IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 129. Week 2. October 2017.

Grade 2 Choral Speaking at IGBIS Deepavali Assembly ~ 12th October, 2017. | More photos inside (Pg. 9 - 11)

School holidaysOct 16 – Oct 20

PYP News ~ Pg. 3

Grade 4 visits Aquaria KLCC ~ Pg. 4

Rhapsodic Recess ~ Pg. 5

College Counselling News ~ Pg. 6

EdTechTeam KL Summit ~ Pg. 7

Alumni Corner ~ Pg. 8

Photos: KLISS Cross Country Event @ Nexus ~ Pg. 8

Photos: Deepavali Assembly | 12 October 2017 ~ Pg. 9

Message from Head of SchoolMrs. Anne FowlesHead of School

News from Elementary SchoolMr. Simon MillwardElementary School Principal

News from Secondary SchoolMr. Michael ArcidiaconoSecondary School Principal

2

2

5

DeepavaliHA P P Y

18th October 2017

2 Igniting Minds Impacting Lives

Message from Head of School

Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members,

Last weekend was a busy one for IGBIS with over 100 educators in school to attend the EduTech conference organised by Google and our own Geoff Derry, supported by Julie Arcidiacono and our events team. Keynote speakers came from the USA, Canada and Hong Kong and several of the workshop sessions were led by IGBIS teachers. Everyone who attended found out about new ways of making teaching and learning interactive, fun and appropriate for today’s digital world. New horizons were opened for reaching out to other educators and students around the world who can bring their perspective to the topics and issues that we are investigating

While the EduTech sessions were taking place on levels 5 and 6, the Elementary School playground on Level 1 was a hive of activity with families engaged in the Cardboard Challenge. Constructions ranged from small and intricate mazes to large-scale castles. It seemed to me that the children were in charge and the parents were given jobs to help! Thank you Ms Aga and the Elementary team.

The Deepavali Assembly was the highlight of the week. Truly the festival of light, at IGBIS it is our most colourful day supported by our community dressed in their Deepavali best. All of the Elementary School performed on the stage with many of the Secondary School students and our staff as well. Thanks are extended to the organisers.

We wish everyone a safe and happy Deepavali holiday over the coming week.

Anne FowlesHead of School

From the Elementary Principal

We take student security seriously at IGB International School. We have our secure location protocols with regard to keeping students within the security doors at school. We also have a system of signing students out if for any reason they need to leave school early. This is to ensure that students leaving school early are documented by classroom teachers to be leaving should we have an emergency situation like a fire. It is also a security procedure to ensure that the correct adults are collecting and leaving with students. We need your help with the signing out procedure. In the event of taking your child for an early leave please contact the classroom teacher (preferably ahead of time - advanced notice), the Elementary office will prepare the necessary signed document - the nurse does this if she has called home for a health issue.

Our Deepavali assembly this week celebrated the diversity we have in our school and also of Malaysia. The variety of performances and the information was great. Opening with the Peacock dance performed by Ms. Dash was a wonderful start to the performances. The Grade 2 students’ choral speaking and Ramayana story reminded us what Deepavali is all about. The Kindergarten and Grade 1 dances brought colour and joy to the proceedings. The Phoenix Tweeters sang their song ‘One Little Candle’ beautifully for only their second live performance. The IGBIS staff were also involved adding festivity to the assembly with their dance and the fashion show.

Our Secondary students taught us about the traditional Indian musical instruments and the Music Ensemble’s superb performance of Tango & Cha Cha by DR Bellwood and Adventure in India by Kevin Mixon and Carl Fischer closed the assembly in a refined way.

I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Host Nation department, Ms. Ruba and Ms. Usha, the Performing Arts department and the many people behind the scenes who helped to make the assembly a success.

Dates for your diaries:• Wednesday, 25th October: Grade 5 IBPYP Exhibition

information• Saturday, 28th October: PYP Parent University: Learner

Agency 8.30 - 11.30am• Monday, 30th October: 3 Way/Parent teacher conferences:

3.00pm - 4.30pm• Tuesday, 31st October: 3 Way/Parent teacher conferences:

Early closure 1.00pm - 7.00pm

Simon MillwardElementary School Principal

Igniting Minds Impacting Lives 3

PYP News

Aga ChojnackaPrimary Years Programme Coordinator...............................................................................................

As predicted in August, we’ve had an amazing beginning to the school year. Our learners have taken action and made a positive impact on our IGBIS community in more ways than one. The Elementary Student Council has been very engaged in creating a community calendar for the PYP, planning for spirit days, service days and creativity projects that would bring us all together. Our students are clearly not thinking small, as their first big initiative was supporting the opening of the Imagination Foundation Chapter at IGBIS. Imagination Foundation is a non-profit organisation working with communities and educational institutions to promote the power of creativity, play and design thinking. Our school has been selected to represent Imagination Foundation in Malaysia and we are proud to announce that we are also the first official Chapter in Asia.

To launch the operation of the Imagination Foundation in our school, the Student Council developed and promoted the International Day of Play: Cardboard Challenge (7 October) that celebrated our creativity and design thinking with a lovely Saturday morning packed with thoughtful read alouds, visible thinking, brainstorming ideas, building and testing our creations. We had 35 families in attendance and we were proud and excited to be streaming the whole event live to over 100 viewers from across different international schools participating in this event worldwide.

Our learning community has also expanded as we opened Parent University sessions.

The Parent University is a great opportunity for parents to stay up to date with the latest research in education, child psychology and pedagogical practices.

We meet every month, on a Saturday morning (9.00-11.30) to inquire into various concepts and ideas. Our recent sessions have dealt with “Play as a way of knowing and understanding the potential of our learners”, “Inspiring creativity and curiosity in learners” and we are meeting this October 28th to explore “Learner agency: leadership and entrepreneurship in the IB programmes”.

Parent University, according to parents feedback, offers a great balance of interactions, research, inspiration and Saturday morning socialising over coffee, tea, fruit and cookies, to make it worth your while.

4 Igniting Minds Impacting Lives

Grade 4 visits Aquaria KLCC

Andrew, Brinda, Chloe, Joanna, SuhaniGrade 4

We went to Aquaria KLCC for an entire day to study organisms in the sea. We saw that organisms rely on each other in the sea. We went there because our unit is about ecosystems. The central idea is organisms rely on each other to balance ecosystems.

The touch tank had horseshoe crabs, black sea cucumbers, starfish, and bamboo sharks! I was scared that the bamboo shark might bite, but I was brave and touched it. The sharks that I touched felt smooth and rubbery.

We saw many other sea creatures including sea turtles, eels and a giant octopus. We learned that corals are animals and that the carnivores in the sea need other fish and animals to eat, but the fish protect themselves by swimming in big groups.

We had a lot of fun at the aquarium.

Igniting Minds Impacting Lives 5

News from Secondary School

This week in the secondary assembly the Student Council said farewell to their executive council and welcomed a new group of students who will take up the mantle of providing a voice for students in our school community and who will play a leading role in organising some of our major school events.

I am very grateful to Abdallah Salam, Hwei Linn Khoo and Tien Xzi Ho and their advisor, Mr Clark for all their leadership and organisation in the past year. I am also pleased to welcome Tien Xzi Ho, Pei Hua Chin and Serene Salam as they step into this role and help continue to raise the influence of the Secondary Student Council at IGBIS. I look forward to seeing what they plan to do this year!

I would like to remind parents to schedule their Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences for October 30th and 31st. Please use this

link to do so:https://docs.google.com/a/igbis.edu.my/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRHDp6ZVruJrbYo8oBTy0EH8NqIX7_aoAzbl8Q7B3byJqkS6zsZ6YZXolPpFMSFQG-GeUUQGsR917A4/pub

It was wonderful to see so many parents at our Deepavali assembly this week. I hope you enjoyed it and I wish everyone a restful week during our October Break. I look forward to seeing you when we return on October 23rd.

Sincerely yours,

Michael ArcidiaconoSecondary School Principal

Rhapsodic RecessKira Lai YiqingGrade 11..............................................................................................

During this Tuesday’s lunch break, the Senior Performing Arts Committee held the Rhapsodic Recess in the DP Lounge. The aim of this event was to allow the student body to express their musicality and versatility in the arts: something we wish to pride ourselves on as we have truly exceptional talents attending IGBIS. Our emcee of the day, Marvin, did a fantastic job leading the event and introducing the performances. Throwing in witty comments and compliments, the atmosphere was always enlightened, making the excited audience eager for each performance to come. The first performer was Abdallah who sang a twangy country song titled “A Boy Named Sue” that immediately brightened up the atmosphere. Laughs all around made for a great way to start the Rhapsodic Recess. Then, the wonderful sister duo of Zulaikha and Aasiyah sang a heart-rending version of Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain” followed by Venessa’s sweet song “DNA”. The three of them gave a truly unforgettable performance that left the audience in awe of such sentimental talent. The event ended with an awesome performance of beatbox by Tsiu Thien. He definitely piqued everyone’s interest in such a unique art! It was wonderful to see students performing and their peers and staff members enjoying and encouraging the performers. The Performing Arts Committee strongly urges students or staff with passion for the arts to partake in future events.

Find us onTwitter

#igbis #igbignites #igbintschool

Find us onInstagram

#igbis #igbignites #igbintschool

6 Igniting Minds Impacting Lives

College Counselling News

Bill MitchellGrades 9-12 School Counsellor...............................................................................................

IGBIS Events

ISN University Fair Monday October 23, 2017 - First Day back!Level 6, Multiple Purpose Room - 12:30pm-1:30pm

IGBIS will be hosting 20+ universities from the United States on October 23rd. Parents are welcome to come and join the fair and research scholarships and educational opportunities at these universities.

• Bucks Community College• Grand Valley State

University• Adelphi University• Monmouth College• Fontbonne University• Concordia University• La Sierra University• Tennessee Tech University• University of Wisconsin - La

Crosse• St. Mary’s University of

Minnesota• Gonzaga University

• University of South Alabama

• Olympic College• Hofstra University• American University of

Malta• West Virginia University• Drury University• Penn State Erie, The

Behrend College• West Texas A&M University• Lane Community College• Hanover College• Bradley University

Upcoming University visits• October 24, 2017 Level 7, 21 - 12:45pm-1:30pm University of Nottingham - Seminar on Applying to the United

Kingdom and the Personal Statement

• October 25, 2017 Secondary Library - 12:45 pm to 1:30 pm San Jose State - Seminar Applying to the USA, The UC System

Follow the Secondary Calendar or see the College Counselling Events calendar for future visits and events.

College Counselling Eventshttps://sites.google.com/a/igbis.edu.my/counsellingigbis/

home/collegeandcareer

Kuala Lumpur Events

Presentation and Q&A by Ms Charlotte Isaacs from the University of OxfordTaking place in the Main Hall, at Alice Smith School, Secondary Campus, Jalan Equine, on Wednesday 25th October at 4:00pm till 5:00pm

Email contact:hodhighereducation.ep@alice-smith.edu.my

Google Form to Register:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetzws-

A2MnkLWUp_vCZuqEE_0ZMh8Di3mrTOxQ8da8oaCf4g/

viewform

Monash Malaysia MBBS PreviewsThe QS World University Rankings 2016 by Subject ranks Monash 39th in the world for Medicine. The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (Honours) is offered at the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences and is accredited by the Malaysian Medical Council and the Australian Medical Council. Come find out more at our MBBS Previews!

Further Informationhttp://www.monash.edu.my/mbbs-previews?utm_

source=Facebook+ads&utm_medium=Facebook+ads&utm_

campaign=MBBS+Preview+2017+-+KL

EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY U.S. University Advising: EducationUSA Advisers provide comprehensive U.S. university advising

Register Herehttp://macee.bmetrack.com/c/l?u=733838B&e=BA25D3&c=8

1A55&t=0&l=6C6331E9&email=4KyS%2FgfFD%2Bl3e3L2w

7uc%2Fbb54MinPSAJMeTu86Tp7lQ%3D&seq=1

EdTechTeam KL Summit

Geoff DerryTechnology Integration Specialist...............................................................................................

IGBIS proudly hosted 120 educators from 18 different schools across Malaysia and South East Asia at the 4th Annual EdTechTeam Kuala Lumpur Summit Featuring Google for Education on 7 and 8 October. The two-day high-intensity event focused on deploying, integrating, and using Google Apps for Education (and other Google tools) to promote student learning in K-12 and higher education.

The summit featured world-class presentations by passionate speakers who travelled from USA, Canada and Australia. The keynote speakers were supported by local teachers and educators (including 10 from IGBIS) who ran a variety of workshops on creating websites, using virtual reality in the classroom, student portfolios and how to get the best out of the Google suite of educational tools. Many of the workshop presenters were Google for Education Certified Educators, Trainers, or Innovators as well as Apple Teachers or Apple Distinguished Educators.

They shared their passion and expertise on topics like Project Based Learning (PBL), digital literacy, STEM, maths, digital citizenship, assistive technology and more. Attendees walked away empowered to embrace 21st century tools in their teaching and learning and eager to share what they had learned with their students in the classroom. They also had lots of fun and made great connections with teachers from a variety of schools across Kuala Lumpur and Southeast Asia.

The EdTechTeam and IGBIS are looking forward to working together next year when IGBIS hosts another successful summit.

8 Igniting Minds Impacting Lives

Alumni CornerJeffrey Ngo, Class of 2017Musashino University, Japan..............................................................................................

Although our alumni are now spread out across the globe, they are staying in touch with the IGBIS family they have just left. Sharing some good news out of Japan was Jeffrey Ngo, Class of 2017. Musashino University recently awarded Jeffrey the Global Leader Scholarship. This is a 100% scholarship covering the tuition cost of his education for the entire program. The JASSO organisation also is in support of Jeffrey’s contribution to Musashino and the Japanese culture and has awarded him a scholarship as well.

In Jeffrey’s reflection he felt that the IBDP programme had prepared him well for his transition to a new set of challenges both within and outside the classroom. We offer our congratulations to Jeffrey, and the best of luck in his future endeavours.

Bill MitchellGrades 9-12 School Counsellor

KLISS Cross Country Event @ Nexus

Photos

Igniting Minds Impacting Lives 9

Deepavali Assembly | 12 October 2017

Photos

10 Igniting Minds Impacting Lives

Igniting Minds Impacting Lives 11

LEARNER AGENCY Leadership and entrepreneurship in the IB Programmes

ChooseAct

Reflect28 OCTOBER, 2017, 9-11:30, LEVEL 2,

PVO ROOM