FRIDAY NEWSLETTER from Secondary – 11th Aug 2017
Week 1
Welcome
A warm welcome to all returning and new parents and students! It is great to see the school alive with students again. Each day at break and lunch our fields have been full of active students and as I walk into classrooms there is a tremendous amount of energy and excitement.
Welcome also to our new teachers; your children may have mentioned them to you. They have all made a positive start and are adding new facets to our already strong team of teachers. They are:
Ms. Staroverova (French and Drama), Ms. Carbajal (Math), Ms.Quinn (Science, IB Chemistry, IB Physics), Ms. McLay (MYP Coordinator and Humanities), Mr. Knudson (Learning Support and ATL Skills), and Mr. Marshall (School librarian). We are also fortunate to have added Mr. Wood as the IB Diploma Coordinator.
News and Events
Mr. Sutherland has just introduced our After School Activities (ASAs) to our students and these will begin next week. Please encourage your children to get involved, we have a lot of wonderful things on offer.
Also on the 18th our new Diploma class, grade 11, will go on an overnight retreat to Bedugul to learn more the core of the DP and engage in some team building activities. This is a great way to start their Diploma experience here at BIS.
For all Indonesian national students Religion classes will start this coming Tuesday, August 15th, directly after school. Please check with the Secondary office for specific room assignments.
On Friday, August 18th, BIS will be celebrating Indonesian Independence Day. Students are encouraged to wear either red and white or traditional Indonesian clothing. Below is a schedule of events:
Program on the day
On period 1 (at 8 am) please bring the students to the field at the side of the MPR
|
No |
Time |
Activity |
Note |
PIC |
|
1 |
8 am |
Flag Ceremony for whole school All students and staffs will join the ceremony |
Field at the side of the MPR MC: (Gr. 9) |
|
|
2 |
The rest of P1 – P2 |
Games and fun activities Students will join the games and fun activities at the big field . There will be 8 stations (1 station is a rest station). Each games will run about 10 minutes & 2 minutes for the transition. |
Big field area for primary and new field for secondary |
|
|
3 |
Snack time 9.50 to 10.00 am |
Food festival Nibbles and finger food provided by the school. |
Venue: basket ball court for Primary and Secondary. Some of the food will be delivered to Pre-school and Kindy classes. |
|
|
4 |
P3 – 6 |
Normal classes |
||
|
5 |
2.00 – 2.45 pm |
There is an assembly to celebrate the day and make students more aware of the history of the country they are in. |
MPR |
|
So Proud of our Students
As we begin another new year at BIS I want to encourage all of our students to challenge themselves. I am sure you know this by now, but BIS is a great school. As our mission statement says, our focus is on engaging and empowering globally-minded, confident learners to reach their utmost potential in an active, creative and respectful learning community. This has proven to be a winning formula for years as we graduate not only students that are prepared to excel in college, but students that have character and compassion. On the intellectual growth side of the mission, I am proud to say that we continue to live and reflect the IB Learner Profile. What I am most excited about is the fact that students continue to find their individual passions in both the MYP and DP programs. That means more students are choosing to challenge themselves and they are succeeding! I will be giving you more details about this in the coming months, but please know that our students continue to impress colleges and universities around the world with their achievement and character.
Pick Up and Drop Off
I want to thank everyone for a successful and smooth opening to the school year. It is been so nice to see our secondary students model respectful behavior as they come onto campus. Each morning I walk onto campus, showing my ID and opening my bag, as does every parent that comes on. It is very reassuring to know that our children get to learn in such a safe and secure environment. Thank you again for modelling this behavior to our entire community.
Reporting Achievement at BIS
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 gradebook feature to all parents and students at the start of the third week of school, in order to ensure that schedules are finalized and we have actual achievement to report on. 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 as possible.
Teachers will be updating their gradebooks every two weeks and will be including both formative and summative work. This will highlight students progress throughout the term.
Here is the link for the instructional video to help sign-in as a parent on to ManageBac. I want to thank our IT department for all of their help. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns regarding access to ManageBac.
https://drive.google.com/file/
PTFA
This morning our PTFA hosted our new parent morning tea. It is very nice to be in a community with such an open and welcoming parent atmosphere. Please make sure to reach out to our PTFA as you think about how you can connect more with BIS. Attached below is the PTFA’s welcome letter, highlighting upcoming events and providing contact information.
Kind Regards,
Justin Walsh
secondaryschoolprincipal@balii
Secondary School Principal
