FRIDAY NEWSLETTER from Secondary – Aug 10th 2018
Dear Secondary Parents,
We have enjoyed a smooth and productive first week of the school year. Teachers and students have enthusiastically settled in and there is already a strong focus on student learning. I have been very impressed with the respectful way the students are interacting with their teachers and peers and how seriously they are approaching their learning.
After School Activities
Mr. Sutherland introduced After School Activities (ASAs) Term 1 to students and these will begin from Monday, August 13th. Please encourage your child(ren) to get involved as there are a lot of wonderful opportunities on offer. Here is their Sign-Up information.
Religion Classes
For all Indonesian national students Religion classes will start this coming Tuesday, August 14th, directly after primary schedule. Please check with the Secondary office for specific room assignments.
Upcoming Events
Please note that we have combined three calendared events into one and this will take place on Friday, August 24th. The previously calendared ‘Meet the Teachers Evening’, ‘Back to School Night’ and ‘Potluck’ have been merged into one event ‘Meet the Teachers Potluck’ to run from 3.00-7.00pm. Parents are invited to meet in the MPR from 3.00pm and you will spend the next 90 minutes meeting with your child’s teachers about the upcoming school year and expectations. Each class will be scheduled for 10 minutes and parents will be given a three minute passing time to get to each new class. After this you are encouraged to have a drink and some food with the other parents and teachers with the event concluding by 7.00pm. The schedule for this will be shared by the Secondary Secretary in eNews next Friday.
Click for the Independence Day Celebration schedule
Lines of Communication
I hope to facilitate clear and open lines of communication between parents and the school throughout this school year. The most efficient way to address an issue is to contact the person directly responsible so I have listed who to contact for a range of issues below.
- If you want some clarification about your child’s progress in a particular class please email that teacher directly and arrange a time for a discussion if that is required.
- For general enquiries in the Secondary School please contact Riana, the Secondary Secretary at secondarysecretary@baliis.net.
- If you have an overall concern or query relating to your child’s academic progress or queries about the IB Programmes please contact Michele McLay at mypcoordinator@baliis.net (Grade 6-10) or Matt Wood at dpcoordinator@baliis.net (Grade 11-12).
- If you have concerns or queries about social, emotional or pastoral issues you can contact your child’s homeroom teacher (see Appendix 1) and/or the School Counsellor, Rachael Gerbic at counselor@baliis.net.
- If you have any questions or queries relating to Special Educational Needs please contact Shawn Knudson at sknudson@baliis.net.
Grade 11 IB Diploma Retreat
This morning, Grade 11, their Homeroom teachers, Mr. Wood (DP Coordinator) and Ms. Gerbic (Counsellor) travelled to Baturiti for a retreat focusing on initiation to the IB Diploma Programme. This retreat is a fantastic opportunity to build relationships and build a greater understanding of what is involved and required for the next two years.
Coffee morning with parents, the Head of School and Principals
This morning our PTFA organised a coffee morning off campus which was very well attended. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to meet so many welcoming parents. Please make sure to reach out to our PTFA as you think about how you can connect more with BIS.
Lockers
I have requested that all students have their own individual functioning locker after some issues with locks and allocation initially. There has been a lot of progress in this area from the start of the week but if there are any ongoing issues please ask your child to inform their Homeroom teacher who will help them find a solution.
Kind regards,
Ross Ferris
Secondary Principal
Bali Island School
Appendix 1 – Homerooms, HR teachers and locker locations
