Elementary School News
As mentioned by Mr Taylor, the entire school staff met together on Monday to work together on the planning for the next academic year and beyond by being involved in the new Strategic Plan. It is a reflective and empowering time. This week saw the culmination of learning in the PYP for Grade 5 as they completed their Exhibition, which is seen as an important milestone in any IB students’ world. All the students in Grade 5 worked in groups to explore an issue or passion that they felt strongly about. Their research, communication and presentation skills were certainly stretched and visitors to the Exhibition learned a great deal. Congratulations Grade 5! The Grade 5s are also preparing for their camp to Bintan on 8 May. Parents of Grade 5 will have received the final information pack which contains important information. Please complete the forms and return them to school as soon as possible. Mr Taylor, Ms Jasinska, Ms Dayal and Ms Mahapatra will be accompanying the students to Bintan. What fun! Equally exciting is the Grade 3 & 4 camp to the Singapore Zoo on 13 & 14 May. Students will enjoy learning about how a zoo works, interact with the animals and sleep over in the zoo camp. Parents of Grade 3 & 4 should read the information pack they will receive and return the information form. The Grade 3 & 4 teachers, plus Ms Loadwick and Ms Wolter will be accompanying the students. We can’t wait! The Student Led Conferences on Friday saw many parents at school, learning from their children. It is such special time for students to explain their learning in their way. Thank you parents for attending this important event in your child’s learning journey. You will shortly receive a survey asking your child to indicate which ECAs (Extra Curricular Activities) he/she would like to see happen at school next year. We are committed to offering staff run activities on Tuesday - Thursday that encompass students’ choices. We wish you all an enjoyable family weekend. Middle School News Greetings everyone and welcome to Week 32 of the school year. From Grade 5 to Grade 8 we are seeing many activities happening across the school that includes both campuses. Teachers worked towards planning for the next academic year on Monday by going through the Annual ISS survey results. This is an important step as we build for the next iteration of the strategic plan. Grade 8 transition to Grade 9 It is a big for Grade 8 as they begin to get insight into life at Preston Campus. Starting Tuesday they enjoyed a taster day at the Preston Campus. During this time they experienced classes, interacted with teachers and generally explored the verdant Preston campus. Feedback from the Preston teachers was how impressed they were by the maturity of the group. On Thursday and Friday this week, those Grade 8 students (and their parents) transferring to ISS Grade 9 met with Mr Hayward and Mrs Edwards to plan their academic pathway. As students move towards to the IB Diploma make considered choices is one key aspect to academic success. Grade 5 Exhibition Whilst this is a Primary Years milestone, Middle Years students always attend and enjoy seeing the development of the Grade 5 actions and topics. It also give the older students time to reflect on where they have come from and where they are now. Well done Grade 5 and your teachers. Kampong Cup This week saw the final of the Grade 6 girls Kampong Cup (football). Great enthusiasm and physicality was shown by all students involved. The final placing being announced in Sambutan. A very tight finish indeed. We now move onto to Grade 7-8 girls competition. It started with some rousing first round classes. Have a great weekend one and all Michael Elementary School News
We have had a wonderful week of learning across the school, with the ES students working together with the Middle School for STEAM week and Exhibition students racing around with surveys and research projects. ISS certainly challenges students! You will have received a note from your teacher regarding our Student Led Conferences. These conferences are an important part of a student’s PYP journey and a true reflection of how they see themselves as a learner. Please make sure you sign up through the portal that has been sent to you. Our PTA did the school proud on Friday night; the Family Fun Evening was amazing! There were lots of happy families participating in the events that were organised. Thank you PTA! It is good to see the support given to the charities that ISS supports. The PYP Grade 5 Exhibition will be held at school on Tuesday and Wednesday 23 & 24 April. All parents are welcome to attend. We are looking at class placements for next year; if you are leaving the school would you please let us know so that we can plan for the 2019/2020 school year. A number of new students have already enrolled so we expect to have a dynamic school community! Middle School News The weeks go quicker and the learning gets busier. Students are well focussed as move into the ‘heart’ of Term Four. Production is around the corner, exam week is coming and Grade 8 will leave Paterson Campus. A good time for parents and guardians to check in on how their son/ daughter/ ward is going. Most students are managing many events during the week. Always good to see what support they need. From a staff perspective, we are very focused at this time of the year on student well being. STEAM Week It has been a great week with the Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math programme running the entire time. Thanks to the tireless work of Dr Jeremiah we have had guest speakers talking to students about engineering in the Middle East, the chemistry of making perfumes and how to be part of the next generation of astronauts both from Singapore and from NASA. Students have embraced the opportunities to be ambassadors for Science and led workshops for parents and students alike. Family Fun Festival What a wonderful success was the Family Fun Festival. Showing great innovation and flexibility our diligent PTA revamped this event to the amazement of all who attended. For what will now become a permanent fixture on the social calendar, everyone enjoyed the auction, the diversity of foods on offer and a chance to socialise with the ISS community. Wonderful stuff! Council of International Schools (CIS) survey Each year ISS seeks feedback about our school from parents, guardians, staff members and students using a survey created by our accreditation agencies. Each question relates to an accreditation standard. Over the last few years we have invested considerable time and resources in strengthening our communications about the school through social media and other channels. As a result, we have added some questions at the end of the survey that will help us gauge our reach in that area. The findings from the survey are used to inform our strategic planning process. Student and Faculty findings will be explored during focus group meetings to be held over the coming weeks. ACSIS Sport Our U14 Basketball team took on SJII during the week. Another close fought tussle. The boys performed very well and were edged out in another close contest. Only one game to go and Mr Orgee has the lads primed for a big finale. Elementary School News
We welcomed a number of new students to the Elementary School on Monday and it is warming to see how our existing students welcome them. The playground is certainly a happy place! Our enrolments for 2019/20 are filling up so if you know of any family who wants to come to ISS please remind them to register soon; there are limited places in all our grade levels. This evening we are hoping for a clear night for our Family Fun Evening. Thanks go to the PTA for their outstanding efforts. As parents it is your responsibility to monitor what your children are viewing on-line, particularly games that show violence. Some students are telling us that they ‘game’ late into the night, which is obviously not good for their sleep patterns and their overall well being. Please be vigilant and know exactly what your children watch. Thank you all for completing the Camp formalities for Grades 3,4 and 5. The students will certainly enjoy their time at Camp. You may have noticed lots of ‘animals’ around the school on Friday - all part of student action! Wishing you all a fantastic Friday evening and a fun filled weekend! Middle School News Welcome everyone to Term Four! First question is ‘Where did Term Three go?’ It seems like last week we were only returning from December break and now we are already in the final stretch to the end of another academic year. New families Welcome to ISS for all our new students. Great to see so many new faces joining ISS. Specifically to Grade 6-8 families, as these students settle in to this year but as importantly prepare for next academic year. We are as excited to have you here, as I am sure you are excited to be with us. Family Fun Event As this blog ‘goes to press’ the PTA Family Fun Festival is in full swing. So much work has on in the background and we cannot thank the PTA enough for all their hard work. Wonderful the PTA have embraced their Risk Taker Learner Profile and totally revamped the format for this from the Sunday fair to a Friday night festival. More to talk about in next week’s blog. See you at the Festival :) ACSIS Sports Our valiant basketballers returned from a two week break and immediately had a road trip to GEMS World Academy. Whilst the boys toiled hard, their minds must have still been on holidays and we came second. This time. See you next round GEMS! STEAM Week Dr Jeremiah has kicked off this years STEAM week launching (pardon the pun) straight into a presentation with the Singapore Space Programme talking to students in Sambutan on Friday. With us in Serangoon Hall was Lim Seng the man behind the idea of sending a Singaporean into space. This will be followed over the next week with student workshops and interviews with scientists innovators and researchers. World of Work For the last three days Paterson Campus has hosted three Grade 10 students as part of the World of Work programme. Over this time the students shadowed a teacher during their day and got some authentic experience into what teaching and learning is all about. A wonderful initiative that will contribute to creating the teachers of tomorrow. Term Four Things to look forward to in Term Four are the Arts Exhibition and performance of Once ON This Island jr which is in the last week of May. The Grade 8 Farewell ceremony in the last week of term. Not to mention the whole school Sports Day on the last Monday of term. More information to follow on all these events. Have a great Family Fun Festival and weekend. Michael |
Susan Tilney
Paterson Principal Archives
April 2020
Categories |