Paterson Campus Car park A reminder to all our parents and guardians that drive into the school to drop off and pick up students. The speed limit in the carpark is walking pace. The priority of departure in the afternoons is school buses first. After the last school bus has left all other cars can leave. We appeal for increased understanding and vigilance on wet days when conditions are not optimum and increased patience and care is required for student safety. Please note that the Paterson library will closed at 3pm on Friday, December 1st. On November 28th is a talk by Dr Stephen Holmes on the skillsets our students will need when they enter higher education or the workforce. This future focused talk will focus on our changing educational environment and will give pointers on how parents can support their child’s development. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. RSVP to [email protected] by 3pm on 27th November. Elementary School News Congratulations to our G2 on their Performing Arts concert this afternoon, Starry Night! As mentioned in our blog post from September, each unique performance this year will be inspired by the unit the students are inquiring into for that particular grade level. Morning time is possibly my favorite time of the day. I am able to greet all of our students, see their smiles, and hear a lot of stories! Students share their learning with with me, ask me questions, and even share ideas and projects with me. Recently, Gordon in G3 shared a flip book he made with me. I was so impressed that I wanted to share it with all of you too! The video is at the end of the ES blog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kCPHCW7cRc&feature=youtu.be Talented Teachers Linda Du was on an IB School Verification Visit in Hefei, China this week. Sharyn Skrtic spoke on an IB Webinar about the Singapore/Malaysia PYP Network. Upcoming Events Wednesday, 29th November - Festival of Light (Preston Campus) Thursday, 30th November - G4 Field Trip to Exhibition at Australian International School Tuesday, 5th December - G2 Field Trip to National Gallery Sunday, 10th December - Japanese University Fair (Paterson Campus) Middle School News
It has been a great week in Middle School. This week was highlighted by our invitation to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Singapore office to be part of a ‘Lunch and Learn’ event. Students from three Middle Years Programme (MYP) schools here in Singapore shared lunch and then their feelings, insights and opinions with staff from the IB. The depth of reflection and understanding was impressive. The two Middle School students Chloe and Samir (both G6) expressed why they have benefited from an IB education and where they think (hope), it will eventually take them. Well done to all concerned. As part of out teaching and learning review, MS has introduced an Approaches To Learning (ATL) monitoring programme. This is aimed at helping identified students support themselves to be more organised and to self manage their schooling. Parental and guardian monitoring is needed to review this work each day. The end of semester generally means an increase in assessment. Whilst MS does not have an end of semester exam period many subjects will be giving summative assessment. During this time parent support and monitoring is always integral to student well being. If you have concerns please reach out to the school. Upcoming Events Wednesday, 29th November Festival of Light (Preston Campus) Friday, 24th November - Grade 2 Performing Arts Concert, ‘Starry Night’; Serangoon Hall, 3pm Sunday, 3rd December - MS students @ Eurasian Society Christmas Party Sunday, 10th December - Japanese University Fair (Paterson Campus) Thursday, 14th December - Service as Action day, East Coast Parkway ES Fun Run Paterson Campus
A reminder of the upcoming events shared with you via ManageBac by our Head of School, Dr. Margaret Alvarez. The first event on November 28th is a talk by Dr Stephen Holmes on the skill sets our students will need when they enter higher education or the workforce. This future focused talk will focus on our changing educational environment and will give pointers on how parents can support their child’s development. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The second event is our annual Festival of Lights on December 6th. This event showcases our High School musical talent. Prior to the event, at 6pm, the School Board and PTA will jointly host a reception. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know members of the School Board and PTA and an additional opportunity to learn about what is happening at ISS. The third event on December 10th is a Japanese University Fair. This fair is jointly sponsored by ISS, the Ministry of Education in Japan (MEXT) and the Global Education Foundation, Japan. The universities represented offer programmes taught in English and also programmes taught in Japanese. Programmes are of a high quality and are very affordable. A big thank you to the PTA who have funded the acquisition for portable lighting to be installed (for the time being) in Serangoon Hall. These will be utilised across the entire school and will be in use during the Grade 2 performance in Serangoon Hall of ‘Starry Night’ on 24th November (3pm). Elementary School News With the Fun Run today, our first House Event organised by our House Leaders, the race for House points continues! Thanks to our House Leaders and Mr. Inman for a wonderful afternoon. Thank you to all those parents who were able to make our Elementary School Parent Coffee workshops this week; ‘Reading in the Early Years’ and ‘Learning Other Languages’. Thank you to Ms. Smita, Ms. Cass, Mrs. Vaughan and Ms. Du for organising and leading these parent sessions. Talented Teachers Several ES teachers are presenting at the PYPConnect Conference this weekend, organised by the Singapore/Malaysia PYP Network. We wish them all the best on their sessions! Christine Arnold, Shagun Batlaw, and Gemma Cass. Linda Du is presenting on ‘How to Teach Literature in DP Language A’ at the The 3rd Symposium on Chinese Language Teaching for International Schools this weekend. Upcoming Events Wednesday, 22nd November - Grade 1 Field Trip to Arts Center Friday, 24th November - Grade 2 Performing Arts Concert, ‘Starry Night’; Serangoon Hall, 3pm Wednesday, 29th November - Festival of Light (Preston Campus) Sunday, 10th December - Japanese University Fair (Paterson Campus) Middle School News Greetings and welcome to another week in Middle School. Let me start with thanking Dr Jeremiah and Ms Skrtic for supporting the Middle School, whilst I am in Malaysia on a Council of International Schools (CIS) accreditation visit. The school has run seamlessly and smooth during this time. Approaches to Learning At this time of the school year it is a chance for students and parents to ‘take stock’ leading into the end of Semester One. As of this week, the Middle School has introduced an Approaches To Learning (ATL) reflection for some students. This is aimed towards student organisation. Students should focus on recording due dates, meeting deadlines, reviewing class work, and setting plans to finish out the semester in a positive and effective manner. We look forward to the support of the parents in this focus. World Kindness Day One of the many great things about ISS is how we support each other. “World Kindness Day” was Monday 13 November, and it was only fitting for this week’s Sambutan to focus on what kindness is and how we show kindness to each other. Middle School students have been given the #capturekindness challenge; 14 weeks of inspiring others and spreading kindness through photography. Week 1: Be kind to your community and Week 2: Be kind to your family will be our focus next week. Have a chat to your child about kindness, and perhaps even make this a family challenge! ACSIS sport MS students are hard at training with Mr Orgee for the U14 boys football team. The boys have already begun training in preparation for competition against other Singapore international schools. Great to see our students living the values of our school and realising their potential. Have a great weekend MT Upcoming Events Wednesday, 22nd November Selection of MS students to ‘Lunch and Learn’ @ IB offices Wednesday, 29th November Festival of Light (Preston Campus) Friday, 24th November - Grade 2 Performing Arts Concert, ‘Starry Night’; Serangoon Hall, 3pm Sunday, 3rd December - MS students @ Eurasian Society Christmas Party Sunday, 10th December - Japanese University Fair (Paterson Campus) Thursday, 14th December - Service as Action day, East Coast Parkway Paterson Campus ISS competes in the Athletic Conferences of Singapore International Schools (ACSIS). Through sport our students have the opportunity to challenge themselves both physically and mentally, mix with students from other schools, form bonds with students from other grades, and most importantly have fun. Well done to Mr Crozier, Mr Orgee and Mr Inman for spearheading this programme. Recently ISS students competed in cross country events at Bedok Reservoir. Upcoming is the U14 and U11 football competitions. Go ISS and good luck to all who participate. Last Saturday, ISS hosted 15 schools and organisations at the BiAnnual TeachUp conference. From 8:30am till 12 midday, the classrooms of Paterson Campus where full of teachers sharing from such diverse topics such as philosophy for children to improve your presentations skills! Great to see so much interaction going on and ISS being one of the lead schools in Singapore providing teacher development. Elementary School News “An explicit expectation of the PYP is that successful inquiry will lead to responsible action, initiated by the student as a result of the learning process.” (Making the PYP Happen, pg.25) Our students are offered the opportunity to choose to act, decide on their actions, and reflect on how their actions are making a difference. In the past two weeks, I have been inspired by three of our Elementary students. They scheduled time to meet with me and shared their thoughts and ideas while creating an action plan. Camille and Jasmine from Grade 4 spoke to all Elementary School students at assembly and shared ways in which we can improve our practices on campus with regard to littering. Sofia from Grade 5 met with me to discuss possible ways she can support ISS by helping students better understand our role as a Global Citizen. All three students setting a great example for their peers! Student initiated action often happens outside of school as well. Please do share any actions your children are taking as a result of their learning with their teachers, classes and ISS. Talented Teachers Christine Arnold presented a session this week titled, ‘Collaborative parent-teacher approaches to student welfare and education’ at EduTECH Asia 2017. A parent from our Elementary School is an Educational Counsellor and wanted to take the opportunity to make an announcement about an upcoming Workshop. “Moderating Smartphones & Social Media Use for your child” The Workshop will take place this Monday, 13th November at 6pm. Please find more information here: https://www.scottpsychologicalservices.com/events/smartphones-and-social-media/ Upcoming Events Wednesday, 15th November - Parent Session on Reading in the Early Years; 2:45-3:45pm, K1 Classroom Thursday, 16th November - Elementary School Learning Other Languages Parent Coffee Morning; 8-9:15am, Changi Hall Friday, 17th November - ES Fun Run - Students may wear House Colours Friday, 24th November - Grade 2 Performing Arts Concert, ‘Starry Night’; Serangoon Hall, 3pm Middle School News Well what about that disco last Friday night? Great to see so many students, so many great tunes, so much pizza and popcorn and the enthusiasm to dance! Thank you, as always to the Student Council and Mrs Matthews for all the work behind the scenes and to Ms Ligot and Ms Winpenny for chaperoning. Wonderful to see so many parents and students last week at Parent Teacher Conferences. Many good conversations were happening and from these conversations some effective outcomes. Please remember, parents and guardians are always encouraged to continue to maintain contact with the students learning via ManageBac and through the teacher. Over the next few weeks the Middle School is going to increase its focus on the IB Approaches To Learning (ATL). The ATLs are how we as a school help our students ‘learn how to learn’. Numerous programmes will be happening across the classrooms, some of which will ask for parental/guardian support. This support may be in reviewing an ATL card that a student is monitoring across subjects or it may just be asking ‘So what do you need for tomorrow’s classes?’ We look forward to seeing more organised and responsible students. A parent from our Elementary School is an Educational Counsellor and wanted to take the opportunity to make an announcement about an upcoming Workshop. “Moderating Smartphones & Social Media Use for your child” The Workshop will take place this Monday, 13th November at 6pm. Please find more information here: https://www.scottpsychologicalservices.com/events/smartphones-and-social-media/ Upcoming Events Sunday, 3rd December - Eurasian Society Concert Thursday, 14th December - Service as Action day ‘Walking Towards Zero Hunger’
Middle School working in Bongkud
Paterson Campus
The ISS PTA would like to invite you to a PTA General Meeting on Monday, November 6th, at 8.15AM. The meeting will be held in Changi Hall (Elementary School Multipurpose Hall - 3rd floor) of the Paterson campus. Elementary School News It was great to see all of our students and parents attend the 3 Way Conferences on the 1st. 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. Talented Teachers Several ES teachers are presenting at the Teach Up Conference this weekend, hosted by ISS. We wish them all the best on their sessions! Christine Arnold, Kate Bond, Tina Wolter, Gemma Cass, Linda Du, and Patty Winpenny. Sharyn Skrtic facilitated an online workshop for the IB PYP on Action. Please find below details of a unique service we are offering to ISS parents. Paterson Birthday Brochure_final by Skrtic on Scribd Upcoming Events Tuesday, 7th November - K1 Field Trip to the Art Science Museum Wednesday, 15th November - Parent Session on Reading in the Early Years; 2:45-3:45pm, K1 Classroom Thursday, 16th November - Elementary School Learning Other Languages Parent Coffee Morning; 8-9:15am, Changi Hall Friday, 24th November - Grade 2 Performing Arts Concert, ‘Starry Night’; Serangoon Hall, 3pm Middle School News Greetings and welcome to another big week in the Middle School. The school was certainly buzzing with everyone back from Week Without Walls. Whilst Monday revealed a lot of tired individuals, the stories being exchanged and the new friendships being forged suggested that it was a very successful week for all concerned. During pastoral periods this week students will reflect on their experiences, and how this will shape them as better contributors to not only ISS but the community and world as a whole. Parent Teacher Conferences Great seeing so many parents and guardians on Wednesday for our first Parent Teacher Conference for the year. Even with the expanded format of all day conferences, some teachers were still fully booked. If as a parent or guardian you could not get in to see a teacher, please make contact with the teacher in order to arrange a time to discuss your child’s Term One progress. Cross Country This week our Cross Country team ably lead by Mr Jonas and Mr Contreras competed in the ACSIS championship at Bedok Reservoir. The team comprising Kanji Hamano, Sosuke Nishijima, David Arenas, Daniel Youngquist, Joshua Jeyaram, Leo Devergne, Akira Nagase and Grace Gao. The team performed very creditably and were a true credit to the spirit of ISS. School disco Tonight is a another highlight in a middle schoolers life- The Halloween Disco. We look forward to seeing all the ghouls, ghosts, witches and warlocks jumping and jiving away to the latest tunes. Enjoy the evening. Have a great weekend. Michael Upcoming Events Friday, 3rd November - Halloween disco (Serangoon Hall 530pm-730pm) |
Susan Tilney
Paterson Principal Archives
April 2020
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