IGBIS Newsletter | Issue 193 – IGB International School

Congratulations to Mr Magnus Drechsler and all of our DP teachers for seeing our Grade 12 students through to the end of their DP examinations and even bigger congratulations to all of the students for completing their exams. They and their parents are looking a lot more relaxed today! We look forward to seeing them all at their best next Friday morning at the Class of 2019 Graduation Ceremony.

Mr Darryl Harding, Grade 10 teachers and the Grade 10 students have also done exceptionally well this week with the rest of the MYP onscreen examinations, the last of these is being completed as I write this newsletter.

Meanwhile the PYP and MYP Art Exhibition is on display in the arts exhibition area. It is truly amazing to see the creative talents of all of these students exhibited. Please do call in to have a look at the exhibition.

Have a wonderful weekend ahead.

Mrs Anne Fowles | Head of School

Dear parents/guardians,

This week saw the end of our Grade 10 and Grade 12 exams, with Grade 11 finishing their exams early next week. Whew, what a relief! Our focus now starts to turn towards the end of year and the graduation of our Grade 12 students. Earlier this week I shared an email with parents outlining the last weeks of school and the activities students will be involved in. We will be bringing the year to a close in a fun, community manner and I ask for parent support in finalising permissions and arrangements for Sunway Lagoon and the the different service experiences on offer.

This upcoming Friday we will commemorate the achievements of our eldest students, who are now ready to embark on a new journey after their time at IGBIS. Parents are welcome to attend the graduation at 10am, which will be a great celebration for a special group of students.

Sincerely yours,

Michael Arcidiacono | Secondary School Principal

The final month of school is a very busy time and as we walk through the classrooms and learning lounges we are happy to notice that the engagement of our learners has not dwindled one bit. In the Early Years the How We Express Ourselves investigations have taken the children to explore different forms of art: painting, drama, and movement. The learners have followed multiplied individual inquiries into different art techniques that help them express their ideas and feelings. In Kindergarten, the students have been inquiring into how to express themselves through performance and will be sharing different types of acting and performing in the final ES assembly, on the upcoming Day 5. Grade 1 have been busy looking into our rights and responsibilities regarding the use of water and have taken this unit very seriously. Grade 2 are working with different experiments that help them understand that forces (magnetism, push, pull) are vital in our everyday lives. Grade 3 students are looking into architectural structures, their form and function and investigate how to use their knowledge of geometry (figures and shapes) and design thinking to create their own free standing structures. Grade 4 and 5 students are looking into relationships and communication at times of transition. Grade 4 learners use this time to reflect on how to build successful relationships based on care and respect and how to solve conflicts, while Grade 5 students have been focusing on their transition into Grade 6 and the opportunities and tensions it may cause.

Aga Chojnacka | PYP Coordinator

Ramadan continues until Friday 7 June and during this time we have a number of staff and students fasting during school hours. Out of respect to fasting students, we continue to ask that any celebration at school, including birthdays, does not involve any type of food. This includes birthday cakes.

If you would still like to have a small celebration for your child’s birthday at school during Ramadan, here are just a selection of alternatives.

Stickers: hand out stickers to students.
Plants: hand out small plants to each student, or donate a larger plant to the class.
Dance: have a 5-minute dance celebration.
Play a game: charades, board games, musical chairs, etc. – the birthday child could choose a quick game that is easy to set up and pack away.
Parents read a book: come and read a book to the class. Or send a favourite book in for the teacher to read to the class.
Sing Happy Birthday.
Have students sign a card for the birthday child.
Bring in a t-shirt and fabric pens and have the class sign the t-shirt with birthday messages.

A number of MYP students have been working together during their innovation time to find a way to contribute to the community in a positive way. This week they saw their efforts brought to fruition. On Tuesday 21st May, the students headed to SOLS 24/7, a humanitarian organisation that works to empower and transform underserved communities to develop their true potential and break the cycle of poverty. With them, the students brought books that they had encouraged people from the IGBIS community to donate to this deserving charity.

Led by Grade 10 student, Marvin, the group consisted of 13 MYP students ranging from Grade 6 to Grade 10. They showed initiative, perseverance, collaboration and most importantly determination to improve the education of children in Malaysia through reading! Congratulations to all of the team for motivating yourselves and others to make positive changes in your community.

Nathalie Chotard | CAS Coordinator

For the past two years IGBIS students have been busy imagining, inventing, creating and making in our Makerspace. Spearheaded by Ms Aga, our PYP Coordinator, we are an official Imagination Foundation Chapter and through that we have been involved in the Cardboard Challenge for two years, as well as the Inventor’s Challenge.

Excitingly, the Inventor’s Challenge organisers are shining a light on the IGBIS Imagination Foundation Chapter by featuring us in this years Inventor’s Challenge Playbook. The Playbook is shared with thousands of schools taking part in the 2019 Inventor’s Challenge and they will be looking to our school as inspiration, learning about how we make a difference in the lives of young learners at our school and within our community.

Congratulations to Ms Aga and all of our young inventors who continue to spread the message of the importance of imagination, invention, creation, and fun far and wide.

It is the time of the year that we focus on assessment and group placements within the Chinese programme to make sure every child’s learning needs are met and we can track their progress over time. During the past few weeks, Children from Kindergarten to Grade 2 received internal diagnostic assessment, and Grade 3 to Grade 5 students were given in-house Young Chinese Test (YCT). Research shows that language ability grouping can provide students with adaptive learning environment to meet the needs of students with diverse language proficiency. Next academic year, children will be placed in different Chinese language ability groups based on their proficiency level. The internal assessments coupled with our observations and formative assessment will provide us with enough data to make sure we create optimal learning and teaching conditions for our Chinese language learners.

The Chinese Language Department

The artistic directors of the highly regarded KL Shakespeare Players, Mr Soon Heng Lim and Mr Kien Lee, attended drama rehearsals on Tuesday, May 21 to coach the Grade 9 students in a range of theatre traditions and techniques as they prepare for their final performance for the year, ‘An Evening of Shakespeare’. The students are looking forward to your support on Wednesday, May 29. The performances will be a fitting conclusion to a great year of Secondary theatre for, by and with young people at IGBIS.

“It was truly a wholesome and fun experience learning while also meeting new people. They helped us express ourselves and use our bodies and voices in ways that enhance the whole play, and more importantly, this workshop made me more in love with drama.”
Denny

“The experience of being able to meet with professionals in Shakespeare drama was eye-opening. I learned how to be more expressive when introducing particular subjects. I also learned new terms in drama that contributed to my understanding of the basics of drama. What I realised throughout this learning experience is that we have a lot of space to improve in terms of our body control and speech. I truly am grateful to have gone through this experience, as not many people are lucky enough to get a learning experiences like this.”
Justin

“Our collaboration with the KL Shakespeare company was interesting and unique. Not only did they help us find more potential with the abridged version of Romeo and Juliet, but also find more potential within us and our diverse group. Our encounter with the KL Shakespeare Players helped us deepen our knowledge of the different periods of theatre (Commedia Dell’arte, Elizabethan Comedy and Melodrama) and how they were required to perform back then. The biggest takeaway we had as a class from this experience was to play big and never be afraid. We are all very grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to put what we learnt to use.”
Sophie

“This experience was, in my option, the best sub learning and teaching I have received. I have learned lots of new techniques to enhance my performance for the Romeo and Juliet play but I’m 100% sure I will be using these in other Victorian/Comedia del Arte plays. I was nervous before we showcased what we had done but I was relaxed after receiving supportive criticism/notes.”
Deniz

Jamie Cant | Secondary School Drama Teacher

Congratulations to the Grade 5 students who participated in the KLISS badminton tournament on Friday. You can tell by the medals and the smiles that everyone did well and had a great time!