FRIDAY NEWSLETTER from Secondary, Nov 3rd 2017
Week 13-Continuing to foster Growth
As we are now into week 3 of our second term it important to look at how we continue to help our students grow and develop. Many of the building blocks that were established in the first term and now being used to present larger concepts and allow students the opportunity to make connections from different parts of their learning. Please ask your student about some of their upcoming assessments, as these will be a way for students to highlight their learning.
With this idea of growth, we also need to speak about support. Please remember that our teachers are here everyday after school until 4pm and that we have dedicated extension programs after school as well; such as our ATL club, Math extension and Science extension. These programs are a way to provide students time to ask more specific questions or find ways to challenge themselves in subjects that they enjoy.
ASA’s for Term 2
Just a reminder that ASA’s have begun this past week. We offer a wide variety of activities for all areas of interest; the arts, critical thinking, writing, athletics. If your child is not involved in any activity after school it is not too late to sign up and get involved. I look forward to seeing their passions flourish.
BALI MUN
Bali MUN will be took place two weeks ago at the Sanur Paradise hotel. A huge thank you to Ms. Mathers and Mr. Marshall for all of their hard work, as well as the work from the students. There were be over 100 delegates from around Indonesia attending. I also want to say a quick thank you to all of our sponsors for this event. It is wonderful that we have such community support here at BIS. MUN is such a fantastic way for our students to create more understanding around global topics and develop their ability to communicate and look for solutions. We are so fortunate to have a program like this for our students. This event was a warm-up for many of our MUN students as they are preparing to attend an international conference in the coming months.
IISSAC Soccer
This past weekend our Men’s and Women’s ISSAC soccer teams left to compete and represent BIS at the multi school tournament. Both of our teams represented BIS well and showed fantastic sportsmanship and support of one another throughout the whole tournament. A big congratulations to our Men’s team as they took home first place. This event is always a great opportunity for our students to compete and make connections with students from other schools. I know from all of the hard work that Mr. Lorenzini and Mr. Wood put in this season that our teams were well prepared. Way To Go Dragons!
TOK Presentations and Extended Essay Celebrations
Thursday and Friday of this week saw our year 12s begin their TOK Presentations. This is one of the first steps towards the completion of the IB Diploma. The students have come in very prepared and spoke confidently about their knowledge questions. I was fortunate enough to see a number of the presentations and it was very impressive to see our students to go thoroughly and explain their concept and knowledge question. On Thursday our students had their Extended Essay Celebration day, where they submitted their extended essays, celebrated their accomplishment and shared their experiences with our year 1 DP students. These two events are major milestones within the IB Diploma Program. Great job!
SAT This Saturday
BIS will be hosting the SAT test next Saturday. Our counseling department does an excellent job of providing these opportunities for our students who are looking to go to university in North America. If your student would like to get more information regarding the SAT please have them go and speak with the counselor.
Fine Arts Exhibition
On November 16, the Arts Department will be hosting a sharing of work exhibition across the MYP years and grade 11 Theatre studies. Visual Arts students will have their work displayed around the walls of the MPR and musical and theatrical performances will also take place. All students in grades 6 – 10 are required to attend and stay until the end of all performances, even if their roles have already been played. Parents are invited and encouraged to come and enjoy what is building up to be an enjoyable afternoon of showcasing the Arts at BIS. The doors will open at 4pm at which time students and parents can view the artworks and the music and drama performances will commence at 4.30pm. We estimate that the finish time will be approximately 6pm.
On behalf of the Arts team, we look forward to seeing you there.
PTFA Monthly Meeting
On the 7th of November the PTFA will host their monthly meeting. Our PTFA has been so supportive of BIS throughout the years and it is fantastic to work in such a positive community. Please check with the PTFA to see how you can help support BIS.
Short Week Next Week
Next week we will be having teacher in service days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week. Students will be off those days and there will be no ASA’s during that time either.
Everyone is Learning
Our teachers are always looking for ways to improve their teaching practices and learn more about their field. It is great to see so many of our teachers so focused on their growth, as this always has a direct correlation on the growth of our students.
Thank you for your continued interest and support of BIS and our students.
Kind Regards,
Justin Walsh
secondaryschoolprincipal@baliis.net
Secondary School Principal
