Students should contact their subject teachers and also access ManageBac to find out what learning they should be doing today. We will be conducting 'on-line' learning'.
Please stay safe and healthy,
ISS International School
The Singapore authorities have announced school closures for today (Friday 25th September) due to the worsening haze conditions. As a result, ISS will be closed and all students should stay at home.
Students should contact their subject teachers and also access ManageBac to find out what learning they should be doing today. We will be conducting 'on-line' learning'. Please stay safe and healthy, ISS International School
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This week the students have been busy completing many summative assessments in their subjects, this is quite a stressful time for students and to help them the teachers always engage them in some fun learning activities. In Mathematics, the grade 10 students completed a treasure hunt that was all about numbers and a real pirate was there to help them. The grade 12 students worked on probability and had to choose between two eggs (one was hard boiled and one was not) and then hit it on their forehead! Learning at ISS is FUN!
We also had many guests to the school this week; University visits, Science speakers and in particular d'Arcy Lunn, whose message was about engaging in world issues through 'teaspoons of change'. The Individual and Societies department organised the event and both students and teachers had opportunities to hear about his travels and work with vulnerable groups; his primary focus for 2015 was on eradication of Polio in South Sudan and working with Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - see some of his images here: http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/immunization/essays/sudan.html. Further information about his work do read his tour information: http://link.globalpovertyproject.com/2015tochtourinfo MYP Swim Gala: On October 2nd the grade 9 and 10 students will be taking part in the first ever MYP swimming gala. This swimming gala will provide opportunities for our students to compete in age appropriate races at 50m and 25m. Every student is expected to attend and everyone will get a chance to show off their swimming talent. Our grade 11 and 12 students will be at Preston campus on that day, working with our University advisor, ToK and EE teachers who will be providing them with support and guidance as they complete applications for Universities and finalise EE submissions. We also have 10 Canadian Universities visiting in the afternoon for the students to speak with and find out about the range of courses available. Upcoming events: Thursday, September 24th - School Closed for Hari Raya Haji. Friday, September 25th - PTA PotLuck Picnic - 4pm - 6pm: Paterson Campus - bring along food and drinks to share. Friday, October 2nd - MYP Swimming Gala - 8am - 12:15pm - CCAB (21 Evans Road). All family and friends are welcome to come along and cheer the swimmers. Friday, October 9th - International Day - Paterson Campus. The whole school will be participating in a day of cultural and international events, ending with an international buffet. Family and friends are welcome to come along to this wonderful day. Please note this is in place of our traditional UN Night. More news to come. We have had a busy time at ISS this past week. It started on Monday with a Fire Drill - this is an important area that we want all our students to feel confident in knowing where to go and how to conduct themselves, if an emergency such as a fire were ever to occur. The students were exceptional and silently proceeded to the fire evacuation point, waiting in silence for further instructions. It is reassuring as High School Principal to observe such safe practices and if ever we did have a 'real' emergency, reassuring that the students know what to do.
Our Diploma Music students took a trip to the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory (YSTCM) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) to enjoy a fantastic lunch-time recital. The recital featured visiting artist Lee Kangho on the Cello and Lee Minyoung on the piano. The students also met with the Conservatory's admissions director where they were treated to a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities and a discussion on entrance requirements. With a focus on critical listening and exposure to live music, the day was a success and the students had a nice trip. Letters have been sent to parents of Grade 10 students about an opportunity to participate in a StepOne Career Assessment Test. This is to support our students in making the right subject choices for the IB Diploma programme and will take place on Tuesday 20th October (there is no school on that day). The website for further information is http://www.step1.ac This is a fantastic opportunity and I encourage all of our Grade 10 students to take up the offer. The month of September at the High School is dedicated to the IB Learner Profile 'Communicator', teachers will be highlighting this IB Learner Profile in the classroom. The IB definition of Communicators is 'They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.' (IB Learner Profile Booklet, IBO, 2006) The Haze This week we have all noticed how awful the haze has been caused by forest fires in Indonesia. In order to ensure the safety of our students on campus and have consistency to our approach to environmental conditions, ISS developed a haze policy several years ago. Please note the following important information taken from our haze policy. If the 3 hour PSI index on the Preston Campus is below 100:
If the 3 hour PSI index on the Preston Campus is between 100-200:
If the 3 hour PSI index on the Preston Campus is between 201-300:
If the 3 hour PSI index on the Preston Campus is above 300:
More Haze information can be found on: www.haze.gov.sg Upcoming Events Wednesday 16th September - 1.00pm - Elementary MPR at Paterson Campus - The Annual General Meeting of the PTA. Should you be interested in joining our committee in an elected/official capacity, please contact the PTA via email mailto:[email protected] Thursday 17th September - Pot Luck Picnic - Please see below on details about this fun event. Thursday 24th September - Hari Raya Haji - School will be closed Friday 2nd October - MYP Swim Gala - All grade 9 and 10 students will be involved in our MYP gala. Our Grade 11 and 12 students will be in school to focus on University Applications, Extended Essays, ToK Presentations and IA's. Last week our DP students visited the Singapore Tyler Print Institute and had a guided tour of the exhibit by Ms. Dewan, and a demonstration of stone lithography printing by Mr. Ogawa. The students had an opportunity to learn how to use the equipment and came away far more knowledgeable. Thank you to Ms Larue for organising this wonderful experience.
We had a successful MYP Mother Tongue evening on Tuesday, where our teachers and students shared the details about how the programme is run in ISS and the expectations. Parents and tutors became the 'student' and participated in a MYP lesson and gained a better insight into the assessment criteria. If you were unable to attend the evening, and would like to have more information about our Mother Tongue programme, please do contact Fang Shelly (mailto:[email protected]) our MYP coordinator. On Wednesday evening, our Grade 12 students and parents met with our University advisor and were provided with details about the process of applying to Universities in the UK, USA, Australia, Japan and Europe. It was very informative and certainly helped clarify the expectations for our students. They have a busy time ahead of them and some difficult decisions to make for the next step of their educational journey. Ms Wilson is busy meeting our Grade 12 students and supporting them through the whole process. Do contact her if further clarification is needed on mailto:[email protected] Upcoming Events Friday, September 11th - School is closed for Polling Day. Wednesday September 16th, PTA AGM, Paterson Campus. Friday, October 2nd, MYP Swimming Gala (G6-10) Image from ED-ucation (www.ed-ucation.au) This past month our teachers and students have been focussing on the IB Learner Profile 'CARING'. This has been through activities in Pastoral Care and through the many subject units the students have been studying. The following students were identified as going that extra mile in showing empathy, compassion and commitment to service.
Grade 9: Grace, Meghna, Rishi Grade 10: SangMin, Khiem-Ly, Jing Qian (Cindy), XuanBo (Steven), Hyon Soo (Sean) Grade 11: Alfian, Hesper, Grade 12: Megan, Jaywon, Shuren My office has been extremely busy this week, with many students and teachers popping in to share ideas and ask for guidance. Megan and Jaywon were recognised by Faith from Lakeside Family Services for their tolerance and patience with the children they support. Shuren presented her CAS proposal to sell laptop bags that are made from recycled material. The money raised will go towards supporting a community in Jakarta by paying for children to go to school. The website is xsproject-id.org. Once again I was inspired by how so many of our students really do strive to 'make a difference'. Upcoming Events Monday 31st August: PTA Meeting. 1:15pm - 2:15pm. Paterson campus; Elementary Multi-Purpose Hall. Dr. Alvarez will be discussing 'What's Happening this year at ISS' and information about our International Day will be shared. Tuesday 1st September: Mother Tongue Evening. 6:30pm - 8pm. Paterson campus; Middle School Hall. Tutors and parents of High School Mother Tongue students are invited to join us to learn more about the programme. New tutors are required to attend. Wednesday 2nd September: University Presentation for Parents and Students in Grade 12. 6:30pm. Preston Campus; Hall. Mrs. Wilson will present the processes and expectations for university applications for all of our grade 12 students and parents. Friday 11th September: NO SCHOOL - due to the national holiday announced recently for the elections we will have no school on Friday 11th September. We have had a busy second week of learning at the High School, one highlight was the visit from the Elementary school of the Grade 4 students who collaborated with our English B seniors on the unit 'Sharing the Planet'. It was wonderful to watch the interactions and fun activities the students participated in. I would like to thank all parents that joined us on Tuesday at our 'Meet the Teachers' evening. It was a pleasure to meet you all and the teachers certainly enjoyed sharing with you their curriculum. If you have any further questions about what your child will be learning, please do contact our coordinators; Fang Shelly (MYP) [email protected] and Urs Jungo (DP/DC) [email protected]. Alternatively you can log onto our Teaching and Learning platform ManageBac and find out what you child is currently studying. Our technology integrator Shane O Loughlin will be running a number of ManageBac workshops in the coming months to help support parents in the use of ManageBac. Watch this space for more information on these. If you have not received your log on details please contact [email protected]. The IB coordinators also hosted our IB@ISS evening on Thursday where many new and returning parents had an opportunity to gain a better insight to the IB programmes. The IB philosophy and learner profile was shared, along with the MYP and DP curriculum. If you missed this event, please do not hesitate to contact the IB coordinators to find out more about our MYP, DP/DC programme at the High school. Exciting News - It is with much pleasure and excitement that I share with the High school community the news of one of our students in Grade 12 - Carrie - publishing and launching her first book on Amazon. The book is entitled "Something Special".
A huge congratulations to Carrie, a true inspiration to us all. If you wish to purchase her book here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Something-Special-Carrie-Jade-Reidinger/dp/1502939231/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439857318&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=something+special+carrie+redinger Calculators for all students in High school. Here is a message from the mathematics department... If you missed the direct sale booth, you can buy from the supplier (you will need to go to their office) at the normal price of $192.00/unit. The address is Learning Interactive Pte Ltd, Blk 231 Bain Street, #04-39, Bras Basah Complex, S(180231). Tel : (65) 6333 4838. Any questions, please ask your Mathematics teachers. All ISS G9-G12 students are required to have TI-84 calculators with them during Math class. Upcoming Events: Tuesday 1st September - 6:30pm - Paterson Campus - MS Hall - Mother Tongue EveningThis is an event for all parents and guardians of students studying their Mother Tongue at ISS. Wednesday 2nd September - 6:30pm - Preston Campus - Hall - University Presentation for Grade 12 student and parents. The purpose of this event is to share with parents and students about the various University options available for our future graduates. Debi Wilson our University advisor is coordinating the evening. Welcome to the new academic year and I hope you have all returned refreshed from your summer break. This week there has been a real buzz around the school with returning students reestablishing friendships and new students encountering the 'stairs' for the first time! Our students spent the first day getting to know the new routine of an A and B week timetable and working in teams to foster new relationships and learning experiences. This year not only do we welcome new students and families to ISS but also new staff.
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AuthorI am Nicola Zulu and I am the High School Principal at ISS. I will update this blog every weekend during the academic year with upcoming events and reflections from the past week. This will inform the ISS community of the great learning that is taking place and the exciting events to expect. I hope it will provide you with a glimpse of the great opportunities for students in "Realising Potential". Archives
June 2016
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