Secondary Newsletter 20 – December 13, 2019
Dear Parents,
Thank you for all of your support during Semester 1 and this is our last newsletter of 2019. I hope everyone received their child’s report yesterday afternoon. If anybody has any issues with reports please contact Ibu Riana at secondarysecretary@baliis.net.
Enjoy your break whether you are staying here or traveling abroad. Remember that your children need a break from school work as much as their teachers do.
Rest up, have fun and be safe!
Ross Ferris – Secondary Principal
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
Mark your Calendars for Wednesday, 8 January for the Grade 7 Anthropology Exhibit in the library! This term Grade 7 studied Anthropology in I&S and each student chose a branch of Anthropology to focus on. They followed the research process and came up with a research question, practiced taking notes, and they are currently synthesizing their research into an exhibit. Each student had multiple meetings with Ms. Erickson, Mr. MacDonald, and Mr. Marshall to help them think through and refine their research question, which turned out to be the most challenging part of the whole process.
What I love about this class is how ready they are to challenge themselves and take on difficult projects. I never had to remind them to refocus or settle down during work time because they were all engaged and busy the whole time, even when I had to step out of the room at times. This is what we expect from DP students, and I was proud to see Grade 7 demonstrating the same work ethic and focus that we expect from our Grade 11 and 12 students.
The exhibition is open to parents, other classes, and teachers, and will begin at 10 and run for one hour. The exhibits will stay up through lunch if you are unable to make it during the allotted time. I hope you can all make it and applaud the hard work this dedicated class has put into this extended project.
A Gift to our Plants
In our biology class, we have learnt about sustainable ecosystems. Later on, we then studied the mesocosm and started to create our own. To do this, we used a peppermint plant and added activated charcoal, soil, and pebbles. These materials allow the plant to create a cycle. We named each of the plants’ unique Portuguese names, one of them is named Feia and the other is Linda.
CAS Corner
by Malaika Tayach
EOTC – Salt Farming & Waste Management
[29/08/2019]
Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.
Today, we focused more on waste management, however we still continued to help the salt farmers during the morning and afternoon. I used my strength in the arts when helping to create the artwork made out of plastic. I helped come up with possible colour schemes with the plastic bags we were provided and, although we weren’t able to finish it in time, we were still proud with the end results. Additionally, another strength that I developed is in the production process of the salt. Due to the previous times we worked with the farmers in the prior days, I became much more comfortable with the process and this allowed me to be much more faster in the job.
Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
A challenge we faced was time management when creating the artworks, this is because we had a limited amount of time before we had to go back to the salt farms so we tried our best to quicken our pace. Yet, at the same time, we didn’t want to rush and make the artwork look bad. Thus, we had to try and find the balance between fast and also high quality as well.
Although we weren’t able to complete the artworks in time, we were able to get a clear sketch done and also stuck a few plastic wraps on it. Thus, I improved my organization skills by working alongside another group member of mine in one piece while the other 2 members worked on the other piece. Yet, I tried my best to switch between the two pieces if someone asked for help, which demonstrates our collaboration skills.
Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience.
We showed our ability to plan by brainstorming who we would want to draw. Our group saw the Obama artwork that the community shared and we decided to do something similar however instead of Obama we wanted to draw the Indonesian president, Jokowi. Additionally, while one of us was creating the sketch, my friend and I started to plan out what colour we would stick on specific areas. However, since we had a limited amount of time, we had to be quick about it, yet we weren’t able to finish it in time as stated before, but the piece was completed by the Les community.
Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
Commitment was shown when we were working in the waste management facility and this is seen in the creation of both the eco-bricks and the artwork. Although we had a large amount of bricks to be completed, everyone in the group collaborated with one another and even created a game to see who can make the best bricks. This makes the process more fun and also motivated everyone in the group to continue the process. For the artwork, although we had a small amount of time to finish the piece, we still continued and didn’t stop. Our small goal was to at least complete a sketch so that it could be completed on a later date. We were able to accomplish that goal.
Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
As stated before, collaboration was very important during our time in the waste management site as well because we had to split ourselves into two group in order to work effectively. The first group was in charge of helping to create the eco-bricks while the other group was working with the Shruder, and also separating the different types of plastics. Or in the afternoon session, the other group was the one in charge of creating the artwork. When working with the Shruder, we had to work as a group of 3, one member is the one who feeds the machine with the plastic bottles, the second one is in charge of opening and closing the hatchet inside the machine, and the last person is watching to see if the bottles get stuck. Collaboration is important or the our safety and also to make sure that the machine doesn’t encounter any problems. We used our communication skills in order to make sure that everyone understands their tasks and is continuing to work on it properly and effectively as well.
Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.
The main global issue that we are targeting is the amount of plastic in Bali. Although the government banned the use of plastic bags in supermarkets, shops and malls, there’s still a huge abundance and this is due to the use of plastic bottles. Additionally, small street restaurants still use the plastic bags because it’s the cheapest bag there is. However, the main goal for the waste facility is to be a role model for Indonesia and to reduce the amount of plastic by placing a value on the plastic the locals are using. For example, if the community places value on plastic bottles, they can feed it into the Shruder to create pellets and at the same time the locals in the area are also benefiting because it’s a way to earn money as well. However, the main issue that they face is how large companies combine different types of plastics in one product. Thus, although the Shruder can break down the bottles, it wouldn’t be able to break down the wrapping.
Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
When creating the artwork, we had to be mindful with the impact that it could have. We wouldn’t want to create something that might go against the views of the village, thus we had to make sure that we were respectful with our artworks. Additionally, this was the main reason why we didn’t want to rush the two pieces. Since we wanted to place value on the artwork, meaning that we had to make it to the best of our abilities. Yet, due to the time constraint we had, we weren’t able to complete it in time.
‘ALMOST, MAINE’ – Senior Production 2019 Video
The cast and crew of Almost Maine enjoyed watching the ‘premiere’ of the production in the final week of the semester and it really has put us in the holiday spirit!
Please enjoy it with your friends and family… make sure to watch after the bows too for an added bonus!
Miss A 🙂
MYP corner
I&S Grade 8 DEBATE
For the last 8 weeks, Grade 8 students have been working on a unit about the many facets of tourism. After completing their final summative assessment, the last 3 lessons of this term were dedicated to holding a formal debate.
Each student was put into a team that represented either a business, an environmentalist, a Bali resident, or a councillor. They were not given the opportunity to choose which team they were to represent. This was challenging in itself as many already had quite strong opinions on the subject but they had to put their beliefs aside and battle to win!.
Motion: ‘That Bali Island coastlines should be developed’ (high rise apartments, hotels etc)
Affirmative Teams: Businesses (local and international), Councillors
Negative Teams: Environmentalists (local and international), local residents
Round 1:
Business vs Environmentalists (Winner = Environmentalists)
Residents vs Councillors (Winner = Residents)
Judges:
Both myself and students (not currently debating) were the judges. We used World Scholars Cup criteria (speaking, presence, orgnisation, rhetoric, evidence, rebuttal, teamwork, peer feedback) and provided feedback.
Round 2:
Business and Councillors vs Environmentalists and Residents.
Students combined teams and the strongest 3 speakers from each team were voted in to debate by the rest of the group. The remaining students would sit at the tables to support their teams, use their laptops to garner information on any evidence the opposing team would use, supply this to the next speaker in the hope to rebuttal the last.
Judge:
Myself using the WSC criteria.
Winner:
Affirmative team!
Service as Action
Trip to Villa Kitty
The Pet guardians are an ASA from Bali’s Island school. We all know the pain of seeing sick, abandoned cats or dogs on the street living in Bali. Sadly not every animal, like most of them, has the privilege of having a home. We want to reduce the huge number of cats and dogs on the streets and to find homes for them. Our goal is to raise money for animal welfare, but to also interact with animals.
A week ago we got that opportunity. Four of us (Sophie, Alia, Mira and Alida) went to Villa Kitty in Ubud to visit all the cats and kittens and to offer our help. We were so warmly welcomed and were surrounded by animals straight away. The nice lady that owned Villa Kitty told us a little bit about the foundation’s history, and how they actually had the same goal as us: to save the animals. They currently have over 100 cats/kittens. We had the opportunity to play with some of the kittens which was our highlight of the afternoon. Some were, unfortunately, sick, not yet vaccinated, or had a skin disease so we couldn’t play with them all. There were not only small kittens but also middle-aged or older ones. We were so glad to see them all. We found out that Villa Kitty has to move in 2 years as their lease runs out. They are very worried about finding an affordable place to move to and we decided that we would like to visit regularly and also help support their cause fundraising for them.
Since we’ve been there, it has given us the motivation to help more, and I personally can’t get them out of my mind ever since we went. I really hope our group is able to keep visiting them regularly.
I’ve been really happy and I recommend that everyone go and check them out.
Alia (grade 8)
