IGBIS Newsletter, Issue 382.
August 23, 2024
IGBIS Newsletter, Issue 384.
September 14, 2024
From the Elementary Principal
By Simon Millward
In the Elementary School, we allow our students to take leadership roles within the school. There are three distinctive pathways that are offered that give students the chance to demonstrate leadership in different ways.
The three pathways are:
- House Captains for our Grade 5 students: Students prepare a speech that they give to their classmates. They then vote, based on the speech, who they think would represent their house most effectively. Students who become the house captains lead the students in their house, on house event days, giving support to the younger students, building community and a sense of belonging. They may work alongside the Secondary House Captains or Student council members on whole school events like the Winter Assembly etc.
- Social Council for our Grade 3 & 4 students: Students once again are asked to prepare a speech that they give to their classmates. They then vote, based on the speech, who they think would be good at organising social events in the Elementary school. The social council then plans the social events they would like to run through the year. They then meet with the Elementary Principal to see what is possible before launching into the organisation of it.
- Student Ambassadors: Students who are interested in Grades 4 & 5 can become Student Ambassadors. The role of a student ambassador is primarily to attend IGBIS Open Days and they are responsible for welcoming new students and making new students feel part of the community. On Open Days they would then accompany the teachers who are leading a tour to answer any questions that prospective families may have. They work closely with the Secondary Student Ambassadors learning the skills of listening to people, answering their questions and talking positively about the school.
This week saw the students in Grade 5 embarking on the ‘Road to be a House Captain’. They prepared their speeches, gave them and voted on it. I am pleased to announce that the House Captains for 2024/25 are;
- Aqua (Blue) House: Jieun & Jadzia
- Ignis (Red) House: Sissi & Cedar
- Aer (Yellow) House: Yu & Emmenuelle
- Terra (Green) House: Jayden K & Chloe A
I am also very proud of all the students who were risk-takers to prepare and deliver their speeches and hope they will put themselves forward for other leadership opportunities.
The Grade 3 and Grade 4 students who are interested in the Social Council are also starting their ‘Road to be a Social Council’ member and I look forward to hearing a few of their speeches and announcing the members very soon.
Once these journeys have been completed those students who are interested in the Student Ambassador Role will be invited to apply.
IGBIS Counselling
It has been a busy start to the school year for the IGBIS Counselling team. There are so many aspects to the role of a school counsellor. We do not just support those in crisis, we work very hard behind the scenes to help model and create a safe and supportive social and emotional environment across the whole school. When a truly safe and supportive environment is the end result there is often less need for significant crisis intervention.
Each month the team has a different social and emotional theme that we unpack with and for the community. Throughout the month of August, our theme has been Emotions and Transitions. This is a huge theme and will also run throughout the whole year, sitting beneath all that we do. After all, our core business is helping everyone navigate all the changes in their lives and the subsequent emotions that result.
What have we been doing:
Cookies with the Counsellors: to welcome and connect with new students and gather feedback about how successful their transitions have been and what we can do as a school to support them more effectively.
Learning about the Transitions Roller Coaster: helping us understand that with transitions and change comes a whole lot of emotions. These change all the time. Some emotions may fade and then come back. No emotion is negative, it is what we do with them that matters. Please reach out to us if you need help dealing with any BIG emotions!
Tuning into emotions around Camps and helping students with their mental health packing list: For some of us, going on camp is a BIG deal. There are many small things we can bring to help when we feel less regulated (for more details see our Instagram)
Parent Workshops: Coffee with the Counsellors:
If you are interested in finding out more about how the counselling team works and what we do in the school, feel free to follow us on Instagram!
- John Schuster (ES) john.schuster@igbis.edu.my
- Leanne Harvey (6-10) leanne.harvey@igbis.edu.my
- Sarah Sousa (11-12) sarah.sousa@igbis.edu.my
From the Athletic Desk
By Mr. Craig Wilson
Dear IGBIS Community,
I would like to take this opportunity to update/inform you all on some exciting things happening with our IGBIS Sports Program.
Numbers are in, and IGBIS secondary students want to play!/h4>
We have gotten a pre-season count of over 150 Secondary School students that will be taking place in at least one competitive sport in the 2024-25 school year, and that number is expected to increase! We anticipate over 65% of our student body to be putting on a uniform or swim gear this year.
Looking good in the new jerseys
New IGBIS uniforms have been ordered! Our secondary student-athletes will now buy their uniforms, wear them year after year for ALL sports they participate in, and keep them when they leave IGBIS. This uniform will come in a bundled package, including all 3 shirts seen below.
Similarly, our elementary kids will be purchasing a uniform that will be used for all sports. We have simplified the uniform so that it is just one shirt.
Be sure to come see our student-athletes in these new digs at our next home event. Keep an eye on the school calendar to see when they are playing, and come cheer on our IGBIS teams!
MRISA International Conference Membership
If you have not heard, IGBIS is now a part of The Mekong River International Schools Association. As a member of MRISA, our Secondary Students will now be taking part in sporting events in countries around SE Asia. We start Season 1 by sending our High School (gr 9-12) volleyball teams to Vientiane, Laos, and we will host the Middle School (gr 6-8) basketball teams right here at IGBIS. We will be welcoming teams from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand on our campus, from November 7th to 10th. The Phoenix Club (student-led sports club) wants to ensure these boys and girls visiting our school have an awesome experience, and have expressed a desire to welcome them with ‘welcome packs’ upon arrival and possibly create a snack table. They will need some help! If any parents are interested in helping out, please email Mr Wilson (craig.wilson@igbis.edu.my).
Changes as we move forward
IGBIS takes pride in not denying any student the ability to play on a competitive sports team. As mentioned previously, the number of student-athletes at IGBIS continues to grow. As the numbers have grown, the space for training has become strained. Fields and courts are reaching their limits during our normal 3:10 to 4:10 ASA time. In the seasons to come, we will need to extend some of our sports training sessions. This will include morning sessions (6:30 to 7:30 am) and ‘late’ sessions (4:14- 5:30 pm). We are in communication with the bus company to help provide transportation for all our athletes. Keep in mind our Swim Team already runs morning sessions without buses and just continues to grow.
Hope to see you all on the field or in the sports hall soon!
