Secondary Newsletter No. 22 – February 1, 2019
Dear Parents,
It was great to see so many parents this morning at the Chinese New Year celebration. The Dragon/Lion Dance was a real hit with our students and teachers. An ISA testing letter was sent to all Grade 6-10 parents this morning providing all details. Please ensure your child brings a functioning calculator and a fully charged laptop with their charger on February 7, 12 and 13. Please enjoy your long weekend and we look forward to seeing your children next Wednesday, February 6.
– Ross Ferris – Secondary Principal
The Importance of Balance in a Student’s Life
As educators and parents we naturally want our students/children to be successful and we see our role as pillars of support, amongst other things, for them on the journey to that success. As we approach a long weekend I have been reflecting on whether some of our students are being encouraged enough to lead a balanced life or whether there is too much internal or external pressure to focus solely on academic achievement. We can sometimes overlook that academic achievement is dependent on maintaining a healthy balance in other areas such as diet and nutrition, relaxation, exercise, sleep/rest, socializing with friends and having fun. Students skipping meals and/or sleep often leads to ill health, absenteeism and/or arriving to school in a condition not conducive to learning. As the DP Mock Exams approach and assessment tasks are due across the school, please help your child/ren plan a balanced approach to successfully meet deadlines with their best work. A balanced schedule will include time to sit down for healthy meals away from technology, getting eight hours sleep a night, participating in individual and/or team sports and enjoying time with family and friends. The most successful students are the ones who take care of themselves in these ways. Enjoy a balanced long weekend!
– Ross Ferris – Secondary Principal
PS: a useful source on this topic – https://healthservices.camden.rutgers.edu/topics_balance
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
On February 14, in MYP Hour, the Grade 10 students will have their first formal introduction to the IB Diploma Programme subject selection process. The requirements of the IB DP will be explained to the students and they will be encouraged to start mapping their ideas about which possible subjects they would like to take and why. IB DP students are required, for a two year period, to take six subjects, three at HL [Higher Level] and three at SL [Standard Level], as well as TOK [Theory of Knowledge] and complete a 4,000 word Extended Essay and the requirements of CAS [Creativity, Activity, Service]. Overall, students need to secure a minimum of 24 points in their final exams with 12 of those points coming in their HL subjects. There are about 10 different ways to fail the IB. [More on that in the information session] In the May 2018 cohort some students [globally – not BIS] managed to achieve 39 points on their final exams and still not secure their IB Diploma! This again underlines the importance of well thought out subject choices and the rigour of the IB DP. To put this into context, A-Level exams [final exams in the UK and Dyatmika] usually consist of three exams which cover one year’s worth of content… Having completed both the DP and a Master’s Degree in Education I can say that the DP was the hardest academic challenge I have encountered so far.
It is therefore extremely important that the students select the subjects that best lend themselves to the future goals they have in mind. For example, a student wanting to study Medicine at King’s College, Cambridge [Why not? Aim high!] in the future, is required to take Chemistry and one further HL subject from Biology, Physics and Maths. However, most students half-way through Grade 10 do not know what they want to study or be in the future. It is therefore important for these students to keep their options open by selecting subjects that will not cut off possible pathways in the future. It is extremely important to talk to your children about their futures and what subjects they are passionate about, but not to choose subjects for them. They are the ones who will be taking the subject and putting in all the hard work. If they have been forced to take a certain subject and don’t see the point of it they will not feel invested in their learning. This will negatively impact their chances for success in that subject and could have a detrimental knock-on effect in other subjects as well. Yes, we have the experience and the ‘bigger picture’ but students need to make their own informed decisions. Let’s ensure that we help them make the right ones.
The subject selection timeline is outlined below and I hope to see many parents at the information session on Monday 18. February at 8:00 AM in the library.
– Matt Wood – DP Coordinator
MYP Corner
Here are some examples of more Service as Action activities for this week:
Grade 8 Service as Action
As our contribution to the local community, Grade 8 built public toilets for the locals. This project was done due to the permutan locals suffering from the scarcity of available, hygienic and functional toilets, thus affecting the tourism of the area, but most importantly the locals. When we first arrived at the area, we realized the need for toilets. Our campsite only had 2 available toilets. We were split into four groups, two build the toilet while the others made signs to hang up about pollution of waste while we go hiking later on. In order to make the toilet building, we had to mix mortar powder with water to create the mortar. There were pillars places into the ground already, so all we had to do was build the wall. Some students were mixing the mortar, while others were placing the bricks up. We manage to build up to 1 meter and a half. After all this hard work, although we didn’t finish it, this project will help the community because it provides the local community of permutan. We received an email on January 25th from our camp guide stating that the toilets are finished and is now a permanent addition to the village.
– Shieri and Selina Grade 8
World Scholar’s Cup (WSC)
Our aim in WSC Service Action group this term is to have each session student led. Two students, Sheiri and Manon from Grade 8, created and taught the first lesson this week. It was a huge success! They had students research the term ‘marginalized’, understand the concept, and find real world examples/scenarios. Once their understanding was clear, they split students into two teams to argue the debate topic: High achieving learners should be separated in school from other students.
They were given 5 minutes to research their argument in their teams. Three speakers from each side stood up and provided an argument under a time constraint of 2 mins each. All in all, it was an excellent lesson as students learned and had fun.
– Mary MacDonald and Michele McLay (WSC supervisors)
CAS Corner – BIS Relief Team
Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
As I understand my responsibilities for the upcoming events of when we come back from the Winter Break, I instantaneously went back into the mindset that would allow me to uphold the Relief Team’s overall year goal; Spread awareness of the issues at hand and encourage students to engage in service-based projects to contribute to the local community. An activity that the Relief Team has been advocating for is the initiative we have taken to help a chosen organisation. In doing this, as a team, we have decided on creating an event where students participate in athletic sporting events that would allow for the students to strengthen their individual goals by breaking their own personal records. Additionally, we will as for sponsors to help donate money if their given student breaks their individual or school records. This will allow for the Relief Team to buy equipment that the chosen organisation in Bali have asked for. I have shown my strength in this upcoming event because I have taken the initiative to organise a meeting with Mr Ferris, the Secondary Principal, asking permission if this activity would be viable in this school year; I have utilised my organisation & communication skills in doing so. However, this has additionally proven to be an area of growth of mine because as this is a ‘team’ effort, to help the less fortunate, I need to try more to not be always the one in control and allow others to take on responsibility. The delegation of tasks would allow for myself to be less stressed, and for my teammates to contribute more to this event.
Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
One of the challenges that we had faced as a group was the motivation of students from different classes. The significance of delegating tasks had not been influenced greatly, because, in the first weeks back from Winter Break, tasks that were delegated were not taken seriously enough. The significance of the limited time we have was not stressed enough, therefore, the challenge we had faced was internally from our classmates. However, we have overcome this challenge by individually speaking to the classmates and holding them accountable for actions that were their responsibility. This had proven to be successful, as the process of tasks were delegated to more experienced Relief Team members paired with less experienced Relief Team members. This would allow for the more experienced members to team & mentor less experienced members with tasks. In doing this, we have seen rapid success in tasks being finished as quickly as possible.
Natasha Klee – Grade 11
Pic: BIS Relief Team Meeting
Counselor’s Corner
Grade 10 Career Investigation Week:
The Grade 10 Students will embark on their Career Investigation Week the April 8-12. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to get real, hands-on work experience and make professional connections. In preparation for this, students will be active in seeking out a local or overseas placement and supervisor and completing the required documents on Google Classroom.
Grade 10 Parents- please sign and return to the Counseling Center the Parent Permission Form and Emergency Contact Form by Friday, Feb. 8 to begin the process. These have been sent via email and a hard copy has gone home with your son or daughter.
Two upcoming College Visits:
Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan
A representative from Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan will be visiting BIS on Friday, February 8th during lunch from 12:30 – 1:10 pm in the New College Counseling Center (next to the staff room). If your son/daughter is interested, please have them sign up here for the Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan, Visit. The student who asks the best question to the rep will win a prize! Sign up now! Think of a good question to ask!
Here are the Top 3 Things you should know about Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan:
- Offers English-based Undergraduate Programs. No Japanese language skills needed.
- Offers scholarships for International students.
- A lot of study abroad opportunities at more than 400 institutions around the world. (Dual Degree programs, Joint Degree programs, and student exchange programs)
Swiss Education Expert
A representative from Swiss Education Expert will be visiting BIS on Thursday, February 14th during lunch from 12:30 – 1:10 pm in the New College Counseling Center (next to the staff room). The representative will speak about:
“Mentoring for Your Future Study and Career in the Hospitality Business”
If your son/daughter is interested, please have them sign up here for the Swiss Education Expert Visit. The student who asks the best question to the rep will win a prize! Sign up now! Think of a good question to ask!
Here are the Top 3 Things you should know about Swiss Education Expert:
- Has 5 Schools in different specializations but based on Hospitality,
– Bachelor Degree only 3 Years length of study and Get Double Degree
– Or Swiss Education Academy /Summer Program (during 1-4 weeks ) - Has International Recruitment Forum where our students attend presentations, meet with industry representatives and have the opportunity to be interviewed and recruited for full-time employment or internship positions.
- Has a Mentoring Program to prepare students before the start of study until they are finished and plan their career together with our professional alumni as professional mentors.
– Rachael Gerbic – Counselor
‘Applause for a Cause’ Charity Fundraiser
Thursday 28th February 2019, 5pm – 7pm
Tickets will be on sale from February 13th!
Students and staff have been very busy rehearsing for the BIS charity fundraising evening! There will be performances of songs by The Beatles, Queen, Adele, from the world of musical theatre and much much more.
It will be a fabulous opportunity for our school to come together to share a special evening raising essential funds for the children in Lombok. There will be refreshments in the interval, plus chances to win prizes in our prize draw!
There will be a ‘movie chill out zone’ to supervise students not in ASA’s between 3pm – 5pm. If you would like to register your child to be supervised during this time prior to the performance please email salborn@baliis.net
If any parents have prizes they are willing to donate please email salborn@baliis.net or chat with Samantha Walther-Jones!
– Sarah Alborn (Drama and Theatre) and Ed Andrews (Music)
