IGBIS Newsletter, Issue 212

Message from the Head of School

I was pleased to get back into Kuala Lumpur in time to see the 24 Hour Race taking place over the weekend. The organising committee did a fantastic job. This meant that even when the weather conditions deteriorated, the students were still able to run in the car park.  Approximately 1000 runners and supporters took part and nearly RM320,000 was raised. Most importantly, the plight of modern-day slavery was brought front and center to the attention of not only those in attendance, but their families and friends around the world.

Secondary School Principal Appointment

On hearing that Dr Arcidiacono will be leaving IGBIS in June, the school began a very comprehensive, world-wide search for a new principal. Over 50 people applied for the position when it was advertised on the school, CIS and Search Associates websites. Of these, 15 candidates were long-listed and their referees contacted. Following this, six very strong candidates were interviewed by the recruitment committee. As the school wanted to seek input from all of our constituents, panels of staff, students and parents were then invited to interview the final three candidates. This feedback, along with telephone calls with the candidate’s heads of school, assisted the recruitment committee to make their final decision. We are very pleased to announce that our selected candidate, Ms Sandy van Nooten, has accepted our offer and will be joining us next August. We hope that we can arrange for Ms van Nooten to visit the IGBIS, meet everyone here and talk with Dr Arcidiacono prior to her move. In the meantime, I would like to thank the staff, students and parents who interviewed our final candidates and made such a valuable contribution to the recruitment process.

Introduction to our incoming Secondary School Principal 

Sandy van Nooten has enjoyed a long career in international education. From teaching at a progressive independent school, ‘Woodleigh,’ near her home town in Victoria, Australia, Sandy moved to the Western Academy of Beijing where she was the school’s first Secondary School Head of Mathematics.

Sandy went back to university to study computer programme and software engineering, and after a brief stint working as a usability specialist at Novell, Sandy returned to education and has worked as a teacher, IB Coordinator and Assistant Principal in Bogotá, Manila and Johannesburg.

Sandy is currently the Secondary Principal at the Oberoi International School in Mumbai with almost 900 students and 130 teachers. She is super excited to be joining IGBIS and the wonderful community of learners who are part of this dynamic and exciting school.

A love of the outdoors and an adventurous spirit inspires Sandy’s belief in experiential learning. Sandy has become a keen runner in recent years. Many afternoons she braves the leopards of the Aarey Dairy colony in Mumbai with a group of slightly crazy colleagues, and while never going too fast, she truly embraces (the second half) of this African proverb, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’

Anne Fowles, Head of School

From the Elementary School Principal

This has seen the ending of our after-school activities and athletics programme for non-paid activities. The scope and enjoyment that our students get from engaging in these kinds of activities demonstrates the holistic nature of our school programmes. 

Developing creativity, physical development and a sense of action to make the world a better place are noble characteristics of the programme and we are proud that we can offer these opportunities for our students. 

Our Music Academy programme is a wonderful element of our school and I am looking forward to the music instrumental concerts that are coming up next week. Both concerts start at 1.45pm in Drama Room 2.

Tuesday, 3rd December (classes of Miss Irma, Mr Yew Chee and Miss Iko)

Thursday, 5th December (classes of Miss Irma, Mr Joshua, Mr Adil and Miss Wong)

These challenge the students and ask them to be risk-takers as they perform in front of an audience, which can be intimidating. I know they have been practising hard and we wish them luck in their performances.

Next week also sees us celebrate ‘Inclusive Schools Week’ which gives us the opportunity to gain greater understanding and an appreciation of the challenges that people face in the world and in our school. A big thank you to Ms. Lizzie and all the parents that have been involved over the course of the month of November to raise our awareness of inclusion and organise the many activities that are on offer next week. We would love as many of you to attend the various activities and especially the Friday movie and games in the early evening.

Dates for your diaries:

• Tuesday 3rd December: Music Academy concert #1: 1.45pm
• Thursday 5th December: Music Academy concert #2: 1.45pm
• Monday 2nd- Friday 6th December: Inclusive Schools Week
• Tuesday 10th December: Christmas Assembly and Holiday Bazaar
• Tuesday 10th December: Last day of school before the winter holiday

Simon Millward, Elementary School Principal

From the Secondary School Principal

Dear parents/guardians,

A very big thank you to the Secondary Student Ambassadors who helped conduct tours on our successful Open Days this week. Sharing their first-hand perspective is so valuable for potential families, as they think about their child’s educational options. That our ambassadors so eloquently do so is a tribute to themselves and our community.

This week some some great workshops took place for parents, one of which was led by Grade 10 Sasha Fournier, on preparing a vegan diet. Whilst I didn’t get to sample the final product, the process looked and smelled delicious! Grade 9 and 10 students were also involved in leading a workshop on Service as Action for parents, a good example of how students are able to reflect on their learning, through service experiences.

Seasion 1 Activities and Athletics theoretically come to an end this week, but next week is full of exciting events. Our varsity boys and girls basketball teams head to Phuket on Thursday to compete in the Breakers Cup, which is an exciting opportunity for our students to face international competition. The third student-led production of your Youth Theatre company will take place on Wednesday, with a show for students in the afternoon and then an evening show at 7pm. Led by Sophie Lim in Grade 10, the show titled Ms Manzar should be one not to miss. I look forward to seeing the IGBIS community at the event.

Enjoy your weekend,

Michael Arcidiacono, Secondary School Principal

Ms. Manzar – A Student-Led Production

On Wednesday, December 4 IGBIS will be performing its third student-led, student-written production, ‘Ms Manzar’. We will also be launching the School’s Youth Theatre Company brand, ‘RISE’. The company would like to invite students, parents and staff to attend in the evening at 7.00 pm in the IGBIS Theatre.

Life for Mira Manzar was perfect, just like her. But after the freak arrest of her father, her life only goes downhill from there. How can someone like Mira Manzar survive it all when she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth? With the help of her newfound ‘acquaintances’, she learns how to fend for herself and more importantly, the significance of friendship.

The production involves students from Grade 6 to Grade 12 in performing, directing, designing, writing, choreographing and musical composition. IGBIS is proud of its strong Performing Arts programs and each year we have seen a significant increase in participation in arts activities. Our Performing Arts community is flourishing and is a point of difference for our school.

We look forward to sharing this exciting student work with you. I know that the students would also appreciate messages of support and best wishes from the members of our community.

Jamie Cant, Drama & Theatre Specialist Teacher

Coach’s Corner

Parent Workshop – Homework and Learning with Tech

Thank you for those parents who attended the workshop on Wednesday.  As always, it was a good discussion about how best to support our students with digital technology.  We do not have all the answers, but when we are discussing ideas and possible solutions, it is great to feel that we are not alone in balancing the demands of technology in the modern world.

Our next parent workshop will look at ‘Cyberbullying and Digital Drama’, courtesy of Commonsense Media (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/)  The date is tentatively booked for Wednesday, 22nd January 2019, but please look out for confirmation.

Apple Storytelling workshop – Oasis International School, KL

Ms Uma, Mr Adam and myself travelled to Oasis on Tuesday, 26th Nov to look at tech tools that could enhance the learning journey for our students.  Some amazing apps were showcased, as well as opportunities to see existing tools such as Keynote and Clips and their capabilities. We will be sharing our new knowledge with our colleagues, so that it can be utilised in the classrooms with our students.

Grade 5 – BYOM

We are in the last couple of weeks for 2019, and the BYOM will roll out at the beginning of 2020.  If you have already purchased your device, please do take it along to Ms Uma and the IT Support team to prepare it for 2020.  Please do contact me at adrianna.astle@igbis.edu.my if you have any questions.  Here is a link to the booklet if you wish to check it out –

G5 BYOM Rollout 2019

Kind regards

Ms Adrianna, Technology Coach

Recycling with the Tzu Chi Foundation

On the 17th of November, I invited a group of students from IGBIS to join the Tzu Chi recycling programme. It was a 3 hours session and they were all exhausted. They all had their own takeaways (attached below) and I am glad that I was able to ignite their minds. People always throw their rubbish away, without thinking about the environment – Desmond Koh, Grade 11.

“The recycling program looks good. I recycled CDs, newspapers, magazines, plastic bottles, and glass bottles. I contributed to Goal 15:

“Life on Land, 17: Partnerships for the Goals because Tzu Chi Recycling Center wants to be the partner for the global goals.” 

Julien Jeon, Grade 7

“From my experience in Tzu Chi, I learnt that we as humans waste a lot and are not aware of the materials we are using and throwing away. Materials such as plastic is a major problem as they are used in everyday products. I found out that not all plastic is recyclable and only plastic that stretches does. this means that almost 80% of the plastic we use are not recyclable and are thrown away instead.”

Joseph Tan, Grade 11

“I learned that recycling is a very difficult process but it’s very fun”

Ghazi Kamarul, Grade 6

“I’d like students to realise that recycling is the last step to a sustainable lifestyle. The first one is to refuse. So, please stop throwing, re-use and repair instead!”

Nathalie Chotard, IGBIS CAS & Service Coordinator

Desmond Koh, Grade 11

Inclusive Schools Focus

It’s finally here! It’s Inclusive Schools Week next week. 

We hope that over the last month you have come to realise that inclusion is not just about one strand of diversity, but it is about the breadth of human diversity and truly includes everyone. If we each represent a puzzle piece in the jigsaw of IGBIS, it is only by having every single piece represented, that we create a complete and colourful picture. Next week we have a range of activities each day for students, parents, teachers and the community to celebrate this.

Some of the events that we would like you to be aware of are: 

• Dare to be Different. Dress Up Day on Tuesday. This is a chance to show a side of yourself that others may not know. Take a chance and be brave!
• Wheelchair Basketball. On Tuesday at 3pm in the Sports Hall parents, teachers and Secondary Students will be taught how to use wheelchairs to participate in playing basketball. Elementary Students are welcome to come along to cheer and support. As this is a fundraising event, there will be a 10MYR charge for participating.
• BeFrienders KL Talk. This will be a talk for parents at 2pm on Wednesday in the PVO room. The topic will be ‘Providing Emotional Support for Teens’.
• Book Donation. We would love to increase the resources in our library to support diversity so if you would like to contribute either by purchasing a book from this list or by making a donation to the library, please see Ms. Chan or Ms. Lizzie

We also have our community event on Friday evening starting at 6pm in the Drama Rooms on Level 3. Please bring your families and a picnic and join us in either watching a movie or playing some games. 

• In one room we will be screening the PG documentary ‘Life, Animated’, the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films.
• In the other room we will have a range of table-top games and physical games that encourage cooperation and having fun together. These games will be suitable for all ages and group sizes.

Friday evening is open to the wider community and there will be a small charge of 5MYR per person for coming along. These funds will then be used to allow the committee to put on further events and to purchase resources that can support the school’s vision of inclusion.

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Lizzie Hudson and the PVO Inclusion Committee

24 Hour Race

The 24 Hour Race is a global charity with a mission to challenge our generation to lead action against slavery. This year, the Kuala Lumpur 24 Hour Race was an incredible success with 840 participants, 17 organizing committee members and RM 320,000 fundraised.

Teams of 8 took turns running while enjoying live performances, food from vendors and trucks, and free milo. On top of running in the race, runners could be seen playing volleyball, throwing a frisbee, and passing a football from opposite ends of the field. Runners also participated in different fitness challenges – a memorable one being the girls’ plank challenge, where two IGBIS students hit 10 minutes, joined by a 7-year-old girl!

The lightning detector alarm sounded in the afternoon which was a disappointment to all of us, but everyone was back outside in no time. As I was not a runner this year, my perspective was a little different. The second we heard the alarm again symbolizing that it was clear to go back outside, we definitely got a little extra excited and celebrated. With everyone back outside, we held the popular activity of zorb ball. There were incredible performances put on by students, as well as one from the band TOK from IGBIS, where all participants came to support by screaming, jumping around, and singing along.

One of our very own students, Jordan Scott Lee, won the most laps run by boys, with 200 laps (which adds up to nearly 2 marathons!). His commitment and dedication was clearly seen throughout the race with every student and staff supporting and cheering him on. Last but not least, an honorable mention would be Ms. Julie and Ms. Chotard, and all the other staff members who came to chaperone and support the race. As the Operations Director, there was a lot of running around, cheering on my friends, meeting new people, minimal sleep, and a bad sunburn, but it was all worth it. While there were many challenges met and overcome, we were all able to take a few seconds to see all our work come to life with runners in their purple shirts and all that we have achieved. Thank you to everyone who came and participated and/or supported us!

Thanks,

Ro Xzi Ho, Operations Director, Kuala Lumpur 24 Hour Race – Grade 11

PVO News

Holiday Bazaar

Looking forward to seeing you at the Holiday Bazaar on the last day of school, 10 December 2019. Please extend this invitation to your friends and invite them to come along – all they need to do is show the guards a copy of the enclosed invitation.

Vendor registration has already closed and below are the vendors who have confirmed their attendance. We also have 7 “Suitcase Sale” vendors. 

Booth Name	Description of items for sale
CLOVE	Handmade liptints, lipbalm, face mist and a few more in plan.
Suzana Qreations	Handmade Couture Jewellery such as Earrings, Necklaces, Headbands, Bracelets, Pendants, Brooches
Kuen Stephanie	Paintings, prints, cards, shadowbox, art tags
Iva Nova Chest	Handmade Jewellery and Gifts
Exotic Marketing	Old school toys
Dignity for Children	Sewing products – batik wallets, pouches, tote bags, lanyards etc; baked goods: bread, brownies, muffins, biscuits; wheat husk tupperware & mug; tea leaves; postcards with art by children; storybook
Leen’s Honey	Organic Royal Virgin Honey
United Artisans	Handmade products by refugees in Kuala Lumpur. Pouches, Tote bags, Children Baskets and Buntings, Leather goods, Notebooks, Handmade Christmas cards and Christmas gift items.
Grade 2	Upcycled photo frames
Elementary Student Council	Handmade crafts
CHEWNIES	Chocojars and brownies
Fish & Food	Phrata bread with lamb/chicken curry & dhall. We will also sell bottled fish pickles & canned /bottled drinks. Aquarium fish in bottles.
Earth Exclusive	We have two brands, the first one @earth.exclusive where we import carefully curated sustainable multi-brands bags and fashion lifestyle products from countries like Morroco, Columbia, Madagascar, etc. Another is a personal brand of mine called @fab.rico.logie which I designed and produced locally, a range of totes and straw bags, beautiful kimonos and other fashion accessories using Oriental and African prints.
Cherry Art Studio	Origami earrings, origami frame, origami paper, Handmade batik bags, clutch, earrings, Japanese Mirror and dry leaf art
The Green Pantry	Eco-friendly/ reusable household and personal care items, Xmas decorations.
Artistry Craft House	Fabric bags, pouches and coasters
Koshka Designs	Reusable Carry-All Bags
Love Make Prefect	Earrings, cookies, and shampoo
AZA	Batik, handmade items & applying mehandhi
ROOMAKU	Household handicraft items made by artisans of Borneo, peninsular Malaysia
Lei Zhou	handcraft
Angel Card Reading	Tarot & Angel Card Reading for adults and children
Generosity Booth	We’re selling hand-crocheted Christmas keychains made by Myanmar refugees with love! All profits will go directly to funding the St Mary Agape Mission’s school, where cash is needed to support the education of the students and maintain the school. Every purchase makes a difference!
Chang Family Things	Used Baby Toys and items from when our children were younger.
The Honey Hearts	We promote wild jungle honey, bee pollen, apple cider vinegar, honey snacks and etc. We do not promote hot food.
Satay Xpress	Satay (without peanut sauce), pizza, tacos, nuggets, bubble tea
Sun Leaf	Healthy slimming, detox and hormone supplement
Artsy Bitesy & Artsy Nutri	Handmade & Unique Fruit Tarts and Fresh Juices
Brazilian Catering	Brazilian food, Chicken fried, Panettone, Christmas Cookies, Cheese bread
VDRAPES & VDESIGNSZ	Vdrapes – Selling Hipchain & Saree Draping Class. Vdesignsz sells greeting cards. offers Branding & Design service
Klothes4kids	Handmade baby&kids clothings and acessories
MyBee Whisper	Honey and Ice honey lemon drink with muffin
Awanisdreamz	Local & Nusantara batik sarong, tops, bags, aprons & ethnic necklaces
Mon Refugee Handmade Notebooks	Made by good quality of recycle paper, covered with Malay Batik and our Myanmar (Mon) Traditional fabric, all sale are goes and support for the Mon Refugee Learning center.
Saffron & Rose	Natural body care products, including olive oil soaps, rose water, pure oils, clay masks and kohl eyeliner
Ho Ho Ho	Homemade brownies, fruit cakes and drinks.
JUST MALAYSIA	Functional Herbal Creams & Skin Care Products
G4 Booth	TBC
G4 Booth	Cookies
El Molcajete, Mexcian Foods and more.	Salsas, corn tostadas and corn chips with meat and salad. Also water mineral and soft drinks in cans.
Maison d’ ahana	Home décor items handcrafted in India in our own factory in Moradabad. The gold leaf gilding is our signature. Every single piece is handcrafted by our artiste and craftsmen.
Tupperware Brands	Drinking bottles and lunch box.
The Lost Towel Project	High quality hand towels embroidered with Christmas designs by Chin refugees. Taking orders for full size personalized sports towels (the Chin artisans will embroider your name (and IGB IS phoenix logo). Selling gift vouchers to enable The Lost Food Project to provide meals to people in need (using rescued food – Feed the hungry, Not the landfill).
Ptionery	Stationery and cloth
Patchymags	Leather wallets, quilted bags
KANOE	Homegrown label with social and environmental impact.Tropical women’s wear! Beautiful clothings for the holidays!
Penan Craft	Hand woven baskets by the Penan Community in Sarawak.
love, bubsie	Knitted goodies curated for Christmas
Cezars Kitchen
Pak bakers	Chocolate brownies , Butter cake, Muffins , Chicken Biryani. ETC
Hope for Pakistani refugees	HPR wants to sell fabric handmade items like baskets hanging bantings etc.
Kids Station STEM Cube	Rubik’s Cube, iQ Games, Solar Robot, Educational Toys, Edu Puzzle and etc.
Rose Gohar	Leather handicrafts and candles
Cezars Kitchen

Community Choir

Please mark your calendars and join us in the Theatre on Thursday, 5 December at 8:00 am for a rehearsal with all involved. The link to the song can be found here: https://youtu.be/50i-KO-uNU8

Julie Arcidiacono, Community Support and Services Coordinator 

Flyers