Bulletin 19 London Friday, 2nd February 2018
Monday
Tuesday
PYP Science Week
Thursday
5 9.00-14.30 Grade 3 visit 6 8.45-10.00 PTA Meeting 7 in Cafe to London Walking Tour
9.00-10.00 PYP Science Boffins
Half Term Break
Wednesday
Feb 12 Half Term Break
School Announcements
Primary News
Middle School News
Diploma College News
Mother Tongue
Attachments
Friday
15.45-17.45 Maths Grade 8 10 Parent Meeting
9.00-10.00 Primary Science Fair
15.30-19.00 Grade 11 Parent Conferences
16.00-18.00 PYP January starter parent evening
18.00-19.30 PYP Science Quiz Night
16.00-18.00 MT Film Club
10.15-11.15 EC Visit to St Mary’s Convent and Care Home
18.30-19.30 Research Institute Info Session for Parents 13 Half Term Break
14
15
9
10.45-15.30 Grade 6-10 & 12 Chinese LA visit to China Town
Feb
Half Term Break
Sat
Half Term Break
16
Ski 10 Trip departs DP Art Life Drawing Class
Half Term17 Break
Leadership Welcome Busy week Amrit Lohia and Pratab Singh and the Bollywood dancers! Many thanks to all those involved in the organisation of this evening. The money raised will go towards our ongoing sponsorship of the ten children at the Umang Centre in Jaipur and help with some of the needs of the underprivileged girls at the Nischay schools in Jaipur and Pushkar. The India trip leaves in March and the next fundraising event for India will be the Quiz Night on Friday 2nd March 2018. Details will follow soon. I would like to congratulate the ISSA Boys Basketball team for winning 49-15 against the German School during a friendly match yesterday. Everyone is looking forward to the Half Term Break especially those attending the ski trip. Thank you to all those who came along to the information evening and please be sure to note all the necessary equipment highlighted in the Ski Trip leaflet. For those not attending the ski trip but looking for half term activities, we are happy to announce a
partnership with Blue {shift}, who are offering a discount voucher for a half term Coding Camp. Learn more about this further on in the Bulletin. We were shocked to see the images of flooding in Goldhawk Road and Hammersmith earlier this week which affected the traffic to and from school. While there may still be some traffic issues to come as TFL has just informed us of further works at Power Road Bridge, on the positive side, the roadworks should soon be coming to an end and we hope to see things getting back to normal soon. I hope to see you in one of the many events next week such as the PYP Science Week events, the Research Institute Initiative meeting, the MT Film Club or the Maths parent meeting. Tuesday 6th February is the Safer Internet Day, which coincidentally is also the day a group of ISL staff members will meet outside the school to review technology provision at ISL. Find out more about the Safer Internet Day here: https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/ safer-internet-day/2018 Finally, because today (Friday 2nd February) is the World Wetlands Day, I would like to invite you to spend some time thinking on how we can help ‘retain, restore and preserve’ cities for a more sustainable urban future. Here is a nice video to get you started: http://www.worldwetlandsday.org/ Have a relaxing weekend.
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Sarah Pearson Principal
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Important School Announcements Library - Reading Challenge Continues...
We invite all students to write a review on a book of their choice based on an allocated monthly theme. February’s challenge is to write a review on a book you chose for its cover.
The winner of the Reading Challenge will receive a £15 Amazon voucher, and the runner up gets a £10 Amazon voucher. We would greatly appreciate your support in encouraging your child to participate in the challenge. Farideh Urrestarazu, Librarian
Research Institute There will be an information evening for parents and students in Grades 7-9 on Wednesday 7th February from 18.30-19.30. The aim of the Research Institute is to give MYP students an understanding of the components of academic research; and an opportunity to work and collaborate as a group to create a piece of original research. An academic mentor will visit regularly from Edinburgh University to work with the students. The research will focus on an area of bilingualism or multilingualism. The Research Institute will run on a Wednesday afternoon from 2-3.30pm and so is a commitment for students to take part outside of school time. To book your place at this event and to find out more about this exciting opportunity, please email me directly at cbrumpton@islsurrey.org by 31st January. I look forward to meeting you! Clare Brumpton, ISL Surrey Primary School & ISL London Librarian
Coding Camp Discount Voucher for ISL Students Last year we started a relationship with blue{shift} creative coding and they have just sent us £30 discount vouchers for February Half Term Camp and Easter Camp. Coding Clubs range from Robotics, to Games & Apps, Coding & Animation, JavaScript, Lego Mindstorms, 3D Design, etc, and are available at three levels for students 5-13 years. Please pick up a discount voucher at the Front Office. Naia Borio, Digital Marketing & Media Production Coordinator / ECA Coordinator
The Mother Tongue Film Club Presents: ‘Populaire, ’A wonderful French romantic comedy Hosted by Mrs Lowe, ISL’s former head of language A. Power Road Bridge Works -Gunnersbury Avenue Affected TFL have informed us that the A406 Gunnersbury Avenue will be reduced to one lane in each direction from 21:00 on 9 February to 05:00 on 24 February 2018.
This is not the life Rose wants for herself. So, when she travels from her small village to Normandy, where a charismatic manager is advertising for a secretary….she makes a disaster of the interview. But Rose reveals a special gift and she is determined to make it to the top.
This is so they can rebuild the road on the new western section of the bridge. You are advised to please plan ahead and allow more time for your journeys during this period.
Come and enjoy a great French film with French and Belgian refreshments on Thursday. This is in French with English subtitles, suitable for students age 12 and above.
For further information and travel advice visit tfl.gov.uk/power-road ISL London School Office
And as with any French film- this one is about fun and LOVE.
Thursday 8th February 16:00 Room F19
Amit Adam Doyle Mother Tongue Film Club Coordinator
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Primary News PYP Science Week is coming up! There is much to look forward to! We hope parents will be able to join us for the events below: On Monday morning (5th Feb) parents are welcome to join the PYP students for the Science Boffins assembly. This is an interactive assembly to launch science week and is sure to go off with a bang! Join the fun at 8:45 am in the school hall. On Wednesday evening (7th February) from 6 - 7:30pm we will have the Family Science Challenge. Join us in the school hall as families test their scientific knowledge in a quiz, followed by a practical challenge. Non-PYP siblings are welcome to join the fun and have a chance at winning a prize! On Friday morning (9th February) from 9 - 10am is the PYP Science Fair! Your child will have brought home information about their project which has been their homework for the last 2 weeks. All students should bring their projects to school either on Thursday or Friday morning so that they are ready to set up their displays before the start of the fair at 9am. Please do come and see the fair and ask the children all about the amazing experiments they have carried out! There will be projects on show in the Grade 3E and Grade 4 classrooms, as well as the hall and cafeteria. We really hope you can join us! Kath Tregenna, PYP Science Week Coordinator
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Middle School News
Almost Half Term It is hard to believe that we have now reached the end of the penultimate week of this half-term. We had two very productive MYP Workshops this Thursday, in which parents took on the role of being a teacher, planning a unit of work. Marta Perez, our MYP Coordinator, led parents through the planning process, applying MYP educational method (conceptual learning) in order to produce a unit of work. Our ‘parent-teachers’ became part of different departments, designing two units of work, in Science, and Individual and Societies respectively. Following this planning activity, parents received helpful guidance designed to increase understanding of the model of the
MYP programme, including the grading system, as well as the use of ManageBac. Much else is also happening in MYP, including the Grade 8 to 10 Intermediate Maths Challenge, as well as Grades 6 to 8, and Grades 9 to 10, assemblies at the end of next week. Also, on Friday 9th February, the Grade 9 Careers Mock Interviews are scheduled to take place. For their interview, students bring along the CVs they created in the recent CV writing workshop, and meet an interviewer provided by our Careers provider, afterwards receiving helpful feedback on how they came across in the interview. We look forward to a successful last week of this half-term, so that we can all look back on five weeks very well spent! Max Hull, Head of Pastoral
India Evening We would like to thank each and everyone who helped in the preparation of the India Evening. It was a very successful event with over 120 people attending, and we raised the total of £1,177.72 which is going to be donated to support the children with cerebral palsy at the Umang Centre, Jaipur, and the Nischay Schools in Jaipur and Pushkar. We are sure you agree that we were privileged to have Amrit Lohia and Pratab Singh join us, whose performance was mesmerising, fascinating and gripping! There was silence in the room when Amrit was singing! I would also like to thank Joseph and the Jazz band who kept us entertained during the evening performing Flamindo, a special piece they wrote for the India Evening which is a fusion of Indian, Arabic and Flamenco. The band consists of Maya and Electra on guitars, Isak on horn and recorder, Filippo on tablas and drums, and Joseph on piano and bansuri bamboo flute/western flute. The Bollywood performance by the students and staff was also a highlight of the evening! There are many reasons for learning a new
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dance but the main reason for this particular style of dance is that we use it as a tool to communicate with the children at the Umang Centre in Jaipur. A special thanks to Maya, Karam and the kitchen staff for preparing the delicious three course Indian meal, the office and IT staff for their support. We would also like to thank Chitra and Isabelle for the decoration and poster design, Naia and Rachele for the video, and Carlos, Biljana, Maria, Julian and Adriana for their amazing contribution to the evening. The students worked very hard in the preparation of the event and have proved to be excellent waiters! We would also like to thank all the staff, parents, PTA and cooking club who wanted to attend to the event, but were unable to do so, for all their continuous support. Although the event was mainly a fundraising dinner, it has brought once more the whole ISL community together, and collaboration was the key success of the evening. Cristina Pawel, India Trip Leader
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Diploma College News
Higher Education update We frequently host presentations by various universities from different parts of the world. Parents are warmly welcome to join the students for these valuable sessions. Watch this space – and also ManageBac Higher Education Groups – for latest updates. RSVP losman@isllondon.org
Date / time
Event
Room
Wednesday 7.3.18 13.50 - 14.50
University of Toronto, Canada
D18 Library
Thursday 8.3.18 14.00 - 15.00
New College of the Humanities UK
D18 Library
Thursday 22.3.18 14.00 - 15.00
ESCP Europe Business School (UK, France)
D18 Library
Date TBC
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
D18 Library
TOK Essay of the week Grade 12 are reaching the end of that grand inquiry into the nature of knowing called ‘TOK’ and will be starting work on the examined essays in the new year. To help keep TOK on their minds we have posted the IB prescribed essay titles around the college and students are adding their questions (blue) and ideas (orange) about the titles on Post-It notes. Why not discuss the essay at home? What better subject for dinner-time! Here is the final title:
Information evenings for Grade 11 parents Please make a note in your diaries of these evening workshops for grade 11 parents on university applications, and on Extended Essay. Date
Event
Tuesday 20/3/18
Parent’s Guide to the Extended Essay
Thursday 7/6/18
Higher Ed guidance for parents 2: Supporting students who apply to university in the UK
Paul Morris, Diploma College Deputy Principal
Study in the USA: SAT test and tuition If you are interested in studying at university / college in the USA then you should prepare for and take an admissions test such as SAT or ACT. I have established ISL college as an SAT test center for the international test dates in May and October. To register for a place, you need to register with College Board (the SAT providers) directly:
News from Stockholm… Our Model United Nations delegation arrived safely in Stockholm and – along with a little sight-seeing – went right down to business preparing their speeches and resolutions… more next week.
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/find-test-centers
(Note: it may take a couple of days for our registration to become active so keep a look out!)
I have also arranged for discounted private tuition with established provider UES to take place at ISL college, should you wish it, on the following dates: You should seriously consider completing this course of tuition in order to raise your test scores. The cost is already discounted by 20%,
Dates Wednesday March 7th 2018, 3pm-5pm Wednesday March 14th 2018, 3pm-6pm Wednesday March 21st 2018, 3pm-6pm Wednesday March 28th 2018, 3pm-6pm Wednesday April 18th 2018, 3pm-6pm Wednesday April 25th 2018, 3pm-6pm Wednesday May 2nd 2018, 3pm-6pm
and will be reduced still further if we can provide 5 or more students - if this happens, UES will refund any difference to you. You need to book the sessions with UES directly here: https://ueslondon.typeform.com/to/qlmlMA Let me know if you have any further questions or speak also to Ms Lewis at 139.
From the Head of Student Welfare The DP Alumni mentor-ship programme is due to begin next Friday, 9th February. 12 students have signed up so far; these sensible participants have been matched with a previous ISL DP student who has a common interest and experience in the mentees’ stated university preference. Mentees will have the opportunity to communicate on a monthly basis, to ask questions about their chosen course, profession and/or university and they may even be given useful ideas for internships. We are hopeful more students will sign up at a later rotation and take advantage of some free guidance and inside information. We will keep you updated with the progress of this exciting new programme as it develops. Grade 11 students have now completed their first exams and the results, on the whole, seem very promising. A number of students expressed their concerns and experience of ‘exam stress’ beforehand but they have all navigated this first challenge and provided useful insights into how best to maximise their performance. It is also hoped that these exams well serve to increase resilience, reduce stress for the next exams and allow the students to engage their ‘thinking brain’ more effectively next exam schedule. To finish on a positive note, the ‘advice’ provided regarding litter in the common room appears to have been heeded; I am quietly optimistic this will continue and that the new additions of a TV (for news), a student-run ‘snack bar’ and the introduction of re-usable coffee cups will all help to make life at the college even more pleasant. Dan Spinks, Head of Student Welfare
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We are delighted to announce that we have had a hugely successful start to the Boxing Club. Two Punch bags have already been purchased and arriving very soon! Only TWO spaces left on Tuesdays from 16:30 to 17:30… join us!
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Alumni News A documentary produced by ISL alumna Priyanka Mogul has been broadcast on television, covering the issue of caste discrimination amongst the British-Asian community. After graduating from ISL in 2011, Priyanka went on to study journalism and was then a reporter for the International Business Times UK, which is when she first came across caste discrimination here in the UK. The topic of the documentary is due to be debated by the British Government in 2018. Priyanka said: “It’s been a really interesting issue to follow and a massive learning curve to jump from written journalism to film, especially when it involves investing practically all your savings into it. But I guess all those ‘risk-taking’ qualities that the IB gave me are still somewhere within me. It’s also my ISL support system that has made this experience so much more worthwhile. From friends who have been there since the beginning to alumni I haven’t seen in years showing up to my screenings - moments like this remind me how great the ISL community is.” Following a premiere in West London on 15 January, ‘Caste Aside’ was then screened in King’s Cross on 23 January, drawing nearly 100 registrations and a lively post-screening debate. The documentary was also broadcast on a Sky channel and is due to be screened at multiple locations over the coming months, including at the British Association for South Asian Studies’ Annual Conference in April 2018. The next screening of ‘Caste Aside’ will take place on 27 February at SOAS University www. casteaside.com
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Mother Tongue KG-G2 Spanish-Italian Spanish and Italian KG-G2 students have experienced a very interesting and constructive way to investigate matter, its properties and how to measure and utilise it during a “workshop” in the art department run by Ms Gastaldi’s and Ms Collins’ G8 students. Very competently, they showed the younger students how to plan, design and craft a couple of Korean chopsticks, a small knife, a 3D printout of a tower and a pillow. What the young apprentices have definitely understood is how important it is to utilise the right materials according to their purpose and to look carefully at the properties of the material itself. Wood, plastic, aluminium, wool or fake fur, they were all measured, cut or smoothed using the appropriate tools, or modelled in 3D with a 3D printer or a 3D pen. The G2 students’ jaws dropped a couple of times during their observation! A big thank you to the G8 students and their teachers for the patience and kindness they showed towards their younger peers. Silvia Valiante Italian Teacher
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