FRIDAY NEWSLETTER from Secondary – February 15th 2018
Week 26-Culmination of effort
So many things have just been completed this week-what a whirlwind for our students! ISA Testing Mock Exams, Personal Projects and the final full week of IISSAC Basketball training, not to mention all of our regular learning and assessments. It has been a busy week and it is a fantastic time for a three day weekend! Please ask your students to reflect on all of the things that they have accomplished so far this term.
ISA Testing
Our ISA Testing wrapped up this week, with the makeup tests taking place on Wednesday. All secondary student from grades 6-10 sat these exams. This will give us very thorough longitudinal data with which we can compare the growth of our students and plan for continued growth in the coming years. Once we receive this data we will be sending out individual information to each student/parent.
IISSAC Basketball Tournament
We have one more week of training to go before the IISSAC tournament. As the girls coach I can speak confidently about the amount of hard work that the young ladies have put in this year. This weekend is a culmination of a season of hard work and dedication by our students, as well as a great opportunity to make connections from different parts of Indonesia.
IB Diploma Course Selection
In the coming weeks we will presented to our 10th grade parents about the IB Diploma here at BIS and the different choices our students can make in creating their Diploma program. Our students will have meetings with our counselor, their teachers and the IB coordinator regarding all of the different course we offer and what their choices can do as they start to think about university. In the coming month our DP teachers will present to all of our year ten students about their specific courses and answer any questions in a whole class forum. There will also be a parent information session on the 26th of February. Please speak with your student about the choices that they will soon be making.
IB Mock Exams
Our Mock exams have just concluded this week. These assessments provide students and teachers with a direct, concrete insight into their learning; highlighting the areas that still need polish. This has been 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. We will now use this information to help with the preparation for the May Exam session. These tests give us valuable insight into how 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.
Personal Project Exhibition
Our 10th grade students have just turned in their Personal Projects reports. Most students are finished with their product, with a few still ironing out the last details. In the coming weeks we will have our Personal Project Exhibition, where our students are provided an opportunity to showcase their learning and relay how they were able to successfully work through this process. This work is the culmination of many weeks of individualized learning. I want to congratulate all of our grade 10 MYP students. I also want to thank Ms. McClay and the individual supervisors for their help and guidance throughout this process.
Valentine’s Day STUCO Dance
This past Thursday our STUCO hosted our Valentine’s Day Dance. It was a wonderful event, well attended and a very spirited evening. Thank you to the STUCO and staff chaperones for all of their hard work in preparing this occasion for our students.
