Volume 1 March 2022
Newsletter of International School Suva
Principal’s Report
Inside this issue:
Greetings, Parents and Friends of ISS, As Term 1 proceeds in a mostly Face-to-Face format, we are pleased with the positive energy and school climate we see. I am optimistic about what we will achieve in the coming year to continue our positive growth and improvement. Covid has delayed some things, but we are still working hard toward our school’s Strategic Plan. I hope we never lose our commitment to continuous improvement at ISS. We recently had a parent meeting in response to questions about our facilities. I appreciate the 50-60 of you who were able to attend, and I hope you saw that ISS has been pursuing quality goals for a long time. We are currently working on significant campus improvements, as we reported. The new ECH building will add much to the campus. The coming weeks should be interesting as columns and retaining walls are poured. In Term 3 the new play area will be open for students, and the whole building will be completed by September 2023. We are planning a major celebration for next year: The ISS 50 Year Anniversary! I hope most of you will be here and able to attend. ISS is an established school and with 52 nationalities, it is among the most diverse. We believe that is a strength and should also be celebrated! Of course, we also celebrate our students as whole people and invest in them so they will be successful in life. I also recently said to all our new parents at a New Parent Orientation morning reception that we do not pretend to be perfect or not make mistakes, but we are quite good at correcting mistakes when that is needed. That is not a small matter as we often have decisions that pit many interests against each other, and we are not afraid to say that we will make students our highest priority. I hope we will always be able to show how our decisions are best for children; that does not mean for your child every time as there are many children here, but I am always happy to explain our decisions to you if you want that. In short, we are officially focused on serving our families well. I think you will see that is true, even if we cannot do exactly what you want in some cases!
It is not too early to be thinking about our two-week term break coming up in three weeks. Please remember that the last student day of Term 1 is now Friday, 1 April, not Thursday as in the original calendar. I hope the break will be a good opportunity for all of us to have family time and to become refreshed for the next term. Our children can certainly do some outdoor things that have not been possible recently. Enjoy that break and chance to do some non-school things with your children! We are delighted you and your children are at our school and part of the ISS Family! Let’s continue to work together to make our children happy and successful. Best wishes, Stephen Cathers Head of International School Suva
Counselors Article
Map Growth
Year 8 Article
Year 9 Article
New School Podcast
Design
Spanish at ISS
CAS
Homework Assistance
Head Students Message
Term Date
Year 1 woodwork pdf
Year 1 woodwork pdf
Fostering Well-Being and Friendships in Primary Ms Becki Clentworth It is so great to have the majority of students back on campus and we have started the year with a bang. After the long campus closure it was important that we created programs and learning that fostered well-being, cooperation, making connections and establishing new friendships as well as reminding our students of the norms of being an International School Suva student. Through this we have established some new initiatives and projects across the school in multiple year levels. Some of these include:
New mural across the walkway Our Plastic Octopus - highlighting our plastic usage Reviewing our playground essential agreements and gathering ideas for strengthening playground opportunities Regrouping of students for our single subject teacher lessons Regrouping of students across year levels for certain activities Creating student choice rotations in Reception Combining our student ambassador program with our student council
Year 5 World Language-Chinese Language In Term 1 of 2022, Year 5 Chinese studies of World Language appreciated that they could come back to face-to-face learning in the newly renovated Chinese classroom. They enjoyed listening, speaking, reading and writing skills with various activities. Alexander: This term as we came back to face to face in Chinese class, I feel excited.
Zed: I feel nostalgic because I lived in Hong Kong for 6 years. Mikael: I feel excited to learn a new language. It’s like getting out of my comfort zone.
Helping Kids With Stress and Anxiety from the Counselling Team Many things that contribute to a young person’s budding identity were stripped from them during the pandemic. Here we are, back at school—figuring out how to readjust back to life in the classroom is stressful. The world has not felt safe for some time, and still there is global uncertainty and distress. While anxiety at this time is common, it’s also not something that should be ignored. For this reason it’s helpful to be able to identify when your kids are struggling with stress and anxiety. Kids who are experiencing anxiety may: *Appear more clingy than normal *Be restless or fidgety *Complain of stomach aches *Display changes in eating and sleeping habits *Express negative thoughts or worries. *Get upset or angry more quickly. *Have bouts of unexplained crying. *Struggle to concentrate. Some ways that parents/caregivers can help: *Spend time with them. Do this every day, even if it’s just 10 minutes. Do something you both enjoy or just hang out. *Ask what’s on their minds. They might not always have a lot to say, and they may not always want to talk, but let them know that you’re open to listening and talking any time. *Listen with patience. When kids and teens want to talk, listen with your full attention. Give them time to put thoughts and feelings into words. Ask questions and be curious. Don’t be too quick to give advice. Let them confide. Listen calmly to what they have to say. *Validate….let them know you understand. Say it’s okay to feel how they feel. Tell them their feelings are normal. *Help them expect good things. Ask your child or teen what’s going well and what they look forward to. Ask about the good things that happen in their day and let them know about the good things in your day too. *Soothe and comfort. In times of stress and overwhelm, trying to talk it through isn’t likely to help. It might help more to offer comfort and understanding. Remind them that you are there to help them through things that happen. Teach them to use calm breathing to relax their mind and body. If your child’s anxiety lasts more than a few weeks, or if it seems too hard for them to handle then talk to a counsellor or your GP. The anxiety can get better with the right help and support.
Year 8 is Looking Fishy?
Students in Year 8 Pastoral and Advisory have been taking risks, keeping an open-mind and being thinkers in order to create an underwater world full of possibilities (and fish)!
Overcoming challenges and showing their knowledge, students were asked to communicate as a team, reflect on their ideas, and take a balanced approach to complete the task set. Now it's time to show their caring side by keeping their brand new guppies and freshwater snails happy and well fed.
What’s Happening in Year 9? Week 6 PSE class focussed on Digital Citizenship. Year 9s drew “ My Digital Footprint.” They had to write common websites and social apps they use. By encouraging students to self-reflect before they self-reveal, they will consider how what they share online can impact themselves and others.
Week 4 Integrated Science class : Students learned how to prepare a temporary slide of the Elodea
plant and observe their prepared slide under the Microscope.
DismISSed pdf
DismISSed An International School Suva podcast
The new school podcast (begun during the 2021 school year) has launched! Students from Years 6, 8, and 9 planned and participated in creating episodes discussing topics both they, their peers, and their teachers are interested in. As a co-curricular project, the goal was to build life skills (such as aspects of writing, communication, organisation) and collaboration with a variety of age levels. The podcast is currently available on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, RadioPublic, and Pocket Casts. The easiest place to listen online is at https://anchor.fm/iss-dismissed It would mean the world to these students if you would give the show a listen and pass it along to others! Thank you so much for supporting our kids!
The podcast episodes include: Episode 1: Let's Talk about Harry Potter Episode 2: Let's Talk about Roblox Episode 3: Let's Talk about KDramas Episode 4: The Horse Sanctuary Fiji [Interview] Episode 5: Books & Reading feat. Ms. Shelly [Interview] Episode 6: Being Thankful (Season 1 Finale) My Experience in the Podcasting Co-curricular Written by Chuchu Shao, Year 9
My experience in the Podcast co-curricular was very interesting and I certainly learnt a lot from it. I especially enjoyed the actual making of the podcast because even though I was very nervous at the start, once I got talking, it was very simple. A good thing about Podcasting is that there isn’t much planning needed. Once you have your topic, you’re pretty much good to go. My favourite episode would be the interview with Ms Shelly, because we got completely off topic and talked about completely different topics. I think it's very good for ISS to have a podcast made by students for students, especially if we have students of different grade levels making podcasts because then it would be interesting for others to listen. Personally, I think podcasting is quite fun and is worth giving a try. It really is quite simple (of course, I haven’t started learning how to edit yet!).
The Chobo Kedougou Kids Club An Audio Drama Series—EPISODE 1 OUT NOW! On the edge of the Sahara Desert, between a small town called Kedougou and a quiet village named Chobo, a group of young friends share exciting adventures together and form The Chobo Kedougou Kids Club. Rogue lions sleeping in the front yard? Stumbling across a hidden poachers' camp? Just an everyday happening for this company of outgoing Third Culture Kids! Inspired by true childhood experiences, The Chobo Kedougou Kids Club is an audio drama experience for the whole family! A story of compassion, trust, danger, and friendship, listeners follow Sadie, Marie, and Noodle Mann, Joe, Tama, and Esther Winn, and twins Emerald and Dondi Emerson as they face unexpected challenges while growing up overseas in West Africa. Filled with music, sound effects, and starring the voice talents of young Theatre students at ISS, you don’t want to miss this series! Episode 1: Operation Frontyard Lion has been released and is available to listen to on DismISSed: An International School Suva Podcast Series. Episode 2 will come out in March 2022. Manisha Rai, Year 8, writes:
“Performing for radio was an opportunity to develop my drama skills, and to develop my confidence. Even though we aren’t performing on a live stage or in front of people, it also develops your communication skills. I also learnt how to use A recording/editing audio programme called Audacity. What I enjoyed the most was getting together as a group to perform while having loads of fun! Each week I always looked forward to Tuesday afternoons. I really enjoyed getting to know more people and making new friends. It is great for ISS to share this audio drama as the episodes are fun to listen to, and there are lessons learnt as well. People will learn from the mistakes the characters made in the story. People that love reading books or watching tv should definitely listen to the audio drama. There's action, comedy, mystery, and friendship all in this audio drama. What I hope people take away from this story is that people need to open up to have friends that they can talk to or have help from and to have fun with! You will learn all about that in The Chobo Kedougou Kids Club.
Yaazhini Karthigeyan, Year 8, writes:
As part of co-curricular activity I chose Audio Drama. My teacher was Ms.Manning and she gave me this wonderful opportunity to act in a radio drama written by herself called The Chobo Kedougou Kids Club. I couldn’t wait to start it. Throughout my journey I faced many challenges, One of them was clear speech, or in other words, speaking clearly so that the audience will understand me. I have also learnt many things such as how to show emotions through just my voice. I am so glad I got this opportunity and would like to thank Ms. Manning for the opportunity and my friends for doing it with me and having fun together.
Design Year 9 (MYP4) and Year 10 (MYP5) In the later years of MYP Design students learn to choose and manage their own design projects. There are more real life problems that the students take ownership of as they decide what problems they solve, what research they do, what materials they use and what solutions they create. Students develop independent learning, creative thinking, research and project management skills that are valuable when it comes to doing the Personal Project (in Year 10) and managing large projects like the internal assessments and CAS in the Year 11 and 12 Diploma program. Year 9 (MYP 4) are currently inquiring and analyzing alternative delivery options for organizations in a pandemic. They will create a card prototype and graphics to market their solution. They have currently interviewed Dr Sereana for a medical perspective, Mr Lepani, for a business perspective and Ms Pratt for a marketing perspective to give a wide research area to base possible solutions from. They may choose a Fiji organization to create an alternative solution for example a NGO, restaurant, supermarket, or vet.
MYP5 has been tasked with finding a problem in our school and creating a solution to fix it. They are also in the middle of research and have currently as a group interviewed Lai: the head of gardening and individually interviewed Primary and Secondary teachers, students and staff to research problems as wide ranging as signage, plant growing, Counselling office support, materials, maps, school merchandise, and uniforms with more to come. Students are working individually and after researching will develop several solutions to the problem before going back to their clients for feedback before planning and making the solution. When created the solution will then be tested by the client and users to get feedback, improvements and if suitable be handed over to the client. All the available Design materials such as the 3D printer, CNC router, wood, plastic, recycled materials are available to be used but digital options are also available such as video, web design, animation, graphics and computer aided design.
Spanish at ISS! There have been some exciting language developments this year in the Secondary school Apart from Chinese and French being offered in the Diploma Programme for Year 11 and 12, students can now study Spanish. The inclusion of Spanish in the Languages department at ISS is a reflection of the international nature of the language: it is the 4th most spoken language in the world (with over half a billion speakers!) and the official language of around 21 countries. This is a great opportunity for students who have never learnt this language before, and would like to broaden their horizons by learning a new language. The inaugural cohort of Year 11 (DP1) Spanish Ab Initio students consists of 5 students.
(MYP 5 Spanish students - the new amigos!)
Spanish is also offered in the Middle Years Programme, in Year 10 (MYP5). Students are starting off with the theme of Identity and looking at the foundations of the language.
We have an experienced Spanish language teacher, Mr Fernando García-Valiño Carbó joining us this year to ensure a smooth running of classes. We welcome Mr Fernando to the ISS community.
CAS—Creativity, Activity, Service—2022 Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) is back with preparation work in getting our senior students ready to embark on a wonderful School CAS Project – the “Learn to Swim” programme. From weeks 5 to 8, our senior students will undergo water safety and swimming coaching sessions with Mr. Andy Eames and Mr. William Domonatani. This week, we took to the Aquatic Centre and learned some of the important ways of safety for self and for others in any water scenario. Our students also learned of the importance of confidence and courage in themselves to control the situation around them. With excitement and eagerness to learn and then Share their learning in reaching out to our little ones here in the school community through the “Learn to Swim” programme, we hope that this will be a rewarding experience for all. Early Childhood 2 and Reception will have their lessons from week 9 of Term 1 and they will run through to week 8 of Term 2. We have been fortunate to have Mr. Eames on our teaching team and Mr. William from the Babale Swimming club to assist in the preparation of our students for this wonderful teaching and learning experience. Tanya Ulacake – CAS Coordinator
Homework Assistance Available Now! Fiona Laygo and Hena Dass
The Homework Assistance Program is a student-leader-led initiative, where senior students from Years 9-12 take up the role of tutors, and work to mentor and assist younger students from Years 6-8. The goals of the program are as follows: to ensure that students are on track with school work and that their academic needs are met in a fun and supportive environment, to unify the student body by providing a platform for younger students to connect with older students and to provide seniors with the opportunity to strengthen their mentorship and leadership skills. The program will cover 4 subjects:
Language & Literature (English)
Math,
Science
Individuals and Societies (History and Integrated Humanities).
As tutors, senior students have the flexibility to choose the subject they would like to offer to younger students. Senior students will be working closely with younger students in order to assist them with homework, preparing for an exam or test and formative assessments. Along with this, senior students will provide a platform where younger students can gain support and guidance when needed. Tutoring
sessions will be one-on-one, where one tutor works closely with one student over the course of several weeks. These sessions will take place during lunchtimes, a minimum of once a week and a maximum of twice a week. All selected tutors have gone through a thorough interview process, where we looked to assess their character and understand the strategies and techniques they would use to teach students. Recently, we conducted a workshop involving all tutors to take them through the requirements, roles and responsibilities of teaching a student. All tutors have been provided with a guide to assist them through the process of teaching, as well as additional resources which would be beneficial for future tutoring sessions. We are looking forward to seeing this program progress! It has been a great experience thus far.
A Message from ISS 2022 Head Students The Covid-19 pandemic posed a series of challenges over the past two years; however, it continuously highlighted the resilient spirit, adaptability, and support within the student body at
ISS. As Head Students this year, we are hopeful, optimistic, and excited for the possibilities this year poses and aim to make this year bigger and better. We’ve got big plans for the school with a series of initiatives we hope to implement throughout 2022! One major step is to implement a new leadership structure where all student leaders in all year levels will be involved in leadership activities. This includes restructuring the Student Council by dividing it up into five committees: Sports, Service, Arts, Culture, and Academics. All of these committees together create a well-rounded student body and help us as Head Students to connect with each other and with other year levels. The purpose of each committee is to engage student interaction and improve the connection between students and teachers. We aim to unite the student body and increase our school spirit! Each committee will be exploring a few different projects and interacting with other student leaders to implement these initiatives with all five committees putting forward numerous projects pertaining to their subject areas. All of these projects will be done with other year levels in order to increase student collaboration and engagement. Some examples of projects that we have been discussing include increasing the number of house tournaments and implementing a student tutor system. We’re very excited to see what these ideas may bring about this year, as well as all of your input on what we can do to make ISS a more inclusive and better place. While we know that this journey will be challenging, we are all incredibly committed, motivated and passionate about our role in the school community. We aim to focus on every aspect of student life within the school and are prepared for the hard work, persistence, and dedication it will take. We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to making this year a real comeback!