Message from HOS

Mrs Anne Fowles, Head of School

Dear IGBIS Families,

It’s hard to believe that we only have a little over 2 weeks until the end of the school year. Who would have believed that our school would have remained under the MCO all of this time! Our teachers are still working very hard on distance learning, preparing for the end of this year and the start of next year too.

You should by now have received a message from our librarian, Ms Kerri Chan, as she has sent out arrangements for students’ library and textbooks to be returned to school. The principals and teachers will also be contacted with families about returning students’ belongings as some students still had things left in their lockers and cubby shelves. Please look out for these.

We will in due course share with you information about arrangements for the 2020-21 academic year with social distancing in place. We are very fortunate that we have space and the staffing to accommodate all of our students in the school at one time. More on this in the weeks to come.

Kind regards,

Mrs Anne Fowles

From the Elementary School Principal

Simon Millward, Elementary School Principal

Wow! What a fantastic week it has been. My week has predominantly been visiting the PYPX presentations by our grade 5 students. All of them have done a fantastic job presenting to parents, educators and students from around the world. To have audiences consistently over 50 people have been wonderful and to get the support of people has been heartwarming and validation of all of the hard work that this process has entailed.

If you missed any presentations don’t worry these have been recorded and can be accessed on the Padlet. You can still leave feedback to students on the PYPX Padlet, just click on the link.

https://padlet.com/lisa_mcclurg/igbispypx2020

This is where all of the students’ work is posted and everyone can access all of their items. The recordings of every presentation are also shared here. 

Here are some links to some Presentation Recordings to give you a glimpse of the quality of the presentations, however, EVERY recording is well worth taking the time to watch! 

• Dan and Maloe 
• Alvaro 
• Karl, Hariz, Kevin 
• Aiden,Woo Yong, Heidi
• Netanya and Mysara
• John, Nick

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the students for being risk-takers by using google meet to share their learning and being resilient and flexible especially with regards to their learning products. Additional thanks also go to all of those who supported the students through this process particularly Ms Lisa, Mr Hudson, Ms Aga and all of the mentors.

The success of these culminating learning experiences is definitely a community effort and there are many people who contribute to this, not least our supportive parents who encourage, cajole and are a rock for our students to lean on.

Thank you one and all.

Fundraising Drive for ElShaddai

Kewynn Lee, Grade 11

ElShaddai Centre is a centre that supports refugee and migrant families. Many of the families that the centre supports are daily wage earners and have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19. ElShaddai is currently supporting over 12 000 families whose lives have been impacted by COVID-19 by sending food and daily essentials.

For my CAS Project, I am raising funds to buy food supplies including potatoes, flour, onions, and canned food for the centre to distribute to the families they are supporting, as well as monetary donations. It would be great to be able to help as much as possible, and you can support either by sponsoring me to buy a food item (as much as you want) or by cash donations. If you can donate by June 9th that would be great.  

If you are interested in donating, please email kewynn.lee021@igbis.edu.my. Every little contribution helps! Thank you for your support 🙂

Interwebs Got Talent

Sophie & Isabelle, Secondary Performing Arts Committee (SPAC)

Hi everyone! We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this difficult time. We would like to take this opportunity to share the success of IGBIS’ very first Interwebs Got Talent (IGT)! Congratulations and a big thank you to all the participants—a majority of whom had never performed in a SPAC event before, mind you—for stepping up and being a risk-taker.

For those of you who may not know what the Interwebs Got Talent (IGT) is, it is basically a virtual version of the rhapsodic recess we usually host at school, however, this time, at the comfort of our own homes. Thus, stage fright is no longer an issue!

The process is rather simple: submit your video via a google form, and SPAC will compile all of them and send it out so that the rest of the school community. Now, everyone can enjoy the performances as well. 

As for the parents, you also get the chance to see your children’s artistic prowess put into good use as they perform beautiful melodies, dances and drama performances for the enjoyment of our school community.

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1LdBklnI5E&feature=emb_title

As the MCO has been extended for another 2 more weeks, SPAC has seen the success of the first IGT and has decided to host another IGT with a special twist. The upcoming IGT’s theme is “thank the front-liners”.

It is important that we recognise the rigour diligence of the medical front-liners, who have made significant dedications and sacrifices to battle COVID-19. 

We hope that more people would be willing to join this next IGT (parents are most welcome to participate as well). Let’s all do our part to share the joy in this troubling time and SPAC wishes everyone a safe quarantine. 

Best regards,

Sophie & Isabelle

Supporting Students in Saying Goodbye

Karen Skepper (PYP & MYP Counsellor)

It is that time of year where we begin to ready ourselves to say farewell to some of our IGBIS families and students. It will be a very strange and unusual goodbye this time. For many, we will not be able to physically say our goodbyes and this will be difficult. 

These times have changed us and as we move forward together, being kind and supportive to each other will go toward making the transition a positive one.

Here are some tips and suggestions to support your family in preparation for leaving:

• Go over plans for remaining in touch – Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Google Chat, texting, Skype, Facetime and so forth
• Discuss the wishes of exchanging mementoes, gifts
• Offer opportunities to share favourite memories
• Read stories about moving and encourage your child to read them on their own
• Talk with your child about the move well in advance – it may be some time before you can actually move to your new home
• Encourage your child to find out as much as they can about their new home – knowing what to expect will help put them at ease
• Practice journaling, art, or some other form of expression to release some of their emotions

It is also my time to say goodbye to IGBIS as I move back home to Australia. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank-you to all the families that welcomed my family into Malaysia. We will be leaving having made lifelong friendships and returning to our home country with many memories.

Best wishes and safe travels

Karen Skepper