FRIDAY NEWSLETTER from Secondary – 19th January 2018
Week 22-Community Involvement
This past Thursday BIS was fortunate enough to have members from our student body travel to China for a MUN and GIN conference. Our students will be speaking about the challenges facing Bali due to the Volcano and the relocation of many displaced residents. They will share our efforts to support these residents and bring awareness to this situation. They will also have the opportunity to engage with many other Global Issues that face the world today and share their ideas with like minded students from around our region. I am very proud that we have such a large number of students who are willing to get involved and give back in such meaningful ways. A big thank you to Ms. Mathers and Mr. Andrews for sponsoring these two activities and for chaperoning our students on these very exciting trips. I look forward to hearing about their experiences once they return.
BSSA and Transportation procedure
We are in full swing with this term’s BSSA-basketball. In order to ensure the safety of our students BIS will be busing all BSSA participants for away games. All students will go on the bus together with their team and coach. The coach will be taking attendance as kids get on the bus at BIS and as they get off at their destination. If a parent would like to take their child home after watching the contest they must inform the coach. Students will not be allowed to get into any vehicle other than their parents or their parents designee. A form will be coming home with your child where you will be able to state whether or not your student will return back to BIS on the bus or will be picked up at the away game destination. Please help us ensure the safety of our students by keeping the school informed of your child’s travel arrangements.
Getting Involved
Second semester ASA’s are underway, as are the BSSA and IISSAC Basketball seasons. We have had over half of the student population involved in this terms BSSA season, there is a lot of great basketball going on out there! Some of the other exciting ASA’s are off to a great start as well. Our Green Team is continued to make a difference around campus, we have our after-school Math clubs, singing, band and even a ceramics club this term. So many ways to get involved, please encourage your students to take part in any of the wonderful activities we have to offer.
ISA Testing
This semester BIS will be conducting our ISA testing for this academic year. The ISA Test is:
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Chosen because it is in line with BIS’s mission, vision, and student aims
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The ISA is not based on any one curriculum but tests core skills in mathematical literacy, reading, writing (narrative and expository.)
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An assessment with a broad cultural base (ie. no dollar or pounds)
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A combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions and prompts. The open-ended questions require students to generate meaning, explain their reasoning, find evidence and justify their opinions.
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based on the internationally endorsed reading, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy frameworks of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
We will be conducting this test on the 12th-14th of February and the test will be administered to grades 6,7, 8, 9, & 10. We will be doing all online tests this year, allowing us to administer the tests to each grade level.
Below is a link to some informational slides about this test, how we use it and how scores can be interpreted to better inform our teaching. Please take a few moments to go through this information. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
https://docs.google.com/presen
IB Mock Exams
Mock Exams will begin on the week of February 12th. These exams are used to help with the review cycle prior to the real IB exams. These assessments provide students and teachers with a direct, concrete insight into their learning; highlighting the areas that still need polish. This is a stressful week for our seniors as they pile all of their IB assessments into one week. The regular exam schedule takes place over a whole month. Please help us remind them the purpose of these exams, to inform and guide our practice as we get closer to the finish line!
Second Semester Conferences
Our second semester Parent/Student/Teacher conferences will be held on the 22nd of March. This will be a non teaching day. Our conferences will use the same Student/Parent/Teacher format that we followed in the first semester. We will most likely be in both the MPR and the Music Room as we will be accommodating the IB Visual Arts Exhibition. It is very important that your student accompanies you for these conferences, this is the best way for us to work together to help them continue to grow and succeed with their learning. The second semester conferences are also a great time to speak with teachers about next year course selection. The online signup format that we used last semester will be used again. This information will be coming out shortly. Parents with siblings in either the Primary or the Secondary will be given a window to sign up before the rest of our parent community. Thank you for your continued interest and support or your child’s learning here at BIS.
Academics and Well Being
The second semester is always a fast moving event. Whether you are an IB Diploma student or an MYP student, the pace always ramps up. Anxiety about grades and learning can be a result of this increased pace. This is an increased area of discussion within our Homerooms and classrooms. The two specific topics that we address are the best way that the brain learns-in relation to study habits and the importance of exercise and sleep. By opening up ManageBac we are now enabling our students and parents better access to their learning and better tools to help plan for that learning. Please make sure that you continue to work with your students regarding their planning and balance within their busy academic lives. I am including the two clips that I we have used in our assemblies as the starting point for our discussions. I hope that they will be helpful to you as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Thank you for your continued interest and support of BIS and our students.
Kind Regards,
Justin Walsh
secondaryschoolprincipal@balii
Secondary School Principal
