Elementary News
The school has been a busy place this last week with teachers preparing end of semester reports and students creating opportunities for learning. The Grade 4s have been reminding us of how to stay healthy by instructing us in Yoga lessons and Fitness and the Grade 5s are creating their business plans for their ‘Market Day’. Parents are busily setting up their boards to represent their countries on International Day and the PTA is coordinating the activities with the help of our ISS Team. It’s all go! We look forward to welcoming you next Friday 7 December for our International Day. Let’s hope for a sunny day! Walking through the corridors today I heard the sound of a piano and found Kevin, who is in grade 2, playing the school song beautifully. Well done Kevin! On Wednesday afternoon a number of staff attended a professional development opportunity at CIS on Multilingual Learners. Next Semester we will invite parents to hear about new research in this field of learning. Our sport field is very nearly ready for our teams to play on; unfortunately all the rain has made it very soggy so we are encouraging our students to play in selected areas. Hopefully the sun will shine on it to allow the grass to flourish. This is the last natural grass playing field so close to Orchard Road so we are very proud of it! Please remember that the school buses will leave ISS at 1.30 pm next Friday 7 December after International Day. School closes on Friday 14 December and students return on Tuesday 8 January 2019. Middle School News Middle School has had a busy week of testing, from WIDA to many other subject assessments. In between, students have also been busy with the extra-curricular activities such as musical audition preparation and ACSIS Football. Last night, our Middle School team thrashed the Australian International School, winning 6-0. A fantastic effort from our students and their coach, Mr Harry Orgee, who have had an intensive training and match schedule in the lead up to yesterday's game. Next week, auditions for "Once on this Island Jr" will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday after school with Mr Bruno Lebon. We wish those who are auditioning, the very best in securing a role for the production, which is scheduled in May 2019. Re-opening of the Paterson field Other good news earlier this week included the re-opening of the football field. Students have enjoyed using the space to socialise, burn off their stresses and enjoy some fresh air. This time of year has also had many students feeling under the weather, so please help to ensure they have enough rest and downtime at home, especially during this busy period. International Day International Day is scheduled for next Friday 7 December. Preparations are well underway, and we look forward to celebrating this year's focus of "Uniting together to take action towards the Sustainable Development Goals" with our ISS community across K-12. As in previous years, there will be student-led activities connected to the UN sustainable development goals, and delicious food to share with each other at the end to celebrate our wonderfully diverse international community. For more information about the day, please use this link. Giving Trees Finally, in the holiday spirit of giving, the PTA have organised Giving Trees to encourage our students to consider how they can help those less fortunate within Singapore. Our Paterson campus Giving Trees have tags with requested items from Eurasian Society and Food Bank. They are set up in two locations: in the canteen and under the MS ECA bulletin board. Please encourage your child(ren) to visit the Giving Trees next week, remove the tags of their choice, and bring it back with that item to place in the box in front of the ES office (under the stairs) by 14 December. That's it from Middle School this week. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend! Elementary School News
The week opened with a ‘Squat’! Monday 19 November is International Toilet Day, which focuses on those members of our planet who do not have adequate sanitation systems. Students from K1 - 5 participated in a challenge to see who could squat the longest and each student donated $1 to our Clear Water sanitation project that the Grade 5s will be participating in when they go to Bintan for their camp. Thank you parents, for sending in the money with your students. On Thursday the Grade 4s created their own rockets and investigated how they would ‘take off’. They certainly learned a great deal about propulsion! Our Sound Garden is almost finished but we need a few more hanging pots and pans - please leave these at the Office or send them with your child. We hope you have a fantastic weekend Middle School News Against the elements of the North-East monsoon, Middle School is still heartily travelling along. In this period, as end of semester approaches, it is a good time to check in with sons and daughters about how their schooling is going. Many students will have deadlines to meet, projects to complete, and possibly study for upcoming units tests. Juggling many activities, as well as being a teenager, takes a little getting used to. A sympathetic ear, or a well directed question can make all the difference in a Middle Schoolers life. Whilst there is no formal exam week for Grade 6-8, there is still plenty happening. International Day On Friday 7th December we once again celebrate our diversity and the impact we can have on the world through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). As parents as guardians, you are most welcome to join and be a part of this is fantastic day. Messages will be coming home soon, asking you to support by supplying food that is particular to your culture. More to come. Walking Towards Zero Hunger On Thursday 13th December all G5-G8 will be participate in our Service as Action day. On the day, students will walk 5km in East Coast Parkway in recognition of SDG #2 Zero Hunger; and SDG #6 Clean Water and Sanitation. Once arriving at Angsana Green, students will enjoy Student Council led activities such as Tug-o-War and Dodgeball. Digital Citizenship Today in our Developing Approaches To Learning, we discussed our responsibilities for using technology. Not only in school, but also outside of school. We considered what we want to get out of our phones, tablets, laptops and watches. You, as a parent and or guardian, are encouraged to keep this conversation going. Out of interest sake, ask each student to explain the software ‘Self Control’ and see what they say! ACSIS Football Our intrepid U 14 footballers took on the might of Dover Court International School last Thursday. Coach Orgee, after some tremendous training sessions had the lads 'ticking over'. Out to a 2-0 lead with 20 minutes to play we were looking good. Alas we 'ran out of gas'. Final score 3-3. A solid start to the season. Have a great weekend Michael Elementary News
Our thanks go to the facilities Department this week, who were so helpful in the construction of the frame for our Sound Garden. The bamboo was cut from the carpark at the Preston Campus of ISS, brought down to Paterson and put together by James. A huge thank you from the Grade 1s, who are managing this project. We still need lots more items that make sounds, so please donate what you can. The students joined with their Middle School buddies to celebrate World Kindness Day this week. It is always wonderful to witness the interaction of the students as they get to know one another. Grade 4 students wanted to measure the length of the playing field - how were they going to do this? With some brainstorming and practical application we were able to use string and a table to get accurate measurements. A new way to look at calculating! Next Monday 19 November is World Toilet Day. This day recognises that more than two thirds of the world’s population do not have clean sanitation (UN Global Goal 6). We are collecting money for a ‘Clear Water’ sanitation system for a family in Bintan. When the Grade 5 students go on their annual camp, they will meet the family and begin the process of supporting the building of the sanitation system for their home. Please support this by giving a gold coin on Monday and supporting our ‘Squat’ event. Next week I will be able to report on our House Competition Sack Races - watch this space!! Middle School News Greetings everyone! Happy Week 14 of the school year. You can can tell we are in the middle of a semester because of the amount of events and activities that are occurring. Some great opportunities this week for students and teacher alike. World Kindness Day On Paterson Campus MS Berna led the World Kindness Day celebrations on Tuesday (13 November). Students from the whole campus gathered together and danced a little, laughed a lot, greeted each other, and ate some snacks. A true outpouring of kindness which we find happens most days at ISS :) Design for Change Singapore Celebration On Monday around 40 ISS students from G6-8 were invited to an event run by Social Change in Action (SoCh), an exclusive country partner of Design for Change Programme in Singapore (www.dfcworld.com). It is a global movement to give children a platform to express their ideas for a better world and put them into action. The event was held at Singapore Management University. The students had a chance to explore the unique possibilities available to them as change agents of the future. NEWater excursion Grade 6 visited the NEWater plant here in Singapore as part of their MYP Science. They looked at the role recycled water plays in sustainability and especially the link to Sustainable Development Goal #6 Clean Water and Sanitation. ACSIS sport A delayed start to the season with our U14 game postponed. Not to let a chance slip by, the boys trained heartily at Bishan Park and are starting to develop a cohesive unit. The U11 boys football also begin training this week under the watchful eye of Coach Reid. Mr Inman is in the process of signups and numbers are filling fast for the girls basketball team. Go Lions! Have a great weekend everyone! MT Elementary School News
Grade 1 are working on a unit to beautify the school so you may notice some new murals and plants in our gardens. We are also trying to set up our Sound Garden. To help us with this, we are collecting old pots and pans, old wooden utensils and plastic bowls, in fact, anything you think could make a good hanging sound! 19 November is World Toilet Day so the SALT students will be organising this event which will focus on those parts of the world where sanitation is still an issue. This is all part of our Sustainable Development Goals. The teachers are busy preparing the student’s Semester reports. Please remember that you are welcome to make an appointment with your son/daughter's teacher at any time through the school year, you just need to make an appointment through the office or your teacher’s email. We are all excited about International Day on December 7 - please keep this date free to come to ISS to enjoy our day, dedicated to the teaching and learning in our school. Have a wonderful weekend! Middle School News The wonderful festival of Deepavali (which comes from southern India in origin and used in Singapore) also known as Diwali (which has a northern Indian origin) broke up our week. It celebrates the Feast of Lights which recognises the battles of good over evil. Our Changi Hall had a wonderful Deepavali/ diwali decoration created by the Elementary School students with help from the Teaching Assistants. School disco The school disco is on tonight and the theme is a belated Halloween. The Student Council and House Captains have been working incredibly hard in the background to make the event a success. Well done to Dr Jeremiah for her guidance and all the teachers who have supported this highlight of the social calendar Market Day Grade 6 entrepreneurs are making their mark in the business world, starting this week. As part of their MYP mathematics studies Grade 6 have entered the world of high finance by creating a Marketplace each Thursday and Friday. Mrs Matthews is helping guide them through the process of turning ideas into profit and making sure the books are accurate. ACSIS sports Football for U11 and U14 begins next week. The mighty U14s take on AIS next Tuesday. On a limited preparation, Mr Orgee has them ready to do ISS proud. Our U11 who are coached by Mr Reid are in training and raring to go. Go well. Play strong. International Day An early reminder that International Day is on Friday 7 December. You will notice a shift in themes as we moved more towards a global perspective. The Sustainable Development Goals are the thread that will keep are 50 plus nations at ISS together. International Day will be more about supporting our world and how we all can make an impact. Cannot wait! Have a great weekend MT Elementary School news
The PTA ‘Halloween’ themed dance party at school last Friday 26 October certainly allowed the students to create imaginative costumes and I think the excitement continued until they joined other celebrations with their friends on Wednesday night. The students are now looking forward to Diwali, so that they can share this wonderfully diverse celebration with family and friends. If you get a chance to visit Little India at night you will be enthralled by the lights and displays in the streets. At school we will be helping our families to appreciate the occasion. Tuesday 6 November will be a school holiday. Thank you to Linda Du for presenting the PYP and MYP in Mandarin for our parents today. We hope to continue applauding our school’s diversity by offering more such information mornings in the coming weeks.Our very talented Performing Arts teacher, Mr Palumbo, has joined a band here in Singapore and a number of staff attended his ‘gig’ last night to support him. It is a testament of the collegiality of the staff that so many teachers attended this event. Congratulations Mr Palumbo! We are all excited about International Day on December 7 - please keep this date free to come to school to enjoy our day, dedicated to the teaching and learning in our school. Middle School news Fail to succeed Last week I was fortunate to attend the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS) annual leadership conference. Many great 'sharings' occurred, from keynote speeches to workshops, all geared around student learning and how to optimise this in our schools. The overriding message was that it is okay to fail! General discussion revolved around creating safe environments for students to take risks knowing that if they got it wrong, that was one step closer to getting it right. The way forward. Student Council event The Halloween disco is upon us. This highlight of the social calendar will be held in Serangoon hall on Friday November 7 from 5pm-7pm. Student Council is the go to place if you have questions. Developing Approaches To Learning (DATL) The DATL programme has moved into the next phase and Mr Grant, our librarian, has begun working with each grade on Information Literacy. In smaller groups he is developing the skills of research, referencing and critical thinking. As student navigate the mass media and information available in today’s society, they will have the skills to make sense of it all. Understanding the IB (Chinese) Another wonderful session in our series, Understanding the IB. This time in Chinese. Many, many parents came to Changi Hall to interact with Ms Du and Ms Cheng. Great to see so much sharing in the room. If you have more suggestion on sessions that would support your IB education, let us know! Sport - Cross Country running Congratulations to our cross country team who competed on Thursday at Bedok Reservoir. The team of five students- Shevenzo, Elliot, Adhip, Daniel and Ponnya were ably supported by Mr Inman and Mrs Bouteiller. Well done to all the boys who competed. Have a great weekend Michael |
Susan Tilney
Paterson Principal Archives
April 2020
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