IGBIS Newsletter, Issue 261.
Message From the Head of School
During the last two weeks, I have had the pleasure of meeting some of our new scholarship students and their parents. Each of the students submitted a comprehensive portfolio including a letter of application, recommendation letters and previous reports, then completed standardised assessment tests, a writing sample and an interview with the Secondary School Leadership. We look forward to welcoming the students and their families into IGBIS in August 2021.
You may be aware that IGBIS has a system for measuring Air Quality at the school. The AQI readings inform us whether or not it is safe for children to engage in outdoor activities. Unfortunately today (Friday) the reading was over 100 for PM 2.5 particles between 11 am and 1 pm so the decision was made to keep children inside until the AQI reduced again.
Next Wednesday (April 21) will be the last day of school for our Grade 12 students before they embark on study leave and their IB Diploma Programme examinations. We will certainly miss seeing them at school every day! Please join me in wishing them the best of luck as they prepare for the examinations.
A reminder that we will be holding student-led conferences on the morning of Saturday, April 24. The principals have shared details of the time for each student – some of these will be home-based while others will take place in school.
English Matters
I am writing this on the first day of Ramadhan which this year coincides with Thai New Year!
Grade 12 – It’s that time of year
The Grade 12 students are into their final week or so of the English Language and Literature and English Language B courses. The various Individual Oral recordings have been done while documentation and Higher Level Essays are about to be sent for assessment to the IB. We think our students are pretty much ready for those final Paper 1 exams coming up in May. While students are out on Study Leave, they are welcome to come in and see their English teachers if they feel in need of some extra help or encouragement.
Keep next Friday 23rd April free for Shakespeare’s 457th birthday!
While most cultures have their literary heroes, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is ‘the man’ for we English speakers.
In honor of this event, a little Shakespeare life and time quiz! Can you think your way through these?
- Who were the two monarchs who ruled during Shakespeare’s life span?
- In which country was the play ‘Hamlet’ set?
- Which English town is considered Shakespeare’s birthplace?
Can you complete the quote?
“All the world’s a xxxxx and all the men and women merely xxxxxxx…”
In the play ‘Henry IV part I’, who is the jolly, fat scoundrel who keeps company with Prince Hal?
Student-led conferences
Scheduled for Saturday 24th April, here’s your opportunity to delve deeper into the tasks and activities completed through the semester and to share in the successes of your son or daughter. We hope you get a lot out of it!
English word of the week
The other day we were discussing human personality traits and I casually dropped in the term ‘misanthropy’. A number of my colleagues looked askance at me, politely questioning the legitimacy of this admittedly most abstract of abstract nouns. I wonder if you know what it means?
Getting to know your English teachers.
The next English teacher in our series, Ms. Maria Morgan…
Meet our English teacher: Ms Maria Morgan
I have been teaching at IGBIS for 8 months now.
Country of origin: I am a citizen of the world
Hobbies: I love reading, kayaking, snorkeling and travelling…I am very much looking forward to discovering South East Asia!
Pet peeves: people looking at their phone when talking to others, loudness, untidiness…
What do you like about being a teacher? The best part of being a teacher is spending time with my students, helping them improve and develop their own interests and see them thrive and become confident…I also love having a giggle with them!
What’s happening in my class? Grade 9 Language & Literature students are currently finishing off the unit on Animal Farm, by George Orwell. We read the novel and worked on the key ideas presented in the text, literary devices, satire and symbols and the context in which the novel was written. They are currently working on a creative piece of work that will be the final summative assessment for the unit. Just before Easter, we spent a little time looking into propaganda, the concept behind it and historical examples of it being used for various purposes, some less ethical than others. After sharing thoughts and opinions on the topic and making links to other subject areas, students were tasked with finding an example of propaganda and presenting it to the class, analysing the various techniques used as well as the message, purpose and intended audience.
These are some examples:
The Design Lab
…and we’re back!!
Students have finally been allowed back to school and the Design Lab has been operating in a safe and socially distant manner. Students sanitise their hands on entry and on leaving. We have socially-distant markers to know that we are sitting and lining up far enough away from others.
Students engage in lessons in the Design Lab when the Unit of Inquiry they are working in has a specific design/creativity element attached to it. So not all grades may be engaged in Design lessons at the same time.
More recently, the following Grades have been doing the following things:
Grade 1
How We Organise Ourselves: People use measurement to organise their daily lives.
To hook into the idea of measurement and shape, the Grade 1 students used Beebots to code squares and rectangles of different sizes. This helped to build the understanding that these shapes have 4 corners, and 4 sides. For the rectangle, students needed to code short and long sides in the correct order.
We also measured ingredients to cook pizza, Milo balls and make milkshakes. The pizza dough was made from scratch, so flour, salt and water needed to measured using the correct tools. Flour was measured in kilograms using scales, while salt measured in teaspoons and water in millilitres. This reinforces the idea that different things can be measured in different ways.
Probots were used to code stars. Like the Beebot, the Probot measures straight line distances, but can also measure angles. Students found that by using different angular measurements, they could make stars and shapes with different patterns.
Grade 2
Where We Are In Place And Time: People’s ideas lead to discoveries, inventions, innovations and actions that impact our lives.
Grade 2 students have been learning to use the Design Cycle to develop their creative ideas. Students were challenged to make something from a piece of cardboard and a marble. They brainstormed and shared ideas, from which they chose an idea to develop. They planned a list of materials they needed and then went about building and constructing their idea.
As plans and ideas change and develop, they are encouraged to document these to show how the Design Cycle can fluidly move between the phases as we improve and develop our ideas. Finally, we share our creations with others.
Grade 3
Who We Are: Our bodies are made of systems, which need to be maintained for healthy functioning.
While exploring body systems, the Grade 3 students made models of selected body systems. Before making the models, students researched a range of possible models they could make and chose one or 2 that reflected their classroom research. Students made model lungs that actually moved, posable cardboard skeletons and hands that could grip, to name but a few.
The Grade 3 students have also been making stop-motion animations to show how different systems work. They made life-size models and took multiple photographs that they could stitch together into an animated gif, using KeyNote.
Grade 4
At this stage, Grade 4 students have not been utilising the Design Lab to enhance their Unit of Inquiry, but they will begin to explore ideas of design in their final Unit of Inquiry for the year, which begins in a few week’s time.
Grade 5
Who We Are: People can be inspired to make a difference to their own and others lives.
The Design Lab has been an integral resource to assist students in preparing their PYPX learning products for the upcoming presentations on 21-23 April 2021. Students have made and edited videos, built and soldered circuits, created dioramas, designed board games, made models, 3D-printed game pieces, taken 360° photos, prototyped, painted, cut and crafted…
Students have been coming to the Design Lab to engage in the Design Cycle process, and it has been wonderful to not only see their dreams come alive, but morph and grow as their knowledge, experience and ideas continue to improve.
IBDP Final Visual Arts Exhibition
It was fabulous to be able to have parents see this culmination of the students work in an exhibition setting. We had to limit numbers and organized the exhibition as part of a rotation so as to stay in accordance with SOP‘s but in spite of these limitations, it was a fabulous celebration of the arts with support from the wonderful high school music and drama students and teachers.
Counsellor’s Advice
What’s the secret to a long, happy and successful life?
In a speech titled “We Are What We Choose”, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos shares the difference between gifts and choices: “Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy — they’re given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you’re not careful, and if you do, it’ll probably be to the detriment of your choices.”
When we navigate life’s challenges, failures and successes are moments of learning and growth. As we gain more life experience, we learn to overcome obstacles by learning from the past. Bezos shares that, “In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story”. To build a great story, Bezos offers 12 questions to ponder:
- How will you use your gifts?
- What choices will you make?
- Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?
- Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?
- Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?
- Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?
- Will you bluff it out when you’re wrong, or will you apologize?
- Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?
- Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?
- When it’s tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?
- Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?
- Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?
The choices that we make are our unique footprint. It is our hope that our choices make a life we’re proud of.
Week 2 of Clubs!
Another great week for the after school programme! More and more students continue to sign up which is fantastic, especially secondary students! Next week is the last week of Grade 12, but students you are more than welcome to continue coming to clubs when on study leave.
Any questions or further sign ups, please do make contact.
- Activities: Scott Ngatai: scott.ngatai@igbis.edu.my
- Athletics: Ruth Spracklan ruth.spracklan@igbis.edu.my
Whilst the House points remain the same overall this week, there is a definite surge in AER points coming from Activities and Athletics, come on the other Houses, don’t let them run away with it!!