Newsletter 78, Week 4 May, 2016

IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 77, Week 4, May 2016

Class of 2016 Graduation May 27, 2016.

Inside this week’s Newsletter Message from Head of School

Mrs. Anne Fowles, Head of School ....................................................................................

News from Elementary School

Mrs. Claire McLeod, Elementary School Principal ....................................................................................

News from Secondary School Mr. Lennox Meldrum, Secondary School Principal

Upcoming Events Athletics Thursday, June 02

U18 Girls Volleyball @ Tenby ..............................................................................

U18 Boys Volleyball @ IGBIS ....................................................................................

Wednesday, June 08

U15 Badminton make-up @ Taylors ....................................................................................

Thursday June 09

U15 Boys Volleyball Plate Final @ Taylors ..............................................................................

U15 Girls Volleyball Plate Final @ IGBIS ....................................................................................

Saturday, June 11

Primary Badminton @ IGBIS hosted by HELP

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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Message from Head of School Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members, Please join me in congratulating the Class of 2016 for graduating from IGBIS on Friday, May 27 th . In particular congratulations to the Valedictorian; Thung Thung Cindy Leow, the Salutatorian Angelica Song Mei Liaw and recipients of the Global Citizenship Award for International Understanding; Seongjin Bien and Thung Thung Cindy Leow.

We were privileged to have Dato’ Seri Robert Tan (Managing Director of IGB) to hand out the Diplomas and Mohamed Tawfik bin Tun Dr Ismail (IGBIS Board Director) as the Guest Speaker.

The next three weeks of school have many more exciting events, please check these on the calendar in this newsletter.

News from Elementary School Mrs. Claire McLeod Elementary School Principal

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Transition meetings are in full swing at the moment as teachers share information with parents to help provide a smooth move to the next grade level for their students. Below are some of the meetings we have scheduled for parents: · Early Years 2 to Kindergarten · Grade 5 to Grade 6 · Starting in Early Years 1 and 2 This afternoon our Kindergarten students joined with Grade 1 to learn more about their new learning environment next year. Grade 1 students were very excited to be the experienced ones sharing all the interesting and different ways they have been learning this year.

There are also a number of transition meetings scheduled for Grade 5 teachers to share student achievement with our Grade 6 teachers and to help ensure correct subject placement next year. Handover meetings are also scheduled for Elementary teachers to share Reading, Maths and Unit of Inquiry assessments and a sample piece of writing with the teachers of the next grade level.

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Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

Geoff Derry Technology Integration Specialist ..................................................................

The holidays will soon be here and our kids will have a lot more time for playing, reading, movies, visits to malls and of course more time on their electronic devices. At this time of year I always like to remind the kids one of Grandmother’s sayings “everything in moderation” which fits in nicely with the IB Learner ProfileBalanced, the IB defines being balanced as: Balanced: We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives— intellectual, physical and emotional—to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.

It can often be hard to get kids off computers, phones and iPads and get them doing other things (get them being balanced). It is important for kids to do lots of different things and it is important as a parents to remember that you are the parents and therefore you are in

control. You are the person who decides when (and if) your kids can use electronic devices.

I believe there is benefit to kids using electronic devices (in moderation) during their summer holidays. Maybe though, we need to challenge our kids to use their devices wisely and show them ways to use them more productively.

Here are some of things kids like to do on their electronic devices and some alternatives that have a more educational focus.

Kids love to play computer games Rather than playing computer games all summer get your kids to use Scratch, GameMaker or go to code.org and encourage them to create their own computer games. There are heaps of websites with tutorials and how to guides.

The kids will have fun and will even learn some useful skills. Perhaps for every hour they play a game they have to spend an hour making a game.

Kids love watching movies Just like computer games, rather than just

watching movies all holidays, get the kids to create their own feature length film.

They can write a script, create special effects and even involve family and friends. Students can even recreate their favourite scenes from movies using Stop Motion. Think of all the skills they will learn including persistence and teamwork while physically doing something.

Kids love connecting and socialising Kids love chatting online, sending text messages etc. Rather than just randomly chatting perhaps the kids can do a project via chat with their friends (recreate a scene from their favourite book via a series of short videos). Best of all would be to have a text free or tech free time for several hours during the day. Kids can then actually talk to their friends or siblings in person.

Most of all remember what my grandmother used to say, “Everything in moderation. Eat mostly healthy stuff and be nice to people.”

Questions, question, questions

Simon Millward Primary Years Programme Coordinator

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One of the characteristics of any PYP school is the amount of questions students ask. In fact I remember visiting a school and the Chairman of the board started with the statement, “ The one thing wrong with the PYP is that my children keep asking me questions!” He was joking to some extent. The fact that his children were interested in learning and were curious about the world was fantastic.

At IGBIS we too encourage and nurture this curiosity about the world. Having children observing the world around them and wishing to find out/understand it much more is part of our goal. Sometimes this manifests itself in children experimenting themselves, other times it causes them to ask questions. The key for us is to join them on this journey. Gone are the days when we have to be all knowing- something as simple as “I don’t know, but shall we find out together” is powerful for our students. Knowing where to access information and finding the information together is more important than giving an answer.

Firstly I hadn’t noticed it and secondly I didn’t know. We embarked on finding out together using the internet as our source. The journey was enlightening and we both knew more than we set out.

Whether your child is in Early Years, Grade 5 or anywhere in between, modelling our own curiosity can inspire our children to go further too. We work in partnership with you as parents and reinforcement at home is always valuable. How often do you wonder out loud?

This can be a great way for children to see you as a lifelong learner, so they aspire to be like you. Going shopping at a mall can lead to all sorts of inquiries. For example, the sensors for automatic doors. How tall do you have to be for the sensor for the automatic doors to open? Are the sensors designed to sense certain heights for safety? Are the sensors designed to work for a particular distance away from the door to open it? How does speed influence the opening time for automatic doors?

My advice: have fun, wonder out loud and see what happens!

Recently I was in the school car park when a student asked me what the small red part was inside the sprinkler system.

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy Concerts

Jon Suffolk Program Administrator

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As the End of Semester 2 IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy Concerts approach there are young musicians at IGB who are working hard to prepare their performances. A reminder that the concerts are on: Tuesday 7th June for students of Ms Iko (piano), Mr Yew Chee (Violin) and Mr Andy (Drums and Piano).

Thursday 9th June for students of Ms Puisim (Piano), Mr Adil (Guitar), Mr Jerry (Woodwind and Brass) and Ms Irma (Voice).

Both concerts will commence at 2pm in the Theatre.

IGBIS Instrumental Music Ensemble The IGBIS Instrumental Music Ensemble has been working really hard all year to prepare a range of different items for performances at school events. This week they will perform at the Gr 12 Graduation Ceremony.

The Ensemble is most excited to welcome the arrival of two new timpani. These wonderful instruments will really enhance the overall sound the ensemble make. Hou Wai Wan (Gr 10) and Lara Nootebos (Gr 10) were both very excited to play the timpani for the very first time.

The school now has a growing number of mallet percussion instruments including orchestral xylophones, a marimba, glockenspiels and the timpani. From next year students will be able to learn these instruments as part of the IGBIS Instrumental Music Academy.!

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Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

News from Secondary School Mr. Lennox Meldrum Secondary School Principal

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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DP Section Wayne Demnar Admissions & Marketing Director ..................................................................

Staff Appreciation Day A huge thank you to all the parents who worked so hard preparing the magnificent treats on Staff Appreciation Day - it was a mouth-watering sight that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Special thanks must go Sheau Ming Wang who coordinated the PVO Mums in their wonderful effort and we want you to know that we appreciate you too!

Summer School Our apologies to those who may be disappointed, but we will not be running a summer school this year. We plan to re-introduce our Summer School programme next year and will be looking for feedback as to the types of activities that we might include.

Athletics & Activities Jasmine Brawn Athletics and Activities Director

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Just a few reminders this week...

Regularly scheduled activities will run until June 10th, 2016 with a few exceptions.

All year Swim Team finished last week after their KLISS championship meets. The team will resume in the fall of 2016.

For more news and highlights on Phoenix Athletics and Activities go to the blog @ https://sites.google.com/a/ igbis.edu.my/igbis-activities/home Coming Up in Sport...

Thursday, June 2 - KLISS U18 Girls Volleyball @ Tenby Thursday, June 2 - KLISS U18 Boys Volleyball @ IGBIS

Tee Ball has their last practice today, Wednesday, May 25th, after their season of KLISS competitions.

Please make the necessary arrangements to have your child picked up after school at 3:10pm on any days they were scheduled to have swim team or tee ball activities from now on.

Please see the finance counter if you have yet to pay for Season 3 activities.

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Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

Assessment Strategies in the PYP A parent workshop - led by Simon Millward, PYP Coordinator Date: Thursday, 2nd June 2016 Time: 8.15am - 9.15am Venue: MultiPurpose Room (opposite Clinic), Level 2 This workshop will highlight the various assessment strategies that are used within the PYP. There will be some background about current research and assessment and the reasons we use particular strategies.

The focus will be a hands on approach so you will get the opportunity to experience a variety of assessments, the examples will be taken from different grade levels and have been used by the students at the school.

Please RSVP via http://goo.gl/forms/14cJUi7DwwYcgdeb2

Igniting Minds

Impacting Lives

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