IGBIS Newsletter | Issue 181

Message from the Head of School

Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members,

Our DP/CP Coordinator, Mr Magnus Dreschler and Career-related Programme (CP) students Balqis Badlisyah, Mathilda Khoo and Sidnee Lim, gave an excellent presentation to IGBIS parents, community members and members of the Malaysia New Zealand Chamber of Commerce about the courses that they are undertaking with Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) through the CP programme.  It sounded like they found SCAD to be exciting and challenging and the courses have opened new doors for them now and in the future! The SCAD representative shared some examples of projects completed by SCAD students for industry along with organised internships and work experience for SCAD students. Apart from providing specialised university level courses for our students while they are still attending school, the course credits may be used when students later enter colleges and universities.

Mrs Anne Fowles | Head of School

News from Secondary School

Dear parents,

Our Grade 11 programmes were in the spotlight this week, as we hosted an inter-Chamber of Commerce presentation for our Career-Related Programme (CP) on Tuesday and our Grade 11 Options Fair for Grade 10 students and their parents on Friday. Our three CP students, Mr Dreschler, and a representative from the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) spoke about the partnership between IGBIS & SCAD, the courses on offer, and the experiences of the students. For me, the most exciting part was hearing the student perspectives and seeing the work they have been producing.

On Friday, Mr Dreschler, Mr Mitchell and the DP teachers welcomed Grade 10 parents and students to the Options Fair, where these students begin the process of programme and course selection for Grade 11. This process will span several months, as students consider their fields of interest, possible universities they may wish to apply to, and the courses they will need to select now to start their journey towards tertiary education and beyond.

In Grade 11 we are fortunate to offer the IB DP, CP and our own High School Diploma, all three qualifications which are recognised worldwide, as well as here in Malaysia. The diversity of these programmes, coupled with the diversity of subjects on offer, truly offer a personalised education for our students. I am looking forward to seeing what the Grade 10 students will choose, as they embark on their final two years at IGBIS! My thanks to Mr Dreschler for organising and hosting these two big events.

Looking forward, our Grade 12 Mock exams will begin on Wednesday of next week, we will have some interesting university visits, and sporting fixtures too. Beyond next week, we will have class and individual photos taking place for secondary on March 7th & 11th.  

Please check the parent calendar for full details of all upcoming events.

Enjoy your weekend,

Michael Arcidiacono |Secondary School Principal

News from Elementary School

This week saw both the Grade 4 and Grade 5 students attend camp. The Grade 4 students used the school as a base and engaged in a series of one-day excursions. They went hiking at the Kota Damansara Community Forest, built fires, cooked lunch for themselves and walked down the river at Selangor State Park. They had an afternoon playing board games at Vivae Board Game cafe, climbed at Camp 5 and finally wrapped up the camp with some ten pin bowling. It was a busy few days, a great bonding experience and for some, challenged them out of their comfort zones.

The Grade 5 students went to Gopeng for their outdoor camp experience. They engaged in gardening and outside cooking. They climbed, challenged themselves on the Leap of Faith, and had a river day with swimming, river challenges and flat water rafting. It is always challenging sleeping away from home, however the students embraced this and supported and encouraged each other throughout the three days.

On Tuesday the Grade 3 students shared their learning in the assembly and then parents and students were invited to their Art Exhibition: ‘Inspired by Nature’. As part of their How we Express ourselves unit, the students were inspired by their field trip to the Botanical Gardens where they took photographs and then extended their learning by exploring different techniques to express their creativity. These included leaf art, computer generated batik, photo editing, collage and paintings. We hope you enjoyed attending, if you didn’t manage to view the Exhibition see the photos included in this article.

Your assistance is needed with regards to assisting your children with their long hair. We ask that hair is tied up or back as it can be hazardous to students when they are running around in the playground, in PE and at the field as the hair can fall in front of their eyes, obscure the students vision and accidents can happen.

Dates for your diaries

• Thursday 7th, Friday 8th, Monday 11th March: Student photos (more details will be sent via email)
• Wednesday 13th March: KLISS Primary Athletics (Track and Field) @IGBIS
• Saturday 16th March: International Day/5 Year celebration
• Wednesday 27th March: ES Production

Simon Millward |Elementary School Principal

Feedback from Ms Anna Brockway

Staff and students loved having Ms. Anna Brockway’s visit to IGBIS as our first performing artist in residence, and it seems Ms. Brockway thoroughly enjoyed her visit as well.  Below is a beautiful letter from Ms. Brockway, thanking IGBIS students and staff for such a wonderful stay. She illustrates how an education at IGBIS truly does provide students with the tools to become caring, global citizens.

January, 2019

Dear Jamie,

I am writing to thank you and your lovely students and staff for such a warm and special stay at IGB International School where I was made to feel immediately and completely at home.

Every student in every year group was wholeheartedly immersed and inclusively motivated in my workshops which was inspiring, and such a beautiful environment to work in. Your students are compassionate, intelligent, risk taking, creative individuals who are a joy to share skills with.

In focusing on each individual year group I found I was moved by the huge advancement the Year 11 and 12 group made in such a short time in their workshops on practitioners Suzuki, Bogart, Lecoq, Gaulier, Pagneaux (and others). Their grasp and application was impressive, as was their openness to these highly demanding and technically detailed practices.

Year 12 in their separate sessions showed diligent insight in their research and application in the beginnings of their creations of their original solo pieces. In their scene breakdown and applying the research of the theories of the chosen practitioners, deciding on structure and story trajectory and creating a rough framework. All physically utilised the research in a very creative and detailed way focusing on process true to their source. A conscientious and astutely creative team.

The Theatre of the Absurd immersing of Year 10 was a pleasure to see. Their natural lean toward comedy meant their outcome was quickly realised in applying clowning, ensemble, Frantic assembly, Bogart and DV8 practitioners. Such a supportive ensemble before I even had the pleasure of joining them. I was also impressed by their innate understanding of Absurd Theatre.

The highly motivated Year 9 group immediately applied everything I shared with them in their piece The Chinese Brothers. What a hard working, supportive, intelligent ensemble. From Bogart to ensemble physical theatre, story building to revealing moment to moment, audience openness and character physicalisation. I was highly impressed. I hope they had all the fun they deserved in their performance!

Lecoq Le Jeu was on fire with Year 8, which was enchanting! The first step of sharing before structured play is very strong with them so I can’t wait to know what you are continuing to create with them. They have a strong sense of discipline so the play combined with that will be a joy to create with.

Year 6 had just the perfect level of cheeky play and play-building for their age. Their inclusive ensemble work was lovely to enhance and I found them mature for their year in the challenging exercises I shared with them.

I am sure that the Chinese New Year assembly was wonderful! It was so much fun to be able to assist the already high performance level for such young age groups, thoroughly supported by such dedicated Elementary Chinese teaching staff with so much passion.

Also, I am so glad Clare asked me to play with the kids in their ‘Cinderella’ piece. They were fantastic! I could have continued for hours! So much done in such a short amount of time and such incredible focus and playfulness in the structure of the story. What a great choice. Wishing them a wonderful showing!

I loved my stay! Thank you!

Warm wishes,

Anna Brockway | Performing Artist In Residence

Elementary Music Review

A big focus in Elementary School Music since January has been to prepare for our adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Cinderella. The performance will be held on Wednesday, 27th March at 1.45pm. All students from Grades 1-5 will be on stage at some point in the performance with the lead roles played by students who signed up for the activity. We are busy learning songs and actions as we practice the five scenes with the actors in the theatre. We look forward to seeing you at the show.

The Early Years and Kindergarten students performed very well at the Christmas Assembly and I’m sure parents were really proud of them. They sang beautifully and remembered all the actions that went with their four songs. They were surprised when “Santa” came to help them with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. Since the performance, we have been experimenting with handbells and using instruments to create sound effects for stories we read together.

In Homeroom Units of Inquiry, music has been integrating with various grade levels. Grade 2 students worked out just how many ways we use numbers in music – we’re always counting, even if we don’t realise it! We also discovered that our melodies are based on seven different notes. We looked inside the piano to see how the tones are repeated as we go up the scales. Grade 3 students listened to music inspired by nature from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons to Debussy’s Snow is Dancing. They are now busy experimenting with instruments and composing a “soundscape” to reflect an aspect of nature that has inspired them. Grade 4 students are currently listening to music to see how it makes us feel and what picture we get in our minds when we hear it. We will then examine how songs influence our daily lives.

Clare Demnar |Elementary Music Teacher

CAStastic Seniors

Kudos to our Grade 12 students who are approaching the end of their CAS programme. The QR code in the image below will take you to a video highlighting their achievements: be sure to take a look as we are all very proud of them.

The next step on their CAS journey is their third interview, in which the students will evaluate their programme and reflect on their personal growth. Although they will have then completed the CAS programme, I expect that this is just the beginning of their journey as caring, global citizens.

Nathalie Chotard |CAS Coordinator

IB Final Art Exhibition

Please join us for the opening of the Final IB Art Exhibition held on the evening of Thursday, March 21st at 6:30 pm.

Our talented DP2 artists have created outstanding and innovative artworks for this final exhibition showcasing their hard work from the past 2 years. Maryam Binti Ahmad Amer, Momone Matsumura, Kitty Lim and Vanessa Veldkamp have developed and honed their art skills while learning about artists and art movements throughout history to inform their work. They have explored various media while developing their own style and curated a wonderful collection as part of their Visual Art requirements. We look forward to sharing this work with you.

Some artworks from our DP1 students, Balqis Badlisyah and Dameer Khan, will be included in the exhibition. In addition, selected pieces from our talented Grade 9 and 10 artists will be exhibited.

Bring your family and friends and let’s celebrate our students’ amazing artistic achievement!

We look forward to seeing you in the Level 2 Art Exhibition Space @ 6:30 pm on March 21st where refreshments will be served!

Heather Blake |DP/MYP Visual Arts Teacher