Volume 1 05/03/2021
Newsletter of International School Suva Parents, Students, and Staff,
Principal’s Report
We are well into the 2021 school year with more than half of Term 1 completed as of now. I am delighted to see that the school is operating fully with lessons learned from dealing with Covid. We are still taking many precautions but are gradually restoring programs that had been reduced or cut. Students are engaged in hands-on learning as before and many activities are happening once more.
Inside this issue:
ECH
PSPE
Library
Significantly, the top two floors of our newest building are open and heavily used. Our secondary art classrooms are now in the new building just across from the primary art classrooms allowing more collaboration and shared resources. In general, we are promoting shared school-wide use of specialised spaces and equipment so that our new resources benefit all students in some way. A new design classroom is also open and is hosting creative, problem solving activities. We will soon be installing new equipment including 3-D Printers and a CNC Router. These are not only high-level technology devices but are gateways to students learning how to turn digital design into real world objects. I think our students will quickly take advantage of these new opportunities for learning! Our science laboratories are all on the top floor of the new building and they are being used by both secondary and primary students. The photo below shows the chemistry lab and prep area. The lower level of the new building will not be open until late in Term 1 or the beginning of Term 2. It is primarily an auditorium which will become our main presentation and performance space. It should seat about 350 people and will have the best audio-visual equipment the school has had until now. At this time, we are waiting for the seating to arrive from an overseas vendor, but there have been delays in production and shipping due to Covid. The photo below shows the large open space that will soon become the new auditorium! We are beginning to plan for a Grand Opening event which I hope many of you can attend. The date is not set yet but is likely to be near the start of Term 2 in April following our two-week term break (2nd - 20th of April). Hopefully, our Annual General meeting can be held in the new facility for the first time on May 6. Speaking of the AGM, one important purpose of the AGM is to elect Board members to fill open Board seats. Please watch for announcements in the near future about that and consider standing for an open seat. At the AGM we also report on the previous year’s achievements and challenges and share the school’s direction for the coming year. I hope you also set aside that date to attend and be involved with the school’s governance. Finally, I see that the Lost & Found table in primary is once more full of student’s clothing and lunch containers. Please take a moment to retrieve your child’s things if any are missing. Other Lost & Found items can be found through Kelera at the front business office; we do not want to accumulate missing items so please take time to get them back. The photo below is of the primary Lost & Found table. I think you can see there is no space for more items! Thank you once more for being fabulous parents, students, and staff. Our school truly is a unique and positive place for learning because of you! Respectfully, Steve Cathers Head of International School Suva
MYP Head Students Alumni Year 3 Chinese New Year Leadership Assembly Term Date
Starting a new school year can be challenging for our young students. It's normal for all children to exhibit many emotions; some children face separation anxiety, which may lead to crying, while others run around uncontrollably because they're so excited. These emotions are completely normal. It's important to know that the teachers are trained to assist with the transition of students and take an individual approach to ensure all students transition successfully into Early Childhood classes.
FOUR WEEKS OF SCHOOL AND WE ARE ADJUSTING ALREADY
We are working in a group (collaborating and negotiating). We are setting up our party table.
Playdough is fun because we model things and it is soft.
The Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) helps us with our gross motor skills. We are creating an essential agreement for classroom rules.
Personal, Social and Physical Education (PSPE): SWIMMING Our LEARN TO SWIM AND SURVIVE program ran though Week 2 and 3 of this term. All classes went down to the pool from Monday to Thursday in their different timings to learn to swim. The main focus was to get active, having fun and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It also helps children to develop their understanding on water safety and develop their swimming skills which all students were expected to get involved.
The students really love the program which was fun, healthy and active with most of them really showed improvement in their skills in the 2 weeks. We have some parents and children needing more time and help from instructors. A list of clubs and coaches will be sent in the Primary Bites for parents that would like their child to continue their swimming lessons.
This year we have included our ECH2 classes together with Reception Their program will run every Tuesday at the Aquatic Center for seven weeks. They will then have a small carnival at the end. This program has been designed to assist the students swim development with a 1:1 1:3 coaches. They will be assisted by Year 11 students who are undergoing a learn-to-swim coaching program and assisted by the ISS teachers.
To complete the swimming program, the Primary school will be conducting an Inter-House Swimming Carnival on Friday the 26th March which is in Week 9 for the year 1 – 5. The carnival is designed to be a fun event where students showcase the skills they have learned from the LEARN TO SWIM program and it is also an opportunity to challenge all students to use their swimming skills at another level. It will be a chance for the school to select a swimming squad to represent ISS in the National Schools Championship to be held in June.
This year ECH 2 classes are learning to swim and the Year 11 and 12s are teaching us at the Aquatic Pool.
Getting ready to jump in the pool.
Our swimming coaches are in Year 11 and Year 12
Music Time “A child who sings is a happy child.”
Learning counting with our fingers.
Library Matters
Popular and rock music scores, CDs & books gifted by Ms. Tokumasu de Silva, US Embassy (16th February)
Risk-takers: Five little ducks with ECH1
Exciting stuff happening @ your library!
新年快乐, Xīnnián kuàilè
Chinese New Year (Year of the Ox) fell on February 11th and students enjoyed lunch time Calligraphy activities. eBooks and audiobooks are available 24/7 from the library by downloading the Sora app. Primary lunch hour activities - art and craft, colouring and quiet reading. Laptop day is on Friday.
Library Essential Agreement collaboration
Secondary lunch hour activities - foam and felt craft (story book characters and puzzles); walk in information and research skills support.
Students inspiring their peers to try new titles, authors, genres
Add the Destiny Discover extension to Chrome to use Google to search for resources from our library catalogue!
Thinker: Choosing a just right book to enjoy!
MYP (Middle Years Programme) Corner Dear ISS Community, It is with great pleasure that I write this, the first MYP Corner article with the school fully authorised to deliver the MYP program. The process from initial letter applying for candidacy through to receiving our authorisation took just over two years. In this time, I have seen a great deal of growth and progress towards delivering an MYP program which is genuinely creative, rigorous and student centred. The visit itself, whilst personally a touch stressful, was a positive experience and one in which we received a great deal of positive feedback. I would like to thank all the ISS community for their positive contributions in both the visit itself and the preceding two years. The completion of the authorisation also allows for the school to further the taught curriculum and pedagogical approach even further. In Term 1, as a Secondary School, we are honing in on how ATL (Approaches to Learning) skills are explicitly taught in the classroom. In particular, the ATL skills of Communication will be the subject of teacher focus.
I am excited about how the program can be further developed and enhanced in 2021 now that we have some great new creative spaces for the students to enjoy and grow in. Please note that a recently completed MYP handbook has been added to the school website for your perusal.
Warm Regards,
Luke Ramsdale MYP Co-ordinator
Student Profiles—Head Students 2021 Bula! My name is Arieta Leweni Rubuti, I am 17 years old, and I hail from the beautiful hidden paradise, Naidi, Savusavu, and I share maternal links from Raralevu, Tailevu. I came to ISS in 2014, Year 5, and I have been in this school for seven years. My journey in ISS has been full of surprises with many ups and downs. ISS has taught me many things in life; and, one of which is to purposely skip my BEEP test assessment for PE… Best decision I’ve made so far:) The most important characteristic ISS has taught me is to be a risk-taker and go beyond my bubble of comfort. As a senior, I aspire to direct the same influence to my juniors. My vision for the school is to further enhance our multicultural identity and enforce more culture-awareness events/ activities. This is to ensure that students are welcomed to express themselves in any way that makes them feel like they're at home. In addition, I also want to establish events where students can express their non-academic abilities, perhaps events that may even involve other students from different schools to participate. This will enhance the bond between the students within the school and the general public. All in all, the school is perfect in its own way and our vision as head students is to make it even better. To our juniors and seniors, shoot for the stars and strive for excellence<3
Heyyyyy! My name is Aaryan Assad Hamid, I am 18 years old, and my life began when I was born in the vibrant city of Suva, Fiji. I spent pretty much my entire life in the city. My educational journey began when I attended TLC (The Learning Centre) from Classes 1-6. From there I came to ISS in 2015 to attend Year 6. Ever since then I have absolutely loved the school's culture, atmosphere and most importantly my peers who I see as family. Out of everything ISS has given me I am most grateful for the skill of leadership I have acquired over the years. From a young age I have always had the goal of being the richest man I have ever met….And just like all my other goals I plan to accomplish this. So what are my goals for this year you ask? Well over the years I have been disappointed as to how the school spirit and name has been upkept by past Year 12s. Therefore I aim to bring ISS sport and non-sport activities to life, by feeding off every student's hobbies, to create NEW clubs, tournaments, and competitions. Such activities could range from rugby to chess to art and even handball! I plan on making this school more inclusive, by pushing my hardest to include every single student in this school in everything I do. And as your peer, I aim to bring out the best in all of you. I also truly want to close the bridge between middle school and high school. Well let’s hope this year goes well and thanks for voting for me! I promise I will not let you down! :)
Student Profiles—Head Students 2021
大家好! My name is Monica Fong. I'm a Fiji-born Chinese and I've lived in Suva all of my life. I schooled in Yat Sen from Kindergarten to Form 3 (Year 9) before moving to ISS in 2018. Most people would know me as the "ISS Badminton Captain", but I've also been involved in other school activities such as the ISS productions, CAS projects, sports events and more, which I really enjoy because I get to take a break from academic studies and have fun with my other interests. I also like to draw; my sketchbooks are filled with doodles and comics of characters. Currently, the sketchbook collection is at 37 and counting! I'd like to be someone who can be of help to any fellow student or teacher, along with being a good role model for the junior students. Whether it be assisting you with school-related issues or simply having a friendly chat, I'm usually around so feel free to say hi!
Malo ē lelei! My name is Rosinda Soakai, but most people call me Rosie. I joined ISS in Year 7, confused and slightly scared. I’m in Year 12 now and I’ve somehow managed to become a Head Student. I was born and raised in Nuku’alofa, Tonga and there I spent my preteen years in Tonga Side School being a young, shy and very quiet little girl befriending only my cousin, a feat that now seems very hard to believe. Somewhere along the way we moved to Australia for a year, back to Tonga, and in a very interesting turn of events, Fiji. Being 9 years old, a shift to a completely new country turned my world upside down, despite it being a one hour flight away. The first few years here was a big culture shock for me, and I was plagued by homesickness every other day. I’d never been the type of person to constantly move around so I had to adjust the best I could. When I was welcomed into the ISS family after three years in The Learning Centre, I found people who made my stay, and school in general, a whole lot easier. I like to say I’ve grown into a person that I prefer. I’m trying to be the type of person I needed when I was younger and like I said in my nomination speech, I want to create a sense of community by implementing a Mentorship Program. I want to make sure the six of us will lead to the best of our abilities to cater to our students and I can’t wait to see what the coming year brings.
Student Profiles—Head Students 2021 Bula re! My name is Nylla Ane-Jane Young, I am 17 years old and I was raised in Fiji’s hidden paradise Wina, Savusavu. I've lived my whole life in and by the ocean where I was granted the opportunity to explore the northern islands of Fiji through scuba diving, sailing and land exploration. This gave me the unique opportunity to be exposed to Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian cultures with our family adventure cruise ship the Tuitai. I've also been fortunate to also spend a significant amount of time in the USA with family in Washington and California. I moved to Suva in 2010 at the age of 6 where I attended the The Learning Centre before coming to International School Suva in 2017, Year 8. Through the years, ISS has helped me grow into a well rounded, academic and global citizen. I would like to further improve this process by implementing the The Full of Grit program. The Full of Grit program is intended to support the development of well rounded and balanced students through a series of extracurricular activities that will challenge individuals to explore their full potential. The purpose of this program is to encourage good school spirit, start building the key components of resilience, physical skill, and strategic thinking that are key ingredients of GRIT. It is my hope that in coming together outside the classroom for the Grit program, we all as individuals have the opportunity to grow in GRIT in some way and the global community is enhanced through our participation in the world of tomorrow!!!
Assalam O Alaikum My name is Lahaiba (Tooba) Saud and I have spent 17 glorious years of my life traveling all around the world, kick starting by journey in Shanghai, China. Following this my family and I packed our bags and moved to Hong Kong. We weren’t done there, we relocated to Singapore, and moved once again to Jakarta. We finally settled down here in Fiji, sparking my adventure at ISS in 2013, Year 4. Moving from country to country has allowed me to experience different cultures and has trained me to adapt to changing environments. Continuously being the new kid granted me the skill of communication; I can now openly hold a plethora of conversations with relative ease. ISS has taught me 3 major skills that will help me excel in my future endeavors. Firstly, perseverance, to continue to push forward regardless of the obstacles ahead of me. Secondly, creativity, to look at problems at different angles in order to find the best solution; and finally the school has given me the gift of curiosity, to explore and question the world around us. As Rosinda mentioned, we have set out to reinstate the Mentorship Program, by the end of the year, in order to encourage a better relationship between the seniors and juniors. This will help build an inclusive environment which is centered around learning, sharing new experiences/ideas, and creating a mutual vision.
Where Are They Now? Alumni Stories My Roller Coaster Journey Beyond ISS By: Marilyn Cornelius—Class of 1995 While at ISS, I studied the IGCSE and then the IB Diploma, and my favorite subjects were Art, Japanese, Geography, Biology, and English Literature. I enjoyed my trips to New Zealand and Japan in earlier years, and notable achievements in my final year were a mural, and participating in the inaugural Rock Challenge, which we won. I graduated in 1995 as valdictorian. My Art teacher inspired me to study art further, but there was no art degree in Fiji back then. I began a Bachelors program at USP, studying Tourism Management and Japanese, but I felt unfulfilled. After a few semesters, I traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area of California on a student visa to pursue a degree in Graphic Design. (Marilyn Cornelius and her mother on a recent visit to ISS) I made new friends and adjusted well to college in the United States – actually some classes felt easier compared to the IB. Soon, I started working in the academic counseling division and began tutoring English and statistics, on top of 18 units (4-6 courses) each semester – life was pretty full. I completed the Graphic Design degree with highest honors and transferred to a different college in 2000, majoring in environmental resource management. I was on two scholarships, which made life much easier, as my parents were severely restricted in terms of sending me funds, more so after the 2000 coup. I tutored English and statistics here too, and learned self-reliance as I made ends meet.
Besides these stressors, I thrived in my second degree because I felt I had found my calling: environmentalism. The epiphany had arrived in my English teacher’s office at my previous college: all my art and designs were about the environment and that’s what I cared about the most. I graduated in 2003. My parents attended my second American graduation; I was valedictorian again. We packed up my art and other sentimental belongings, donated the rest, and got on a plane to Fiji, as my visa could not be renewed after 9-11. I worked for the Department of Environment and UNDP, and then found out I had won the green card lottery. I found myself back in the Bay Area in 2005. Since I resigned, I had not been able to accept UNDP’s offer to pay for my Master’s degree. I researched PhD programs while taking two part-time jobs in California. Out of my two applications, my dream university – Stanford – accepted me, and I went on to complete an interdisciplinary PhD in climate change and behavioral sciences, on full scholarship. I investigated how to motivate changes in human behavior to mitigate climate change. I started two different companies while still a graduate student (2009 and 2012), and failed spectacularly in terms of being too much of a people-pleaser. Then, I founded third company, Alchemus Prime in 2015 and established a set of services, including consulting, life coaching, and facilitation. In 2020, I registered a sister company in Fiji, and now, thanks to COVID-19, I’ve stopped traveling extensively and manage both entities from Suva. I spend precious time with my dear parents, who have always supported me. I have fond memories of ISS, and it was wonderful to come back and take a tour recently. My visit was to donate copies of my company’s first book as a publisher, and 23rd book overall. It’s called Awakening The Sacred Order of Divine Poets, and is a powerful journey from trauma to purest love. Check it out from the library and let me know what you think. (Marilyn with Nina Nakora, ISS Librarian)
What’s happening in Year 3? This term, the Year 3 students have been discovering their learning styles through our Unit of Inquiry, Who We Are. Students have been exploring the visual, reading and writing, kinesthetic and auditory learning styles. This unit has helped the students understand the way they learn and has therefore helped the teachers to better understand, plan and tailor activities to meet the students needs and learning styles. In Year 3 we believe this is the best unit of inquiry to start our year of learning as this information will be used throughout the year to help inform our teaching throughout the year. Left: Students discussing their learning styles during the unpacking of the Unit of Inquiry.
Right: Students explaining their understanding of different learning styles.
Left: Students followed visual instructions to complete a task during one of our activity rotations.
World Langauages Programme celebrates Chinese New Year Year 5 students celebrated the Chinese New Year during World Language class. This is for the students to know how Chinese people celebrate the Chinese New Year ( Spring Festival) and Chinese zodiac. The students made lanterns, red envelopes and tasted yummy food-dumplings
Term 1 2021, Leadership Assembly