Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
On Thursday this week, the PTA held their first parent, educational experience. They visited Bollywood Veggies, Sungei Buloh and Hay Goats Farm. All those involved had a wonderful day. A great chance to see more of Singapore and make new and lasting friends. For more information about the PTA email <[email protected]> Elementary School News Thank you, everyone, for making our Three Way Conferences so successful; the students were well prepared by their teachers, parents asked relevant questions and students displayed excellent communication skills while presenting their strengths, challenges and aspirations. A group of Grade 5 students represented ISS in the SEF Oral Competition on Environmental Solutions last Saturday. They clearly enjoyed the experience and we were all very proud of them. (picture) Most students have finished their first Unit of Inquiry and have completed their assessment of this. I have been most fortunate to have witnessed some excellent learning both in and out of the classroom. Paterson Campus will be very quiet next week due to the students in Middle School going on camp (the Week WIthout Walls). We wish them well and look forward to hearing about their adventures! The best part of the day is watching the students play; this is a very important part of their learning where they inquire into the environment, communicate with others and apply self management skills. (picture) Next week is the last week of Term One. Please make sure you bring your students back to school on Wednesday 17 October! The staff will be here from the beginning of that week, embarking on Professional Development. The SWIMMING GALA is on Friday 19 October - don’t forget! Venue: Toa Payoh Swimming Complex, 301 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, 319392 Map link here: Tao Payoh Swimming Complex Transport: All students will report to school as per normal (8AM). Transport will be provided for all PYP and MYP students to the venue. Transportation back to the Paterson Campus is strictly for students only. Middle School News Greetings everyone and welcome to what is the last blog of Term 1. I cannot believe that we have been through the first quarter of the year already. When you are a busy school, with lots of things happening, time does indeed seem to fly. We wish all our families a safe and fulfilling break October break. This is the last blog of Term One. See you in Term Two. Remember students return 17th October Swim Gala The Swim Gala is an exciting opportunity for the ISS community to join together in a celebration of sporting achievement. The event this year will be made even more special because as an IB Continuum School the Swim Gala will reflect both the PYP and MYP. There will be events for all levels of swimmer and it is hoped that as many of you as possible will be able to join us. Date: Friday October 19th 2018 Venue: Toa Payoh Swimming Complex, 301 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, 319392 Map link here: Tao Payoh Swimming Complex Transport: All students will report to school as per normal (8AM). Transport will be provided for all PYP and MYP students to the venue. Transportation back to the Paterson Campus is strictly for students only. Three Way Conferences Three Way Conferences were a wonderful mix of inquiry, sharing, understanding and most of all very positive communications. Students were able to give insight into their learning in the classroom and parents and guardians were able to better understand their pathway for learning. Everyone is in agreeance, it was very successful and informative because of the inputs of all involved. Well done students, parents/guardians and teachers. A true Three Way Conference. Week Without Walls So the trips leave on Monday 1st October. Student anticipation and excitement is clearly evident. The teachers and students have put in considerable time and effort in preparing for these experiential trips. Each of the trips are tied to one or two of the Sustainable Development Goals and strongly support working with the local community. See below for all the travel arrangements and meeting times for all trips. Keep up to date with all things WWW by going to our website: https://msweekwithoutwalls2018-19.weebly.com/ Have a great weekend everyone MT Elementary School news
What an exciting week! The PYP students are moving into their summative assessments and I had the pleasure of attending the Grade 3 presentation. The students were representing significant people in the world who have stood up for human rights - it was incredible and I learned a great deal. Well done Grade 3! This week culminates in the SEF Oral Competition on Environmental Solutions which is jointly organised by SEF and ISS. We have four grade 5 groups of students who have been working very hard on their speeches. It is a new experience for them so we wish them well. My thanks go to the students for their commitment to working with me during lunchtimes and to their parents who have helped them at home. The students are: Kyle, Christina, Adra, Saadullah, Emil, Joe, Lakshyavardhan, Alex, Archie, Marietta Kaya and Jiwon. For a number of students, they are presenting in a language which is not their mother tongue, so it is quite impressive. Please remember to buy a ‘holiday book’ if you are going away for the October break. This should be in the language of the country you are visiting. Thank you to those students who have donated books on the occasion of their birthday - these actions help all of our students! Three Way Conferences take place next week on Wednesday 26 September. Please sign up for your conferences quickly as slots will fill up quickly. Remember, this not a normal school day. Professional Development of staff is an important part of ISS’ vision. Ms Bustamante is away all weekend, completing an IB course called Making the PYP Happen in the Classroom. We wish her well. A number of students are bringing chocolate and biscuits to school as part of their snack or lunch. As we promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating, it would be appreciated if you would substitute these sweet items for fruit. Middle School News Well before we realised it, week seven was over and done. That was our last full week of formal lessons for Term One. Week eight is broken up with Three Way Conferences and then our students head of into South East Asia as Week Without Walls commences. It is always wonderful to wander into classrooms. School photos School photos happen next Tuesday 25th September. Please remind every student to come dressed in full school uniform. Theatre excursion Mr Lebon and an intrepid group of thespians went to Marina Bay Sands to witness the extravaganza that is the Lion King. Many of the students will go on to participate in the Paterson theatre production of ‘Once on this island jr’ Great work Mr Lebon and your travelling troupe. Cross country Our cross country team has begun training. Under the expert tutelage of Mr Inam and occasional runners, Mr Orgee and Mr Palumbo the team head out 1-2 times a week in preparation for the ACSIS Cross Country championship, in November. Well done and keep running. Three Way Conferences (3WC) On Wednesday 26th September we invite you to our first Three Way Conference (3WC) for the year. The 3WC is an important milestone in every school. It is an opportunity for students, parents and teachers to discuss student learning. This is a brief introduction and it may lead to further discussions at a later date. As a parent/ guardian, you can prepare for 3WC by talking to your child about areas of school they enjoy; areas they feel they need more support; how they have settled into the school year: Week Without Walls Only one week to go before ISS travels into South East Asia for this years, Week Without Walls. Final preparations across all the trips are coming to an end. Performances and teaching activities are being improved and resources are being packed. Don't forget you can find all the information you need on the website https://msweekwithoutwalls2018-19.weebly.com/ Have a great weekend. MT Elementary School news The PTA had a successful AGM this week and elected new members as well. Thank you to those who were able to attend. It was an enjoyable meeting and we look forward to the PTA sponsored events this year. Through collaboration and reflection in the PYP, we maintain a Programme of Inquiry that is engaging, relevant, challenging and significant. We also work towards making connections between our units of inquiry and our host country, Singapore. This week the Grade 1 students were able to expand their inquiry by visiting Forest Adventure and East Coast Park. A lot of learning went on! Our Three Way Conferences for ES and MS will be held at school on Wednesday 26 September. This day is not a normal school day - you come to school with your child at your chosen time. You will receive more information on how to book a time with your homeroom teacher and any specific integrators that you may wish to see. Our new arrangement for assemblies seems to be going well and it is educationally beneficial for all the students to meet as one section of the school. Everyone sings and presents together. After assembly the students participate in choir or mother tongue maintenance in their classrooms. You are welcome to attend these assemblies. On Monday 24 September and Tuesday 25 September there will be a Paterson Campus photo shoot. Please ensure that on this day your child/children comes to school in the correct school uniform with school compliant socks. Further details will be sent shortly. A number of students in Grade 5 will be competing in the SEF Oral Competition on Environmental Solutions 2018 which will be held on Saturday 22 September at ISS. These students have been working hard at school and at home to prepare their speeches and presentations. I would like to thank the students and their parents for working so diligently on this. Middle School News Welcome to the Middle School blog for Week 6 Term 1. This year we have a stronger focus on the IB Learner Profile. In September we are focused on being Balanced. In the words of Dr Seuss- ‘Step with great care and great tact. And remember that life is one great balancing act’. As an IB school we teach our students to be balanced. This means studying, and relaxing. It means spending time with friends and alone. It means its is ok to be happy and to be sad. Balancing out our intellectual, physical and emotional lives makes us better people. Through this we try to lead our community in becoming more globally aware and that we have a positive impact. MYP Coffee morning What a wonderful session we had in our MYP Coffee morning. A great turn out of parents, who walked away with a little more in-depth understanding of what it is like to be a parent to an IB student. I have posted the presentation up on ManageBac. Any questions, please contact me through [email protected]. Our next full MYP session will be in early February. Stay tuned. Three Way conferences (3WC) On Wednesday 26th September, we will hold the Paterson Three Way Conferences (3WC). The 3WC is a great opportunity to get an overview of your child’s progress so far in the current school year. There are multiple choices of times to choose what best suits. The sign ups for 3WC will be coming out as of Monday 17 September. Week Without Walls (WWW) Not sure of travel arrangements for WWW? Will my child need spending money? Can I ring my child? What bag should they take to WWW? Who is my contact person? All good questions and all answerable via the website: https://msweekwithoutwalls2018-19.weebly.com/ Have a great weekend everyone MT Paterson Campus
Elementary School news The PTA would like to invite you to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the ISS PTA. The meeting will take place in the Elementary School Changi Hall, on the 3rd floor on Wednesday, 12 September at 7:50 AM. All parents and guardians are invited to attend this meeting. All prospective PTA committee members are requested to attend this meeting as we will be voting in our new committee. Please note, as parents and guardians you are all members of the PTA and are welcome and encouraged to attend all PTA-related events and meetings. ECA activities are going very well and the school is busy and buzzing throughout the afternoon. Any inquiries relating to ECAs should go to Mr Inman ([email protected]). http://isseca.weebly.com/ After school pickup and drop off A gentle reminder that the Paterson Campus car park is a one way flow of traffic. If parents drive into the car park at the end of the school day, to pick up children, they must wait until buses leave, in order to drive out of the campus. If parents get dropped off by a taxi or hire car ( Grab car etc) you need to be dropped off outside the school gate. Thanks for making the car-park a safe pedestrian space. PYP Coffee Morning Thank you to those parents who were able to attend the PYP Coffee Morning this week. It was a great opportunity to share an introduction to the Primary Years Programme at ISS and discuss ways to support the programme at home, including encouraging questions, getting to know your child’s units of inquiry, and using the Learner Profile as a model and reflection tool. We investigated International Mindedness and enjoyed a lively discussion. Please let me know if there are any aspects of the PYP that you would like to know about. [email protected] Birthday Books As part of our Mother Tongue Programme we are introducing an initiative to provide more authentic experiences for our students in Elementary School by encouraging students to donate a book, in their mother tongue, to the library in celebration of their birthday. The book will be inscribed with the student’s name and will be at ISS as a memory to the time spent here. In my previous schools this has been a huge success, with students visiting the school years after they have left just to find ‘their’ book! We would celebrate the student’s birthday during an assembly and accept the book on their behalf. Thank you to everyone who contributed to The Food Bank last Friday. We were able to supply the Bank with numerous dry foods and a selection of canned foods. There have been a number of excursions this week and the students have been creating exciting projects in Mandarin. We are certainly a busy school! Our assembly schedule has changed; we now have a K - 5 assembly in the Serangoon Hall each week, with a class presenting each week. Do come along if you have the time! Today it poured with rain during the students’ break and lunch and I have to say, they were absolutely flexible with the teachers’ wet play arrangements. Well done students! Have a fantastic weekend. Elizabeth Loadwick Middle School News Welcome to the Middle School blog for Week 5 Term 1. As we move past the halfway mark of Term 1, it is a great time to take stock of who we are in our learning community. As an IB school we teach our students to be inquirers. We teach our students that is ok to make mistakes. We challenge students each day to make the environment a better one. We try to lead our community in becoming more globally aware and that we have a positive impact. How can you as an ISS member also support ‘Educating to make a difference’? Being a big part of a student’s learning is one of the most important factors in a fulfilling education. By asking questions of students like: ‘Can you tell me one thing you learnt today?’; 'What was the funniest thing you saw at school?'; and 'Was there a moment today when you thought 'wow this is hard'?'. As an inquiry based school, our expectation is that this will continue at home. Encourage all students to relive their day at ISS for you. It’s an integral element of ISS that sees an engagement at all levels, which is essential. MYP Coffee morning The postponed coffee morning will now be next week (Thursday 13/09) and parents will once again have the opportunity to join us for the postponed MYP Coffee morning. Come along and find out more about the IB, inquiry based learning and how does it all fit together: MYP Coffee Morning Thursday 13/09/18 08:00-09:00 Serangoon Hall Sign up via this LINK (parents who previously signed up do not need to do so again) Have a great weekend everyone MT |
Susan Tilney
Paterson Principal Archives
April 2020
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