Secondary Newsletter on Friday, 18th Nov 2016
Week 16-Balance
It is hard to believe that we are coming closer to the end of the term. Your students have made tremendous progress throughout this semester so far and now comes the time when they have to put all of that learning to use. End of term means a mixture of things; excitement for holidays, anticipation of culminating activities and of course the pressure of assessments. It is important for us to remember that our students feel all of these pulls at the same time and we need to help support them in order to find that balance. DP students in year two will be balancing college applications, Internal IB assessments and their semester exams. Year one DP students will have their first go at the exam period. Our MYP students will be balancing all of the final assessments that will be coming their way.
DP students will have semester exams on the 28th-30th of November. The week before these exams will be dedicated to review-no new material will be covered prior to the exams.
Please help us help your students. Ask them about their upcoming work, ask them about their preparation plan, ask them if they need any support with that plan. Learning how to balance our busy schedules is a lifelong lesson and it is something that we can all help our students see the value of.
End of Semester Reports
The semester reports will be delivered via email once again this year. Reports will go home on Thursday the 14th of December. These reports will highlight the progress of each student for the entire semester, indicating achievement on the different criteria of each course as well as the progress of each student’s Approaches Towards Learning skills (ATLs).
Reporting in the Second Semester
One of the things that makes BIS such a special place is the collaborative spirit between the school and the community. We recognize that we are only one component to the success of our students and that parental support is vital. To help develop that support and better communicate about student progress throughout the year we will be opening ManageBac’s grade-book feature to all parents and students at the start of the second semester. This will allow students and parents to see in real time where they are in relation to their learning in each class.
Teachers will be providing a numeric indicator of growth for each assessment as well as a brief description of the assignment. This numeric indicator allows us to present the clearest picture of growth via ManageBac.
Teachers will be updating their grade-books every two weeks and will be including both formative and summative work. This will highlight students progress throughout the term.
We will also be having an information session on December 5th highlighting the use of ManageBac and what it will look like for both parents and students. Below is an example of what the information that parents and students would see when ManageBac is open.
BIS Reads
Last week I mentioned our BIS Reads program. This week I am happy to share with you the blog address for your to check out. This will be used as a resource for students and parents and as a way to highlight what our students are reading here on campus. Here is our BIS Reads Blog-http://
Community Service
Friday, the 18th of November our students hosted a movie night for the primary age students. This was in support of BACI, which is a group that supports abandoned animals here in Bali. This was a great student run event that highlighted their awareness of the community and their commitment to help out. I am always so proud of our students want to support and give back to the community.
Thank you for your continued interest and support of BIS and our students.
Kind Regards,
Justin Walsh
secondaryschoolprincipal@
Secondary School Principal