Date: March 2015 Issue: Twenty Three

Featured artist: Jefferson, K

Green “Where The Wild Things Are”

Mekong

Messenger

I really appreciated meeting with the parents who came to our four

Parent Update Meetings recently. We talked about Nord Anglia

Education’s commitment to NISC and the exciting improvements

coming to the school.

In July 2014, Nord Anglia Education purchased NISC and signed a twenty

-five year lease for the buildings and grounds. Nord Anglia Education

has made additional long-term commitments by:

Investing in new furniture and equipment for the Hub and Early Learning buildings (to be opened in April

2015)

Installation of two new playgrounds, one for Early Learning and one to replace the current Primary

playground (Early Learning playground – April completion, with Primary replacement following)

Significant improvements in our technology equipment and network

Constructing new student walkways and drop off areas for the Primary students

There are also plans in the coming months to:

Upgrade the security perimeter around the campus

Install a CCTV system

Remodel vacated spaces of the main building, including science labs, Design Tech space, Secondary

Administration offices and additional classrooms

An important part of Nord Anglia Education’s long-term commitment to improving our school is through ongoing

support and inspections from the NAE Education Team. The Education Team gives areas of focus for school

improvement and support to make those improvements. They represent the Nord Anglia Education passion to

constantly improve the academic offerings we provide to our students.

Similarly, Nord Anglia Education has guidelines for health and safety. We are working with the Nord Anglia

Education Director of Health and Safety to insure that our practices are of an international standard.

Nord Anglia Education has committed, through investment and resources, to making NISC a top international

school in the region and giving our students access to a global network of schools. Activities like the service

learning trip to Tanzania and the Global Orchestra demonstrate Nord Anglia Education’s commitment to

providing global opportunities for students to expand their horizons and showcase their talents.

Our NISC Vision: Inspiring ethical, respectful and compassionate global leadership .

Nord Anglia Education - A Long Term Commitment

by Steve Paterson, Head of School

New Buildings

The construction on the Hub and Early Learning buildings has been completed and the new spaces are amazing!

We are now in the process of installing wireless networks and making some minor changes. We have ordered all

new equipment and furniture for the buildings. There will be new student entryways and security structures

constructed over the next month. We anticipate students occupying the Early Learning and Hub buildings by the

end of April and are very excited to give our students the best facilities to learn in!

Changes Around Us

You will have noticed the development of the land surrounding the school. The property was sold to Orchidee

Development, who is developing it as a residential community. There were several weeks of loud noise and dust

as they drove pilings for the area directly behind the Primary School. Those pilings are completed and the nose

and dust should subside. During that process, Orchidee has, as best they can, worked with us around our

schedule to lessen the impact.

As a part of that development a five meter wall is being constructed around the boundaries of the campus. This

will provide a safe and secure barrier between NISC and the development. The wall is about 25% complete.

The digging and construction you see behind the Primary buildings and on the soccer fields are to install a new

water line, storage tank and drainage system. These upgrades will allow us to have a consistent water supply

coming directly from the city water main. The drainage will give us additional protection in the event of heavy

rains like we saw several years ago.

Diary Dates

Diploma Art Show

Friday 3rd April

Primary 3-Way

Conferences

Thur 26 - Fri 27 March

MYP/DP Student Led

Conferences

Friday 27 March

Primary Half Day

(11:30am finish)

Thur 26 March

No School - Khmer

New Year Holiday

13-17 April

French Drama ASA

Performance

Tues 7 April

The safety and security of our students is our number one priority. To this end, NISC is strengthening security

procedures for visitors entering campus between the hours of 7:30am and 4:30pm. It is important for all

members of the NISC community to support these efforts, making our campus a safer place.

All adult visitors to the NISC Campus between the hours of 7:30am and 4:30pm must

clearly display a valid NISC issued ID:

Parents who do not have a valid NISC issued ID must sign in, providing their student’s name and grade level,

to be checked against a master list, and receive a temporary ID,

Visitors receiving a temporary ID will be asked to leave a government ID, cell phone or car keys with the

security office,

Temporary IDs must be returned to the security gate when the visitor signs out at the end of their visit,

Visitors, including nannies, drivers and bodyguards, without a valid NISC issued ID will be escorted to the

main office where they will be given instructions on how to obtain a valid NISC ID,

Valid NISC issued IDs must be clearly displayed at all times while on campus,

Failure to follow these procedures may result in restricted campus visiting privileges.

The procedures above will help us make our campus a more secure place. It is essential that all members of our

school community follow these procedures. Following these procedures is mandatory for all visitors. Visitors

who refuse to follow these procedures will not be allowed access to the campus.

Sovan was nominated as a NISC Star this month for achieving

the impressive title of Individual Regional Record holder in three swimming categories. He holds the record for

10-11 year old boys in backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, after competed against swimmers from 5 other

schools. Well done Sovan!

Would you like to recommend a teacher, a member of staff or a student to appear on this page?

Please send your recommendation to info@nisc.edu.kh

We love to hear about the successes of our graduates and former teachers. We’ve set up the NISC Alumni Network on Facebook and Linked In to keep in touch with former NISC stars.

Cameron is a NISC Star for

his impressive performance

during the MRISA Junior

Boys Soccer tournament in

Thailand. After saving 21

attempts on goal in a single

match, he was awarded the

Man of the Match title. See

the Go Nagas! page for

more details of the

tournament.

:

Global Orchestra 20,000+ students. 31 schools. 13 countries. 1 Global Orchestra

Are you ready to play your part?

Northbridge International School is thrilled to announce that our finest young musicians and singers will take part in the first ever Nord Anglia Education Global Orchestra performing in New York this summer!

Whether you have the voice of an angel or play like a concert pianist, we invite students of all ages to showcase their talents and audition for our ensemble. Our Global Orchestra will consist of a choir, soloists and instrumental ensembles who will join together in New York this June for an exclusive week long residential programme culminating in a public performance to celebrate their musical accomplishments. Students will participate in inspiring workshops and practice sessions guided by experts, watch performances by elite artists and be immersed in the city’s arts culture to nurture their talent. Students will also develop their creativity, confidence and collaboration skills as they work with and learn from each other.

Auditions for both Primary and Secondary students will take place in our 31 schools around the world in March. The top performers from each school will be invited to share a recorded audition with a global judging panel who will select three young musicians and singers from each school to join our 93 student international ensemble. This exciting opportunity is being funded by Nord Anglia Education as part of their commitment to helping students develop the skills and talents to achieve their ambitions.

Audition Criteria

We invite students from Grade 6 upwards to showcase their talents and audition for our ensemble.

In order to audition students should be:

Confident instrumentalists or vocalists of a high standard.

Available to attend the full summer school in New York from June 24-July 1, 2015

Confident to travel to New York as ambassadors for the school

Able to demonstrate their commitment to the event through meeting deadlines and fulfilling rehearsal requirements

If you’re interested in finding out more about how your child can take part in the Global Orchestra, contact Northbridge School's music department today!

Music

Health

Check

with School

Nurse

Ms Cherry

Barnuevo RN

To spread the message about not spreading germs, Grade 8 students Alyssa and Avril have designed posters to be used around the school. Look around campus for these helpful reminders to wash your hands and keep our community healthy.

Wash your hands!

NISC staff took part in First Aid training at the end of February, to update their skills as part of the school’s commitment to student safety. They practised life-saving techniques, including CPR. Some staff got quite attached to their First Aid dummies!

First Aid Training

MRISA Basketball

From the Primary School

Go NAGAS!

Sports

The Senior Girls Basketball team clinched their second

consecutive silver medal at MRISA at the February

tournament. The girls fought hard to beat hosts ISPP in the

semi-final and secure their place in the big match.

Coach Julien said, “I was impressed with their real

engagement this season, especially since Christmas.

Despite a hectic schedule and exams, this team managed

to show a true commitment and I really respect that. The

positive energy during practice, games, tournaments,

conditioning and even listening to my "boring speeches" were not useless… it’s mostly why those 10 girls had great

MRISA tournament. As their coach I am so proud of them… so is the school community.”

The NISC students and teachers who came on the first day of the MRISA tournament were impressed by the

team’s game. There was a great turnout of NISC fans for the semis and the final, who enthusiastically supported

the NAGAS. It was a great weekend with a great finish. The team worked hard, coming back from a 7 point deficit

in the first half of the semi-final to beat the ISPP Falcons by 5 points.

It’s hard to lose the final game of a

tournament, but after winning all

their other games so easily during

the tournament, the SSIS girls had a

tough job to finally beat the NAGAS

by only 4 points, with the final

decision coming just 12 seconds

before the buzzer.

Congratulations to Porchu and

Kanika who were named in the

tournament All Star team.

Good luck to the 12 Graders

Borami, Porchou, Kim, Sojung and

Kanika for the future of their

“sports career”. We hope they will

continue their love of the game by

playing in university colors.

MRISA Soccer

From the Primary School Sports

The Junior Soccer teams attended the regional MRISA tournament in Thailand in February. The Junior Girls had a

tough tournament, coming up against strong competition from ISE and UNIS in particular.

The Junior Boys beat hosts ISE in their first game, equalizing soon after the start of the second half, then pulling

ahead with two great goals into the right hand corner. The NAGAS goalkeeper was Man of the Match with 21

saves! A 1-1 draw against ISHCMC and a 2-0 victory over VIS was enough to secure the team’s place in the final

against ISPP. The team played with courage and determination, but eventually lost out to ISPP with a final result of

2-0. Big congratulations to the Junior Boys for their silver medals, but more importantly for their team spirit.

The Primary School’s Winter Read-A-Thon statistics have been analysed by our librarian Mr Kurt. Grade 3 are the

clear leaders and girls outdid boys in reading! Four students read more than 100 books each - we hope you got

some time for sleeping too!

@ Your Library

From the Primary School

Primary Update from Primary School

Principal Ms Zalba We were delighted to welcome students from six other schools in the city to the Young Athletes of Phnom Penh Track and Field Meet hosted by NISC in February. Students enjoyed taking part in running races, hurdling, jumping, shot putt and javelin. There was also time for less conventional events, such as sack racing and tug of war.

For more Track and Field photos, visit

our Facebook page.

Many thanks to the Parent Group and volunteers for all their help,

and Ms Kris’s team for organizing such a great day! Thanks also to

Asian Tigers Mobility for their kind support.

I really liked when the NISC students easily socialized with the students from SokSan. It felt great to be friends with someone you would not meet every day and befriend them.

This MIA changed

everyone's thinking and the way

we treat each other. The kids are

awesome, smart, kind and respectful

children. We all like soccer and they

follow rules and the

games were fun.

It was just an amazing experience! I loved it.

It changed me and my thoughts about people

who are not as fortunate as us.

Fishing is my favorite activity because I can catch fish, play in mud and jump into lakes

Grade 6 went to Sok San village, where

they fished, helped to construct a house,

learnt Khmer cooking and did activities

with students of the Sok San school.

Mission in Action

Our first stop was Khmer Cooking as we worked together to make fresh spring rolls, fish amok and mango sticky rice. The students were really proud of their efforts as we all tried each other’s dish with various amounts of chilli. The next day, after a brilliant fast ride across the ocean, we headed to the Friends of Koh Rong school. It’s an NGO project that works with island village children - the 90 students learn both Khmer and English. We brought over some resources for the students to use and joined them in some fun activities. After lunch the two schools headed down to the beach for a cleanup and played tug-o-war in the shallows.

Our final day started at

the beach, with games

and collaboration, making

sandcastles and playing

flags. We headed back to

the hotel for our journey

home, tired but happy.

The students

demonstrated open

mindedness, being

principled and risk taking

for the trip and they

should all be proud of

their achievements,

overcoming fear and

doubt and excelling in all

activities.

.

Action

Grade 7 went to Sihanoukville and Koh

Rong island, visiting the Friends of Koh

Rong school to donate supplies, work with

the students and do a beach clean up.

Grade 8 went jungle camping in

Rovieng. Students conquered their

fear of heights and worked as a team

to accomplish many different

challenging activities.

Mission in Action You can solve problems with many people together and

use everyone’s knowledge.

I learnt how to climb a tree with

absolutely no branches, like a

caterpillar.

During each activity we had to talk and come up with a plan to be successful.

I learnt the horrors of showering

with 11 people and 1 pail!

I challenged myself by going up

the steep staircase onto the Buddha head

ledge since I fear high places, and by doing

the circus activities such as juggling and

acrobatics.

Teaching the students was challenging, because it was hard to maintain their attention

and not to cause boredom in the classroom. The best thing was the Circus show, the

performers were amazing they are such risk-takers.

Action

Grade 9 visited Battambang, giving lessons

at an NGO school, kayaking, cycling, riding

the bamboo train and learning circus skills.

When we were teaching the students at the school, I felt we’re so lucky that we can attend a nice school

like NISC.

I developed new skills and became more

confident in myself. I learned that if you try

hard enough you will reach your goal.

Grade 10 worked with

RAWImpact helping to

build a school. The

students learnt how to use

new tools, completed a

Masterchef challenge and

used digital art to reflect

on what they had achieved.

Mission in

For more MIA Trip

photos, visit our

Facebook page.

Grade 11 went to Kep and

Kampot to work with the NGO

Epic Arts.

Mission: To learn more about physical

disabilities and to understand them

better. We also learned how to interact

with people with disabilities without

focusing on their disabilities.

Skills Acquired/Practised: sign

language and dance performance

Biggest Challenge: Communicating

with Epic Arts students.

Funniest Moment: when we saw

each other perform and some of us fell

Action

Grade 12 went to the Hotel

Intercontinental in Phnom Penh.

Mission: to prepare for exams, finalise

TOK essays and complete CAS

reflections.

Skills Acquired/Practised: study

skills, essay writing, reflective

questions

Biggest Challenge: getting back to

work and being productive after the

hotel’s all-you-can-eat buffet lunch

Funniest moment: working out to

P90x, doing push-ups and squats, with

Mr Jeff leaving all the students in the

dust!

Secondary School

Making It

Grade 7 Design

The Grade 7 Design classes are participating in the STEM challenge for the Cambodian Science & Engineering Festival on the 12-14 March at Royal University of Phnom Penh. All middle school students have the opportunity to go to the fair and see the hands-on displays from schools and universities across town, inspiring their interest in Science and Engineering. NISC will have a booth staffed by our students demonstrating their many different talents. STEM is the combination of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and is designed to encourage students to use their skills, knowledge and understanding to solve problems. It is an integrated approach to learning across the world and can be used in all Grade levels to spark the natural enthusiasm of life-long learners to explore how the world around them works. The Grade 7 students are going to make a demonstration project for the fair and each have picked an area of interest to each of them. Using the Design Cycle they are going to create a project that can be demonstrated and explained at the fair. Their imagination was worked overtime as they came up with many different ideas, worked together in teams and finalized their choices for the fair.

We started the unit with a “Paper Bag” challenge

where the students needed collaboratively build a

ball launcher out of the materials provided. The had

some very animated discussions, some failures and

successes to finalize their designs. Everyone partici-

pated in some way, offering advice and perfecting the

general idea, with more success in some cases than

others. Overall it was a successful introduction to

STEM and the students enjoyed the challenge.

Find out more about the

Cambodian Science and

Engineering Festival -

www.cambodiascience.org

From the Secondary School

Choosing Diploma Courses

As Grade 10 students are beginning to think about what choices they need to make for entry into the Diploma

Programme, it’s time to announce the subjects offered to the Class of 2017. Beginning Grade 11 for the 2015-16

school year, students will be able to select from the following courses:

Group 1 - Studies in Language and Literature

Khmer Literature (Higher Level/Standard Level)

English Language & Literature (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Korean Language & Literature (Higher Level/Standard Level)

School Supported Self-Taught Languages: Thai and Japanese

Group 2 - Language Acquisition

French B (Higher Level/Standard Level)

English B (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Mandarin B (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Group 3 - Individuals and Societies

History (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Economics (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Geography (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Business Management (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Group 4 - Sciences

Chemistry (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Physics (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Biology (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Group 5 - Mathematics

Mathematics (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Mathematical Studies (Standard Level)

Group 6 - The Arts

Visual Art (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Music (Higher Level/Standard Level)

Students must select one subject from each of Groups 1-5 and an additional sixth subject. All students must be

enrolled in either English Language & Literature or English B. All students will take Core as their seventh course.

In addition to announcing our subjects on offer, we are also sharing our Grade 11 block schedule for the 2015-16

school year. This will restrict which subject combinations students are able to select, but it was formulated with

university tracks and student interests in mind. Students are only able to select one subject from each block, and all

students are expected to have one block free for study and lesson preparation.

Block 1 English A English B

Block 2 Khmer A Korean A Language A ST French B Mandarin B

Block 3 History Economics

Block 4 Physics Biology

Block 5 Maths SL Maths Studies

Block 6 Visual Art Music Chemistry Business

Block 7 Core 1 Core 2

Block 8 Maths HL Geography

Save the Date: Parent Information Night, 13 May 2015.

Model United Nations

MUN in Singapore

After months of preparation, the NISC Model United

Nations (MUN) team set off for Singapore to attend the

first annual Yale NUS College Asia Pacific. With a 3.5

hour delay on our flight’s departure, the day didn’t start

off exactly as we would have liked, but that didn’t get

our group down. In fact, they hit the ground running!

Each and every one of our NISC students demonstrated

the ability to adapt to change and to take risks, and well

as being knowledgeable. It was a very busy three days.

Special mention goes to Lauren Boname (as the delegate

of Greece) who received an Honourable Mention as Best

Delegate in her committee. What a fabulous achieve-

ment!

The guest of honour at the closing ceremonies was

Minister Shanmugam, the Singaporean Minister for

Foreign Affairs. Minister Shanmugam hosted a two hour

Q&A session in which the honour of the last question

went to NISC student Rindeth Long, who questioned the

Minister on what Singapore is doing to protect

immigrant labourers.

This event was a wonderful conclusion to the 2014/15

NISC MUN season. Ms Paulenne and Ms Jodie would like

to say how proud we are of all who participated in

YNCAP MUN. We applaud their dedication, perseverance

and hard work, as well as that of all MUN students this

year. It truly was a pleasure working with every single

one of you.

by Ms Paulenne Hosegood and Ms Jodie Commons

Can you spot the NISC delegates? Watch the Finale video.

Grade 12

With the Extended Essays submitted, student work will be mailed to locations all over the world. Many other assessments will also be sent by courier to places far away including Written Assignments and Internal Assessments, which should all be complete in the next month. Some assessments will not be mailed, but instead items like the Visual Art studio work and the Theory of Knowledge essay will be uploaded to an online system set up for each International Baccalaureate candidate. Also coming up are the Mock Exams which represent a dress rehearsal for the IB Exams in May. The Mock Exams take place 25 March to 1 April and will include full exam papers for all subjects, in a similar format to how the May exams will be organized.

Grade 11

Students in Grade 11 have now begun their Extended Essays, a research paper delving into a significant subject area and topic of interest. The challenge ahead of students is significant, and the best Essays tend to be those that are well-planned and approached proactively. Encourage your student to start early, use the support documents made available to them by their teachers, and check in with them throughout the process. The assessment calendar on the next page allows parents to see all of the major due dates for their student’s various subjects, up to the end of 2015. This should help families to support their children, by allowing them time and space to complete the sizable workload ahead. The full calendar spans three semesters and two school years, culminating with the IB Exams and CAS Exhibition in May 2016, and can be viewed and downloaded here.

Grade 10

With the final months of the Middle Years Programme (MYP) upon them, students in Grade 10 must begin to turn the page and consider their future in the Diploma Programme. The subjects which students select for Grades 11 and 12 are significant as this has implications for achievement of the IB Diploma and university acceptance. Subject teachers will be presenting their courses to the Grade 10 students throughout March to provide a balanced perspective of all that NISC offers. Our School Counselor Mr John, and the Diploma Programme Coordinator Mr Russ, will be meeting with students during April to discuss the choices they will have to make. On 13 May 2015, there will be a Parent Information Night to answer questions from the community on how best to support our students. More information on the Parent Information Night will be shared in the next Mekong Messenger.

Today in the Diploma Programme Today in the Diploma Programme

You have to take

the stairs.” UNKNOWN

The assessment calendar is a timeline of major assignments critical to the success of students in the Diploma Programme. The calendar consists of all internal and external assessments required over the final two years prior to graduation. The calendar was developed collaboratively, with teachers discussing appropriate dates with each other. The goal of the calendar is to spread assignments out over the school year as much as possible to allow students to do quality work. See the full assessment calendar to the end of the 2015-2016 school year here.

Class of 2016 Assessment Calendar

24 January 2015

SAT Testing

1 March 2015

Lab Report

(Fieldwork on MIA Trip)

ESS

Assigned: 11-20 February

27 March 2015

Economics Article #1

Economics

Assigned: 2 March

20 April 2015

Comparative Study #2

Visual Art

Assigned: 6 April

27 April 2015

Written Assignment

Khmer

Assigned: 13 April

2 May 2015

SAT Testing

6 May 2015

Simple Psychological

Experiment

Psychology

Assigned: 6 April

11 May 2015

Interactive Oral Activity #1

Language B

25 May 2015

Interactive Oral Activity

English A

26-29 May 2015

Semester Exams

All subjects

1 June 2015

Group 4 Project

Physics/Biology/Chemistry

1 June 2015

Economics Article #2

Economics

Assigned: 11 May

6 June 2015

SAT Testing

5 October 2015

ITGS Project

ITGS

Assigned: 11 May

7 September 2015

Historical Research

Investigation

History

Assigned: 11 May

14 September 2015

Interactive Oral Activity #2

Language B

3 October 2015

SAT Testing

5 October 2015

Lab Report

Physics/Biology

Assigned: 31 August

12 October 2015

Interactive Oral

Korean A

19 October 2015

Lab Report

Chemistry

Assigned: 7 September

7 November 2015

SAT Testing

9 November 2015

Lab Report

ESS

Assigned: 19 October

16 November 2015

Comparative Study #3

Visual Art

Assigned: 2 November

23 November 2015

TOK Presentation

Theory of Knowledge

Assigned: 5 October

5 December 2015

SAT Testing

7 December 2015

Written Assignment

Korean A

Assigned: 15 November

7 December 2015

Interactive Oral

English A

7 December 2015

Extended Essay

Core

Assigned: 23-24 February

8-11 December 2015

Semester Exams

18 December 2015

Written Assignment

Language B

Assigned: 31 August

DP Art Show Poster

In IB Diploma Programme History, students develop the tools of historical analysis through studying the people, places, and events of the past. Students act as historians to analyze primary sources, making meaning out of the past and drawing conclusions about what occurred. By doing this students study the past to better understand the interactions of cultures in the present.

Diploma Programme Spotlight Diploma Programme Spotlignt

Grade 11 students brainstorm the many causes

of WWII and attempt to categorize them into

“long-term causes”, “short-term causes”, and

“immediate cause”.

Diploma Programme Spotlight

HISTORY

Mr SEAN MILLER

Diploma Programme Spotlignt

Grade 11 History has just finished a historical investigation on an aspect of their choosing related to the Spanish Civil War. They have now begun to analyze the varied and complicated causes of World War II. Grade 12 has completed a primary source analysis of the holocaust. They have begun to learn about the events of World War II and the reasons for the defeat of Germany and Japan.

Grade 12 students analyze primary source

photographs to create a timeline of events

that led to the end of WWII

P.O. Box 2042, Phnom Penh 3

Kingdom of Cambodia

Phone: (+855) 023 886 000/ -006

E-mail: info@nisc.edu.kh

We like to recognize and acknowledge the accomplishments of our students by sometimes placing pictures of

them in NISC publications, on our website or our Facebook page. If you do not want pictures of your child to

be included in the school website or publications, please contact the school office immediately. Thank you.