IGB International School’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue 125. Week 3. September 2017.

Malaysia Day celebration on 13th September 2017 ~ Pg. 3

Happening.

+ Mon, Sep 18 ~ Grade 2 Field Trip: Perdana Botanical Gardens 8:00 am – 12:30 pm

+ Tue, Sep 19 ~ Secondary Parents: What is Managebac and how do I use it? @ PVO Room 8:00 am – 9:00 am

+ Thu, Sep 21 ~ PVO Meeting @ PVO Room 8:00 am – 9:00 am

+ Fri, Sep 22 ~ Public holiday: Awal Muharram (subject to change)

Malaysia Day ~ Pg. 3

Middle Years Programme ~ Pg. 4

Grade 9 trip to Cert Academy ~ Pg. 5

Our EPIC Home Adventure ~ Pg. 6

TeachMeet KL ~ Pg. 8

Japanese Coffee Morning ~ Pg. 9

Korean Parent Workshop ~ Pg. 9

PE News ~ Pg. 10

Viper Arena 2017: Under the Floodlights ~ Pg. 11

PVO News ~ Pg. 11

Message from Head of SchoolMrs. Anne FowlesHead of School....................................................News from Elementary SchoolMr. Simon MillwardElementary School Principal....................................................News from Secondary SchoolMr. Michael ArcidiaconoSecondary School Principal....................................................

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Message from Head of School

Dear IGBIS Parents and Community Members,

The Malaysia Day assembly on Wednesday really showed the vibrant tapestry of Malaysia with nearly all of our students and staff (and a number of parents too!) dressed in national clothing. We learnt a lot about Malaysian history and culture, from the student presentations. But it was the Elementary students who stole the show with their acting, singing and dancing. We were again reminded of the wonderful community that is IGB International School as we celebrated this national event. Happy Malaysia Day!

The school hosted a TeachMeet on Thursday evening that was attended by close to 60 teachers from all around Kuala Lumpur. Lots of new technology ideas and activities were exchanged and it was a great opportunity for the teachers to meet colleagues from other schools.

Anne FowlesHead of School

From the Elementary Principal

Wednesday saw our Elementary student council lead the

Malaysia Day assembly as they introduced the performances

and learning segments - shared by Grade 3 students (States

of Malaysia). It was wonderful to learn about the amazing

places that can be visited in Malaysia and I for one am very

excited about exploring the country further.

The Secondary String ensemble set the tone from the

start as they opened the assembly with the Malaysian

National Anthem. The Tai Chi and the Bharatanatyam

dance helped us to appreciate the diversity of Malaysia. The

musical performances from Grade 5 - Lenggang Kangkung

(Xylophones) and Grade 4 - Tepuk Amai-Amai (Angklung), the

drama by Grade 5 - Puteri Gunung Ledang, and the dance by

Grade 7 - Jong Jong Inai, made for an assembly full of variety.

We were also extremely pleased that the Grade 11 students

lead us in the song Aku Negaraku. I would like to extend a

huge thank you to the Host Nation department, the Performing

Arts department and the many people behind the scenes who

helped to make the assembly a success.

On Friday we had our first Kopitiam, where parents were able

to share their thoughts and concerns with me. Having open

and honest communication is healthy for the school, as we

all work together for the benefit and success of our children.

Dates for your diaries:• Friday 22nd September there is no school as it is Awal

Muharram.

• Thursday 28th September 8.10am: PYP Maths Workshop,

led by Shireen Blakeway

• Saturday 30th September 8.30am - 11.30am: PYP Parent

University #2: Inspiring curiosity and creativity in all

learners. Led by Aga Chojnacka.

Simon MillwardElementary School Principal

Parent-teacher conferences - date changeThere has been a change of dates for the parent-teacher conferences in October. The new dates will be 30 October (3:15pm

- 4:30pm) and 1 November (1:00pm - 7:00pm). This change has been updated in the **school calendar. We apologise for any

inconvenience this change may cause.

** http://igbis.edu.my/admissions/calendar-timetable/

Igniting Minds Impacting Lives 3

Malaysia Day

Sarah Ain and Tan Huei YinMalaysia Day Assembly Coordinators...............................................................................................

The theatre was a sea of colour as IGBIS held their fourth

Malaysia Day assembly. Hosted by the Elementary Student

Council, with informative presentations by Grade Three

students, and organised by the Host Nation teachers, it was

an hour of enjoyment for students, staff and parents alike. We

are very proud of everyone who put in the time and effort and

showed such courage to deliver their wonderful performances

before the IGBIS community. Please enjoy a selection of

photographs taken from the day.

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News from Secondary School

Dear parents,

It was a pleasure to see so many parents this week at our

Malaysia Day Assembly and also at the Kopitiam on Friday. As

usual, we had a very good number of parents who attended the

morning coffee; I am thankful for their consistent participation

in these events and also to those who have stepped forward to

be our parent representatives this year.

Our Grade Level Coordinators came by the Kopitiam to discuss

some further details regarding the camp arrangements for this

year.

Next week, I hope you will come join us for our Managebac

session on Tuesday September 19th at 8.00am.

Sincerely yours,

Michael ArcidiaconoSecondary School Principal

Igniting Minds Impacting Lives

Middle Years Programme

Phil ClarkMiddle Years Programme Coordinator...............................................................................................

MYP Parent WorkshopsWe are pleased to offer two MYP parent workshops during

the week that students are out of school attending Secondary

School camps. If you are available and would like to attend,

please mark the dates in your calendar. More details to follow

next week.

Introduction to Assessment in the MYP Tuesday 26 September 8:00-9:30amPlease note, this is an introductory workshop and is targeted

for parents who are new to the Middle Years Programme

at IGBIS (ie Grade 6 parents and other new Grades 7-10

parents) - it is a repeat of the assessment workshop that was

offered last year.

MYP Concepts and Contexts (Mathematics & Sciences)Friday 29 September 8:00am-12:00 noonParents will have the opportunity to participate in a hands-on

mini unit of inquiry that will simulate how their children learn

and are assessed in MYP. This workshop will be similar in

format to the workshop we organised during Camp Week last

year, but with a focus on mathematics and sciences.

Assessment in the IB Middle Years ProgrammeAssessment in the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) is

different from the type of assessment most of us experienced

when we attended school and may be unfamiliar to families

who recently joined IGBIS. In grades 6 to 10 we do not

measure success in terms of percentages or A to F grades,

we do not talk about passing and failing grades, and we do

not compare students with each other to decide who is top or

bottom of the class.

The MYP approach to assessment recognises the importance

of assessing both the process and the products of learning.

Assessment is an important part of the teaching and learning

process. Teachers use regular, ongoing assessment to

build a picture of a student’s progress, achievements, skills,

knowledge and understanding.

Assessment supports and encourages effective teaching and

learning. Assessment includes:

• Pre-assessment: identify what students already know to

clarify the starting point for teaching and learning.

• Formative assessment: ongoing assessment helps the

teacher plan for ongoing needs of students and plan next

steps for teaching and learning.

• Summative assessment: find out how far students have

progressed during and at the end of a unit of study.

• Self and peer assessment: students make assessments

about their own progress and that of their peers.

Teachers may use some or all of the following assessment

strategies and tools: rubrics; observations; quizzes, tests or

examinations; performance assessments; investigations;

checklists; process-focused assessments; essays; anecdotal

notes; laboratory reports; continuums; open-ended tasks and

presentations.

As students progress through grades 6 to 10, they complete

many units of study in each subject area. The length of units

varies from unit to unit and between subjects. Teachers plan a

variety of formative and summative assessment tasks and the

students receive individual feedback that guides them towards

improvement.

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Igniting Minds Impacting Lives 5

Students complete summative assessment tasks which are

evaluated against four criteria in each subject. The four criteria

are broadly similar across all subjects, although they vary

slightly according to the specific requirements of individual

subjects. In general terms, the criteria are used to assess the

following areas:

• Criterion A: a student’s knowledge, understanding and

ability to analyse ideas in a subject.

• Criterion B: a student’s ability to investigate, organise and

develop ideas in a subject.

• Criterion C: a student’s ability to effectively communicate

ideas in a subject.

• Criterion D: a student’s ability to use, apply, evaluate and

reflect upon ideas in a subject.

Each criterion is divided into eight achievement levels with clear

descriptions of what is required in order to achieve at each

level. The achievement levels and descriptions are presented

in a tabular format (or rubric) so that teachers and students

can easily match achievement on a task with the criterion level

descriptions. This process sounds complicated, but students

quickly become proficient at reading and understanding

assessment rubrics and use them before submitting an

assessment task. Students also use the assessment rubrics

to identify their areas of success and what they need to do in

order to improve.

IGBIS Secondary School teachers plan their units of

study using ManageBac, our online learning platform and

information management system. The unit planning details

exactly how and when the learning will be assessed, including

which criteria are to be assessed and the assessment

rubrics that are to be used. Students and parents can login to

Managebac to access unit overviews and assessment details.

After student learning has been assessed, students and

parents can access personalised feedback from the teachers

on ManageBac, including levels of achievement.

If you are new to the Middle Years Programme and would

like to learn more about MYP assessment, we are organising

a parent workshop on Tuesday 26 September from 8:00-

9:30am. Please note, this workshop is targeted for parents

who are new to the Middle Years Programme at IGBIS (ie.

Grade 6 parents and other new grades 7 to 10 parents) - this

is a repeat of the assessment workshop we offered last year.

Grade 9 trip to Cert Academy

Justin Song Lee Shee and Jordan LeeGrade 9...............................................................................................

On the 8th of September, the whole of Grade 9 went on a

service trip to Cert Academy, in Puchong, where we were

taught basic first aid and life saving skills and techniques.

First, there was an introduction by the trainers about first aid

responders and first aid in general. During this introduction,

the trainer explained what first aid is and why is it important.

The course consisted of the trainers diving into the specifics

of first aid and coaching students to perform first aid

techniques that would prove useful during certain scenarios.

Some of the techniques that we were taught included CPR

(Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), abdominal thrusts (Heimlich

Maneuver), treating wounds using bandages, and so on.

At the end of the day, we participated in a mock drill. During

the mock drill, we were randomly split into two groups, one

group were the first aid responders, while the other were

the victims. The groups that played the victims had realistic

makeup wounds put on them, and the group which played

the first responders had to treat their wounds using the

limited resources provided. Not only that, there were also

“busy bodies”, whose job was to cause chaos at the scene by

spectating and distracting first aiders, exactly what you would

have in a real life situation.

At the end of the day, we learnt a valuable lesson: first aid

should be taken seriously and everyone should know these

basic skills. This is because anything can happen at anytime,

therefore we should always be prepared and ready to respond

to these situations.

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Our EPIC Home Adventure

Tien Xzi Ho and Alex Cima VivarelliGrade 11...............................................................................................

It was 8:30am when all of us Grade 11 students boarded the

bus to Epic Home headquarters in Subang Jaya. All throughout

our journey there, we couldn’t help but speculate about what

our visit would entail. As soon as we entered the building, we

were hit with a warm, homely atmosphere. We were brought

up to the second floor, and were given a rundown of the skills

and abilities we’d develop and that we would have a mystery

project at the end of the day. Almost immediately after the talk

was over, we split into teams and practically leapt out of our

seats to meet our mentors for the day.

As soon as we entered the workshop, the high-pitched,

scraping sound of steel on concrete caught everyone’s

attention. We learned about the different drills and screws,

and the proper stances to take when using different materials.

Drilling holes through the wood fibre was a big challenge and

it got everyone to cheer each other on. Holey moley, it was one

of the best parts of our trip.

Sawing was by far one of the most dangerous and gratifying

activities set out for us that day. Three different types of saws

were laid out for us: jigsaws, circular saws and chop saws.

We each got a chance to tear through blocks of wood with the

saws. It was a little frightening, especially when the saw would

jerk to the side a little. This was the kind of activity that really

got your adrenaline pumping.

Every now and then you would hear bumps and clunks of

hammers hitting against nails on wood. This particular activity

was fast and swift, most of us finished the task with ease.

However, some of us struggled to hammer that nail in - the

outcome was an intriguing art statement composed of wood,

nails and indents from the hammers. This was a very satisfying

activity, especially when you were able to finally fully hammer

that nail into the wood.

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Igniting Minds Impacting Lives 7

Under the Malaysian heat, many of us weren’t that excited

about scaffolding - but once we were able to see what the

activity truly was, all of us were eager to go to that station.

Teamwork was vital as we needed to have pieces in place

before moving onto the next step. It also enabled us to look

at our surroundings in a different way, literally - as we had to

climb on top of the scaffold.

After all of the workshops, the teams started to work on their

mystery project. The results varied from a fidget spinner, a

crate, or seemingly a bunch of random blocks of wood (and a

circular saw that wouldn’t work anymore). Whenever a person

was able to successfully drill a screw, or hammer a nail into

a piece of wood, or climb over the scaffold - you would hear

triumphant cheers and “huzzas” from all around the workshop.

Despite the raging heat, the sweat pouring down our faces,

and the really bad puns that people made, it was working with

our friends that made it all worth it.

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Geoff DerryTechnology Integration Specialist and Google Innovator...............................................................................................

On Thursday 14th September IGBIS hosted TeachmeetKL.

Teachmeet is an informal opportunity for teachers from

schools all over Kuala Lumpur to come together, collaborate,

socialise and share teaching ideas. There are usually about

four teach meets per year hosted by a variety of schools.

The Idea is that anyone who wants to can present either a

3-minute or a 7-minute presentation on a hint/tip/teaching idea

that they find valuable and they think other teachers might be

able to use.

We had 60 teachers from all over KL visit, including 20 IGBIS

teachers. There were 17 different 3-minute presentations; six

teachers from our school presented their hints and tips.

We had presentations for Elementary and Secondary teachers

from a variety of subject areas. The teachers from IGBIS did

us all proud and were very professional in their presentations.

It was lots of fun, some good connections were made and lots

of learning took place.

Igniting Minds Impacting Lives 9

Japanese Coffee Morning by Gustav Helman

Korean Parent Workshop by Yuri Kim

Japanese Coffee Morning by Gustav HelmanJapanese Coffee Morning by Gustav HelmanJapanese Coffee Morning by Gustav Helman

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PE News

Sean LoveseyPE Coordinator...............................................................................................

Hello everyone. I am Mr Lovesey - the new Whole School PE

Coordinator. I am so excited to be at IGBIS! This year has

got off to a fantastic start across the whole school. Students

are taking part in a wide range of activities including dance,

swimming, touch rugby, basketball, and many more.

We have recently introduced a new award in the PE

department - Sports Star of the Week. This award will be given

to the student who the department feels has stood out for

their effort and level of engagement in lessons. We would like

to congratulate this week’s Sports Star of the Week: Marvin

Chong. He has pushed himself in every lesson and has been

engaged when answering questions showing how he has

developed his knowledge throughout the unit.

Lastly, we have re-launched Wake Up Shake Up (WUSU)

each morning from 7.30am-8.00am. We will be running activity

sessions to get elementary students energised and ready for

learning. We recently had 50+ students moving and exercising

in the mornings and would love it if more elementary students

would come and join in the fun!

I look forward to meeting you later in the year.

Igniting Minds Impacting Lives 11

Viper Arena 2017: Under the Floodlights

Ernest NgGrade 12...............................................................................................

You would think that after the gruelling 21 kilometers last

year, we would want nothing more to do with the words “Viper

Challenge”. However, the risk-takers in us decided to give it

another shot. Introducing the Viper Arena! The Shah Alam

Stadium once again played host to the Viper Arena, a shorter,

yet equally gruelling course of 7 kilometers and 15 obstacles.

This would be no easy task.

On the 9th of September, 13 Grade 12 students and three

Grade 11 students set out to conquer the arena and to earn

the title of “Survivor”. For most of us, it would be the second

time we took Viper on so we proudly wore our “Viper Challenge

Survivor” t-shirts, as a reminder of our capabilities. When we

arrived at Shah Alam, the rain set the tone for the night: wet

and slippery. We kicked off at 8:30 and for close to two hours

we ran our guts out, stopping only for obstacles and the drink

station. There were slips and falls, some bruises and definitely

a lot of sore muscles, but it was all worth it.

Ultimately, Viper Arena once again proved to us that we far

exceeded our own expectations as we went further than any

of us could ever imagine. Viper has the saying “Leave No One

Behind”, and Viper Arena proved to us that teamwork was

essential and that staying together during hard times was

really important.

Huge thanks to Ms Chotard and the rest of the Cheery

Capybaras (Ms Claire, Mr Dennis, Ms Huong & Ms April) for

lifting our spirits and ensuring that we never slacked off. Last

but not least, a huge shoutout to Ms Douglas who always pulls

through for us. Without her help, none of this would have been

possible, and what a waste it would have been to not take up

such a challenge.

Next up in the Viper series: Viper Challenge @ Cyberjaya on

2nd December. Anyone up for it?

PVO News

Julie ArcidiaconoCommunity & Events Coordinator...............................................................................................

Our next PVO meeting is scheduled for Thursday 21

September from 8:00-9:00am in the PVO Room. The agenda

will include: announcement of who are the parent class

representatives for 2017-2018, explanation of their role and

how to contact them; review of what information is on the PVO

website, including where to sign-up for event committees; and

discussion of the upcoming Parent Gala on 3 November. All

parents are welcome to join.

IGBISINTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Igniting Minds Impacting Lives