IGBIS Newsletter, Issue 221

Message from HOS

Mrs Anne Fowles, Head of School

Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,

We are looking forward to Book Week starting next Monday with a line-up of fun activities for our students to engage with books, characters and activities. A lovely respite from all of the coronavirus discussions and lots of fun as well.

Given that some international schools in Kuala Lumpur have restricted their school activities due to parents who have had close contact with others with COVID-19, we have decided to restrict adult spectators to our inter-school events. We have an agreement with other schools verifying that their students visiting our school have not travelled to COVID-19 affected areas, are healthy and have body temperatures in the normal range. This way, we can continue to run after-school and sports activities for our students. We ask that our parent community respect this decision as well. A full update on our COVID-19 precautions will be sent out shortly.

From the Elementary Principal

Simon Millward, Elementary School Principal

I have a varied job as an Elementary Principal and much of my week has been working with groups of teachers who have been preparing presentations to the board about our campus development and improvement. It was great to see the passion of the teams and the considerable amount of research that had been completed to offer their thoughts about how the campus can be developed and improved. The Board, as always, were receptive to these ideas and asked some very thoughtful questions of the groups. The process continues from here, as they have more preparation to do as a result of these meetings.

On Friday I was able to attend the Grade 4 sharing of their summative assessment where they presented their learning of the UN Sustainable Goals to members of the community. This struck me as great preparation for the Grade 5 PYP Exhibition which is currently being worked on. There are obviously lessons to be learned with how to share learning, but this is a wonderful foundation to build upon.

I have also been spending time with groups of students talking about how they can make principled and caring decisions when at the playground. If you, as parents, could also emphasise at home that the way to solve issues is to communicate, communicate and communicate! Many of the issues we see stem from misunderstanding and not properly communicating. Thank you, it is much appreciated.

Next week, we are excited as Ms. Lisa will be presenting a Literacy workshop. It will focus on reading, where parents will learn more about helping their child to develop a love of reading, understand the importance of decoding words as well as comprehending what they read, build awareness of online reading resources and develop strategies to help at home. This workshop will include information and ideas for both lower and upper Elementary.

Don’t forget! It is Book Week next week and there are many activities happening, including the opportunity to purchase books from the Book Fair.

Dates for your diaries:

• Monday 9th – Friday 13th March: Book week
• Wednesday 11th March: Literacy workshop 8 am – 9 am: PVO Room
• 16th – 20th March: School photo week
• 23rd – 27th March: IGBIS school holiday

From the Secondary School Principal

Dear parents & guardians,

It has been a busy week this week in the Secondary School and it was great to see the Global Issues Network (GIN) put on a successful Earth Week. The activities throughout the week were fun and engaging and many students took part in some fashion, whether by participating in the recycling challenge or as performers during the Rhapsodic Recess. A very big thank you to our students for organizing the week!

IGBIS will continue to be busy this weekend as we host two performing artist groups on Saturday. This should be a lot of fun for our students and a continuation of a developing tradition of working with outside professionals in the Theatre industry. Several staff members will also be taking part in First Aid training, an essential skill for their role in working with students.

Sincerely yours,

Michael Arcidiacono, Secondary School Principal

DP2 Visual Arts Final Exhibition 2020

Heather Blake, DP/MYP Visual Arts Teacher

Everyone is invited! 

You are cordially invited to the opening of our DP Visual Arts Exhibition to be held on Thursday, April 2nd @ 6:30 in the L2 Art Gallery space. The DP2 art students are excited to showcase the very best of their work created over the last two years, and DP1 students will be exhibiting the beginnings of their work in the programme. Selected works from grades 9 and 10 art students will also be on display. 

We are delighted that our student musicians will be accompanying the exhibition with live music on this opening evening!

The exhibition will continue until Friday, April 9th.

Please come one and all!

PVO News

Julie Arcidiacono, Community Support and Services Coordinator

Survey – Parent/Staff Engagement

Earlier this week, a survey was sent to all current parents and staff members enquiring about possible interest in volunteering. We are also actively preparing for the transition from Parent Volunteer Organisation (PVO) to Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Those interested in participating in this transition should also identify themselves via this survey, and a meeting will follow with a thorough explanation of the process to all who have shown interest. If you haven’t had a chance to submit your response, please do so before Thursday, 19 March 2020. The link to the survey can be found here. 

Parent Workshops

On Wednesday, 11 March Ms Lisa McClurg will be hosting a workshop:  Literacy in the Elementary School (reading focus).  This workshop is an opportunity for parents to learn more about helping their child to develop a love of reading, understand the importance of decoding words as well as comprehending what they read, build awareness of online reading resources and develop strategies to help at home. This workshop will include information and ideas for both lower and upper Elementary.

Autism Awareness, originally scheduled for 20 April, will now take place on 2 April to coincide with Autism Awareness Day. A full description of the day and its exciting events will soon be shared by the PVO Inclusion Committee, but please take note on the date change for the workshop. 

Please also be reminded of our new workshop series conducted by Ms Flavia Godja: Conversational English. This is a three-session workshop designed for parents who speak English as a second language and have a pre-intermediate and intermediate level. These sessions are designed to help them brush up their skills and get some fun practice using English! There will be a major focus on developing speaking skills, namely fluency, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Dates and sign-up form can be found above and under “April Parent Workshops.”

February Parent Workshops

• Thursdays Unleash your Creativity through Drawing and Painting techniques

March Parent Workshops

• 2 Community Choir
• 3 Extended Essay (G9, 10, 11 parents)
• 5, 6 Community Music Band
• 11 Literacy
• 31 Learner Agency – Voice, Choice, Ownership
• Thursdays Unleash your Creativity through Drawing and Painting techniques

April Parent Workshops

• 1 What is the IB Philosophy and How Does This Impact My Child? (G9, 10, 11 parents)
• 2 Autism Awareness
• 21, 28, 30 Conversational English
• Thursdays Unleash your Creativity through Drawing and Painting techniques

May Parent Workshops

• 18 General Introduction of IGBIS Curriculum and IGBIS Life (Mandarin-speaking parents)
• Thursdays Unleash your Creativity through Drawing and Painting techniques
• June Parent Workshops
• 4 Unleash your Creativity through Drawing and Painting techniques