Dear Parents,
Teachers have been engaged in professional learning over the past two days and have achieved a lot. Areas covered include policy development, curriculum updates, alignment of curriculum in PYP, MYP and DP, assessment, Theory of Knowledge and MYP interdisciplinary unit planning. I am aiming to have multiple contributors to this newsletter each week and to streamline communication to Secondary parents through this forum as much as possible.
Arts Update
On Thursday November 15, students in the MYP in Grades 6 through 9 will share what they have been creating in the various Fine Arts programs. As the first Arts rotation draws to a close, we would like to celebrate the creative experiences and achievements of the middle years students in the MPR through an afternoon featuring the culminating products of dramatic and musical performances, as well as the presentation of their artwork.
Parents and family members are invited and encouraged to come and support the students involved as they venture to take courageous risks in expressing themselves and engaging our community through art. The show/exhibition will commence at 4pm sharp and end at approximately 6pm. We sincerely hope to see you there for what promises to be a wonderful display of artistic expression.
– Secondary Arts Department (Edward Andrews, Sarah Alborn, Hayley Green & Ibu Made Sari Asih)
Counselor’s Corner
Mini College Fair
On Thursday Nov. 15th BIS will host a Mini College Fair and workshops for students in grades 9-11 in the library from 2:00 to 3:30, with three universities visiting our school. Schedule for the workshops and Fair:
2:00-2:45 Students go to selected workshop Panel Rooms during MYP/DP Hour
2:45-3:30 Students are invited to stay for the College Fair in the downstairs library and talk to reps from the three visiting schools:
- California College of the Arts
- S P Jain School of Global Management
- IE University, Spain
Panel 1- Upstairs Library
“How to prepare a successful portfolio for art/design majors and overview of interaction design” by California College of the Arts
“Big data analysis on business opportunities” by S P Jain School of Global Management ( an Australian business school with campuses in Sydney, Mumbai, Singapore and Dubai)
Panel 2- Downstairs Library
“Essential skills for entrepreneurs and jobs of the future” by IE University, Spain
“Unleash your creative confidence – Creative Leaders Summer Camp” by iDream Lab, California and Indonesia
For Parents of students in Grades 9-12:
A representative from
Paris College of Art will be visiting BIS on Monday, November 12th during snack time from 9:40 – 10:00 am at the Fun Bites Cafe.If students are interested, they should
sign up here for the Paris College of Art Visit. The student who asks the best question to the rep will win a prize!
Here are the Top 3 Things you should know about PCA:
- PCA is situated in the heart of Paris, all our courses are taught in English
- PCA offers partial scholarships for international student
- All PCA professors are working professionals, and both students & professors are from 60 different countries around the world
Opportunities for Students
College Visits
– Rachael Gerbic (Counselor)
Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
Nature or Nurture?
Do people behave in a certain way because of their genetic makeup or because of how they have been brought up?
Should we believe in something even if we can’t see it or understand it?
Do we have control of our life or is our pathway pre-determined?
Is the answer to life, the universe and everything really 42 (maths)?
Is there ever a way in which we can know for sure?
These questions of knowledge and uncertainty are some of the issues that our DP students struggle with in TOK, a core component of the IB Diploma Programme. On Tuesday and Wednesday the class of 2019 gave their TOK Presentations, which accounts for 1/3 of their overall grade in TOK, and could contribute to a total of 3 bonus points in conjunction with a good Extended Essay score.
This year’s presentations were engaging, sophisticated and were focussed on answering a range of Knowledge Questions that the students designed, including:
“To what extent should knowledge be accepted if the methodology used to derive that knowledge is unclear?”
The students looked at the implications of relying on A.I. to solve real world issues if we don’t know how they arrive at their solutions.
“To what extent does an interdisciplinary approach to the production of knowledge minimise uncertainty?”
Students used this Knowledge Question as a way of exploring the aforementioned nature or nurture conundrum by comparing the knowledge produced by psychologists in the Human Sciences and biologists in the Natural Sciences and seeing how these findings can be used to strengthen subsequent claims.
The critical thinking skills developed throughout this course will stand the students in good stead in their later years and teach them to question everything. Especially claims made by orange faced, ridiculously coiffured politicians! The final piece of assessed work the students have to complete is the TOK essay. An example of a past prescribed title:
“We know with confidence only when we know little; with knowledge doubt increases”. Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge”. Do you think you could answer it?
– Matt Wood (DP Coordinator and TOK teacher)
CAS Corner
Another year, another win. “Lets Go Bali, Let’s Go!” will now be played on repeat in the back of our minds. The boys senior team of 2018 has set new football records, a milestone, for the history of Bali Island School. Sustaining the title for BSSA and IISSAC for three consecutive years. Throughout this long and tough journey from BSSA to IISSAC, our team has managed to identify their own strengths and develop their areas for growth. A key evidence exemplifying this outcome would be during our fitness testings. We had 2 fitness testings in the course of football training (one at the start and one at the ending stages), which consisted of exercises that were fundamental in football. The test was broken down into three key parts, the first being endurance testing (beep tests), second being speed testing (10 meters and 20 meters sprint), and lastly physical testing (squats, push-ups, sit-ups, etc). As we underwent the first fitness testing, as individuals, we were able to identify what aspects we were good at and what can be improved in order to benefit not only themselves as individuals, but since football is a team game, how improving themselves will result in improvements for the whole team. Sadly, tis’ the last year for some of us, including myself, I believe the boys will continue our undefeated legacy! OOOOHHH BALIIII WE LOVE YOUUU!!!
– Elang Putra Dewa (Grade 12)
