students are currently studying a geography unit and are inquiring into “Advances in technology create opportunities and challenges for people to navigate and travel between locations”.

They are learning about mapping and how to use and understand traditional maps and atlases, and are applying their understanding by using interactive maps such as Google Maps and Waze to plan and compare alternative routes. As they compare different routes, they consider the impact that each route has on people and that people have on the environment around them.

MYP Individuals & Societies takes the traditional subjects of history and geography, requires students to understand the subject knowledge and apply it in a real context to solve real problems.

Reading Workshop Come and find out how to help develop your child’s reading strategies at home.

When: Thursday 30th November

● 8:10 am - Early readers EY - G2 ● 8:40 am - Transitional readers - Gr 3 - 5 Please feel free to attend both sessions if you like.

Where: PVO room, level two.

Grade 7 students are currently exploring a history unit and are inquiring into “Communities and cultures are built on the foundations of ancient civilisations”. Learning about ancient civilisation, students work through a simulation by putting

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Grade 6 English Language and Literature Thesya Thiruchelvam Grade 6 ...............................................................................................

In English Language and Literature, we did our first topic about writing short stories. The class planned their ideas in a brainstorming sheet and we wrote down the characters and their description, setting, the problem and points of the storyline.

We then drafted our ideas and to try to make it as interesting as possible. We also needed to revise and edit our story to make it delightful. We had to include Amazing Adjectives, Incredible nouns, Awesome Adverbs, Dynamic Dialogue, Valuable Verbs and Interesting Interjections. We wrote our first Short Story in pairs then wrote individually for our assessment. I enjoyed this unit as it provided a time where people could express their creativity through stories.

Grade 6 Visual Arts Rayyan Salam Grade 6 ...............................................................................................

In Grade 6, Visual Arts we have just finished our summative assessment. This involved us making an Aboriginal Art dot painting. We had four periods to finish the painting. We had to choose a dreaming story, a story that we made up or a story from our own culture. Once we chose our stories, we had to choose at

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least ten symbols based on the story. When we finished choosing our symbols and putting them in a key in our sketchbook, we learned how to do a thumbnail sketch and drew at least 3 thumbnail sketches into our sketchbook. The final step involved choosing one thumbnail sketch we wanted to make as our final piece. Then when we were all ready, we started our summative assessment. We had lots of fun throughout the whole process and, fortunately, we all managed to finish in time!

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Performing Arts News Jon Suffolk Performing Arts Teacher and Instrumental Music Academy Coordinator ...............................................................................................

ISTA Middle School Festival - Placements Still Available There are still a number of places available for students in grades 6 to 8 to attend the festival in March 2018. A festival of this quality will only be held at IGBIS once every 6 to 8 years so it would be great to have more students participating and hosting some of our visiting students. Any parents interested in registering their child for the festival can contact me at jon.suffolk@igbis.edu.my.

I recently received the biographies of the ISTA team who will be at the festival. They are: Katie Milton - ISTA Representative ISTA is an amazing experience that allows drama students to flourish in their element. To watch them talk drama with others of their species is inspiring. My first ISTA festival with students was in 2010. Six festivals later, having hosted twice, I am thrilled to be joining the ISTA staff as a Rep. What I bring to ISTA is my amazing

“Do We Ever See Grace” Tension is mounting as we approach the Senior School Production next week. Friends and family are invited to come along to the performance on Wednesday 29th at 7.30pm in the IGBIS Theatre.

Light refreshments will be served outside the theatre from 6.30pm.

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organisational and interpersonal skills. I have a passion for the workings of the theatre and I will be there to support the artists and teachers and help all students find their place at the festivals.

Tom Schulz - Visiting Artist I was raised in northern California by German/Estonian immigrant parents. I studied Directing at Pomona College and San Francisco State University where I founded Elbows Akimbo, serving as Artistic Director for seven years. I worked at Jakarta International School for 18 years and have been at Singapore American School since 2011. I attended my first ISTA festival in Jakarta in 1995 and have been involved as a teacher, ensemble leader and host ever since. I help students create works of theatre that their peers find engaging, entertaining and challenging. Who knew it was this much work to have this much fun?

Noa Rotem - Visiting Artist I am a performing artist, director and teacher equally based in Australia and South East Asia. I work with high school students, teachers and professional artists alike. I am passionate about the role of theatre as an instrument of unification in a world that fosters anonymity and disconnection. To this effect, I often work in multilingual and culturally diverse contexts.

Kamil Haque - Visiting Artist I am a Singaporean of multi-ethnic origin. I graduated from the American Musical & Dramatic Academy (AMDA) with a BA (Hons) in Acting. I am also the first Asian to be given the privilege to train and then coach at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

I am the artistic director of Haque Centre of Acting & Creativity (HCAC), the home of method acting in Asia.

This unique play is set in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain in the 1980s, a time when the British economy was in a mess, they waged war on the Falkland Islands and thousands of people were unemployed and discriminated against. Set in a circus, the play explores these situations using a circus tightrope and a collection of clowns as a metaphor for life.

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IT News: How much screen time is OK? Geoff Derry Technology Integration Teacher ...............................................................................................

Most of these opinions are that screen time is bad for children.

I think when it comes to screen time and children we need some balance to the arguments. I am all about kids playing outside, reading books, talking, building, drawing, doing all the things kids love to do. I am also aware of the growing body of evidence that devices and technology are beneficial to children and their learning.

Screen time is defined as any time someone (usually children) spends in front of a screen (television, computer, iPad, phone).

Some very well regarded publications have more balanced perspectives including Common Sense Media, New Scientist, Quartz and the Atlantic. Their main point is that not all screen time is equal. You cannot compare passively watching a television programme with playing an active Wii game of Just Dance with a parent or even with creating their own movie or television series with their siblings. Nor can you compare playing a violent video game in a bedroom alone with a Skype phone call with grandparents on the other side of the world. Similarly reading an interactive book, drawing a picture, making a movie or using Osmo on an iPad with a sibling (talking and discussing as they do it together) is very different to giving a child an iPhone in a restaurant to keep them quiet.

As a parent it can sometimes be hard to know what to do about our kids and screen time. There are so many opinions out there: no screen time for children under 12, one hour of screen time for every five hours of something else, 30 minutes a day, an hour a day, no television, no computers, no iPads. There are charts, table, infographics and websites with suggested screen time for various ages. Add to this the fact students are subject to screen time during the school day.

It is the parent’s responsibility to choose what is appropriate screen time and what games, shows and apps their children use.

My children (4 years and 7 years) watch some TV, they play on the iPad (usually with mum or dad or with each other) making pictures, playing games, reading stories or even creating movies.

They also spend a lot of time building, playing outside and creating with toys and Lego. As my Grandmother used to say, it is all about balance.

Just typing “screen time and children” in Google, I got 36 million hits in less than half a second. It seems like everyone has an opinion on what is best for children when it comes to screen time.

This was inspired by this excellent blog post on the matter: http://doverdlc.blogspot.sg/2015/03/screen-time-plague-orparagon.html

With the holidays fast approaching, kids will have more time for their devices and parents are starting to worry: “Is my child on a device too much?” This is always a hot topic for parents with lots of different opinions. Last week I read a news item from ABC Australia putting forward the argument for revising their children’s screen time guidelines. With this in mind I thought it would be useful to revisit kids and screen time.

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PVO News Julie Arcidiacono Community & Events Coordinator ...............................................................................................

Last Thursday we held our last PVO meeting of the year. If you weren’t able to attend, the presentation and minutes can be found online (Splash page > PVO icon). Parental involvement is essential for the growth of our community. There are many ways for parents to get actively involved. Listed below are some ways that were suggested during the PVO meeting.

Holiday Bazaar Coming up on Wednesday, 6 December from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, following the Christmas Assembly. We have nearly 50 vendors and we need help getting fellow parents, family and friends of the community to attend. Please invite them and pick up their Visitor’s Pass - found on the Holiday Bazaar board near the turnstiles on Level 2. There will be activities held in the PVO Cafe for your entertainment as well - more details to follow next week!

Chinese New Year Assembly A parent performance would be very welcome during the Chinese New Year Assembly, to be held on 13 February 2018. A simple 3-5 minute performance such as singing or a song-dance combination would be ideal. If you are interested in organising the performance or if you have further questions, please contact Yuri Kim at yuri.kim@igbis.edu.my.

Community Playground in Level 6 An exciting project underway is the creation of a sustainable playground in Level 6, involving tires, wooden planks, concrete, shade sails and many other materials. All community members will be invited to assemble the playground next semester. If you would like to participate in sourcing materials or with organising the community day, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Please contact Chrissy for more details at chrissy.steinhardt. parent@igbis.edu.my.

International Day The PVO committee also needs parents to lend a helping hand during the day itself. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Wei Ling at weiling.poon.parent@igbis.edu.my.

Cafeteria Decoration Committee Monthly meetings with members of the school community (teachers, staff, parents, students) are held to discuss improvements in the cafeteria and suggestions to our catering provider Cezars Kitchen. All parents are invited to get involved in a project involving decorating the cafeterias. If you would like to participate, please contact Sujatha at sujathabhaskaran.josen. parent@igbis.edu.my.

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International Day is a day where the school’s cultural diversity is celebrated. It will be held on 10 March 2018. More information will be sent in January once school is back in session. Although this event is a little over three months away, if you are planning on going back to your home country over the break, this would be a good opportunity to bring back typical clothing for you and your family to wear, as well as decorations for a country booth if you and fellow IGBIS parents choose to have one.

Our next PVO meeting will be on 25 January 2018.

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