Volume 3 24 May 2019
Newsletter of International School Suva
Principal’s Report
Inside this issue:
Greetings ISS Community! We are nearing the midpoint of the 2019 school year at ISS and I see several things we can celebrate together, besides the term break coming in a few weeks, that is! Ocean Science: Our Ocean Science program has made great strides and is now part of many classroom activities. A curriculum framework is established and activities at every year level are being designed. A highlight of the Ocean Science Program is the campus aquarium, a 2000-liter tank with Fiji reef sea life for students to study and enjoy.
The aquarium has featured a number of Fiji sea species in a way that allows students to clearly see how they behave, interact, and feed. The tank has been a magnetic attraction for most people on campus and usually has a few observers around it. We hope the end result will be that we all have an increased understanding and appreciation for reef life and a determination to protect it from the many things that are threats. A record of species in the tank is being kept on display along with our ethical guidelines for hosting local species at the school. We also have a posted record of species that have been returned to the ocean after a stay on campus.
Principal’s Report Head Students
Food Festival
MYP Corner
WASC
Reception
Year 3 Excursion
Year 5 Adventure
Plastic Pollution
Library
We hope, and expect, that all ISS students will learn about ocean issues and proven marine conservation strategies while attending our school. Our Ocean Science program is designed to teach science and appreciation for a key resource on which our planet depends. We believe some of our students will be part of the solutions to critical global issues related to our oceans. At the very least, all our students are expected to gain a new respect and understanding of how important our oceans are to all life on earth. Parents are encouraged, and invited, to join in with this journey. A visit to our aquarium will allow you to see typical reef life up close, and it is likely that anyone who views that landscape will be impressed and inspired to keep it pristine and safe!
ISS Funday
Construction Projects: Several construction projects are under way to improve our campus. Behind the breezeway construction wall, the new auditorium and classroom building currently called J Block is taking shape. When completed in September of 2020, the school will have needed classroom space and a new meeting facility for events, training, and presentations. The four-story building is rising from the foundation up and the bottom floor is now visible (see photo).
Recycle
Upcoming Events
Term Dates
Note that current photos showing our progress with J Block construction can be seen any time on our website (http://www.iss.school.fj/9-about-us/95-building-updates-may-1). The building’s floorplan and design are also posted in the same web location for anyone who is interested. Continued to next page...
Sports Report Sydney Arts Trip Uto Ni Yalo
UN Secretary General
Continued from Principal’s report‌ An ECH addition is also being built to add student space to the ECH area. The new space will be a large platform just off the new ECH2 classroom, and excavation for the foundation of the structure was started last week and concrete foundation footings are now poured (see photo). A sun and rain shelter will be built during the term break, we hope, to provide better eating space for primary students. That space will be in front of the Primary Office.
Earth-Friendly Canteen change: An ongoing goal to eliminate styrofoam containers and plastic straws from the school will take a significant step forward at the start of Term 3. Students are asked to bring containers or dishes and eating utensils to school as the old Styrofoam containers will not be available after this term break! Alternate biodegradable containers will be offered but will have a cost if requested. Regular food will be served into student-provided containers. This policy will also be implemented for Fun Day in August also. A key part of this change is the new clean-up area in the breezeway that will provide numerous faucets and sink spaces for rinsing student-owned food containers and utensils (see photo). Please provide food dishes or containers, such as those below, and utensils for your children each day beginning Term 3 if they plan to purchase Canteen food.
Plastic Ban Initiative Another environmental initiative that has closely involved a number of our older students is a bold plastic ban by the village of Nasesara on Moturiki Island near Levuka. A number of our students, including all our High School student leaders, have visited the village and helped clean up plastic debris and discussed how to begin to solve that global problem. The Nasesara Village leaders have decided to make their village a plastic-free zone and ISS is helping sponsor that new policy. A launching ceremony will be held Friday, 31 May, 2019 for the new initiative and several students and staff from ISS will attend. We applaud the courage and foresight of Nasesara Village to take this step, and we are grateful for being able to help make this a reality. Enjoy the last weeks of Term 2 and your needed break time. I trust that every ISS family will have a time of rejuvenation and family bonding during the three weeks off, 22 June through 16 July. Best wishes! Steve Cathers, Head of International School Suva
From the Head Students Ni Sa Bula Vinaka ISS Family! Your Head Students for 2019 would like to thank you for the support that we have received in our first few months of this opportunity to represent you and your voices. We recognize that this task is bigger than the six of us and would like to provide you with an update on our progress and some key activities we are undertaking. At the outset, we wanted contribute to a school environment that is inclusive and recognizing of the efforts of its students. ISS is a community with some amazing athletes and sports people basketballers, netballers, runners, swimmers, hockey players, students who play a variety of racquet sports, soccer players, rugby players and the list goes on. Unfortunately, the some our sport uniforms do not reflect the talent that is oozing from our school. So, one of the things we have been doing is working on ensuring that our school sports teams have uniforms when they represent the school at sporting events - and this means representing each and every one of us because WE are a ISS! We feel it’s important to include the school community in this discussion as it something that has an impact on us all. A big part of this affects the school image and for this reason, we are open to any and all suggestions on what should be included in the uniform sets and the name that’ll represent, not only on the players jerseys, but also on the school.
Our Head Student team has worked alongside some students, and consulted with the Heads of School, to create an idea for these uniforms. If you have any questions about this idea talk to one of us and we would be more than happy to share this with you. If you have an idea or would like to contribute to an idea for our uniforms, we would love to hear it! Vinaka, Head Students Food Festival Dear Parents, The food festival on Tuesday 21st May in primary school was so awesome because we got to taste food from around the world in just one day. Thank you very much for giving us a snapshot of your culture and food. The food was tasty, divine, delicious and scrumptious! From Lucy, Tasa and Rania ;)
MYP Corner Welcome to MYP corner Vol 3. We are almost at the end of our first semester of our implementation of the MYP. The work behind the scenes from teachers to train, adapt and design genuine inquiry based learning experiences for the students has been outstanding. It is also great to see the students embrace these changes and quickly adapt to the new scoring and assessment mechanisms. We are now approaching our first reporting cycle using the MYP criteria. For each subject students will receive a grade for each of the 4 criteria (out of 8). The total (out of 32) then leads to an overall holistic score for that subject (out of 7). MYP Grade Boundaries
Descriptor
1
0-5
Limited
2
6-9
Limited
3
10-14
Acceptable
4
15-18
Good
5
19-23
Generally High
6
24-27
High
7
28-32
High
In addition to the scores for each subject, students will receive ATL (Approaches to Learning) grade. ATL skills are vital skills which are developed through each of the units. Students will receive a grade in the following skill areas: ATL Skills Research Self-Management Communication Social Thinking
The scoring system for the ATL skills is as follows:
ATL Scoring EE
Exceeding Expectations
ME
Meeting Expectations
AE
Approaching Expectations
BE
Below Expectations
Many thanks for all the support and encouragement as we continue our transition to the MYP.
Luke Ramsdale (MYP Coordinator)
ACS WASC Upcoming Accreditation Visit Following up from the Talanoa article last term, we have begun our self-study process for our upcoming visit in 2020 by The Accrediting Commission for Schools Western Association for Schools &Colleges. Our staff have been organized into the following focus groups. Category A- Organization for Student Learning A1. School Purpose Criterion A2. Governance Criterion A3. School Leadership Criterion A4. Staff Criterion A5. School Improvement Process Criterion A6. Resources A6. Resource Planning Category C- Support for Student Personal and Academic Growth C1. Student Connectedness Criterion — Personal and Academic.
Category B- Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment B1. What students learn B2. How students learn B3. How Assessment is Used – Reporting and Accountability Processes B4. How Assessment is used – Classroom Assessment Strategies Category D- School Culture and Environment
D1. School Environment and Child Protection Criterion. D2. Parent/Community Involvement Criterion
We are also in the process of organizing Home Group teams who will be responsible for providing relevant information/ feedback/ data for the focus groups to analyze and evaluate. Currently the home groups we would like to include are:
Student group Parent group Support Staff
We would like to extend an invitation to parents who would be interested in participating in the self –study by joining the Parent Home group team to please email me on ruluiviti@iss.school.fj By Rosi Uluiviti PYP/WASC Coordinator
Year 3 Excursion to visit the Uto Ni Yalo. On Monday 20th May, Year 3 went on a school trip for our Unit of Inquiry- Exploration and Discoveries. We all had a great time exploring the Uto Ni Yalo. The Uto Ni Yalo is a fusion of traditional central Pacific canoe design, utilising modern boating technologies. The students also got a guided tour of Mr Steve Cather’s catamaran. Year 3 learnt about modern and traditional methods of navigation, and they also gained an understanding about the different parts of a sail boat, how to tie basic knots and they practiced using a compass. Mrs. Hallmark 3H
Plastic pollution This article is about plastic pollution in the ocean and the impact on marine life. As many people know the ocean is being polluted by plastic, and if this continues, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. Do you like dolphins, turtles, sea birds and whales? Sadly all of these animals are suffering because of plastic in the ocean. Did you know that Bangladesh was the first country to ban plastic bags in 2002? Kenya, Rwanda, Mauritania, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Albania and Georgia have followed their example, and made similar bans on plastic, we think that it is time for Fiji to do the same. Do you agree? Sign the petition link below to stop using plastic and Styrofoam in our school. Every little step matters! Read on to find out about the advantages and disadvantages of using plastic.
Plastic Good
Bad
It lasts for a long time
It never really breaks down
It’s not heavy and easy to carry
It’s made from non-renewable energy (natural gas, oil, coal)
It’s good for packaging
Most people open it & throw it away
Most plastic comes cheap
Most plastic breaks easily (plastic toys etc)
There are many different types of plastic for different uses
Most are bad for the environment and people throw them in the sea or on the ground
It’s waterproof
When people throw their plastic in the sea, it doesn’t dissolve or break
It’s strong but flexible
Not only is it bad for marine life, it’s bad for us too.
Did you know that we consume 68,415 plastic fibers every year? Help us make a change. Stop using plastic. These are websites you can search to learn more http://plastic-pollution.org/ https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution
Where we got our information:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2176417-new-zealand-becomes-the-latest-countryto-ban-plastic-bags/ http://savedolphins.eii.org/news/entry/dangers-to-whales-and-dolphins-from-plasticpollution-in-the-ocean1 https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/05/02/plastic-pollution-infood.aspx
Link to plastic petition in the canteen. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B_Ph9MMHEW Av2PzPZ8OyO8RVEU5WLGDNV7aFqRwFvyI/edit?usp= sharing By: Anahira Denzler and Janah Zenos
ISS FUN DAY 2019 Purpose of Fun Day To provide a Fun Family Day for the ISS community that celebrates the many cultures of our staff and families. Fun Day depends on contributions of money, food, time, and effort from many of our parents, staff, and students to succeed, and it also allows PTFA to raise funds to enrich our children’s learning opportunities during the school year.
What is Fun Day? It is the largest event organized by the ISS PTFA (Parent, Teachers & Friends Association). This year it is being held on August 3rd from 10am—3pm. Some of the fun things to look forward to on Fun Day: · International food stalls · Theme Baskets (Silent Auction) · Dynamic live entertainment (with the children performing too!) · Kids bouncy castle, games and activities · Book stall · White Elephant (second hand) stall · Fun activities for teenagers: Dunk the Teacher, Jail Break, etc.
This year we will be striving to go green! More details to come.
What’s Coming Up? Our Fun Day Mufti Competition will begin on the 31st May and continues most Friday’s until August 2nd. Students are asked to bring in unwanted used or new items from home in order to participate in Mufti. Each item will count as a point for their class so they are encouraged to bring in as many items as they can! The class that has the most points in Primary and Secondary wins a party! Fun Day Mufti is not compulsory. Students are invited to wear mufti and bring Fun Day contributions to school on the following Fridays: · May 31 · June 14 · June 21 · August 2 Students can bring in the following items:
· Books · Magazines · Toys · Clothes · Themed basket items Some important things to remember: 1. Please dress appropriately and wear sensible shoes. 2. Mark each donation with your name and class. 3. Drop off your donation at the Primary or Secondary office.
Themed Baskets—each grade level is doing a themed basket. All parents will be asked to donate a small item for the basket. Theme Baskets have successfully been a part of our Fun Day for several years now. As in the past, each grade level is requested to prepare a basket based on a theme and to bring items to fill the basket. Please check with your parent liaison/child’s teacher to be sure that there are enough items for your grade level basket. Fun Day Activity—each grade level will be hosting an activity for Fun Day. Some stalls in the past included Dunk the Teacher, Haunted House, Crazy Hair and Nails. Please look out for emails from your parent liaisons/child’s year level teachers for more details.
Fun Day volunteers Parents and teachers offer there time throughout the day to assist the stalls available. If you can offer at least a half hour of your time, please contact any of the coordinators below. They would love to have you! ptfa@iss.school.fj International Food Stalls Doreez Crampton: dcrampton@iss.school.fj or Shaheena Taulealea: staulealea@iss.school.fj
Entertainment We would like to invite members of our school community to be a part of our Fun Day entertainment. Any students or members of the school community who would like an opportunity to showcase their talents or their culture through song or dance (or other) please contact us via the PTFA email address: ptfa@iss.school.fj Entertainment Tim Ulacake: tulacake@iss.school.fj
International Food Stalls During Fun Day, many countries hold food stalls to help raise funds for this event. If you would like to offer aFun foodDay, stallmany or have a grouphold of fellow country members contact. Shaheena During countries food stalls to help raise please funds for this event. If youTaulealea: would like to staullealea@iss.schoo.fj
Calling All Bakers! Wanted, talented Student, Staff & and Parent Cake Bakers! We are looking for you to bake us a scrumptious cake for FUN DAY on August 3rd. Offer your time & expertise! Cake boxes will be sent home at the beginning of Term 3. Please contact via the PTFA email address: ptfa@iss.school.fj
SPORTS REPORT
We are moving into a very busy week for sporting events here in Suva City! There is the International Weight Lifting Junior World Weightlifting Championships being held at the FMF Gymnasium with over 500 athletes and officials attending. The Gallagher Chiefs will host the Canterbury Crusaders Super 14 Match at the stadium on Saturday. On Friday and Saturday (May 31st and June 1st) the Fiji Schools National Swimming Championships will be taking place and ISS has 90 students representing the school, from both the primary and secondary schools. The entire event will be televised live on Fiji One and live streamed on the internetm courtesy of Fiji One. Mr Brendan Telfar, a prominent sports commentator from NZ will be commentating. ISS Students Achieving success at National level Weight Lifting As build-up to the weight lifting championships Fiji Weightlifting held National Championships during the Easter weekend at the Fiji Games. Our very own Joy Kami from Year 10 lifted in the U90Kg division, winning Gold. The lift qualified her for the World’s Junior Games. Unfortunately it was too late to enter her under the Tongan Flag, but Joy has taken on weightlifting as her sport, and we can look forward to seeing her achieve some great results over the next few years as she is passionate about the sport. Badminton Monica Fong from Year 10 and Zhang Junxian ( Steve) from Year11 won the top Junior(High School) Male and Female Division for Badminton. Monica and Steve will lead our school Badminton team. We have been running social badminton every Wednesday night from 6.30 - 8.30pm in the Hall, and we are looking at starting early morning training on Saturdays in the Hall from 8.00 to 10.30 am. Sailing We have a number of very competent sailors in the school. During the Fiji Games congratulations go to Nelle Leenders who won Gold and qualified for the Fiji Team to participate in the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa. Swimming Fiji Swimming conducted a number of National events in the month of May including the Fiji Open Swimming Championships and the Fiji Swimming Age Group Championships. A large number of our students were very successful in winning medals and breaking national records. These students swim for clubs. Their successes mean our school swim team going into the Fiji Schools Swimming Championships is very strong this year. Every year we have a large team of courageous swimmers who compete in swimming against schools from all over the country, the following students will be swimming on Friday and Saturday. Here is the team list: Primary Team (36 swimmers) Allora Stefano Farah McElroy Sina Izumi Helio Golden Oscar Jezewski Jonathan Kirk Mahir Soko Darcy Dwyer Leo Kruger
Asher Choi Amal McElroy Teegan Johnson Kelly Cadle Emilee Cooke Niamh Armstrong Olivia Cullen Jemma Westbury Iris Bentley –Fisher
Yejin Yoon Emelia Lobendahn – Wood Fana Strobel Malia Deklin Natacha Neves Manisha Rai Shumirai Matafeni Dolly Karan Isabell Deklin
Ethan Fay Thomas Bysouth Taus Melgaard Hugo Kok Max Bojczuk Hudson Armstrong Josateki Tagi Alex Wild Callum Freeman
Kier Barnes Leona Douglas Typhaine Nervale Corinna Polycandriotis Sach-Lily D’cruz Noah Cumberbatch Ziyad Safiq Seahyuck Im Adi Ela Kububola Samantha Heuss Grace Vaciloa Tiana Carling Masimeke Latianara
Elian Nervale Jared Southwick Nylla Young Wai-Makare Sorby Ornichisa Kalinta Arthur Seam George Siddell Sheldon Chow Richard Rokodi- Phelps Talei Meleisea Ester Tuinamoala Nadia Putri
Secondary Team (51 Swimmers) Aiden Jamandas Simon D’Cruz Kalista- Rhiana Sanday Domino Middleby Finn Kruger Ethan Takimoana Rokoseru Nabalarua Varun Erasmus Hyate Tachiri Kushie Patel Samir Latianara Myah Stice Nicholas Heuss
Papanui Liew-Marsters Tabbai Soko Robert Hunter Che Taito Manawainui Thoms Hollie Johnson Katie Bricknell David Young Tom Landrey Jaewoong Choi Finley Hill Theodore Strobel Yihao Hu
ISS Staff achieving success at National level Basketball Mr Jonathan Uluiviti played during the Fiji Games which was a selection competition for the Fiji Basketball Team to go to the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa. Mr John is in the squad at present as non-travelling reserve. We wish him all the best in the next trials as he has a chance of getting a travelling spot on the team.
TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK‌ out and about with our Uto ni Yalo extension programme Our last voyage with the Uto ni Yalo to Moturiki saw each student bring to the table many skills to make our experience a memorable one. Our underwater footage allowed us to show the beauty of Fiji and how it is important to look after our marine life. This allowed us to take our message of Plastic Pollution to our adopted village of Nasesara in Moturiki. This week we were elated to hear that Nasesara Village has become the first village in Fiji to ban single use plastic bags.
On Thursday afternoon some of our students went to Navua, volunteering and learning the skill of canoe building. This is an initiative of the Uto ni Yalo Trust of reducing carbon emissions in sea transport. These sailing canoes will be gifted to fishing communities around Fiji and it is hoped that the seafaring culture of the Pacific will be encouraged and revived in different parts of Fiji.
WAINIQOLO Last week we had the opportunity of meeting with Mr. Mollie Fong from Green Co Fiji who talked to our group about supplying safe drinking water to different parts of Fiji. The system that they are putting in place throughout Fiji is a process using solar panels and the humidity in the air to produce mineralised safe drinking water.
ISS students attend forum with UN Secretary General Climate change is here, it’s now, and all around the Pacific, the youth in our communities have questions. This was the attitude within which the youth forum held by the United Nations at the University of the South Pacific took place on Thursday the 16th of May. In attendance was none other than United Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres, accompanied by a variety of youth panellists and an audience of young people with questions that needed answers. Students from years 9, 10, 11 and 12 involved in the Model United Nations programme at school were invited to attend, and several students from each year level left school on Thursday full of excitement for the opportunity to hear what a world leader had to say about an issue so close to our hearts. Talk among the panellists swayed towards the importance of intersectionality in climate change response, and empowering youth and minority voices to speak up, and act within their communities and on the global scale. The panellists all represented minority groups, including the LGBTQ community and those with disabilities. The devastating impact of climate change in the Pacific was not lost on the Secretary-General who posted the following message on his social media accounts. climate change is the battle of my life. It’s a battle we’re not winning. I'm in Fiji, an island nation on the frontlines of climate change but also a model of #ClimateAction for big emitters to follow. Mr Guterres conveyed that his presence here in Fiji was far from empty words, and was clear to state the goals he hopes to achieve in the Pacific as well as around the globe. In the same Instagram post Guterres states; tax pollution, not people. Stop subsidies to fossil fuels. Stop building new coal plants by 2020. We need a stronger political will to save our planet and our future.
At the forum on Thursday, it became apparent that the youth activists in the crowd needed to hear something concrete from the Secretary-General. Year 9 student Daniel Graf was one of the few given mic time during the open floor section of the programme. He then proceeded to ask one of the most probing questions of the afternoon - whether Mr Guterres had seen the danger in focusing on adaptation and mitigation instead of preventative measures, thus accepting the worst case scenario of 1.5 to 2 degrees of warming. The question and its implications had the Secretary General clearly taken aback, and Graf’s words hit home to the audience. Why, in the Pacific, at the frontline of the battle against climate change, should we accept the worst case scenario? Mr Guterres responded by sharing that the World Bank has already doubled its funding towards climate action from 200 to 400 million USD. This money is to be split in half and directed towards mitigation and adaptation measures. On why prevention is no longer at the forefront of people’s minds, Mr Guterres had this to say;
Climate change is here. It’s now. There is actually a conflict with when I am to land in Tuvalu tomorrow, as the runway is already covered in water. To close the event a final statement was made by a member of the audience “The Pacific needs dignity, not sympathy” Hopefully, this official visit by Mr Guterres marks a new, more inclusive approach to fighting climate change, an approach that values the action and voices of minorities, youth, and the people of the Pacific who are most affected by the climate fight. This visit was a phenomenal opportunity for ISS students, allowing us to be in the room with one of the most prominent leaders in the world, and giving us a platform to speak out about climate change. Every student in attendance is incredibly grateful for the experience, and the insight it provided. It is safe to say that we all left the lecture hall empowered, and secure in our capacity to speak out and make a difference within the global community. By Jade Cave The following article was published in the Fiji Times 19/5/2019.
Jade has very eloquently provided information about the forum, perhaps it is relevant to add that Mr. Guterres noted that one of the primary focus for the next climate summit in 2020, is financing, and that increased funding is necessary to combat existing impacts in areas severely affected by climate change. The UN Secretary General stressed the importance of his visit, was to encourage vocal concerns from the Pacific Island Countries towards policy making at the diplomatic level involving climate change issues. Having to rely heavily on the oceans as a livelihood, it’s imperative that Pacific Island communities be more vocal, more involved and more supported at the International level towards the climate crisis. Froseann Stevens Biology Teacher
Upcoming Events Term 2 Week 5 T2 to Week 9 T2 T2 Week 5 Monday 20st May Harmony Week Whole School Staff Meeting Year 3 Trip—Exploration & Discoveries Tuesday 21 Harmony Week— Primary Food Festival Friday 24th May Harmony Week—All Nations Parade
Talanoa T2 Week 6 Monday 27th May Exam Week HS Friday 31st May Primary Assembly Fiji Swimming National Championships (Fri-Sat)
T2 Week 7 Wednesday 5th June Outdoor Education Trip (Wed—Sun) Friday 7th June World Ocean Day Celebration and Free Dress T2 Week 8 Friday 17th May Primary Assembly
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SUVA TERM DATES 2019 TERM 1 (11 weeks) New Teachers Start
Monday, 14 January 2019
All Teachers Start
Thursday, 17 January 2019
Students Start
Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Term Ends
Friday, 5 April 2019
TERM 2 (9 weeks) Y11 & 12 ACT Students Start
Tuesday, 23 April 2019
Students Start
Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Term Ends
Friday, 21 June 2019
TERM 3 (9 weeks) Teachers Start
Monday, 15 July 2019
Y11 & 12 ACT Students Start
Tuesday, 16 July 2019
Students Start
Wednesday, 17 July 2019
Constitution Day
Monday, 9 September 2019
Term Ends
Friday, 13 September 2019
TERM 4 (10 weeks) Teachers Start
Monday, 30 September 2019
Students Start
Tuesday, 1 October 2019
Fiji Day
Thursday, 10 October 2019
ISS Vacation
Friday, 11 October 2019
Diwali
Monday, 28 October 2019
Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday
Monday, 11 November 2019
Term Ends for Students
Thursday, 5 December 2019
Term Ends for Teachers
Friday, 6 December 2019