Following the Elementary School visits to Preston last week, the Middle School visited this week with Grades 6 and 7 coming on Monday and Grade 8 today. The students really seemed to enjoy looking around the campus and excitement is clearly building for August 2020 when we all join together on the same campus.
This week has seen a lot of effort from both students and teachers as oral examinations have been completed. Language Acquisition orals for all High School students and the final Language and Literature oral exams for Grade 12 were completed successfully. Next week our ESL students will be completing the WIDA Online English Language Proficiency test. This provides teachers and students with valuable data to track progress and ensure appropriate support continues to be provided. Festival of Lights takes place on Thursday evening and parents and guardians should have received an invite through a message on Managebac. Do join us at the High School from 6 pm. We will begin in the library with a presentation from the architect who will update and share details of the plans for renovations at Preston as we prepare for August 2020. The evening will include a variety of musical pieces, both inside and out! Not to be missed! Our High School Diploma students have now completed their semester 1 site visits where they have gained valuable experience completing a work-based project in a variety of industries including the food bank, Singapore National Parks and St Luke’s Hospice. The HSD students will be presenting about their experiences to the High School in assembly on Friday. We look forward to the exciting projects that they participate in next semester. I hope you will join us at the Paterson campus on Saturday 7th December for the ISS Christmas Fair - a Christmas Market in the tropics! Upcoming Events:
I wish you all a restful weekend, Christopher Hayward There was great excitement this week as Elementary School classes visited Preston to see their future surroundings for next year as we all join together on one site. The High School Student Council welcomed the Elementary students upon their arrival and shared what they enjoy most about being on this campus: the nature and wildlife around the site, the old heritage buildings and the available space to meet with friends. The students then went on a tour around the campus and completed a quiz to see what interesting facts they could remember. The morning ended with a pizza lunch. It was lovely to see the younger children on this campus and enjoying themselves. It has added to the excitement and anticipation for August and I have no doubt having the whole school together will add to the vibrancy and life of the school.
Next week is Assessment Week during which all students will take oral assessments for Language Acquisition as well as the Grade 12 students completing their final oral assessment piece for Language & Literature which will be externally marked and moderated by the IB, contributing to their final IB results. The following week the High School will hold our Festival of Lights to which all parents and students are invited. This is organised by the music department and will be an evening to enjoy listening and watching various performances both outdoors and indoors. Upcoming Events:
I wish you all a restful weekend, Christopher Hayward This week all of us, staff and students, enjoyed celebrating World Kindness Day on Wednesday. The ARK (Acts of Random Kindness) group arranged to hand out small chocolates to all staff and students. What a lovely gesture for them to organise and a timely reminder of what a difference showing appreciation and kindness can make to someone’s day.
This week I have spent a considerable amount of time in lessons across the High School. I mention this as I want to highlight and recognise some of the exciting, engaging and thoughtful activities planned by teachers for our students on a daily basis. This week I witnessed students drawing what they heard in a music class, understand the concept of scarcity of resources using M&Ms, and also an activity in drama highlighting the power of body movement in changing the meaning or intention of a message. A big thank you to our teachers who put the time and effort into planning such fantastic activities for our students. Throughout next week we will welcome classes from the Paterson campus who will be visiting Preston in preparation for next year when we will all be together. I look forward to meeting them and participating in some of the activities planned as they get to know the campus. Look out for the pictures on next week’s blog! Upcoming Events:
I wish you all a restful weekend, Christopher Hayward While there was some frustration with this morning’s K-10 Swim Gala being cancelled after the pool remained closed due to lightning, I was most impressed by the patience and understanding shown by all involved. The attitude of the students was exemplary and they participated in fun and games to pass the time while we waited in hope for the storm to pass. Thank you to all who were involved in the organisation and planning who still left with a smile despite the cancellation.
Plenty has happened at the High School since the previous blog two weeks ago. Last week we had guest speakers from NASA who spoke about the opportunity for students to join their summer programme. At the Assembly last week we celebrated students who had demonstrated the Learner Profile attribute Principled: “We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.” Over the coming weeks, we are focussing on Inquirers: “We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.” Last weekend our students participated in the Model United Nations (MUN) conference held at OFS. Delegates debated global issues and proposed resolutions. This provided a truly engaging experience giving students the opportunity to think creatively of solutions to some of today’s global dilemmas as they prepare to be the solution finders of tomorrow. Thank you to Dr Ford and Ms Bromberg for helping them to prepare and also giving up their weekend to support this opportunity. On Wednesday morning we welcomed parents and guardians for a coffee morning at the High School during which we worked through some activities identifying stress triggers for students and how we use the IB Learner Profile Attributes and ATL skills to help support students and manage stress. On Wednesday evening the IN Art Exhibition, held at the Australian High Commission, was officially opened. This is a collaborative exhibition where schools from across Singapore celebrate their students’ artwork. Our Grade 12 Visual Arts students have work on display and I take this opportunity to congratulate them on their hard work and for the wonderful displays. I also thank Ms Venter for guiding them over the last few months and helping with all the preparation behind the scenes to ensure readiness for the opening. Upcoming Events:
I wish you all a restful weekend, Christopher Hayward The Preston High School Blog will return next week on Friday 8 November.
Two dates to note for the coming week: - Preston High School Coffee Morning: Wednesday 6 November, 9-10am (see Managebac) - K-10 Swim Gala: Friday 8 November |
Christopher Hayward: High School Principal
Fiona Edwards: High School Assistant Principal
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