One of the joys and challenges of being a truly diverse international community is to try to understand the complex cultural expectations that students have of learning. The better we understand this the more effective the school can be at optimising learning to allow every student to achieve their potential.
To help us with this over the next two weeks ISS is going to be one of 20 pilot international schools taking part in the Council of International Schools (CIS) Student Cultural Dispositions & Learning Preferences Survey. This survey will be taken online by students from grades 4-12 and will take about 30 minutes to complete. We believe the survey has great potential to investigate some important questions on students, culture and learning, and to positively influence teaching and learning at ISS. The survey yields valuable insights that will help ISS answer the following questions: How can we better support students in adjusting to the culture of ISS? How can teachers appreciate and understand an individual’s culture and its influence on learning? How do we manage transitions, both inward and outward from ISS? The survey was developed by International School Helsinki to address a dilemma common to international schools. As Peter Welch, the Director of IS Helsinki, states, “each new international student who enrolls arrives with distinct, values, assumptions and approaches to learning. Yet generalizing teaching strategies to address culture based on points of origin is problematic.” This survey is a practical tool that helps teachers leverage the rich cultural diversity of ISS towards better teaching and learning. Click here to watch a short video explaining the survey. As part of this survey students will be asked to fill in some brief demographic data. One of these questions asks students the nationality of the passport (s) held by their parents. If you think your student might not know the nationality of the passport(s) you hold, or indeed the passport(s) they hold, please could you inform them of this so that they can complete this question. Elementary School News Collaboration is a central part of ISS for both our students and teachers. This week G1 students worked together to test out their bridge designs while G2 students planned, prepared and shared their learning with the school at assembly as a team. Our PE teacher, Mr. Nathan, and Middle School PE teacher, Ms. Allan, also demonstrated the power of collaboration by planning learning experiences for G8 students to work with our elementary students. We ended the week with a successful pajama day as we continue to support the Singapore Food Bank. It is exciting to see the collaboration within our school and Singapore community alive and continuing to grow. Elementary School Concert Friday, 9th December This is to inform you that all ES students will be participating in the Performing Arts Concert on Friday, December 9th at 6:30pm. The venue for this year's concert will be the Anglo Chinese School, 121 Dover Road, Singapore, 139 650. Tickets can be purchased here Upcoming Events Monday, 28th December - K1 Field Trip to Art Science Museum Wednesday, 30th November - Festival of Lights (Preston Campus 6:30pm) Friday, 2nd December - K1 Field Trip to ISS High School Friday, 2nd December - G4 Field Trip to On sight climbing Friday, 9th December - Elementary School Concert (Anglo Chinese School Independent hall 6:30pm) Middle School News Greetings and welcome to the week that was and all things on the horizon for Middle School. A very tired bunch of students and teachers returned to the island of Singapore last Friday. The friendships that are forged and the opportunities that the student experience can never be underestimated. Already in the classrooms and at breaks we can see new friendships have been established. Now our attention becomes more focussed on the end of the semester. Each end of semester is a good checkpoint for students to reflect on their strengths and their areas of development. For parents and teachers it is important to encourage each student to discuss these areas, with the next semester in mind. Its is an opportunity to set goals based on their achievement in Semester One. Reports will be going out on the Thursday, 15th December. This week the MS has been focused on the International Baccalaureate (IB) learner profiles of caring and principled. To be caring it starts with us being empathetic, showing compassion and respect for others. Our principled approach allows us to embrace integrity and honesty. Sometimes, with the advent of technology and various communication platforms, we all can forget what it means to be caring and principled. This week it has been a timely reminder about who we are and why caring and principled are part of our school culture. An early invitation to parents and guardians for the end of semester sambutan (assembly). It will be a musical, drama, student lead celebration. This will happen on Friday, 16th December at 1:40pm in the MS Hall. Please let us know at [email protected] if you are going to join. Have a great weekend Upcoming Events Wednesday, 30th November - Festival of Lights (Preston Campus 6:30pm) Thursday, 1st December - Auditions for ‘Into the Woods’ (MS Hall- 2:45pm) Friday, 9th December - Elementary School Concert (Anglo Chinese School Independent hall 6:30pm) Sunday 11th December - Christmas concert performance (Eurasian Association 12pm)) Thursday, 15th December - Walking toward Zero Hunger (East Coast parkway) Friday, 16th December - End of semester sambutan (celebration) It's been a very busy week this week with Middle School experiencing the wonders of week without walls and discovering new places and most importantly growing as people from the new challenges they have faced. For the Elementary School this week saw the 3 Way Conferences where teachers, students and parents shared the students learning. These close links between home and school have a huge impact in enable students at ISS to grow and develop. Next Friday sees a chance for Parents and Teachers to meet in a social setting at the PTA Quiz Night. It should be a great event and I hope many of you can attend. Unfortunantly I will not be able to be at the Quiz Night as I shall be out of school from 24th November to 2nd December serving on a CIS accreditation team to Al Batinah International School in Oman. The Paterson Campus will in the capable hands of Ms Skrtic and Mr Taylor during my absence. Another chance to meet with members of the school community is on November 30th,at Preston Campus, at 6.15pm where you are invited to join the ISS School Board for an informal reception prior to the Festival Of Lights performances. The Festival of Lights is due to start at 7pm and it showcases our music students in Grades 9-12.This is an opportunity to get to know Board members and to learn- in an informal environment about the work of the board and the projects they are championing. As we intend catering this event, please RSVp to Sally Choy, [email protected] if you will be attending. Both this event and the Festival of Lights are open to all members of the ISS Community. Next semester we will hold a similar reception in conjunction with a Paterson Campus event. Elementary School News It was great to see all of our students and parents attend the 3 Way Conferences on the 16th. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to actively engage in discussions on their learning with both their parents and teachers. While we have three scheduled conferences in the school year, please remember you can always visit your child’s class blog to follow along on their learning journey or contact the teacher with any questions. Pyjama Day Friday 25th November The Elementary School will also be supporting the Singapore Food Bank via Pyjama Day on Friday. Students who pay a $2 donation or donate food can come to school on Friday in pyjamas. Students can bring their $2 or food into their class teachers from Wednesday onwards. I am very pleased to say that this initiative is the result of the work of our Student Action Leadership Team (SALT) and is great example of our youngest students taking action to make the world a better place. Elementary School Concert Friday, 9th December This is to inform you that all ES students will be participating in the Performing Arts Concert on Friday, December 9th at 6:30pm. The venue for this year's concert will be the Anglo Chinese School, 121 Dover Road, Singapore, 139 650. Tickets can be purchased here. Upcoming Events Tuesday, 22nd November Korean parent evening (MPR- 6:30pm) Thursday, 24th November G1 Field Trip to Singapore Art Museum Friday 25th Pyjama Day Friday, 25th November - PTA Trivia night (MS Hall 7PM) Wednesday, 30th November - Festival of Lights (Preston Campus 6:30pm) Friday, 9th December - Elementary School Concert Middle School News The build up is so big, the excitement and expectation is so real and then before we know it Week Without Walls is over for another year! That is our reality as this blog post goes out. All the trips have returned and the tales of adventure, new experiences, new friends and a broader perspective about the world have returned with the students (and the teachers!). If you missed out on the comings and going of the wonderful times, you can always refer to msweekwithoutwalls2016-17.weebly.com and relive everyday. The password was sent out via ManageBac at the beginning of the week. A huge round of applause for the teachers. The effort, commitment and generally going the extra yard to make sure your children are safe and getting the best possible depth of education is nothing short of wonderful. Well done ISS teachers! Great to see some many familiar faces at the Japanese Parent evening on Wednesday of this week. Once again thank you Miho Tsumura for sharing all your insight and knowledge of life and learning at ISS. In the upcoming week ISS will host the Korean Evening on Tuesday 22nd November. Back to business as usual on Monday. We are only four (4) weeks out from end of Semester Two and the time is going to fly. Big ticket items over the next few weeks are ‘Into the Woods’ auditions on Thursday December 1st, the Christmas Concert performance at the Eurasian Association on Sunday 11th December, the Service as Action day for all MS students on Thursday 15th December and that Semester Two reports go out also on Thursday 15th December. Inter mingled with all this are the PTA Trivia night (Friday 25th November), the Festival of Lights at Preston Campus (Wednesday 30th November) and the Elementary School Winter Concert (Friday 9th December). Busy times! Have a good weekend. MT Upcoming Events Tuesday, 22nd November - Korean parent evening (MPR- 6:30pm) Friday, 25th November - PTA Trivia night (MS Hall 7PM) Wednesday, 30th November - Festival of Lights (Preston Campus 6:30pm) Thursday, 1st December - Auditions for ‘Into the Woods’ (MS Hall- 2:45pm) Friday, 9th December - Elementary School Concert (Anglo Chinese School hall 6:30pm) Sunday 11th December - Christmas concert performance (Eurasian Association 12pm)) With holidays not too far away I would like to remind parents of the procedures in relation to student absences. Please note the following points regarding absences of students. Absences
Elementary School News
We ended the week with an exciting assembly from K1.1. They shared their learning and experiences with us from the Dark Days in their classroom and the different forms of light they discovered. They also shared the song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with us, including a solo violin performance! Elementary School Concert Friday, 9th December This is to inform you that all ES students will be participating in the Performing Arts Concert on Friday, December 9th at 6:30pm. The venue for this year's concert will be the Anglo Chinese School, 121 Dover Road, Singapore, 139 650. Please save the date and keep an eye on this blog for further details. Looking forward to seeing you at the performance! Ms. Marnie 3 Way Conferences and Book Fair Wednesday November 16th The 3 Way Conferences will take place on 16th November. At the same time there will be a book fair in the library so it will be great chance to browse and buy books whilst you are up at school with your children. Parents will have the chance to discuss their child's learning with their child and their child's class teachers. Parents should sign up for an appointment time using the links below: For Classroom Teachers http://tinyurl.com/es3-2016 For Integrators: http://tinyurl.com/es3int-2016 Sign ups will close at 2:30 pm on Tuesday November 15th to enable staff to prepare for the day. If you have any technical difficulties, please contact [email protected] for assistance. Talented Teachers Nathan Horne will be presenting two workshops, one on Designing Games for Learning and another on Assessment in Invasion Games at APPEC in Hong Kong this weekend. Upcoming Events Wednesday, 16th November - 3 Way Conferences and Book Fair (NB School closed for ES students) Tuesday, 15th November - SALT and House Leaders Field trip to Halogen Foundation Young Leaders Day Event Wednesday, 16th November - Japanese parent evening (MPR- 6:30pm) Tuesday, 22nd November Korean parent evening (MPR- 6:30pm) Friday, 9th December - Elementary School Concert Middle School News Greetings and welcome to the Middle School update. This has been a great week that leads into an even better week for Week Without Walls msweekwithoutwalls2016-17.weebly.com (NB:This site is password protected and the password has been shared with you via ManageBac) I was fortunate enough to enjoy the halloween disco last Friday night. Wonderful evening. Lots of dancing, fun, food and generally students and teachers alike ‘letting down their hair.’ Well done MS Kalaw and the Student Council on doing a great job. This week we also held the second of our Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC) and once again it was well attended. Thank you to all the parents and guardians who came along to support learning and the development of each child. As an initiative to PTC ISS held it’s first ever book fair in the Paterson Library. This will grow into one of the key ‘must visit’ events in the calendar due to the quality and availability of books. Well done Mrs and Mr Grant our school librarians for a job well done. This week has been all about WWW. Students are prepared. Tickets are booked. Venues are getting ready. Please make sure students are in ISS shirt to travel and are on time. Packing lists are on the website (referenced above) and transport times as well. There is also a blog that will be updated as often as internet connectivity allows. Most students are aware but the MS production ‘Into the woods’ auditions are being held in the MS Hall on the 1st December from 2:45pm. Mr Lebon will once again be driving the show with his usual level of enthusiasm and energy. Upcoming Events Sunday, 13th /Monday, 14th November - Week Without Walls commences Wednesday 16th November Japanese parent evening (MPR- 6:30pm) Tuesday 22nd November Korean parent evening (MPR- 6:30pm) Friday, 25th November PTA Quiz night (MS Hall - 7pm) Thursday, 1st December ‘Into the woods’ auditions (MS Hall- 2:45pm) Thursday, 15th December - MS Service as Action day Numerous studies over the years have stressed the importance of strong relationships between home and school to support students to develop.This means the day to day contact parents have with the school (via class blogs, ManageBac and meeting with teachers)and the special meeting such as last weeks Middle School Parents and Teachers evening and the upcoming Elementary School 3 way conferences. It also means the chances that the PTA create to allow parents to be part of the ISS family and to arrange social events.
Two upcoming PTA events are: PTA meeting: Monday, 7 November at 8am, Paterson ES MPR. Guest speaker, Dr. van der Donk who is a Developmental Psychologist from the Netherlands who will be discussing:
PTA QUIZ NIGHT: 25 November, 7pm. An evening to meet other parents, teachers and guardians of our community where you can show off your trivia skills, guaranteed to be fun. There will be finger food, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) sold during the night. Ticket cost is only SGD15 per person which includes a welcome drink and snacks. Regrettably no ISS students or under 18's allowed. Send an email to [email protected] to reserve your tickets. Elementary School News Elementary School Concert Friday, 9th December This is to inform you that all ES students will be participating in the Performing Arts Concert on Friday, December 9th at 6:30pm. The venue for this year's concert will be the Anglo Chinese School, 121 Dover Road, Singapore, 139 650. Please save the date and keep an eye on this blog for further details. 3 Way Conferences and Book Fair Wednesday November 16th The 3 Way Conferences will take place on 16th November. At the same time there will be a book fair in the library so it will be great chance to browse and buy books whilst you are up at school with your children. Parents will have the chance to discuss their child's learning with their child and their child's class teachers. Parents should sign up for an appointment time using the links that will be sent to you at 3pm on Tuesday 8th November. Sign ups will close at 2:30 pm on Tuesday November 15th to enable staff to prepare for the day. Talented Teachers Margaret Alvarez and Derek Pinchbeck presented at the EARCOS Leadership Conference in Kuala Lumpur last week. YanPing Zhao will be leading a PYP Workshop in Beijing this weekend. Marnie Hurst, Gemma Cass and Ariana Rehu will present workshops this weekend at PYPConnect, a conference for PYP teachers, hosted by ISS. Upcoming Events: Saturday, 5th November - Urgent Run Tuesday, 8th November - Elementary School Learning Other Languages Coffee Morning Wednesday, 16th November - 3 Way Conferences and Book Fair Middle School (MS) News Another great week in the Middle School. School photos went off very smoothly on Tuesday. Wednesday we had day one of the Parent (and guardian) Teacher Conferences (PTC). A vibrant atmosphere full of rich conversations ensued. Still time to sign up for the second round of PTC on Wednesday 9th November from 3pm- 6pm. Parents and guardians can catch up with any teacher you missed out on during the first PTC, if you feel the need. There will be a book fair in the Paterson Library happening this Wednesday from 2pm-6pm. Take advantage of all the latest in reading materials before or after the PTC. Tonight is the much anticipated Halloween Disco. Well done Ms Kalaw and the Student Council for putting on what can only be described as one of THE social events of the Singapore calendar. Week Without Walls is coming up fast. The first trip (to Sabah, Borneo) leaves on Sunday 13th November. Whilst the trips to Telunas, Indonesia and Sok Sabay, Cambodia depart the next day. The website for all departure times, packing lists, latest news and daily trip updates (where connection is possible) can be found at: http://msweekwithoutwalls2016-17.weebly.com/ Our Sambutan (assembly) and pastoral period in the upcoming week will be centred around preparing students for the learning and cultural experience of their respective trip. The students participating in the Discover Singapore trip will have a wonderful opportunity to do some volunteer work, get into exploring Singapore and embrace the culinary diversity that is Singapore. A great experience. Hope you have a wonderful weekend Upcoming Events: Friday, 4th November - Halloween Disco Saturday, 5th November - Urgent Run Wednesday, 9th November - Parent Teacher Conferences (3pm-5pm) Sunday, 13th /Monday, 14th November - Week Without Walls commences Thursday, 15th December - MS Service as Action day |
Susan Tilney
Paterson Principal Archives
April 2020
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