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Message from the Head of School

Mrs Anne Fowles, Head of School

Dear IGBIS Families,

One of the highlights this week was the Celebration Breakfast for the Class of 2020. Usually, we have breakfast with the Grade 12 Class along with their Farewell Assembly before they start the IBDP examinations. Of course, this couldn’t take place this year. Likewise, a normal graduation ceremony couldn’t take place, but we did our best to still do graduation with the students alone after school finished in June. It was very nice to at last have the students and their parents together. We held it on the stage in the theatre as it is a ‘public space’ outside of the classroom areas. We hope to hold more activities with parents on the stage and in the theatre in the months ahead.

Next week we celebrate Malaysia Day from 1:40 to 2:30 pm on September 15th, the day before the public holiday. Mr Millward will share more details about this. We hope to see all of our students and staff in Malaysia Day-themed clothing that day.

From the Elementary School Principal

Simon Millward, Elementary School Principal

Next week will see our first Whole School Virtual assembly for Malaysia day. The Host Nation and Bahasa Malaysia teachers have been coordinating, practising and videoing items for the upcoming assembly on Tuesday 15th September 1.40 pm. A google meet link will be sent to you so that you too can enjoy our celebration. On Tuesday it will be a non-uniform day and we hope as many children as possible can dress up in traditional Malaysian clothes. Alternatively, if you don’t have these then you could wear clothes in the colours of the Malaysian flag (blue, red, white and yellow), or even Malaysian sports shirts. We hope you can celebrate with us on the day.

This week has seen our students continuing to engage in their units of inquiry. As we can see from the selection of ‘big’ ideas that the students are inquiring into, these beginning units of inquiry are focused on relationships, interactions, communication and action.

• G1: Relationships are impacted by the choices people make
• G2: People communicate, self manage and socialise to learn, play and be safe within their communities.
• G3: Communication connects people and with that comes risks and opportunities.
• G4: People’s beliefs and values influence their actions.

Students can grapple with these units that are challenging, engaging, relevant and significant to their lives and the lives of everyone in our community.

We are very excited this year that we are developing our Design Lab/Makerspace on level 2. The students have had the opportunity to visit there at lunchtimes and some grades are having lessons there too. In future newsletters, we will share how this space is developing under the guidance of Mr Harvey and Ms Aga.

Dates for your diaries

• 15th September: Virtual Malaysia Day assembly 1.40 pm
• 16th September: Holiday: Malaysia Day

Congratulations!

Michael Leh, Specialist – Communications & Parent Liaison

Congratulations! Class of 2020 IBDP High Achiever, Valedictorian and Global Citizen Award receiver, Clarissa Teh also receives acceptance to the University of Cambridge. The team at IGBIS were fortunate to catch up with Clarissa and elder sister Zoe Teh (Class of 2017 High Achiever) for a brief sharing of thoughts and how their experiences, methods and practises may come in handy for students in pursuit of the IB DP/CP to achieve their desired success.

As most (if not all) would say that the IB programme isn’t a walk in the park, but a challenging yet fulfilling programme that churns balanced, all-rounded and independent individuals. ‘Stay organised and on top of things’, cites Clarissa. She adds that while finding a good balance in key, one must be self-motivated, proactive and prioritise studies, hobbies, social life and rest with consistency. Setting high expectations from the get-go and staying focused on the end goal. It is best to cultivate a strong support system consisting of teachers, family and friends with timely breaks and guidance.

Zoe, who recently graduated with honours from UCL has already set her sights on a masters education next year relays her experiences of the IB programme as a challenging one to have helped develop her coping mechanism that proved beneficial and highly effective in the transition to university education. Curiosity, resilience and balance are values that go a long way to achieve one’s personal and career development goals.

Last but not least, a warm note of congratulations to all graduates of Class 2020 for the success in your IBDP and CP final results. Your dedication and tenacious effort for the wonderful achievements to which have truly made the school proud are deserving of much recognition and our sincerest appreciation. Thank you and Well done!