IGBIS Newsletter, Issue 210

Message from the Head of School

It has been a big week at IGBIS. The 24 Minute Race saw all of our Elementary School students enthusiastically participating with their Secondary School team members, cheered along by parents and teachers alike. It looks like the big event, the 24 Hour Race, will be a great success on November 23.

On Friday and over the weekend IGBIS hosted a number of regional activities including professional development sessions for our teachers, a weekend workshop for members of the East Asia Regional Council of Schools run by Ms Sylvia Tolisano, OpenApply Admissions Conference for admissions staff, Youth Student Theatre rehearsal, Performing Artists in Residence with the KL Shakespeare Players, a U13 Netball Tournament, and a 24 Hour Race marshall briefing with nearly 100 student volunteers. 

Congratulations to IGBIS students who attended the World Scholar Championship at Yale University and won the first place cup for team writing! More on this next week.

Anne Fowles, Head of School

From the Elementary School Principal

The highlight of the week for me was the 24 Minute Race. It was a wonderful event that started in the Theatre with the run organisers sharing why we were doing it. The 24 Hour Race that will be taking place next weekend on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November. This is a race designed to raise awareness and money to help organisations and individuals who may be victims of human trafficking. In Elementary terms, we presented this information as ‘being forced to do things that they don’t want to do, by people who are strangers’. So why was it a highlight? The sense of community that ran through the event. The Secondary students running alongside the Elementary students, the care and consideration- lending a helping hand or an encouraging word. These were powerful and moments to cherish.

Also earlier this week, the students were given ‘random acts of kindness’ as they entered the school. This was a great way for students to tune in to how we can be kind and caring to one another. The smiles on students’ faces when they were a recipient of one of these was another smile point.

Dates for your diaries.

• Tuesday 26th November: PYP Maths parent workshop: PVO room 8.00 – 9.00 am
• Wednesday 27th November: Parent workshop: Digital Citizenship- Learning with Technology PVO room 8.00 – 9.00 am
• Friday 29th November: Season 1 Activities end: Paid activities still continue until 10th Dec.
• Monday 2nd- Friday 6th December: Inclusive Schools Week

Simon Millward, Elementary School Principal

From the Secondary School Principal

Dear parents/guardians,

The 24 Minute Race last Thursday was such a fun event to raise awareness for the 24 Hour Race and to work together as a whole school community! It was great to see many parents in attendance and the IGBIS teams of runners make good progress in fund-raising towards their team goal. Their powers of persuasion and selling techniques were very successful!

Looking forward to the 24 Hour Race this upcoming weekend, we are hoping that parents can fulfil any remaining spots for our IGBIS teams as the Responsible Adult Leaders (RAL). There must be one RAL for every two teams. IGBIS is committed to assisting in providing general supervision throughout the event, and we will have multiple staff in place for all 24 hours. Additionally, many IGBIS staff will be serving as RALs for our student teams. I would ask that parents assist as well, making sure all of our teams have the supervision and support that they need to have a successful race. 

This upcoming week will also be particularly special as we welcome the KL Shakespeare players, who will be using IGBIS for their rehearsal space and working with our Drama students as part of our performing artist residency programme. The opportunities for students (or other members of the community, who will take part in a workshop on Monday) to develop their creative and performing skills through programmes such as this reflect our commitment to the Arts at IGBIS. I am looking forward to seeing the results of this collaboration!

Sincerely yours,

Michael Arcidiacono, Secondary School Principal

Inclusive Schools Focus

As we continue our month of raising awareness, we want to focus your attention next week on gender identity and expectations. Nowadays there are no such things as ‘girl toys’ and ‘boy colours’. Boys can have long hair, girls can wear blue, boys can play with dolls, girls can like wrestling. The fight for gender equality goes on but is rapidly changing the workplace, fashion, television and social media. We consistently tell our children that they can do anything they want, regardless of gender. But that also needs to extend to gender preferences and sexual lifestyle. 

This can be a difficult subject in many families, communities and schools. But we encourage you to be open-minded in discussions about this; learn what all the terms are in LGBTQIA+, look deeper under the stereotypes that surround us, listen carefully to the language you use and think about the impact certain phrases might have. Let’s try and get rid of hurtful phrases like ‘that’s so gay’, ‘you hit like a girl’. Let’s start the discussions that gender and preferences don’t define you.

Next week we want you to join us in wearing the colour orange to show that no matter what your gender preference, you are welcome at IGBIS. 

Lizzie Hudson and the PVO Inclusion Committee

Friends of the Phoenix

London Annual Dinner – 18 January 2020

IGB International School is pleased to invite all ‘Friends of the Phoenix’ to our annual event in London on Saturday, 18 January 2020, where Mrs Fowles will host a typical Malaysian dinner at Sage & Chilli restaurant, St Giles Hotel London. Please see the enclosed invitation for registration details and encourage others to attend as well. 

Who are the ‘Friends of the Phoenix’? Anyone who has ever been a part of the IGBIS community is a ‘Friend of the Phoenix’. That includes all of our former students, their parents, and former staff members, in addition to our school’s alumni. Please visit the website to add your contact information to our shared social and professional network at www.igbis.edu.my/friendsofthephoenix. There are countless reasons why one would reach out to a fellow ‘Friend of the Phoenix’ – to enquire about a university, about life in a specific country, for an employment connection… the possibilities are endless.

Julie Chen Arcidiacono, Community Support and Services Coordinator

PVO News

As the end of the year is fast approaching, we would like to share PVO-related information relevant to this term and the beginning of Semester 2. Please mark these days in your calendars.

Parent Workshops

A number of parent workshops are on offer throughout the months of November and December. Please click on the links below for more details on each of the workshops.

• Creative Drawing & Painting – Thursdays from 3:10-4:30 pm
• Starting the DP – Pathway, options & university (G10 parents) – 18 November from 8:15 – 9:15 am
• Performing Artist Residency Workshop for Staff & Parents – 18 November from 3:20 – 4:30 pm, email jamie.cant@igbis.edu.my 
• Sound of Music – (NEW DATE) Wednesday, 20 November from 2:00 – 3:00 pm
• PYP Maths Workshop (G1-5 parents) – Tuesday, 26 November from 8:00 – 9:00 am
• Digital Citizenship – Learning with Technology – Wednesday, 27 November from 8:00 – 9:00 am
• Floral Arrangements – Tuesday, 3 December from 8:00 – 9:00 am

Holiday Bazaar – 10 December 2019

Please visit the Holiday Bazaar website (gg.gg/holidaybazaar2019) to view a complete list of vendors who will be selling during this event on the last day of school, Tuesday 10 December 2019. We are excited to announce that this year there are already over 55 vendors confirmed, the biggest number of vendors to date! Invite your friends to attend – all they need to do is show the security guards a copy of the printed or digital Holiday Bazaar invitation, enclosed below. 

PVO Meeting & Welcome New Parents Coffee – 8 January 2020

Our next PVO Meeting will be held on Wednesday, 8 January 2020 from 8:00 – 9:00 am in the Level 3 ES Drama Room. All parents and caregivers are invited to join.  We will welcome new parents to IGBIS, hear updates from the Phoenix Foundation working committee, and begin planning for International Day, which will be held on Saturday, 14 March 2020. If you cannot attend the PVO Meeting, the minutes will be shared after the meeting on the PVO website (Splash Page). 

Uniform Drive – 10 January 2020

We will hold another Uniform Drive on Friday, 10 January 2020 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm in the Level 2 PVO Room. During the Uniform Drive, parents will be able to buy, swap or donate used uniforms in good condition. If your child has any outgrown items, save them for the uniform ‘swap’ or donate them to school. Uniform donations can be dropped off at Reception on Level 5 at any time. 

International Day – 14 March 2020

International Day is a day where the school’s cultural diversity is celebrated and all of the community is invited to share. It will be held on Saturday, 14 March 2020. As in the past, it will be held in the Sports Hall where we will have a parade of nations, country booths and games, along with cultural performances. If you are planning on going back to your home country over the holiday break, this would be an ideal opportunity to bring back typical clothing for you and your family to wear, as well as artefacts and typical small nibbles for a country booth, should you and fellow IGBIS parents choose to host one. Details will be shared next year during the PVO Meeting and via email. 

Julie Chen Arcidiacono, Community Support and Services Coordinator

Flyers